It’s heartbreaking to hear your new puppy whine for the first time. The second time it’s troubling. But if a puppy is crying nonstop, especially in the middle of the night, you might start to second-guess your choice to bring your furry friend home.
Making sure your new dog is secure and comfortable begins with understanding whining or learning puppy language. Before you can find a solution for the noise, you must first identify the cause of the whining in puppies. Looking at the big picture, or taking into account the circumstances surrounding it, is necessary to comprehend your puppy’s whining. When you put your puppy in the dog crate after taking her outside to use the restroom, for instance, and she starts to cry right away, it’s probably just a temporary case of crate intolerance and nothing to worry about. But there’s no question that your puppy needs to go outside if she wakes up from a two-hour nap in her crate and begins to whine.
You can stop your dog’s whining during times of isolation by teaching her to adore her crate. Since the crate will serve as your puppy’s temporary residence in your home for a while, it must make her feel secure and content. Take your time getting your puppy acclimated to it. Your puppy’s “help, this place is scary” cries will go down if she has positive first experiences with the crate. Before you intend to crate your dog, give her plenty of time to explore the crate and engage in exhausting play sessions. Teach her that good things take place inside, such as her meals and toys filled with treats, so that she looks forward to spending time in the crate.
It can be tempting to place your puppy’s crate at the opposite end of the house from where they typically whine at night in order to reduce the disturbance. Unfortunately, doing so might lead to major potty training problems. The majority of young puppies can’t hold it all night, so if you can’t hear your puppy whining when she needs to go outside, she’ll be forced to soil inside her crate. This defeats the purpose of using a crate because puppies should never go potty in their den. If you keep your dog’s crate in your bedroom or very near it, you’ll be able to hear her when she needs a late-night bathroom break. Additionally, having someone nearby at night can lessen fear and loneliness whining
When she needs to go outside for a potty break, your dog may stop playing with you and whine, but if she’s doing that, an accident is about to happen. A young, energetic puppy that is running around requires more frequent exercise, perhaps every 30 to 45 minutes. Instead of waiting for a telltale whine, it is preferable to take initiative with your bathroom visits. You can estimate how frequently your crated puppy will need to go outside to relieve herself by taking her age in months and converting it to hours. Crated puppies can hold it for slightly longer periods of time. Consequently, a crated 10-week-old puppy can “hold it” for no more than two hours, and for a little bit longer at night.
Why don’t we recommend #1? Isn’t anything less kind of cruel?
Some people might believe that ignoring a whining puppy for a while is cruel, and maybe it is. But it appears that sometimes in order to be kind, we must also be a little cruel. Remember, this advice is not for puppies that are very young, sick, or very upset; what is crueler, anyway, is a lifetime of chronic stress, poorer health, and less joy, or a few minutes of mild stress on a few occasions. You can decide what constitutes “very upset,” but you’ll know it when you hear it. It should only take a few times for them to realize that whining is ineffective and stop, as long as you are doing your part to meet their needs before they begin to complain (see How to prevent whining).
The act of doing or giving an animal something they like right after a behavior makes that behavior more likely to happen again. This is known as positive reinforcement. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to deliberately only do this for desired behaviors. If a puppy cries and you ignore them by saying, “Oh, puppy, it’s ok,” “BOOM – Puppy just received what they desired, your attention, and was rewarded for whining.” It’s understandable that your goal was to demonstrate compassion and prevent the puppy from feeling lonely. But in fact, you were fostering their anxiety, and just like any habit, the neurological pathway for that behavior gets stronger with each repetition. The puppy would have discovered that whining got them nowhere if you hadn’t responded.
A whiny puppy will likely grow up to be a whiny adult and, possibly, have full-blown separation anxiety, which is miserable for both the dog and the owner. In addition to damaging furniture, cages, doors, gatherings, and vacations, dogs with severe separation anxiety may also hurt themselves. Your best-case scenario in this scenario is a significant decrease in everyone’s quality of life and endless hours of behavior modification.
