When we first brought Olivia home, we put her in her crate in the guest bedroom at bedtime - she did NOT like that!
She cried for about 15-20 minutes but then she would settle down and sleep for the night. She did this each night with no sign of improvement. Once that first weekend got here, we decided to try putting her crate in our room - bingo! Not a peep from her! She just likes being near us, I agree it's due to being a den animal.