Anxiety and Whining at Night
 

Hi everyone,
I adopted a 4 year old female yorkie 1 week ago today. She is very well behaved except when it comes to bedtime. She seems to suffer from mild separation anxiety. When I go to bed I leave her in her crate with some high value treats and she whines for about half an hour before falling asleep. Last night she also woke up in the middle of the night and whined for 45 minutes. I have not gone downstairs to console her or given her any attention or acknowledgement as I am hoping that she will learn that whining does not benefit her. She loves her crate and has free access to it during the day. I also lock her in for a couple hours each day while I am in the same room so that she learns that crate time does not mean that I am leaving her alone. I keep my comings and goings during the day as low key as possible and do not acknowledge her when I leave or come home unless she is calm. I am just a bit worried because I thought after 7 nights she would have learned that whining does not work, but her whining and night anxiety has not improved at all. Do you think I am on the right track? Should I just persevere and continue what I have been doing or is there something else I should try? I should add that I don't want her in my bedroom at night.
Thanks for any help!

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. :)

Do you know anything about her previous home and family? She may be accustomed to sleeping in the same room as her humans. Most Yorkies like to be with their humans, especially if they know their humans are home.

I understand if you don't want her to sleep in your bedroom, but it would solve your problem immediately. Having only been in your home for 1 week, she is still acclimating to her new life and probably anxious about changes.

I wouldn't put her in the crate when you are in the same room. That might be confusing to her, the opposite of your intention.

You could try a night light and a calming diffuser made for pets. Give her a soft tshirt that you have worn. My Yorkies love snuggling with clothes that I have worn.

Talk to her using keywords and phrases like bedtime, goodnight, see you in the morning. Yorkies learn words quickly and I believe are comforted when they know the actions connected with the words. Then they know what to expect. Routine has a calming effect.

Why do you not want her in your bedroom?

I leave classical music playing quietly in the background for my girls. It seems to help them to be calmer but it is possible she is used to sleeping with her human which might take time to adjust.