Quote: Cathy Goessman

 Quote: Mychal Scott

, then ill go over have him sit or lay down then acknowledge him.

The difference between ignoring him and interacting with him needs to be obvious and instantaneous. When Tanner starts whining for his dinner I completely ignore him until the exact instant that he lies down on the chaise. Completely ignoring him means no eye contact, no reaction to him resting his head on my thigh, trying not to laugh at how pathetic he sounds, completely focusing on something else, etc. The second his elbows hit the chaise I suddenly give him direct eye contact, turn my body towards him, and say something like "What a good boy Tanner let's go get some dinner!" in a happy animated voice. The contrast has to be BIG for the dog to get it. Some dogs need you to turn around and do a statue impression to make it clear enough for them.

Even the best whiners have to take a breath, scratch, sniff, big disgusted sigh, etc at some point. That's your moment. You don't even have to be in the room. Just use that big happy voice and head over.

It will take a bit with you having to enter the room while he's whining but he'll eventually get it.

I completely agree.

Mychal, this is what I meant above by standing like a statue gazing into the middle distance away from the dog and waiting for the quiet to capture.

"You may not be ignoring him hard enough. ... That is, as long as he's exercised and pottied, you may need to be more clear that you're ignoring him. Standing there gazing at something to his side is pretty clear."

And then INSTANTLY mark and reward that quiet. Timing is crucial here. If he isn't black-and-white clear about what caused the happy face, the m/r, the crate opening, then it means nothing.


Cathy said "The contrast has to be BIG for the dog to get it. Some dogs need you to turn around and do a statue impression to make it clear enough for them. "

I agree. The contrast with an ingrained whining habit has to be dramatic. Like a lightbulb switched on in you.

Ok. I think I get it. So no matter when he is whining, when I walk into the room I go near him facing opposite him, completely ignoring him (think statue). The instant he is silent...."yes"', treat, and open the crate all in a we just won the Super Bowl voice. I had been tryin that, or so I think I was, but out of the room, then I would mark when silent, go into the room and treat. I guess I was thinking if I came near him while whining he would see that as whining got me to come to him.

Is opening up the crate to let him out a big part of this? I was not doing that.

Also, if he gets away with whining (without getting any attention), is that reinforcing the behavior? I know there are times I hear him whining and I just can't get to him (shower, outside, etc).

You also mentioned if he is exercised... with his being our first puppy, not sure what's enough, to much or to little to be completely honest. I don't think we are over doin it.

IMO, unrewarded behavior is not really "getting away with it."

Yes, to break that whine cycle, yes I do open the crate, party down in a happy voice, smile, reward, grab the keys or leash, and in general demonstrate clearly that no-whine generated major good stuff, especially compared to the zero that whine gets. (This is to break the cycle .... to capture the no-whine so I can name it. I want it to be dramatic so it's clear what triggered the happy stuff.)

This is JMO. I haven't seen any backlash from less vigorous rewarding once the behavior is captured and named.


I have verbally corrected for whining or barking, with a really stern voice, and if you're good at that (I am) and have excellent timing, that can work. But not everyone has a voice option that stops the dog in his tracks, and not everyone has the timing to switch from bad face/ bad voice to relaxed face/ happy voice at the drop of a whine. I certainly didn't, years ago.

It's not always the best way to go, because it can appear to be a kind of "joining in" .... like when a bark-fest is happening with three dogs and a person yelling ....

You have to decide what your talents are.

All JMO!

PS

Remember that all the upbeat instant mark-reward is in sharp contrast to my stone-faced statue-standing in the presence of whining. Like a light-switch, well timed.

" I go near him facing opposite him"

I don't go near, really. Just so I'm clearly visible gazing off to the side of him, no attention to him at all, as if he's invisible when he whines.

"You also mentioned if he is exercised... with his being our first puppy, not sure what's enough, to much or to little to be completely honest. I don't think we are over doin it."

The puppy folks can help with this. How much play/interaction/fun does he have with you and the other humans?