[roccorottie]

We got our pup a few days shy of 8 weeks. His set up was in our large kitchen area. We had a nice crate for him nestled in an ex pen (the 3' high variety). This way we could close the ex pen and leave the crate door tied open so he could use the crate as he liked. To make him feel comfy with his crate I made sure to give him some treats in the crate and didn't force the crate on him. We also never use the crate as a time-out spot or for punishment. It's his lair, so to speak.

The ex pen is nice in that it gives him some extra room to move around (we have a big water bowl within the ex pen) and not feel overly cramped if we have to leave him there. He also has the option to hang out in his crate. After one week of this set up, he grew to like his crate and would sleep there almost every night. Sometimes he slept on the kitchen floor as it was a bit cooler perhaps(again, within the ex pen area). Now, at 16 weeks, he's damn near ready to jump over the ex pen, so we're about to abandon it entirely. He also does not have full run of our house (and won't for some time). He's never once cried about the crate and has always seen it as his "safe haven".

I suggest maybe you try an ex pen and place your crate in it. Be sure to keep the crate door opened via a tie of some sort, so it doesn't swing around and cause an accident. Also, I wouldn't leave a 9 wk old pup tied out anywhere, just my opinion.

I also agree with doing this as soon as you can. We did this on our pup's first day home. Also, get your pup in the car in its crate as well. Acculturate your pup to that crate in many scenarios. I wish we did that with our 4yo GSD, as she hates a crate and it's tough. Our little guy, however, is quite the crate car traveler already - it's never too soon to get them accusomted to these things. Make it fun too!

Good Luck with all of it.