# Can't take the whining!!



## Vikingirl

I have a 9 month old vizsla and am struggling with the incessant whining. It appears that if he is not constantly stimulated he will whine and who has that kind of attention??? I understand this is a breed trait but I'm trying to gauge how severe my dog has it compared to other vizsla owners. I have noticed that on days when he has lots of doggy play time or running it is less. But that is not always possible. Any advice besides ignoring and does ignoring really work? I have tried this but it seems my Spartacus can go on a whining marathon. I am considering buying a "Thundershirt", a pressured shirt that is supposed to alleviate anxiety. Would love some feedback from others who have suffered!


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## CrazyCash

I have a 2 1/2 year old that "talks" to me every day - it usually starts with whining and will turn into barking. I usually spend a few minutes "talking" back to him (basically echoing whatever sound he makes to me). He wants attention, so I will give him a job - go find his toy, go get Penny (my other dog) or I'll send him out in the backyard to explore. They are definitely needy little dogs, but I've learned to deal with the whining/barking in order to get the Velcro/cuddly dog that I love. 

Give him a job, hide treats in the house and send him off to find them, put peanut butter in a kong - mental stimulation wears them out just like running them. 

Here's a nightly interaction with my Cash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4VQDhch5zM&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## CatK

Morris is definitely a 'talker', much more so than our friend's V. The full range from 'omg i'm excited to see you' growly whine even though we just popped out to the car, through excited yowls/warning barks/grumbling when put in bed/harrumph when told to lie down and definitely plenty of whining! Mainly when he feels like he's owed something, whether that be dinner, a walk or a cuddle. Once we figure out which it is we owe him (and deep down you usually know which it is) you deal with it and he settles. For us it's usually his evening cuddle on the floor, I'll sit crosslegged, he'll get straight into the tiny gap between my legs and curl up into a cuddle where he'll snooze for a while. 

Oh, and noise-wise, when his friend barks, he sings along with a little howl! The only time he howls, and it's so gentle, it's really sweet!


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## CatK

Morris doing his Maria Carey impression in the boot of my friend's car...


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## lilyloo

CatK, our Ruby is the same as Morris! She's so vocal and it's hilarious the way she will complain or let you know about how she feels. These dogs are so expressive!

To the original poster --- he sounds bored. In reality if a dog whines you're not supposed to give it immediate attention because that teaches the pup that the whining works. I know that's easier said than done.  Have you tried giving him a chew toy or something else to entertain him when he's especially whiny?


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## CatK

Oh yes, my post made us sound like we jump to attention every time he whines - don't do it!  He'd never stop! But sometimes he whines and it reminds me I haven't done something, at that point, I rectify the problem and he usually settles down. If made to wait, that's when we get him settling into an unhappy liedown with a giant HARRUMPH.


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## MCD

Seems to me they always have something to say....... Dharma is the same way and has a large vocabulary depending on if it is us, the cats, the guinea pigs or there is something going on.


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## Nudge23

Hi Vikingirl,
Hang in there, some of the whining could also be puppy behaviour. Our Nudge is extremely vocal and I was complaining about it on this forum only a couple of months ago....Nudge is 11 months now and since that post he has improved heaps. He will still whine when he is hungry, cold, bored etc but he knows to save it for when he really needs something rather than just acting like a spoilt brat. As the others mentioned knowing what time to stuff a kong, toy or chew in his gob also helps keep him 'busy'.


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## samkins

Well our boy Moose is 7 months now and the whining and talking keeps getting louder... Now he has taught our once voiceless pit bull to talk along with him... The house last night was probably the loudest it has been with those two wrestling and talking for 30 minutes straight. It was hilarious!! 

But he still gets fussy at night when he's really tired and trying to fight off sleep, just like a baby, he will whine and sigh then finally give in. He is extra whiny when he needs attention/cuddles, so I sit on the floor with him as CatK mentioned and he quiets down. 

They are needy little lovers


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## MilesMom

I wish it were a phase for us. Ours are 2.5 years old and 14 months old, and both are whiney babies! They whine for me to move over on the couch, to get in bed, for me to turn on the tub for them... they trained me for sure.


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## number10

Isn't it one of the most endearing and yet frustrating things about them? We all recognise and tire pretty quickly of the typical dog whine, but the vizsla conversational: whine-talk-grumble-bark-whine-grumble is pretty cute. From the look of these posts people get pretty used to interpreting what it means from their dog. 

Like most, if the whine is a baby cry for reassurance, I will respond but if she won't self soothe or settle after a short while or it is for attention we use the 1. ignore - 2. QUIET - 3. QUIET and water bottle squirt escalation sequence. And that has always worked well (so far at least) . The hardest thing is getting everyone else in the house to shush and for there to be only one set of instructions going to the dog!!

At night in her pen I'm sometimes not sure if she wants to go out or wants attention. So I always assume she wants to go out, which she sometimes finds disappointing, LOL. After that, I know it's just attention-seeking.


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## MeandMy3

I must admit, I read this post with some amusement. Bristol has never been a whiner. As most of you know, she has been raised by labs and has taken on more of their not-so-needy temperament - probably because she always has someone to play with. Our red lab is actually more vocal than Bristol. That is - until last night. Bristol whined, nested, whined some more, barked at the window, barked at the tv. We went out - multiple times. She climbed under the covers, multiple times. Finally, at about 2am, I couldn't take it anymore and she slept in her kennel the rest of the night. Today I'm not so amused.


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## Bob Engelhardt

MeandMy3 said:


> I must admit, I read this post with some amusement. Bristol has never been a whiner. As most of you know, she has been raised by labs and has taken on more of their not-so-needy temperament - probably because she always has someone to play with. Our red lab is actually more vocal than Bristol. That is - until last night. Bristol whined, nested, whined some more, barked at the window, barked at the tv. We went out - multiple times. She climbed under the covers, multiple times. Finally, at about 2am, I couldn't take it anymore and she slept in her kennel the rest of the night. Today I'm not so amused.


You didn't happen to leave this topic up on your monitor where she could read it, did you? <G>


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## Ozkar

It's not whining..... Its communication!!!  

My pups talk to me when they need my help. Water bowl is empty, need to go out to pee, get under the covers.... It's all just communication. Sometimes Astro will be telling me he wants something. Sometimes I don't want to do whatever it is he wants, so I just give him a firm no!


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