# New Puppy - Night time crate help



## vonnie (Mar 1, 2017)

Hi all 
We finally got our pup last week. This is our first V, we had a weim before this. 
She seems to be settling in really well, toilet training and basic commands coming along nicely. She is almost 10 weeks old.

Im crate training her and she loves the crate so far - very happy to take her day time naps in there and is happy to just go in and out as she pleases. 
However i know that i might be expecting too much so soon, but night time is a whole different matter. 

Once its bed time she just wont settle. As soon as i close over the crate door she starts crying, howling, barking, clawing at the crate. 
It doesn't seem to be getting any better goes on for anything from 30 mins to 1 1/2 hours. We have left a little radio on near by her for some background noise, her crate is covered over with just some of the front exposed. 

Ive been ignoring her and just waiting it out till she settles but its so hard as she is keeping everyone in the house awake including the children. 

Our other dog ( schnauzer ) usually stays in the kitchen so our pup could see her/sense her etc. By the way our other dog hasn't taken too well to the new arrival she just doesn't want to know her at all...she is now taking her self off to sleep else where.. I know that this will take time, they are separated most of the time as she is just not interested in the pup at all. 

So i guess im looking for any help/suggestions as to how to help our pup to night to settle at night time.?? And how i can help our dog 'get along' with our new girl.
Again i know this wont happen over night ..... but would greatly appreciate any help. :smile


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## Brianbr13 (Aug 9, 2017)

We are new vizsla owners also and found that keeping the crate in the bedroom with us helped. We also tried to get him to sleep before putting him in the crate. We had a few nights of crying and the. He settled down and started sleeping through. Still struggling with the 8pm zoomies and sharkies but it seems to be getting better. Good luck.


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## Nash.the.vizsla (Sep 16, 2017)

We are also new V owners and our pup is 5 months now. Having the crate in our bedroom definitely helped. If we've learned anything about this breed it is that the "Velcro dog" is a very real thing. We also picked up a white noise machine with a heartbeat option which seemed to settle him down much quicker. You could try putting an old tshirt you have worn in the crate with your pup as well. Good luck!


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## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

Her crate is in our room and I would put her crate on my nightstand so she could see me still. (We used an old plastic one that was for our beagles so it was a lot smaller). Now she actually sleeps in the bed, but she does begrudgingly sleep in her crate when we travel or if I really can't handle her in the bed on a particular night.


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## Olliethevizsla (Oct 24, 2017)

We have had our Ollie for 3 nights so far. The first two were very difficult. We at first had him in a large box right next to our bed. He woke up every hour crying, howling, jumping like crazy. My husband noticed he was sleeping great during the day on his bed in the living room so we decided to put a small metal baby gate up in a dormer in our room at night. Very similar to a crate. This worked amazing. I think it’s very important that he can see everything around him if he wakes up. He did still wake up maybe 4 or 5 times throughout the night but I simply said quiet in a firm but gentle way and when he got quiet, I gave him a firm good boy. He learned this pretty quickly after the second or third time saying it and by the fourth or fifth time he quickly settled back down. Keep in mind your baby may still need a potty break once or twice. We get up once halfway though the night with an alarm set and take him out, even if he is asleep. This helps so that he doesn’t think he can cry and get to go out each time. Good luck with your new puppy and enjoy!


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## TexasBirdDog (Aug 30, 2017)

I picked my pup up yesterday. Last night was rough. He woke up every 2 hours crying and howling. I had to break the rules and let him out. I don't want to do this because I don't want him thinking he can cry and get a response. However, my wife has to leave for work early sometimes and I can't have him crying throughout the night disturbing her. 

So, I had to get up, take him out to potty, then sit next to his crate until nodded off. Then I could sneak back to bed for a couple hours before he woke up and started the process over again.

I will try the blanket over the crate and see if that helps. I may even move his crate next to the bed. 

The good thing is he became super attached to me within a few hours. Way more than my wife. So, maybe letting him be closer at night will help and I won't have to break the rules to let him out when he cries.

I haven't had the sharkies or zoomies in full form yet. Just a couple glimpses of it. Last night he got a little hyper which I figured was good because he had only been home for a couple hours and was already started to feel comfortable. Even with my current dogs giving him a hard time. He's only nipped at my feet a couple times but with those sharp puppy teeth it's easy to react instantly with a "NO" or "OUCH". He responds to me snapping my fingers and looks at me almost every time. So, hopefully, he'll learn "NO" quickly.

I guess my point is...you're not alone in this. I'm a sleeper and enjoy sleeping in(for just an hour or two extra on weekends) and DO NOT enjoy waking up during the night. So it's especially challenging for me right now. Although, this is what I signed up for. I just hope he starts sleeping better soon and we get through the next few months quickly so he can sleep through the night without a potty break.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

At that age I take them out to potty, if they wakeup during the night.
It's straight out to potty, and then right back to the crate. No play, no sweet talk, just right back to the crate.
If you don't, you can get up to a mess. And very unhappy puppy covered in it.


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## TexasBirdDog (Aug 30, 2017)

texasred said:


> At that age I take them out to potty if they wake up during the night.
> It's straight out to potty, and then right back to the crate. No play, no sweet talk, just right back to the crate.
> If you don't, you can get up to a mess. And very unhappy puppy covered in it.


Yes, that's exactly what I've been doing. Out to potty then back to the crate. I sit there for a couple mins until he lays down. Then I sneak out.

Last night was much better. I woke up at 4am and let him out even though he wasn't whining. Then he slept the rest of the night. 

I just hope that wasn't a fluke and he goes back to waking up every two hours. I can easily handle waking up once a night to let him out, but 4 times a night is rough. I'm still recovering from that.


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## BethandRalph (Feb 18, 2018)

We have had Ralph for 5 days now and night times are challenging! The first night was pretty bad, barking, howling, crying and scratching. Although he settled after half an hour or so, a couple of hours later he did the same again. The next night was so horrendous. After over an hour of whining/crying/howling we eventually gave in and let him in the bed with us - we just wanted some sleep. We decided that we are going to let him sleep with us but in his bed on the floor next to us. The third night we tried this and it worked well he only woke up once to go to the toilet then went straight back to sleep. However, last night we done the same routine but he just wouldn't settle at all and kept waking up every 2 hours so once again we have had next to no sleep. He'll sleep for hours on our knee but as soon as its time for bed he wont settle. Any advice?


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## Virginiaboy (Feb 5, 2018)

With our prior pup who was 8 weeks when we got him, I had a hard crate (one u travel with) put on a table next to our bed. I kept my fingers in it so he could sense and feel me. Ultimately this dog ended up sleeping with us!! Our current pup is 13 weeks. He stayed with the breeder for an additional month of training/ bonding. He was somewhat used to his crate. He is now sleeping through the night in the crate. We plan to keep him there!

Make sure the pup is tired. Make it small for their size with a divider if necessary. During the day, shut the door so he gets used to being crated. Also many recommend a snuggle puppy that has the beating heartbeat for little pups. Hope this helps!


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