Hey Guys,

I need some advice on this one. My one year old German Shorthaired Pointer has the most annoying whine on the planet. We managed to finally to get to stop barking with an electronic collar, but we had to put it up to the highest level for him to stop. He has an extremely high pain tolerance. But, he will not stop whinning. If we ignore him he eventually stops, but I am tired of putting up with the whinning. He usually whines when he doesn't want to do something, like be put in his crate or when he sees another dog he wants to play with. The worst has to be if you go into the yard without him. You would think someone was killing him. You can correct him all you want, but he will not stop. He doesn't listen to quite or his "no" sound. We tsst him. We don't usually say not because it confuses our toddler. He thinks he has done something wrong. We tried spraying water, he got an ear infection from it. He is beyond food motivated so if you spray anything at him other the water, he will lick it likes its candy. I am at my wits end with this one.

He gets lots of exercise. He has two 45 minute walks a day plus 1/2 hour run/ throwing the ball in the backyard.

Any suggestions on what I can do to stop the whinning?

An hour and half walk with a half hours running/not running in the backyard as lot's of exercise for a GSH? You must be kidding!

Try turning that around and you'll merely approach what the dog needs, an hour and half run with a half an hours walk......And training at all times.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

Since all the negative reinforcement isn't getting you anywhere, have you considered marker training and rewarding him for good behavior?

Are you familiar with marker training?

I agree with Randy - the dog may be getting what you see as enough exercise but the dog is telling you with his behavior that it is not enough.

You have tried all the negative reinforcement and the dog is still doing this - so you need to look at other factors and exercise is a biggie.

Each dog is different. I only know 2 GSP's, one is lower key and one is super high drive. The one that is lower key still needs 2 hours ( 1 hour twice a day ) off leash running and one hour a day of structured training ( 2 half hour sessions) - the high drive one is double that.

You may just need to find his balance - so up his structured exercise (ie retrieving), up the walking to off leash running, add in a half an hour of training time and see where that gets you.

My malinois has a tendency to be whiney too although it is not as extreme as your case. When he gets that way, 9 times out of 10 it is because he is bored and needs exercise. Usually I will take him out for a long walk or run and it ends the whining immediately. I agree that rewarding postiive behaviour and adding more intense exercise would really help. Good luck!

I have to admit, I missed the amount of exercise. That certainly could be a big factor with a one year old pup! A tired dog is a great dog, so I'd definitely amp up his exercise (appropriately) and see if that doesn't take the edge off your pup. Keep in mind, some dogs are simply more vocal than others as well. AND I'd look into marker training to work on this in a pro-active, positive manner.

Elissa,

Is this GSP used at all for hunting?
How much time is spent in the crate?

My sister- in- law grew up with them, her dad has bred them for years. They are a very energetic hunting dog, and can be very vocal. If he is not engaged in enough activity, I can see how these behaviors could surface.

As I'm reading Elissa's post I'm thinking more exercise. But as I read on I begin to think that maybe we go a little too far with the exercise thing.

What I mean by that is that the amount of exercise that is sometimes suggested is just not always possible. Do we want our dogs to behave better because they are tired or because they have been taught to behave?

Of course a tired dog will be more calm and more quiet but that doesn't mean we have really addressed the problem. I would bet that this GSP will be quiet for a while when he is panting from enough exercise but his constant whining will probably continue once he is rested and back to a physically normal state. He cant be tired all the time!

If every time he whines he is taken out for exercise he will learn to whine for that.

This sounds like anxiety of some kind and while exercise will help overall I think the training and finding the source of the anxiety is the best way to go here.

Some of you will say that his anxiety is caused by a lack of exercise and that may be the case but if he gets 3 hours a day of running, walking and playing and he stills whines at 11 o'clock at night...then what?

 Quote: Alec Garrison

... if he gets 3 hours a day of running, walking and playing and he stills whines at 11 o'clock at night...then what?

Well, for openers, he is getting a ton of attention (per O.P.) from it and I don't see any training/marking/rewarding for quiet.



I still agree with this, though:

 Quote: randy allen

An hour and half walk with a half hours running/not running in the backyard as lot's of exercise for a GSH? You must be kidding!

Try turning that around and you'll merely approach what the dog needs, an hour and half run with a half an hours walk......And training at all times.

My GSP is a low energy one believe it or not. We will get back from out walk in the morning and he will pass out in the sunshine for two hours. I personally have to agree with Alec. It's more than exercise, I think it's anxiety. He really doesn't spend all that much time in his crate unless we are leaving the house, and he is not coming with us.

I have come to realize that I have a pack structure problem in my home. My mother lives with us and she baby's the dog to no end, and she doesn't seem to see it as a problem. She said that is how all her dogs are raised. You can't tell her differently. She does not like how we train the dog. I have tried to show her some of the videos on here, and she looks at them with disdain. I am trying to work on the situation with her but it is a delicate situation.

Tobias is being marker trained and doing quite well at it. But, with anything, if you can push one person around you think you can do it with the rest. And, being that he is a dominant dog (not aggressive) he continually pushes the boundaries. He is quite a different dog when my mother is not around. He is calm, submissivem and realtively quiet. We went on holiday's for two weeks and left him with her, and I came back to a crazy dog.

but, I do thank you guys for all your help and suggestions. It comes in quite handy and makes you think.