Silencing Your Whimpering Dog
10 Mar 2010
The annoyance of a whining dog can surpass even that of one that barks incessantly. Many people find incessant whining to be the most irritating of dog behaviors. Pups in the wild instinctively whine to alert their mother when something is wrong, so that she can make correct the problem. Wild pups quickly lose this trait when they mature.
However, some domesticated dogs never outgrow whining, but merely transfer the whining behavior from their mothers to their owners as a means of drawing attention. Whining and other noises that an adult, domesticated dog makes are solely for the purpose of gaining attention from the owner. Wild dog mothers make a point to put an end to their pups whining early on, and it’s important that human dog owners do the same thing.
The first step is to determine why the dog or puppy is whining
Dogs usually whine for a specific reason. There is something that they want from you, and they believe that whining will help them get it. Once you can determine what it is that your dog ultimately wants, you should be able to stop the whining. Generally, domesticated dogs will whine in an attempt to inform you that it needs food, that it needs to be let outside to relieve itself, or that it merely wants physical attention from you.
But there could be atypical causes for the whining which are not so obvious. If the animal is eating normally and experiencing the usual bowel movements, then the whining could be providing a signal that something else may be going on, that the dog is bothered by something. Your pet may be trying to tell you that he or she is in pain. After you have ruled out the most common factors, you should call your local veterinarian for an appointment.
Once this has been done, you can assume the whining is a behavior and work on correcting it.
A whimpering dog should be treated much like a misbehaving child. The first thing is that you must recognize this as attention seeking behavior and be sure that you do not reward your dog for it by giving him what he wants. For example, if you are eating and the dog is whining for scraps the first thing you should remember is not to give him the scraps, then you should give your dog commands that will draw his attention away from your food such as sit, lay down or stay. If this works and he obeys your instructions, reinforce his behavior by giving him something he likes, such as a biscuit.
If the whining is due to the animal wanting to spend more time with you, this might indicate that you have been neglecting the animal and that he believes you are going to desert him. The antidote for this problem is to assist him in losing his fear of being by himself by gradually getting him used to it. Begin this process by first spending a few moments with your dog and then leaving for a short time. Upon leaving, do not let him bring you back to the room with whining. Instead, respond from outside the room with a firm no, and continue to leave the dog alone. Compliance should be rewarded several minutes later by lots of praise and affection. If the behavior does not cease, simply start the process from the beginning again.
Each time you work on this exercise, and your dog is able to watch you leave without whining, you will want to extend the length of time that you leave him alone. Before long, your dog will be comforted by the knowledge that you will eventually return, and will then stop whimpering when you leave. However, if your dog continues whining and you return immediately when it starts to whine then you are actually rewarding the whining, you are teaching your dog that when he whines you will come back and this will encourage your dog to continue whining. Exuding this dominant energy lets your dog know that you are the alpha in the pack and allows them to adjust their behavior accordingly.
