I have some interesting crate-training stories....
We got my puppy when she was 10 weeks old. Her crate was in our living room and we'd put her in there anytime we left the house (or pretended to leave the house) that way she couldn't get into any mischief. At first she hated it and would cry all night, but someone told us about putting an alarm clock in there (like a big ben) because the ticking motion under a blanket would remind her of laying against her mother. She loved it, as long as the alarm clock and her blanket were there she would sit for hours. For her first birthday (July 4th) we got her a bigger crate and since she's such a baby and hates fireworks we put it in our basement with the door open so she couldn't hear the noise. When we came home that night she had CHEWED the plastic pan and somehow managed to squeeze through the tiny opening. We bought a replacement pan and moved her crate back to the spot it used to be. I guess she hated it because it reminded her of the fireworks, so she chewed her way out of that one too. When we got home she was laying next to the chewed up plastic outside the crate. The next day I got ready to leave for school and my mom took out her keys, the dog ran to the spot where her crate was and laid right next to it. 7 years later, all we have to do is say "in, Amber" or just jingle our keys and she goes to her spot. (granted if I was a dog, I'd want to go there too with her big bed pillow and mountains of toys. haha..... although at night she'd rather sleep in MY BED)
Best of luck & enjoy!! There's nothing like a puppy.
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