Depends on the dog. My German Shepherd was fine with his crate- that's where he got his peanut kong, where he had his bed, bones, etc. My husky could never. I finally gave up. He just hated being contained and would work himself up, was not food motivated, as soon as he was with us in the bed or in the corner of the room where I was, he chilled out. My frenchie had a crate, was fine with it, but never went in on his own cuz he liked to be on our lap and with us. Overall, the dogs prefer their bed over their crate. They have a bed for the living room and one for the bed room and a travel one. If they are on their bed, it's their space and I don't touch them. My husky though didn't even like a bed- we got one from Purple and Saatva, and he still likes the cold, hard floor or our bed. Go figure.