Dog Barking in Crate - need help!

I have a 3 1/2 month old Mutt named Keegan. We have a crate that is the correct size, and would like to be able to put him in said crate for small amounts of time during the day - however, when we put him in, he continuously barks. We've tried ignoring him, to see if he'll stop - but he won't

He finally goes in the crate without fear, but getting him to stop barking is seeming impossible. We've tried putting toys in, tried treating him for going in and being quiet, but he just will not stop barking. We don't leave him in for extreme amounts of time, sometimes no more than a couple of hours, but no matter how long we put him in, he still barks.

Any help anyone can give would be greatly appreciated. We're sort of at a loss. We've never had this issue with a dog before that we haven't been able to stop.

Thanks so much!

Did you introduce him to it gradually or did you just put him in it and shut the gate. There is no set time for dogs to get used to a crate, and some never will. You could try going right back to the beginning http://www.dogsey.com/dog-articles.php?t=15552 there is a very good article here. Or alternatively use a dog gate in a utility room or kitchen, some dogs just prefer not being quite so confined.

Leave the crate open and leave a filled Kong in it,he'll soon love going in it when theres something lovely there,xxxxxxx

We did introduce him gradually - and its still not helped at all. It seems like he just doesn't like being alone. We do need to leave the house sometimes, and don't want him barking all the time - as we are in a house that serves as 3 apartments. He will bark even when left alone in a room. We're really not sure what else to do. I may try to start over with the crate training this weekend, and see what he does, maybe we just need to try again and use it more often than we do after we start training him - because we only use it sparingly and it seems like the training just disappears after a while. Thanks for the advice!

I wish that would work. He's not a treat lover, or a chewer yet (not even teething, so he doesn't chew.) He doesn't like playing with toys, so we have nothing that would make him "happy" in the crate...

I found with mine they preferred the crate to be covered, some do as it seems more den like. I made it as comfy as possible with a big thick cushion and used the cover it came with. I used to put them it for maybe 5/10 minutes at a time to begin with while I was still in the house, and gradually increased the time. I actually found night time to be worse than the day, and for the first couple of weeks spent the night in the same room as the dog in the crate, which for me was the conservatory I would talk quietly too them if they started to fuss but if i let them out to go for a wee they went straight back inside the crate afterwards. I just gradually increased the distance between the crate and myself until I got back to my bed.
Does he sleep in it of a night time ? as you say you want to put him in during the day, but if he has different sleeping arrangements of a night time he will be getting confused.

He doesn't sleep in it at night - but we're considering starting that, if it would help him be in it during the day. We're just not sure what else to do. This weekend, I think I'm going to start again on the crate training - I don't have time during the week, and my mother isn't the best at training, though she tries. Keegan has really bonded to me, so he tends to listen to me more, which we're also working on.

In that case I would start over and this time make him sleep in the crate overnight even if that means having the crate in your bedroom, or you sleeping on the sofa with the crate close by. It's generally just a case of being consistant and persistant, don't let him win.

Can i ask do you go and let him out when he is barking?
If you do then this could be it - he could be barking cos he has learnt that you go to him and let him out.

I would wait for a lull (where he stops to draw breath) and then go to him and let him out and praise him for being quiet