I have had my 8 week old chihuahua for 3 days now and I am exhuasted due to lack of sleep. I keep her in the downstairs bathroom in a crate at nightwith a baby monitor nearby and it seems like she only sleeps for an hour or so and then is up whining until I come downstairs to calm her down once again. Any tips are appreciated to stop her whining.

Let your chihuahua whine it out! I’ve fostered many chihuahuas and some of them were puppies. I crate them at night to keep them safe and also to keep my sanity if they’re not housebroken, and they all cry at night. Sometimes they’ll cry for a few hours before they stop. They cry a little less the next night and the following night. Usually by the 3rd or 4th night, they stop crying all together. They even start going into their crate willingly when they know it’s time to go to bed (I cue them by saying “beddy bye bye”, and they run right into the crate). It’s not easy at first, but your life will be so much better later on. Do not project human emotions onto the dog. Your chihuahua will not be traumatized, I promise. Otherwise, she will learn that you will come whenever she whines. You can try to make the crate cozier by putting in her favorite toy or a chewie. Some dogs cry when it’s too quiet because they’re used to noise and activities around them, you may try leaving on a radio tuned to soothing music. If you can stand the crying for a few nights, you can try to move the crate to your bedroom. Sometimes the dog feels safer where they can see/smell their people, and they’ll calm down sooner.

Finally, put away the baby monitor. Hearing the dog whine will only tug at your heartstrings. If you can still hear the dog crying, I suggest getting a white noise machine for $40 and blocking out the sound for a new nights. Nothing will happen to her if she’s safe in her crate.

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Tags: Chihuahua Puppy, Training