Whining/Begging

[oscar love3]

I'm not sure if it's just my dog or if all doxies do this, but Oscar constantly whines or begs. We don't even feed him table scraps..he only gets regular dog food and occasionally the spilled food. He whines constantly too, whether there is food or not. We will be sitting and he will climb into my lap and start whining.

Do I just have a dog that needs full attention 24/7, or is there a way to stop this. I tell him no each time he whines and if he starts to whine really loud (like deep in the throat, like a growl but not quite) I spank him. Is this not the right way to go about it?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

The best thing you can do is ignore him when he does that. I know it's frustrating and hard to ignore. He's trying to get your attention and even though you're telling him "NO!" you are still giving in to him and giving him the attention he wants. When he stops whining and is being quiet tell him good boy, and give him a treat. He needs to learn that whining will get him nothing but being quiet will get him the attention he wants.

Spanking is never a good idea with dogs because they don't understand what they are doing wrong and why you are hitting them. The only thing that spanking is going to do is cause your dog to be afraid of you.

When you're eating put him in another room. Ignore him if he whines.

[lizbud]

The best thing you can do is ignore him when he does that. I know it's frustrating and hard to ignore. He's trying to get your attention and even though you're telling him "NO!" you are still giving in to him and giving him the attention he wants. When he stops whining and is being quiet tell him good boy, and give him a treat. He needs to learn that whining will get him nothing but being quiet will get him the attention he wants.

Spanking is never a good idea with dogs because they don't understand what they are doing wrong and why you are hitting them. The only thing that spanking is going to do is cause your dog to be afraid of you.

When you're eating put him in another room. Ignore him if he whines.


I agree with this completely.Just ignore the dog without even speaking
to him at all, unless it's just a one word command like no or down.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Oscar constantly whines or begs. I tell him no each time he whines and if he starts to whine really loud (like deep in the throat, like a growl but not quite) I spank him. Is this not the right way to go about it?


Spanking is negative punishment and useless because I doubt very seriously the dog knows why he is being hit. Whining is a way of communicating for a dog. It is NOT an appropriate way of communicating but none the less it is communication. Would you consider spanking a child because he was crying when you didn't want him too?

The best thing is to determine if the dog is whining for a specific reason (to be let out to potty or some other important reason) or just to get attention. If it's just to get attention then I would put the dog in his crate or on a down and completely ignore him until the behavior stopped. Once the dog is quiet for awhile without whining (I'm talking minutes here, not hours) then you reward him with a praise and perhaps a treat. Never acknowledge the dog in any way at all when unacceptable behavior is given. To a dog, negative attention is better than no attention at all.

[oscar love3]

I've tried the ignoring him, but it's so hard because he gets louder and other family members yell at me to keep him quiet. Plus if I put him in a crate, he rocks and whines until he makes himself throw up. I am going to try putting him in another room when I eat and give him a treat when he quits whining. Also I have found out that when he whines constantly and doesn't quit even if I will ignore him, it's not to go potty or to play, but it's to go on a walk. Hopefully this problem will be gone in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the advice!

[chowmom]

helloI just got a new Chow Chow on Monday and he is relatively a good dog but once he has to go down for the night he becomes a loud obnoxious whiner!! I live in an apartment and I am afraid my neighbors will start complaining. I am ignoring him and I leave him in the crate in the bathroom but it is 11:30pm and he has been in there for 40min and has not stopped and this is for the 2nd night in a row!! The first night he merely whined not howled and barked so I put him in the crate near my bed and put my hand by the crate that worked the first night the second night it didn't work. so I put him in the bathroom and he howled, whined and barked for longer than I could stay awake! I don't know what to do-- I put him in the crate during the day so he will be use to it and if we are home he howls if we are out or in the car he is happy to be in the crate. How long till he gets it? I am tired and have children as well/

[catnapper]

This advice is based on knowing that the whining is merely for attention:

You are not ignoring him, I can tell by what you wrote -- if you even look at him, he's getting the attention he wants. Your family members yelling at you to kjeep him quiet are in actuality feeding his whining because he knows THEY will get you to look at HIM and give HIM attention.

Say you had a 30 minute meal and you ignored him for 29 minutes, then on the 30-minute mark, you looked down and told him to knock it off.... you just taught him that he'll get the attention he wants if he just persists and whines a little louder and a little longer.

When ignoring a bad behavior, you have to ignore it COMPLETELY. That drool running down your leg? You don't feel it. Him jumping up and scratching your knee? Nope, thats not felt either. You certainly don't hear his increasing volume. You don't see those sad eyes emploring you to look at him. NOTHING. You just continue eating as if he's not there. Continue conversation at a normal level, don't raise your voice over his whining, because he can tell you're raising your voice in effort to be heard over him... and he'll see that as a reinforcer to whine louder. Don't pay any attention to his antics and ignore him the entire meal. The first few meals will be a nightmare and you'll want to cave in -- you can't! And EVERYBODY HAS TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE! If they want him to stop, they can't continue to make you hush him. They have to be actively particpating in ignoring him. It takes one person to shout "BE QUIET!" to ruin 20 minutes worth of ignoring him and to train him that patience and louder whines gets what he wants. Remember, dogs want attention... good or bad, they just want attention. SO if we shout at him, he gets what he wants. I bet you'd much rather praise him than shout him.

[oscar love3]

Small update on Oscar:

Last night he kept whining and whining because he knew that my family was outside our bedroom eating some snacks. I ignored him an nobody came by to tell me to keep him quiet (I have informed everybody that when Oscar whines, don't talk to him and don't yell for him to be quiet. Don't even look at him...so far they are getting it.) and after about 20 minutes he quit whining and crawled into bed. It was a small step but major sigh of relief because I think he's starting to learn I'm not going to cave in anymore. Also this morning while I was eating breakfast I didn't even look at him when he was whining and he finally settled down onto my feet.