We debated whether or not to crate train Eli when we brought him home at 8.5 weeks old, and we decided to do a sort of "modified" version of what many people recommend. Most crate-trainers say that it's both to housebreak a puppy as well as to keep a dog safely contained when you're gone. But since our other dog Kobie was totally housebroken and was allowed to come and go during the day through the doggy door, we didn't ever imagine that we'd keep either Eli or Kobie in a crate during the day. (We mostly work at home anyway and aren't gone for long periods.) We mainly wanted to use a crate to housebreak Eli--that is, to have a secure, small place for him to sleep at night which would be something he wouldn't want to soil.

It worked very well for that purpose (he never messed up his bedding inside the crate), but he HATED it! Even putting it right next to our bed at night didn't help; he'd howl and cry himself to sleep. But we were firm about not giving in to the cries, and by about 15 weeks he was housebroken. We ditched the crate then, and trusted him to get up and go outside through the doggy door whenever he needed to, even at night. Worked great!

My long-winded point: I think you can successfully do a part-time crate training deal, if only for the help it provides with housebreaking (and with destructive behaviors, if any). If you keep it as positive as possible and put the crate where the pup can still be with everyone, he may even want to use it as a personal space for many years. (Or not!) I think it's still a good idea for any dog to at least ACCEPT a crate for short periods (like for travel, vet visits, etc.) but I don't believe in forcing it on a dog that hates being cooped up, no matter how many enticing toys you throw in there...