Increased Whining And Barking

[NeedlenoseJake]

Jake is a whiner, but lately (2 weeks?) it's been out of control! He whines all the time, and if you don't pay attention to him, like 100% of your attention, he escalates to barking and has even growled. He does this more when sitting on the couch with us, but he will still do it when on his bed. He stops when you pay attention to him, again, like 100% of your attention. We do try to ignore him, but it's hard with a dog barking in your face. I'm thinking we need to get him out more (usually one walk a day, but he has a dog door to go potty) and keep ignoring him. Just looking to see if anyone has other ideas or can commiserate!

[turbotaina]

Welcome to my world. Heyokha has been known to wake us up in the night because no one is rubbing his belly

[greysmom]

Sounds like he's got you trained really well! Good luck!

[Guest k9soul]

Rudy gets this way too at times. He usually settles down if I get him out and burn up some of his energy. Sometimes I give him a meaty bone or something to occupy himself and that seems to satisfy him too. But the times he gets whiny and demanding of attention, ignoring just seems to escalate him. It's like the more he doesn't get it the more frantic and frustrated he gets. It seems like he actually starts to get panicky at a certain point. So sometimes I just take a break and sit with him and give him attention and affection for a while, then give him a treat and say "ok that's all" and magically this seems to work for him. I know some would feel he's just manipulating me, but he actually seems to build up to a point where his frustration and anxiety is too much for him if he's ignored and ignored. So we compromise and he settles down.

 

ETA: I've been working on doing our compromise or energy-burning solution before he gets to that point and it has seemed to lessen. It's really amazing how worked up he can get at a certain point. At one point I kept thinking "if I give in when he whines then he will just whine all the time" so one time I ignored and ignored his whining; it went on for a couple hours. His fit throwing got to the point he was actually trembling all over and breathing heavy and obviously panicked. That's when I realized the ignore thing just wasn't going to work for him.

Edited February 6, 2016 by k9soul

[GeorgeofNE]

My father accidentally trained his dog, Davy, to be a whiner.

 

Davy would lay by Dad's chair. Dad's arm would hang down, and he would be petting Davy--a lot. As soon as he stopped, Davy would whine, so he started up again. The dog became unbearable to be around!

 

You're just going to have to tough it out for a while and TOTALLY ignore him when he whines.

[locket]

I commiserate!

 

Jack is a whiner as well. We always knew he was quite talkative as he barked his head off at the kennel when we got him. However, inside the house with us, not a peep. Unless he wants something. Then its whine whine whine. He would start by whining on his bed, then getting up and whining in our face, then pacing. At one point we said ok enough, and everytime he got up to pace, we would tell him to lay down. Up, down, up, down. Now he’s somewhat “better” at it (although not when DH is around, I can’t seem to train DH, so if any of you have any tips ). Now he will stand up, pace for like 30 seconds, settle down and usually I hear a big siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. That’s my cue, that he relaxed and then he can have pets/trips outside, etc. So yea, he’s better, but he still whines. I feel your pain!

Edited February 8, 2016 by locket

[Koyotekyle]

Mimi barks for no apparent reason. It is usually in the evening. She has been on walks, fed, and has been out side, has a dog door. I wish we could figure out why.she barks. She is 91/2 years old but his is fairly recent behavior. I've read to her all the books that say greyhounds don't bark, but she is not impressed

[Sundrop]

Our Deacon was a whiner - drove me bonkers! Normally he just wanted attention, but he'd normally calm down a bit when he'd hear me exclaim, "Duuuuuuuuddde!! Stop it!"

 

At first we thought he was in pain, needed to go out, needed water, etc. - but we soon realized he just wanted attention. I learned to ignore it, and give attention only when he stopped. It curbed a little, but never really stopped. Once I learned to laugh it off, it didn't bother me so much!

 

Of course, since we lost him last Easter, I'd do anything to hear him whine a little again.

[NeedlenoseJake]

Our Deacon was a whiner - drove me bonkers! Normally he just wanted attention, but he'd normally calm down a bit when he'd hear me exclaim, "Duuuuuuuuddde!! Stop it!"

 

At first we thought he was in pain, needed to go out, needed water, etc. - but we soon realized he just wanted attention. I learned to ignore it, and give attention only when he stopped. It curbed a little, but never really stopped. Once I learned to laugh it off, it didn't bother me so much!

 

Of course, since we lost him last Easter, I'd do anything to hear him whine a little again.

Yes, I feel guilty for being so annoyed at him, but this is escalating to the point of barking in our faces. It's actually kind of scary! I'm okay with a little whining, but he is getting ridiculous. We're thinking of getting labs done to make sure it's not a medical thing.

[Sundrop]

Having a vet check him out is definitely a good idea - we did the same thing with Deacon - just a general fitness exam w/ blood work to make sure he wasn't in pain that we didn't realize. Vet said he was in perfect health, and when he continued, I have to admit...I was probably too indulgent with him. He would whine and I would pet him - when we realized it, it was kinda too late.

 

Anytime he got excited, nervous or even happy - he would whine. Oh, unless someone came to the door, and then it was terrifying, big, deep BARKS! And he taught his sister to bark, too. Our house wasn't quiet for years, but we definitely felt safe.

[Ragsysmum]

Sounds like he's bored. One walk a day isn't much so unless you do some play/ mind games etc. with him, he is bound to be bored. Another decent walk should help. A tired dog is a good dog.

[NeedlenoseJake]

Sounds like he's bored. One walk a day isn't much so unless you do some play/ mind games etc. with him, he is bound to be bored. Another decent walk should help. A tired dog is a good dog.

This is absolutely true, and we know we haven't been doing well getting him tired out. That's why I'm frustrated with him but more frustrated with me for being a lazy dog owner. However, the last two nights have been great because we took him to the dog park Tuesday night and hiking last night. He was comatose at home