# One step forward, two steps back!



## Vivienne-the-Vizzy (Jan 16, 2014)

Hi All, 

In my previous post I mentioned we were finding it hard to settle Viv in to her crate when we left the house. 

Well ever since we have moved Miss Vivienne and her brother Selsig downstairs to the living room to sleep (in crate) we are having a lot of sleepless nights!! 

When Viv first arrived with us she slept/whined/barked a lot for the first few days. I slept downstairs during this time to keep Viv company and to settle her in to the new surroundings. 

This didn't seem to work, so after reading the 'puppy sleeping training' book we decided to move Viv upstairs into our room.

This worked well for over a week. I would wake Viv every 3-4 hours for a pee stop and she would run back to her crate and go back to sleep. 

After this success my partner and I decided to move both Selsig & Viv back downstairs as she was settling really well in to the house and her new routine. 

BUT...for the past four days Miss Vivienne has woken every two hours making the most awful whining/yelping & barking noises. I will only go downstairs when Viv has quietened down to let her out to the toilet. 

She will go back to sleep after she has been out but only to wake a couple of hours later. 

What are we doing wrong?? 

Should we move the crate into a different room? 

I would leave Viv to cry it out but I'm very conscious of the neighbours?! 

The living room is a bit cold, could this be a reason why Viv is unsettled? (Viv has a very warm & cozy crate).

We have tried covering the crate and leaving a radio in the room on a talk channel (very quietly). 

Selsig (Viv's brother) sleeps in a bed next to Viv's crate but that doesn't seem to help. 

Has anyone experienced anything similar? 

Kelly 😔


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## Naughtona (Dec 12, 2012)

My guess would be that Viv is not happy about not being close to you anymore. Even though she was not sleeping in the bed with you, having her crate in the bedroom meant she could still see you, hear you, etc. When we began crate training Penny we had her crate about a foot from the bed so that I could reach down and put my hand through the crate bars when she was restless or crying. We slowly moved the crate back to the corner of the bedroom (about 1-2 feet per night) and kept that arrangement for several months. Just recently we moved her into the living room, but as we live in an apartment, the living room and bedroom are right next to each other and Penny can see us still through the door. My suggestion would either be to move her crate back into your room at night for a couple more months or you may just have to let her cry it out until she gets used to it :-\


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## gem2304 (Mar 7, 2013)

I'm afraid I don't have any useful advice as I am currently in a similar situation to you.

For the first 3 nights of having Ted he 'slept' downstairs. He would sleep for a couple of hours and then cry and howl until we went to him. We tried not to tend to him while he was crying other than for toilet breaks but we drew the line after 3 hours of constant howling.

I asked for advice and was told he would settle better in our room so on the 4th night he moved into our room and has slept through (with toilet breaks) since then and we have had him 3 weeks now.

I am dreading moving him out of our room now though so I would be interested to hear peoples answers.

how old is Viv?


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

I think what you have to keep in mind is that all dogs are pack animals, and as such, they prefer to be with the rest of their pack (that's you).


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

Sorry I can't really help. We have had Penny for a month and the whole time we have had her sleeping in a different room. We figured it would be easier than trying to switch later and we use the same crate during the day when we are at work so we wanted her crated in the living room. 

Could it be that you have to go through the whole crate training exercise again now that it is in a new location?


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