Reply #13: I know how hard it is,

[burrfoot]

but you should totally force yourself to get her crate trained while she's still young. My guess is that her crying in there isn't because she hates the crate, it's because she gets extremely anxious not having immediate access to you. She will grow out of it, and if you get her to the point where she can sleep in there reliably you'll have the comfort of knowing that she can go in there if she HAS to- for her safety, and for the safety of your house when you're gone.

Once she's accustomed to it, and you know you can use it if you have to, you obviously are free to let her spend the nights in the bed with you :)

Using it for a couple of hours a day- even if you aren't gone- might actually reinforce that the crate is for rest time and you WILL come back to her and let her out....there's lots of various ways you can use it; but I would suggest that you figure out what pattern seems most comfortable for you while also getting her used to it.

You'll thank yourself later, trust me (us).