To Crate Train or not?

I think some are misunderstanding the question. The question was about crate training. Not necessarily keeping the dog in the crate all the time. When my Brittany was a pup, he got into everything! When unsupervised, we put him in the crate. There were times we thought we would never be able to give him the run of the house. About the time he was a year old, he started to settle down and we reduced the crate time. At 18 mos, we got rid of the crate all together. Never use it anymore, and he has full run of the house.
This is not the same as house-breaking. He was house-broken in about 3 weeks. The crate is a tremondous tool. Used properly, it will accelerate all forms of training. Even if your dog does not need it, it's good to get it used to one for trips to the groomer, boarder, travel, etc..