How to Deal with Whining Dogs – Part 2

Posted by Jeanne on August 31, 2009

Whining in adult dogs

Whining is not a natural form of communication between humans and dogs. Most dogs grow out of whining around the six-month age; if your dog is whining after this period, it means she’s either doing it unconsciously, or she’s learned that it’s a useful motivatory tool to get her something that she wants or needs.

As an adult dog, there are a variety of reasons as to why she might be whining:

• In pain
• Bored/lonely
• Needs to go outside
• Afraid/anxious

Your response to her whining really depends on the cause of it. Sometimes whining is justified, and does require a response – and sometimes, it’s just plain manipulative. Other times it may be justified, but the response that comes most naturally won’t necessarily help your dog.

To clarify things, the more common reasons for whining – and suggested ways for you to react – are listed below.

When she’s whining out of pain

A dog that starts whining all of a sudden, and then keeps it up steadily afterwards, may be whining out of pain. This isn’t just limited to older dogs: puppies and young dogs can be subjected to some pretty severe growing pains, so don’t rule out this possibility on the basis of age. If you think your dog may be in pain, check her over to see whether there’s any merit to this belief. First, check for the obvious signs: is she holding any paws off the ground, or favoring a limb/side of her body? Check her face and body for scratches and splinters.

Next, you can palpate her limbs and joints for inflammation (like arthritis) and possible injuries. Remember to be very gentle: if she’s in pain, you don’t want to make it worse. Simply rub your hands along each leg, pausing at the joints to give each one a gentle squeeze. Run your hand down her tail to check for lumps and bumps, too. Even if you can’t find anything seriously amiss, if you think she’s whining out of pain, a trip to the vet is in short order.

When she’s whining out of boredom and/or loneliness

You’ll be able to tell if this is the cause because she’ll be wandering around the house (probably following you around, or pacing about the room you’re in), whining aimlessly and without direction (i.e. she’s whining to herself). The best cure for a dog that’s whining out of boredom is a quick shot of exercise: take her out for a brisk walk as soon as you can, and on a more general level, try to ramp up her daily exercise quotient. A tired dog is almost never a bored dog. For a dog that’s whining from loneliness, you’ll have to try your best to spend more quality, interactive time with her. If you don’t have a lot of spare time to spend with your dog, then make the time that you do spend together really count: play, groom, train, cuddle.

When she’s whining out of fear/anxiety

Normally, it’ll be fairly easy to tell whether she’s whining out of fear or anxiety. When she’s afraid, it means there’s a direct cause to her fear – like a thunderstorm or a windy afternoon that’s rattling the windowpanes and spooking her a bit. If she’s anxious, it means there’s no direct, tangible cause for her edginess – she might be a bit on edge because you’re a bit stressed and she’s feeding off your energy, or perhaps there’s been a change to her daily routine (she didn’t get her normal morning walk, for instance).

Without spending any more time quibbling pedantically over semantics, your response to this sort of whining should always be one of discouragement. Don’t attempt to punish or correct her for whining out of fear or anxiety – that will simply increase her stress, making her feel worse and making the whining worse, too.

Instead, simply ignore her. It’s a bit hard to do at first – in fact, it can feel like the least natural reaction in the world! But it really is the best thing for you to do. If you lend unwonted credence to your dog’s mood with an excessive reaction – patting, sympathy, cooing – she won’t be comforted; she’ll actually be more worried, because you’ve just validated her fear. If it seems to her like you think she’s got a good reason to be worried/afraid – and if you react with comforting words and soothing pats, that’s how it’ll come across – then she’ll be more afraid. Not less. So in this case, you need to ignore the whining outright. Don’t molly-coddle her; instead, distract her with play, or run through a quick obedience routine. Get her thinking about something else.

If she needs to go outside

If your dog’s whining because she needs to go outside, first of all you should give yourself – and her – a big pat on the back: it’s the sign of a genuinely well-trained dog. She needs to go badly enough to be whining about it, but she knows not to do it inside – and she’s smart enough to try and let you know that she needs to go out, too. This one’s easy: if she’s standing near the door, or just has That Expression (if you’ve had her for a while, you’ll grow to know That Expression – it’s different for every dog, but most owners are able to easily and correctly interpret it as meaning, “Let me out – now!”), you should let her out. It’s as easy as that.

