ok I got one for ya...WHINING

[bendyfoot]

Alright all you knowledgable folk, I have a challenge for you:

Whining. Crying, whimpering, whistling, whinging, whatever you want to call it.

Jaida has been a cryer since day one. She seems to use it as a mode to communicate pretty much every emotion or want that pops into her brain:

-hello, I'm so very happy to see you (whine, whine, sob, cry, whine, pant)
-I want to go outside (whiiiiiiine, whistle)
-I want to come in (whiiiiiiine, whistle)
-pet me (whine, moan, pant pant)
-I see something outside (whine)
-one of the other dogs is outside and I'm inside (whine)
-you are outside and I am inside (hysterics)
-you are upstairs and I am downstairs, and I don't like that (whiiiiissstllle...whiiisssstlllle)
-I am downstairs and perfectly capable of coming upstairs on my own but I'm not willing to come upstairs to see you (whhhhhiiiiiiiisssssslllllllleeeee)
-you have a leash in your hand and I'm very excited (whine, moan, whine, whistle)
-I'm sitting and waiting for you to (put my collar on/feed me/let me outside) (whistle, whistle)
-I'm lying here doing....nothing...(whistle)
-Gracie is lying where I want to lie and she's the boss and won't move for me(pant pant whistle)

The thing is, I don't give her what she wants when she's being vocal. I wait (sometimes for a very long time) until she's quiet. I've tried teaching her the "quiet" command, which our other dog knows (the little one doesn't bark so we've never had to use it), to no avail, I've tried the "shh", the ignore, the everything. It doens't matter how consistent I am, there's still a constant stream of whiiiiiiinnnnneeee in our house, pretty much all day. As vocal as she can get when we're separated (either by feet or by hours) I wouldn't say that she has true separation anxiety. She always eventually settles, she's never destructive.

Thoughts? Or is she just a loudmouth?

[DoubleRR]

I think she is just a loudmouth. Honestly, most GSDs I have known are vocal/whiney. You have taken all the appropriate steps to discourage it. I would be very interested if anyone has a method to quiet her that actually works!

[Melinda]

are you sure you aren't describing Brina?? my lab/shepherd? she wines for everything.....I figured she learned it off my daycare kids..."mom you're sitting.....whhhhhhhhhhhy are you sitting reading that paper when I want to be petted"????...............the more you ignore her the louder she gets.....and man, does she get loud, I've been told more than once that its the shepherd in her...........

[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR

I think she is just a loudmouth. Honestly, most GSDs I have known are vocal/whiney. You have taken all the appropriate steps to discourage it. I would be very interested if anyone has a method to quiet her that actually works!

Yes, as would I Rotten loudmouth german shepherds.

[BenMax]

Are you sure you are not mistaking this for my min pin??

[angeldogs]

I would say load mouth.my bro's shepperd/mastiffx is like that and Tucker was the same way.as with most shepperds i've meet.atleast they try too talk to you when no one else is around too talk to.

[bendyfoot]

I don't mind all the other noises...she does a lot of groaning and moaning too, which are funny...and now that there's a puppy who pesters her all the time she has developed a....growl? Ish? More like a throaty groan? Ish? Which is also hillarious in its ineffectiveness in terms of dissuading the puppy...I've never actually heard a real growl from her. Barks, yes, but they never last long and are usually only when someone arrives at the house.

[angeldogs]

Your lucky in the barking department.mine doesn't shut up he barks at everyone and thing that goes by in front of the house.

Some of the noises they.i love the noises they can make some are just funny.

[BusterBoo]

sounds like a tzu to me

I have also tried sssshhhhhh, quiet....no......and so far, ignoring works the best...look away from the dog

[chico2]

Sorry Bendyfoot,but I had to laugh,,Jaida is just communicating the only way she knows how,my Rocky(cat) talks a lot too
Also she is probably trying to say"Look mom,I only have 3 legs and should get what I want"!

[Chaser]

Both of mine do the same things - Chase is the worst but Kailey is pretty bad too. Sometimes they'll whine back and forth to each other as well....I have to wonder what they talk about sometimes. I think they complain about the horrible service when dinner is late

I think you're stuck with it!

[Dekka]

Can you teach her another way to communicate with you. If you remove the whining what is she left with?

[clm]

Sounds like both of my guys. Baxter whines more than he barks. He's a really big suck, whines to come in, whines if DH is out of sight for too long, whines when we go out.
Bentley had a lot more noises, his whinning is much louder, everything about him is loud. He's more of a barker than a whinner, but when he's really excited, loud whinning is part of it.

Cindy

[Frenchy]

I sympathize with all of you. Always had big dogs , never had one that barked too much. But Chloe ..... the barking is ..... not SO bad but the whining

[Dracko]

Just yesterday I was talking on the phone to a friend and Dracko (GSD) was doing his high pitched "talking" to me saying he wanted my attention. The friend asked if there was some animal caught in a trap or something. Yes he will bark loud and deep at strangers but when he talks to me it's always the whinning. I should video it sometime and post it.

My vet tells me it's a common GSD thing and hers is like that, too.

[JM4611]

My 11-year-old Jack Russell whines when we are in the car going somewhere. He has certain favorite places - especially the beach - and the closer we get to the beach the louder he gets.

I've told him to be quiet but he's just too excited to help himself.

So that's part of who he is. Oh, well.

[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by Dekka

Can you teach her another way to communicate with you. If you remove the whining what is she left with?

She could easily come to me, stand by the door, whatever. And usually she'll do that, but whine as well. It's just a constant stream of whiiiiinnnne. It honestly doesn't bother me that much, I can tune it out, but it drives DW nutso. Last night she swore she'd never want another GSD because of it...

[Dracko]

I can tune it out as well. My nephews hate it when Dracko does it in the car, though.

It's just some GSD's way of talking to us, I think. Much like how Siamese cats tend to be very "talkative."

[Mat&Murph]

Some dogs are just talkers! you dog sounds like my Matt. Matt "talks" all the time. If I take too long with his food/water. If I am late getting him out. When he is out looking for his friends. when his friends do come out to play. when I go to bed. When he is getting petted he makes a really werid noise. I think he thinks he is a cat and he is trying to purr. Really funny out of a big dog!! Your baby just likes talking too

[Dracko]

That's a comment I often get, too, that a noise like THAT would be coming out of such a big dog. When people hear him over the phone they say it sounds like I'm torturing a baby.

[scathach]

I feel lucky reading that!!! My Georges doesnt whine... he barks rarely when he really want something... like coming on the bed but he never gets go if he's barking... he has to stay on the floor.... after he's calm for a while than he get to come on the bed... the rare times i heard him, it was because he was thirsty and was in his crate... anyway i sympatize with you guys!!!