Planetfurry BBS

[Styx]

Hey all, I just got a new puppy last weekend a little chiuaua/ terrier mix female; I named her Nikki. Anyway she whimpers and cries if she notices that she has been left alone. How can I break her of this?

[Jai_taigas]

You have to see it this way.

When ever that puppy whimpers or cries... if you come to it and try to comfort it... it will learn to make those noises when ever it wants or craves attention from you.

Basically, from my experience, you have to have alot of patience, and just not reward the puppy's actions. When it whimpers and cries out like that... just ignore it if it's just doing that to seek attention. Once it quiets down and is a good puppy then you go to it and reward it for doing good.

Eventually it'll learn to associate being quiet and good with good and the whines and whimpers with the bad. At least that's how my dogs ended up.

[Syrius]

Turn the TV or radio on. If the dog feels activity, she may feel calmer.

[PrincessB]

Along with tv or radio another is the distract it so it doesn't know you are leaving. Give her a toy or a food treat then while all her attention is on it quietly leave the room, go to the ajoining room just out of sight and wait. When shes done with the item she'll notice you gone and potentially get fussy, when she starts whining call to her but stay in spot. Eventually she'll learn that when you are not there she has too look for you. (of course on each time move a little farther away from the room till you are into another room)

[Jai_taigas]

just to cure my curiosity, you're trying to break her of making those noises when you leave her alone? You're trying to get her to a point where you can leave her alone and she won't make those noises? or are you just trying to stop her from making those noises? x.x



wanna know something more fun? training a deaf dog to stay, sit, and fetch :p

[Styx]

I wanter her to not make those noises when she's alone right now I have to take her into the bathroom with me to take a shower at 4am or she cries even when she's in the room but I'm in the shower she'l whine I don't want her waking the others.

[Jai_taigas]

Then I stand by my previous statement dude.\

Dogs learn by association. Each time it makes whimper a fuss about being alone and you come to it, it learns that you will show up when it complains.

You have to teach it, that she will not get her way when she's in a fuss. Which could take on any level of your preference. Some people opt to ignore the puppy until it tires itself out and eventually, a long eventually... it will learn that nothing beneficial comes from the wasted energy of the fuss. Also, you could reward it with a gentle swat on the bum, let it know you're not happy with that noise, followed by a firm no. But again, this is just how I've raised my dogs.

Televisions do have a soothing effect upon animals while you leave them alone, it helps them keep some calm.

but really I can't repeat this enough. Dogs learn by association. Everything you do to that dog, will have a consequence in some fashion later on in life. From how you feed it, how you walk it, the timing of how you reward the puppy and what you reward in general.

heh, not sure if i'm just ranting or being a help... but this sort of stuff helped me out in the 20+ years I've raised 12+ dogs. At the same time mind you, not one at a time :p

[CoonPucky5000]

My Jack Russell howled and cried when we left her in her crate at night as a puppy. But it worked wonderfully for house training and getting her acclimated to some degree.

[Kelvin]

My dog won't shut up for anything! Although she is a pretty old dog, the whimpering and moaning has gotten older by far. I still lover her though.