Bijou is always crated at night. We keep our crate in the kitchen, and she typically wanders into it on her own at about 10:00 p.m. or so and snuggles in for the night...sometimes we really have to coax her out in order to potty her one last time before we go to bed -- she knows it's her cozy place and hers alone! With five people-kids and three cats along with Bijou, we have a very busy household -- it's very nice to know that our pup has a secure, comfy place of her own. We didn't begin crating her until about 5 months old, though -- when we first got her, we just gated the kitchen off and kept her there at night...then Bijou began to jump over the gates and get into mischief just like healthy, curious puppies tend to do! I'm now very much a supporter of kenneling pups; however, it's our eventual wish to give Bijou free reign of the house once she's a bit more mature and less likely to instigate a nocturnal chase-about with the cats (what are the odds? lol!).