# Whining!



## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

Ok I'm a little stuck so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

My pup is almost 6 months old now...and her whining is insane. I know a lot of it or all of it, is my fault but I cannot think of a solution.

Here is her schedule:
6am: wakes up and goes for a quick walk.
630am: eats and drinks, plays with her toy.
730am: goes to work with me.
5pm: goes home with me.

etc etc. As you can see, she is with me 24/7. So the minute I leave, she cries bloody murder. I cannot leave her at home during the day because my brother sleeps during the day, and works at night. I cannot let her howl it out at work because I work in a huge complex. I've talked to diff trainers and they all say to let her cry it out. Teach her that whining is pointless. But I just can't. The only time she is alone is at night when it is time to sleep. She fully understands that night time is crate time and has no problem with it. Anyone have any ideas? I've tried the clicker "quiet" method multiple times, it does not work with her.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

BabyHusky said:


> Ok I'm a little stuck so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.
> 
> My pup is almost 6 months old now...and her whining is insane. I know a lot of it or all of it, is my fault but I cannot think of a solution.
> 
> ...


Your dog has serious seperation anxiety. I think in this case it's because she hasn't learned to be away from you. She has to learn that just because you are away from you doesn't mean you will never come back. This is a psylogical problem, not a training problem. You can't teach her not to whine, she can't help it. You have to teach her you will always return when you leave her.

Something you say doesn't make sense to me. You say you tried the clicker but if you are using the clicker, you have to be there with her. Is she whining while you are there or when you are gone or both? Please be more specivic as to when she whines and when she stops. This is important for me to know before I can offer suggestions on how to stop it. If she whines while you are there, how do you react? If you leave her and come back and she is whining, what do you do? Does she stop whining the instant you return? How quickly after you leave her does she begin whining? If you hear her whining when you leave, what do you do? Is she right with you at work or in a crate or what? Give any more information you can think of. How is her health?


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

She is completely healthy.

She whines when i leave, she whines when she wants attention, she whines when she wants something. When I am there, and she does not get what she wants...I use and clicker and treats to tell her to "quiet." She does really well with me but when a co-worker or my parents (I run my parents company) tell her to quiet, she just barks louder at them. I talked to my vet about her separation anxiety and he said that it is not serious enough to deem as "Separation anxiety" but that she thinks she can get what she wants if shes loud enough.

At home, she is fine. I can leave the room, put her in her crate, and she has absolutely no problem because she knows its home. BUT...i left her at home a few times and my brother said she cried bloody murder until he came outside, then she stopped. Obviously attention crying.

She's not in a crate at work, she's tied down in my warehouse.

I know that she is crying because she wants attention, which is best to let her cry it out...especially since shes still a puppy (5 months). I just do not have a place or time to do it. I was wondering if there was any alternative way that anyone knows. Since she is crying for attention, I figured clicker training her not to would be fine, but she does not want to listen to anyone else. I am the only one that she listens to and I frequently go out to meetings and luncheons.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Sometimes when a dog/puppy whines it's because they are in pain. Make sure in your own mind that is not the problem. After that, she is getting what she wants by whining. It works for her. As long as it works, she will keep it up. Even clicking is attention. Fussing at her is atttention. Yellling is attention. Assuming you are right and it is an attention getting ploy, the ONLY way to stop it is to see to it that she doesn't get what she wants when she whines. When she sees no attention is coming, she will stop whining. As long as it works, even sometime, she will continue. You HAVE to ignore her whining. The dog doesn't exist while she is whining. Don't look at her. Don't even acknowledge she exists while she whines. As long as she gets ANY attention she will continue. If you can't do that, just accept the fact that you have a spoiled dog who knows how to control you.

There is a small chance she might out grow it when she is 2 or 3 years old but it's not much of a chance.


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

Thanks for the input RawFed. I know that I'm suppose to ignore her and all that, I was just saying there really isnt a way for me to ignore her since I cannot leave her at home and I cannot let her whine constantly at work. The only option would be to take her to someone else's home or sitter and let her cry it out there. 

I guess there really is not other option. I was hoping to read about maybe another way to stop the attention whining besides ignoring. I guess I'll slowly work on it on weekends and whenever I can...hopefully she gets a little less whiney as she gets older.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Oh is there a good doggy daycare in your area? Maybe you could take her there, make sure the employees know the whining might be an issue, and maybe she can realize that life goes on and can even be fun even if you aren't around.
Might help whittle away at her energy level a little bit too!


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## pgnation (Sep 21, 2008)

What you've been doing is reinforcing the wrong behavoir...
Yes, ignore your dog when she's whining. What has happened is that you've made your dog accustomed to negative attention, or attention that isn't desired/meant by you. Like comforting her when she's whining, it's reinfocing this.

The best way to fix this from our own experience is to have lots of praise.

When your dog is not whining, and you notice it... Praise your dog.
Not just a simply "good girl" or such, but something the dog will remember!
Maybe you two have a fun game to play, play that game!

If you're a handler that uses food as a reward, buy a bait bag (if you don't have one, they're cheap)... and since you're at home all of the time, have it filled ALL of the time. Of course, when the dog is good, give her some.Eventually you can slow down and then stop using treats, but it can be very effective. Also note: it's about QUANTITY! not quality or size of the treats. Get a cheese stick and break it into 50 pieces!

Also with a food reward. You can create such things as "Jackpots!" that reward your dog largely for good behavior or successfulness. Don't reward right after your dog stops whining, because they will not see the difference (as in what they were being rewarded for) but do it when they've been quiet for a short time (like 20 seconds). As you see improvement, make the "quiet time" longer.

My mom and I used these method for around the house, conformation training, obedience training, and agility training, and they all work great. It really depends on your dog though, because it's more of an experiment to see if it works, and then train it.

I would allow about a week of training in one method before saying "it doesn't work" as well. For your dog will not get this stopped perfectly fast. No matter the age. Just notice the improvements and post back for some feedback on what worked and what didn't.


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