A crying puppy usually evokes two types of emotion in people, empathy/pity/sorrow or anger/annoyance/frustration. So, how to stop a puppy from crying at night.
At 2:00 in the morning, the new puppy owner will be feeling sorry for the poor new puppy and not know what to do. At the same time, neighbors will be experiencing the latter emotional response and possibly sleep deprivation.
Regardless of which camp you are in, a crying puppy is distressing to listen to at any time of day.
The quickest way to stop a puppy from crying is to help him settle into his new home as quickly as possible!
Why Do Puppies Cry at Night?
More often than not, a puppy will cry at night because they are frightened.
Think about it; they have been separated from their mother and siblings and have no idea when they will see them again. They are in new surroundings with foreign smells, unknown rules and expectations, and possibly other pets.
And because most puppies are potty trained before being released these days, the puppy is now wondering where its familiar pee and poop spot has gone.
Therefore you may want to consider introducing puppy pads at this point.
And if that’s not enough to stress a young puppy, it has to put up with the annoying humans who feel that they can touch, cuddle and fuss over the young puppy whenever they feel like it. It’s enough to make a puppy cry!
Fortunately, young puppies have short memories. They soon get over their sadness and adapt to their new home and owner.
However, there are other things that might make a young puppy cry at night.
Pain:
Aside from the emotional pain of being separated, as I mentioned above, a young puppy might have a physical injury or illness. So look for any signs of injury or sickness.
If you are unsure, talk with your vet or dog breeder about your concerns.
Hunger:
It is rare for a well-fed puppy to cry because they are hungry. However, it would pay to monitor the puppy’s food intake, especially if you have other pets that might be stealing the puppy’s food.
Also, ensure that you are feeding your puppy the right food. You might be interested in my other articles:
- What Is The Best Food To Feed My Dog
- How Much Should I Feed My Dog
- What Meat Is Really In Your Puppy Food?
Full bladder or bowels:
It is not normal puppy behavior to cry because it has a full bladder; they usually just pee/poop where they stand if they can’t get to the designated toilet area.
Therefore, look for signs of bladder or urinary tract infection, which can include:
- Accidents around the home when the puppy is potty trained
- Blood or pus in the urine
- Cloudy or dark urine
- Crystals in the urine
- Foul-smelling urine
- Frequent urination in small amounts
- Pain or strain during urination
- Incontinence and urine-trickling
- Increased urination
Emotional Pain/support:
All puppies cry at some point in the first few days/weeks for one or more of the reasons listed above – and some puppies cry more than others.
Puppies cry to alert their owners that they feel insecure, threatened, unsafe, lonely, etc., like when left alone at night in strange surroundings.
However, puppies also learn very quickly to cry to get attention.
Therefore, you need to be careful not to fall into the trap of “rewarding” your puppy for crying. I will cover “Learned Crying” in another section below.
Why Do Puppies Cry at Night?
If I had ten bucks for every time, a new dog owner asked me, “should I leave my puppy to cry at night” I’d be driving a much better truck. That’s for sure.
The number one reason puppies cry at night is that they are frightened. They are scared of their new surroundings, especially if left alone on the first night.
Leaving a puppy alone on its first night in your home is a recipe for a sleepless night. More often than not, they will be scared and will cry and whine all night long.
Although, if you are lucky, your puppy may cry and whine a little at first and then settle down to sleep. The question I have for you is, why risk a sleepless night?
A puppy crying all night will be distressing for the puppy. Everyone in your household and, more importantly, your neighbors will not be happy.
I hope that this answers the question: Should I let my puppy cry it out?
And in case I wasn’t clear enough. my answer is NO. It is not good long-term for your dog to be left to cry it out.
How to Stop a Puppy From Crying at Night
If a puppy is left alone on its first night in a new crate in a new environment, the chances are that it will cry and whine for hours. And when that happens, the chances of you “checking” on them or calling out to be quiet will only encourage them to cry out louder and for longer.
By far, the easiest way to stop a puppy from crying all night long on their first few nights is to place them beside your bed. It’s only for a few nights and well worth the broken sleep – which is better than no sleep. Right?
Most young puppies will sleep quite contently at night if they feel safe and secure. You can achieve this by putting their crate or a box (something like a bed) beside your bed. They will feel safe and secure with a grown-up to look out for them.
Note: your new puppy may not be used to a crate, so be sure to learn all you can about crate training BEFORE you use this method.
While a young puppy will sleep all night long – several hours at a time, they will also need to empty their bladder once or twice. Which is another reason puppies cry out during the night.
