Question about putting puppy in pen

THis might be a dumb question, buit sometimes Im just ocmpletely worn out so I have to put Waffles in the x pen. THe minute I walk away though she starts whining and yelping, so I just ignore her right? She basically sreams bloody murder until she gets taken out. Usually after like 15-20 minutes she'll stop but she sounds like a banshee for that short time.

Yes its hard but you have to ignore her so that she understands crying and whining gets her no where. When she is nice and quiet take her out so she associates being quiet with being able to come out of her pen. Its tough love but it works.

Puppies do that! I'd just make sure that she has gone potty outside recently, then put her in the pen with some toys, a bed, and some water to drink. Actually, I'd give her a kong with something good in it - this will help her to associate something positive with being alone in the pen, plus it will relieve her anxiety!

She'll gradually learn that her pen is a nice place to be, and she can take a nap or play with her toys by herself, knowing you'll return in awhile.

Great advice above. The other thing I'd add is not to let her out until she's quiet. That way she'll learn that the noise doesn't equal freedom.

Yep, ditto what everyone else said. Tough love it is.

Agreed with everyone else ... if you take her out while she's crying she'll learn that crying gets her what she wants.

My sister always told me that her mantra when training her puppy was "who's training who???" ... I always remember that whenever I get tempted to give into Lucky's wimpers and pitiful spaniel eyes ...

At the same time, you do need to train a dog to accept a pen or a crate. That means you shouldn't really just pop them in and leave for a long period of time -- especially in a crate -- a pup/dog needs to be gradually acclimated to being left in a confined place and left alone for periods of time. If the pup has other things to keep it busy in a pen it is likely to be less bothered that it has been placed in the pen.

For example:

http://deesdogs.com/documents/cratetrianing.pdf
http://deesdogs.com/documents/separationanxiety.pdf
http://deesdogs.com/documents/teachingyourdogtostayhomealone.pdf

Faith used to cry when she was put in her crate when we were home. We were able to solve the problem by giving her something like Cathy Moon suggested. I always always always give my guys a treat for going in their crate..

Good luck!

Everyone's advice is excellent.

Puppies have A LOT of energy. Believe me I do understand down time, but most of the time puppy doesn't. It can become very frustrating, but remember as she gets older Waffles will become more independent. It just seems like it takes a looooong time. You have to be strong like everyone else has stated and only reward her when she's quiet. Scout cried for almost three whole nights when I first got her. I had no idea all that noise could come from such a cute, sweet, little innocent looking puppy!!!

Don't be discouraged. We have all been thought it. Some more than one or more times. We all made it LOL. I know sometimes you just won't feel like playing with her, but remember the more you play with her during the day, the better she will sleep at night. Puppies are like babies they take up all your time. You have to watch them every minute of the day, the are never to be trusted when they are tiny. Hang in there Scout is a year old now and all the busy times are starting to fade. It's hard work, but remember you only get out of it what you put into it. So when you are correcting Waffles for something that you have told her not to do 100 or more times, take a deep breath and let it out slow. Easier days are coming.

Well if I saw your post 3 mths ago I'd be OH Yes help please! I am home all day so its obviously nice for Kodee but was quite hard on me somedays! If your at work, puppies need a lot of sleep but if your at home, they are like a baby, cry to be held instead of sleeping alone in the crib situation. JUST like my babies, my puppies get the best of me... I found myself, waiting till Kodee fell asleep to carry her to her crate, sneak out of the room... oh boy, wish I could have gutted up like I should have but I didnt. FORTUNATLEY... that period passes. Now at 5mths, she is very dependable with housetraining, never chews our things etc.. and she is relaxed enough she just lies at the gate blocking her from upstairs and waits for me to return from a shower, bed making etc. 2 mths ago she'd scream, try to climb the gate or wail if xpened. It does pass - but my advice is to be a lot stronger than me, use the xpen and buy earplugs. It was a long 2 mths my way!!

aloha, my maile is 13 weeks or so, she is pretty good at night when we put her down but during the day she wants to be with you no matter how tired she is. sometimes I make sure I leave the house just so she can get some rest. if I'm at home and try to put her down she will whine for 20 mins or so untill she falls into a much needed sleep, that is untill she hears the slightest noise and then is back up again!. like everyone says the better you are at tuning out the whines the better in the long run.