Whining is the current theme song of my life

[MyBuddy]

Buddy is not a big whiner though. And I nipped that in the bud right away too. I would give the SHHH like Cesar Millan and if it didn't stop I would go right up to him with that Cesar Stance. My hand and finger in the air. (No not that one! ) If it still didn't stop, I'd walk into him, all the while maintaining that stance and attitude, and stayed there until he was calm or walked away to lay down. Now if he does it, it only takes a "hey" or go lay down and he complies.

Of course, I always do a mental check of his needs first....does he need to go potty?? Is his water dish empty?? Did he have a walk recently?? Or in our sunroom when we are relaxing by the fire, is his bed accessible?? Sometimes there is a cell phone charging cable laying across it. Yea, get that off my bed, will ya! If all needs are met and hes just being whiny, ....go lay down. Yes, sometimes he'll plop down with a heavy sigh! But he knows who's boss.

 

[Ravenbird]

Yes, I can shush it a bit, but Asha just breathes a whine sometimes. Will stop when I'm giving her the Stop-IT-Stare, but as soon as I turn away, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee..." through her nasal passages. Seriously, where does that noise happen? I have to be sooooo conscious to not do anything positive after a whine. Like right this second she is silent so I'm going take her out for her morning "run around the block" - the fenced acreage.

 

[BamMoMoMommy]

Maybe I just don't remember (My husband doesn't either) but not remembering makes me think it must not have been an issue either!

Same here.

Bam and MoMo make six and seven for us over 40 years, Bam's the first one either one of us can recall being a constant whiner.

Out of the seven, only two came to us as really young pups, where we could influence the vocalization habits over trying to retrain established not so great habits, but we really can't recall any of them being as vocal as Bam was/is.

As I said in an earlier post...MoMo didn't whine(came to us at 10.5 months/re-home)....until Bam moved in....and WHAM "monkey see, Monkey DO & DO & DO....to infinity and beyond!!" (Gee thanks BAM!!)

Bam came out of a rough situation....spent most of his early life either in a crate or left outside on a chain, unattended by the family other than to be screamed at...I honestly thought his whining was a result of this part of his puppy history. It was a four hour drive from picking him up to getting back home....and he whined and cried all the way back...which....wasn't a shocker..LOL. I recall sitting in the back seat of our truck with Mo on one side and Bam on the other and Bam was going on and on...and Mo was lookin at him, then at me with a look that read to me as:

"Really Ma??We are gonna keep that noisy thing over there?"

By day three I was doing the "sush, hush Bam stop!!" I don't recall ever needing to do this with any of the previous baby dolls.

And I recall when Mo started it too! A couple of weeks after Bam got home with us.....I hear this pitiful whining from another room..and made a mad dash to the living room....to find Bam sound asleep in his bed...and Mo sprawled out across the floor....doing the "I'm scared and alone and I can't find my people" whine that Bam was doing when he couldn't see us.....as soon as Mo spotted me...he hit his feet and I swear I could hear him THINK:

"HOT DAMN!! Now I get why that thing they call Bam makes that noise!!"

And it was ON....and going into three years later with Bam in house..it is still ON......lawdy!!
(Bam also has a "purrrrrrrrrrrrr" things he does when he is content.)

Our daughter has two Dobes, one is MoMo's litter mates and he has been a whiner from the get-go...(the reggae loving boy)

Her older guy is a groaner...but was never much of a whiner.

Nature? Nurture?
One of them things that will probably always have us shaking our heads over these Velcro critters!

 

[MyBuddy]

Will stop when I'm giving her the Stop-IT-Stare, but as soon as I turn away, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee..." through her nasal passages.

Once you give the command, you should stand there until she relaxes. If you just say shush and walkaway, she's not done! LOL it's almost like she doesn't believe you or playing a game. It won't happen overnight but if you consistently go up to her and shush her and wait until she physically relaxes before walking away, it should work. It just takes time.

 

[MelonJ]

Buddy is not a big whiner though. And I nipped that in the bud right away too. I would give the SHHH like Cesar Millan and if it didn't stop I would go right up to him with that Cesar Stance. My hand and finger in the air. (No not that one! ) If it still didn't stop, I'd walk into him, all the while maintaining that stance and attitude, and stayed there until he was calm or walked away to lay down. Now if he does it, it only takes a "hey" or go lay down and he complies.

Of course, I always do a mental check of his needs first....does he need to go potty?? Is his water dish empty?? Did he have a walk recently?? Or in our sunroom when we are relaxing by the fire, is his bed accessible?? Sometimes there is a cell phone charging cable laying across it. Yea, get that off my bed, will ya! If all needs are met and hes just being whiny, ....go lay down. Yes, sometimes he'll plop down with a heavy sigh! But he knows who's boss.

