# Still not sleeping through the night



## bertrand (May 17, 2017)

Hi,

Breeze is now 4 1/2 months old and she is still not sleeping through the night. We put her to bed around 9:30pm after getting her to go pee and poop just before putting her to bed, and yet she still needs to go at some point during the night. I am thinking that we should start ignoring her when she cries as I think she should be old enough to go through the night, but I thought I would seek some advice. Last time, I saw the vet I asked her about that and the answer was that with some dogs, they can be up to 6 months old before making it through the night.

Thoughts?

Thanks a lot in advance,
Bertrand.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

That's a lot of nights without getting to sleep straight through.
For nighttime potty, I don't speak to the pups.
Straight outside, they potty, and straight back to the crate.
Try it that way, if you haven't already, and see if it helps.

After 2 1/2 months, I think we would all be tempted to let her cry it out.
But I would feel bad, if I got up to a soiled crate.


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## pez999 (Apr 22, 2017)

Bandi has been like that. He is 6 months now and sleeps through the night but at 4 months there were many times he didn't. I'm not always home so when my parents watched him they'd always tell me about having to get up to take him out but I think that was because they let him drink up allll the water late at night and he wouldn't be able to hold it. I usually take away his water bowl like an hour or so before we go to bed and then make sure I take him out right before, I think that could help. 

I've also had times where he'd whine to go out and I was just too tired and thought he ought to hold it by then and he did and stopped whining, but that can be risky


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## MakerCouple (May 8, 2017)

Just sharing my experiences with our 3.5 month old. We would go to bed at 11pm, she would get up at 1am, 3am, and 5am and always at least pee. Our trainer suggested picking up the water at 7pm and that cut out the 3am pee. 

Then one night we fell asleep on the couch and she slept through the entire night and I was like, well if she can do that snuggled with me, she can do it in her crate. Now we are down to 1am and then up at 7am or 8am. 

The 1am still seems excessive to me so I've been doing exactly what texasred said, I put her leash and collar on as soon as she's out of the crate, we go down two flights of stairs with no talking, out to pee, the. Back upstairs and I take the leash and collar off inside her crate. All with no words. We just started that this week so we'll see. I don't completely mind the 1am wake up ( I usually have to go myself at that time) I just want to make sure I'm not being played a fool 


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## bertrand (May 17, 2017)

Thanks a lot for the responses. It sounds like Breeze isn't totally out of the norm, but one thing I will start to implement is to have as little interaction with her during the night as possible. If she needs to go pee, then I will let her out of her crate and back in and that's it. No cuddles or anything like that as I think she is starting to use the night time to get cuddles. 

I am definitely tempted to let her cry it out, but she has made a few nights without waking up, which leads me to believe that she cries when she needs it, which in turn makes me question whether I should let her cry or not. And yes, I can confirm that it is a lot of nights without sleeping. 

Thanks a lot for the help, I will try this out and see how it goes.


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## Luno2017 (Aug 9, 2017)

Wow, those must be exhausting nights .

I am a recent Vizsla, first time puppy owner . I am no expert but so far things have been going well , so I thought I would try to help.

Prior to getting my puppy , I've done a bit of reasearch .
I read a book called ,," Think like a dog " I bought it on Amazon.

I also watched quite a bit of videos on YouTube by Zack George about training your puppy.

You may find these helpful if you haven't looked into these resources.

I've had Luno for almost a week and he sleeps through the night in a crate next to my bed .
He will be 2 months on the 17th of August .

The first couple of nights when I brought him home I set my alarm to get up at 3 am to let him out but I noticed he didn't really want to go , but finally went. 
After two nights I decided to go the entire night and see what happens.

He did whimper a bit on night 3 and 4 around 3 am but I put my fingers in the crate ( so he could smell me ) and talked to him in a comforting voice , which seems to help and then he goes to bed . It took approx 2 -5 minutes of whining and then he was out for the night .
I never let him out of the crate , just talk to him in a soothing tone .

Last night , he slept the entire night without whimpering . 

He goes to bed between 10-10:30 pm and wakes up between 6-6:30 am
I don't force him into the crate 
I put some treats inside the crate and he goes in and comes out a few times . I play with him a bit and I put his favourite toy in the crate .
He eventually goes on his own and then I pet him for a bit ( while he's inside the crate ) and then I close the door of the crate . 
He does whine a bit but I don't let him out , just talk to him and he is quiet after a minute or two . 
I lay on my bed next to him so he feels safe . 

During the day , I make sure to take him out as much as possible . 
I don't use a timer .
Every time he drinks water or eats I take him out. 
I don't limit him to how much water he needs but I do feed him 3 times a day . 

Today he had no accidents all day for the first time ! 

I reward him with treats and lots of praises when he goes to the bathroom outside and if he has an odd accident I don't punish him . 
I use vinegar and water to clean my hardwood floors , in order to eliminate the odour. 

Just like babies , I am sure that not all Vizslas are the same and some may take longer than others, but keep repeating.

To summarize I would say the most important things are persistency, take him out during the day as much as possible and positive training including redirecting him to alternative solution if he's doing something that he shouldn't . Even if he has an accident and I noticed right away , I pick him up and bring him outside right after . 

I hope that will help a bit . 
Best of luck .


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## bertrand (May 17, 2017)

I can concur that, outside of a few exceptions, not being able to have a good night sleep is exhausting. 

Thanks a lot for the tips. One big difference is that Breeze doesn't sleep in our room. We made a conscious choice to have her sleep on the ground floor, while we sleep upstairs, which might be adding to our problems.

The last week has been a little better. We have changed Breeze's time to go to bed from 9:30pm to 10:30pm and it seems to have made a difference as she has slept through the night a couple of times. Yay!!!!!

Cheers,
B.



Luno2017 said:


> Wow, those must be exhausting nights .
> 
> I am a recent Vizsla, first time puppy owner . I am no expert but so far things have been going well , so I thought I would try to help.
> 
> ...


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## Luno2017 (Aug 9, 2017)

That is wonderful news ! It will get easier I am sure with having a later bed time .


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