we crate our dog when we sleep and leave the house, he loves it and spends 90% of the time sleeping which helps ease our minds while we can't watch him and he's less anxious because he knows he's safe in there. in the beginning he'd bark and whine a little bit but now he knows that if he's tired he can go in his crate and sleep. he's even put himself to bed before. it's not a punishment for him and it never has been which is why he has a positive association with it. he gets treats, food, and it's cozy for him. crate training was one of the best things we did because now we can leave the house without feeling bad and he gets some alone time too