Whining....new Behavior

[Busderpuddle]

For the last couple of months, Ruby has been whining off and on. It is these high pitched, short little whines. It started when I went to Hawaii and left her here with my husband. She now whines if anyone goes outside, if she thinks it's dinner time, if either one of us leaves the room, if she thinks I have slept a second too long, etc.... it is so ANNOYING !!!!! It irritates me to no end, as there is nothing wrong with her. She does not need to go potty, usually will not eat her dinner if I give it early, she just whines. This is not pain related. I find myself telling her to stop it, all day long. The last 2 days when she started this behavior an hour before dinner each night, I put her outside and let her wait until it was dinner time, then fed her. Will she get that she is being put out because she whined ?

Is there something I can do to get this to stop ?

[smurfette]

Did you try a paradox intervention like joining in the whining? I sometimes do this with Andy who shows the same behaviour. He stops shortly after I join in. It's his way to demand my attention towards him. When I mirror his behaviour he is slightly confused and mostly goes right back to roaching. But sometimes we have a nice rooing with Paddy joining in and Colin thinking....

 

...Idiots, I have to live with idiots. Where is Daddy????

[Busderpuddle]

Did you try a paradox intervention like joining in the whining? I sometimes do this with Andy who shows the same behaviour. He stops shortly after I join in. It's his way to demand my attention towards him. When I mirror his behaviour he is slightly confused and mostly goes right back to roaching. But sometimes we have a nice rooing with Paddy joining in and Colin thinking....

 

...Idiots, I have to live with idiots. Where is Daddy????

HA HA.........I haven't tried that yet, but she stops the second she knows she has your attention, so I don't think I could interrupt her whines with mine.

[Feisty49]

Have you tried giving her extra attention? Perhaps that's counter-intuitive, as in rewarding her whining, but maybe she is expressing her concern that sometimes you leave, for long periods of time, and she needs reassurance from you that all is well. Just a thought.

[mom2four]

As our Diego ages (he'll be 12 next month) he whines if at least one of his people aren't there. He's OK when I go to work because his beloved Daddy is home, but when Daddy disappears from his sight (bathroom trip) he will whine or give small barks or get up to go looking for him. It's getting worse as Diego ages.

[Busderpuddle]

Have you tried giving her extra attention? Perhaps that's counter-intuitive, as in rewarding her whining, but maybe she is expressing her concern that sometimes you leave, for long periods of time, and she tneeds reassurance from you that all is well. Just a thought.

She gets lots and lots of positive attention, and lots of petting through out the day. She will whine if I am sitting near her, and my husband goes outside, or vice versa. It is like she learned to do it, and now won't stop. I yelled at her to STOP IT this afternoon, as she was letting out these little high pitched squeaks. Not a new habit that I enjoy. I play ball with her in the yard most days, and she goes for a couple of walks. Nothing in her routine has changed, except I was gone for a bit.

 

As our Diego ages (he'll be 12 next month) he whines if at least one of his people aren't there. He's OK when I go to work because his beloved Daddy is home, but when Daddy disappears from his sight (bathroom trip) he will whine or give small barks or get up to go looking for him. It's getting worse as Diego ages.

Oh this is not good. She is 9 now, and I often wonder if dementia is getting the best of her, then she will snap out of it and act normal. Do yo do anything when she whines ? I find myself so irritated with her, and I don't want to start feeling like that.

Edited December 28, 2016 by Busderpuddle

[smurfette]

It can be a learned behaviour from the time you left her with your husband. I want attention - I whine - someone will come and give me attention.

 

Have you tried to leave the room and leave her alone? I know that ignoring her can be a handful. Remember I have a singer at home, too. I sometimes get irritated with Andy when he is whining every few minutes but refuses to leave his dog bed to come to me for a cuddle and I tell him to Stop It - but that's not the solution to our singing problem.

Give the roo-thing a try. If it doesn't work, so be it. If it works... you have a solution.

[Busderpuddle]

I will try whining back at her..........but I hate the thought of joining in. This morning she decided to try it out when I was getting dressed, so I put her outside. I am hoping that by putting her outside each time, she will get that it isn't working for her and stop. Wishful thinking.

[3greytjoys]

If Ruby has something important to communicate like needing a potty outing, that's important to provide. If she might need to eliminate, escort her outside and watch her eliminate, then take her back inside immediately. Otherwise, ignore her whining. (If needed, consider wearing ear plugs.)