Yeah we tried all of that and then some lol. Didn’t work. I was firm from day one. We nipped all undesirable behaviors in the bud immediately, but that damn whining is just impenetrable. Literally nothing would interrupt him. He just got louder with us when shushed or spacial pressure was applied. It soon became a contest of who could endure the longest lol. Only thing that shut him up was all-day long duration and obedience training and nap times in a covered crate. Now that he’s got that down, he just doesn’t care to shut up anymore.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

@Ravenbird my first boy in the 70’s never once whined, nor was he a barker. He didn’t moan and groan. He was my heart dog. I miss him so much.

 

[MyBuddy]

Yeah we tried all of that and then some lol. Didn’t work

If you can get a video of this, it may help us critique the situation.

 

[Brioddy]

Brinks is a whiner. Mostly he’s talking which I find endearing, but when he does the actual WHINE it is so aggravating. Mostly he does it in the car because he’s anxious and excited, or if he’s been stuck inside too long. That only really happens if it’s stormy all day, otherwise it’s a requirement that he gets out for an hour or two to blow off steam.

 

[MyBuddy]

That only really happens if it’s stormy all day, otherwise it’s a requirement that he gets out for an hour or two to blow off steam.

I think Buddy is like that too. If he is inside all day with no walks, I can tell the difference in whine or restlessness.

 

[BamMoMoMommy]

Seriously.....this thread needs to come with a "possible choking hazard" warning. I have learned to hard wy to not pop it open when I am sipping on something.

Mostly he’s talking which I find endearing,

I think that's WHY I can tune it out...to me it is "life background noise of kids in the house".

What cracks me up..is when they "whine/growl/snort talk" to each other....it's like they are having full blown conversations...they sound like a whale pod communicating. They will sit in the floor in front of us and go back and forth at each other...yammering.
Mo sounds like the "GET OFFA MY LAWN, YOU ROTTEN KIDS!!!" grumpy grouch.
Bam sounds like an over caffeinated, with a sugar high to back it up...tweener.

We are all crammed into a 40 ft fifth wheel at present....so there's not a lot of room tween...rooms...LOL.
We have cameras in the living room and bedroom to keep an eye on them when we aren't in the house.

One day I popped the living room camera open to see Bam laying in his bed on the floor....could hear, but not see Mo (he was on the bed in the bedroom) :growl,growl, snort, whine.
Bam raised his head up....whine..whine..whine......then I heard Moose "snort, whine, snort, small short sorta bark...watched Bam lay his head back down and doze off..checked the bedroom cam and Mo was sprawled out, dozing off.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

Ever since I broke my foot the twins haven’t had the amount of exercise they are accustomed to (which is a LOT) so the whining and sassing back has been at an all time high. Bogie is prone to his temper tantrums like a 2yr old kid throwing himself on the floor and hollering.

Now that the cast and boot is off they think it is time to resume the running, biking and the distance swimming. My foot is not quite ready for all of those, especially the running. Not sure but I believe my running days are behind me.
Bogie loves distance swimming with me but Bacall does not care that much for it.
She likes to get in the water, swim a bit after a ball then lay in the shallows and watch everyone.

I am starting their nose work again to get their brains working. I’ve baited the mangrove trail this morning so we will start working it later today when not so hot. That should curb their whining.

I am getting a bit sad knowing in a few months they won’t be working and playing these trails anymore but they will have new adventures when we move to Roatán. Just knowing they will have a mile of beach to open up and run, then swim is exciting, not to mention over 4 acres of land with hills next to the rain forest to explore.

 

[Ravenbird]

Once you give the command, you should stand there until she relaxes. If you just say shush and walkaway, she's not done!

But, she's NEVER done!LOL! And she doesn't relax if I stand there. My example would be she is in the X-pen in the computer room and my back is to her while I'm on the computer. She decides she is bored and starts whining/whistling, I say no, nope, and in two seconds she wheezes out a Wheeeeeeeeee. I can say no while keeping my back to her, turn and look at her while saying no, or stand up and give the LOOK, but if I stand up she romps to the gate thinking she gets to go out, so I sit back down. If I go back to my computer business she starts up again. I've tried ignoring (the least effective method). Eventually she stops but it does take a long time, and there has never been any instant stopping just because I said stop. I don't know about the other dogs here, but I see it as purely complaining for not having what they want when they want it. An anxious demand, if that makes sense. What I HAVE found that works is less confinement. Instead of moving the X pen from room to room when I can't keep my eye on her (at 4 months, it only takes a few seconds out of sight to find trouble) I tie her to the leg of the kitchen table, with a bed next to her. She can be with me but not in my way. She rarely whines tied to the table, where as when she was in the pen in the kitchen she whined a LOT. The computer room there is nothing to tie to and leaving her loose in there I can't get my work done as she bounces all over the place. But she doesn't whine. She's not bad in the crate - but that's in the bed room and I only use it at night or if I leave the house without her. She doesn't whine in the crate in the car either. I DO know the whine for potty, it's different, and I always take her out for that one. I will say she is improving, and hoping that confidence and training in sports will help, but I still see it as an inborn trait that has to be managed and having studied animal behavior it seems closely tied with separation anxiety, which so many of you know is terribly difficult to manage.

