How to deal with a whining dog

Whining in puppies

As puppies, it comes naturally: a very young puppy will whine without even realizing it when she’s hungry, tired, or cold. The mother dog will respond to this whining with milk, warmth, and a safe place to sleep – and as time goes on, the puppy begins to realize the association between the two. This is when she begins to whine deliberately, to notify her mom that something’s amiss or that she needs something.

When you adopt your pup, she should be between eight and ten weeks old. This is the time that a puppy will either learn that whining doesn’t work with her new, human family; or, she’ll learn to use whining as a manipulative tool (of sorts) to motivate her new “mommy” (that’s you!) to give her what she wants. This is why it’s generally advocated for you to leave your new puppy alone on her first night – if you respond to whining with positive attention (cooing, patting, sympathy, taking her out of the crate and cuddling her) how can she help but learn to whine until she gets what she wants?

You’ll need to use your common sense and good judgment, of course. For a really panic-stricken pup, she probably does actually need some attention and affection, if only to distract her from the scariness of her unfamiliar new surroundings. The trick is to respond in a timely manner so that she doesn’t feel like it’s her whining that’s got the result (or else you’re conditioning her to whine whenever she wants something, which is paving the road to hell).

For a puppy that’s working herself up into a real frenzy of crying and whining, don’t feel like you have to cold-bloodedly ignore her. By all means, pay her a bit of attention and calm her down – just initiate the contact when she’s no longer whining. It’s not always realistic to wait until she’s stopped whining altogether – contrary to popular (albeit misguided) opinion, some puppies simply do not stop whining and really will continue for hours on end. If you suspect that this may be the case, you don’t have to prolong your pup’s misery: just wait til she’s stopped for even a few seconds, then seize your moment and open the crate door. It’s not ideal, but under the circumstances, it’s likely the best you’ll be able to manage.

Whining in adult dogs

Whining is not a natural form of communication between humans and dogs. Most dogs grow out of whining around the six-month age; if your dog is whining after this period, it means she’s either doing it unconsciously, or she’s learned that it’s a useful motivatory tool to get her something that she wants or needs.

As an adult dog, there are a variety of reasons as to why she might be whining:

* In pain
* Bored/lonely
* Needs to go outside
* Afraid/anxious

Your response to her whining really depends on the cause of it. Sometimes whining is justified, and does require a response – and sometimes, it’s just plain manipulative. Other times it may be justified, but the response that comes most naturally won’t necessarily help your dog.

To clarify things, the more common reasons for whining – and suggested ways for you to react – are listed below.

When she’s whining out of pain

A dog that starts whining all of a sudden, and then keeps it up steadily afterwards, may be whining out of pain. This isn’t just limited to older dogs: puppies and young dogs can be subjected to some pretty severe growing pains, so don’t rule out this possibility on the basis of age.

If you think your dog may be in pain, check her over to see whether there’s any merit to this belief. First, check for the obvious signs: is she holding any paws off the ground, or favoring a limb/side of her body? Check her face and body for scratches and splinters. Next, you can palpate her limbs and joints for inflammation (like arthritis) and possible injuries. Remember to be very gentle: if she’s in pain, you don’t want to make it worse. Simply rub your hands along each leg, pausing at the joints to give each one a gentle squeeze. Run your hand down her tail to check for lumps and bumps, too. Even if you can’t find anything seriously amiss, if you think she’s whining out of pain, a trip to the vet is in short order.

When she’s whining out of boredom and/or loneliness

You’ll be able to tell if this is the cause because she’ll be wandering around the house (probably following you around, or pacing about the room you’re in), whining aimlessly and without direction (i.e. she’s whining to herself). The best cure for a dog that’s whining out of boredom is a quick shot of exercise: take her out for a brisk walk as soon as you can, and on a more general level, try to ramp up her daily exercise quotient. A tired dog is almost never a bored dog.

For a dog that’s whining from loneliness, you’ll have to try your best to spend more quality, interactive time with her. If you don’t have a lot of spare time to spend with your dog, then make the time that you do spend together really count: play, groom, train, cuddle.

