Puppies will not stop whining!

[AlexisHarlan]

When we leave our puppies in their cages and walk away they cry nonstop. We have tried letting them cry it out, but it will go on forever. We have tried sitting next to them by the crate until they settle down, but as soon as we leave they cry. We have tried crate training with treats, and doing every little step in between. We have tried giving them positive experiences associated with signs of us leaving (we walk towards the door, give them a treat) and baby steps like that. Nothing seems to be working, and we move into an apartment in a couple of weeks. Starting to freak out! We won’t be able to leave them ever! We feed them, take them potty, and exercise them before they go in their crate.  They are 13 week old miniature schnauzers sisters and we’ve had them for 6 weeks. I don’t know what to do. 😞

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums,

Puppies are strongly attached to their owners in their first weeks, and as they mature and get closer to adolescence (which starts around 6 months) they start gaining more and more independence. Toy breeds tend to be slower to mature and this can play a role. This sounds though like a case of intense stress since it's non-stop and you have been doing a lot of correct things such as using treats for crate training and creating positive associations with you leaving. There are some extra things you can try, but we need to tread with caution here because if they are too stressed, their ability to learn is impaired since they're over threshold. You can read more about threshold levels here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

There are several things we can do to try to lower their stress and keep them under threshold. Here are a few ideas:

With pups like yours, we need to go very, very gradual though as there is a thin line between making the crate a great place to be and creating negative associations while enclosed there due to the fear of isolation. In general, if your pups are crying, that's a sign that they're not ready yet for this level of separation, so we need to go very slowly in the process and try to help them out.

Here you can find some exercises to help a dog love the crate:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Other things you can try: 

-Make sure your pups' needs are met before being crated. Make sure your pups have  gone potty, have exercised, eaten, drank, played brain games etc. 

-Try calming aids. For puppies who are young, they may be missing their litter mates and mom and see us as their surrogates, therefore, a Snuggle Puppy Behavior Aid can help. This stuffed animal is not for puppies to chew on, but is rather a temporary aid that mimics  mother dog's heartbeat. I have heard some great reviews on these, and used them personally for young pups struggling, but of course, there are individual responses to consider. 

-DAP diffusers such as Adaptil plug-ins are crafted to help puppies adapt. These diffusers spread out synthetic versions of DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones), special pheromones that are emitted by mother dogs and known for having a calming effect on the puppies. There are also DAP sprays and collars. 

-Calming music can be helpful too. You can find CDs of hours-long music composed purposely for helping restless puppies sleep. 

-Wearing an old t-shirt during the day and then put that in with the pups may help them feel near us. 

-Sometimes, what makes a difference is when leaving, giving them long-lasting goodies (stuffed Kong, safe edible chews) rather than a single treat that is consumed quickly during absences. 

-Start with brief absences, then mix in some longer ones, but add some brief ones too every now and then so to not make your pups think the exercises get harder and harder. 

-Try to place a blanket over the crate. With less visual stimulation, some pups are more likely to relax.

-Some clingy puppies may need some more in-depth, comprehensive intervention to get them gradually used to being left alone such as encouraging them to hold brief sit/stays as we walk around the house. You can find some example under Tier 1: Protocol For Dogs Who Follow Owners Room- to- Room in this link:

 

-Remember: Any time a puppy struggles by crying or howling, it means we have progressed too fast. 

-Finally, some pups do better being placed in an exercise pen (with the crate with the door open inside) or in an area of the home that is blocked off by a baby gate (and lined up with puppy pads in case the puppy has to potty) when they must be left alone (some dogs have confinement phobia). If the breeder hasn't crate trained this pup, it may take a while to get used to it, but some pups may struggle more than others and it wouldn't be fair to force them if they panic and taking baby steps doesn't help.

I hope this helps!

Let me know if you have any further questions!

Best,

Adrienne