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May 20, 2011

My dog has a serious whining problem when it comes to being fed and any time he gets a glimpse of me through our sliding glass door. Is this separation anxiety?

Full Question:
My 4 month old rottie might have picked up on his feeding schedule. He tends to make a big fuss 1/2 hour before feedings. Is there something I can do to have him wait patiently until feeding? He'll start whining non stop until I come out with his food bowl.

Actually, another problem we're having is that anytime he catches the slightest glimpse of me he starts to whine. Last weekend I stepped outside to get something from our outdoor fridge at about 12:30 am. He started whining nonstop until about 3 am. I think he only stopped because my mom went out to see what was wrong. He'll whine and whine and the minute I step outside he is quiet. He waits until I let him out or until I go back into the house. It has gotten to the point where I have to avoid walking past our glass door so he doesn't start crying.

Is this separation anxiety and is there a way for me to end it?

Thanks,
Collin
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
The easiest way to stop this whining for feeding is to NEVER feed the dog when he is whining. Dogs do what is reinforcing to them, so he has learned whining long enough gets you to bring his food, and also gets you to come outside. You have been inadvertently rewarding him for doing this.

It can be the beginning of separation anxiety to let this behavior go on unchecked. The only way to fix it is to NOT put the dog outside alone, he’s either in a crate or kennel where he will be quiet or think about a no bark collar. He will then be corrected for vocalizing and will learn some self control. We use these daily on our own dogs, especially my very vocal young Malinois. It took him about 30 minutes to figure out if he was quiet, everything was good.

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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