When she’s whining out of fear/anxiety

Normally, it’ll be fairly easy to tell whether she’s whining out of fear or anxiety. When she’s afraid, it means there’s a direct cause to her fear – like a thunderstorm or a windy afternoon that’s rattling the windowpanes and spooking her a bit. If she’s anxious, it means there’s no direct, tangible cause for her edginess – she might be a bit on edge because you’re a bit stressed and she’s feeding off your energy, or perhaps there’s been a change to her daily routine (she didn’t get her normal morning walk, for instance).

Without spending any more time quibbling pedantically over semantics, your response to this sort of whining should always be one of discouragement. Don’t attempt to punish or correct her for whining out of fear or anxiety – that will simply increase her stress, making her feel worse and making the whining worse, too. Instead, simply ignore her. It’s a bit hard to do at first – in fact, it can feel like the least natural reaction in the world! But it really is the best thing for you to do.

If you lend unwonted credence to your dog’s mood with an excessive reaction – patting, sympathy, cooing – she won’t be comforted; she’ll actually be more worried, because you’ve just validated her fear. If it seems to her like you think she’s got a good reason to be worried/afraid – and if you react with comforting words and soothing pats, that’s how it’ll come across – then she’ll be more afraid. Not less. So in this case, you need to ignore the whining outright. Don’t molly-coddle her; instead, distract her with play, or run through a quick obedience routine.

Get her thinking about something else.

If she needs to go outside

If your dog’s whining because she needs to go outside, first of all you should give yourself – and her – a big pat on the back: it’s the sign of a genuinely well-trained dog. She needs to go badly enough to be whining about it, but she knows not to do it inside – and she’s smart enough to try and let you know that she needs to go out, too. This one’s easy: if she’s standing near the door, or just has That Expression (if you’ve had her for a while, you’ll grow to know That Expression – it’s different for every dog, but most owners are able to easily and correctly interpret it as meaning, “Let me out – now!”), you should let her out. It’s as easy as that.

Further Reading

For more information on dog ownership, including a huge variety of detailed information on canine problem behaviors, dog psychology, and the most effective ways to train your dog, take a look at Secrets to Dog Training. It’s the ultimate resource for the intelligent dog owner, and it covers just about every subject pertaining to the care of your beloved dog that you’ll ever need to know about. You can visit the Secrets to Dog Training site by clicking on the link below:

 Dealing with a lonely dog

Our dogs are pack animals. They’re highly sociable creatures with a genuine need to socialize and interact. Because we humans have done such a bang-up job in domesticating our canine friends, socialization with other dogs isn’t enough for your friend: you are the center of your dog’s world. She needs to spend time with you.

Of course, this is sometimes easier said than done.

Life, for most of us, is pretty busy, and at times it’s difficult to find genuine pleasure in performing the most basic of caretaking tasks for our dogs. When time is short, responsibility becomes a burden. It’s even worse when added responsibilities or increased demands on our time begin to detract from the quality of the time we do spend with our dogs.

If other stresses are weighing heavily on your mind, everyday pleasures with your dog can morph from a joy into a headache – the half-hour walk after work is just one more thing to get through, rather than an opportunity for you both to unwind and spend some time together in mutual, tacit admiration of the natural world.

Whether we like it or not, the lifestyles that we choose (to a certain extent, anyway) to put ourselves through – a general dearth of time, moderate to high stress levels, job anxiety, shifting personal commitments – affect our dogs as well as ourselves. Sensitive pooches can become so negatively impacted by the less-than-positive frame of mind held by their owners that they themselves become depressed and anxious. Other, more well-adjusted dogs suffer through isolation: when obligations are pressing, the twice-daily dog walk can be the easiest thing to relegate to the back of the line (your dog can hardly raise his voice in outrage, can he?).

Making time for our dogs isn’t always as easy as we would like it to be. But it doesn’t have to require a huge input of time or a Herculean amount of energy: there are ways that we can include our dogs in our lives without spending minutes and hours that we don’t have.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Bring her along with you. When you’re running errands – picking up the mail, dropping children off to music lessons, soccer, and Little League, stopping by at work – your dog will jump at the chance to come along. Even if she stays in the car, the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy a change of visual and olfactory scenery will be genuinely welcomed by her – and it’s a good way for the two of you to spend some casual one-on-one time together. If your errands involve other people (ferrying kids around, picking up a spouse, visiting a friend), accompanying you can go a long way towards meeting her social requirements for the day, too. (Tip: if you’re going for the Big Grocery Shop, or plan on doing something else that requires an extended absence from the car, best to leave her at home – any more than half an hour alone in the car is pushing the boundaries of responsible ownership for most dogs.)

