# Still not sleeping (4 months) Please help!



## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

Penny is 4 months old. She goes into her crate at 10:30 without a peep, exhausted from a busy day of playing with other dogs, running, etc. Around 3 she woke us up to go out. After a quick potty break she went back into the crate where she whined for a min then settled and went back to sleep. Around 4am she woke up and cried in her crate until 6am, when she lost her voice. 

She is fine in the crate during the day. Three days a week she is in the crate during work hours with an hour walk/play in the morning and again in the afternoon. Twice a week she is at daycare where she runs like crazy and has tons of interactions with other dogs. Last night was after one of the daycare days so she should have been really worn out.

I am at my whits end with her. Sometimes she makes it until about 5am for that first potty break but I get up at 6:30 and haven't had a full nights sleep in months. 

Before bed we always make sure she has a little play and goes out. She isn't drinking water in the evening and it isn't a potty thing. She just wants to be with us. When I get up in the morning she promptly lies on her mat, the bed, the sofa (wherever I am) and she falls asleep and will rest until 7:30 when my husband gets up. I know she is tired but she is strong willed and has decided not to sleep in the crate after about 4am. 

*Is there anything we can do about this?* I had her in a crate in the livingroom but moved her to the bedroom in hopes that being near us would help her sleep. I am thinking of moving her back out of the bedroom so I can at least sleep through some of the whining. She isn't overly loud...just enough to let you know she is there and she isn't pleased with you for not cuddling her.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I know what this is like - we nearly moved to a hotel the first week, desperate for a nights sleep. 

This is just a suggestion but the mornings are very light now and that may be disturbing her. Make sure which ever room she is in is dark. Try covering her crate over with a dark sheet or blanket. If she is not in with you put the radio on low - radio 4, voices, not music!!!!

Another option would be to get an Adaptil infuser on ebay and plug that in. This really works and has a great calming effect.

Are you by any chance the Crowders that are coming on the Polo whizz this Saturday?

Good luck - hope you get a good nights sleep soon.


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## Lyndam (Aug 22, 2013)

I think I'd put her back in the living room. Ruby barked from 5/6 am right up to 8 months . One week I decided to let her know that wasn't on and she had to try to wait til 7 7.30 when we got up. 3 days of sitting on the bottom of the stairs and telling her to be quiet and there we go it worked. ( I do know the difference between her desperate noises and her bored noises) 
I think it also coincided with her being developmentally able to hold her wees . 
The point is habit is a great thing with them so we need to be very clear to let them know what we expect and only expect what they are capable of. Good luck and I have found that down the line things you thought wouldn't get better do!


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

hotmischief said:


> I know what this is like - we nearly moved to a hotel the first week, desperate for a nights sleep.
> 
> This is just a suggestion but the mornings are very light now and that may be disturbing her. Make sure which ever room she is in is dark. Try covering her crate over with a dark sheet or blanket. If she is not in with you put the radio on low - radio 4, voices, not music!!!!
> 
> ...


We are the Crowders that are coming to the Whiz on Saturday. Excited to meet you!


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

Lyndam said:


> 3 days of sitting on the bottom of the stairs and telling her to be quiet and there we go it worked. ( I do know the difference between her desperate noises and her bored noises)


Thanks, we will try the living room tonight. She definitely doesn't need to pee and her whines are calm (not desperate). She just whines and whines. We never let her out before 6:15am, which is the earliest I get up for work, as we don't want her to think that the whining works to get her out of the crate. It has been more than 3 weeks of this now. The crate is covered and the room is dark. 

Fingers crossed that moving her to the living room works. I can't believe she lost her voice she whines for so long.


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## Lyndam (Aug 22, 2013)

I also covered the crate when she was a little pup but I find now she is better waiting patiently on a light morning if she can see the room . I think it's a case of suck it and see.


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

UPDATE: so we tried the living room and she was worse than ever. Normally she makes a quiet whine. Enough to wake us and let us know that she is upset not to be cuddling. Last night it was full on barking and howling. Again, this was only early in the morning (5am) and she went down in her crate just fine at bedtime. The little devil snoozed until 8am after being let out of the crate and into bed after I got up to go to work. 

