# How do I *stop the whining*?



## animallover (Jul 18, 2010)

No advice here as my 4.5 month old Emma is doing a lot of whining herself. For everything, for nothing. Just whining. At times I get worried she is in pain but I really don't think so. Maybe this is just a stage they go through? I must admit, I do baby her sometimes when she whines...my bad.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Is she whining when she's confined? If so, she may need more time with her people. Try having her loose more to see if that makes a difference, work on some basic training or even 'find the treat' games that will keep her stimulated and busy. You can even put her on leash and attach the other end to your jeans so she can't wander off but still have some freedom to be out and about and underfoot.

If you don't like whining, don't get a dobe, had two growing up and that's all they did!

Lana


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## lovemydoggiesx2 (Sep 5, 2010)

I just want to say I feel bad for you. I am sure it sucks hearing her whine all the time...Maybe she just wants to be with you guys and not alone. I have a 3 month old and I will admit we are terrible parents, the second she whines I run to her and give her whatever she wants....ex: in her crate, whines, Mommy comes running....hahah...I am easily trainable...Good luck with your girl!!


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

First thought was that she needs more time with you. 
Second thought...she's a 'she'. 

I can't help you, neither of my boys were whiners. Ike does whine a little, but it's usually when he's trying to 'talk' to us and is very excited.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

What do you consider "a good long run"? At 5 months, she's pretty young for any prolonged exercise. I wonder if she's hurting.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

I have one born whiner and my solution is to make SURE he never ever profits from it. If I hear a whine, I become deaf immediately. Part of the effectiveness/annoyance factor from whining is human guilt, so if she had a great run and a training session, potty and food, then hear her whine and leave the room. Make sure you "catch" her being quiet and reward her lavishly. If all else fails, put the whine on a command with a clicker, and teach her quiet too.

I agree with giving her a total vet check first to make sure she isnt in any pain. However, our orthopedic vet says lots of off leash playing/exercise for five month olds is important as long as she is a sound puppy. Not too much on a leash, but all she wants off leash. . .


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

Jaro is 5 months, too. He whines when he is crated and can see me sometimes because he wants me to take him out. Does he whine when you are not around? If you are home you can put him on a leash and keep him near you. Right now Jaro is leashed by my side at the computer and nice and quiet. When I am watching TV or reading sometimes he wants my attention and I have to crate him. He used to go to sleep or at least lie down but recently he has started to whine--so maybe it is an age thing.


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## DianaM (Feb 18, 2010)

Bender said:


> If you don't like whining, don't get a dobe, had two growing up and that's all they did!
> 
> Lana


My husband had a dobe growing up. His mom wanted to show her but whenever she did a stay, she would start whining lol. 

Gracie whines when she needs out or when I go upstairs since the stairs are blocked off. She can be either in her crate or out, doesn't matter. We will start expanding her freedom little by little so maybe that will help.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Lol, I asked this question months ago when Flora was a young pup. She whined about EVERYTHING... everything. It drove me nuts.

Finally, once she grew up some more, she stopped a lot of her whining. Now she only whines when she's very happy, and I can definitely deal with that.

My advice would be to just put up with it for now (I know how annoying it is), and hope she grows out of it.  Good luck!


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Be sure you use food disepsning toys and keep some treats on hand. When you hear quiet, HURRY over and feed some treats. I'ts hard because we "don't want to disturb her and start it again." But if we don't reinforce quiet...she won't realize that's what we do want.

If she's really spending hours whining, talk to a trainer or an appropriate behavior professional. That's not good for her or for you.


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## katelyn29 (Jul 21, 2010)

I have a 4 mo old and she whines a lot too. Only when she is locked up in the laundryroom though. Her and my 14 mo GR play so crazy whenever they are inside sometimes I just need quiet time. As soon as I lock them in the laundryroom they stop playing and she whines to come back in. Drives me nuts! but I just ignore it. I did the same with my 14 mo old and he doesn't whine at all now, he is pretty good at giving me sad puppy eyes though..makes me feel so terribly guilty.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Cosmo is a huge whiner. Have never reinforced his whining but it's just there. It seems that it's completely for attention. He never barks. I think he whines instead of barking so I have actually counted myself lucky. I'm so used to ignoring it that I don't really hear it anymore. Thankfully he doesn't do it for prolongued periods, just a few whines every so often. Sometimes he does it too when he's really tired and is looking for a comfy place to lie.

