If you are crate training you should not use the crate for punishment.
I just never thought of him thinking of the crate as a bad thing.
When my dog does something bad she will put herself in her crate to be "punished" I will say to her ..."go to your house / room" and she goes by herself.
but she has no problem napping in it during the day or taking her toys in it to play , and she sleeps in it fine at night...so I don't think she associates it with a
Bad place...more like her room , like a teenager would, kind of? She goes off in it when she wants and she also knows if she does something unacceptable , she will go to her "room" for a time out
I haven't had problems with her hating or fearing her crate.