# Crate Regression at Night



## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

For the past 3 weeks we have been dealing with crate regression at night. Any time between 1 and 4 a.m. Pippa will wake up and whine and whine and whine. The whining can last for 1 hour or longer. As a note, Pippa has been working on crate-training since we brought her home at 7 1/2 weeks. I would say she was fully trained pretty quickly after some really hard nights. She has also been able to "hold it" and sleep through the night since about 9 weeks. She is now 15 months old.

She was diagnosed with a UTI about 4 weeks ago. The first night she cried I did come down to check on her - with a UTI diagnosis I was scared she needed to pee during the night. After I took her out to go, she laid down on her dog bed (outside her crate) and went right back to sleep (until 8 a.m.!) Since then, we'll have 2-3 nights of full night sleep and then a couple of nights in a row with the whining, etc. Since that first night, I have not gone down to let her out. 

She gets 2+ hours of exercise every day (off-leash, hiking, swimming, etc.). We train her for a couple of 10-15 minute periods throughout the day. She gets a chance to play with other dogs a couple of times a week. She is fully integrated into just about all aspects of our family. I realize that I have probably made some mistake along the way, but *please do not tell me she is bored.* (I will probably cry if you say that! )

We have tried adjusting the temperature of the room, leaving a t-shirt that smells like us in the crate, ignoring, etc. We already put a blanket over the top and make sure she has lots of comfy blankets inside her crate. I am almost at the point where we put a baby gate back up and leave her crate door open at night to see if she'll re-settle on her dog bed (outside the crate, etc.). Interestingly enough, she does not have any issues being in her crate during the day. Anyway, I'd love some advice about how to proceed and get us back to sleeping through the night. Thanks!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Where is the crate located?

Sam never cries unless left alone (unreasonably). Although he sleeps in bed with us these days, his crate is in our master, beside me. If we decide it's crate night for the boy he never complains. 

It does not depend on the amount of exercise, sometimes we just hang around all day and only go potty a few times, that's all. 

I guess Pippa's illness may play a significant role.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I wonder if it is worth giving her another course of antibiotics in case she still some intection and inflamation in her bladder?


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## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

*Datacan* Pippa sleeps in our kitchen/family room area. We have tried to move her crate into our bedroom before in the past and she has a hard time settling. I would be open to trying it again if it let us sleep through the night...

*Hotmischief*, I thought the same thing - that it could be her UTI. But last week we had our yearly check-up at the vet and everything checked out okay. So, I'm not sure.

She slept through the night last night no problems. She even slept through some coyotes howling at the moon that woke us humans up!! But this seems to be her pattern - 2-3 nights of good night sleep, and then a couple of nights where she is awake.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Hopefully you have broken the cycle...I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for you.

If not, why not try some Adaptil and see if that settles her down.


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## AKGInspiration (Aug 23, 2012)

Changing locations is a decent idea if the logistics of the house allow it. You just never know, she may be able to better handle being closer to you now that she is older.

Has she gone into heat yet? If not and she is coming up on it, this may account for some of the restlessness. I also agree with keeping a really close eye on the UTI thing. Does she go to the bathroom when you let her out. Maybe you could limit water intake before bed so she is as empty as possible. Also keep a close eye on the last couple outings to make sure she is indeed going potty. That way you know it can't be a potty issue and thus can ignore it if all UTI issues are clear too.

Hopefully it is just a phase, I am a firm believer in crates so please don't give up on that. Have you tried borrowing a bigger or smaller one to see if she is more comfortable in that? What kind of crate is it? My breeder suggests the plastic ones as they just seem to settle better in them. So we went with that with Luna and I do feel she prefers them to wires she has been in.


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