Hi Everyone
I have a problem with my 2year old staffy cross he is a constant whiner, when i go to the bathroom, when im upstairs, when im out of his sight, when we are out walking and he sees other dogs, when hes in the kitchen and im not, when im getting ready for college, when i get back from college! the list goes on!
he tried to take my coat from the sofa the other day he smelt it (i was upstairs at the time) then dragged it off with his paws! he also tried to bite me the other day when i was stroking him this is very strange it wasnt aggressive but he NEVER bites! i am his provider i feed him walk him bath him you name it i do it so i dont understand! any one know why he does any of these things? or how i can stop the whinning.?
Thanks xEmx
Constant whining!
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Hmm
What do you want your dog to do when you arent there?
It sounds as though your staffy x, like mine, is quite vocal about things, especially when he isnt in control of the situation, ie you've gone soemwhere or theres another dog he cant go over to (irrespective of whehter its to say hi or beat it up).
My staff appears to be a very confident cocky little lad, but really, deep down he isnt, hes a mummys boy and he needs me!
To combat this, i make no fuss about going out of the room, i make sure going out of the room isnt a big deal, nor is coming back.
I also try to make sure that something nice IS in the room when im not, ie a toy, a kong filled with nice things etc etc.
Getting stressed and worked up about the whining though will make things worse, your dog will pick up your tension (i think its there because i picked it up in your post!), and that will make him worse.
As far as getting your coat and sniffing it goes, you are lucky you dont live HERE, because it would be on the floor and all the pockets would have been emptied and everything would be quite soggy from beign licked. If you dont want him to have something, put it away - if its there and you are not, he doesnt and he CANNOT know that it is not for him to investigate.
Biting - describe this bite? Did he just take hold of your hand? Could it be you touched somewhere that hurts and he was saying 'hey, dont do that'?
It doesnt matter if you are his feeder, provider, walker, Queen of the Universe, if you do something to him that he finds unpleasant then he has every right to demonstrate that he doesnt like it - and its up to YOU to teach him an appropriate way of doing this, ie with bite inhibition, so that he knows taking hold of a hand is ok, but BITING is not ok.
The whining will stop when he no longer needs to whine for attention, ie he understands that he gets plenty attention, that whining isnt rewarded, and hes secure and confident in you and in his home and also, on his own.
You may need to teach him to be more independant, it sounds as if his world revolves around you and whilst thats a good thing in many respects, if he DOESNT know (and dogs are NOT born knowing this) how to deal with life on his own, then he wont cope.
Hth
Em
What do you want your dog to do when you arent there?
It sounds as though your staffy x, like mine, is quite vocal about things, especially when he isnt in control of the situation, ie you've gone soemwhere or theres another dog he cant go over to (irrespective of whehter its to say hi or beat it up).
My staff appears to be a very confident cocky little lad, but really, deep down he isnt, hes a mummys boy and he needs me!
To combat this, i make no fuss about going out of the room, i make sure going out of the room isnt a big deal, nor is coming back.
I also try to make sure that something nice IS in the room when im not, ie a toy, a kong filled with nice things etc etc.
Getting stressed and worked up about the whining though will make things worse, your dog will pick up your tension (i think its there because i picked it up in your post!), and that will make him worse.
As far as getting your coat and sniffing it goes, you are lucky you dont live HERE, because it would be on the floor and all the pockets would have been emptied and everything would be quite soggy from beign licked. If you dont want him to have something, put it away - if its there and you are not, he doesnt and he CANNOT know that it is not for him to investigate.
Biting - describe this bite? Did he just take hold of your hand? Could it be you touched somewhere that hurts and he was saying 'hey, dont do that'?
It doesnt matter if you are his feeder, provider, walker, Queen of the Universe, if you do something to him that he finds unpleasant then he has every right to demonstrate that he doesnt like it - and its up to YOU to teach him an appropriate way of doing this, ie with bite inhibition, so that he knows taking hold of a hand is ok, but BITING is not ok.
The whining will stop when he no longer needs to whine for attention, ie he understands that he gets plenty attention, that whining isnt rewarded, and hes secure and confident in you and in his home and also, on his own.
You may need to teach him to be more independant, it sounds as if his world revolves around you and whilst thats a good thing in many respects, if he DOESNT know (and dogs are NOT born knowing this) how to deal with life on his own, then he wont cope.
Hth
Em
the bite that he gave me wasnt a proper bite just a nip i guess! so yeah he did kind of take hold of my hand. he may have had a soft spot there that day! he isnt usually sensitive when anybody touches him. i do try everything to make him less attached to me but it doesnt seem to work, i make a point of not letting him follow me around the house.
