We have a rescued 1 year old poodle that sleeps in a crate next to our bed, as we are trying to housebreak him. He will not stop crying. It has been two days. How do we get our dog to sleep, so that we too can get some sleep?

From what kind of condition did you rescue him ? This may have a bearing on his settling in with you.

At one year old, was he not already house trained ? Did you give him a chance to show you that he was ? I know a lot of questions, but if you give us more background we can probably help you through this.

Looking forward to your input.

Tick

He was pretty neglected his first year. We were told he was familiar with his crate, but that is obviously not that case. He has a lot of problems because of his history, but its hard to deal with them sleep-deprived!

I guess they said anything to make you take him; but he will be a lovely pet with care. Is he standard bred poodle or a mix ? Really doesn't matter, its just that we have a dog expert here 'shaz' who I think breeds poodles.

I guess you will have to be sleep deprived unless you want him in bed with you. Just kidding, sort of gbenny. My dog sleeps at the foot of my bed. I have always had by dogs with me.

Are you absolutely positive he is not pretty well house trained, poodles can be pretty responsive; he probably just needs all the love and attention you can give him. This is the problem with foundlings, it is a case of just a lot of patience and reaping the rewards of your hard work with them.

Stay tuned though because you will hear from some other dog people we have around here, and you can weigh all your options that way.

Tick

Poodles certainly do have a way of working themselves into your bed.
I have a 1 year old who was supposed to be crated but has managed to wedge himself in between myself and my partner every night stealing all the blankets.

Having the crate next to your bed is a great idea, I do this when crate training puppies.
How close do you have it?
I put it right up against my bed so I can actually stick my fingers through the wire to comfort them through the night.
It can be a scary and confusing experience for them so you need to make sure they are comfortable.

If he seems to be settling into your home well in other respects then it would be OK to give him a little "uh-uh-no" when he cries at night.
But if he is skittish or timid towards you I would only use positive methods for now.

To make mine like the crate I use treats that they only get at bed time. Once I put them in they get the special treat, and eventually they just go in on their own waiting for their treat!

Covering the crate with a blanket is another good idea, it makes them feel more secure and creates more of a den environment than a cage. It can also trick them into sleeping in in the morning because their crate stays dark ;)