What To Do When Your Puppy Whines in His Crate At Night
In my bi-weekly Puppy Training Overview and Q&A Sessions that I conduct in collaboration with the MAMCO rescue for new puppy parents and families over Zoom, I attempt to go over in one hour all the things that I believe a new puppy parent should at least have a surface level understanding of, and familiarity with, to be a responsible and loving puppy parent.
As you can imagine, I can only go over so much during that hour, so I like to describe these sessions as covering a wide breadth of puppy topics, but not covering any individual topic with any particular depth.
One of the major topics that I cover in this webinar is crate training. And what I’ve found is that I have to do very little to convince attendees that crate training is important or necessary, as most already understand that crate training bestows a lot of benefits, not only to the dog, but to the puppy’s parents as well. It’s not uncommon, for example, for many families to have already purchased a crate long before signing into the webinar.
In short, I’ve found that people are less concerned about learning whether they should crate train their pup, and more concerned about “HOW TO DO IT PRECISELY RIGHT”, particularly because they don’t want their potential missteps during the early days of crate training to lead to an assortment of negative consequences for their pupz down the road - namely, fear of the crate, separation anxiety, non-stop barking/whining at night, to name but a few.
My Original Plan For This Blog Post
My original plan was to write an in-depth blog post about how to properly crate train your puppy, starting with exhaustive and comprehensive explanations about why crate training is important/necessary, and then diving into why it works, how to do it right, helpful tips and some links to tools and toys that I thought would be beneficial to have during the process.
Simple enough outline, I thought.
But what I discovered recently, after watching this lecture on how to write effectively, was that I was following my well-worn instincts to be clear, organized and persuasive in my writing, but not asking myself what is the most valuable information that I can deliver to my readers on this subject.
And while I’m sure that the outline above would have been valuable to some, or even to many of you, I found that there is more than enough content already on the subject from distinguished trainers and institutions that can help you navigate this topic.
For example, here are a couple of my favorite blog posts on the subject:
A Different Direction
As such, I decided to take this post in a bit of a different direction.
One thing I really look forward to is the open Q&A section at the end of the aforementioned Puppy Training webinar above. It’s when I finally have the opportunity to stop talking, and to open up the floor to real puppy parents going through very specific issues related to their newly-adopted puppy.
It’s from these questions that I’ve been able to continuously rejigger my presentation for future attendees to suit their actual practical needs, as it highlights which portions of my presentation really resonated with (or didn’t) the audience.
But most importantly, these questions surface up the most interesting nuanced questions that I couldn’t possibly have gone into because I had to keep the presentation, as mentioned, quite high level.
So, with that, I wanted to spend the rest of this post on the THE MOST COMMON QUESTION that I get about crate training, and to provide you my answer/perspective.
The Most Common Question I Get
When my dog is crying/whining in his/her crate at night, should I let them “cry it out”, so as not to encourage this behavior?
This question is, BY FAR, the most common question that I receive on crate training.
To answer this question, start by asking yourself whether you believe your pup is:
Feeling uncomfortable in a new environment
Trying to get your attention, or
Needing to go potty
The hard part is understanding which is which.
The rule of thumb that I use is to determine the nature of their VOCALIZATION & BODY LANGUAGE.
Feeling Uncomfortable In A New Environment
If your pup is feeling uncomfortable in his/her new environment, their barking/howling will be high-pitched, repetitive and non-stop. This barking/whining will can be accompanied by pacing in the crate, panting and lip licking behavior.
These behaviors are all indicators of a panic attack.
In these instances, I would start by recommending that no matter how annoying this behavior gets (and it can get REALLY annoying), to not exacerbate this behavior by yelling at your pup to stop or by pounding on the crate. This might be incredibly temping to do, especially if you are sleep deprived, but it should be completely obvious that intimidation doesn’t eliminate fear - it makes it worse.
I also wouldn’t let them “cry it out” in this instance. In their panicked state, the best course of action is to soothe them. And the best way to soothe them is by either utilizing a measured and reassuring tone of voice to let them know that everything will be ok, by laying down/sleeping next to the crate, or by sticking your fingers into the crate to give them a loving pet/scratch.
