Case Study: Advice on People with Whining Dogs

Rufus and Mermaid are two Poodles that have matured in a nice suburban home together. The owner, Ms. Vicky, has no objection about the behaviors of the two dogs, with the exception of the fact that they whine incessantly. Seeing as her prince and princess do not have any aggressive tendencies, are not territorial, and do not have any other bad habits, she has overlooked this problem with whining for years. But, years have passed and the whining progressed into impatiently annoying and Ms. Vicky started to think why the two frequently whine.

In an attempt to curb this behavior, she dedicated her time to get to the root of the problem. Dogs whine for a lot of reasons, including pain, fear, or boredom. In this phase , she thought that the cause of the whining was probably boredom, but she also felt that the other reasons should not be completely ruled out and so she decided to seek for the expert’s opinion. Toby and Josie’s owner brought the pair to the vet’s office to get more information regarding the the situation. The veterinarian believed that the dog whining behavior stemmed from Toby and Josie being left alone for a large portion of the day while Ms. Vicky was at work. Although Toby and Josie were placed outdoors, so they can play, do their business, and exercise at will, the pair was still lonely. . Since this manner has never been corrected, the dogs have adopted the habit as a sympathy ploy to get what they want. Ms. Vicky confirmed this idea and the next step of breaking the habit started.

First of all , Toby and Josie were noticeably not okay with their current condition of being left alone during the morning. To make her dearly loved prince and princess happier, Vicky hired a pet sitter who comes in twice a day to walk, pet, and play with Toby and Josie. Despite the fact that the whining was still present, they’ve observed that the two dogs seem to be much happier when their owner returns from work. If only Ms. Vicky did not let this whining to continue for such a long period of time and corrected the problem sooner, this new setup would have likely stopped the whining altogether.

Meanwhile, the owner has started practicing the new training command for Toby and Josie. Each time either dog whines, she firmly states “no whine”. She gives this command with a quick squirt of water from a spray bottle to get the dog’s attention. Once the dog stops whining, the Miss lavishes it with praises and treats. Once the dog stops whining, the Miss lavishes it with praises and treats. Of course, tasks like going outside cannot be punished, since many dogs whine when they have to relieve themselves.

This training technique accompanied with hiring of a pet sitter has dramatically changed the whining situation with Toby and Josie. Now, neither dog whines to get what they want! Furthermore, Miss Vicky finds the situation a great deal less stressful on both her and the dogs. If you too are experiencing a similar situation, consider following this case study to help break your dogs from whining. Always remember that pain or discomfort is a possible reason for whining, so regularly visit your vet to ensure your dog is always in good condition. Best of Luck! Cheers!