# Whining in crate at bedtime



## FergieFred (Jan 2, 2020)

Hi, we’ve had our little Fred for nearly 3 weeks now. He’s now 13 weeks old. We have had his crate in our dining room since day one as we’d felt we wanted to get into a routine we could stick to. He’s never really been happy at bedtime as getting him into his crate is something he just doesn’t like. At first he’d whine for a few minutes but then maybe only once more or not at all for the entire night (this was putting him in crate around 11.30/midnight and getting up with him at 5.15am. This last few nights he’s worse than he’s ever been. Taking half an hour to stop whining and whining several times through the night. We don’t know what to do, sticking to routine and letting him whine it out is not working


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## Sbmpw (Jul 16, 2019)

Loose the crate! My puppy hated it. He whined an barked most of the first two nights. I had him in the kitchen. Third night he got through to the dining room an was quiet all night. Forth night I gave him choice of bed or crate and access to both rooms. From that day onwards his bedtime routine is out for pee then treat in his bed, I shut the door and that’s it till morning! Listening to lots of people I do appreciate I’m lucky. He clearly hated the crate as I did! Good luck


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## Wendaka1969 (Sep 10, 2019)

Yes must admit my puppy didn't like the crate we used it for the first week then changed it to her bed which is in the kitchen. We never had a problem and she just settled no crying and just went to bed. Hope this helps


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## FergieFred (Jan 2, 2020)

Thanks for the comments. We’ve made progress the last few days. Losing the crate not something we wished to try as he’s chewing so much just now. Our breeder had said not to cover the crate but when we tried that (in desperation) it seems to have made a good difference. He’s now only crying for 5 mins at bedtime and most encouragingly has started to go into his crate of his own accord during the day at various times. He’s such a great wee dog we’re just happy that he’s getting more settled


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## Sbmpw (Jul 16, 2019)

That’s fantastic. Small steps an you’ll get there.


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## FergieFred (Jan 2, 2020)

Just an update, hope this helps anyone else who ends up having too many sleepless nights.....our pup has been great again this last week, so maybe just like humans/babies they can have their good times and tough times. We had started to panic about progress going backwards but hopefully it seems was maybe just a blip for a couple of nights. We’ve persevered with crate training and although he still cries a little at first, it’s only for about 5-10 mins again when putting to bed (around 11am). Some nights he has slept right though to 6.30/7am, the odd night still wakes up and whines for a few minutes - most of the time we think it’s just because he’s alone but if he whines during night for any longer than 5 mins we go down and take him out for his toilet. When we do get up during night, we had some helpful advice which was to stay quiet, don’t make a fuss of him...straight outside for toilet the straight back in house and into crate. If anyone is reading this because you’re having similar challenges, then I hope you also find that these things do improve and do not give up hope. I have found this forum to be a great place to learn what has worked for others. I also recognise that no 2 dogs will be identical so there isn’t always a magic solution. I think it’s trial and error, trying out other people’s top tips and then recognising what works best for you and your pup.


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## Ksa (Jan 4, 2020)

I think my pup thinks that when I cover her crate (or "den") with a sheet, that means it's time to sleep. Works perfectly at night, not so much during the day when I'm trying to get some things done!


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## Gaynor59 (Mar 27, 2017)

Ha ha , I can’t get anything done with Louis in the day , like a stalker , but he goes to bed about 10 and don’t go out until 9 .


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