Do not engage in that type of two-way verbal communication if you don't want to encourage it.

Teach her "quiet" or whatever cue you prefer. Remember to reward her with praise after she's been quiet for a few minutes.

Please don't put her outside as a punishment. She won't understand; plus, Greyhounds are indoor dogs and shouldn't be left outside for extended periods of time, especially in winter or summer temperatures.

Also, her whining is likely to escalate by being left alone outside.

 

 

[Busderpuddle]

If Ruby has something important to communicate like needing a potty outing, that's important to provide. If she might need to eliminate, escort her outside and watch her eliminate, then take her back inside immediately. Otherwise, ignore her whining. (If needed, consider wearing ear plugs.)

Do not engage in that type of two-way verbal communication if you don't want to encourage it.

Teach her "quiet" or whatever cue you prefer. Remember to reward her with praise after she's been quiet for a few minutes.

Please don't put her outside as a punishment. She won't understand; plus, Greyhounds are indoor dogs and shouldn't be left outside for extended periods of time, especially in winter or summer temperatures.

Also, her whining is likely to escalate by being left alone outside.

 

 

We don't leave her outside for extended time, but she also has a heated dog bed in a dog house where she is toasty warm any time we do leave her out there. Yesterday I told her "stop" each time, and then ignored her. We went through this several times. When she was whining prior to her dinner, I ignored her and fed her a bit later than normal, hoping she would get the hint that the whining gets her nothing. It just grates my every nerve to hear the whining. When she needs out to potty, she stands by the door wagging her tail, and if you are not in the room, she will come to see you, which never happens otherwise. The whining is not her needing to go out.

[3greytjoys]

Nothing in her routine has changed, except I was gone for a bit.

She is 9 now, and I often wonder if dementia is getting the best of her, then she will snap out of it and act normal.

 

I'm curious about your mention of signs of dementia. Does she happen to be taking any medications or over the counter supplements?

 

We don't leave her outside for extended time, but she also has a heated dog bed in a dog house where she is toasty warm any time we do leave her out there. Yesterday I told her "stop" each time, and then ignored her. We went through this several times. When she was whining prior to her dinner, I ignored her and fed her a bit later than normal, hoping she would get the hint that the whining gets her nothing. It just grates my every nerve to hear the whining. When she needs out to potty, she stands by the door wagging her tail, and if you are not in the room, she will come to see you, which never happens otherwise. The whining is not her needing to go out.

 

I understand that you had already determined Ruby wasn't whining to ask for a potty outing. I only mentioned the potty outings as an "if" because one of our elder hounds recently started whining as a pre-alert while still on her bed, just before standing up to ring her bell to go outside to eliminate.

 

(I'm just surprised about a dog house. Our adoption groups don't even allow Greyhounds to be temporarily left inside a fully enclosed garage -- due to Greyhounds' lack of body fat, lack of undercoat, thin skin, and their unique temperature sensitivities. Too easy for hounds to suffer from temperature discomforts, hypothermia or hyperthermia. They're fine with hounds having fenced yard access through a dog door as long as hounds have 100% access back into to their family home.)

 

A common reason for sudden increased whining is a result of family dogs who are boarded periodically. They quickly learn to fear the possibility of being (temporarily) abandoned (in their mind) by their people. I realize Ruby stayed home with your husband recently; perhaps she's responding to your absence, or a collective concern re: her people's trips. Hopefully, it won't take too long to reduce her whining since it's relatively new behavior. Good luck, and try to have patience while ignoring her whining, and praising her for being quiet. (When I'm trying to help improve one of my hounds' less than desirable behaviors, I try to focus on what I love most about them.)

[Guest jlbfitz]

I'm guessing the whining when you leave is separation anxiety from you having been gone. She'll likely get over it in time.

 

As far as when you're home and awake, a water spray bottle can do wonders. Our girl used to whine at us every morning when she thought it was time to get up (not as a cue to go out, just because) and the spray bottle cured that in about two days. Also, I'd argue never ever give her positive attention when she's whining.

[3greytjoys]

IMO, spray bottles as punishment for a dog's behavior is not desirable because it teaches dogs to distrust and shy away from their human; fear bottles; fear water being squirted (including hoses); and if they need to eliminate, they may do so indoors without first attempting to communicate to their humans -- since they learned their communication caused punishment.

 

We need to use spray bottles frequently for cleaning off paws; spraying wound medications, etc. Helps a lot if dogs feel trusting of their humans and comfortable with spray bottles.