# Forced naps in the crate & learning to settle down



## somewhereplace (Aug 20, 2018)

*Enforced naps in the crate - 11 week old puppy*

Hi everyone! I have been a lurker of vizslaforums for over a year. For the longest time I was lurking without an account, then I made one so I could see all the cute pictures. This site has been incredible in helping me decide on this breed. Thank you!! 

Three weeks ago, I finally brought home a female Wirehaired Vizsla named Monse. Today she is almost 11 weeks. My question concerns enforced naps and crate time.

The first week or two, she would let me know when she was sleepy and needed a nap. She would either curl up on my lap or find a spot on the floor. I am adamant about sleeping exclusively in the crate so every time she does this, I would show her/carry her to the crate and she would sleep soundly. 

Starting last week, she stopped being sleepy when she was "suppose" to i.e. after a meal or intense play session. She just keeps going and going...and going. Instead of moving towards more tired, she would get more and more amped. Basically completely out of control, stumbling around like she was drunk, or like she was possessed by a demon  I noticed that the shark attacks and bad behaviour such as jumping, lunging at the cats, even potty accidents came out once she had hit her limit. Her limit seems to be 10-15 mins max of either training, play, walk or socialization.

When she is in this demonic state, there is nothing left to do but put her in the crate for a nap. There's no way I could hold her, tell her to focus or anything of the sort. So I lure her in with her favourite chew and treats. She'll go in no problem, but immediately fights to get out. I have to forcefully close the door and put a cover on the crate. Then, she screams and barks anywhere between 10-60 minutes before she settles down and naps. The more she is over her limit, the longer it seems to take her to settle. 

When I first started doing this, I wasn't sure if she was barking to let me know she had to potty so I mistakenly would let her go potty. Now, I've realized she is just being a giant, protesting baby. So I always take her to potty before crate time and have been completely ignoring the screams. I am wondering if I am doing this correctly. I feel "bad" that I have to forcefully close the door on her but there is nooo way she is staying otherwise- or is there? 

We play crate games 3x a day and she doesn't care about going in and out. She is fed in the crate, although when I put the food down and close the door, she'll immediately look to get out, before remembering she wants food. I would like to keep the door closed during feeding because we feed raw and if I don't close the door she'll drag the chunks of food out and eat it on the carpet instead. Maybe the closed door is the problem? At night, she sleeps 8-10 hours in the crate no problems. We use a Snuggle Puppy with a heartbeat that she loves. When she does wake up from a nap or in the morning, her default will be to chew on her duck foot or pig ear, before letting us know she needs to potty. 

Is there something I can do to let her know "it's time to calm down" other than forced crate time? Will the blood-curling screams get shorter in duration as time goes on? Is this normal behaviour? Am I missing anything? How do I teach her to chew as a way of self-soothing instead of screaming until she gets tired? Is forced crate time the right way to deal with my puppy?


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Gorgeous baby, and looks like a ton of fun. It sounds like you are doing the right things, teaching structure, feeding in the crate, playtime etc. They develop phases when they just simply react like the way u described. 
What i have also noticed that while the structure is very important, because these babies are so smart they actually need sometimes a little tweak in their training to keep it challenging for them. I.e. start showing new places in the house for them. Hiding toys in different corners of the house and let them find them, eventually starting to hide the toys in the crate itself. 
With Miksa we also had to cover his crate for a while, otherwise he would be awake for every movement around him. That was a phase, not needed anymore, but maybe something to try too. Keep us updated and post pictures, love that pretty face.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

You might be inadvertently creating the behavior you are trying to solve now.

They are first and foremost velcro dogs, surely in the year or so you've been lurking and pondering you've gotten that. So, your "Sleeping exclusively" in her crate rule works against both natural instinct/temperament, as well as crate training generally. If you let her fall asleep on your lap, why not let her remain so at least some of the time? Putting her in the crate always when she falls asleep deprives them of their necessary "Lap time", so she avoids falling asleep and goes into hyper drive to avoid the separation from you. Then, when she gets in there, it's hard for you to distinguish the difference btwn a potty cry and a bratty cry.

Try readjusting the dynamic here so she gets lap time with you and doesn't associate the crate with abandonment or loneliness. And then try to get her in a fixed routine where she eats, pottys, plays, and has some crate time, so it's all predictable and based on schedule and not her activity or craziness level.


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## somewhereplace (Aug 20, 2018)

@gingerling You're right! Last night I tried what you suggested and gave her new places to explore (like our bed, she loved it so much) as well as tons of lap time and cuddles as she settled down. You could tell, she was so so happy. It made me happy too- after all this is the reason why I went with the Velcro Vizsla! She did not protest one bit when I put her in the crate to nap. Thank you for the reply and giving me a completely different perspective


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