If you have a whining howling puppy, he is only trying to get your attention. It’s quite natural for young puppies to do this and is just like a baby crying. The reason is usually because they are hungry or lonely.
If the mother is there beside him, he can feed on her milk but if she is not there he will call for her. If no one else is around to help him, he may become frightened and feel as if he has been abandoned. He is calling for help.
This is where you step in and give him food or a cuddle or whatever and you are happy because he stopped crying and he is happy because he got the attention he wanted. The problem here is that you have positively reinforced his behavior, whining.
Why Do Puppies Whine and Howl?
Before we go off half cocked and start correcting the puppy, we need to understand why he is whining in the first place. A whining puppy does so to get attention but for what reason?
Reasons why they want our attention:
The first and obvious reason for a puppy whining is because he is hungry. Is he on an eating schedule yet?
He needs to go to the bathroom. If you have already started training him to go outside, then your howling puppy is just letting you know that it’s time.
He could be uncomfortable because he is hot and can’t cool down, cold and can’t get warm, wet and can’t get dry etc.
Another reason for a puppy whining is that he’s lonely and could lead to separation anxiety. Puppies should not be left alone too long.
He could be bored. He can see everyone the other side of the fence and wants to join in. why not, he’s supposed to be part of the family and he’s got all this stored up energy.
He may have hurt himself.
And last but certainly not least, a howling puppy knows it works.
We need to stop the whining puppy behavior as soon as possible otherwise your life will become a nightmare. To do this we can eliminate some of the reasons.
If he is very young he may not be on a feeding schedule yet, make sure that he has plenty of food and water and that they are clean and fresh.
Putting down food and water first thing in the morning and expecting him to be satisfied all day just doesn’t work. He’s going to be treading through it and knocking bowls over. His food needs to be replenished frequently. Usually after he has woken and been to the bathroom.
Take him out to the bathroom as soon as he wakes and after he has eaten. He needs to get in the habit of not messing his sleep area. See
house-training
Make sure his sleeping area is secure and comfortable. It needs to be out of direct sunlight and drafts – including a/c vents – and clean and dry.
Place his sleeping area somewhere that allows him to see you. If he can hear you but not see you, he will call out to you – whine – to let you know he is there. If he can see you and you talk to him, he will not have a reason to whine.
Make sure he has a few toys to play with on his own or you will have a howling puppy because he is bored. Take him out to play at designated times so that he can burn off excess energy. This is also a good bonding opportunity.
If you hear your puppy whining and the sound is different, he may have hurt himself without you being aware of it. You may want to check him over just to be sure – particularly if all of the other reasons have been eliminated.
He could also be hurting inside and you have no way of telling. If that is the case, look for other tell tale signs such as his stools – if he is able to go. Is he off his food? Does his nose feel warm and dry? If you are not sure, take him to your veterinarian for a check up.
If a whining howling puppy is allowed to continue unchecked, a very bad habit will begin to grow. A crying and whining puppy can be aggravating to say the least.
Puppies and babies are smart enough to know that if they do something there will be a reaction from you. To stop the puppy from crying the reaction from you has to be the correct one and you need to learn this early on before it grows into a habit.
How to Stop the Howling Puppy Behavior.
If you have tried all the options above, it may be that your puppy has learned that whining gets results. If that is the case then we need to do some serious action to get him out of the habit. He may have got into the habit because you were unwittingly rewarding the wrong behavior.
Don’t feel bad, its easy to do if you are not aware of it. Once you are aware, you need to apply a no whining strategy that everyone must stick to. It may seem hard at first because you feel bad that he is crying for you and you are ignoring him. You need to do this and you need to be firm otherwise you will never stop him and it be harder each time you try.
If you know that your howling puppy is only doing it for attention, you must ignore him. The only time that you should go to him is when he stops whining. If he whines when you are in the room, then go out of the room and close the door. When he stops, go in and praise him.
Using this method, your puppy will learn to associate his whining with being left alone and a whining puppy will get the attention he wants. This is the complete reverse to what he was doing. It may seem like slow going at times and it may be annoying but in the end it is the best remedy.
When he is not a whining or howling puppy, you want to spend as much time as possible with him allowing him to enjoy your company and bond with you. If he starts to whine, make sure that he is not hungry or needs to go to the bathroom. If it’s just an attention whine, then get up and leave the room. Come back as soon as the whining stops.
Most behavior problems can be corrected with a little understanding of the root cause and
obedience training.
Your puppy needs to learn that there will be times when he will be on his own or confined. He will be on his own if you need to go to work, run errands or whatever but he must also learn that he will be confined at certain times that are not acceptable to have him running round.
He must learn to accept short periods of being confined and / or left alone. When he accepts these, we can slowly extend the time period.
Before you leave him, you need to spend some quality time with him playing or exercising him to get rid of any pent up energy. Next, ensure that he has been to the bathroom and that he has been fed. If his crate is in a comfortable place there should be no need for his whining puppy behavior.
Leave the room. If he makes a noise when you leave the room, ignore him and don’t go back until he stops. You must not become the victim of emotional blackmail. When he stops howling, go back in the room and give him lots of praise and love and attention. And I mean lots!!
Do this several times throughout the day and he will soon realize that you are not leaving him forever and so he will be less anxious.
He will learn that he gets attention when you go to him and not when he calls you. Some people suggest that you go to him and beg with him to stop or raise your voice in a loud NO! That would be giving him what he wanted, attention. As soon as you stop pleading with him or screaming at him and try to walk away, the whole howling puppy fiasco will start again.
Ignore him from the outset. I know it may seem hard with a howling puppy and it will take a little while, but it will work.
When you do go out to run some errands, don’t go through the long goodbye routine. What happens if you do is that he will begin to get hyped up from your attention and then all of a sudden you’re gone. When you do go out, just go – quietly and with no fuss. He will think you are just in the other room and you will not have a howling puppy when you are away.
