Newly adopted dogs won't sleep at night

They are bothe very cute! I would think personally they are acting this way due to the stress of being in a new environment and with new people and new rules to learn. All I can say is have patience and get them on a regular routine for potty breaks..........G'Luck, and Welcome to the board!

EXERCISE, EXERCISE, EXERCISE!!!
 
I would run these two into the ground every single night before bed.  I mean really wear them out.  Then I would crate then in a quiet dark room, and don't go back into the room untill morning. 
 
You may have thrown there crate training off track allowing them to be out of the kennel the first nights. 

Are you crating together or seperately?  They should be apart for a while until you make sure they are settled into YOUR routine.  Rescue dogs can be confused by all the changes in routine and on top of that it's scary when they aren't getting very clear signals about what you expect from them.

Mic Foster had some very good advice.  For the crating, start them where their protests won't bother you.  I know little dogs can be very insistent!  []  Once they are comfortable in their new home and know what you want from them, you can gradually change their sleeping arrangements to something that suits you and their personalities.

I highly recommend some directed training - as much time seperately from each other as is practical for you.  Jot down a little schedule (so everyone in the house knows it and follows it too).  Feed at such a time, dog #1 walk at such a time, dog #2 walk at such a time, dog #1 quick training session, dog #2 quick training session and so on until bed time.  You only have to be strict on this about two weeks and then you can relax somewhat - but keep things regular for about the next three months or so.

As Mic Foster said, make evenings the most intense training times.  I highly recommend Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion by Deborah Wood.  In this very inexpensive and widely available book, the author details a step by step obedience training program geared specifically for small dogs (and their busy "parents"!), plus some advanced trick training to continue with.  I have a high-energy young Chinese crested and this book was a life saver.  I didn't know how to motivate a little dog and keep them confidently interacting with you.  What looks like sulkiness or laziness a lot of times is simply nervousness about our unconsciously dominant and scary body language.

Anyway, good luck with your two new friends!

Congratulations on your new kids! They are adorable!

A tired dog is a good dog. Mic's advice is wonderful. When we got our dog, Gracie she was such a pain! She would wake us up at all hours of the night wth whining and barking because she was lonely and/or bored. We started exercising her until she was exhausted just before bedtime and now she sleeps just fine through the night.

Thank you all for your great advice. We will try lots of exercise tonight before bed.

brookcove, we have been crating them together since they love to be around each other. We will try separate crating and see how that goes. Perhaps they really don't like sharing a "den". Why do you suggest walking them separately?

Thanks,
Anna

You are going to get an adverse reaction at first from these dogs when you seperate them, but that is ok.  It is important that you build independent relationships with each dog.

Ditto what Mic said!  These dogs are still relatively young and if you don't get them bonded to YOU rather than each other, you will have various problems throughout their lives.

It's really important that they understand their relationship to you rather than constantly interpreting it through their dominant or submissive buddy.  You'll know when you've accomplished this goal when you can give them seperate commands, such as letting them through the door one at a time, and they listen to you rather than follow each other.

Don't forget to let us know how things are going for you!!

We exercised them last night until they were exhausted, and at bedtime crated them separately in our kitchen. We all slept wonderfully! They went into their crates happily, and I did not hear a peep from them until morning.

Thanks everyone!

Yeah! Bichons are wonderful-I have a three year old bichon girl. She does sleep in my bed because she can't stand to be alone. But it seems like the seperate crating is working for you, so thats good.
 
Also, they may be crying to go to the bathroom at night, especialy since they are older dogs and cannot hold it as long. My dog will get up in the middle of the night and go potty in the basement on potty pads that i line up for her. Just a thought...
You may want to let them out to go potty if they cry, and then put them back in the crates.