My Bella is 5 months old, and sleeps in a pen area too. We are taking Puppy Kindergarden classes, and the trainer advised to start feeding Bella in her crate to make sure the crate is a pleasant experience and not for punishment. Also, I place treats inside the crate for her. In the next week, I am going to start placing her in the crate for 15 minutes a day, and increasing the time each week up to a few hours. Kind of easing her into it and getting her used to it. Hope that helps
