whinging puppy???

[minmax]

How can I stop my pup from whinging? She does it for what appears to be no reason. Can be eating her food, walking round with a toy, lay down, stood up? Its really annoying. She has had a smack for it but don't really want to have to react to her doing it. 9 weeks, GSD had her for nearly 2 weeks. Help

 

[splashgirl45]

she is a puppy!!!!!! a smack is NOT the way to go. i would suggest distract her with a treat when she whines. maybe get her checked over by a vet to make sure she hasnt got pain somewhere, maybe her teeth are hurting.....if you dont have the patience , dont get a puppy.....

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Well CC or MM are the best to ask on GSD and I'm sure they will be along to reply.

Personally I am not surprised she is whinging a bit - if you have had her 2 weeks that measn she was 7 weeks old when she left her mum - at least a week too early I would have thought. Poor little thing is probably feeling a bit insecure, lonely, scared etc etc and I really don't think smacking her is going to help. How about giving her a cuddle instead. When she grows up and feels more confident around you I am sure she will settle. In the meantime I think you need to have a little more patience with a very young puppy - maybe you should give a bit of thought as to how you will deal with some of the other really annoying things puppies do........

 

[Nickijem]

Oh dear - if you are going to smack a puppy for just a bit of whinging, what will you do when it chews your carpet, poos on the doormat or barks when it has been shut out?
I agree with Slinky - the pup is very young and probably in need of some cuddles. Smacking will confuse the puppy as it is not something its mother would do and therefore will probably lead to more whinging.
Please try to be patient and tolerant. Read as much as you can about correcting behaviour in puppies - enrol at a puppy school or similar training school so you can share your experiences with other owners and get good advice.

 

[minmax]

She was 7 weeks and 4 days old when I collected her, she had a trip to the vets and everything is ok so far with her. She had her bum smacked as she was whinging to the point of yapping, she had her bum smacked, not hard I may add, and she stopped, i then fussed her. As I said in original post I don't want to reprimand her but she isn't doing it for fuss or attention. She just 'talks', I've not had a pup that has done this, have had a few in the past. I was asking what I can do to stop her, without her thinking its a good way to get attention from it. If people want to have a dig, perhaps they can keep their opinions to themselves, I WOULD NEVER mistreat any animal, please don't accuse me of cruelty. Thankyou
BTW, I have been through chewing, poop, puddles etc, all usual puppy behaviour. I have not had one do the whinging to yapping before.

 

[RubysGold]

Did you not do any research before buying a puppy?!
Puppies cry, wouldnt you if you were taking from your mum as a baby?
Smacking is totally unacceptable, for any reason, positive reinforcement works a darn sight better!
And I agree with Slinky completely, if the puppy was 7 weeks old when you picked her up, then the poor thing left her mum too early. What she needs is someone to reassure her, make her feel safe so she can learn. Not get a smack for it!

 

[Nickijem]

I am sure you do want the best for your puppy and I am pleased that this is not your first puppy! I have a 7 month old springer and I have found that ignoring silly behaviour is probably the best way to go. My pup wasn't a whinger but she was very bitey (is that a word?). We didn't want to give her attention for it - good or bad attention is still attention! Therefore we just walked away from her. She soon learnt what was acceptable and what wasn't. If I were you, I'd make sure your puppy gets as much routine as possible - as much sleep as possible and plenty of play and reassurance from you. Then when he starts whinging, walk away and ignore it.
Good luck

 

[minmax]

Thanks Nickijem, she is muched loved and I am trying hard not to spoil her, she is so cute its hard to think anything she does is naughty. She has a routine as I am home most of the time, bar doing the horses in the morning and evening. She is with my other dog all the time, so follows his lead in going out for wee's etc. They play really well. The only naughty is the odd whinging, I feel she needs something but what?
If she has accidents in the house I just take her outside, she doesn't get told off as she usually goes out. She knows what 'have a wee wee' is. We have a dog next door that barks all day, I'm worried she will copy it, from a gentle whinge...At the moment she is fast asleep, due to go out for a wee and then bedtime.

 

[Crazy_Caz]

I have 2 puppies one of which is very demanding almost baby like but at no time have I ever smacked her... for anything... that is not the correct way to discipline any animal let alone a puppy....

 

[EllieBeast]

I have to say that 'distracting her with a treat' or 'giving her a cuddle' is only going to reinforce the behaviour and therefore make the whole thing worse.
Healthy puppies use crying as a ploy for attention. How about ignoring her when she does it and then praising her when she is quiet and behaving herself. I fully understand you wanting to nip this behaviour in the bud, i cant stand whingey dogs! Good luck!

 

[MurphysMinder]

If you've had shepherds before you are very lucky you haven't had a whinger, they are a very "talkative" breed. I'm sure I have complained on here about Evie's chatting. I really wouldn't smack her, or alternatively distract her with toys, both cases are giving her attention for a behaviour you want to try and stop. I do think you need to give her more time, she is still very much a baby and has had huge changes in the last couple of weeks.
More importantly, why have we not seen any pics, you can't keep her a secret, you know how nosey we are (talking about the GSD Mafia here).

 

[CorvusCorax]

Make a sharper, louder noise with your voice, with a pair of car keys, stones in a bottle, hand clap, to snap her out of it.
Or try and divert her and get her attention through play, treats etc and praise her when she is being quiet. Make your speaking voice loud, low pitched and calm.

Try not to get overexcited and frantic and frustrated too, as it will mirror her behaviour, sounds like anxiety/boredom.

Don't smack her, there's no need, especially at this age, she's only a baby and even human babies cry, I've never had to smack a dog on the bum in my life, even the big arsey one

 

[minmax]

Thanks guys, my old bitch was Doby x GSD and I thought her talking was a Doby thing, looks like we were wrong. When i can take her out I'm hoping she will be too tired to 'talk' too much. I usually clap my hands to stop her, but might fill a bottle with some stones to shake.

 

[CorvusCorax]

You can tire her with things like hide and seek, making her sniff a trail to a toy etc, making her work stuff out in her head.

You can start focus training now, the earlier the better, ie when she is looking at you calmly, she gets a reward (high value treat or a play with ball) and the longer she holds your gaze, the bigger the reward.you can practise this all day every day, when watching TV, whenever. If she wants something - her dinner, to go outside, her toy - she has to be looking at you.
Then once she is outside, start introducing distractions and again, the more she looks at you, the better, if she looks away, ignore her.
If you have focus training in the bag from an early age, then things like livestock proofing, recall, other dogs etc will be so, so much easier because YOU are more interesting than any of those things.

 

[CAYLA]

Thanks guys, my old bitch was Doby x GSD and I thought her talking was a Doby thing, looks like we were wrong. When i can take her out I'm hoping she will be too tired to 'talk' too much. I usually clap my hands to stop her, but might fill a bottle with some stones to shake.

YOU WHERE NOT WORNG......dobes whinge for fun, and shepherds come a close second, but dobes drive you to "attemping your own life"
Both are jsut vocal as hell, they think they sound calming and endearing lol, jsut think that way it may stress you less