Excessive whining/crying?!

TakmaN

Hey everyone,

I just bought a pomeranian, maltese, and shih-tzu mix a couple of days ago and its the coolest looking teddy bear dog ever (in my opinion that is ). The puppy is almost 9 weeks old and is very mild mannered (quiet and pretty much lazy most of the time) but I have a few nerve-wrecking frustrations.

First I did not know how tough it is to take care of a puppy, and I feel bad since I work 50-60 hour weeks but my gf shares in the care duties. Also, I am not sure if this goes for most puppies, but mine is REALLY attached to people, especially my gf and I. We can set it down anyplace/anywhere and it just follows us and stays by our feet. It follows me everywhere around my house but if he is in an enclosed area and there isn't anyone within petting distance, he whines and cries non-stop. I can't get sleep and keep getting woken up in the middle of the night. He is staying in a 8ft x 6ft area at the foot of my bed and when im laying down in my bed, he keeps jumping up and whining at me. I tried putting him in my bathroom (its adequately sized) but he went totally insane in there. I have also tried to ignore him when he whines, but he just keeps on whining and the only way it stops is if he falls asleep or someone goes near him. I am not sure what to do and totally out of ideas!

Sorry for the long rant, but any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ross

Chicster

It will get better with time. Most small breed puppies (like yours) aren't even sold until 12 weeks old, so yours is very young and still extremely dependent. The other thing is that all of the breeds in your pooch are companion breeds. Just like some dogs were bred to work, these breeds were created to be your best companion... so he will probably always follow you around the house. My Pomeranian follows me absolutely everywhere... it's just what they do.

We keep Cody in a crate next to our bed. He didn't really like it at first but if you just wait out the crying they'll settle down. He can see us from his crate and I think that is comforting to him. You'll also want to be able to hear him at night if he starts whining to pee/poo. When they're that small they can't hold it for very long and you may need to wake up to take him out to do his business.

Puppies are hard work but it's worth it!

Willowy

He's a baby. Babies cry. That's all there is to it . The situation should improve when he gets a bit older. Yes, dogs need/want to be with people. This is what we've bred them to be like. So that will not change with age, he will always need a lot of your attention. He sounds cute....any pics?

Evie

We used a metronome for our small puppy when we brought her home. It was soothing for her and helped all of us sleep through the night. We did stop winding it as much as time went on and she was able to get to sleep faster and faster. Now we do not use it at all, unless my partner or I want to.

We already had the metronome (the wooden style), but they have fairly cheap digital ones or you could use something similarly soothing.

K8IE

I really believe in crates for nighttime especially. The closer to the size of the pup, the better. It is a cozy den for them and they can really get all curled up and comfy. Being loose in a bigger area they have a hard time distinguishing between play time and bed time. Try using a small crate at bed time and make sure he goes potty right before bed. Put it a t shirt or something that smells like you, and a stuffed toy to cuddle with, add some white noise of some kind, and then suck it up and let him cry. Each night it will get better and better until he realizes that you are not going to cave and come get him and bring him to your bed. Trust me, it does work, but you have to show him that his cries will not get him attention. Get some good ear plugs and stock up on patience. Puppies are great practice for parenthood..

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