I'm not against crate training but I think the key is to teach the dog that the crate is a good thing. When you tell your dog to go to the crate, you should say 'crate' or 'kennel' and throw treats into the cage or even feed your dog water and food in the cage so he/she associates a good experience with the crate. Then praise your dog when he enters it voluntarily but don't react when he leaves it. Eventually, you will be able to close the door. Close the door for a second then open it. If your dog doesn't get anxious, then leave the door closed for a longer period. Open the door BEFORE he starts getting anxious not when he gets anxious...the key is not to reward his anxiety or barking or whining but to avoid anxiety. Keep doing this making the times that the door is closed longer until you've gotten to 1.5 hours. Then he should be able to stay in the crate for a long period.

You can also confine your dog to the kitchen or get an exercise pen and he can use this as his den. You can even tether your dog to a specific area but you must teach him that this is a good thing. Dogs naturally go to their den for a safe haven so these ways, you can give him one.

Does your dog always go outside? I would recommend taking him outside every hour and then when you've figured out his schedule, you can take him outside at these times. If he doesn't go outside, put him back in his crate and he will probably want to go to the bathroom. Then once he's more reliable in peeing outside, then you can give him more freedom outside the crate. Eventually, he'll be able to have full run of the house. But I would first check with your vet to make sure that he doesn't have something going on.

Mind you, I have a friend who's had two dogs and never crated them and her dogs were fully housetrained in 6 months. Yes it's a longer time but if you think that a crate is inhumane, try confining your dog to a smaller space.

I/m sure I've said everything that you've already heard already but if you're uncomfortable using the crate, don't use it. Just be more consistent in taking him outside. Maybe you can teach him to give you a signal (I'm assuming that he doesn't do this now so disregard these comments if he does). For example, I hung a toy tambourine from the doorknob of my patio door and trained my dog to hit it with her paw when she wants to go outside. To train her, I hung her favourite doll (or you could use a treat) on the other side of the door. When she gives me the right behaviour (i.e. hitting the tambourine), then I let her out the door to get her doll. Keep in mind you have to keep this in control as it could become a game and your dog could hit the bell every 2 seconds!!! But maybe it's an issue of you not catching his signals.

Hope this helps.