[madmmac]

I have rescued dogs and have purchased others. The crate is a good idea I believe to begin with, especially with a rescue dog. The dog feels secure, it knows that it is surrounded by a shell and it feels the walls around it. For an owner, a dog in a crate will not "usually" release itself, this makes it easier for the new owner.

What the dog is doing now is showing that it is now comfortable with its new surroundings and your family....which is a great sign. But, it still may not be able,ready or willing to give you notification that it needs to go outside. Is the dog perfectly house trained? If so, you can probably lose the crate at this time. Many strays and rescues have emotional/psychology issues and the crate helps them hopefully move on from them once trust has been earned.

Dog snacks/treats are many times not tolerated with a lot of dogs and are never needed to train a dog or make it happy. They can tell the satisfaction in your voice and actions, they want to please you.

The vomiting can sometimes be heat related and stress related. Have you gotten any other pets recently? Labs are serious gulpers of their food. Try feeding the dog the same amount, only do it 4x a day instead of 2. Plenty of water at all times also...good luck.