My dog the cry baby!

    • Bronze
    Thanks for the links P.P will be checking them out! Theresamat; thanks, you could be right, poor boy! If he was would he be trying to hump the furnature, or my leg? lol He's a good boy and doesent do that [:)] I would only have him nutered though if I had no other option, or if he was ill. Prob because I'm a softie and i believe he came into this world with them so he'll try n leave it with them in tact. I realise un nutered behaviour in dogs can be a problem in some cases, but can be a very permanent solution. Thanks x x
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    To me, that is classic Dobe manipulation!  That dog is insisting you give him something, and eventually you will.  Most of us Dobe folks have been there, so we know the screaming that comes with escalated whining.  Like nails on a chalkboard.
     
    Have you considered giving him a command to do something else?  ie, when my Dobe whines at something, she gets the OUT command which she's trained to understand means stop whatever you're doing with your mouth.  Our back-up to that is I then give her a command to do something else - come, sit, down, whatever.  Then we work in a bit of command exercises - get her mind working about the training and not the "thing" she wants for abit.  8 times out of 10 I can distract her out of that whining.
     
    At his age especially, he's insisting you do something he wants.  "Theresamat" makes a good point about females in the area.  But whether it's females or something else, he's going to keep doing it because it continues to work in one fashion or another.
     
    I got advice to ignore the whining and physically show my disdain for my dog's behavior - folding my arms, turning my head deliberately away from her, keeping a disgusted look on my face - basically shunning the dog.  That might or might not work.  It's a communication he understands.  Whether he cares might be another story...
    • Gold Top Dog
    Prob because I'm a softie
    ORIGINAL: DobeyFan666

    Thanks for the links P.P will be checking them out! Theresamat; thanks, you could be right, poor boy! If he was would he be trying to hump the furnature, or my leg? lol He's a good boy and doesent do that [:)] I would only have him nutered though if I had no other option, or if he was ill. Prob because I'm a softie and i believe he came into this world with them so he'll try n leave it with them in tact. I realise un nutered behaviour in dogs can be a problem in some cases, but can be a very permanent solution. Thanks x x


    Your dog has you figured out.  He definitely wants something and he knows that as long as he's whining he's going to have your attention.  The few Dobies I know are very vocal and use that vocalization to elicit a desired response (Take me out, play with me, feed me, pay attention to me.) 

    I know one that when he whines or does that pitiful "woe is me" bark he gets put into timeout for a few minutes.  The whining has decreased alot but still hasn't disappeared.  I would, if he were my dog, start by giving him a job to do...agility is a good one. And make sure you have "special" time with the dog every day.  He might just be doing this because having your bad attention is better than not having your attention at all.