crate training/whining through the night

Hmmmmm......Ours got pretty settled into a night routine after a few nights with us. But Loki came *somewhat* crate trained. Did you just get him? I would recommend keeping the crate near your bed, if you have, for a little while at least.

At 5 months, you should be getting close to the stage where you won't need to take him out to potty in the middle of the night. But, certainly by now you'll only need to take him out once. When you do take him out to potty, make sure you take him out on a leash so he doesn't play and don't give him any attention whatsoever. As soon as he does his business, take him right back into crate.

I'm also going to assume you've gone through the crate training routine and don't just stick him in there at night when he doesn't usually spend any time in the crate without having been acclimated to it first. I also assume you pay him no attention when he is whining/barking. If you do, this will only encourage/condition him to whine more.

I'm not sure what other advice to give! Good Luck!

Well my V is 6 months old and WILL NOT TOLLERATE the crate! Not for 20 minutes! It is overwhelming and my crap luck as I can not leave this dog alone or him will DESTROY the house and is not too bright at keeping himself safe either. He dug through the plastic pan that slid in and out of the crate. Then he put figured he could put his legs through the bottom and travel the house! . He doesn't stop whining, barking or chewing his way through the wire enclosement. Sigh. He has pulled his nails off scratching the door, pulled his teeth out trying to eat his way out. We assume he has SERIOUS separation issues but does it even when he is in the room touching the same chair we are sitting in. If we tie him to the recliner he chews through his leash, harness of chair. If we let him roam the house he is all over us and has cause some serious accidents and hurt us physically with his jumping and tripping us and hitting us in the eyes and face with his paws, 24/7. So if crate training fails, what else is there? ???

Vizsla D
I would seriously consider a kennel and run outside for when you can't watch him closely. You'd have to do it slowly to get him used to the cold. A good insulated doghouse with lots of blankets and a door flap should be plenty warm. When he gets older and over the chewing stage there are floor warmers that really help keep them warm. I don't mean to put him there and leave him, they still need to be walked and played with and taught, but it might reduce everyones stress.

I don't know how this would affect the separation issues, but if everyone is stressed out about the dog, then he is stressed out too and they seem to get in more trouble when they are stressed or bored. Getting plenty of exercise is very important to these dogs too.

If you can watch the dog whisperer, you can get quite a few tips that really work for some of these issues. We've had jumping problems and cat problems that have gotten better with some of his techniques.

Hope this helps and doesn't sound too cruel.