Is putting my dog in a cage a good form of punishment?

Question

Blue   "My Siberian husky, Blue, as been bad recently, yelling and scolding doesn't
seem to phase her anymore. We haven't put her in a cage since she was a puppy( 3
years ago) and as punishment for her I put her in the cage.
The cage's location is in the garage, far away from us.
We used to put her in the garage, but she'd get in the trash and didn't find it
a form of punishment.

Would putting her in the cage be a good form of punishment along with scolding?

How long would you recommend I leave her in it to know she's been a bad girl?

Many thanks

Answer
I never scold my dogs, nor do I use crates as punishment.  Instead, I try to train my dogs to do behavior that is incompatible with the behavior I don't care for.  For example, if my dog was jumping up at guests, I might train her instead to sit for patting when guests come in.  I use clicker training, which does not rely on punishment.  
Here's a video of someone training the behavior I just mentioned: http://wn.com/pamelamarxsen?upload_time=all_time&orderby=viewCount
Here's how you get started using a clicker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC367wKGi4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd9tQJU6wsI&feature=related
One thing to realize about dogs - they do not associate a punishment with something they do unless the punishment is instantaneous.  Thus, if you came home and found that your dog had gone into the trash, then punished her, you might actually be punishing her several hours after she actually got in the trash, and she would have absolutely no idea why you were angry, just that you were angry about something.  This destroys the trust she has in you, because she only knows that you are unpredictable.  You really need to start from scratch just training your dog, and managing her environment so that she can't get in to trouble.  There are some free clicker lessons at www.clickerlessons.com.  Huskies are smart, but also independent enough so that they get into a lot of trouble without a good solid foundation in positive training.  You can do it!