How can we help him settle

[IJustGotHitByADeer]

DH and I have just moved into a new house with our chihuahua x (and our two cats). Since the move he's been very anxious which is entirely understandable, especially as he's always been a bit anxious. But now it's got to the point that he won't let us sleep. His bed is in his crate literally a foot away from our bed. He's fine being put in the crate and having the door closed while we're getting ready for bed, but the minute we actually get into bed he starts whimpering loudly and occasionally barking. I hate seeing him upset, and would also like to get some sleep soon. What can we do to help him feel safe and stop crying?

One option would be to put a blanket over the crate to make it feel like a den to him

Or wear an old T shirt for several days and/or but probably better every night then without washing it put it in the crate as a blanket for him to sleep with

Not something I've tried for dogs, but have tried similar for cats - could you try an adaptil collar/diffuser? I've used the feliway version for cats and it has seemed to work.

Otherwise maybe give a small treat, a chew maybe, just before you get into bed to try to associate bedtime with the reward.

Can he see you from the crate? If not, could you temporarily move it so he can see you, then if that works and he settles, gradually move it back to where it currently is.

Thanks, we can't find his blanket (probably still in a box) but I have another blanket I used to cover his crate and he settled fairly quickly. Will consider getting an adaptil plug in.

DH thinks he doesn't like the crate and is considering building him a nice cosy Wendy house