Crate training is a wonderful asset if done correctly. Maybe you didn't go about it the right way? It should be made a positive, wonderful experience for a dog. I crate train all of my foster puppies and dogs before they go to their new homes. I crate trained my own dogs for the first month or so after I got each of them, but there is no need for the crate anymore.

The benefits to crating are numerous. The method has saved NUMEROUS dogs from being turned into a kill shelter. I know this for a FACT because there are always people trying to give my shelter their dogs for reasons like destruction. When my shelter doesn't have space, the people say they are going to take their dog to the kill shelter. I always talk to them about crate training and do a follow-up call. I cannot tell you how many people have been so grateful that they are able to keep their wonderful dogs because they started using a crate. Crating also helps with housebreaking and adjusting to new environments. Its also nice to have a crate trained dog in case they ever have to be kenneled at the vet (like in emergency medical situations). Also, it makes travelling that much easier if the dog is used to a crate.