So my girlfriend just told me about her co-workers puppy who will not fall asleep unless the TV is on. Apparently, the puppy howls and cries when the TV is turned off and that he will wake up when he realizes the TV is off. They tried ignoring him, but he kept crying for 45 minutes with the TV, so they turned it back on. My girlfriend asked me for any advice I can give him regarding this behavior, but I'm not really sure as I have never had to deal with this before. I told her that I believe the dog is howling because he thinks that he is alone when the TV is off. So I said they should go to bed and leave the TV off and just make the dog aware that they are with him until he falls asleep. But I have no idea if that is the right thing to do, so I figured I would ask in here and see if I could get some answers for the guy. This is all I know about the situation at the moment, but I can update as I find out more. Not sure if the puppy is in a crate when he is sleeping, but I'm assuming he's not. Any ideas? Thanks.
Hi @Bud Light/Dilly Dilly How old is the puppy? I would try turning the sound down progressively over a few sleeps until there is no sound. It is possible that the dog is not acclimated to quietness. The way to deal with it is not to turn the TV on when the dog howls. Otherwise you are going to teach the dog to howl in order to get the TV put on. Let us know how he gets on, because it could be that the puppy needs company and the TV's sound and/or picture is lighting the room and thereby offering the puppy some solace. In that case the no sound exercise won't do the trick. If the puppy needs company then take the crate in his bedroom. And just let the puppy know you are there when the puppy stirs.
Ahh. Then my first suggestion is more likely. If turning the sound down does not succeed, then they might need to adjust the lighting in the room. If turning the sound does not work, then progressively dim the lighting in the room. Use a light dimmer and alter the contrast on the tv.
