Have had Bitsy since she was 10 weeks old (she is now 10 months old)
and she has slept in her crate every night since the first night. Whatever clothes I am wearing that day- I lay them over the crate and position them to keep the light out. I then pull the front door of the cage up close to the bed so it is within touching distance. This trick was told to me by her breeder and it has worked like a charm. When she was first home, I would gently tap the crate and say shhhh and she would go right back to sleep. She now sleeps in there from about 9:00 p.m. until around 7:00 a.m. We live in AZ and the time does not change so will be interesting to see if she starts waking up earlier.