# HELP with crate training



## twinsruth (Apr 11, 2018)

Hello,

We just got our first Vizsla and he has been all in all a good boy. We have now had him for two weeks. He is still howling very loud in his crate at night. We ware him out before bed time and he will initially fall asleep easily but then wake up hours later freaking out. I let him out to potty then bring him straight back to his kennel. He then howls and cries for hours. We have tried having his kennel in our room, putting a blanket over his crate, sleeping by his kennel, feeding him in there, but he still is showing no progress. PLEASE help! Any suggestions or encouragement will help.

Thank you!


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## Najo (Feb 16, 2018)

Ugh, aggravating for sure. One thing we have always done is to ignore them completely and let them cry, eventually they will learn it does them no good. If they still need to go to the bathroom throughout the night just set a timer for every few hours, but never open the crate when they are crying, it has to be on your terms. Also put them in the crate during the day for a couple hours just to let them adjust to the separation, but again never get them when the are crying. Good luck, I hope it gets better soon!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

The screaming can be alternately maddening and heart breaking.

Let him CIO..keep him in the bedroom with you, cover part of it, try the night light on and see if any of that helps. Potty for a 10 week old is a couple times an hr,..even at nite... so beware the diff btwn a potty cry..always take him out for that..and a screaming cry.

If you stick to it, he'll settle..but you may have another couple weeks of sleepless nites.


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## Najo (Feb 16, 2018)

A 10 week old puppy should be sleeping through the night. There is absolutely no need to take a puppy out multiple times at night, let alone multiple times an hour. Get some sleep!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Najo said:


> A 10 week old puppy should be sleeping through the night. There is absolutely no need to take a puppy out multiple times at night, let alone multiple times an hour. Get some sleep!




Nope, sorry. 25 years Vizsla experience, too. Your mileage may vary, but typically a 10 week old cannot make it thru the entire nite, their bladder is just too small. In much the same way that a 10 week old cannot go 8 hrs. during the day without pottying, they cannot go that time at nite.

Some pups complain, others do not and just wet, but 10 weeks is too young to expect an all nighter.


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## Najo (Feb 16, 2018)

gingerling said:


> Najo said:
> 
> 
> > A 10 week old puppy should be sleeping through the night. There is absolutely no need to take a puppy out multiple times at night, let alone multiple times an hour. Get some sleep!
> ...


That statement was more accurate. Mileage may vary. But saying multiple times per hour at night is just too much. My 7 week old gets up twice a night and has yet to eliminate in his crate. And that has been my experience over 30 years with dogs, and any particular breed isn't that different.


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## vizlil (Aug 17, 2016)

Hello,
Congrats on getting your dog, super exciting. I crate trained our dog too until about 1year old when we saw no need in using it. what worked for us was that we associated a lot of fun acitivites with crate; I thought him the go to bed command, he learned pretty quickly that bed meant crate, I would offer him new toys when he would willingly go to his crate, we would NOT get him out of the crate when he was whiney, instead one of slept on the sofa close to the crate in the first few weeks and then gradually stopped doing that too. We used to crate our dog when we would go outside the house and then he would come out when we were home. It takes repetition and lots of praising, but it is worth it. Enjoy the first few months as it goes by so fast.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Najo said:


> That statement was more accurate. Mileage may vary. But saying multiple times per hour at night is just too much. My 7 week old gets up twice a night and has yet to eliminate in his crate. And that has been my experience over 30 years with dogs, and any particular breed isn't that different.


I don't doubt you believe your 7 week old can go basically 4 hrs at nite w/o going out, but physiology just won't support that. Their bladders and their control just isn't physiologically there, and if you do a simple search here you'll see years of posts where both experience and the advice is multiple times per hr for at least 11-12 weeks. 

My concern is that new V owners should be given advice which is reflective of and based on the experience of most, not just one, nothing at all personal.


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## lyra (Nov 2, 2012)

You may well be generally correct gingerling, you have more experience with dogs than I do, but our pup also only went out twice a night when we first got her at 8.5 weeks and within a couple of weeks I was only taking her out once a night. We never had any accidents.

I'm not sure even then what her requirement was as I took her out at my instigation (alarm clock) not hers. She slept in our room so she could have woken us if necessary. I think I gave up on the alarm clock about the 12-14 week stage and she went through the night.

Again, as you said gingerling, nothing personal, just chipping in with my small amount of experience.

With regards to the poster, there are lots of posts about this in the forum so worth having a search through. There are various things you can try but no magic answers. We were lucky in that our pup was pretty good about sleeping through the night (not prefect, but clearly better than some). She did sleep in our room though which is one of things that can help with a 'Velcro' breed like a Vizsla.


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## Najo (Feb 16, 2018)

Not personal at all. We have to do what's best for the pups. But if they can make it several hours or all night then think of your own health and get some rest. I dont just believe my 7 week old has made it through a couple nights, I have unequivocal evidence!


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## DarceyEJ (Jul 25, 2016)

Hi. I have a tip that could hopefully help. Try putting a massive blanket that covers the crate over the top and sides so he can't see out and it's pitch black. Also give him break through the night maybe about 5 ish try and let him out for a wee then gradually increase his time. Also check how much water he has before bed.


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## Betty (Apr 14, 2016)

Remember they are all different. I gave up on the crate training after getting little sleep for 7 weeks. Yes, he is still with me....but, he sleeps under the covers in my bed. Never an accident. He went into a crate in the car for almost a year, when I had to go somewhere. At 14 months he could be left home for 1-2 hours, I gradually increased that time, he has never chewed up anything when I was gone. He is now 2.5 years old and a great dog! Okay, say it, I gave in, he won!


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## mbolser (May 15, 2018)

Hi there,

My husband and I have 8 mo/o Vizsla's. We had this issue with our male too. First and foremost DO NOT PUT THE CRATE IN YOUR ROOM. We found that ours would whine or howl just hearing us move. We moved them to an empty bedroom across the hall and made it their space. We did have king size sheets covering their crates (until they began eating holes in it). It took a few weeks to adjust completely and occasionally Teddy will still wake us up howling to be let out (after 7-8 hours). Initially we were going in there everytime and correcting him, by say "No! Lay down!". Then we got really smart and purchased a amazon could cam for their room. This allows us to view them from the app and speak to them. When teddy howls now, all that I have to do is come on the camera and very calmly say "Teddy, no" and he will lay down and go back to sleep. Best of luck, it broke my heart for a very long time. And I still will get up at 5am to let the out to pee and put them in bed with me.


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