peggy the whining dog (why does she do it? how to deal with it?)

o/h and i have now reached the end of the road with the continual whinning and whinging that peggy does on a daily basis. we have tried everything to stop it but it is most annoying and distracting when it is in the car. as o/h suffers with arithis (sp) our habit with blackie is to drive to somewhere there is a large open space and then go for a walk. but this is getting impossible to do with peggy as she wont settle in the car even for the shortest journey. and yes before you ask she sometimes does the same on the return journey even if she has had a mega long walk.

she often still whines even if we are both at home and only one of us walks out of the room to do something in another room.

really dont know what to do now as if we send her back to the people she came from we know that blackie will really miss her as they have bonded really well together. got so bad yesterday that we were both tempted to dump her at the country park we had gone to and it caused a row between o/h and me. we did bring her home but havent wanted anything to do with her. we want to resolve this but dont know where to start.

ps started whinning again at 5am............

You need to determine exactly why she is whining - anxiety, excitement, feeling a bit car sick, confusion, nervousness, etc.

Has she had a recent and thorough vet check? What do you feed her?

What are your reactions when she whines? Is she remonstrated with, ignored, fussed, given what you think she wants?

Is she a BC? Does she get masses of exercise, interaction with you in the form of games, things to stimulate her mind, obedience training classes?

If you are really at the end of your tether with her I would suggest that you get a referral to a qualified behaviour consultant who, through observation of how you, your family, and the dog interact, may be able to suggest ways of overcoming the problem before you start resenting and disliking the dog.

we really try to ignore the whinning but it is so constant its hard to. we know that some is down to excitment as previous owners were not home a lot and didnt take her our much. she is bcxlab and is played with and stimulated at home and while out. we are normally out at least a couple of hours everyday with the dogs. our problem is why she is doing this when blackie also a collie x has never done this type of behaviour. yes she has had a health check and there is nothing physically wrong except at first she lacked the stamina to walk as far as blackie and keep up but that has now improved

Just wondering, do you reward her with praise and/or treats when she is not whining? Many people reward 'actions' but few think to reward 'inaction', i.e. when the dog is laying quietly.

When she whines I would try saying "quiet" in a firm, but not too loud, voice and then, the instant she stops, praise in a low-key voice "good quiet" and give a reward. At any time during the day when she is laying quietly a "good quiet girl" would not come amiss

Dogs always repeat the behaviours which they find rewarding. If she finds being quiet more rewarding than whining then that behaviour should become established or, at least, she should stop on command. This will take time, patience, consistency and vigilance but is worth a try

It is pointless comparing her to any other dog. They are all individuals with different sets of behaviours and triggers

Hi Blackie's mum,

Oh I really do feel for you. From the moment Takara wakes up in a morning until she goes out she constantly whines and does a high pitched whimpering or if I leave her downstairs while I go up, she whines and whimpers at the stairgate until I come back.

Something I do with Takara for certain behaviours:
If she is timid, this won't work, it'll just upset her but if she's pretty thick skinned you could try a rattle bottle. Fill an empty pop bottle with pebbles and the minute she start whining bang it once and say 'quiet'. She'll shut up momentarily because it'll surprise her, and then the second she quietens down lots of fuss and praise and treats if she's food orientated.
If the behaviour I want is a natural reaction to the noise of the rattle bottle (like your's is) I don't say a command word at first, just bang it, she'll go quiet and praise her loads, then add the command word and then after using the command word with the bottle before starting to phase the bottle out so that she is responding just to the command word.

You must praise her for being quiet a lot. I use this method with Takara for certain things, it really works well but because of the shock of the rattle bottle, you must praise a lot! Also Takara is very strong and can be quite dominant, so if Peggy's not like that, it may not work for her.

Finally,
This is just a thought, and might not work, but does she like cuddles? Perhaps you could try anticipating when she is about to start, you say when one of you leaves the room, how about you get down on the floor with her and give her a cuddle and a fuss while she's quiet. Then get your OH to leave the room and if she starts whimpering, get up straight away and stop fussing her, then if she goes quiet, fuss her again, then if she doesn't start whining when your OH leaves, you can give her even more fuss praising her for not getting upset.

I don't know whether this is pheasible, whether she will quieten down for long enough or not.

Hope this helps! Good luck with her!
Lottie

hoorah we have had a real break through with the whinning....we went a bought a plant sprayer and squirted her every time she started. now we only have to show her the sprayer and she stops. it shocked her but now we have whine free journeys until we stop the car and then it is excitment. much better and we have been able to go farther afield to country parks and wooded areas that she really enjoys when she gets there.

ps hasnt put her off water in any way and she is much much better in the car and in the house.