 

[Ravenbird]

my first boy in the 70’s never once whined, nor was he a barker. He didn’t moan and groan. He was my heart dog. I miss him so much.

My first two, exactly. And velcro and fierce as well, right?

 

[Ravenbird]

I am starting their nose work again to get their brains working.

I'm starting to play with nose work, Asha LOVES it. She is going to be brilliant, and I really think the more work the less whining, she is just too young yet. Starting a puppy class next Sat.

You will find lots to do on your new place with 4 acres. I know you'll keep the twins busy. Hope your foot is healing well!

 

[Tropicalbri's]

My first two, exactly. And velcro and fierce as well, right?

Yes, he did not allow anyone in my space without me inviting it. He was silent but deadly. He was always with me and I had no fear of going anywhere with him next to me.
Bogie is becoming the same way except he is afflicted with the whining on occasion. Not nearly as much as Bacall though.
Bogie does snore in my ear at night so I have to tell him to move which he does with a groan. He is my master groaner and I love sharing groan with him. Lol

 

[Tropicalbri's]

You will find lots to do on your new place with 4 acres. I know you'll keep the twins busy. Hope your foot is healing well![/QUOTE]
Nose work is excellent for focus and draining energy. My twins love it. After nose work they are so obedient with walking and heeling properly and focus on me while off lead.

 

[Rick 980]

My very first female Doberman did not whine at all but then I was younger and my favorite thing to do was take her to the park and let her run. She could jump 10 feet into the air too catch a frisbee. She would have a bloody mouth from catching it and biting her tongue but would drop it in front of me, sit and watch me throw it and wait for the command to Go then she would tear out of the like a bat out of hell and she knew where that thing was gonna be in her reach never missed sometimes she would stop because she knew I threw it bad and it was gonna head back but she would catch it and I felt bad because it would hit her mouth hard but she didn't care would do this all day. Other than that she would go play with all the kids in the park, they all knew her name they loved her and she loved to play with them. They would play keep away but they could rarely throw it high enough where she could not jump and get the ball or what ever they were playing with. She would run away with 6 kids trailing her, she would run just fast enough that they thought they could catch her then when they have up she would head back and drop the ball for them. Great dog different attitude than what I have seen in them lately. No whining she was bushed by the end the end of the day more in the summer than winter frisbee was too hard in the winter I didn't want her to get hurt so we used a tennis ball. No coat freezing outside and she was panting from how hard she played. Terra was a really good Dobe . So was my most recent, not so much a whiner but a talker. He would tell my wife I Love You. I know it's on video somewhere I will post it when I find it. He was a terrible loss and days before Christmas!

 

[Rick 980]

Buddy is not a big whiner though. And I nipped that in the bud right away too. I would give the SHHH like Cesar Millan and if it didn't stop I would go right up to him with that Cesar Stance. My hand and finger in the air. (No not that one! ) If it still didn't stop, I'd walk into him, all the while maintaining that stance and attitude, and stayed there until he was calm or walked away to lay down. Now if he does it, it only takes a "hey" or go lay down and he complies.

Of course, I always do a mental check of his needs first....does he need to go potty?? Is his water dish empty?? Did he have a walk recently?? Or in our sunroom when we are relaxing by the fire, is his bed accessible?? Sometimes there is a cell phone charging cable laying across it. Yea, get that off my bed, will ya! If all needs are met and hes just being whiny, ....go lay down. Yes, sometimes he'll plop down with a heavy sigh! But he knows who's boss.

All I had to say was Get Lost and he would shut up. Maybe a little grumble but that was it. I liked when he talked, it sounded like he was actually telling me something.

 

[MelonJ]

If you can get a video of this, it may help us critique the situation.

Not sure what you mean. Video of the whining? Or how we handle it? Because we’ve pretty much long abandoned the methods that didn’t work. We just use a marker word and the ecollar or the occassional spacial pressure (when we’re already near him) now because coming up to him is what he wants, even if it’s all up in his space. The moment you walk away or turn away, he resumes until he’s had enough or gets what he wants. The worst part is that it’s in bursts, not continual long lasting whining. It's harder to catch, so much of the time the moment to correct is gone because we’re simply not given the chance to act. And even when we are, there’s really no walking into him when he’s already on his raised bed or in his crate.

 

[BamMoMoMommy]

It's harder to catch, so much of the time the moment to correct is gone because we’re simply not given the chance to act.

This is why I "picked my battle" with Bam over the whining. More often than not....by the time we started to correct it..he stopped...and at times....he stopped..because he got our attention...so it was a catch 22 with circles inside of circles kinda battle....add to that..sometimes we didn't know WHICH one was doing it. Thinking about it...I kinda started tuning it out cuz I thought if I ignored it...didn't give him attention..it would stop..then it was just habit to tune it out.

Hindsight..it was a "pick your battle" thing.