Crying Greyhound

[Guest avadogner]

Hi Greytalk Friends,

My new boy Augie has been home for 3 months now and he's seemed to have settled in nicely. He's a goofy 4 yr old giant Beta male. He is very sweet and a very cuddly boy who follows me everywhere I go. Since the day he came home, he has been a whiner. He does it to tell me he needs something but he also does it when he's bored. It's like he's bored and just wants me to talk to him. He has plenty of toys, treats, stuffed Kongs, food, water and is not crated. We use baby gates to contain him due to him nearly flipping his crate the first day. He's really needy which I can handle but I just want to be able to sleep a full night without him waking me up every 15 minutes. If I speak to him he usually stops for a minute. If I ignore him, it goes on for a really long time. The DH does the Ceasar Milan "shh" noise but it doesn't work. I thought it would decrease after being home for a while but it hasn't improved at all. Does anyone have any tips to cut down on the whining?

-ava and augie's mum

[TheFullHouse]

Well as awful as it sound, the only thing that worked with Saint was a squirt bottle. He's VERY verbal and would start in the middle of the night. Once I was sure he didn't need to potty or need water, every time he started I would squirt him with water and tell him "quiet". It took about of week but he's been great since then. If he starts to whine, all I have to do is say "quiet" and he quiets down and goes back to sleep.

[Guest jessie1234]

So, he is keeping you awake with his whining? I have fostered many dogs and some are very unsettled especially at night. Some are even scared of the dark and when the sun goes down become very agitated. Where does he sleep in the night? Is he crated? We had similiar issues with our girl Tanzie. It took her about 6 weeks to really settle into "our" routine. Which of a night is, the girls (dogs) go to bed right before we do, doesnt matter if its 9pm or 1am! They are put out to the toilet and told "go wee wee's" and then once they are let back in told "go to bed" and they run into the laundry where they sleep.

Tanzie is very emotional and for 2 days after being at the vet, carried on and on. It was awful. I was becoming very stressed myself. I was doing the same as you, coming downstairs, comforting her, felt she was ok and went back to bed. It didnt work! She got louder and louder and I thought the neighbours would complain any second! I got up at 1am, and told her off! I know that sounds so awful but it worked. All I said I loud almost yelling voice was "TAnzie STOP". and she did.

I was actually surprised that Chloe hadnt told her off earlier.

Good luck

[Trihounds]

No answer for you, but just know you are not alone! Brucie is our chatterbox and he'll engage us vocally for anything he wants, especially to hurry us along if we pause and talk to a neighbor while on a walk. We have none of it, though, but he hasn't stopped trying to get his way. He was a terrible M&Ger because he didn't stop with the noise!

 

I suspect Judy's recommended squirt bottle will do the trick. We've used it for other things successfully. Good luck!

[krissy]

My friend's puppy is a whiner. He whines for no reason at all. He whines at his toys. He whines when he gets told off. He whines when he eats. It's pretty funny as an outsider! Sorry I have no advice. Sounds like you have some good suggestions to start with though!

[jenn8]

Try whining back like you are having a conversation with her. A little reverse psychology. I had two greys who used to make these silly, oinky, whiny noises when we would pull up to the park. It was so funny that I brought a tape recorder and encouraged them to do it. The minute you want them to do something, they don't. So I am sitting there whining and oinking and they are looking at me like I'm nuts!

 

Jenn

Edited December 14, 2010 by jenn8

[GeorgeofNE]

Good luck.

 

My father's English Setter is a whiner. I find it INCREDIBLY annoying--but it doesn't seem to bother either my Mom or Dad...

 

He's 11 years old. Been doing it for 11 years now...

[Guest avadogner]

I think Augie just likes to hear himself talk. I've tried talking back with him and it always ends up with both hounds rooing. Today I whined back at him and he started doing these short piggy snort like barks. then he attacked his own tail. Who knows what he's thinking. He is a tattle tale too. Anytime Ava lays in his bed, he comes crying to his Mummy. I spend a lot of time telling his sister to go back to her bed. She likes to aggravate him and he likes to whine. I may resort to the water bottle. He sleeps in our living room on a dog bed with his sister on hers. There is a light on and I keep the TV on in there at night. I figured out the first night that a quiet house freaks him out. He likes noise and activity so he usually spends his waking hours in whatever room I'm in. He gets a long walk every day so think he's well exercised. Our senoir girl isn't very active and does not play due to arthritis but they keep each other company. I guess he's just a talker. He's laying in the bed being petted by the DH and he's still just talkin to us. Goofy boy!

-ava and augie's mum

 

 

[Guest auforygirl]

I think the water bottle next to the bed is an excellent idea. As for during the day no one wants to walk around with a water bottle or buy one for every room I would sort of use the same thing you would do with alone training. Wait till he is quiet and then treat saying good quiet boy (or whatever) at first just wait for him to be quiet for 30 seconds if he is that persistent and then gradually increase the time to be quiet. Another way is to ignore but this does go through hell at first. When you start to ignore they will first try going louder and escalating until they realize it isn't working. THIS MEANS YOU CAN NOT GIVE IN AT ALL. If you give in then they know they just need to up the ante. I suggest investing in good ear plugs. (this also works with kids)

[Remolacha]

Molly is my whiner, and she's taught Sallie to whine Fair trade I guess, Sallie taught Molly to bark It really annoys me at times, but luckily they don't whine or bark after we go to bed! No advice for you, nothing I've tried has worked (but I haven't tried the squirt bottle)

[Jenbo]

I just said to Myka "Stop" and she did. I'd say it again whenever she started and she pretty much doesn't do it anymore unless she needs to go outside in the middle of the night

[cleptogrey]

i haven't changed the water in my plant spray in over a year. all i have to do is just show the bottle to felix- even thru the glass storm door!

