Whining dog - no reason

[Namechangedforthisoct2]

I have an 18 month Dobermann.
She’s becoming more and more whiny / vocal but often for no reason.
Firstly in the car, but this I get is excitement so working on de-sensitisation, lots of trips out and sitting in the boot without walks, and doing basic sits and downs.
Doesn’t seem to be working yet but hoping it will.

But now this is starting for no reason. She’s curled up next to be on the sofa. Fed, been out, and now asleep but 10 mins ago before she fell asleep she’s sat next to me whining and doesn’t seem to be any reason for it!! It’s just like she likes making the sound rather than actually wanting anything. Almost like a restless baby crying for no reason.

Any thoughts or suggestions please?

Is she getting enough exercise and mental stimulation?

You said ‘fed, been out, now asleep but 10 mins before sat next to you whining’; do you mean she was whining straight after coming in from her walk?
How was she sat when she was whining?
A sloppy puppy type sit or a proper sit with feet either side of her body?
Because my first thought was she’s a large breed and she is whining after a walk, maybe she is in pain?
Dysplasia or over did it a bit maybe?

Mine can also be whiny, I find with her it’s usually frustration, for example:

• whining if she’s not able to investigate guests
• whining if made to sit for an extended period on a walk and she’s had enough and wants to get going

I would want to get a vet check if no obvious environmental stimulus. If that is fine then I would start to look at behaviour

@vanillandhoney

Is she getting enough exercise and mental stimulation?

I’m not sure to be honest, I feel like no matter how much we give her it wouldn’t be enough! She definitely needs a lot of attention and stimulation. Not sure how to increase this though as I give her all the time I can already.

@MrsJunglelow

You said ‘fed, been out, now asleep but 10 mins before sat next to you whining’; do you mean she was whining straight after coming in from her walk? How was she sat when she was whining? A sloppy puppy type sit or a proper sit with feet either side of her body? Because my first thought was she’s a large breed and she is whining after a walk, maybe she is in pain? Dysplasia or over did it a bit maybe?

Mine can also be whiny, I find with her it’s usually frustration, for example:

• whining if she’s not able to investigate guests
• whining if made to sit for an extended period on a walk and she’s had enough and wants to get going

She was next to me in the sofa, curled up so not sat uncomfortably or anything. She did suffer a little from Dysplasia about 6 months back but I’ve not seen any signs of this since. Will keep a look out, but her noise doesn’t seem to say to me it’s pain if you see what I mean.

@PollyRoulson

I would want to get a vet check if no obvious environmental stimulus. If that is fine then I would start to look at behaviour

What do you mean by looking at behaviour? Anything I should be looking for?

I do think she’s a bit like a high needs child that wants attention all the time. It’s hard because the more pushy she is the less inclined I am, but it’s like I’ll do training, a walk, cuddles, massage, then want to sit on the sofa and relax and watch TV but it’s like she still wants more from me, it’s really restless and then eventually falls asleep touching me.

I have a whiny dog. She is 8 and stills whines.

If we are out walking and I stop for 30 seconds to talk to someone she starts up as she wants to get going.
She whines at home if she is in the kitchen alone and if she is not allowed to greet guests (she is over friendly) and basically do what she wants.

The more stimulus she gets the worse she can be....

I just think she is a bit neurotic so i have strict boundaries and she is well exercised. When she starts annoying me she goes to the dog room to lie in her bed.

Forgot to mention that mine whines like hell in the car too - its excitement about where she might be off too. I rarely take her in the car as I don't like to listen to her. Luckily we are rural so she gets walked from home.

@silverbubbles

I have a whiny dog. She is 8 and stills whines.

If we are out walking and I stop for 30 seconds to talk to someone she starts up as she wants to get going.
She whines at home if she is in the kitchen alone and if she is not allowed to greet guests (she is over friendly) and basically do what she wants.

The more stimulus she gets the worse she can be....

I just think she is a bit neurotic so i have strict boundaries and she is well exercised. When she starts annoying me she goes to the dog room to lie in her bed.

Yes this is basically what my girl is!! I really don’t know what the solution is.... Thank you anyway, good to know mine isn’t the only one.

I have a doberman cross, and he does do a lot of vocalising. He is also neurotic, and can find it hard to settle especially if he can hear things outside. He is 5, but had to go back to sleeping in a crate at night - which he prefers - as apparently then things outside are no longer his problem and he sleep peacefully all night if shut in (if you don't lock the door he will come and find you, do a meaningful look, and then walk back and stare at the crate until you get the idea). He likes routine, and you have to be careful about doing things as he will very quickly decide that this is now The Rule and its hard to get out of them.

Our lurcher girl (3) is the same. She seems to go in phases. Generally I think it's because she loves attention and she knows if she whines for long enough she'll get a "will you SHUT UP" which is all the attention she needs She is such a spoilt pooch, bit it's never enough. And like you this will be after all needs have been met, plenty of cuddles, play etc. But it's just whine whine whine for more attention.
Generally we try to ignore her and teach her to settle down but I have to admit we do resort to Burberry on occasion with a kong or chew if she is really doing our heads in, but I realise we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Plus she just starts whining again afterwards.
It's definitely not a pain or discomfort whine, like you say you can tell. A lot of the sighthound groups I use on FB have people with similar dogs, so I think if you've just got a particularly chatty dog... A bit odd that it has recently started, but it could be that she's had positive reinforcement to it (even in the form of a shut up!) and so it's become a learned behaviour?

Burberry = bribery. She isn't THAT spoilt!

If you're constantly with her, it could be that she's a bit overstimulated?

Has she been trained to settle down after a walk or on her bed while you're busy with housework or other bits?

My whiney dog went to stay with MIL and she got walked 7 times a day starting from 5am!!
MIL would not listen to me and follow the routine of ignoring dog and shutting her in with her bed to settle but instead felt that the dog was 'asking' to keep going out.

Basically whiney dog kept asking what's next, where have you gone , what can we do ?and was rewarded with another walk or more activity!!! Poor dog didn't know what was going on.

MIL won't have her again as she can't keep up with the bloody walking!

If she suffered from a little dysplasia six months ago I'd take her to the vet to have it checked out again before assuming it's behaviourial.

My 17 month old whines a lot. Sometimes he sits or lies on the floor and stares at me and whines for ages, occasionally wandering around the room, poking at things, knocking things over or picking up and dropping his toys pointedly. He is 1/4 Dobermann mixed with 3 other high energy, smart working breeds.

With mine it means he's tired and doesn't want to go to sleep in case he misses something; we try to be calm and gentle and very, very boring and eventually he settles down and starts snoring. If we pander to him and start playing again he gets overtired and is an absolute nightmare.

Kikopup on youtube has a video on capturing calmness which really helped us. We get him to lie on his side and give him treats every so often as long as he stays like that, after a few minutes he usually conks out! Some dogs just need to be taught to relax especially working breeds. We've got to the point now where he sees us sit down for dinner or settling on the sofa to watch some tv and takes that as his cue to chill

Thanks so much everyone for the feedback. My dog sounds a lot like some of yours and think it’s just that, I need to teach her how to relax and settle down.
I’m going to google the YouTube video.
Thanks again :)

Thanks so much everyone for the feedback. My dog sounds a lot like some of yours and think it’s just that, I need to teach her how to relax and settle down
I agree that calmness, routine, settle command are all good but I still think she’s probably sore and a vet visit should come before YouTube videos.
especially as you mentioned previously diagnosed dysplasia.
Dogs are often very stoic, not really showing signs of discomfort until they are in severe pain.
I’d be surprised if the dysplasia wasn’t playing a role myself.