My view on crates is, I think, well known here.
They are used now as an acknowledged "training method".

House training, destructive behaviour, conflict between animals in the home and even seperation anxiety are now "cured" by cage, I'm sorry, crate training.

It really seems incredible to me that people that see it as their pet's right to sleep in the same bed as them have no problem shutting the same "muched loved pet" in a cage, sorry, crate for hours every day.

I understand the theory, can see why people want to do it and can even see why it works for some people and not for others.

I can not understand why anyone would want to do it.

Your dog has also understood the reason for it - it has a place where it is not obliged to come to terms with normal family life and that suits it just fine, thank you.

If I was given a crate I would spend most of my time there too and you would need a task force to get me out of it!!!!

Dogs are individuals and that is why no training method is the be all and end all. You can not crate train every dog with success, not every dog will be able to be a guide dog, not every Greyhound can race, not every terrier will dig. The list goes on and on.

I will say that there are very few dogs on the planet that deserve to be crate trained - the only purpose it serves is to make life easier and more guilt free for humans - it does not simulate natural behaviour in any way at all although that is how we are sold on it.
Those that have continued success with the method tend to be people that are pretty dog savvy and miss the other things they do with their dogs that make them great dogs....they put it down to crate training and the fact they have done it for the last twenty years without a problem.....
It is, in fact that they do other things well, not crate training that makes the difference.
House training may be quicker but it is unfair, unnatural and out of context with a dog's life.
The dog will understand it is being ignored because it has done something wrong if it's owner is grown up enough to ignore properly....you don't have to put the dog in a cage, sorry, crate to achieve it.
The only advantage I can see for some basic crate training is for travel.
It is not a training tool and should not be seen as one - in my opinion it has made being a canine more miserable than the choke chain ever did.