I can't reccommend this puppy socialization class enough, it was great, and free! They give lots of tips and the best thing you can do for a dog is make sure it learns to interact with other dogs properly. I also went though additional classes and founf them very helpful.
http://www.dogmatraining.com/trainin...p-classes/pups
As for crate training, I have always only crated my dogs when leaving the house or going to bed (both of which get paid with a treat). Maybe I have very food motivated dogs, but I've never had issues