Leerburg / Ask Cindy / Categories / Obedience / Our 11 week old puppy cries all the time at night....

May 18, 2011

Our 11 week old puppy cries all the time at night. I have been hitting her with a rolled up newspaper. This only works for awhile. What can we do?

Full Question:

Sir,

I'm writing you today on a recommendation from a friend who trains military working dogs. I have a 11 week old female GSD. My wife and I purchased her at 7 weeks. Every night for the last 4 weeks, I have been up with her multiple times at night, trying to keep her quiet. She has food and water, and is outside with an adult female GSD (they get along quite well). Sometimes I'll bring her in and put her in a playpen with bedding (continues to whine). I've been spanking her consistently with a rolled up news paper whenever she starts up and telling her "NO." That only works for an hour before she begins whining again. We've tried walking her before bed to get her tired...that works initially, but then she wakes up. The vet says she is healthy, so I'm pretty sure she's not in any pain. What do you recommend?

One more question...She found a dead bird in my front yard and tried to swallow it whole. I had to open her jaws (quite strong already) and pull it out. I've also noticed that she doesn't chew her food, only the occasional crunch. Is this normal?

Any help you can provide will be extremely appreciated.

Jason, Honolulu

Ed's Answer:

Well you are doing a lot wrong. This is not a puppy problem it's a owner problem.

Here is the list:

A puppy should not be lowed to run with another dog. This is only going to lead to problems. They need to be kept separated.

The pup should not be HIT WITH A NEWSPAPER. That is totally counterproductive and is going to screw your dogs temperament if it has not already done so. I compare this to hitting a baby that cries.

Puppies need to be crate trained. Read the article on my web site about house training. Read the Q&A section.

You seem to want to learn something about dog training - I assume this because you wrote this email. You need to learn because what you are doing is 100% wrong. I would recommend the video I produced titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. I give this video to all of my puppy customers and never get questions on how to raise a pup. Read the description of the video on my web site.