Can anyone help with our dogs problem of whining when she is excited, ie :walks, out in the car, but only when she knows that she is going somewhere that she likes ie, park, beach, river,. Not a whimper if going shopping or out in general. Walking with other friends and dogs causes her to get into a very overexcited whimper, also leaving the house, though when she does get over excited we go and sit down again taking our shoes etc off to show that when she does create she is going nowhere, but none of this works...any ideas out there please
How old is your dog, and has she always done this whining behaviour?
You're absolutely right to take shoes off, etc when she starts whining, to show her that you're not going anywhere until she calms down. Try combining this with a stern "no", or putting her into a quiet room alone then trying again.
You can also try to break the habit by getting her ready to go, then taking her somewhere unexciting, even just for a drive/walk around the block. Your aim is to desensitize her to the buildup of going out, so you should keep taking her places, but start taking her to "boring" places more, so that her excitement and anticipation decrease over time.
You can also work on spacing out the routine of going places. That is, get her lead on her, then let her wander around the house a bit with it attached. Then get your shoes on, and again wander around and take care of other stuff around the house. Put a gap into the routine between steps, and give her chances to get bored and calm again.
Other members might have more suggestions, but I think your best bet is to continually take her places that aren't so exciting, so that she gets over the routine progressively. Good luck!
Thanks for that KOPcaroline, She is 9years old and has whined since the beginning, she is a bit of a wimp, we have definitely got on top of it in a big way, but cant figure out what to do in the car mainly, have tried stopping til she stops, works well till we go again lol. It takes us a long time to get to the beach or agility. She is very set in her ways, i am using lots of techniques to desensitize her at present and i can see she is confused, but whilst driving i cannot correct her. Tried putting on long leash which i have the end of in the front and give her a short sharp correction, that lasts for a couple of hundred yards. Thanks for your input.
