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Old January 28th, 2003, 11:31 PM
andria andria is offline
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whining in doggie school

my dog siris whines incessantly through our entire doggie school class. i attribute most of it to the fact that my boyfriend brings her to the class and does the handling, while i help out at the school with some of the other problem dogs. she suffers from mild separation anxiety, and this is the first time she sees me that day other than our walk in the morning. i am her main handler, but even when i was taking her to the classes and doing the handling, she would still whine to get to the other dogs, or in those times where the class is sitting listening to the teacher explain an excercise, when other dogs were taking their turns doing the excercises individually, etc. now however, she'll whine for the ENTIRE class - one hour.

the teacher initially recommended 2 things to deal with this - one, ignoring it as it is attention seeking behaviour and hoping it diminishes when she realizes noone is paying any attention to her antics, or two, a quick "ah, ah," or "enough" in a low growly tone the second she starts up. neither of these are working at this point. the "enough" or "ah ah" gets an initlal response which lasts about a minute before it starts up again, and then the cycle repeats itself. the ignoring it just doesn't work at all.

the teacher is now recommending a spray bottle approach - a quick squirt of water to the face when siris starts whining. we may try this next week but does anyone out there have any other suggestions before we go this route?
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Old June 15th, 2003, 08:29 PM
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melanie melanie is offline
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I know exactly how you feel. My shepard X seems to be a real whinger (she has suffered seperation anxiety in the past). If she wants attention, if im late for breakfast or a walk she turns it on and it is sooo annoying (It happens daily). For me I can lock her outside and seperate her till she gets a grip. maybe you could remove you dog from class when it whinges (tie it up) and then when it stops release it with positive praise. The next time she does it tie her up and so on. Hopefully she will get the idea that the behaviour is not acceptable and see being in the class as a reward for good behaviour. I know it is a hard thing to do but i think she may be using it to her advantage (attention) this is a tough one and i hope someone finds a solution, i could really use the peace.
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Old July 21st, 2003, 08:24 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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I like the "ah ah!" and "Enough!" idea. Except that when she stops whining for one second, give her a treat and praise. Only give her a treat when she is NOT whining and is paying attention to you.

As time goes on, she must stop whining for 5 seconds and then longer and longer to get the treat, until the treat can be phased out.
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Old July 24th, 2003, 12:31 AM
The Wiz The Wiz is offline
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Post Tough Love is the best solution

Hi this is Dalia from the Wizard of Paws, I am a Certified Professional Trainer. Whining is caused mostly by seperation anxiety afraid to be alone, but sometimes dogs just do it because they can get away with it, or they they are so eager to move around that they cant sit still.
Suggestion: when having seperation anxiety sometimes a good way to stop it is to boost there confidence up. by teaching them the wait command[B] Having the leash in 1 hand, have the dog sit if can, or just being still. using a treat or there favorite toy, and stepping back slowly, and saying wait the few steps back. Having them focus on you and the toy/treat in your hand while your your index finger in your other hand is held up in the wait position. praise while stepping back saying good wait, and then slowly come close to them again, and still say wait, and praise. and then release them when you feel they are relaxed and not ancy, and say ok- free dog; and they get the treat/toy. This is a great excercise, to build up to the stay command which is more permanent 2+ min. and you will find that if your dog learns wait they are better on leash, and relaxed more.
If the dog is so eager and whines to be with you or the treat while you are stepping back, then say ah ah or quiet, or no whines, and usaually if you take the object out of there focus for a second and say no wait, still holding your finger up they realize that if they whine they wont get a reward at the end. just a correction. Sometimes if they are whining, then be stern and say quiet in a low voice, or u could try the spray bottle method just make sure they dont know the squirt is coming from you, and say no at the same time as spraying. dont spray on face that is a direct shot, and theyll know its you that did it spray on the chest or back, only when dog is not focusing on you and whining/barking. you want to treat the bottle like the barking collar as if the dog is the one that caused the water to come out. I highly recommend instead of just water, dilute with lemon juice, dogs hate lemon sent, just like the bark collar. always put the bottle behind your back so dog can not see that you sprayed it or have it. otherwise they will continue whining, you want to scare them, so they wont do it again. if they is anymore info feel free to contact me at wizard_of_paws@hotmail.com

take care, Dalia Saltzman
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Dalia Shifra Saltzman
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Dog Training- Pet Care Services
Toronto, Ontario
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