Puppy cries too much!?

Question

I have had my puppy now for just over 4 weeks, but she continues to cry to an extent were she starts barking. I put her to bed around 10pm, turn all the lights off and she sleeps in a puppy pen in the kitchen, she does not cry all through the night except when it hits around 6am then she whines from the top of her lungs and barks - any advice, i have a little boy too and he keeps getting woken up to it. I don't know if she does this because i keep getting up to quieten her because i don't want her to wake my son up. I don't think she is lonely because we play with her all through the day and i have another dog that keeps her company when i am not home just a night my other dog sleeps outside.

Everyone is saying that it is probably because she needs to go to the toilet, but the play pen is is sectioned off with an area that has newspaper for her to go and she is not a puppy that cries because she's holding her bladder and needs to go, if she wants to go she just goes, doesn't care if it is her bed or not. I have taken her to a vet they say there is nothing wrong with her and she is 14 weeks old

Answer 1

It sounds like your little girl is behaving just like a little child would on Saturday morning... it is time to get up, she has slept through the night, is fully refreshed, and darn it! the Saturday morning cartoons are on!

Except that this is a puppy & she doesnt know Saturday from any other day, so she does this every morning... I agree, it is likely not because she needs to potty, but because she is awake now... & having had a full night sleep, she is ready to play and what happened to all her humans?

Try a new schedule with her, for a few days, since puppies need time to adjust to new systems.

When she starts to cry, get up, walk in & say hi to the puppy, but don't give her physical attention... talk to her, shhhh her, do some things in the kitchen (make a cup of coffee, eat a bowl of cereal) until she settles down... then praise her & give her some petting.

Over time, she will realize that she only gets attention when she is a good girl...

Practice this throughout the day as well... dont immediately give her attention just because she demands it... try setting her in her pen for 'alone' time during the day while you are there... making dinner or whatever... she will learn to settle herself more easily that way when she wakes up.

However, please be realistic. Puppies are like babies, and although they mature much more rapidly than children (2 years instead of 18), it takes time... If she is waking consistently at 6am, you might want to adjust your schedule to get up at 6:30... dont simply expect her to learn to stay put & be quiet until 8 or 9 right away... that is something they usually cannot grasp until they are a bit older, 8-12 months.

Good luck to you & remember, with patience, consistency & love, all puppies can come to an understanding.

Answer 2

Your puppy may be hungry, she may be lonely and she may be everything else that everyone suggests but most of all your puppy is getting exactly what she wants and that is your attention. I know it is hard, especially with a child but you need to ignore her cries. This could go on for a good month or so but it will get better and when she learns that crying isn't going to get your attention she simply won't cry anymore. As for your son, close his door and bear with it for the time being. He may get woken but at least you won't have to be getting up every morning of every year to keep your dog quiet. Have you thought of maybe putting her pen outside so she is near the other dog. You may think she is too young but remember dogs were wild animals before they were domesticated and they could and would sleep anywhere. Good luck!

Answer 3

I always wonder WHY people get dogs and don't take care of them. WHY do you make your dog sleep outside?
WHY do you place a pup in a pen? If she is still doing this after 4 weeks I would view the behavior as a problem.

My dog has never been caged. When they come home they sleep with me and never cry, even the first night. I am picking up a six week old baby tomorrow. He will not cry. Another good thing is when they are trained to sleep with you, they do not wake you up. They sleep as long as you do.

Maybe it is me, but I think dogs should be treated as well as people. If you don't want to treat them good, then don't get one and ruin its life. WHY get a dog and make it sleep or live outside?
Even if you live in a warm climate, that is not a quality life.

Answer 4

It is time to get up. Puppies can't hold it as long as dogs. Once she is full grown she can hold it up to 12 hours depending what type of dog she is. But that is the norm for puppies. Also the older a dog gets the more she will sleep. My advice is get up and let her out if your yard is fenced in or have a chain to put her on. Then go back to bed. That is what i do.

Answer 5

The more that you get up to visit her the longer it is going to take her to stop, if she ever does.

When you go to her when she cries you are reinforcing the negative behavior!!!! DO NOT GO TO HER WHEN SHE CRIES!!!!!!

Let her cry and eventually she will stop.

As far as the 6am thing she probably has to go to the bathroom!!

You don't say how old she is but a young puppy usually cannot hold "it" for more than 4 or 5 hours. Just think the noise that you would make if your bladder was ready to burst and you had to wake someone up to let you out!

Answer 6

It is very natural for dogs to wake up at the first daylight. It is part of their natural instinct.

The only way you are going to stop this is be awake when she wakes up, feed her and play with her first thing in the morning. Then she will take a nap and you can continue with your days activites.

That is what raising a puppy is all about.

Answer 7

The dog always needs to be supervised when indoors. Every time the dog goes to the toilet in the house, and he is not caught and corrected, the behaviour is reinforced and he will think it is acceptable behaviour.
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• Take your dog on lead to the area where you would like him to relieve himself
• Use the word “toilet” when the dog is going to the toilet so he learns to associate the word with the action
• Reward with high praise and a treat reward so this behaviour is keenly repeated by the dog
• If the dog tries to jump and play with you ignore this behaviour until the dog focuses on sniffing the ground and starting to cue for the signs of relieving himself
• Remember to be patient – as this may take time
• If consistent, in weeks to a couple of months you should be able to do without the lead and your dog should be able to relieve himself on cue when hearing the command “toilet”


As prevention is better than cure; get in the habit of closing doors and not allowing your dog free access to areas that are unsupervised. NB: Baby dividers between rooms and hallways can be very effective to keep dog out. It is interesting to note that carpeted rooms are attractive to puppies as they hold the scent particularly well.

Make sure your cleaning the urine up completely! There are a number of excellent cleaning products that you can now purchase from pet stores that eliminate the smell of urine or feces. If the pup can smell any urine or feces, remembering it has a much stronger sense of smell than us; it will encourage him to go again on the same spot.

If you are to catch your dog in the act simply give the “a-ah” command. Pick the dog up and place outdoors or on paper so that he can finish his deed there. Remember that if you do not catch the dog within 3 seconds of an undesirable act he will have no comprehension of what you are correcting him for. This may worsen his toileting habits as the dog will learn to be deceptive as he will now want to hide away.

Answer 8

Puppy may miss her mom. OR Puppy want to sleep with you or any family member in your house. It will helps lot! Putting her in puppy pen during night is not very helpful. My reason are your dog need to go to bathroom or want to sleep with you. Keep your dog company with you or your kid. It will HELP LOT!!!

Answer 9

When she gets up after being in a crate for 8 hours, she wants to get out, go outside to potty and come back in and be with her family. Let the kiddo get up and spend some time with her after she has been outside and pottied. You can't keep her in a crate all the time. She wants some attention.

Answer 10

ok the thing that you need to remember is that she has been taken away from her siblings and it will take some time for her to get used to being alone. also you can give her something that you sleep in with your smell on it and that usually works. they need something that they are familuar to them like a shirt, towel, or a stuffed toy with a familys' scent on it. that usually makes them feel secure because they have something that they are familuar with. i breed golden retrievers and when i start to crate train them they do the same thing so i give them something with my scent on it and that makes them feel better. also try to cover the pen at night because she can see all around her, cover the sides of the pen and only leave the front open. dogs like tight sleeping spaces it makes them feel safe. you can give her something to chew on when she goes in her crate pen. try that and good luck.