[LilyandRufus]

After 3 months of waiting, our new Vizsla, Lily N. Paprika came home this weekend. Obviously, I am exhausted today, Has anyone else had major crying issues? We are working on putting her in a crate at night and she cried all night...would not stop. I talked to her, pet her through the crate, etc, but still just crieddd and cried. The good news is she is comforted by our weenie dog, Rufus and they love each other! See my picture below for some cute snuggling pups!

Any words of wisdom as we begin this journey?! We love her already, crying and all.

 

[Crazy Kian]

Patience. ... lots of it.

She will be fine, keep doing what you are doing.
I think we have all gone thru this with our pups.

 

[LilyandRufus]

I LOVE that picture of your dog splashing.

 

[Pineapple Princess]

Oh, the crying rips your heart out, doesn't it??? I asked for the same advice on here myself when we brought Hobie home. Unfortunately I cannot provide sage advice on the "night time crate", as we packed it in the first night and have let Hobie sleep with us ever since. I have no regrets on that, we LOVE snuggling with her and waking up with her. And she's in the crate (with a mid-day break) when we're at work so we don't feel as bad about being with her at night.

As far as the day time, the first week or so was so rough, and I even worked from home to crate train her in small blocks. I remember taking a conference call in my office, wondering how loud her screaming from the crate downstairs could be heard on the phone....

what seemed to help a little was keeping the crate very near me, and leaving the door open. And trying to let her go in on her own, which she didn't at first, but after a couple of days realizing that it was ok, she'd explore a LITTLE bit, and then go in there and snooze. But as soon as she'd wake up, if I had closed the crate door, it was a meltdown.

She didn't turn the corner until after we went back to work on our regular schedule and HAD to leave her in the crate until the pet sitter came at lunchtime. The first few days were bad, hearing her cry when I pulled out of the garage. I envisioned her crying for 4 hours. But the sitter said she was always sleeping when he got there.

It will get better. Be persistent, reward her going in there, make it a safe place. She may never love it but she will come to understand that it's part of her home.

 

[gunnr]

Very cute shot

You just get through it. She'll cry and fuss less and less, it takes a little while.
Where is Rufus when she is crying at nite? If he can be located somewhere near her at nite, but not in her crate, it might calm her down. She'll know he is there.

 

[LilyandRufus]

She seems to be getting more comfortable with her crate if the door is open and we are with her. Night is still a challenge, but I think she is doing better. Rufus is kennel trained and right next to her. I feel bad for him too. He is not getting much more sleep than the rest of us! This morning she scratched on the back door to get out to go to the bathroom, so I am feeling very ENCOURAGED by that! I want to cherish this time with her being tiny, but can't wait to see her grow up and be able to go on long walks and to the dog park! All in good time, I guess.

Thank you all for your insight. I am so glad I found these forums!

 

[vizslandobes]

Congratulations on your new puppy.
If you want her to sleep in the kennel at night, unfortunately you'll need to endure the crying. It's difficult, but it's best to just ignore. Petting her through the bars and talking to her is giving her positive reinforcement that crying is OK. Now, if she STOPS crying and scraeming then talking and petting is OK. You are reinforcing the behavior of being calm. The minute she starts screaming, the talking and petting stops.

Grady is finally learning to love his kennel. He used to RUN if he thought he was going in there. Now, he cares not too much

 

[fiona long]

bailey cried and cried and cried!!! we took advice from loads of people but found the best thing was to totally ignore her - it broke my heart but it worked EVENTUALLY!! at 7 months now she loves her crate and goes there for some peace and sleeps all night in it! i promise you'll get there its stressful but the crate is a godsend!!

 

[Ksperdute]

We have an 11 month V. He is crate trained and for the first few night he cried. We were told 2 things.1st up something in the crate that smelled like is and another . Wrap a warm 2liter bottle and a towel. That did the trick and now he loves his crate.