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Stop crying...

2K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  spiffylike 
#1 ·
Any advice to help stop the crying at bed time and short periods of time when I can't watch him.?
 
#2 ·
Is Jackson in a pen or crate? My trainer said to use the treat method. Throw a treat in and let him go in and get it, praise, throw in another, praise when he goes in, throw a few in and when he goes in shut the door for a minute and praise, repeat. Jackson has to associate his crate with a good thing. Ted has an open crate in a pen but when we went to agility for a few weeks he had to go in his pen when it wasn't his turn and he was fine with it.
 
#3 ·
My girl's crates are in the bedroom...I do the treat thing and stay in there for a bit.
I am also guilty of leaving the tv and light on (until I go to bed). I also say I will be right back and go back in a couple of minutes...walk around and leave.

Have been doing this for a long time and at 10:30 sharp they start looking at me, as if to say "let's go to bed". It is out to potty and they dash for the bedroom.

How old is your puppy? Sometimes it just takes time...another one maybe.....to keep it company? You know the potato chip thing...
Good luck and welcome to the world of the Havanese..
Estelle and the Bella Sisters
 
#4 ·
When Cey was a puppy, every time I had to leave him (at first), I would leave him a long-lasting special treat that he never got any other time, like a puppy Kong stuffed with kibble with peanut butter or cream cheese, or a little frozen bit of meat. Same idea as the treat trick, but longer lasting. By the time he noticed I was leaving, I was already gone, and it actually gave him something to look forward to when I was getting ready to go. Now, sometimes I scatter tiny treats around the kitchen when I leave, or in the car if I am leaving him alone in the car, for him to find, but I don't have to do it every time as he is quite comfortable being left alone.
 
#6 ·
When we first got Olive he would whine every time we left him in the play pen (both when we were in the apartment and couldn't watch him and when we put him to bed at night). The first few days were really hell. Our method was to completely and utterly ignore him when he whines. We've also been doing "calm conditioning" by rewarding him in small ways when he's in a calm state: petting him softly, giving him little treats, etc. He's gotten so much better about whining, I hardly hear a peep out of him anymore.
 
#7 ·
Yep Ted doesn't make a sound in his. We had to ignore him at the beginning too. I also gave him special treats that we're just for training or the pen. Maybe Jackson is upset because he has too much space. Dogs feel safer in a den. It's like protection for them when they sleep. Ted goes automatically into his little crate when I put him in his pen. that's gotta say something as I never told him to go in the crate. That's just what he picks!
 
#11 ·
Benny has a crate in our bedroom as well as the kitchen, so at bedtime if he cried I would tell him "Quiet" and after a few times he just stopped. We rarely had issues with him crying at bedtime, but I swear it's because he was absolutely exhausted from playing with the boys all night!

My three boys (and husband) play with him non stop in evening, so by 8:30 pm, that dog is asking to go to bed. He also sleeps a lot during the day, and then at 3:30 pm he waits by the door for the school bus (it's actually really cute!). It's like he knows he has to rest up for his boys!
 
#12 ·
My preferred "Freddie, don't whine" method has been to just ignore. It seems that whenever I acknowledge his "pay attention to me" noises, even with just a "stop" or a "no" he just continues louder. He's eventually learned that I will be back and that he is fine in his "safe space," whether that be his crate for sleeping, or the kitchen (gated) for longer periods of alone time (or little time outs). It seems to be working.

My breeder told me never to come to him when he cried, and so far that's worked. The only time I acknowledge his whining is when it seems like he wants to go outside (although we are working on another signal), or when he wakes up in the morning (though today I beat him to it!).
 
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