Dog Whines Incessantly While Waiting to be Fed

Well, another idea would be to start free feeding her.  I free feed my Shih Tzu.  THe first couple days to a week they will eat more then normal, after they realize that food is available 24/7 they relax and eat when hungry.  I have had a lot of success with free feeding I did it with other dogs I have had.  I only fill the bowl when it is empty and not before.  I also use a measuring cup when I fill so I know how much food I am putting out and how much he has eaten.  When I start I write on the calendar how much the dog has eaten as well as when I filled it last.  Good Luck!

I would NOT free feed this dog.  If the dog has a voracious appetite, it won't take too long before she really packs on the pounds.

On the other hand, what I would do is, if the whining really bothers you, prepare the food in a seperate room from your dog.   That way the dog isn't there to see you fill up the bowl.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

I would NOT free feed this dog.  If the dog has a voracious appetite, it won't take too long before she really packs on the pounds.

On the other hand, what I would do is, if the whining really bothers you, prepare the food in a seperate room from your dog.   That way the dog isn't there to see you fill up the bowl.

Ditto! Your poor baby!

How long have you had your dog?  How many times a day do you feed her?  You could try as stated above getting the food when she is in another room or better yet do it when she is outside (if you have away of having her outside while you get food together).  Is she up on weight too?  I know some people who only feed their dogs once a day.  How many times a day do you feed her?

This is just an idea... but perhaps she does it because she thinks that whining is what MAKES you give her the food. It works everytime, so she keeps doing it.
 
Perhaps if you don't put the bowl down until she stops, she will learn that being quiet gets her food. I would just put the food in the bowl, stand there for a minute or two and if she doesn't stop, go sit down. The moment she stops, praise her and give her the food.

My dog was a resource guarder and my behaviorlist at the time wanted me to begin open bowl feedings.  The first feeding day he ate 12 cups of food!  I monitored the amount of food he consumed a day and by day three he was back to his normal eating.  This didn't work for his bowl guarding so we switched back and tried another method that did work for the problem.  My point is that if you do try this method be prepared for a couple of days of pigging out.  Just keep the bowl full.  If you see your dog has increased his food intake overall and gaining "unwanted" weight start to suppliment some of the food with green beans this will help keep him full and cut down on the calories.  Although I don't think your dog is acting this way out of hunger I would still be sure he is on a nutritious dog food, good quaility if the food you feed isn't a good quality may not be substantial enough to him full.  Good luck.
 
Questions:
 
What weight is your dog?
How much do you feed and how ofter?
What food do you feed?

I still think that free feeding as I said before and as Luvmyswissy said might be worth a try.  You can always go back to what you are doing now.  My Shih tZu and Rott pigged out for a few days then they were right back down to eating normal rations.  Free feeding can really work.  But you need to monitor intake of food.  That's how you will know if the dog is eating normally or not.  THe whining could be because she "doesn't think she is getting enough food or that she is afraid that you are not going to feed her."  Free feeding worked great for my dogs...they can eat whenever they are hungry.  I don't know about you but sometimes I am not hungry at meal times but I am hungry when its not.  Think about yourself and how you don't always want to eat at a specific time for whatever reason.  It seems reasonable to me to try the free feeding for a little while.  What are you feeding your dog?

JMHO, but how will free feeding help this problem (or food aggression problems for that matter)? I only see it as taking away a training tool and possibly ending up with an obese dog... your dog may regulate feeding, but not all dogs do. Let's not forget that chowing down large amounts of food very fast mayhaps make a dog more prone to digestive problems...
 
I think the dog needs be be taught that either 1. she doesn't have to worry, she will get fed or 2. whining won't get her everything she wants.

ORIGINAL: pumaward

JMHO, but how will free feeding help this problem (or food aggression problems for that matter)?

 
I would have to agree here, I'm not against free feeding, my dog is free fed his kibble (not that he ever eats it, but the cat loves it). This is a behavour problem, and you are praising her / him for cry for food.
 
I would prepare it, if the dog is crying do not give it the food until it stops.

Actually free feeding is a known method for bowl guarding, once food is plentiful there is no need to guard.  Unfortunitly after I started I realized that I wasn't willing to expose the problem (with having food around all the time) on a constant basics with my 5 year old around - so.. I took a different approach.  I think it would have worked if I was willing to give it the time.  It also didn't address the resource piece (toys etc) of the guarding. 

free-feeding is such a bad idea for so many reasons.
 
with most dogs I'd suggest just never feeding them until they stop whining, but your poor pup sounds like she might have a mental breakdown if you try that.  What if you de-sensitize her to the feeding procedure-- pretend to do it over and over again at random moments throughout the day?

I'd look at free feeding as I've never had a dog overeat after the first day. Food quickly becomes a non issue.
Although Canidae kibble is available 24/7 here my dog gets fed raw chicken necks for breakfast and cooked or raw for dinner. My dogs are always healthy & slim.

Other than that I'd feed small amounts several / many times a day, she needs help to stop worrying about starving to death.

This is just an idea... but perhaps she does it because she thinks that whining is what MAKES you give her the food. It works everytime, so she keeps doing it.

Perhaps if you don't put the bowl down until she stops, she will learn that being quiet gets her food. I would just put the food in the bowl, stand there for a minute or two and if she doesn't stop, go sit down. The moment she stops, praise her and give her the food.

 
Whatever the dog's motivation, and pumaward's suggestion *is* a reasonable possibility, this is a nice way of handling it.  And, there's no reason you can't try it after having prepared the food away from the dog.  That way, she only must deal with the end of the sequence at first.  Once she knows "quiet" or any other cue you attach to making her shut up to get fed, you can start conditioning her to be quiet earlier.

I do agree with Cav.  I said free feeding before.  It CAN work if the food is the issue then if it is always there then there is no issue.