# 8 week old puppy questions



## nyrangers10 (Jul 5, 2017)

New to the forum, hi everyone!

We fell in love with the Vizsla breed after dogsitting our Aunt's Vizsla a few years ago. When it came time for us to choose a puppy, we decided Vizsla would be perfect for us. We don't hunt, but are very active people (hiking, walking, running). We picked up 7 week old Alvie (short for Alvarez) on July 3rd.

We immediately started crate training her. I know this is expected, but she has cried almost all night both nights. So far the only things we've done are : keep her by our bed, give her a treat when we put her in the crate, pick her up and carry her to use the bathroom and then put her right back in. 

However she just cries and cries with no stopping once she is back in. I've read other forums, and plan on changing a few things like : coaxing her into her crate by herself with treats, only opening the door when she is quiet and then praising her for being quiet, and trying to put her in her crate when she naps with the door open. 

Today was her first time in the crate alone, and my MIL went after 2 hours to let her out and said she could hear her crying from outside our home. I plan on trying a kong with frozen peanut butter to help during these first few weeks. 

Are there any other tips for helping Alvie and us sleep better through the night? I don't mind getting up to let her out...it's just the constant whining. It frustrates us and breaks my heart at the same time. I've even laid down next to her crate and just put my fingers in and that usually settles her down. Is a kong at night suggested or should that only be a daytime treat?

Any advice is appreciated. I know we won't regret this choice because Alvie is a sweetheart already, but any help would be great!

Thanks! here is our girl : http://imgur.com/9wJSOsT


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

I slept on the floor right in front of the crate for 3 days.
This seemed to help as we have his crate in our bedroom.
I also left an old sweatshirt of mine that I wore lots in his crate
I used a frozen Kong too but only during the day
I think its a matter of time, eventually she will get it as long as you keep going
Our boy now sleeps with us at night and when its crate time during the day he runs to his crate knowing he is in for some cheese hahaha
Whatever works


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## nyrangers10 (Jul 5, 2017)

I didn't think of the sweatshirts. She does have a blanket that was with her littermates and mom. But I'll try the sweatshirt and kong during the day.

Thank you!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I do think all pups are different, Ruby wasn't crate trained, blankets on the floor in the kitchen, 2 nights and she was fine, Elvis was crate trained, but he had Ruby to keep him company in the lounge and he was fine from first night. I guess my experiences don't throw much light on your situation alas, but repetition and consistency whichever way you pursue should bring decent nights sleep eventually.


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## MakerCouple (May 8, 2017)

This is my first time posting. We just went through this. Our pup is 11 weeks old now. So here is how we approached crate training, not sure if it's right, I'm not very experienced. This is my first puppy (every other dog I had was an older rescue) and my first V.

Ruby sleeps in our bedroom in a crate next to my bed. We got one of those foldable fabric ones. We started by practicing with her throughout the day, putting tiniest bits of lunch meat in the crate and luring her in. Once that was established, I would lure her into a down position in the crate and mark it and reward. The next level I only treated her when she was in a down position and put her head down on her feet. So this taught her the position I wanted her in in the crate. 

Next I did put my worn undershirts in the crate with her each night. 

At bed time, I would lure her in and right to the down position. I would reward her for staying in that position (without a verbal queue) while I zipped the crate closed (she hated the zipper). Finally I would lay down in front of the crate and just put my hand on it and talk to her. She would whine for just a few minutes and I would talk softly to her. This is embarrassing but I also started singing to her (very badly mind you) and she seemed to settle even faster. Once she fell asleep (10 minutes tops), I would climb into bed. This has been working great for us. 

My wife thinks it so funny (and sweet) that her 270lb husband lays on the floor and sings lullabies that he has no clue what the real words are. After 3 weeks, I still sing to her and I still improv the words every time. 

All pups are definitely different so your results might vary. 

There is also this stuffed animal you can get on Amazon that has a beating heart and heat pads to calm them in the crate. I thought it was pretty silly then I read some of the reviews and decided to try it out. It's Ruby's mortal enemy and instead of calming her, it makes her lose her mind and she just attacks the poor fellow. 

Also, my wife sleeps with a white noise machine because of my snoring so that may help but I'm not sure. 

We also go for a long walk around 10pm (bedtime at 11pm). 

I get up about 3 times a night with her (1am, 3am, and 5am). Each time she goes back in, I sing to her but I don't have to treat her except when I'm skippering it closed. 

Hope that helps. Since I'm only 3 weeks ahead of your little one, I'd be happy to help you "see into the futur" 




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## nyrangers10 (Jul 5, 2017)

That poor stuffed animal! haha. Last night was pretty rough too. That is until I laid down next to her and put my hands in the crate. She nuzzled up by them and slept 4 hours straight. I guess she just misses her littermates. I figure that helped everyone get some sleep finally, but from now on I'll try to climb into bed when she falls asleep. I'm also going to try the sweatshirt thing and see if it helps. 

Thanks! It's sort of good to know it can be tough for others as well.


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## dca (Jul 7, 2017)

We would take our baby V outside one hour before bedtime and play play play.
I also slept on the ground for the 1st two nights. 

This worked like a charm.


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## nyrangers10 (Jul 5, 2017)

Yeah we take her for a walk to the park and run around with her around 7 pm usually. We still are sleeping on the ground after her first potty break around 12 am. After we put her back she just cries and cries. Do you think we should just start ignoring her at this point because she will assume we will always sleep by her?


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## jean (Feb 17, 2015)

You could also try a warm/hot water bottle. We had daytime crate training trouble, and I liked the idea of the "heartbeat" stuffed animal, but it was over priced and also seemed soft enough to be unsafe for an unsupervised Vizsla (probably fine for nighttime). Instead, I filled a large nalgene with warm water and wrapped a sock around it to make it a little more cozy. I also put my fingers in the crate so he would know we were there.

Sometimes you have to wait a bit until they grow up. At seven weeks, the puppy is still a little baby.  Good luck!


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## jean (Feb 17, 2015)

MakerCouple said:


> I get up about 3 times a night with her (1am, 3am, and 5am). Each time she goes back in, I sing to her but I don't have to treat her except when I'm skippering it closed.


It is very nice of you to do that! I think by ~10 weeks once a night should be OK. Take her out as often as you want for as long as you want, but they should be able to sleep through the night at a relatively young age (~6 mo? Ours was much sooner but I don't want to generalize.) I say this mainly because we dog sit for a V who is 2 years old and goes out in the middle of the night every night (out of habit). It is a little annoying to dog sit for, but I feel bad that her owners interrupt their sleep most every night!


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## MakerCouple (May 8, 2017)

Thanks for the advice. This is our first puppy (we've always had adult dogs) and everything I had read was to take them out once an hour so I figured I was getting lucky with two hours of sleep. We had our first meeting with our trainer last week and he said the same thing, once should be fine. 

So after that meeting, we gave it a shot. She would wake up at those times and still whimper but all I had to do was sit in front of the crate and she would go back to sleep in about 90 seconds. 

We always exercised her around 8 (bedtime is 11) and I assumed that because she was always peeing when we took her out, that's what she needed but in my sleep induced zombie walk, I never noticed how much she was going or if she was just assuming the position. 

So at 12 weeks, we pick water up at 7pm, play and train, then bed time at 11pm. Wake up between 5 and 6:30 and have breakfast.

This is my first V and my first puppy and the wife and I couldn't be happier.













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