Ugh.as of this past year I have been locking my 5 year old yorkie in his crate for the night since he likes to get up in the middle of the night and pee all over the kitchen. Well just for about a week now, he has been wakingup and crying between 33-5:00 for hours until I get up and either take him out of the crate, walk him then lock him up in the kitchen(which is where he is always when we are either sleeping or out) or I sometimes just ignore his cries. Well this walking him and letting him out still doesn't passify him. He will sit inside his cage still and cry even though its open. I have several nightlights in the kitchen for him, hmy blankets in his cage as always and a towl over the top too. I can't figure him out! Its getting louder and earlier it seems as time passes. And he's fine during the day, he roams wherever he wants throughout the house and as it gets dark we all lie in bed till we fall asleep then I put him in his cage. Well like clockwork 4 or so hours later he's up crying!
Im losing it here! Hes like a freakin newborn! There's nothing wrong with him because he's been to the vet and current and clean. So please any suggestions, and don't say put something with my smell or a hot water bottle in his crate because he's way too smart for that and he'll probably just pee on it anyway! Lol

So the crate is in your bedroom? I think I read this wrong, but is he crated at the beginning of the night, and than he starts whining so you take him out, he does his business, and than he gets barricaded in the kitchen? If he is doing the whining in the kitchen, have you tried leaving a radio on low? Does he have access to water, what about giving him a small handful of kibble?

I'm no dog expert,but I wondered if there was a new noise in the house at night?

Could he be afraid of something?

I would imagine at 5 years of age he is well settled in his night time routine,it sounds to me he is trying to tell you something,he's anxious.

If he is smart as you say,why not get up when he starts crying and see if you can hear or see anything that might be the cause of him crying and upset,leave the light off,your hearing will compensate for the lack of light,there might be a simple solution.

Hopefully someone will come along and be more helpful.

No, he lays in bed with us until we start to fall asleep, then I bring out the door to go to the bathroom and settle him in his crate and close it. Then he wakes up and cries, so I feel bad thinking he must have to pee, so I take him out and leave him out of the crate just locked in the kitchen where his crate, food and water is. I haven't tried a radio but why would he need this now after years of sound sleeping?

I don't know, I can't assume he hears something every single night that we wouldn't hear. Hes only about 7 feet from kitchen to our bedroom door. I have gotten up many times and I have a feeling he is just lonely and wants to be in the room with us. But he cant, we have carpet in the bedroom and he will wander during the night lifting his little legs on anything touching the ground! Hes not fixed so he's always doing this. But he's already 5 so I don't want to fix him now.
I feel like he is a spoiled child and just wants to come in the bedroom with us.

It just seems odd that his pattern of behaviour has changed suddenly,if he has been happy with the sleeping arrangements for 5 years,why kick up a fuss now? Has something changed in his routine?

No none that I can think of. Everything is the same. :rolleyes: I just don't get it.
Once he's started whining, how can I get him to stop? Is there something I can give him to pacify him or quiet this behavior since nothing significant has changed then I'm to assume he's just fed up with sleeping alone! Lol. I would be.

I'm just throwing this out there,what if as an experiment you move his crate into your room for a night,if he stops,he's lonely or scared on his own,he if still kicks up,id go back to the vet,or you could check out a dog behaviorist.

There a really good dog experts on this site,keep an eye on your post.

Ill have to try that I guess. Thanks for the help :D

Dogs are like little kids. You have given his whining reinforcement by checking on him repeatedly. As long as he whines, he knows you will show up. He has you trained. You have created this "spoiled child."

***ADDED***Dog Experts on this site will give you help as to how you can entertain him while crated and even make him happy to be there.

Please get him fixed. Being five years old has nothing to do with anything. Your dog will live longer and be healthier if you get him neutered.

I'm not expert but it's something like Small dog syndrome... you dn't treat your cute little dog like a DOG... you let him jump up on the couch... you let him in bed with you... etc etc... because it's not inconvenient, because he's not a huge slobbering mess... he thinks he's your equal...

NOW... if your brother locked you in a crate, you'd be pissed too!

Start putting him in the crate WHEN you go to bed instead of after you all go to sleep, basically ban him from the bed. This should help but it will take time for it to get better... and Don't check on him at night.. let me cry... lock him in a room far away from yours and get some white noise by the bed (we like the electronic rainstorms and stuff)...

