I have a 2 year old female GSD, that has been crate trained since I got her when she was 4 months old. When I got her I was really wanting to leave her out of her crate at night while the family sleeps so that she could "protect" the house. We have two other older dogs that stay out, but they are golden retrievers,(we probably could be robbed blind and they wouldn't care).
We tried letting her out just in the bedroom the other night, she did well, but it looks like she chewed on the end of our comforter a little. I guess she got bored.
Suggestions, I was wondering if Frawley recommends leaving dogs out of there crates at night, or is this a bad idea. I know if someone came in the house while we were sleeping that she would protect her territory, but she can't very well do that in the confounds of her crate.

Any suggestions would be great.

I'm no expert, but I'll give my 2 cents' opinion. First of all, though your dog may not can meet your expectations of "defending" her territory while crated, she certainly can wake you by barking at any unusual activity in the house. That's pretty good protection by itself. The dog is definitely safer in the crate, as you noticed she chewed the end of the comforter... if you're a deep sleeper, she may chew other things, destroying items or injuring herself (electrical cords, things stuck in her throat, swallowing foreign objects, etc.).

That said, my young (4-5 mos) pup has been sleeping in our bedroom uncrated. But he started this on his own. One night I looked for him at bedtime, usually when I called he would come to his crate. This time he didn't. I searched, he was on a blanket lying beside my bed, sleeping. I went to bed and left him there. He made it until about 1:30 then woke, either bored or needing out, so I took him outside then crated him for the rest of the night.

Each night we then went to the blanket at bedtime, and each night he has made it a little longer. This morning was the latest he slept, until 5:45. I get up at 6 a.m., so that was a full night. If we wakes in the night he does get playful, so the "rule" is, if he gets off the blanket for whatever reason, he gets crated. I do put a couple of safe toys near him for him to chew if he wakes.

I'm a light sleeper, and LJ has his rabies tag on his collar that jingles when he moves, so I'm aware of him waking and moving around. If you give this a try, you might get a little bell to put on your dog at night so you'll wake if she gets up.

I think I remember reading it depends on the dog. I would put the crate in my bedroom at night (or get a second one), give her things to chew if she gets bored, and leave the door to the crate open. Or leave the bedroom door open so she can go in and out at her leisure, unless you're like me and hate having your bedroom door open. I used to work for a Fire Marshal. Open doors at night are a no-no. JMO.

The most that you could hope for from an untrained dog, as far as any protection in concerned,would be a barking alert if someone enters the house. You would most likely be better served by installing an alarm system & or having a firearm in the house if you are that concerned about a break-in. With 3 dogs barking, most intruders would seek out a 'quieter' house to break into. Intruders don't want all that attention called to your home by all those dogs barking.

As far as being left uncrated at night....that would depend on the dog. Some need to be crated later than 2 others can be out at a younger age. If the dog is chewing on things during the night that can cause the dog to get sick or is being destructive, then she still needs to be crated. JMO

If she's chewing on things that could lead to bowel obstructions or worse with her dead from chewing on electronics. I have a dog that I received in December, I fell asleep with her out of the crate and the worse thing she did was cover me in her dog toys while I was sleeping and I woke up to find her sleeping beside the bed. I do not even waste my time putting her in the crate, just put her dog toys away so I don't end up buried in them LOL.
Maybe you could play possum and pretend to be asleep, catch her as she chews on things and stop her. Long process but I would not take the risk. If she alerts maybe the other dogs will pick it up as well. We own guns and have them in various safe places in the home. SO if you do not have one, maybe think about investing in one. It would be cheaper than paying vet bills...

Might be deviating from the original post but this came to my mind while reading your posts, is there a recommended minimum hours destinated for sleeping? is there a study to correlate drive, focus with age and its sleeping hours?