Whining dog

[TigerBreath]

Our poodle puppy (9months) is a whiner. If he wants anything he whines. To get in, out, out of bed he whines.
I'm concerned every time I ignore it that it's Hugely irritating to neighbours and they've commented. How do I deal with this?

Ignoring it is the only way to go, really. I would apologise to the neighbours and explain you're training him.

It won't last forever but if you give in, he'll just keep doing it.

Thanks. I think I knew this but goodness it's hard.

@TigerBreath Our 9 month lad does this and to be honest, it's like nails on a chalkboard! Both of our neighbours are lovely and very understanding. The thing is, he doesn't whine when we go out; it is only when we are indoors!

Lab* though he is a lad :D

Don’t ignore him - it’s his only way of asking for things. He’s a puppy and with the right training will grow out of it but to ignore him will result in a frustrated and unhappy dog

@PacifyLulu

Don’t ignore him - it’s his only way of asking for things. He’s a puppy and with the right training will grow out of it but to ignore him will result in a frustrated and unhappy dog

They don't always grow out of it if they're taught that whining = attention, though.

But if they do want to go out / come in how else are they supposed to ask? Or are they just supposed to cross their legs until someone else decides?
Whining for attention when fed, watered, toileted, warm, etc is a different thing altogether but OP specifically says her dog is asking to go out / come in.

But if they do want to go out / come in how else are they supposed to ask? Or are they just supposed to cross their legs until someone else decides?

They can be trained to use doggy door bells or to knock on the door. My own dog "knocks" on the baby gate if he needs to go out.

Mine does similar to @cupsofcoffee - we leave a bunch of keys in the back of the door and she nudges it with her nose when she wants to go out.
We sometimes have a dog stay with us in the daytime (I'm wfh and his owners' day has recently changed). That dog whines constantly too. He is happy when playing or sleeping, but every other waking minute he whines. It even annoys my dog as she goes over and licks his face in the hope of ~shutting him up~ cheering him up!

@TTCat39

Mine does similar to *@cupsofcoffee* - we leave a bunch of keys in the back of the door and she nudges it with her nose when she wants to go out. We sometimes have a dog stay with us in the daytime (I'm wfh and his owners' day has recently changed). That dog whines constantly too. He is happy when playing or sleeping, but every other waking minute he whines. It even annoys my dog as she goes over and licks his face in the hope of ~shutting him up~ cheering him up!

Yep - a whining dog is such a grating sound I love the fact that your dog tries to shut the whiner up!

@cupsofcoffee I think we’re making the same point. Training them a different way to communicate isn’t just ignoring it and that’s what I was advocating.
Knocking on the baby gate sounds cute.

[quote PacifyLulu]@cupsofcoffee I think we’re making the same point. Training them a different way to communicate isn’t just ignoring it and that’s what I was advocating.
Knocking on the baby gate sounds cute.[/quote]
I see what you mean :)

I will ignore whining and reward the correct behaviour (knocking) once the correct behaviour is properly established, if that makes sense? Sounds like that's similar to what you do?

The knocking is pretty cute! He looked so proud the first time he managed it too!

I dont ignore whining. (well I do as far as the dog is concerned) But I will look to see why they are whining.

Dogs whine for a reason and I would look to try to fill the void.

So if they are whining to go out take them out a bit earlier so they do not have to whine to go out.

If they are whining because they are bored then look to add in some enrichment

If they are whining because they are in pain etc etc.

If they are whining for attention then I would reward them for being calm and the whining will stop.

My dog often just whines for attention. I do reward when quiet.

Then I would up the enrichment activities

@TigerBreath

My dog often just whines for attention. I do reward when quiet.

How much time do you spend doing training, brain games, play and exercise?

IME a dog who is physically and mentally contented won't whine for attention unless he knows that the whining means someone will feed him/play with him/fuss him.

What sort of enrichment can I provide? He has two good off lead walks in woods, fields and sees other dogs for play during this.

What can I provide at home? We play ball, do training, use Kong's, lickinats and he has free run of our big garden.

We both work from home and I wonder whether this is a problem. ?

Hmm - it sounds like he gets a lot already from your post - has he ever been taught to settle down and be calm?

I've taught him to settle in his bed. Mixed results! Which I suppose is to be expected at his age..
Perhaps I'm expecting too much too soon. Working from home and endless zoom calls put pressure on I think. Which isn't fair on him.

He's still very young at nine months and as he's in adolescence he'll be pushing the boundaries as much as possible too

I think maybe you need to be a bit more realistic - my 3yo dog will happily chill most of the day if he's had enough exercise and stimulation but at 9 months I don't think he would.

Have you tried seeing if he'd get on at daycare or with a dog walker once or twice a week to break things up for him?

As far as the whining goes, I think you have to be prepared that each time it happens, it will take a bit of your focus / attention to resolve it. And that the process overall might take some time, so be patient.

I agree it is best not to immediately go to the whining dog as it could reinforce the idea that whining = attention, or whining = get out of bed.

My dog is a similar age. Our approach - if he whines, check what’s wrong but without drawing any attention or fuss. If he’s safe, just go about your day/ potter about in the next room but completely ignore the whining. Then, when he pauses even for a small moment, take the opportunity to go to him while he is quiet. Absolutely no fuss or attention though, avoid eye contact as that would just get my dog excited again. Over time, hopefully those pauses will become a little longer so you can continue to reinforce that he doesn’t need to whine in order to get what he wants.

If the starts whining again while you are on your way over, I’d say leave the room again until he is quiet.

Poodles are known to be vocal

I would be looking at calming enrichment.

So scatter feeding the food.
Chewing, toys or natural chews
Scent work of any sort is fab , scenting for favourite toys, balls or treats.
Have a mat near where you are working and treat when they are quiet and lying in a down on the mat. Do this when your dog is quiet any whining for treats at this stage pick up the mat put it away and put your dog in another area.

I would also restrict his freedom a bit. Let him have his walk and then learn the next stage of the day is chill time, a chew toy in bed for a while.

I possibly would cut out any ball throwing for a bit too but get him to hunt for his ball by hiding it in places in the garden for him to bring back to you. Much more tiring relaxing and will bring down his adrenalin a bit

Thank you Polly. You always have such great advice.
Removing the balls has helped on day 1!
I'm going to give it all a really consistent try. I'd not heard of removing the mat. Ddog just gets hyper when I treat for staying in bed and I haven't known what to do with that.

The balls that we throw I mean 🤣