It’s always an exciting experience to bring a little puppy. But when you get a young puppy home and, unfortunately, your puppy starts crying at night. What will you do? The good news is there are various ways to stop puppy crying at night. But before this, you’ll need to understand the reasons why is your puppy crying at night.
When you bring a sweet little puppy home, you allow them to spend time and even sleep with you. So, when your puppy has spent at least one week sleeping next to you on your bed and then you leave them in their permanent nighttime quarters. What will they do? They’ll start crying, but this crying will be brief.
They cry for 10 to 15 minutes and will do this for a couple of nights. But you can reduce this crying time but using a ticking alarm clock. The noise of this old-fashioned clock can be soothing for puppies. But when you bring puppies home and leave them alone during the first night, they’ll cry very loudly.
This behavior can last for a few minutes and sometimes for a few weeks as well. You might be asking, can you leave your puppy to cry at night? No, you shouldn’t do that. You should discourage this behavior.
Puppy Crying at Night Getting Worse
Bringing a young puppy is never easy for the pet owner and the dogs. The first few nights will pose a serious challenge for both. But the good news is some measures can help you stop your puppy from crying at night. If you don’t do this and let your pet cry at night, especially during the first few weeks, things will get worse and out of control.
Therefore, the best practice is to take timely action. Find out the cause of the crying and fix it as soon as possible. Otherwise, your pet will suffer from many health issues, and you’ll have to give up on your pet.
Why Is My Puppy Crying at Night?
Unfortunately, puppies cry at night, and the issue is it’s not easy to find the cause of crying. Generally, most reasons behind puppies crying at night are common. So, let’s find out why my puppy is crying at night. Here we’ll only discuss the reasons and provide solutions in the later part.
1. Potty Break
When you don’t take your puppy outside for a potty break, they start crying. Puppies don’t have strong bladders, so they can’t hold urine for a long time.
2. Hunger
Most puppies cry at night due to hunger. If it has been too long since your puppy has drunk water or eaten food, it can result in hunger which leads to crying at night.
3. Itchiness
When you don’t take your puppy outside for a potty break, they do their business on the bed or in their crate. As a result, it can result in irritation and itchiness. So, ensure that your pet sleeps in a cleaner and warm place.
4. Loneliness or Anxiety
When you bring puppies from a shelter, they start crying because they are separated from their friends. Moreover, when you keep them with you for one week and then leave them in their quarter to sleep, they feel lonely. As a result, they suffer from anxiety and start crying at night.
5. Lack of Company and Comfort
During the first year of their life, they don’t want to live alone. Therefore, when you’re not present with them, they start crying. Moreover, when you don’t provide them with a cozy bed and other facilities for comfort, they start crying. Most puppies do this to get human attention.
If you’re unable to find the cause, take your puppy to the vet. The vet can identify the issue and suggest a solution accordingly.
New Puppy Crying at Night
Bringing a new puppy home might be easy for you, but this transition can never be normal and easy for dogs. So, when they don’t accept the transition or find it difficult to adjust to a new place, they start crying and do this for the first few nights.Â
Dogs cry for various reasons. For example, they cry because they want company and reassurance. Moreover, they need someone to take them for a potty break.
It’s said that the first night with a new puppy is the most challenging. But don’t change your decision because things will get easier with time. By taking some measures, you can help your puppy stop crying. But it will take some days, so be patient
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Puppy Crying At Night in Crate
There are many good reasons to use a crate for puppies, such as they feel safe, and crates are suitable for house training. But during the first few nights, puppies start crying in the crate. There are various options to stop your puppy from crying in the crate, such as:
• Place the Crate in Your Bedroom
If you’re worried about a puppy crying at night in a crate, keep the crate in your bedroom. It will ensure that you can take your pet outside for a toilet break. More importantly, your presence will comfort your puppy. Like babies, puppies also need safety, so putting a crate next to your bed will make them feel safe.
Once your puppy is house trained, you can leave the crate where you want your dog to sleep in the future. Don’t stop crate training sessions.
• Don’t Rush Crate Training
Another reason for puppies to cry in a crate is that their owners leave them in a crate without crate training. As a result, puppies dislike or hate crates and feel stressed. Some puppies suffer from separation anxiety as well.
If you’re not sure how to crate train a puppy, then check our guide about Crate Training.
• Pick the Size Wisely
When puppies cry in a crate, it means their needs are not met. Another reason for crying can be inappropriate crate size. Measure your dog’s size before bringing the crate. After that, place the dog bed and blankets to make it comfortable.