Fortunately, puppies are incredibly simple to train and can pick up new skills after just a few repetitions. You can prevent your puppy from picking up whiny behaviors by following the advice in this article, which will benefit them for the rest of their lives. And whether you are dealing with a single puppy or an entire litter, this is true.
Your first line of defense is to prevent these conditions whenever possible because, in addition to the urgent reasons mentioned above, puppies will whine when they are teething, hungry, thirsty, bored, lonely, too hot or cold, stressed, or need to relieve themselves.
The advice is the same even when one or two troublemakers in a litter are responsible for the majority of the whining. Although you may feel that making the quiet puppies wait for their noisy siblings to calm down is unfair, fear not. Even though someone else is at fault, the quiet puppies are still learning that whining doesn’t solve problems. Additionally, they are learning how to control themselves and be patient around nervous animals or frustrating situations.
Teething
puppies can enjoy chewing on a raw bone as young as three weeks old.
Similar to human newborns, a puppy’s teeth will begin pressing against his gums around two to three weeks of age and this can be uncomfortable. Your puppies may appear noticeably whinier during those few days even though it only takes a few for it to break through. Although their chewing abilities are still fairly primitive, you can still give them toys to chew on. You can roll a wet rag into a “tube” and freeze it. Softer toys may give them some relief. There isn’t much you can do for the poor little things, but they all have to go through it because the time frame is so short. Their mother, however, might require some relief from those sharp teeth. Make sure to provide Mom with a location where she can retreat and enjoy some alone time.
Puppies begin losing their baby teeth between the ages of 4 and 8 months. It’s normal to discover them on the floor or trapped inside a toy. Often, they will just swallow them. Give your puppy plenty of chew toys, such as Kongs, that are strong but have some rubbery give. You can up your game by giving your puppy all of its food in a chew toy. Step it up again by freezing the food inside. Although it will take longer for them to finish and get in some quality gnawing time, this will feel good on their sore gums. As a puppy, everything is a chew toy, so it’s crucial to prevent them from getting the chance to chew on the wrong things. Put your puppy in a puppy-safe enclosure with lots of chew toys if you can’t watch them all the time.
Hungry or Thirsty
Your only challenge will be keeping the bowls full if your puppies have free access to food and water, which can be more difficult than it sounds. Puppies constantly play with their food, water, and tip-over bowls. A bowl that cannot be knocked over or one that can be mounted to the side of a cage or pen are your best bets.
You’ll need to give your puppy food before they begin whining if you restrict their access to food and water, which can be useful for potty training and other types of training. As a result, you might need to get up earlier than your puppy or buy an automatic feeder/waterer. Make the arrival of food and water as quiet and uninspiring as you can if you’re not prepared to “deal” with your puppy when they awaken but you still need to feed them. Your puppy might get excited when they hear dry food hitting a metal bowl because it becomes a familiar sound. Prepare food the previous evening, grease any squeaky doors, and stay away from the noisy areas of the floor. Low-light conditions, no talking or staring at your puppy Just put the food and water down and leave. You probably waited too long if your puppy starts to act crazy as you approach with food. Refer to the section below on how to stop current whiny behavior in this situation.
Bored
Puppies are similar to the living robot Johnny Five from the 1986 film Short Circuit. They need input. The socialization period of your puppy (between 3 and 16 weeks) is an ideal time for novel experiences. Puppies are especially receptive to new experiences because they will encounter nearly everything that is safe during that time in the wild. This is both an opportunity and a challenge to gradually and safely introduce them to new sights, sounds, smells, textures, people, places, and animals each day.
