Puppies whine to communicate that they want or need something. Our first line of defense is to meet their needs so there is little reason to whine. But, inevitably, we will miss something, forget or wait too long and have a whining puppy. It’s bound to happen.

If your puppy is whining and under 4 weeks old, sick, injured or very distraught, attend to them immediately. But in most other cases, your best long term solution is to only respond when your puppy is quiet. Fortunately, puppies learn very quickly so it should only require a few instances before they learn that whining doesn’t work.