brianoflee
01-04-2007, 02:02 AM
Hi all,
My fiancée and I just recently bought a chihuahua after having dog-sat one this summer, and realizing how much of a loving and affectionate a breed they are. We picked up Zeus from a local breeder at ~9 weeks old on December 21st. The breeder had cage-trained Zeus along with the rest of his litter, and so we had virtually no problems adapting that to our house. Every night before bed, Zeus is put next to his cage (placed in our bedroom) and goes in, most of the time, on his own accord (the door is then closed). Since we've had him (except for the first night, of course), he's been virtually silent all night long, and in most cases is able to sleep through the entire night without whining/having to go to the washroom. For the past three or four nights, however, he's started whining -- rather loudly -- both when we put him in his cage at night, and also if ever we make noise during the night (I usually get up in the middle of the night to head back to my house after ~3-4 hours -- this wakes him up and recently has caused him to whine loudly). He quiets himself after a few minutes, but really makes quite a scene for those few minutes he's whining. We find it a little strange, especially since he was so quiet for the first ~2 weeks.
Apart from this, he's been doing very well. He's almost completely pad-trained (it's far too cold outside for him here in Montreal), and had only one accident not on the pad today. He also sits on command, and is excellent with any and all other people we show him to. In other words, a he's a very well-behaved and socialized puppy.
So why, do you think, has he started to whine at night? My first thought is that we let him up onto the bed at times during the day (e.g. if we're reading, watching movies, etc.), and so maybe he now wants to go up at night as well. That said, he's never once been allowed on the bed at night, once the lights go out -- he's always put in his cage (and that will always be the case). Or is this simply part of normal development -- is he just testing his limits?
So, all that said -- do you have any suggestions for Zeus and us? Is there any way we can help prevent the whining at night? Or should we just continue to ignore him and hope it passes?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Brian & Nina.
P.S. Thought you'd perhaps enjoy a picture of the Zeus-meister:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/brianoflee/CIMG0844-1.jpg
My fiancée and I just recently bought a chihuahua after having dog-sat one this summer, and realizing how much of a loving and affectionate a breed they are. We picked up Zeus from a local breeder at ~9 weeks old on December 21st. The breeder had cage-trained Zeus along with the rest of his litter, and so we had virtually no problems adapting that to our house. Every night before bed, Zeus is put next to his cage (placed in our bedroom) and goes in, most of the time, on his own accord (the door is then closed). Since we've had him (except for the first night, of course), he's been virtually silent all night long, and in most cases is able to sleep through the entire night without whining/having to go to the washroom. For the past three or four nights, however, he's started whining -- rather loudly -- both when we put him in his cage at night, and also if ever we make noise during the night (I usually get up in the middle of the night to head back to my house after ~3-4 hours -- this wakes him up and recently has caused him to whine loudly). He quiets himself after a few minutes, but really makes quite a scene for those few minutes he's whining. We find it a little strange, especially since he was so quiet for the first ~2 weeks.
Apart from this, he's been doing very well. He's almost completely pad-trained (it's far too cold outside for him here in Montreal), and had only one accident not on the pad today. He also sits on command, and is excellent with any and all other people we show him to. In other words, a he's a very well-behaved and socialized puppy.
So why, do you think, has he started to whine at night? My first thought is that we let him up onto the bed at times during the day (e.g. if we're reading, watching movies, etc.), and so maybe he now wants to go up at night as well. That said, he's never once been allowed on the bed at night, once the lights go out -- he's always put in his cage (and that will always be the case). Or is this simply part of normal development -- is he just testing his limits?
So, all that said -- do you have any suggestions for Zeus and us? Is there any way we can help prevent the whining at night? Or should we just continue to ignore him and hope it passes?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Brian & Nina.
P.S. Thought you'd perhaps enjoy a picture of the Zeus-meister:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f42/brianoflee/CIMG0844-1.jpg