2. Invite her into the bedroom. You don’t have to ask her up on the bed with you; she can sleep on her own dog bed, either in the corner of the room (most dogs prefer to sleep with something at their backs) or next to your bed. This is a fantastic way of spending “down-time” with your dog (you’re both enjoying the same pastime in an undemanding way), and of increasing your bond, too. Dogs like to sleep with their pack (that’s you!). As pack animals, they’re hardwired to enjoy close contact with others during their most vulnerable hours. It reinforces their sense of togetherness and security. By allowing your dog into your bedroom at night, you’re fostering closeness with your friend. And it’s easy, too!

3. Spend time in mutually-enjoyable activities. Walking the dog becomes a chore when it’s boring – if you’re enjoying yourself, you’ll be more likely to devote more time to it, which is good news for your dog, yourself, and your relationship with each other. Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to the same old twenty-minute circuit round the park – break out and explore new territory. As much as dogs love to reinvestigate familiar turf, they appreciate new sights and sounds too, so try the riverbank, the dog beach, a different park, dog exercise yards (you get to chat with other owners, too, while your dog makes new friends), hill trails, or go for a walk downtown – with your friend on a leash, of course.

4. Perfect the art of multi-tasking. Whenever I’m cooking dinner or reading a book, my Rottweiler plumps himself down about two feet away from my ankles and stares at me dolefully from under wrinkled, upslanted brows. This used to bother me: I could almost sense the waves of silent accusation wafting off him. “Why aren’t you playing with me?” I felt like he was asking. “How come whatever that is gets your attention when I don’t?” As much as I love him, I still feel that I’m entitled to my one or two chapters a night (and a well-cooked dinner); so I decided to counteract the tear-jerking expression on his face by learning to multi-task.

So now, cooking time is also training time: I use the momentary hiatus in between stirrings and choppings to practice Sit and Down. Reading time has become read-and-cuddle time: we sprawl on the couch together, I get to relax and read my book, and he gets his tummy rubbed while he snoozes. If I had a TV, I’d use my TV-watching time for grooming time, too.

5. Counteract the “one-man dog” tendency. If you live in a multi-person household, it makes things easier on you if you can share the responsibility around a bit. It’s healthier for your dog, too – the more she interacts with the people that she lives with, the better. You can share responsibilities like walking, playtime, feeding, and grooming: the more social stimulation your dog gets, the happier she’ll be.

If you have children in the household, the amount of responsibility they get is really best decided on a case-by-case basis: some younger children are perfectly OK to walk the dog, but some can find the experience traumatic and scary (which makes it unsafe for the dog, too). As a general rule of thumb, before allowing a child out of doors and unsupervised with a dog, make sure you’re OK with how the dog and the child interact. The dog should obviously know that the child “ranks” above her in the social hierarchy of the household, and obey her commands reliably; the child should be able to handle herself confidently with the dog, and know the basic rules of dog-walking etiquette (leash-laws, poop-scooping, dog-on-dog social protocol, and so on).

Obviously, these tips aren’t intended as a substitute for that quality and quantity of time together that your dog lives for – and that makes life as a dog-owner so rewarding and fun, too. Your dog still needs to spend active, focused time with you, in training, playtime, general cuddling/manhandling, and exercise. But with a little forethought and effort, you can go a long way towards ensuring her emotional and psychological welfare without adding too much to your own workload.

For more information on responsible dog ownership, including detailed advice for handling and preventing problem behaviors, step-by-step how-to’s for obedience work and tricks, and an in-depth look at canine psychology and communication, check out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s the ultimate resource for dog owners! Visit the site by clicking on the link below:

 

How to deal with a jumping dog

How to deal with a jumping dog - Jumping is a really common problem among dogs - or should I say among dog owners? It’s rarely a problem for the dogs themselves – in fact, jumping seems to act as a reward in itself.

