Border Collie puppy + crate struggles

Hey all,
I could really use some outside perspective because my brain is fried and I honestly can’t tell anymore what’s normal vs what we might be messing up.

We adopted a Border Collie mix puppy about a month ago. Her age isn’t 100% clear (we were told 4–5 months), but we’re guessing she’s around 5 months now, since she still has her two upper baby teeth. She’s super smart, curious, and playful baby.

Shortly after coming home, she was diagnosed with Giardia and just finished her first 5 days of meds, so we’re still very much dealing with that.

Our vet initially advised us to sleep on the couch with her to help her feel safe while slowly building positive crate associations. Later, again on vet advice, we stopped letting her on the couch and moved her bed next to it, which actually worked pretty well. She mostly prefers sleeping on the floor anyway.

During the day, she goes in and out of the crate on her own and sometimes naps in it. At night though, it’s different. She can mostly sleep in the crate as long as we’re in the same room, but the moment we try to move back to the bedroom, things get hard. The vet suggested slowly increasing distance, but she gets really unsettled when we’re not nearby. Nights are inconsistent, and she often gets a weird energy boost late at night.

What were already doing:

Longer walks in the morning, shorter ones in the evening

Training and mental games during the day

Puzzle feeders/l icking mats

Trying to keep evenings low-key

Between the Giardia (lots of night potty breaks) and her still adjusting to a new home, I’m struggling to tell what’s normal and what we might be doing wrong.

Main questions:

• Are we pushing the crate too fast?
• How do you build a routine that actually helps a puppy rest?
• Should we pause crate-at-night expectations until she’s fully healthy?
• Or stick with structure even if it’s messy right now?
• And specifically for Border Collies: what helped you manage the herding instinct in a healthy way without overstimulating them?

Not expecting perfect sleep, just trying to set her up for success and not accidentally create anxiety.

Would really love to hear from anyone who’s dealt with crate training sensitive pups or Border Collies in general. Thank you so much!