# Crying puppy



## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

2 questions 
I've had puppies before but do not remember the answers to my questions...heh...

1.) Approx. how long can a 4 month old puppy hold their bladder? Is 2 hours too much? 

2.) How long does it take a puppy to stop crying when left alone? I've started getting my puppy used to being left alone, working from 5 minutes up to 1 1/2 hours, with kongs and bones and such in her kennel, but she still screams the entire time, even if I made her dog tired, she wakes right up and starts screaming once she notices I'm gone. And this puppy can howl up a storm...

She won't be left alone for huge amounts of time, max being like 2 1/2 hours probably, but we don't have a little room for her to be in, so she has to be in her crate so I don't want her in there long enough to have an accident. I have a large puppy pen, but she's mastiff/boxer so she can get over it....T_T

So far she's been left alone for at least 1 1/2 hours with no accidents in her crate, just screaming...

Thanks for any and all answers


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

1. No, at 4 months of age she should be able to hold it 2 hours with no trouble (unless she has a UTI or something)

2. I would set her up by pretending to leave and when she starts "screaming" rush back into the room and throw something (car keys are good) at the crate. You don't want to hit the crate but just want to hit the floor so that it startles her quiet. Then praise her for being quiet and try again. And remember to never let her out until she is quiet.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

wow i've never heard of coming back into the room and making a startling noise while your puppy is whining. usually we just ignore or tell the puppy to "lay down" or "quiet".


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

The crying and screaming is done out of fear....fear of being abandoned and alone.
You have two methods to choose from: totally ignore it (she will eventually learn) or, give her the confidence to be on her own.

I use the confidence method. The crate is close and within sight at first. Praise for quiet and calmness. Then, the crate is moved further away but, still within sight. Eventually, we move it out of view but, still in the same room and then to another room. In the meantime, she gets really good things to occupy her while in the crate....Kongs with peanut butter, large soup bones, toys....learning that being 'alone' is OK. The occassional cyring is ignored...no attention for that crying unless you suspect that the puppy needs to go potty.....that's the tricky part of crating.


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## scropper (May 26, 2009)

when i stated that i just ignore my puppy's whining... i didn't mean all the time. i sort of did was tooney stated (the confident method). now if she whines i know it's because she has to potty.


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## Davidjames (Jun 29, 2009)

Check out this Blog Talk Radio episode about excessive barking. Hope this helps.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/davido


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## BEX&NYX (Aug 4, 2009)

With my first dog we were having separation anxiety issues. She would cry in her crate the whole time I was gone. I would put her in her crate, be with her for a few minutes then walk out the door. When I heard her start to whine I would throw something rattly and noisy at the doorstep. She'd hear it and stop whining. It took several tries, but eventually she stopped crying in her crate. 

I'm not sure of the dog psychology behind that but it worked. Maybe I was letting her know that even though she couldn't see me I was still present and she was protected.

Anyone have other thoughts of why that worked, or why it may not work?


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

BEX&NYX said:


> Anyone have other thoughts of why that worked, or why it may not work?


When under stress dogs only have a few options...fight, flight, freeze and appease. She choose freeze.


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

hmm I counted how old she was wrong....T_T She was born on 5/5/09, so that means she's only a little over 3 months old...

When she has to be left alone for 2 hours could she be kept downstairs(it's really small, I live in a little cabin, so it'd pretty much be like being in a big wash room or something...) it has linoleum flooring, and I'd put up the chemicals and house plants and put toys/bones and such everywhere. I don't want to have her messing herself in her kennel.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

1. A 4 month old puppy should be able to hold 3 or 4 hours. 

2. It really depends on the dog. My dog only cries for a minute or so after being left alone, then she either plays with her toys or goes to sleep. If she doesn't I tell her to be quiet and she does. By now, she's used to it and doesn't cry when I crate her or put her in her room anymore.


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## SandyPuppy (Aug 8, 2009)

Sandy is only 3 months old and she holds it all night (8 hours) in her crate. How long should I expect her to hold it throughout the day, between potty breaks? 

I'm lucky, she must feel pretty safe and confident, she adjusted to being in her crate very quickly. I just ignored when she whined in the crate. I don't think she even whined for a full hour the first night. 
She will whine in the morning when its time to get up though.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

SandyPuppy said:


> Sandy is only 3 months old and she holds it all night (8 hours) in her crate. How long should I expect her to hold it throughout the day, between potty breaks?
> 
> I'm lucky, she must feel pretty safe and confident, she adjusted to being in her crate very quickly. I just ignored when she whined in the crate. I don't think she even whined for a full hour the first night.
> She will whine in the morning when its time to get up though.


Mine too! She holds all night because she's sleeping and whines in the morning when she wakes up and needs to go potty.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

One thing we did with Nash that helped a lot with his SA was to feed him in his crate. He couldn't eat though until we say OK. So I would put the bowl down, close up the crate, put my shoes on, pick up my keys and they say ok and he would eat while I stood there. I slowly worked up to all that stuff. First it was just closing up the crate and standing up then i said OK, then turning my back, then take a few steps away, then putting my shoes, then shoes and keys. Now I can do all that stuff and I walk away from him while he is eating.


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