 

one good squirt and a shhhhh....then other squirts should not have a sound associated w/ them.

 

i had a foster who came to me after abusing all the dogs and humans in her first foster home. i placed the crate in my bedroom since she was such a screamer! after one night of "scattered showers" she learned not to cry at night in her crate. that night sleeping next to the plant spray was so rewarding!!!

 

if done right, you will only use it on rare occassions to remind them "no noise".

[Guest cyndiandsaoirse]

Saoirse has always been very talky, but of course, there are times when it is not appropriate (we are trying to sleep, my niece is trying to sleep, we are having Thanksgiving/Christmas/any family dinner). I found with her a very firm "Quiet" works well- she recognizes the tone, which I never use unless I mean business. I don't actually say quiet though, I say "Ti-ho" because I adopted my cat when I lived in Bulgaria, and she responds to Bulgarian better than English. It just rubbed off on the dog.

The key is to be really consistent with whatever you do. Greys, as you know, are all about their routines.

[Guest HHHounds]

Zorro is my whiner - I thought it was because he was spoiled. He whines primarily to go out - but he wants to go out constantly, except on days like today in Birmingham - 30 degrees, wet and a bit icy. I think that I will try the sprayer bottle when he whines to go out and sniff the breezes - that is a great suggestion because whining back and saying no have not worked:-)

[Guest TBSFlame]

Some of them just whine. In the almost 8 years since Flame has been here he has never barked but he whines. It is his way of talking. Thank goodness he sleeps at night and only whines when he wants something. Jeremy is a talker and her whines, barks and makes lots of different sounds. The water bottle at night sounds like a good idea.

[3DogNite]

I used the squirt bottle technique too.

It does work, startles them out of the "whine" syndrome.

 

good luck!

[Guest avadogner]

Hi Greytalk Friends,.

Last night I slept with my earplugs in and killed two birds with one stone (the DH snores terribly). I put a water bottle by the bed so when Augie came in nosed me awake to "talk" with me, i gave him a squirt. You should have seen his face. He was so offended that I would be so mean. I felt like a mean, mean mummy. But I did get some sleep so score one for the mummy. My Augie is just a talker. When I "talk back" (whining and whimpering) he lights up. He gets all excited and starts biting his tail. It's pretty funny. Hopefully the water bottle and earplugs will cut down on the night time talking.

Thanks for the tips,

ava and augie's mum

[lilythetigerdog]

Lily used to be a whiner, but we nipped that in the bud quickly. It was easy for us. Every time she would whine, we would ask her if she wanted to go outside, then we would let her out. It worked mainly because it was December at the time, and she did NOT want to go outside if she didn't have to. Within a day or two the whining stopped and now we know for sure when she has to go outside. I second the water-bottle solution. It's probably a lot nicer to be outside in December Birmingham than it is in Winnipeg, so I don't think the outside training would work.

[cleptogrey]

yeah, felix needs corrections from time to time, but as you see...it basically WORKS! he picked up on us leaving for vacation and started the whimper...that has stopped due to the trusty ....you know what!

[Guest tysmom]

My buck is a whiner and tyler is a vocalizer. Though the voclization though annoying at times doesnt drive me as crazy as the whinning.

 

I have found with Buck he seesm to be trying to tell me something. Ive recently discoverd he whines when he has to go out, but not consistantly.

I start asking questions and usually I can figure it out.. You want to go out?

you want to eat? you want a cookie? your bored? Sometimes it's follow me and lets it in here

deb

[Guest kydie]

I love squirt bottles,, I use them for all kinds of training,, after a short time training,, I say,, "you want to get the squirt bottle?" and the issue is over they learn fast what it is

Edited December 16, 2010 by kydie

[Guest avadogner]

When he whines I go through the go out/hungry/thirsty/sister in his bed/sister bossing him/he's bored/kong rolled under the chair and he can't get it/ sister stole his bone routine. About 50% of the time he's just bored and wants to "talk" I would try putting him out each time but he has really bad SA so being put out alone with out his sister may make it worse. I don't want to make him more stressed. The water bottle has seemed to help but he has now learned to whine standing out of water spray range. I guess he's a little smarter than I've given him credit for. He's my sweet cuddle boy and Ava is my sassy, mastermind.

-ava and augie's mum

[Guest Liz]

Our senior girl Tess is our whiner, she whines to go out, she whines when she wants her supper, she whines if supper is not to her liking and she whines when her sister Chauncey is spread out on the couch and there is no room for her, she also whines sometimes just to whine., but fortunately she only whines at night if she really needs to go out. We deal with the whine since it really doesn't bother us. Although Tess has taught Chauncey how to whine and bark which Chauncey never did before. we still love our girls no matter what.

[Guest Giselle]

He's not naturally needy. You made him needy. I saw it in your first post: Whenever he whines, you assuage whatever his desires are. You trained him to whine.

 

Now, you need to UNtrain him. Every single time he whines, DO NOT EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER give him attention. The whining will last 30 minutes tops, probably. Once you hurdle the initial bump, his whining will decrease exponentially. It's called the "extinction burst". The first time you ignore him, your dog will give 110% of his effort to whine, but you must ignore this. Once you do, he will stop. The second time he tries to whine, it will last about half that time. IGNORE! The third time, he'll try for about 1/5 of that time. IGNORE! In a few days, your whiny pup will be a less vocal fellow

Edited December 17, 2010 by Giselle

[Guest leash]

My dog Magnum used to whine until my husband told him to stop. Some how my husband is alpha in our house - 3 year old son listens to him and so does our dog. I have not had a problem ever since. Just one good stong no helped with him. Maybe have your husband tell him no.