It’s a different kettle of fish for the exasperated owner, who’s forced to deal with a new set of muddy footprints/gouges in their skin and clothes/offended guests/scared children!

Many owners inadvertently encourage jumping behavior from puppyhood: when a small puppy comes gamboling up to us, wiggling with excitement and making small, clumsy leaps at our knees, it’s almost natural to lean down and respond in kind. Effectively, we reward that puppy’s “jump-y” greeting by reacting with exuberant affection, hugs and kisses. The puppy learns a fast lesson: jumping is a good thing, because it results in plenty of positive attention and physical contact.

Your dog doesn’t understand the difference between a jump as a small, cute puppy, and a jump as a huge, hairy adult. To a dog, a greeting is a greeting, and just because he’s aged by a few months is no reason to stop jumping – at least, not voluntarily. You’ll need to take matters into your own hands, and make it perfectly clear to your dog that jumping is no longer an option.

When is jumping not appropriate?

Obviously, whether or not you’re prepared to accept your dog’s insistence on redefining verticality all comes down to personal preference. Many owners of smaller dogs actually expect them to jump up – among toy dog owners, jumping seems to be viewed as a sign of excitement and affection on the dog’s behalf. The good news is that these dogs aren’t likely to knock anyone flying when they’re feeling rambunctious, and they’re small enough that their size usually won’t intimidate any but the youngest of children.

On the other hand, there’s rarely a scenario where strangers will actively welcome being leapt up on by an unknown dog, regardless of said dog’s size; really, it’s just plain good form to teach your dog the “off” command, so that you’re prepared for those incidences when you’re not directly on hand to stop the jumping behavior.

For owners of large-breed dogs, the “off” (or “no jump”) command is mandatory. Big dogs are often taller than humans when they rear up on their hind legs (and just imagine the experience from a child’s point of view, with a dog’s slavering jaws looming above your own head!) – they’re often heavy enough to knock smaller adults tip over tail. At the very least, a large dog’s paws are heavy enough to gouge long rents in cloth and exposed flesh. Bruising and scratches are unpleasant enough to deal with when they’re your own problem; but they’re much worse when your dog’s inflicted them on somebody else!

Really, any kind of jumping that involves anyone apart from yourself is just bad form. All owners with even pretensions of responsibility should arm their dogs with a reliable recall to the “off” command – just in case.

Why does jumping happen?

The main reason that most dogs jump up is simply out of excitement: it’s an enthusiastic greeting, reserved for times when adrenaline’s running high and the dog’s happy about something. Many dogs don’t jump at all, apart from when their owner returns home after a relatively prolonged absence (like the average workday). If your dog is leaping up on you in these circumstances, there’s no sinister motivation at work here: he’s literally jumping for joy.

A less common, but more serious, reason that some dogs will jump is to exert their dominance over you (or over whomever they’re jumping on). Dogs are pack animals: they live in designated hierarchies of social rank and order. When a dog needs to assert his dominance over a lesser animal, one way of doing so is to declare physical superiority, which is usually done by “jumping up”: he’ll sling one or both paws over the other dog’s shoulders.

You’ll be able to tell the basic reason for your dog’s jumping simply by considering the circumstances surrounding the event. If he only jumps up in periods of great excitement (like during play-time, or when you return home from work) then he’s clearly just demonstrating an exuberant frame of mind. If the behavior occurs in a variety of situations, then it’s more likely that he’s expressing dominance over you, which is a more complex issue – the jumping’s just a symptom of an underlying attitude and communication issue.

Essentially, you’ll need to make some serious adjustments to your overall relationship with your dog, and brush up on your alpha-dog techniques (tip: Secrets to Dog Training has some fantastic resources on coping with a dominant dog – there’s a link to the site at the bottom of the page).

Four paws on the ground, please!

How you react to your dog’s jumping plays a big role in whether or not that behavior gets repeated. You’re going to need to make a prolonged effort to be consistent in how you choose to deal with this problem: for your dog to stop jumping, he needs to be taught that it is never ever acceptable for him to do so. This means that you can’t allow him to jump sometimes, but forbid him from doing it at other times.