Use your best judgment when engaging in new experiences; some may call for supervision while others won’t. You should usually introduce new stimulation about halfway between naps because puppies are frequently overly energetic when they first wake up and too tired just before sleeping. A new experience can be as straightforward as the appearance of a new object in the space, such as a chair, bicycle, ladder, mirror, statue, broom, unplugged vacuum (a great first step to desensitization), pet carrier, etc. You could even simply relocate that item the following day to make it the “new” thing. Cardboard boxes are great. They can be connected together, chewed, climbed on, have holes cut into them, etc. You can expose puppies to new sounds for about an hour each day. This can include listening to music, watching TV, listening to podcasts, or playing animal-specific desensitization sound tracks (for more information, visit our Desensitizing Sound Library). Rotate the toys in and out, adding new ones and removing old ones. Sprinklers and shallow pools of water (I use a plastic sled) amuse puppies while also acclimating them to water. Taking your puppy to new locations will depend on their vaccination status (check with your veterinarian or foster coordinator), but even carrying them to a new room in your home and letting them eventually explore counts as a new location. Do this right after your puppy has gone potty. This area may expand to include friends’ homes, pet-friendly businesses, public areas with little dog traffic, office buildings, etc. as their age and vaccinations accumulate. Additionally, you won’t be able to prevent uninvited guests from approaching and petting your dog. Positive reinforcement training is always a great way to occupy your puppy’s mind, impart useful knowledge, foster a close bond, and exhaust them more quickly than any play session.
The best time to use food-stuffed toys is when you want your puppy to calm down, such as in the morning when you need to make coffee first. The toys will last longer if you freeze them, but some puppies get discouraged and give up. There are tons of ideas and recipes online. Although it is a little messier because they will tear it up, an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll makes a good, free food stuffer.
The best time to use food-stuffed toys is when you want your puppy to calm down, such as in the morning when you need to make coffee first. The toys will last longer if you freeze them, but some puppies get discouraged and give up. There are tons of ideas and recipes online. Although it is a little messier because they will tear it up, an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll makes a good, free food stuffer.
Lonely
Even a litter of puppies can get lonely. For thousands of years, humans have carefully bred dogs to enjoy and even require our company. Therefore, make sure to show your puppy affection and attention, but only when it fits into your schedule. Additionally, being able to pass the time productively is a useful skill because, let’s face it, the majority of dogs are left at home alone while their owners are at work, so they must learn how to amuse themselves.
Try to simulate a typical work day if you are fortunate enough to be able to take time off of work when you get a new puppy. Your puppy will be confused and upset by the abrupt change if you spend two weeks cuddling, training, and playing with your puppy nonstop before going back to work. Start your day as usual, take your puppy for a walk, engage in some training, and then put him in his long-term confinement area (a puppy safe pen or a small room with a bed, bathroom, small play area, and water), along with a few new toys and a chew toy filled with food. Begin with brief periods of time (30–60 minutes) when you are in the room working, cleaning, or watching TV. but avoid paying your puppy any attention, especially eye contact. If your puppy starts to whine, leave the room and come back when they stop. Allow your puppy to go outside for a potty break, additional training, and playtime for 30 to 60 minutes, and then bring them back inside to the confinement area with another chew toy filled with food. Increase your puppy’s “alone time” gradually, even starting to leave the room or house, but do not increase your “you” time. (Incidentally, for at least the first month, all of your puppy’s food should come from your hand or a chew toy.) Continue doing this until they are ‘alone’ throughout an ordinary workday. You can still help your puppy get ready for your absence even if you only have a weekend before returning to work. You will be doing both yourself and your puppy a huge favor if you can afford to hire a dog walker to let your puppy out during the day, at least for a few months.
Nights can be particularly lonely for a puppy who has recently lost contact with his littermates. Sometimes keeping the crate in your bedroom alone is enough to make them feel secure. For a few nights, you might have to sleep next to the crate while comforting the animal occasionally and working to keep them inside as much as you can. Play some relaxing music, nature sounds like crickets, or a heartbeat recording (check out our Calming Music Library). Check on your puppy after two hours if they can go three hours without whining. It might help to give them a toy or raw bone that is filled with food when they are put away, in the middle of the night, or right before they wake up. Bring some Snuggle Buddies (towels or blankets) to rub on your puppy’s siblings and/or mother when you pick up your puppy from the shelter or breeder. This gives them a comforting, recognizable scent to keep them company while they are by themselves. Bring several Buddies so you have backups in case one needs to be washed. To keep them clean, only give them to your puppy when you want him to calm down. However, if you anticipate when they might feel lonely and take action in advance, eventually they will learn to be content when they are by themselves. Leaving the warm, soft, breathing bodies of their littermates can cause a major culture shock.
