Stop crying...

[BennyBoy]

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!

[spiffylike]

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!).