Houdini?

Picture this. You are exhausted and skip Without A Trace and opt for an early retirement for the day. You take the dogs out for the final potty of the night and get everyone tucked away into their respective crates and beds. Three hours later you are awakened by the incessant whining/barking/begging/grumbling of the 6 month old puppy who has decided he needs to potty again. You nudge Husband. "Wha?" Nudge again, "Take the dogs out." "Ok." You fall back into a silent ear plug enforced sleep. He rolls out of bed and dresses. The three of them trudge to the back door and he releases the beasts into the dark abyss of the back yard. Five minutes later after 3 potties, they return and again are tucked into their crates and beds.

A few minutes later the ear piercing whine of the puppy (which words cannot describe) pierces thru your 32 dB earplugs. Nudge, "Did you take the dogs out!?" "Wha?" "DID YOU TAKE THE DOGS OUT?!" "Yeah" "Take him again, he still needs to go." "Sigh, ok." You again fall back into sleep as Husband rolls out of bed and takes puppy back outside on the leash this time for a potty. They return again and settle back in.

A few minutes later you are AGAIN awakened by the whine! "WHAT is his problem! I am exhausted and need my rest!", you yell. "Take him to the crate in the dining room!", you growl at husband. He sighs, gets up, and brings puppy to the dining room crate on the other side of the house. At least you won't be able to hear him as he whines for the rest of the night. Husband returns and you all settle into a nice rest.

Thirty minutes later, big dog starts barking! "Book, shut up! Go to bed." you shout. "Bark! Bark! BARK!" as he runs around the bed and touches the empty puppy crate. "Bark! Bark! Bark!" back to the empty puppy crate. Nudge, nudge. "Do you hear that barking?!" "Yes." "What are you going to do about it!?" "Sigh." Husband gets up and takes big dog out to potty - again. As he rounds the corner to the kitchen, he finds puppy standing at the gate waiting for him. He enters the kitchen and turns into the dining room to find the big dog crate (heavy, metal design with 2 locks on each door) in the middle of the room (4 feet from its normal resting place), locked. Puppy trots behind him with delight. White hair inside the crate prove he was inside at one time this night, however, he no longer is - and it is still standing and locked.

Puppy is Houdini, Big Dog is a tattle, Husband is exhausted, irritated, and perplexed. All three return to the room and tuck back into crates and beds. Puppy continues to whine. You rise, grumble something about needing to sleep because you have to clean the whole house for guests in the morning and storm off to the spare bedroom on the other side of the house. Husband can sleep thru the whining and does so. You sleep in the silence of the spare bedroom. All is well, except now you need to go get tiny padlocks for all the connecting areas of the crate to prevent future escapes.