Too Hot or Cold
The ideal temperature range for a puppy can change with age, size, and coat type (fluffy vs. flat). When they were about two weeks old, my June-born cattle dog mix litter began whining in the middle of the day. They were very dispersed, which is unusual for children that age and a sign that they were overheating. They immediately quieted down after I cleaned them off with a wet towel. When it was below 60°F outside, even at nine weeks old, the pitbull puppies I fostered in the winter had very thin, flat coats and shivered immediately. They will inform you of their preferred temperature range if you pay attention.
BE AWARE: Puppies younger than about 4 weeks old are unable to control their body temperatures, so if they group tightly together they may feel cold and if they spread out they may feel hot. People frequently worry that puppies will be too cold but unintentionally overheat them, which can be fatal. Whenever you provide temperature control, MAKE SURE THEY CAN ESCAPE TO A WARMER/COOLER AREA. It’s a good idea to place a puppy-safe thermometer in or close to their enclosure.
A wet towel can be frozen to provide a secure cooling source if they are too hot. You might try placing a cold pack in their enclosure that is towel-wrapped, but be careful because the mother or puppies might chew on it and some cold packs are toxic. Another option is to freeze a 2-liter bottle of water, but once more, proceed with caution. Hot puppies can be cooled off with a fan, but make sure they can get away from the wind.
A heat lamp or heating pad on one side of the enclosure is a good idea if they are too cold, but make sure mom and the puppies can’t get to the lamp, pad, or electrical cords. Although effective, a space heater outside the enclosure is a little less effective for delivery.
*Make certain that all electrical cables and equipment are out of the way I heard a tale about a family’s home catching fire after their puppy bit an electrical cord.
Stressed
For a puppy, certain situations—such as being confined to a crate, riding in a car, or taking a bath—can be very stressful. Puppies may be required to confront these situations suddenly (e. g. trips to the vet on short notice, the urgent need for a bath, etc. ), so it is good to plan ahead. When you consider things from the viewpoint of a puppy, you can see why they might not like them. Consider a puppy getting a bath. The puppy is lowered into a strange-smelling, sounding tub; the water feels strange and gets in their ears and up their nose; the floor may be slippery; the smell and sound of the soap is new; the way you massage their body is different; they have no idea how long it will last; and at some point during the process, they may be too hot or too cold. When you consider it, an alien abduction isn’t that far off.
Desensitizing puppies to crates is easy…just add crates!
To help your puppy get used to something that might otherwise be stressful, take things slowly. Waiting until your puppy smells bad or until you have to take them to the veterinarian Introduce new experiences to them as soon as possible, preferably before 16 weeks. Until your puppy exhibits no fear, it is best to use brief but frequent exposure sessions lasting anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes, 1-3 times per day, 3-5 times per week, and lots of tasty rewards. Stopping just before your puppy is “over it” is always a good idea, though it can be challenging. It is very simple to push too hard and too quickly. When your puppy displays no fear during the previous step, wait before moving on to the next step. You want every session to be, at the very least, a pleasant one with plenty of treats.
For instance, here’s how to accustom your puppy to baths. Your puppy should first be placed in the bathtub without any water and given a lot of treats before being removed just as he is about to leave. The next step is to place the puppy in the tub, turn on the water for one second, and then treat, treat, treat him. This will make the puppy want to jump back in the tub or at the very least make him think, “huh, I get delicious things in there!” Repeat until your puppy shows no fear of the water. Run the water again for a few seconds, then treat, treat, treat. Then try getting his feet wet and treat, treat, treat. And so on. Start out by simply sitting in the car with your puppy on your lap while the engine is off for car rides. Drive 20 feet, a mile, and so on while still having the engine running while dispensing treats along the way. In the car, having a helper is beneficial and essential.
A product called Adaptil contains pheromones that are comparable to those released by the mother of the nursing puppy and can have a calming effect. Spray this in the tub, car, crate etc. just before you begin.
