# Puppy won't stop whining at night



## snuz81 (May 24, 2013)

We are desperate for help! We got a puppy 5 months ago and she is now around 6-7 months old. We got her from Animal Control, and we think she's a border collie mix (no idea what she's mixed with). From day one we've crate trained her. She's house broken and knows her basic commands if we can get her to focus. She has a lot of energy, but we have a big fenced in backyard, and run her for as long as we can everyday to wear her out. She just got spayed at the beginning of this month. 

When we first got her we would set an alarm overnight and get up and take her out multiple times during the night. As she got older, we would progressively wait longer and longer between trips outside, until she was able to sleep the whole night in her crate! She did great. Then about a week and a half ago, she has started waking up in the night and crying/whining/barking all night long. We get up to take her out but she wants to play and won't go to the bathroom. We put her back in her crate and she continues to whine. Sleep is very precious to me right now (I'm 6 months pregnant) and we don't know what to do. Does she need more exercise? Is this normal for a puppy her age? Should we move her crate to another room in the house? Should we let her sleep in the room, but out of her crate? We're at our sleep-deprived wit's ends!


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## packetsmom (Mar 21, 2013)

I try to make bathroom trips in the middle of the night (or early morning, for that matter) as boring and businesslike as possible. During the day, a successful potty trip gets praise, a treat, and play. At night or really early, it gets a "good boy" and right back in the crate. Is it possible that these trips have become a little "too interesting/stimulating?" Also, do you take her out while she is whining? I tend to make a dog wait until they are quiet before letting them out, even if it is for a potty break, so I'm not reinforcing the whining too much. Is she ever in her crate during the day? If not, you might try doing some crate training during the day again, with crate games and short stints in the crate.

Border collies do have TONS of energy and also need mental stimulation. If you think she's getting enough physical exercise, is it possible her little brain needs more mental stimulation? Maybe upping the training or getting some mental stimulation toys might help wear out her brain more so that she can rest through the night?


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## snuz81 (May 24, 2013)

I don't think the middle of the night trips are too interesting. Whichever of us takes her out is half-asleep and barely talks to her. And it's difficult to find a quiet moment when she isn't whining to let her out - it's pretty constant. We will look into some mental stimulation toys and ideas. Hopefully that will help. We just don't understand the sudden change when she was doing so well...


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Puppies go through developmental stages. One of those stages is a fear stage. It actually happens more than once in their development. But, it could be that she's going through a bit of a fear stage and is unsure of being alone at night. In fear stages, a puppy might react to something that didn't use to bother them. So, if she got good at sleeping through the night and not whining and being upset, a fear stage could cause her to be nervous about this again.

It does sound like she doesn't NEED the bathroom trip, because you say she won't go potty, and you don't mention that you wake up to a mess. You might try some more exercise. Maybe add an extra walk a half hour before bedtime?


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

My dog is 6 1/2 and started this whining up again about a week ago. after the first few nights where we ruled out the need for a potty break, we just started ignoring her and giving her more daytime exercise. 
It got much worse for a few days but last night was pure silence.


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