Why won't my puppy stop crying?

[May27JnJ]

We have a 4 month old Chihuahua female. She sleeps in the bathroom in her bed while our older dogs sleep in the kitchen in their beds. Every.morning. she CRIES and CRIES until we go in and get her out of the bathroom. (I know you shouldn't go in there while they're crying b/c it teaches them that if they cry, you come. But she seriously never stops!) Around 6:00-7:00 every morning. We've had her since she was 5 wks so I think she'd know by now.
Is this just a phase or do we need to try something different?

(She does well without a crate. We tried to crate her, and I have never seen such a mess in my life!)

[Sophia]

If you've had her since she was 5 weeks old, she was much to young to be taken from her mother and littermates and could very well have socialization and/or behavioral problems because of that. She's probably crying because she's incredibly lonely if she's all alone in the bathroom. Why isn't she sleeping in the same room as th other dogs? Also, if she's only crying in the morning (6-7, as opposed to all night) , maybe she can't amuse herself, or she needs to go out or be fed at that time.

[May27JnJ]

If you've had her since she was 5 weeks old, she was much to young to be taken from her mother and littermates and could very well have socialization and/or behavioral problems because of that.

I know all about this b/c I started a thread about it when we got her. We reported the "breeders" and everything. The vet is VERY happy with how far she had come! :D

She's probably crying because she's incredibly lonely if she's all alone in the bathroom. Why isn't she sleeping in the same room as th other dogs? Also, if she's only crying in the morning (6-7, as opposed to all night) , maybe she can't amuse herself, or she needs to go out or be fed at that time.

I was scared to have her with the other boy chihuahuas. I didn't know if they'd get too aggressive with her and maybe hurt her. (The boys are fixed so we don't have to worry about that! ;) ) She doesn't cry every weekend. Sometimes she'll cry early in the morning, sometimes she sleeps. ETA - But she does cry every.morning before we get up for work.

[PinkMartini]

I was just going to point out that she was taken WAY too early from her littermates/mother and that might be part of the problem.

Have you tried having her sleep with your other 2?

[May27JnJ]

I was just going to point out that she was taken WAY too early from her littermates/mother and that might be part of the problem.

Have you tried having her sleep with your other 2?

Yeah it was a big issue when we got her b/c we had to put her on special food and everything. I didn't want to take her back to the "breeders" b/c they obviously didn't care enough to keep her with her family.

I haven't tried it yet. I don't want them to hurt her. :o

[Sophia]

She sounds bored/lonely. And honestly, one hour of crying every onvce in a while isn't really a problem.

How are the other dogs with her normally? Unless they've already shown agression and you're still in the process of dealing with that, I would let them all sleep in the same room.

[Sue]

If you're worried about the others hurting her, you can always crate her while she's with the other 2.

[May27JnJ]

She sounds bored/lonely. And honestly, one hour of crying every onvce in a while isn't really a problem.

How are the other dogs with her normally? Unless they've already shown agression and you're still in the process of dealing with that, I would let them all sleep in the same room.

That's what I'm thinking too. Oh she cries almost every day. Like I said, sometimes she doesn't cry on Sat. or Sun., but I could count that number on one hand.

They're pretty good with her. Sometimes they'll get a little rough with her, but for the most part they're good. I guess I won't know until I try.

[Sophia]

I misread your post about how often she cries. ;)

I'd try it. If they start fighting, you'd be able to hear it and go intervene, right?


Are the other dogs small or large breeds?

[May27JnJ]

Yes. I could go save her, or them (she beats them up!). :D

They're Chihuahuas also.

ETA - One of the boys is 7lbs, the other 6lbs, and the puppy is 2lbs.

[Sophia]

If she's beating them up, I'm sure she'll be able to hold her own! :) I'd definitely try it.

[May27JnJ]

Ok. I'll try it tonight. Hopefully we will actually be able to let the alarm clocks go off! Oh how exciting!