Rememeber dogs want to please you and are happier, when they know their place. If they don't they are real A-holes.

That seems cruel to me. Will our men live longer if we fix them? Did god intend for us to rip out their original parts? I don't think so. I don't think its right to do so either. So thanks for your input but ill pass on the advice.
:D

Every Dog Expert on here will advise you to get your dog neutered. The vet will not be neutering you, only your dog. It's not cruel; it's good sense and gives the dog a healthier life.

Plus, it's an easy surgery. He won't even know what happened.

And furthermore, I also don't believe in ignoring crying anything whether it be dogs or babies! At what point is ignoring this behavior and "not checking on them" considered neglect?? You wouldn't know unless it was to late if there was a problem. So thanks but I'd rather check and make sure he's not trapped somehow with his legs stuck in the cage door, or if he has to pee or if he's maybe sick.

You're a young teenager, aren't you.

I didn't say don't check on him, but repeated and frequent checks aren't a good thing. After you've had a few kids, we can talk again.

You have been given some great advice here.

I just want to touch on some subjects you have brought up, mainly the one about neutering being not natural. If you think about it, the environment that you have your dog in is unnatural. I mean they lay on couches, watch squirrels on t.v, and eat dry food out of a bowl. Not something they would normally do in the wild. Your dog is domesticated. That's like saying a man who has had a vasectomy is less of a man who hasn't.

Remember your dog is still an animal, you are not taking away his "manly hood" and animals have absolutely no concept of sexuality or ego. It's all instinct to them, and he won't suffer an emotional reaction or identity crisis afterwards.

Pet overpopulation is a HUGE problem in Canada and the United States and many countries around the world -- don't contribute to the problem of unwanted puppies and kittens simply due to lack time, interest, funding, etc. Speak with your veterinarian if you have financial concerns.

Non-neutered males have an increased risk of cancer (testicular, perianal, and possibly prostate) over their lifetime.

Intact male dogs suffer from a high incidence of inflammation and enlargement of the prostate, as well as testicular tumors. Older dogs commonly develop swollen and infected prostate glands. These conditions are painful and can interfere with urination and defecation. After neutering, the prostate shrinks considerably. Tumors of the testicles, common in older intact male dogs, are eliminated entirely.

And finally, I suggested radio as means of company.

When mine cry in their crates at night I just tell them to "shut up" and go back to sleep.

Getting up an letting them out only teaches them that if they cry, they get let attention.

The only time I do get up is if it is very cold, but I have a hairless dog who feels the cold really badly. I don't let him out, just cover him over with a blanket.

I'm on the fence about letting dogs sleep on the bed. I do it and have no problems. But I also have dogs that are kept in crates. The one who sleeps on the bed is actually the most submissive out of all of them.

I felt bad when I got my boy neutered for a while, but it is just the safer option in my opinion. Why risk testicular cancer, or unwanted pregnancies when you don't need to?
Men get vasectomies when they want to make sure they don't have kids, it's no different.

The answer is simple. Stand in the other room and listen to him crying as soon as he stops give him a treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat... till he associates being quiet with treats... I can assure you as a woman who works with animals the yorkie will shut up ;)

He will associate crying with you coming out and giving him a treat, not the other way around ;)

Just to clarify, I don't repeatedly go out and check on him. I go out once after he's been crying for a bit. I do tell him to be quiet. First I yell "Shhh", which he knows means silence" and then I fall back asleep and he keeps crying so I finally get up if after some time he doesn't stop. I let him out if his cage, bring him quickly outside the front door to pee, then put him back in the kitchen (out of his crate but gated in the kitchen). This all doesn't not passify because he still lays in his crate and cries still. Hes never ever been allowed to sleep all night in the bed just for the first hour or so while we watch TV and all hang and relax. He will quiet if my fiancé yells out to him but he will not if I say so. Obviously because I baby him yes but I just am not understanding why now he's picked this behavior up? I slept in the spare room with him last night to see if he slept soundly and he did however scratch at his ears a lot and moan a little. So I'm thinking that maybe his ears are itchy and need to be plucked. But this doesn't bother him at all during the day. But none the less I will check him out and get those bad boys plucked and cleaned to see if it helps. Thank you all for your honest opinions and I will maybe look into getting him nuetered.