# Puppy Whining in Crate



## Lincoln (Oct 1, 2011)

Hello!
We have brought our first shepherd into our home and its been a learning experience to say the least! We are shift workers and work shifts that have us leave the house at 7am. The problem we are having is that we let the dog out of his crate around 630am to go outside and then put him back in the crate in hope of him sleeping in until 830am, when my wife gets up when she is not working. He will whine in the crate as if he is being tortured for about an hour or until my wife gets up for the day. If we continue to follow this routine and not give in to the whining will it eventually stop? We would like our dog to follow our schedule and not us his...
Any help with this would be appreciated!


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

The first week is difficult. Whining ensued for a few days but your puppy will settle down once he figures out the routine and why you're both seemingly at random leaving the pack! This is unusual and unnatural in the dog world. He is away from the warm bodies of his littermates who keep him company. If this is a very recent acquisition for you, yes, it will eventually stop. I never gave in. 

In the two nights I crated him and I slept on the couch (I use the term 'slept' loosely) a few feet away. If you have treats, a couple of small, tiny treats would not hurt to make the crating a pleasant experience going in for the night. Then wean it off in a few weeks. 

On the third night I slept in my bedroom with the door ajar. Some whining ensued but no response from me. By the fifth night he adjusted to my routine. 

I think it's fabulous that you take him out at 6:30 in the very early morning. This shows understanding and compassion for a small young creature that can't hold its bladder for long. There's a strong likelihood he is whining because you have left the pack, and it has little to do with your wife or routine that he's aware of. I would let him settle down and ignore it. If he didn't get to finish his business and it's what I call 'serious whining', you (or your wife) will find out later.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

dont give in to the whining. If you let him out while he's whining or barking, you will only succeed in reinforcing the bad behavior because you're telling the dog, by letting him out, that the noise he makes gets him what he wants. Yes, the behavior will eventually stop if you continue to ignore it. ONLY reward him by letting him out when he is quiet. 

keep in mind though that once he stops whining and crying, when he does whine and cry in the crate outta the blue, he probably has to go potty. Least thats been the case with my dogs. They would start freaking out in their crates if they needed to go outside to potty and that was how they told me.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

It's been my experience that our dogs like to get up at sunrise and want to be active until they start to mature when they approach 2 years old. Maybe if you were to wake up about 15 minutes earlier, take the dog for a good walk and tire him out, then put him back in the crate and black out the light with some towels or something.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i say ignore the whining. your pup will settle down
and learn to be in his crate. when i was crate training
i would crate my pup and sit in the room with and sometimes
leave the room and the house. i did this many times throughout the day.
i would leave him in his crate for 5 to 10 minutes and then let him out.
i slowly increased his time in the crate.


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## Sammy79 (Mar 6, 2011)

One thing that helped me out a lot if a heart beat toy you can get at pet smart. It reminds them of their mother's heart beat and they feel more comfortable when it's on.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Might help if you put a sheet over crate so pup can't see what's going on.

Whining is natural and ignoring is the thing to do.


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## the_butcher (Sep 28, 2011)

My little boy will be 10 weeks this Thursday and has been with us from 8 weeks old. I pleased to tell you that it WILL get much better and he will slowly start adapting to his new home. My little fella kept me up all of the first night and most nights after that (see my first post! http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/introductions-welcome-mat/167909-1st-time-gsd-owner-2.html )

Like alot of these smart people have already said: ignore, ignore, ignore! Last night was the first night/morning that we were able to sleep without him making a sound, even when it got near his breakfast time! So it does take a little time, but hang in there because it will get better.


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