If those methods aren’t working as well as you need, I would recommend that you periodically open the crate and pet them while they’re still inside the crate, and after a few minutes, to gently re-close the door to the crate.
I’d also recommend that you assess whether you think the bedding you’ve put into the crate is making them too hot. A cozy bed to some can be an uncomfortable furnace to others.
Moving the crate (at least in the early stages) closer to your bed, if not right next to it, really helps as well. If you can, put the crate on top of your bedside table so that if you have to put your fingers into the crate, you can do so without getting back up from your bed multiple times a night.
And lastly, as many others recommend, make sure to fill the crate with fun, engaging and soothing toys (especially this one), chews and treats to get their minds off of their current situation, but make sure to periodically assess what is working and what is not, and swap them out with things that do.
REMEMBER: A puppy is a baby dog. They have been taken from the warmth and safety of their litter and introduced to an environment wholly unfamiliar to them. Especially in those early days, make sure you prioritize their desire for safety and security over your desire for peace, tranquility and comfort.
Trying To Get Your Attention
This type of barking is more demanding in nature. It’s repetitive like the uncomfortable barking described above, but it’s not as high-pitched. The tell-tale sign to look out for is their body language.
For example, are they pacing, panting and lip licking, as per the above, or are they observing you intently to see if their actions will get your attention to let them out?
In these instances, I would recommend that you try to ignore it as much as possible, but only after you’re sure that this behavior are not signs that they need to go potty (which I will describe below). That said, ignoring behavior and doing nothing about it are not the same thing. By using some of the tactics above to soothe them without taking them out of the crate will lovingly reinforce to your pup that you care about them, but that their current behavior will not lead to the outcome that they want.
It’s not about being the “alpha”, but about showcasing that certain behaviors lead to certain outcomes, and that others do not.
Needing To Go Potty
Almost always, our pupz will indicate that they need to go potty by restlessly pacing and moving around the crate BEFORE vocalizing via barking/whining. And this makes sense because they are trying to find some place in the crate where they can go potty without soiling their environment. And this is why many trainers advocate to get a large crate, but not one so large as to provide a de facto restroom “wing” of the crate.
As such, if you see or hear your pup pacing and moving around the crate without barking or whining, I recommend that you gently and quietly take your pup out of his/her crate and move them to a Fresh Patch nearby to go potty. This is a box filled with real grass, and will replicate the act of going potty outside, without going outside. This is good for really young pupz that aren’t fully vaccinated yet, but also for you, so that you don’t have to go through the ritual of repeatedly going outside (especially in the winter), at least in the very early stages of puppy parenthood.
I’d also recommend that you place a nightlight by the Fresh Patch before going to bed so that you don’t have to turn on the room lights, or worse yet, use your phone’s light, to ensure that your puppy is actually going potty.
PRO TIP: make the entire affair incredibly boring. Your pup might initially try to move off the Fresh Patch, but when they do, quietly lift them up and reposition them on the Fresh Patch. After a short time, they will understand what’s going on and go potty (if they had to go potty). And after they do, I recommend quietly praising them with a quiet “yes!” and a few pets, before taking them back to their crate.
In those early days, I would recommend recording when your pup is going potty so that you can anticipate this schedule. Remember, it’s all about mindset: doing something that you already know is going to happen can feel different than doing that exact same thing, but feeling like it’s unexpected or a surprise.
Eventually, by using some of these methods above, you’ll be able to get on a regular schedule where your pup will sleep through the night in an environment that they now feel safe, looked-after and secure in - your home!
Conclusion
Getting through the very early stages of crate training your newly-adopted puppy can be tough, but by following the recommendations above, you can ensure that you’re doing things in the right way, even if you’re completely delirious!
For a more in-depth, step-by-step guide on crate training, check out our infographic that we created on the very subject.
That said, you don’t have to go about it alone!
Contact me today and we’ll create a personalized puppy training plan for you, your family and your pup together!
And lastly, for additional information on this topic, we’ve created an accompanying podcast episode on this very subject, which you can listen to below: