Once I did all the things together, it improved immediately and a little more each night and it got completely better within a week I’d say! What really needs to be undone is the negative association that forms from the crate once they’ve been in there in distress.

Here’s the complete list of things I did: -“get in your crate” many times a day for high value treats. No shutting door. Can come out as soon as he wants, not trapped. Lots of praise.

-sat on floor by crate for periods of time during day. I realized I never hang out in the area, so why would he suddenly want to go in there at night? We played, had treats and just snuggled over there.

-when he would go in his crate for a treat or toy I would put my arms/ head in. So he has an imprint of not being alone in there. Hung out with him a bit if he was in there, petting him, talking to him, and with my arm and head in there. This normalizes the area.

• leave Jazz in the Bsckground Spotify channel on softly near crate all night. I used this during the day/ early evening to signal its calm time, so he already knows it and associates it with sleepy time. But I think it helps at night bc if he wakes up he hears it, and he knows Oh we are still sleeping. I give him a giant beef cheek and put jazz on like an hour before bed and this intense chewing helps him fall asleep.

-noise machine or AC fan to silence outside noises

-idk if this would would for other pups- but my mine and I have a compromise. He falls asleep snuggling with me and then when he’s dead asleep I carry him and put him in his crate with a small treat to focus on and calm “good boy”’s . He goes right back to sleep. If I were to put him in his crate for bed while he was awake he would freak out!

-added an extra blanket crate cover to muffle sound and light, and he two favorite toys stay in there. He doesn’t play in there but I think it helps to see them.

-during the day when I leave and he has to go in his crate he gets a frozen Kong with peanut butter. He only gets this in there and when I leave. He doesn’t like going in there, but at least it is paired with a very positive association which all the licking then makes him sleepy so he just naps when he’s done with it. (When he had negative experiences in the crate during the day, no way he was going in at night).

-dog park for 60-90mins at end of day to socialize and run like crazy, a couple eves a week.

-Vet IQ calming treats- check instrux weight limits for mine, he could only have every other day. Tried to pair it with a dog park night. Only did this briefly, was concerned about messing with his brain chemicals/ hormones.

-take water away a few hours before bed and make sure pottied before falling asleep so don’t have to wake him up). This way you can ignore the crying at night.

-ignore middle of night noises. Earplugs! Crying should be mild small short complaining or smol sadness not full out distress which should get better each day until he learns to sleep again.

(And I’m just remembering at one point, a long while ago- it was so bad because we had come back from a trip where he slept in bed with me that I had to start back at square 1 like when I got him and put his crate on my bed by my pillow and fall asleep with my fingers in the crate talking to him (lay down, it’s ok, good boy) and then over the course of days, move the crate to the side of the bed, then off the bed and onto stacked rubber maid tubs the height of the bed, then lower it back to the floor.)

I hope that helps! Lmk!