Need to Eliminate
This usually only becomes a problem if you are crate training your dog and their crate lacks a potty area. Let your puppy out before they need to go to the bathroom. Set a timer if you need to. Puppies will need to go potty right away after waking up, right when playtime starts (lots of bladder jostling), and right after eating or drinking. ok, almost all the time. A puppy’s bladder capacity is approximately 45 minutes at 3 weeks, 75 minutes at 8 weeks, 90 minutes at 12 weeks, and 120 minutes at 18 weeks.
For potty training, I personally prefer to place the puppies in a secure, long-term confinement area that is enclosed by a wire pen and has space for a bed, toilet (pee pads, tray of pine pellets, etc.), and toilet. ), play area, food and water. They have everything they require in a secure environment where they can be left alone. Since they have the option to use an indoor potty, this situation may slow down training to eliminate outside, but it will make your life and your puppy’s life much easier, and raising a puppy is hard enough, am I right? They are still learning that the bathroom isn’t…everywhere. Just give them a small bedroom with a bathroom and access to water for the night. This will lead to much more dependable bathroom use and simpler morning cleanup.
NOTE: Puppies will naturally move away from their sleeping area to eliminate in order to keep their den tidy. At two weeks old, I start giving my foster litters access to a potty (they won’t use it yet, but it helps them get used to its smell and presence), and after about three to four weeks, they will begin using it on their own without any prompting. They practically potty train themselves if given the right setup. However, if your puppy was raised in an environment without a designated potty area and stepping in their messes frequently, they will be more difficult to potty train (though not impossible).
How to stop a puppy from whining (and why your furry friend may be upset)
Your new puppy has arrived from the shelter; you’ve set up their new bed and given them some new toys. However, your puppy is now wailing nonstop, leaving you confused and a little sleep deprived. Consider it this way: Puppies are essentially tiny babies who require care, attention, and some firm training. Next, let’s examine some of the typical causes of a puppy’s whining before looking at ways to stop it. Contents.
Three ways to respond to whining puppies
Respond immediately, every time (not recommended)
This is the fastest and easiest way to stop your puppy’s whining, however it reinforces whining as an effective tool to get your attention, making it more like to occur and persist into adulthood.
Respond immediately, special cases only (recommended only when necessary)
Sometimes you need your puppy to be quiet immediately (baby sleeping, someone on the phone, driving you mad, etc.) Walk into your puppy’s room. Don’t talk to, look or smile at your puppy. Step into pen or let puppy out of crate. Stand still, arms folded, head turned away until your puppy stops seeking your attention. After a few seconds of quiet calmness, interact with your puppy.
Respond after a period of silence (recommended)
This method clearly communicates to your puppy that whining gets them nowhere and provides an opportunity for them to practice deescalating their stress response. If you can be consistent and persistent, your puppy will learn quickly and stop the habit of whining (assuming you are taking steps to prevent their need to whine). This method is explained in the last section How to stop existing whiny behavior
FAQ
How do I stop my puppy from whining?
Use dramatic body language to show your dog that her attention-seeking whining won’t be successful, such as turning away from her or crossing your arms across your chest. You must praise your dog for being quiet in addition to not rewarding whining behavior.
Why is my puppy whining all the time?
Your dog may be complaining because they need or want something from you, such as food, water, or a walk. Maybe the cat is sleeping in their bed or their favorite toy is stuck underneath the couch. As soon as you locate and resolve the issue, the complaining should stop.
Is it okay to ignore puppy whining?
The best course of action is to completely ignore your dog if he only whines for attention. When he is quiet and not making noises, give him the praise he deserves. Bear in mind that dogs are pack animals, and that they regard you as their pack leader. He may feel neglected if his pack leader isn’t paying him any attention.
How long does it take for a puppy to stop whining?
How long does a puppy cry at night? If your puppy spent the first week or so sleeping next to you and has since been moved into their permanent sleeping space, you should find that any nighttime crying will be short. Ten or fifteen minutes, possibly over the course of a few nights