Therefore, to avoid a wet floor or a walk outside at night, place a puppy pad nearby so they can have a potty break whenever the need arises.
Won’t this make my puppy soft and spoilt? Isn’t it better to let them tough it out and make them stronger I hear you thinking.
Leaving a crying puppy to tough it out does not make them stronger. More the opposite, it can cause sickness and separation anxiety.
Caring for your puppy by having them in your bedroom for the first few nights will make them braver and more confident as they develop into a dog.
I hope that this answers the question: How long should you let a puppy cry in a crate?
Consequences of a Leaving Puppy to Cry
Leaving a puppy to cry all night long can have lasting and irreversible consequences – for the puppy, the dog owners, and sometimes neighborly relationships who will be experiencing sleep deprivation.
If you can’t hear the puppy crying during the night, you won’t know when they need to go for a pee, which means that they soil their bed – which they don’t like. Who does?
A puppy left alone to cry out during the night can become so distressed that they develop diarrhea and separation anxiety.
Learned Crying
As I mentioned, fear is the most common reason puppies cry at night.
However, crying at night can also be caused by emotional or physical pain, hunger, full bladder/bowels, or a learned habit of getting attention.
Dog owners can mitigate most of the reasons a young puppy might feel scared by investigating and treating any health-related concerns. And you can prevent/control your pup from learning to cry for attention.
Like children, some puppies like the sound of their own voices and will cry and bark all night long. However, if we are not careful, we can teach our puppies that crying, whining, and barking will get our attention.
Therefore, we must be mindful that if the reason for the puppy crying is not one of those listed above; we do not encourage this type of crying behavior – don’t reward your pup while it’s crying.
Don’t:
- pat or pick him up
- enter his space if you are not there already
- feed him
- talk to him (even a yell to shut up)
- let him see/hear you if he cannot already.
Each of these things is a reward in a puppy’s mind, so we must try not to, which is easier said than done. It’s all about timing and preplanning.
Prevention is better than any cure. One way to prevent crying is to preplan the evening by ensuring they have exercised and human company and been to the toilet immediately before going to bed.
Also, ensure that they have something to distract themselves with by having a favorite toy within easy reach.
Crate training is not simply a matter of placing your pup in the crate and leaving them to tough it out. It requires planning and patience. See my article on Crate Training.
Silence is Golden
Another way to stop a puppy from crying at night is to reward silence.
This method works best on puppies that have settled into their new home; it doesn’t work well on the first few nights.
It’s about reinforcing silence with a reward, so the puppy learns that being quiet is a better way to get what s/he wants.
You do this by rewarding the moments of silence during periods of crying. Although you have to be quick. If you are too slow, the puppy may cry again when you offer the reward, and they think it is for crying.
One way to achieve this is to use a word, sound, or clicker to mark the moment of silence. Then give them the reward as soon as possible – within three seconds if you can.
Each time they stop crying, make the sound, and present the reward. Even if you are in another room and the puppy stops crying, make the sound.
They soon learn that they receive a reward by being quiet – be it a yummy treat, cuddle, head pat, or tummy rub. After a while, even a Good boy/girl is enough of a reward.
If your puppy starts crying as soon as you leave the room, wait until they pause, make the sound, and then return to give them their reward.
Once your puppy shows signs that they have learned that “Silence” gets rewarded, you can begin to wait a little longer each time before making the sound. Start with a few seconds delay, building up to a minute.
A young puppy rarely takes more than two days of this repeated behavior to stop crying and be silent most of the time.
Summary
I hope this has answered the question, Why do puppies cry at night?
To recap: the most common reason puppies cry at any time is fear. And the best way to stop a puppy from crying at night is to provide a safe and secure environment.
It is normal puppy behavior to cry during the first few nights in a new home. And provided that they have a safe den and somewhere to relieve themselves, they will settle down and stop crying at night.
A puppy whining or crying in the first few hours or days is not usually anything to be concerned about. However, as you can see, you can do some things to ensure that the puppy is safe and healthy.
A new puppy whining at night should be treated like a young puppy crying at night. It is more or less the same thing.
Puppy still crying at night after 3 weeks: if the puppy still crying at night after three weeks: If you have re-read the above, you should talk to your vet.
Related articles:
And be sure to check out my other articles on Potty Training, puppy pads, and positive reinforcement dog training.
Pro tip: if your puppy is whimpering rather than whining, it’s probably trying to tell you something – time for a bathroom break or wants a cuddle.
If none of the above tips and suggestions work, you may want to consult with a professional dog trainer or your local vet.
