Well, we started crate training our collie pup just a few weeks ago, and she's 5 months old now. We adopted her from rescue when she was about 14 weeks old, and kitchen crated her for the first month+ she was with us. It worked for a time, though it was interesting climbing all those baby gates to get in and out of the kitchen (we have two entrances). Once Bijou got tall enough to climb over the gates, we decided she needed a crate for her comfort and safety as well as our sanity.

We did get a large size crate but she's a big pup and still growing. She's never had an accident inside her crate; the biggest issue has been the whining. When we first started with the crate, we did the usual daytime "it's a fun place to check out -- hey, here's a little treat, go find it!" experiences...then we would have her go in and shut the door behind her...then we'd have her stay in for a time, and then we did the nighttime crating. She whined the first few nights as she went to sleep, and then would whine and wake up way too early (much like my kids -- I have five). We just worked with her as best we could. We ignored the whining and if it got too lengthy and/or turned into barking, we went to her, opened the little inset door (not big enough for her to exit) and with great affection, stroked her face and whispered what a good puppy she was! Then we very, very softly (almost no pressure) held her mouth/jaw in a light circle-style caress, we whispered, "quiet now!" She always quieted and went back to sleep and has never needed a second "visit" in the same night. If she wakes up at 5:00 a.m. or later, I do go to her and we start our day. It's earlier than I'd prefer but that's one of the concessions I have to make as a fur-mommy!

Though I'm a SAHM, I do crate Bijou in the daytime but it's only for brief periods; e.g., when I want to give the kids lunch and it's PB&J day (Bijou's self-professed favorite, evidently!) and I'd rather the kids not "accidentally" share with our food-nabbing pup!

I would say that crating Bijou has been wonderful overall and I wish we'd introduced it when we first brought her home from rescue. She likes her space, likes going in to retrieve a favorite toy throughout the day, and is managing much, much better at night. I'm not one who wants to sleep with my pup (though I can absolutely appreciate how much comfort it can bring) so crating Bijou at night has been the best solution for everyone in our household. Our goal, eventually, is to to have Bijou become more mature and responsible and we'll hopefully be able to give her the run of the house day and night. Crating was something new for us and we resisted at first...it ultimately has been a really positive measure.