I wish i could help him and make him more independant.
thanks for helping
I wish i could help him and make him more independant.
thanks for helping
Simply not letting him wont teach him to cope though, if i just put you in an aeroplane it wont make you able to fly it, no matter how often i put you there??
You need to get him to associate you NOT being there with good things, nad not stressful things.
Look at the things you do first off. Do you get up and make a big fuss of going through a door and shutting it behind you with him on the other side, or do you get up quietly, move slowly, shut the door quietly?
If you have a tendancy to suddenly rush about, slam doors be loud adn fast, he will probably get all excited every time you move. If you are calm and quiet around the house, he probably wont.
Are tehre any doors in your house you can put baby gates across, so you can leave a room, with him still in it, and he can still SEE you, just not get to you. Sometimes that is less stressful for the dog.
Does your dog HAVE to be in teh same room as you, do you close doors behind you all the time, or does he have free range of most of the house, can he choose where to be?
Ive found letting my dogs choose from a few rooms has made them much calmer and so people entering and leaving rooms is less of an issue.
I expect your dog will whinge pretty much the whole time from you leaving to you coming back, so waiting for him to be quiet is giong to be pointless.
Instead, set up a situation were you quietly adn calmly leave the room, without saying anything to him, and then return after a minute, then after two minutes, then after 30 seconds, then after five minutes - each time, make NO fuss of him, come back in quietly, sit down quietly, carry on watching telly or using the computer, whatever.
Also introduce some toys he can play with on his own, filled kongs (from his food ration if he is likely to put on weight), interactive toys such as the ICube etc - get a GOOD selection, dont be mean with the toys after all, you ahve plenty to fill your day. All he has is you.
Get yourself a toy box. When you DONT want to be giving him one to one attention, open up the toy box and show him the fun toys, let him choose his own.
When you know you are going to be in and out of rooms, allow him access to these toys (they need to be VERY rewarding, so dont skimp on filling up the kong for example!). If you are going to be there and pay him attention, close the toy box. These toys are ONLY for when you are 'out' (even if you are in and busy).
As well as all this, spend time not just walking him and playing physical games wiht him, but spend time doing training sessions, clicker training tricks, anything that gets his BRAIN working, not just his brawn.
The idea is to teach him that you being there is not necessarily a bad thing, and increase his confidence in his own ability to communicate with you, to manipulate his environment and you, in a way that is acceptable to you. Currently he has no idea and just does what he has always done, which is to whine and id guess thats because eventually, you reward it, even if its by telling him to shuttup. To him thats still a reward thats better than being ignored.
Em
You need to get him to associate you NOT being there with good things, nad not stressful things.
Look at the things you do first off. Do you get up and make a big fuss of going through a door and shutting it behind you with him on the other side, or do you get up quietly, move slowly, shut the door quietly?
If you have a tendancy to suddenly rush about, slam doors be loud adn fast, he will probably get all excited every time you move. If you are calm and quiet around the house, he probably wont.
Are tehre any doors in your house you can put baby gates across, so you can leave a room, with him still in it, and he can still SEE you, just not get to you. Sometimes that is less stressful for the dog.
Does your dog HAVE to be in teh same room as you, do you close doors behind you all the time, or does he have free range of most of the house, can he choose where to be?
Ive found letting my dogs choose from a few rooms has made them much calmer and so people entering and leaving rooms is less of an issue.
I expect your dog will whinge pretty much the whole time from you leaving to you coming back, so waiting for him to be quiet is giong to be pointless.
Instead, set up a situation were you quietly adn calmly leave the room, without saying anything to him, and then return after a minute, then after two minutes, then after 30 seconds, then after five minutes - each time, make NO fuss of him, come back in quietly, sit down quietly, carry on watching telly or using the computer, whatever.
Also introduce some toys he can play with on his own, filled kongs (from his food ration if he is likely to put on weight), interactive toys such as the ICube etc - get a GOOD selection, dont be mean with the toys after all, you ahve plenty to fill your day. All he has is you.
Get yourself a toy box. When you DONT want to be giving him one to one attention, open up the toy box and show him the fun toys, let him choose his own.
When you know you are going to be in and out of rooms, allow him access to these toys (they need to be VERY rewarding, so dont skimp on filling up the kong for example!). If you are going to be there and pay him attention, close the toy box. These toys are ONLY for when you are 'out' (even if you are in and busy).
As well as all this, spend time not just walking him and playing physical games wiht him, but spend time doing training sessions, clicker training tricks, anything that gets his BRAIN working, not just his brawn.
The idea is to teach him that you being there is not necessarily a bad thing, and increase his confidence in his own ability to communicate with you, to manipulate his environment and you, in a way that is acceptable to you. Currently he has no idea and just does what he has always done, which is to whine and id guess thats because eventually, you reward it, even if its by telling him to shuttup. To him thats still a reward thats better than being ignored.
Em