Your dog can’t understand the difference between a playful and an irritable mood, or your work and play clothes: all he understands is that, if you allow him to jump up on some occasions, he’ll try to jump up on you whenever he feels like it, because he doesn’t know any better.

Stopping the jumping

Most trainers agree that the most effective way for you to weed out unwanted behaviors (like jumping) in your dog is also the easiest: all you have to do is simply ignore him whenever he jumps up. The idea is to give him the cold shoulder: withdraw all attention, even negative attention (so no yelling, shoving, or corrections).

Here’s how to implement this training technique: whenever your dog jumps up on you, turn your back straight away. Since dogs understand body language a lot more clearly than they do the spoken word, you’re going to be using your posture to convey the message that such behavior isn’t acceptable here: fold your arms, turn your back, turn your face away from him and avert your eyes.

This is where a lot of people make a mistake: they confuse ignoring the behavior with ignoring the dog. You’re not ignoring the behavior - i.e., you’re not carrying on with whatever you were doing as if the jumping wasn’t happening; you’re ignoring your dog. You’re still going to react; but your reaction is for you to actively ignore him. The cold shoulder is a really effective way of communicating your displeasure to a dog – he’ll catch on very quickly. Without the encouragement of your attention and your reactions to his behavior, he’ll calm down very quickly indeed.

When to praise

When all four paws are on the ground, then – and only then – you can praise the heck out of him! Don’t be confused by the proximity of the positive reinforcement to the negative – dogs have a very short “training memory”, and are only capable of associating a reaction from you with whatever behavior it is they’re exhibiting at the time of that reaction. So, it’s perfectly OK for you to react with wild enthusiasm the very second that his paws touch the ground, even if you were cold-shouldering him the split-second before.

Recommended Reading

For more information on understanding and solving canine behavioral problems, you’d probably be interested in checking out Secrets to Dog Training. It’s a complete how-to manual for dog owners, and is packed with just about all the information you’ll ever need on dog psychology, canine communication how-to’s, practical advice for dealing with problem behaviors, and detailed step-by-step guides to obedience training. To visit Secrets to Dog Training, just click on the link below:

How to deal with a jumping dog

 How Do I Stop My Dogs from Digging Holes

How Do I Stop My Dogs from Digging Holes - There are two extremes of opinion when it comes to dogs and their digging habits:

1. That a dog is a dog, and we should permit him to express his true canine nature by allowing him free reign over the yard and flowerbeds

2. that a flowerbed is a flowerbed, and no dog should even think about expression his dogginess if such an expression comes at the price of a season’s worth of rosebuds.

My own viewpoint tends to favor the middle ground. Although plenty of dogs do love to dig, and it’s healthy for them to be permitted to indulge in this habit from time to time, there’s a difference between permitting your dog to express his inner puppy, and allowing him to run rampant in the yard.

I don’t see why a dog should have to come at the price of a garden, and vice versa; flowers and dogs can coexist peacefully. If your dog’s developed a taste for digging, it’ll just take a bit of time (and some crafty ingenuity) on your part to resolve the issue satisfactorily.

First of all, if you have yet to adopt a dog and your concern for the fate of your flower-beds is purely hypothetical, consider the breed of dog that you’d like. If you’ve got your eye on a specific mixed-breed dog, what seems to be the most prominent? The reason that I ask is simply because breed often plays a significant role in any given dog’s personal valuation of digging as a rewarding pastime – terriers and Nordic breeds in particular (Huskies, Malamutes, some members of the Spitz family) seem to particularly enjoy digging.

Of course, when you get right down to the sum and substance, each dog is first and foremost an individual, and there’s no guaranteed way to predict whether or not your chosen familial addition is going to be a burrower or not. But if you’re trying to reduce the likelihood of an involuntarily-landscaped garden as much as possible, I suggest you stay away from all breeds of terrier (the name means “go to earth”, after all!) and the Nordic breeds.

Why do dogs dig?

