Oct 19 2009
Stop Dog Whining Once and For All
Do you have a dog that whines all the time and is beginning to drive you and other family members nuts? Whining is a common problem for many dogs, especially smaller breeds. When you want to be sure to stop dog whining problems, you have to know and understand the reasons that cause them.
Here are some reasons your dog might whine:
· Pain, injury or illness
· Feeling lonely, misses you
· Whines for attention, is bored
No matter how old or young your dog is, they can whine. This is just another form of communication for your dog, like barking. You can’t completely end dog whining but you should be able to slow it at least at inappropriate times.
Your dog may still whine if he is hurt or injured, sick and not feeling well, very sleepy or awoke before sleep was over, scared or frightened, nervous or other natural occasions for dog whining. Once you understand why your dog is whining, it can help you treat the problem with a series of steps.
Understanding why dogs whine will help you put yourself in the place of your dog and know why he is whining. He might miss you during the day while you’re gone for school or work. Your dog might have anxiety or fear when he’s separated from you.
This is something that you can work on. Your dog needs to understand that you’re not abandoning him while you’re away and that you will be back soon. If your dog has a lot of trouble with this, you will need to shorten the time your dog is left alone and then slowly increase it a bit at a time until your dog realizes that you will always return.
You can have someone check in on your dog while you’re at work such as a friend, family member or hired dog sitter. You might start every hour and then bump it up to two hours alone and then to three.
When your dog does a good job of staying alone, provide lots of praise and positive reinforcement. Try to make separations as simple and non-dramatic as possible. When you make a big deal over leaving, it will become a big deal for your dog.
Some other times when your dog might whine is when he wants attention. It’s very important to spend some quality time together with your dog each day. You can help reduce whining by playing with your dog and showing regular affection.
If you do these things every day and your dog still whines for attention, you will need to teach him to stop. You should be firm even if you want to give your dog love and attention when you hear the whining and crying. Be firm and make sure your dog knows that whining will not be accepted to get what he wants.
If you want to stop dog whining once and for all and the methods you’ve tried at home aren’t working, you can try to get help with dog discipline techniques. There are programs you can do at home through books, videos, training tapes, DVDs and more that will help you learn to train your dog in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
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