Yes they are velcro dogs at first lol!!!! as far as her whining, it is normal, as long as you make sure all her needs are taken care of potty time ect.. then leaving her there to do a little self soothing is not harmful. Remember that a puppy can only hold its bladder or should only be required to hold its bladder for 1 hr for every month old it is, so she may have had to go. a plastic crate is good, dogs feel safer inclosed in a "cave" and having a more open crate is fine, but if you already have a plastic one there is no need to change. Besides the more room you give her to go potty in her crate the more apt she is to do so, they will use the side they are NOT sleeping on to potty on and sleep in the rest. Good luck tonight and another thing you can do is put the crate next to your bed on the floor, and when she whines just put your hand on top of the crate and say shhhh, just to let her know you are there or use the command quiet, this will teach her early what that means and keep her from being yappy when she gets older as well, when she quiets, say good girl. be consistant, and never let her out of her crate when she is crying or yappy, this will train YOU in her eyes, to let her out everytime she does it and she will only continue to do it. :curl-lip: