Whining At Other Dogs

[Guest buttonwillow]

My new girl Josie is very well behaved and a little shy. She loves other dogs though and when we see them on our walk, she will lean toward them and whine. I keep walking and may say No if she tries to pull toward them hard, but that's my only response so far. She was racing in May and I'm sure adjusting to being an only greyhound. When we pass the other dog, she goes on her merry way, and she has shown no separation anxiety so far when we leave her. Should I worry about this?

 

I do let her meet other dogs when I know they are friendly, and she is super well behaved with them. A friend and I have introduced her to his Westie and we take them for a walk a day together (most days). There is a greyhound playgroup nearby that we'll start going to once a week so she can hang out with other greyhounds. Is this sufficient? Should I be concerned that she is lonely? I can't adopt an additional greyhound, HOA regulations forbid any more animals!

 

I have read the Dummies book and just ordered The Other End of the Leash, and we have a trainer coming to the house next week just to help me figure out the best way to train Josie to lie down, come etc. I will ask the trainer about this, but wanted to know what you experts thought

[Guest scfilby]

Our Mickey is like this with dogs and people.. I ask if it's OK, then allow her to meet the other dog.

[TheFullHouse]

She's whining because she's excited to see another dog. It's up to you whether or not you want her to actually meet the dog. I suggest you ask the owner of the other dog if it's friendly and if they mind yours greeting theirs. Most greyhounds aren't used to being alone. They've spent their entire lives with other greyhounds so being alone is new to them. Excellent idea getting involved in a greyhound play group. This will get your girl out and able to socialize with other hounds. She'll be fine being an only dog, especially if you get her involved and able to play with other dogs.

[Guest MyBoys]

My Murphy is 10.5 years old and has lived with greys since we adopted him 6 years ago, but he still whines and is always happy to meet another dog while out walking. It sounds like she is a happy girl.

[Guest UESBrindle]

William whines too when he sees another dog near us or across the street. He just wants to say hello! Sometimes if I'm in a rush or don't like the look of the other dog/owner (if they seem too jumpy, out of control, etc) I'll just give a "Shhhhhht" and redirect him away.

[kudzu]

Sounds like between what you are already doing now & have planned for the future she should be able to get enough doggie time. Think you are right to just keep walking. If she were mine I would want to help her learn to accept that sometimes, perhaps most of the time, she will not get to greet the passing dogs. I do not mean correcting her for whining. But perhaps the trainer can give you ideas for exercises that will help her to feel calmer & not so whiney.

 

I wonder if the Look At That game from Control Unleashed would help. That way she knows it is OK to look at the other dogs but also learns to turn & look at you instead of continuing to stare & whine. Not sure this is quite the situation this exercise was designed. It is meant for reactive dogs. Though she is sort of in the category of reactive albeit maybe not in a fearful or aggressive way. It's worked for many people in a variety of circumstances.

 

Basically you teach your dog to look on command, "Look At That", at whatever it is that sets off her reaction. Then you click & treat her for looking. That allows her still look at the oh-so-interesting doggies going by but she then looks right back at you. Could be enough to cut the whining & take the edge off the excitement over the other dog. So the sight of other dogs is still a good thing, may still be interesting, but not in the same way. The dogs may become a cue for her to look at you. Just an idea.

[rschultz]

lexie is an only dog too and she whines when she see other dogs. we have 'playdates" in our backyard with other neighborhood dogs that i know are friendly. Lexie really enjoys that.

[Guest buttonwillow]

Thanks everyone. I like the idea of the Look at That game... I've noticed that when i let her greet dogs on leash the behavior increases (imagine that) so I may not do any more on-leash meet&greets.

 

If I had a yard I'd totally invite other dogs over to play in it

 

We'll go to the greyhound playtime event this weekend and see how she likes it. Thanks again !

[PrairieProf]

Beth sometimes whines when she sees people in the distance she can't get over to ... she knows they really want to pet her, you know.

 

Going to a store like Petsmart can be a way to meet other dogs. Or participating in a greyhound Meet & Greet. Or doing a training class or other dog-oriented activities -- I think dogs get more out of this in terms of socialization and learning to pay attention despite distractions than they would with an in-home trainer. You could have the trainer for a session or two then go to a class (we went through Advanced at PetSmart and it was fine!).

[Guest buttonwillow]

Thank you. I will probably try a class.

The behavior has gotten worse since I stopped letting her meet dogs on leash. Maybe this is an extinction burst. I feel so mean. One woman walking her little tiny dog today said, "Why don't you just let her say hi?" I felt like the worst dog friend in the WORLD.

Now she is lunging at other dogs though - whining and trying to get as close to them as she can. At one point when I turned away from one dog, she actually leapt and twisted several feet in the air in order to turn back around to face the other dog. I just don't think that's safe for her or prudent.

Otherwise she is still an excellent dog.

[Guest kimmel729]

My dog does this too! Especially when she sees a little pup! Sometimes it is just easier to let the dogs greet each other, assuming the other dog is friendly, otherwise Brook turns to stone & won't budge.

[Guest buttonwillow]

My dog does this too! Especially when she sees a little pup! Sometimes it is just easier to let the dogs greet each other, assuming the other dog is friendly, otherwise Brook turns to stone & won't budge.

 

She does?

Geez now I don't know what to do.

[Guest buttonwillow]

OK so this morning we walked for a while and I was redirecting her attention to me when other dogs came by, and rewarding her with a bit of treat. That was going very well.

 

We saw two other greyhounds in the park and their owners were smiling at us, so I walked over thinking it would be ok for Josie to meet other greyhounds. Maybe a bad idea. She sniffed at them and then I heard a growl, but could not tell which dog growled. I talked a bit w/the very nice owners and said hi to their lovely dogs (a male and a female), and then Josie growled again twice at the female dog. No teeth baring, just a rumble. I was so astonished I didn't do anything (I am ashamed to say). In a few moments the female dog's owner continued her walk (obv. smarter than me) and I stayed and chatted w/the other dog's owner for a little bit - and Josie was just fine with his dog.

 

At this point I really don't know what to do. I guess I will email the trainer and ask her, and not let Josie meet any other dogs (greyhound or not) on leash, at all. I guess I should also take advantage of the rescue group's offer to answer questions (don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier).

 

Seriously I am new to this dog thing. I don't know if this is a serious problem or something that will happen once in a while. Or maybe I was nervous and didn't realize it and that put my dog on edge.

 

On top of that she didn't even poop on her walk!

[TheFullHouse]

Okay, that speaks volumes, Josie has issues with other females. This lets you know to be very cautious when meeting other female greyhounds for sure. She wouldn't be the first to ever have issues with a dog of the same sex. There are females that can only live with males.

[Guest buttonwillow]

I feel much better today. We went to greyhound playtime (nice large dog park, fenced, everyone muzzled) and Josie had a ball. She was so happy! She was good with the other dogs and people and it was a joy to see her playing. I loved meeting the other greyhounds as well, it seems that every greyhound in the world is beautiful.

[TheFullHouse]

Awesome!

[Guest Capslock]

I have a couple points:

 

1) Dogs behave differently towards other dogs on leash versus off leash. For some reason, it seems to me they have more anxiety ON leash. Perhaps its that they are more confined.

2) There are two sides to a well-socialized dogs: first, that they like other dogs, and second, that they recognize when other dogs don't want to meet them.

 

It sounds like you have minor problems at worst - she probably is just getting used to a big and crazy new world. It seems like she's fundamentally social and happy.

[Guest buttonwillow]

josie

 

Tired out after playing

Edited July 19, 2010 by buttonwillow

[EnzaFerrari]

Enza will whine too when she sees another dog - whether she knows the dog or not. For her, it's just her way of saying, "hey! new friends! let's go say hi!" Most of the time I have zero problem letting her meet dogs because it makes her so happy and I like knowing the other dogs in the neighborhood. There are some dogs we don't say hi to based on how she reacts, they react, owners react but I do make a point to wave hi to them.

 

I also want to suggest that she might be picking up on your nervousness through the leash when you approach other dogs. When there are situations that make me nervous and I tense up, I know Enza feels it because she tenses, becomes more alert and reacts to situations differently than she normally would. If you're out walking and you see another dog, take a deep breath and relax but be alert.

 

Overtime you will learn the difference between "I wanna eat that" whine and the "I wanna play and make a new friend whine" so I do understand the need to be cautious. But I think most of the time, the whining is just that they want to meet the other dog or person.