Should I Ignore My Puppy Crying At Night?
Unfortunately, many pet owners make this mistake. They allow their puppies to cry it out. This practice can make your pet anxious, so you should avoid it. More importantly, when you ignore them, they’ll not be able to build confidence. More importantly, letting your puppy cry will make things worse.
So, we can say that it’s never a best practice to let your puppy cry at night, especially during the first few nights.
How to Stop Puppy Crying at Night?
We’ll give you some ways to prevent your dog from crying at the night. Now, you understand why your puppy is crying or making sad sounds. Therefore, now it’s easier to help them. Let’s find out tips to stop your puppy from crying at night.
1. Take Your Pet Outside for a Toilet Break
As mentioned earlier, it’s not possible for puppies to hold urine for a long time due to weak bladders. Therefore, potty training is the best approach to stop your puppy from crying at night. Before going to bed to sleep, ensure that you take your puppy outside for a toilet break. Follow the tips given below to make toilet visits smooth and easy.
- Don’t talk too much with your pet because it will make them feel that it’s playtime.
- Avoid giving treats to your pet before they do their business.
- Once they do their business, praise them so that they can consider it a positive thing.
- Finally, leave your pup in its sleeping quarters without any fuss.
These are the best practices for taking your pet for potty breaks during the night.Â
2. Prepare for Bedtime
The best practice is to avoid feeding your pet at least two hours before bedtime. Take your puppy for a walk at least two hours before bedtime. Don’t provide water and food when they’re going to bed.Â
Feeding early will ensure that they don’t have to go outside later on. For young puppies, you can try puppy pads. During early morning hours, pets pee a lot, so these pads can be handy.
The best practice is to let them feel naturally sleepy. By doing this, it will be easy for a puppy to sleep.Â
3. Provide Comfort and Avoid Giving Attention
Crying can be annoying for you, but when you give attention to your pet, they’ll do this again and again. So, the best idea is to provide them with a comfortable place. It can be in a crate or a bedroom. You can allow them to sleep in your room but don’t gossip with them. If you do that, your pet will get fresh and wouldn’t be able to sleep.
When they get used to sleeping on their own bed, you can start moving their crate away from your room. Finally, you can leave the crate where you want your puppy to sleep and rest. There are many options for providing comfort to your pup, and the most common one is to bring a cozy bed. You can use blankets as well if the weather is cold.Â
Before trying this tip for stopping your puppy from crying at night, ensure that it’s the right practice for your dog. Crate training isn’t as simple as it looks. But early research can make things easy and smooth. Positive association is the key to ensuring that your puppy feels safe there.
Proper crate training will ensure that your puppy’s crying will be converted to snoring. You can reward your puppy for entering the crate, feed them in the crate, and ensuring that there is no distraction outside when they’re in a crate. All these measures and proper training will ensure that your puppy will start loving the crate
5. Tire Your Puppy
Puppies are more energetic than senior dogs. But when you tire your puppy throughout the day, they will have less energy at night, and they can sleep well. There are different options to wear out your puppy, such as training, fetch toys, and puppy-safe exercises.Â
You can bring food puzzle toys to tire them mentally. These little tactics will stop your puppy from crying at night.
6. Keep a Routine
If you want to stop your puppy from crying at night, ensure that your puppy goes to sleep at the same time every day. Moreover, they should sleep at the same place every day. Avoid making changes in lighting and sounds.Â
If you want to keep the doors, windows, or curtains open, do it from the start. Please don’t change it later. Ensure that you’re present in their room before they wake up and do this daily.
7. Avoid Distractions
Your puppy can enjoy a good night’s sleep when you provide them with soft bedding, a safe environment, and a crate. During the nighttime, keep their toys away from the sleeping area. Leave the doors and windows closed, so they’re not distracted by outside noises.
8. Check for Other Issues
If you have tried all the ways mentioned above, but your puppy is still crying at night, it means there is something wrong. So, find out the reasons for the pet’s distress. Ensure that the bedding is warm enough and they’re not hearing weird noises.
There can be some injury or illness that might be causing your puppy to cry at night. So, if you’re still unable to find the reason, take your pet to the vet for a detailed check-up.
Final Words
Bringing a young puppy home is always a great addition to any family, but it comes with many challenges. The most important challenge is to stop your puppy from crying at night. For this, you need to find out the reason for crying so that you can take the right action.