Will take the advice and reward him more often for being quiet.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

LJilly's advice is great. Find opportunities to reward silence, and make sure that you're not inadvertently reinforcing the whining with attention. If you do believe the whine indicates she has to go out, take her out without talking to her or acknowledging her, and only give your attention once she's quiet (or possibly just when you're outside). Then put her right back and become deaf again.

Jax is a chatty, chatty dog, so we've had to teach a "quiet" command by building up longer and longer periods of silence and rewarding him with food and attention.


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## hardygirl (Apr 3, 2010)

I am so glad someone asked this question! Roxy is over 8 months old, and the whining is something that has started to get worse since I started working. It's been really bad the last few days. I will also take the treat advice on rewarding the quiets....she also does a groan thing that reminds me of a teenager...is that normal? She usually does this when it's bedtime (after plenty of time out of her crate) or if she is crated because I'm home alone and can't watch her... :no:


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## Sidewinder314 (Jul 5, 2010)

*Still whining...*

So, after having her 13 months, she's still whining. It's definitely an attention getting whine and she is *persistent*. This morning, she was whining for over an hour before my wife couldn't take it anymore and let her out of her crate.

I know that it's because she's not with us and/or bored... but, since she doesn't sleep with us at night, she whines every morning (and whines and whines and whines) once she wakes up until she's free to be with her pack. If she did it on weekdays, it wouldn't matter so much... but, it's *every* day. No matter what time we put her to bed 10pm, 12am, 2am, etc. her whining starts about 7am. I suppose I should be thankful it's not earlier; however, I'm still really tired of it. Not tired enough to get rid of her, but just very grating on my wife and I.

Since we don't sleep with her and it's typically morning when we have this problem (like, right now, she's laying outside our bedroom door and being fine - because she can see us), it's a little harder to implement the advice given above (though, excellent that it was - the posts assumed that it was during waking hours).

Any additional thoughts? Thanks!


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

From reading your post I get the idea she is crated at night somewhere in the house away from your bedroom. Have you tried putting her crate in your bedroom?


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

I had to chuckle that one of the posts suggested that girls whine more, lol! My almost 5 month old golden-girl very rarely whines. She does get tons of one-on-one attention, lots of exercise for her body and mind and she sleeps in her crate in our bedroom. She also gets time to play on her own--that is an important thing for a pup to learn--to entertain themselves. It did that slowly though. She, at the beginning, got so much attention, and then I began to decrease those times and increase her play on her own time. My husband crabbed at me sometimes that I was playing with her too much at the beginning, but I think it has created a well-adjusted puppy-- to have weaned her from attention slowly. Everything we did with Bella we did slowly--crate training, obedience, food change, intro to the house, etc. What we forget is that these pups had their litter mates and mamma 100% of the time until they came to be with their forever family. I think that is something that needs to be taken into consideration. I will say, it was exhausting! She trusts me now though--that she will get the attention she needs--- mental, behavioral, physical.

You may have to "undo" some behavioral thinking on your dogs part by going back to square one. Spending more time with her playing, etc. Then slowly begin to increase the time you don't spend with her and rewarding her when she does play on her own....but take it in slow time increments. She may have developed an anxiety that she isn't going to get what she needs, even if it's not a correct thought. In my humble opinion, I think taking this time now will save you from frustration and irritation that could last a life time. 

Think about your own situation, and if anything said might help--try it, if not, that's okay too.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

Riley isn't usually a whiner (he's a pretty quiet dog) but the other day when he was neutered and we had to put the cone on him, he started whining like crazy. All day and night - it drove me crazy. As soon as we took the cone off he stopped, but I couldn't imagine having a dog make that much noise all the time.

You mentioned that she whined for over an hour and then your wife couldn't take it anymore and let her out. This type of thing may be sending you backwards. If she gets let out after a long time of whining she is learning that if she just whines long enough she will get what she wants. One hour of whining didn't work? Oh well they let me out after a long time last time - lets go for two hours! As hard as it might be, you need to just ignore it in the morning until she is quiet. It will take a while for her to figure this out since it has been working for her, but just be prepared to stay strong and remember that every time you let her out while she is whining you are reinforcing that behavior. 

I would also agree with the suggestion to move the crate to the bedroom. It may sound crazy - she is making so much noise, why would we want to move her closer?! But it may sooth her to sleep with you - my dog sleeps in a crate right next to our bed. The whining may be harder to bear at first, but if you are consistent about not reinforcing it, she will probably stop and she will be happy that she is near you at night.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

You can spray a dog with something everytime a dog whine. Breath spray works great for this. Just make sure it does not contain xylitol


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