Whining In Puppies
When it comes to how to deal with a Whining Puppy it’s important to remember it comes naturally: a very young puppy will whine without even realizing it when she’s hungry, tired, or cold. The mother dog will respond to this whining with milk, warmth, and a safe place to sleep – and as time goes on, the puppy begins to realize the association between the two. This is when she begins to whine deliberately, to notify her mom that something’s amiss or that she needs something.
When you adopt your pup, she should be between eight and ten weeks old. This is the time that a puppy will either learn that whining doesn’t work with her new, human family; or, she’ll learn to use whining as a manipulative tool (of sorts) to motivate her new “mommy” (that’s you!) to give her what she wants. This is why it’s generally advocated for you to leave your new puppy alone on her first night – if you respond to whining with positive attention (cooing, patting, sympathy, taking her out of the crate and cuddling her) how can she help but learn to whine until she gets what she wants?
You’ll need to use your common sense and good judgment, of course. For a really panic-stricken pup, she probably does actually need some attention and affection, if only to distract her from the scariness of her unfamiliar new surroundings. The trick is to respond in a timely manner so that she doesn’t feel like it’s her whining that’s got the result (or else you’re conditioning her to whine whenever she wants something, which is paving the road to hell).
For a puppy that’s working herself up into a real frenzy of crying and whining, don’t feel like you have to cold-bloodedly ignore her. By all means, pay her a bit of attention and calm her down – just initiate the contact when she’s no longer whining. It’s not always realistic to wait until she’s stopped whining altogether – contrary to popular (albeit misguided) opinion, some puppies simply do not stop whining and really will continue for hours on end. If you suspect that this may be the case, you don’t have to prolong your pup’s misery: just wait til she’s stopped for even a few seconds, then seize your moment and open the crate door. It’s not ideal, but under the circumstances, it’s likely the best you’ll be able to manage.
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