Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

Last night our dog wandered upstairs to see us at around eleven pm.  We've been leaving the kitchen door open and letting her wander, but I guess she had to go outside to pee, and my husband shuffled down and let her out.  It's a strange change for us, as both dogs were crated their whole lives.  We did it because the male dog got into trouble and ate things he shouldn't and couldn't be trusted.  We'd always felt bad she was crated too, but it seemed too cruel to let her run free while he was locked up.  Now she is free and seems comfortable with it, and loves her new cushy bed, but how strange it must be for her as well.  We're in uncharted territory, teaching an old dog new tricks and being the only beings in the house for her to relate to.  We want her to be as happy as she can be, but what does that entail?  She loves the walk, and she more often now sits by one of us when we're home, whereas before she lay in her crate and let the other dog be the snuggly one.  I wish we could communicate better, and that was some way to know what would ease her the most.  But then, I'm not sure I know how to do that for any of my human friends and family.  They're pretty hard to read as well.