Please can someone help me with a puppy who doesn't settle at night

[ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual]

Puppy is 10 weeks old and has been with us 10 days...I know it's very early days but I am starting to go mad with sleep deprivation. I'm not expecting her to sleep through the night but she wakes every hour.

She doesn't like the crate (we are working on this - crate games, meals in there etc) and is happiest when we're with her so we're sleeping on the sofa while she is in crate. When she wakes we shush (in earshot but not sight), which has some success, but she wakes repeatedly. After 2-3 hours of repeated waking I take outside to do a wee/poo then straight back in again and repeat. She doesn't need the toilet earlier than this - previously we took out every 1.5-2 hours, it made no difference to the waking and she wasn't 'desperate' to go.

She is impossible to settle again after around 5:15/5:30. So at the moment we're up every hour then start the day extremely early. It is killing me and I'm confused how to help her - we are in the same room as her giving reassurance, making sure she gets toilet breaks, we have a bedtime routine which she seems to respond well to, and she has a scented blanket and heartbeat sound, which she seems to like.

The reason we're trying to persevere with crate is because the advice seems to suggest dogs need a safe space. But I'm doubting if this is how she views it? She never chooses to sleep in there during the day, despite our work on crate games, staying nearby, feeding in there etc.

We don't want pup upstairs. I don't mind sleeping on sofa in these early weeks while she needs us nearby. I understand that, and I know she is still very tiny. But it's getting to the point where no-one, pup included, is getting enough sleep.

Am I missing something? Do I persevere with the crate/sleeping nearby? Another option is to take her out the crate and just have her sleeping by me on the sofa (in her bed on the floor right by me) but my worry is that this is what she'll always want - I'm trying to aim for giving reassurance now which can be gradually withdrawn as she gets more confident - i.e. sleeping by crate now then as she gets older the crate stays her familiar place but we start sleeping upstairs.

Remember, she's used to crying and nobody being visible so she's now excited to have you near her.

It can take weeks for a routine to work with an adult dog, let alone with a 10 week old puppy.

Just keep doing what you're doing, lots of reassurance and company for her. I would also try putting some of your worn clothing in the crate with her as well as a heartbeat toy for comfort.

I'd give up on the crate to be honest. Our dog has her bed that is her safe space, and the top of the stairs, and the back of the sofa...etc etc.

Also it will get better, it might not feel like it now, but when she can hold her pee in for the whole night it'll be easier.

ours likes to move around when she sleeps, she'll be in 2 or 3 places in the night. In her bed in our room, on our bed, in the corner.

Thank you everyone. I'll persevere.

One thing I'm not sure of is whether to keep the door open - this is my instinct, so she can come and go, and choose to be in there - but am I doing this wrong? And if she decides to sleep on the floor nearby, is that ok?

@needtonamechangeforthis1 She is in a crate, with a blanket over 3 sides (open at the front). Her bedding is a flat puppy pillow type thing. She has a scented blanket in there. We do have a pen but it's an octaganol playpen type thing and not big enough for the crate to go inside iyswim.

Let her out of the crate and be with you if she wants to. After speaking to a firefighter about what happens in a house fire with a crated dog downstairs I'd never make a dog sleep locked in a crate.

If you need to, maybe put a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs to mark out where she can and can't go, but dogs are sociable animals and puppies need to feel you close.

One thing I'm not sure of is whether to keep the door open - this is my instinct, so she can come and go, and choose to be in there - but am I doing this wrong? And if she decides to sleep on the floor nearby, is that ok?

She shouldn't be shut in her crate at all until she's been properly trained.

And it's worth remembering that not all dogs take to the crate. Ours hated it.

The only way you'll get away with shutting the door before they are properly crate trained is waiting for her to fall asleep and also being alert to the fact she wakes up. That's what we did and it worked well, and I crate trained alongside that during the day but it does require some good timing. As an agility judge, competitor and trainer it is important my dog learns to chill in a crate so it's an investment I am willing to make.

i know you don’t want her in your room but could you maybe put the crate in there while she’s so young and then move the crate out of it to transition her to downstairs as she gets older? So you’d move her to the landing after a couple of weeks, then downstairs? It’s all about building her confidence at this early stage.

if you have Facebook have a look on the dog training advice and support Facebook page and have a read of their guides around crate training and night times

Does the pen assemble in sections, or is it one unit? If it is in sections, you could zip tie one side of it to the crate and then bring it around and zip tie the other.

I would persevere with the crate. I had to take the cover off of ours, though. Even today, our puppy was overtired so she was whining in the crate. I sat beside the crate and put my hand up to the side and within 1½ minutes she decided that she was really tired after all.

Multiple dog owner/foster, the only time I've used a crate with pups is when there's been more than one.
It's very lonely for a tiny pup, tbh we treated them like a baby and cuddled them to sleep then popped into their bed next to me or made a wee safe place on bed for them. My dogs always have run of the house and always choose to be upstairs near us, they're part of the family. Crate training is useful for vets etc not a necessity.

How did it go last night?

Last night was definitely better - settled around 10:30, a bit of noise at 12:30 but settled again then out for wee/poo at 2:30 and 4:30 and settled after both of those (in crate, door open, us on sofa in eyesight) until around 6am and she only got up then because the dc came downstairs.

Dh was on duty though and I think he is a much calmer presence - I readily admit I'm so overtired and stressed at the moment that I'm probably emitting wired vibes. But last night felt like real progress and more in line with what we were expecting in the early weeks.

That's great!!!!
I would anticipate having a few more rough nights ahead but that's brilliant progress!

That's fantastic!! We did bed 10.30, toilet 02.15 and 05.45, up for the day at 06.30. Every time she sleeps in her crate without fuss is building her association with the crate being a good place.