I've copied and pasted this from another thread where I explained how we crate trained Honey....
We re-crate trained our dog aged 2yrs, as we couldn't get her to settle anywhere other than our house - visits to in-laws were a nightmare, as she would get us up at 5am, and as they had brand new solid wood doors, we couldn't leave her to scratch! We ended up with her in our room at night, and then up and about at 5am, which wasn't workable - she was stressed at the idea of going to bed in the kitchen and I was getting worried about how my in-laws would "solve" the problem when she stays without us (they are lovely, but very much feel dog is a dog and should just get on with it!). The first visit after crate training, we set the crate up in the living room (so any stress she had about staying in the kitchen wasn't transferred to the crate) and she slept through quite happily until 7-7.30 each morning (when the chickens probably woke her up!).
She had never really liked her crate as a pup, but I spent about a fortnight introducing her crate as a nice place (rewarding her with lots of treats every time she chose to go in, never forcing her, or even trying to encourage her to go in, always waiting for her to make the decision that she wanted to! - we did use a clicker initially to help speed this up, as I know Honey responds very well to the clicker). I gradually built up to closing the door when she went in, and then eventually to leaving the room between treats while the door was shut. Just building up the time gradually and keeping it fun and very much on her terms...
This meant when I took her away for the weekend, she viewed the crate as somewhere really safe and nice - we went on a T-Touch workshop, which was quite stressful for her, as there were lots of dogs she had never met in a room she'd never been in.... her crate was the one thing that was safe and familiar and she loved it... (although she did guard it from other dogs!!! Hiding ) we stayed in the travelodge overnight and I had been expecting not to get much sleep, but I shut her in the crate for the first time overnight, and apart from barking when a bunch of people decided to have a conversation outside our room at 2am, she was fine....
We shut the crate overnight at home from there on in, and now at bedtime she races to her crate after her night-time wee, ready for her bedtime biscuit! The only time she disturbs us overnight is if she REALLY needs the loo... and while we don't push the mornings too much, there is no batting the crate door in the mornings, she patiently waits until we come and let her out.