Penny has more willpower than is good for her.


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

I don't really know what would be best for you. 

Looking back, I realize our dog did very well with the crate training. 

When we brought her home I remember the breeder and the vet saying. Don't let her out at night even if she is crying or she will be training you! But then I also read a book that said, if your puppy cries to let you know she has to pee / poo while in the crate, take her out to the bathroom! I was so confused! 

So, we had her crate set up in the spare room, door shut, lights out. I think I left a TV on TBS or Disney channel (lots of talking shows ) with low volume. (that was either at bedtime or just when we left for the work day, can't remember exactly) We would put her to bed in her crate at night, approximately 8- 9pm. Then my husband would take to potty before he went to bed around 11p or 12a. During this time there is no talking or play, just out, do the business, a quiet / calm "good girl" and back in the crate. And the first couple of nights she woke up barking every two hours. We would take her to the bathroom and she would pee or poo EVERY time we took her outside! Then back in the crate and she would go to sleep for two hours. So, in my mind I felt that she is letting us know she has to GO. I don't want to IGNORE her and end up with her having an accident! To me that feels like a punishment. I did make sure that before we opened the bedroom door there was a few moments of silence first! If nothing else, it at least made me feel better in MY MIND, we were training her that she gets let out when she is quiet. 

So, the REAL progress started after someone told me about picking up the food and water around 6pm. We found she could sleep about four or five hours before waking up. 

And again even MORE progress when we incorporated picking up food and water with an hour long walk in the evening approx 6 or 7pm. Then last potty and bedtime around 9pm and she would sleep until 5am! That is 8 hours! But by this time she was probably close to 5 or 6 months old. 

So, was it all of the things we were doing? OR was it because she was getting OLDER?

Who the heck knows! 

But she continued to sleep in her crate and not in bed with us until she was approximately 9 or 10 months old! Now she loves sleeping in bed, but she will still sleep in her crate if we want her to!


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

OH, I forgot to add..

Ginger is now a year old and will go to bed at 9pm or even later if my husband is still up. And she will sleep until 7 or 8am. Depending on our alarms and work schedule.


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

Thanks mgl1900. 

I am at a loss but your post was helpful. If we. Took her out every two hours she would pee every time. I know she can hold it for about 5 hours because she regularly does that at night. It is the other three hours of sleep that I am missing that are the problem. Hopefully as she gets older this will fade. I feel like we. Are doing everything "right" but perhaps we can't put her in the bed at all in the morning until she learns not to whine at night. I really thought that letting her whine would teach her that whining doesn't work...but she has more willpower then I ever thought possible. Three + weeks of two hours of whining a night and I am starting to think she will never learn.


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## Odinbuddyboy (Feb 28, 2014)

My dog took to his crate pretty well. The first month was pretty ruff with him being away from his litter of 11! What saved my life was a heating pad under his bed...until he got bored one morning and started chewing on it . His kennel is now next to a heating vent where its nice and toasty. I also give him his most favorite treat in the world (Kong w/ peanut butter) in his kennel only. If your dog is not a chewer I would highly recommend getting a heating pad. I think you said your dog does OK in the crate during the day but if you didn't make sure your pup spends more time in the kennel. What helped me was leaving for 2 hours and when I came back I made sure not to make a big fuss about coming home. Odin slept through the night at 4 months. I do his last feeding at 630pm but we do give him access to his water at all times, we felt bad about him being thirsty. One of the hardest things for me was not going to Odin when he was crying...that was tough but it does pay off in the end. Invest in some nice earplugs and re-purpose them for mowing the lawn or loud activities!


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

UPDATE: Penny is now sleeping through the night. At the advice of the breeder we didn't let her out for the 3am potty break. She whined for no more than 5 minutes and then went to bed. We have had a week of sleeping through the night. I have no idea why this worked but I am not complaining. 

Thanks everyone.


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

Glad for you! 

Thank you for the update!


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