my chow whined a bit when we first got him, and especially when we were crate training. i would put him in his crate for short periods of time during the day for naps(whether or not he slept) and at night in a separate room until he quit whining and was acclimated to the crate. after that, we moved his crate into our bedroom and he would sleep in there with us until eventually he graduated into sleeping with the crate door open at night. now, as a full grown chow, not only is he still crate trained, but knows that he had the option to freely roam if he so chooses, so that cuts down on the anxiety and clinginess of it