A whining puppy can be a very difficult thing to deal with and if you don’t stop a puppy from whining right away, it can become a lifelong problem for your dog.
Bringing a new puppy home can be such a delight. There is the car ride home, where he rests in your arms, unless you are driving, then there are the first few hours when your puppy sleeps at your feet and does all the cute puppy things. It is so wonderful but before you realize it, you are fast asleep and you wake up to a high and incessant whining.
Before you begin correcting the problem, it is important to understand why your puppy is whining. Basically, whining is a natural behavior and there are several reasons why your puppy could be whining, these are:
• For attention
• He is scared
• He is lonely
• Because of pain
• He is uncomfortable
• He needs to go to the bathroom
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In order to stop a puppy from whining, it is important to tackle the problem as soon as you can and to not let it go on since it can become a habit very quickly. Obviously, the first step to stop a puppy from whining is to figure out why your dog is whining. Make sure that he is not in any pain or that he doesn’t have to go outside. Also, check to see if he is comfortable. He should be clean and dry and his bedding should be as well.
Once you are sure that he is not whining for any other reason than for attention or loneliness, it is time to combat the whining itself.
First, if your puppy is whining at night, it is probably because he is lonely. Many new puppy owners will wrap an alarm clock into a warm blanket and place it into the puppy’s bed as a replacement for the missing heartbeat of his siblings and dam.
Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t but it does illustrate the importance the environment has when you are trying to stop a puppy from whining.
At night, you should always place your puppy in a crate with his own bedding. This serves two purposes, one it helps keep your puppy safe and secure and two, it helps with housetraining. Place the crate in your bedroom so your puppy can smell and hear you.
In the crate, provide him with a warm blanket and if the clock works, place one in there as well.
Before you put him in for the night, take him outside and play with him for a few minutes to tire him out. Many puppies will begin to whine because they are bored and want to play right when you want to sleep so by tiring him out, you can eliminate his boredom.
Once you have the environment set up, you need to follow a few rules.
1. Take your puppy out before he begins to whine: When your puppy starts to stir during the night, get up and take him right out so he doesn’t have to whine to be let out.
2. Ignore the undesired behavior: When your puppy is whining, it is important to make a quick assessment of the situation, i.e. is he whining because he needs to go out, and then ignore him if he is just whining for attention. This can be a difficult thing to perfect but eventually you will know when your puppy is whining for attention.
3. Don’t reward the behavior: If you want to stop a puppy from whining, don’t make the common mistake of rewarding the behavior in any way. Remember that rewards aren’t just food and even telling your puppy to be quiet can be a reward.
4. Wait until he is quiet: Finally, when your puppy is whining, especially in his crate, never let him out or acknowledge him until he is quiet. If you don’t, he will associate whining with getting something and will continue to do so. If you are walking up to the crate to let him out and he starts whining as you approach, turn your back to him and then wait until he stops before letting him out.
It’s not so difficult to stop a puppy from whining, but it can take time and it requires a lot of patience on your part to ensure that the problem is nipped in the bud.
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