thanks... the crate is in the living room when we are all awake and he will go in there and nap with the door open on his own. i only close it if i have to do something and cant watch for him if he wakes up and comes out. he will whine when he wakes from a nap and i let him out and take him outside cause he usually has to go as soon and he wakes up.
at night, the crate is in the bedroom. i keep the crate door shut at night. he usually is ok about walking in but then the crying starts. i'm sure it will get better and it never seems quite as bad in the morning as i'm thinking it is at the time haha
one other thing is, we have another dog that is not crated and i think when he sees her at night he really starts barking... but i really dont want to put her somewhere b/c she was here first and is used to having run of the house. i dont want to put the older dog somewhere and think she is being punished b/c of new puppy and resent the puppy ya know??