Dealing with a Lonely Dog and Separation Anxiety – Part 2

Posted by Jeanne on August 17, 2009

Here are a few suggestions about dealing with a lonely dog:

• Bring her along with you. When you’re running errands – picking up the mail, dropping children off to music lessons, soccer, and Little League, stopping by at work – your dog will jump at the chance to come along. Even if she stays in the car, the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy a change of visual and olfactory scenery will be genuinely welcomed by her – and it’s a good way for the two of you to spend some casual one-on-one time together. If your errands involve other people (ferrying kids around, picking up a spouse, visiting a friend), accompanying you can go a long way towards meeting her social requirements for the day, too. (Tip: if you’re going for the Big Grocery Shop, or plan on doing something else that requires an extended absence from the car, best to leave her at home – any more than half an hour alone in the car is pushing the boundaries of responsible ownership for most dogs.)
• Invite her into the bedroom. You don’t have to ask her up on the bed with you; she can sleep on her own dog bed, either in the corner of the room (most dogs prefer to sleep with something at their backs) or next to your bed. This is a fantastic way of spending “down-time” with your dog (you’re both enjoying the same pastime in an undemanding way), and of increasing your bond, too. Dogs like to sleep with their pack (that’s you!). As pack animals, they’re hardwired to enjoy close contact with others during their most vulnerable hours. It reinforces their sense of togetherness and security. By allowing your dog into your bedroom at night, you’re fostering closeness with your friend. And it’s easy, too!
• Spend time in mutually-enjoyable activities. Walking the dog becomes a chore when it’s boring – if you’re enjoying yourself, you’ll be more likely to devote more time to it, which is good news for your dog, yourself, and your relationship with each other. Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to the same old twenty-minute circuit round the park – break out and explore new territory. As much as dogs love to reinvestigate familiar turf, they appreciate new sights and sounds too, so try the riverbank, the dog beach, a different park, dog exercise yards (you get to chat with other owners, too, while your dog makes new friends), hill trails, or go for a walk downtown – with your friend on a leash, of course.
• Perfect the art of multi-tasking. Whenever I’m cooking dinner or reading a book, my Rottweiler plumps himself down about two feet away from my ankles and stares at me dolefully from under wrinkled, upslanted brows. This used to bother me: I could almost sense the waves of silent accusation wafting off him. “Why aren’t you playing with me?” I felt like he was asking. “How come whatever that is gets your attention when I don’t?” As much as I love him, I still feel that I’m entitled to my one or two chapters a night (and a well-cooked dinner); so I decided to counteract the tear-jerking expression on his face by learning to multi-task. So now, cooking time is also training time: I use the momentary hiatus in between stirrings and choppings to practice Sit and Down. Reading time has become read-and-cuddle time: we sprawl on the couch together, I get to relax and read my book, and he gets his tummy rubbed while he snoozes. If I had a TV, I’d use my TV-watching time for grooming time, too.
• Counteract the “one-man dog” tendency. If you live in a multi-person household, it makes things easier on you if you can share the responsibility around a bit. It’s healthier for your dog, too – the more she interacts with the people that she lives with, the better. You can share responsibilities like walking, playtime, feeding, and grooming: the more social stimulation your dog gets, the happier she’ll be. If you have children in the household, the amount of responsibility they get is really best decided on a case-by-case basis: some younger children are perfectly OK to walk the dog, but some can find the experience traumatic and scary (which makes it unsafe for the dog, too). As a general rule of thumb, before allowing a child out of doors and unsupervised with a dog, make sure you’re OK with how the dog and the child interact. The dog should obviously know that the child “ranks” above her in the social hierarchy of the household, and obey her commands reliably; the child should be able to handle herself confidently with the dog, and know the basic rules of dog-walking etiquette (leash-laws, poop-scooping, dog-on-dog social protocol, and so on).

Obviously, these tips aren’t intended as a substitute for that quality and quantity of time together that your dog lives for – and that makes life as a dog-owner so rewarding and fun, too. Your dog still needs to spend active, focused time with you, in training, playtime, general cuddling/manhandling, and exercise. But with a little forethought and effort, you can go a long way towards ensuring her emotional and psychological welfare without adding too much to your own workload.