In no particular order, here are some of the more common reasons that a dog will dig:

* Lack of exercise. Digging is a good way for a hyped-up, under-exercised dog to burn off some of that nervous energy.
* Boredom. Bored dogs need a “job” to do, something rewarding and interesting, to help the time pass by.
* Digging is often the ideal solution for a bored dog: it gives him a sense of purpose, and distracts him from an otherwise-empty day.
* The need for broader horizons. Some dogs are just escape artists by nature – no matter how much exercise and attention they get, it’s nearly impossible to confine them. For a four-legged Houdini, it’s not the digging in itself that’s the reward, it’s the glorious unknown that exists beyond the fenceline.
* Separation anxiety. To a dog that’s seriously pining for your company, digging under those confining walls represents the most direct path to you. Separation anxiety is an unpleasant psychological issue relatively common among dogs – but because it’s so complex, we won’t be dealing with it in this newsletter. Instead, you can find excellent resources for both preventing and coping with the condition at:

http://www.kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/

Curbing the habit

Many of the reasons contributing to your dog’s desire to dig suggest their own solutions: if your dog’s not getting enough exercise (generally speaking, at least forty-five minutes’ worth of vigorous walking per day), take him for more walks. If he’s bored, give him some toys and chews to play with during your absence, and wear him out before you leave so he spends most of the day snoozing.

An escape-artist dog might need to be crated, or at least kept inside the house where he’s less likely to be able to break free. For those dogs who just like to dig as a pastime in itself, though, here are a few basic tips for controlling inappropriate digging as much as is reasonably possible:

* Restrict your dog’s access. This is the most effective thing you can do: if he’s never in the yard without active supervision, there’s no opportunity for digging.
* Use natural deterrent. 99.9% of dogs will shy back, horrified, from the prospect of digging anywhere that there’s dog poop. Even the ones who like to eat poop (a condition known as coprophagia) generally won’t dig anywhere near it – it offends their basic, fastidious dislike of soiling their coat and paws.
* Use nature’s own wiles. If the digging is bothering you because it’s upsetting the more delicate blooms in your garden, plant hardier blossoms: preferably, those with deep roots and thorny defenses. Roses are ideal.
* A more time-consuming, but super-effective way of handling the issue: roll up the first inch or two of turf in your yard, and lay down chicken-wire underneath it. Your dog won’t know it’s there until he’s had a few tries at digging, but once he’s convinced himself that it’s pointless (which won’t take long), he’ll never dig in that yard again.

Accept your dog’s need for an outlet: give him a place to dig

If your dog is set on tunneling your yard into a grassless, crater-studded lunar landscape, but you’re equally determined to prevent this from happening at all costs, please take a moment to consider before embarking on a grueling and time-consuming preventative strategy.

Setting yourself the goal of eradicating all digging behavior, period, is pretty unrealistic: it’s not fair on you (since, really, you’re setting yourself up for failure), and it’s not really fair on your poor dog either – if he’s a true-blue digger, it’s just part of his personality, and he needs at least some opportunity to express that.

But a lawn and a dog don’t have to be mutually exclusive: the most humane and understanding thing for you to do in this case is simply to redirect his digging energy. You do this by allocating him an area where he’s allowed to dig as much as he pleases. Once this zone’s been established, you can make it crystal-clear that there’s to be absolutely no digging in the rest of the yard – and you can enforce your rules with a clear conscience, since you know your dog now has his own little corner of the world to turn upside down and inside out as he chooses.

But what if you don’t have a “spare corner” of the yard? What if the whole thing, grass, flowerbeds, and gravel path, is just too dear to your heart? That’s OK too – invest in a sandbox, which you can place anywhere in the garden. You can even make one yourself (the deeper, the better, obviously). Fill it with a mixture of sand and earth, and put some leaves or grass on top if you like - get your dog interested in it by having a scratch around yourself, until he gets the idea.

Make sure the boundaries are clear

To make it clear to him that the sandbox is OK but that everywhere else is a no-dig zone, spend a little time supervising him. When he starts to dig in the box (you can encourage this by shallowly burying a few choice marrowbones in there), praise him energetically – and if he starts digging anywhere else, correct him straight away with an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” or “No!”. Then, redirect him immediately to the sandbox, and dole out vociferous praise when digging recommences. To really clarify the lesson, give him a treat when digging gets underway in the sandbox – the close proximity between the correction (for digging out of the sandbox) and praise/reward (for digging in the sandbox) will ensure that your point strikes home.

How Do I Stop My Dogs from Digging Holes