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Getting a new puppy is an exciting time, but their whining and crying in the crate can quickly get frustrating. Puppies whine for a variety of reasons including loneliness, boredom, needing to relieve themselves, hunger, thirst, discomfort, or even attention-seeking behavior. While some whining is normal at first, you’ll want to curb excessive vocalizations to prevent it from becoming a long-term habit. Here are some of the most effective methods for keeping a puppy calm and quiet in its crate.
Crate Train Gradually
It’s important not to just immediately lock up your puppy for hours on end and expect them to settle down quietly. Crate training should be an incremental process where the pup is slowly acclimated to spending longer periods of relaxed solitary confinement. Start with just very brief sessions of a few minutes with you sitting right next to the open crate door, providing treats and praise. As the puppy learns that the crate is a safe, rewarding place, gradually build up the durations and begin closing the door for stretches while you move around nearby.
Make the Crate Comfortable
Adding some comfortable bedding that smells familiar along with safe chew toys can help a puppy relax into naptime rather than whining from discomfort, boredom or stress. Avoid lining the crate with newspaper or potty pads to eliminate one reason they may vocalize - needing to "go". The crate should only be roomy enough for them to stand up, turn around and lay down so they don't choose to "go" in one corner and retreat to the other.
Provide Post-Meal Potty Trips
Puppies need much more frequent bathroom breaks than adult dogs, so whining is often a signal that they need to relieve themselves. Be sure to let them out first thing in the morning, immediately after meals, after drinking, playtime or naps, and right before bedtime. Pay attention to when the whining happens and rule out needing to potty. If they were recently let out or it hasn’t been long since their last meal though, whining should not automatically warrant opening the crate door to reinforce the behavior.
Offer Reassurance
Especially during the initial few uneasy nights, place the crate near your bed and calmly put a hand down for puppy to smell your familiar scent. Some gentle "shhh" sounds can help soothe without overly exciting them too. You want them to learn to self-settle in the crate, but a bit of reassurance at first lets them know they are not abandoned.
Ignore Attention-Seeking Whines
Puppies learn quickly that whining elicits attention, even just you are telling them to “hush” or yelling in frustration. Ignore all non-essential whining completely rather than accidentally reinforcing the vocal demanding behavior. If you know they don’t need to go out, make sure they have something to occupy them, and let them cry it out for a bit. It may get louder at first, but they eventually learn it gets no response.
Exercise First
Puppies need about an hour total of activity and outside exploration for each month of age per day. So before crating, be sure to adequately exercise a tuckered out puppy. Having sufficient physical and mental stimulation makes them more likely to settle down for a long rest instead of crying out of pent-up energy and boredom. Take them on sniffy walks, have training sessions with lots of praise, and engage with interactive tug and fetch toys.
Use Background Noise
The deafening silence of an empty house can discomfort a lonesome pup. Leave on a tv, radio or white noise machine to make the environment feel less isolated. The soothing, consistent sounds can calm them to sleep without disruptive reactions to random outside noises. Be aware that talk radio may actually rile them up responding to voices though.
While no puppy enjoys being left alone at first, with compassionate training most will soon come to appreciate their crate as a quiet sanctuary for both your sanity. Pay close attention to clues behind the whimpering, provide preventative bathroom opportunities, supply mental stimulation through chews and toys, and be disciplined about not inadvertently rewarding whining with any reaction. With time, your furry friend will learn to relax in their new den, and both enjoy the peace and quiet.
