Dog Community

Whining

Posted : 3/30/2006 4:37:38 AM

We've had Kaiser since he was 8 weeks, and he is now a 4.5 month-old beagle. He took really well to training and we use a crate with him. He spends most of his time in the tv room, which is divided in two. One's his side, one is our side, so he doesn't get into things. We play with him often and take him to his playroom and take him for walks.

But Kaiser whines when we aren't around, or when we aren't paying attention to him. Right now, he's in his playroom alone, not playing and whining off and on. When I enter the room, he starts playing. Same thing happens a lot in the tv room too. If we are on the other side of the divider, he whines. And when we crate him, he whines, flips out, pants and starts howling/barking.

The breeder said we need to remove the divider in the crate which halves it. But it's still just enough space for him to lie down and turn around in. I think we need to spend more time making the crate a pleasant place, but it just seems that it doesn't matter if he's in the small crate, or in the half tv-room, or in a big playroom, if he's alone or not getting attention, he whines.

Is this normal for him still to be doing this at 4.5 months?

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/30/2006 7:34:03 AM

This is definitely a "hound thing". Hounds are incredibly smart, a bit stubborn, and can easily train humans. If you have given in to the whining even once, you have increased the chance it will continue. Giving in can include things like telling the dog "quiet", talking to him, or even making eye contact with him. Best thing to do is ignore any barking, whining, or howling that comes from the crate (as long as the dog has been toileted before going in, and gets enough exercise and company generally).

Buster's Mom

Posted : 4/1/2006 5:14:05 PM

It's a beagle - our beagle seemed to be more vocal during the teenage
time, but after the age of 2, he only whines to say he needs to go out
or if it's dinner time.

The crate needs to be a good place for them to be. Buster learned the
command "go inside" and then he gets a treat.
Spiritdogs was correct, they will try to train you, because now Buster
will open the crate door with his paw & go inside without hearing the
command in the hopes of getting a treat. - He's not stupid and lives
for his next meal !

With Buster, we had quite a time teaching him how to act "normal" in the
house. He was so incredibly goofy and energetic, he was like a toddler.

Good Luck & it gets better with maturity.

teufelhund

Posted : 4/5/2006 11:00:39 AM

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

This is definitely a "hound thing". Hounds are incredibly smart, a bit stubborn, and can easily train humans. If you have given in to the whining even once, you have increased the chance it will continue. Giving in can include things like telling the dog "quiet", talking to him, or even making eye contact with him. Best thing to do is ignore any barking, whining, or howling that comes from the crate (as long as the dog has been toileted before going in, and gets enough exercise and company generally).

Spiritdogs,
I just got an aussie pup (12.5 weeks). My current morning routine is to take him into the bathroom with me. While im in the shower he whines/cries. And will put his paws up on the counter(opposite side of the shower). Is telling him 'quiet' enforcing his whining? I tried putting some treats near the shower and chucking them near him when he was quiet. I'm up at 5:30am, and we live in a town house.. i dont want his whining to wake the neighbors (as ive made mention in a thread in the general forum).

Candy Sparrow

Posted : 4/5/2006 12:36:44 PM

I have a 5 month old American Bulldog, he use to do the same thing when he was in his crate, whine constantly and sounded like he was screaming, first i take him out to go potty and feed him, but after he does his business and eats and then when i put him back in his crate and he still whines and screams, i totally ignored him and didnt even look at him when he was whining not even tell him to be quiet or anything I would just go about doing what i usually do and pretend i didnt hear his whining, which was totally HARD, then when he finally settled down and lay down i would say good quiet and give him a treat then he would start acting up again, whining all over again, after getting his treat he got totally excited, so when he would start again I walked away from him and i repeated, pretending that i didnt hear his crying and wait for him to lay down again and settle down for a while then i would either give him a treat and tell him again good quiet or i would let him out to play...... I would only let him out to play when he is settled and not whining, I wouldnt give him any attention unless he was quiet, now he finally realizes that i wont give in to his crying so he has totally calmed down and the whining hasnt been as much, sort of catching that only when he is quiet he gets attention, he still tries to test me by trying to whine once and awhile but i wont give in, then he finally realizes that im not going to give and now he just quits and lays right down[

]!! It took awhile but now he is catching on[

]