Let me start by saying Ginger LOVES her crate. She goes in there when she's tired or wants some alone time and literally flies into her crate when I'm getting ready to head out the door. One time, I came home and realized I had left the crate door open
. Guess where she was? Yep, sitting in her crate.
My advice....walk away. Do not reward the whining by getting her out. It's hard, but it works.
I brought her home in her crate and after letting her explore our yard a bit, introduced her to the other animals in the house while she was in her crate. Then we left if open and accessible while we were all right there together. That first day home she went in and out of her crate on her own. Then night hit. While she was a tiny pup (and until she was housetrained) I was determined that she would sleep in her crate...I believed it would help with housetraining and keep her safe while she was sooooo little.
The first night she wailed...it broke my heart, but I finally moved the crate into another room.
For the next day or two, I'd crate her for small amounts of time...if she cried, I left the room (I know, what a meanie)...when she was calm I got her out. It only lasted a day or two (it's been 3 years, I don't remember exactly anymore) and now her crate is possibly her favorite place in the whole world.
She even likes to visit her friend's crates when we go to their house and she has invited one very special boy dog to to sit in hers with her (wish I had a pic of that)
Oh, and she was much easier to housetrain than I had anticipated...