Puppy Whines at Night

big dave

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#1
Hey Guys,

My wife and I adopted a sweet little cockapoo puppy a couple of months ago, he is now 5 months old. He has excelled in everything from house training, to getting along with other dogs and people no problem. He doesnt chew, he can use our dog door and enjoys being outside, and loves to go on walks and play with anything and anyone who will play with him. He never barks, except in the middle of the night.

He sleeps in his kennel next to our 3 year old dog's kennel. When he used to whine at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning we would take him out, puppies have tiny bladders and we are ok with that. He is now sleeping through the night but as soon as day light hits he is AWAKE and wants every one else to be awake too and will NOT stop yowling (yipping and howling). It's too early for us to just be awake and really want him to be ok in his kennel. We have tried ignoring him but he will keep going for 2 hours (did this morning from 5:30 to 7:30) and we are worried about waking up the whole neighborhood.

We tried using a towel or blanket to keep it darker for longer but his internal clock is just tuned for it. We have even tried moving both dogs kennels to different rooms but he just barks louder to make sure we can hear him. We even tried raising him up a bit so he could see us. He also doesn't respond to sharp noises or anything like that.

We were told to try a can full of coins or a spray bottle and say "Be Quiet" by the rescue we got him from. We tried the can first and he just tried to play with it. It didn't even faze him. When we tried to spray him it scared him and cause him to yowl louder!

We aren't sure what to do. We love the little guy, he is unbearably cute and even his bark is adorable, just not at 5:30 in the morning! Any help would be great!
 

Fran101

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#2
Sorry but there is only one thing you can do.. ignore him.
Get some wax earplugs, they work the best!

Any kind of attention.. from saying NO! to shaking a can to doing ANYTHING is highly reinforcing, it's telling him that the barking/whining works!

Do NOT let him out of the crate while he is being loud. Even if it's time to get up and he is making a fuss, wait until he is quiet to open the crate door. Sooner or later he will figure out that making noise in him crate gets him nowhere.. it just takes some patience :)
 

Barb04

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#3
How about starting over by having the kennel next to your bed and slowly moving it away so he gets used to being in a different area.

Maybe you could try exercising him a little more at night to try tiring him out - just a thought.
 

~Tucker&Me~

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#4
Sorry but there is only one thing you can do.. ignore him.
Get some wax earplugs, they work the best!

Any kind of attention.. from saying NO! to shaking a can to doing ANYTHING is highly reinforcing, it's telling him that the barking/whining works!

Do NOT let him out of the crate while he is being loud. Even if it's time to get up and he is making a fuss, wait until he is quiet to open the crate door. Sooner or later he will figure out that making noise in him crate gets him nowhere.. it just takes some patience :)
This post is spot on. I know it is a huge PITA but you really just have to ignore him.
 

Maxy24

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#5
Is there anything in there for her to chew? She's awake and bored and wants out, it's understandable that she's make noise. Having something in with her, perhaps a bully stick or other edible chew (assuming she is proven safe with them first...doesn't swallow huge chunks) would occupy her while she's awake in the crate in the mornings.
 

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