Crate Training and Sleeping at night

tmattison · May 31, 2020

We just got an eight week old French Bulldog puppy and are having trouble with her sleeping through the night. If we put her in her crate, she starts whining and won't sleep. Last night I had to sleep on the floor next to her so she would sleep. We have put away her water by 6:30 and made sure we play with her a lot during the day so she is more tired at night. Is there anything I can do to help her sleep better?

mattcantwin · Jun 1, 2020

Welcome.

Time for tough love; if you want her to stay in the crate you have to work through the whining.

In general, it will eventually stop when she realizes the whining does not gain "freedom"; but it's tough to do and 8 weeks is "relatively young".

By the way, did she fall asleep "quickly" when you lied down next to the crate?

lisamarie · Jun 1, 2020

We kennel trained our pups overnight & found that covering the kennel with a sheet or blanket worked good to help them fall asleep. Also at that age we got up midway thru the night or when they carried on to let them do their business.

As far as tiring them out...our male is a sleepaholic but he always tired out more with mental stimulation. Training him to sit, give high fives, speak, etc. in short intervals thru the day seemed to work better to wear him out than all the walks & zooming in the yard! Our female (10 months) is a bit trickier, we are still searching for a way to tire her out, lol.

They do both sleep in our bed now but will make a fuss to go out in the middle of the night.

Hope that may help[emoji3590]

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Jeffc · Jun 2, 2020

My wife had a special elevated bed made for ours with a ramp it’s situated next to our bed and a wall, and guess what? They both sleep in our bed lol.

Broadies Nani · Jun 3, 2020

Our Broadie also did not like the crate and we had never crated our pets. Our bad he sleeps with us every night... we don't mind

tmattison · Jun 3, 2020

We are still having some trouble with her sleeping in her crate. I think we will try having her sleep with us tonight. Hopefully that goes better!

Cbrugs · Jun 3, 2020

She's still just a baby and they will always whine and cry at that age in the crate. Do you crate at all during the day to get her used to it? Have you tried giving her treats or her food in there so she sees it is a good place? If you want her to be crate trained, consistency will be the key and not giving in when she whines.

tmattison · Jun 3, 2020

Yes, we have crate trained during the day. She does whine, but we make sure not to give in to the whining and let her out. We also give her treats if she goes in willingly and if she stops whining while in the crate. She is pretty good in her crate during the day and we have even left her in her crate to go run errands for a little while, but she doesn't want to sleep in there at night.

CaliFrenchie · Sep 6, 2020

We're in the same boat with our 9-week-old. He whines and resists going into the crate. Friends have emphasized how important it is to push through and be persistent with it, as it'll be worth it in the long run. I just feel so bad when he's crying!

I have found that if I wait until he's super tired at night before putting him in, I can get him back to sleep pretty quickly. I sit next to the crate, place my hand up next to the grate (so he can smell me, I guess) and repeat "Shhhhhh" like a human white noise machine. Ha! He usually falls asleep within 5 minutes. I'm hopeful that I won't need to do this for long. Feels like I have an infant in the house again. ;-)

olouttt · Sep 24, 2020

I didn't have my puppy in a crate at first - I crate trained him when he was 10 months old. Here you can find a review on how to choose a good crate https://petslifeguide.com/what-size-crate-for-pitbull/

At night, he had a place to sleep inside a puppy pen, and at the far end of pen, well away from his bed, he had newspapers. I didn't get up during the night at all (but he could get away from his bed if he was desperate for a wee). I kept the nights short (my partner would stay up late, and I'd get up early). We didn't have any trouble with his toilet training.

Bill Salazar · Mar 28, 2021

olouttt said:
I didn't have my puppy in a crate at first - I crate trained him when he was 10 months old. Here you can find a review on how to choose a good crate https://petslifeguide.com/what-size-crate-for-pitbull/

At night, he had a place to sleep inside a puppy pen, and at the far end of pen, well away from his bed and hooded burrito blanket, he had newspapers. I didn't get up during the night for shop at all (but he could get away from his bed if he was desperate for a wee). I kept the nights short (my partner would stay up late, and I'd get up early). We didn't have any trouble with his toilet training.

Thats a nice idea. I will follow this idea for my dog too. I was looking for something like this and you helped me. Thank you.

frenchiemomtx · May 28, 2021

Hi could have wrote this myself, my 11 week old french is the same. He does great during the day in his crate but it's still a struggle at night. Will be following for advice

Good luck and would love an update on how she does