My SchH 1 GSD whines during the long down and this is carrying over into her heeling. Do you have any ideas?

This is something that can’t always be eliminated completely, especially if she’s been doing this for her entire life. GSDs are prone to this leaking of drive, and if you don’t teach them containment at an early age it can be a struggle for the working career of the dog. I know many dogs who do this to some extent. The more reps she gets with the whining, the harder it will be to ever fully eradicate it.

The only suggestion I have is to teach her a alternate behavior to do in the situations she is whining. Correcting it away will likely be unsuccessful and may make it worse. The Thinking Dog ~ Crossover to Clicker Training is a book that addresses how to use clicker/marker training in dogs that have had traditional training and I believe there is a section in the book about how one trainer solved her competition obedience dog’s whining issue.

You may want to join our forum and post your question there as well. Maybe someone will have an idea that I haven’t thought of.

Cindy Rhodes