My puppy wont stop crying!

bellz_x

Okay, when I say puppy.. he's almost 8 months! And from when we got him until now.. at this present moment, he howls and bangs against the door in the kitchen (which makes an awful lot of noise) and barks and cries.

He does this every single night. Without fail.

He's fine when he's around us. He'll sleep and he's happy but as soon as we go to bed, he starts. We barely get up the stairs and we can hear him.

It's so difficult to deal with as we all have to be up early each morning.

We all love him but we wish there was a way to stop this.

We've given him the hot water bottle in a blanket, the clock, the radio, a "nightlight", everything but nothing works.

Every night we have to put a towel in between the door and above it to try stop the noise but we can still hear it. He does it for hours and howls for hours. Im suprised the neighbours havent complained.

We're all exhausted, we dont know what to do! The only time he's quiet is if someone is sleeping in the living room and he is allowed sleep in the living room too - Which is a very rare occurance!

gigawatt

how long do you have him, most cry for the first 3 to 5 nights, then as long as theyre igonored they shutup!!

bellz_x

We got him in august.

fend

Best thing you can do is IGNORE HIM!!! He will eventually stop!
As hard as it is, its an ABSOLUTE MUST!

He will stop...

bellz_x

I hope so, but isnt it a bit long to be doing this? We do ignore him. We never go back down, we have to just deal with it!

Soulja boy

No advocating violence towards animals.

WalterMitty

You must have kept coming back down to him when he barked when he was younger and he assumes by barking etc he will get you back down. You should try gradually building up his ability to be alone. Say on a weekend night when you arent up early for work leave him in the room and close door and sit in next room for a few minutes, if he hasnt barked after a few minutes go back into the room he is in and be all nice and rewarding to him. Do not open door when he is barking or has just stopped barking. ~Keep building up the time away from him with door locked.

Alternatively get a training cage and put it in your room and let him sleep in it next to you untill you have the time etc to get him used to being alone. Gradually move it further and further from your bedroom over the weeks.

seamus

Soulja boy wrote: »

No advocating violence towards animals.

Using physical violence against your dog will only serve to make him afraid of you and will make training a whole lot more difficult. A dog who's afraid of you is unlikely to come to you when you call them.

WalterMitty wrote: »

You must have kept coming back down to him when he barked when he was younger and he assumes by barking etc he will get you back down. You should try gradually building up his ability to be alone. Say on a weekend night when you arent up early for work leave him in the room and close door and sit in next room for a few minutes, if he hasnt barked after a few minutes go back into the room he is in and be all nice and rewarding to him. Do not open door when he is barking or has just stopped barking. ~Keep building up the time away from him with door locked.

Yep, this is the way to do it. The dog will slowly understand that when they don't bark or whine, they get attention. When they do bark, they don't get any.

Also can't understate the importance of routine. I've found that if I'm up very late on a weekend night or come home in the wee hours and disturb the dog, she makes a lot of noise the following night. But if I stick to her routine and put her in bed around the same time on weekend nights, there are no disturbances when the weekdays come back.

TooManyDogs

Another method I heard is if the dog is barking in the night to go down to the kitchen, completely ignore the dog, dont acknowledge it's existance at all, make a cuppa, drink it in silence and leave the room again. The dog is reassured you've not disappeared but doesnt get any attention so gradually isn't bothered about you coming down.

What about also taking the dog on a long walk a couple of hours before bed? They'd be really tired too, may mean he doesnt have enough energy to keep up the barking

Irishcrx

Can I ask what breed he is?

I had something similar when my fella was a puppy but I think they all go through the seperation period in a new home. We had a second dog which helped with it at night as they had each other for company, other than that I would advise you not to play into it, if he knows you are going to come down stairs eventually he will keep at it all night, you need to teach him to sleep on his own and do it quick because the older he gets the more he will become more accustom to doing it.

TooManyDogs

My sis tried another option when she was at her wits end with her new dog, neighbours complaining everyday and she needed a solution fast. What she ended up doing was getting a garden mister and when he barked she would go down and give him a little spray of water. It only took 3 sprays for him to get the idea that them coming down the stairs wasn't advantagous for him. I'm not suggesting it's better than training (before I get a load off other posters!) but it may work as a last resort. I know my sister's neighbours were calling the RSPCA on them daily and the RSPCA had been out twice cos of the calls, so they had to get him to stop howling fast!!!

kylith

Does he get a chew or a Kong at bedtime? Perhaps having something yummy to chew (if you freeze some dog food in a kong it can last for hours) will take his mind off the fact that you're not there, tire him out a bit, and at least give you a couple of hours peace and quiet.

I've heard it recommended to give the dog a chew when you leave them alone, that way they learn that you not being there isn't necessarily a bad thing, since they get a really nice treat when you go.

alanatoday

I got a new puppy I month ago, He's 3 months old now (He and his sisters were abandoned by his previous owners). He cried for the first 4 nights in the kitchen which broke my heart!!
What we were recommended to do was use the cage method. Basically, during the day, put your new puppy it it for short periods of time (extending the time every day) and go about your daily business (getting dinner ready, sweeping floor etc). If You have to leave the room for a short while it works even better. Your puppy will probably bark his little head off but Ignore it!! Only approach him when his is quiet and reward him or pat him. This reinforces the good behaviour.
When night time comes he will eventually be reasured that just because you have gone away now doesn't mean you're staying away!
Hope this helps

supermum1

I had a rottweiler that did this, banging against the door and all! I tried ignoring her to no avail. I used to but her in the back room half an hour before we went to bed, when she would start howling I would shake a coke bottle filled with rice, it would distract her from barking and I would give her a cuddle and walk out. I did this every night for about a week and she learned that being quite earned a much better reward. She never whined at night again!

tk123

WalterMitty wrote: »

Alternatively get a training cage and put it in your room and let him sleep in it next to you untill you have the time etc to get him used to being alone. Gradually move it further and further from your bedroom over the weeks.

This was my plan for our puppy..until I fell asleep with him on the bed one night - no chance of him going back in the crate after that!! I don't mind tbh - he's housetrained and it warms the end of the bed! :pac:

Mossy_Da_Dog

We had something similar going on with our dog (7months) - puppy trainer suggested what someone else above already did which is to ignore the dog when you come in and out of the room.

We had been all over him, every time we came into the room, this leaves the dog in a psychological state of excitment and he misses you.

Try it every time you enter the room... do not look at him for the first couple of minutes. Put down your bags, do whatever, then after 2 mins or so, look at him and give him all the love...

Same when you're leaving the room, don't make a big deal of it at all...

It worked for us, hope it works for you.:)