I just got a 7 week old Golden Retreiver/lab mix. I know that she's a puppy, but we can't get her to stop whining. I've tried the "just ignore it" approach so that she learns that whining won't get her what she wants, but she'll whine for over 3 hours and it isn't getting shorter every time we do it. I've also tried telling her "No" and then praising her when she stops whining, but she just starts right back up a second later. People walking by our house think we are abusing the poor thing. We haven't gotten any sleep in 2 weeks and we are at our wits end! Please help!
Hi there, is your pup 7 wks now or 9 wks? Was she from a large litter?....it could be something to do with being alone after being used to the company of her littermates and parents. When and why does she whine? Is she whining for a reason? Can you distract her when she's whining and get her to do something else? Sorry for all the questions, but it's easier to work out the reason behind the whining with a bit more info.
She was 1 of 9 puppies and according to the people we got her from she should be 8 weeks now, but I think she may be a week or two younger. Sometimes she whines when she's in her crate which makes sense to me (but she doesn't stop until we take her out - sometimes over 3 hours!), but now she whines out of her crate any time we aren't doing exactly what she wants us to do. I play with her constantly and she gets at least 2 long walks a day. We also have a 7 year old golden retreiver, so she's not totally alone - she even whines around him if he isn't playing as much as she wants. Two days ago we even got a sound machine to provide background noise when she sleeps to try to soothe her a bit - it helps a little, but not enough. I know that puppies are going to whine, but it can't be good for her to whine over 4 hours a day. She's gone to the vet and she said Ali was a healthy puppy. I don't know what else to do! Thanks for any advice!
I agree with foxi7778 that Ali should have spent more time with her litter mates and her mom but it can't be helped now, so lets think what we can do.
I am afraid Ali has learned that she can get your attention by whining. She knows your hot button. She whines - you think she is lonely and pick her up - she got what she wanted! Dogs learn what works very quickly.
You said she sometimes whines 3 straight hours? Have you tried to leave her and go out for a couple of hours while you leave a monitor or tape recorder on?
I think she whines because she knows you are there. Can you leave her in her crate with you old sweater or socks and leave a tape recorder on? She might whine for a while but I think she might stop whining as soon as she figures out you are not there. Then, as soon as she finds out you are back (sound of your car, or door opening, etc.) she will most likely start whining.
It is the same as a human baby. You will have to break this cycle (cry - be picked up - cry - be picked up) and ignoring is the key. It will be hard while you are there so please try and see the tape recorder trick.
Hi there, I had relatively the same problem with my puppy when I first adopted him. He was raised at a shelter with his mother and other puppies from his litter until he was 12 weeks old, that's when I adopted him. When I took him home, the whole 3 hour car ride he whined and whined and whined. I thought at first that it was just a normal reaction and that he doesn't know what is going on and he just left him family so he is sad. However, a few days later he was still whining excessively. We were giving him all the attention a puppy could ever need, playing with him constantly, and so on but he was still whining all the time. He was wagging his tail happy as could be but was still whining. Then we even tried to ignore the behavior but the whining didnt stop. About 2 weeks later he finally stopped his excessive whining. I believe he just didn't know how to respond to certain situation in which he was unfamiliar with such as playing with people constantly and being happy. He used his whine for every emotion which indicated that he didn't know what else to do to show his emotions. Sometimes he still whines at weird moments but we know that he is fine and nothing is wrong with him and he just doesn't know what to do. Since your puppy is even younger than mine was, I believe all your puppy needs is time to figure stuff out.
