Why does my dog bark then whine? Let’s Explore

If he doesn’t stop whining (he probably won’t to start with), say much louder and firmer ‘STOP’. Said firmly enough, this will probably silence him. If it doesn’t, say it again louder. Repeat this process whenever he whines. He will quickly learn to stop whining when you say it gently the first time, as he won’t want to see you get to the shouting stage.

Slowly rotate your hand over his head, leading him by their nose as you go. He will follow your hand until he falls over onto his side. You can also gently help him roll over with your hand. As soon as he rolls over, quickly give him a treat and shower him with praise. Practice this trick for 10-15 minutes every day for a week, then slowly reduce the frequency of the treats until he rolls over just from the command.

Reward him when people do enter the home without him barking. Be sure to go over and praise him after people enter peacefully, plus give him a well-deserved treat. Repeat this reward system whenever he doesn’t bark.

When he starts whining, gently ask him to ‘stop’. Look at him while you say it, eye contact will help reinforce the point.

Instruct him to lie down and then hold the treat in front of his nose. Ensure he is fully aware there is a delicious treat just centimeters from his mouth. Then firmly say “roll over”.

Causes of Excessive Barking in Dogs

  • Medical: disease, pain, CDS
  • Anxiety
  • Alarm barking in response to novel stimuli
  • Territorial barking as a warning or guarding response to sounds from outdoors
  • Social or attention-seeking behavior (reinforced by verbal commands or return of owner to the room)
  • Distress vocalization (e.g., howling or whining) is often due to separation from mother, family, social group or owner
  • Growling may be associated with antagonistic displays
  • Stereotypical behaviors or compulsive disorders
  • Breed and genetic predisposition
  • If your dogs increased vocalization is out of the ordinary, you will want to have health problems ruled out before considering behavior modification.

    Your veterinarian can perform a full medical workup, including a chemical blood profile, complete blood count (CBC), urinalysis and electrolyte panel, along with a complete physical exam.

    Possible incidents that might have led to this condition will also be considered, and a thorough history of your dogs behavioral health leading up to the symptoms will be taken into account. Be prepared to give your veterinarian a detailed history of the behavior.

    It is critical to rule out a nonbehavioral, physical cause of the vocalization first. Imaging can be helpful for ruling out medical/neurological disorders. BAER (brainstem auditory evoked response) testing can be done if auditory decline is suspected.

    A plan must be created that is customized to suit your dog, your personal living conditions, your household and the type of problem. You must also attempt to resolve the underlying cause of the dog barking before behavioral modifications are begun.

    Do not reinforce the excessive dog barking. This includes punishing the behavior, which is still regarded as attention.

    Instead, positively reward your dog when they are calm and quiet and lead by example by remaining calm as well. Also, counterconditioning can be used to help your dog to calm down when stimulated.

    Your veterinarian will be able to help you with developing a plan, but a behavioral trainer may be required to retrain both you and your dog.

    Becoming more attentive to the triggers that cause the excessive dog barking will also help you to distract your dog before he becomes excited or anxious.

    Prescription pet medication, specifically dog anxiety medication, might be indicated if there is real anxiety, excessive responsiveness to stimuli or a compulsive disorder:

  • Benzodiazepines on a short-term or as-needed basis when situations of anxiety might be expected (e.g., fireworks), or for inducing sleep.
  • Sedatives may be effective for tranquilizing the dog when given prior to exposure to stimuli (e.g., car rides, fireworks), but will not decrease anxiety and may increase noise sensitivity and vocalization in some dogs.
  • Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), MAO inhibitors or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for long-term therapy for excessive and chronic anxiety, combined with behavior modification can be useful for some dogs.
  • SSRIs or clomipramine may help when combined with behavior therapy for compulsive disorders.
  • Supplements such as alpha-casozepine may help reduce anxiety.
  • Cognitive decline syndrome is treated with MAO-inhibitors, supplements and environmental modifications to reduce anxiety in your senior dog.

    Your dog should be brought back to the veterinarian or to a behavior specialist to modify the program based on his particular response.

    Obedience training and quiet command training are often effective in dogs. Dogs should be habituated and socialized to a variety of stimuli and environments throughout development, including to other people and pets. This desensitizes the animal to novel experiences, which helps to reduce anxiety and overexcitement.

    Featured : iStock.com/Saso Novoselic

    Be sure to provide your dog with at least 30 minutes of physical exercise every day. For more information about exercising your dog, please see our Exercise article.

    Supervise your dog when he is outside and keep him inside when you cannot supervise him.

    If you would like information from an Anti-Cruelty Society Behavior Specialist regarding this behavior topic, please call 312-645-8253 or email [email protected].

    Manage your dog’s environment. Place furniture or other objects in front of the window to block his view, or cover the lower part of the windows with decorative film. Close doors or use baby gates to limit your dog’s access to rooms where he can clearly see outside. For territorial barking outdoors, supervise your dog and keep him leashed or be sure he responds reliably when told to come so you can interrupt his barking.

    Dogs bark for a variety of reasons. Some bark at passer-bys outside the window, while some bark only when you leave the house. The first step in managing your dog’s barking is to determine what exactly is causing it. Below are several reasons why dogs bark and recommendations on how to manage it.

    How to get my dog to stop whining -Why your dog whines?

    Are you infamous on your road for the unmistakable sound of barking and whining that your dog emits consistently through out the day? Do you try and sit down to enjoy your episode of Judge Judy, only for him to feel the need to bark at everyone that walks past the house? He may also whine whenever he wants food, to go outside, or even just some attention. It may have been cute and endearing to start with, but now it’s nothing short of irritating and it’s also giving you a bad reputation among your neighbors.

    It probably makes having friends and family over a challenge too. Nobody wants to enter a house where they are barked at for the first 10 minutes. But dogs are often misunderstood and their barking is usually a defensive or protective sign and the whining is often a case of attention seeking behavior. Tackling barking and whining will bring you some much-deserved peace and quiet!

    Getting a handle on barking and whining involves first addressing the underlying cause. That may mean making some changes to your dogs environment and changing your behavior around him too. It will also require obedience commands, enabling you to instruct him to be quiet. Consistency and patience will be key if you want to overcome this rather noisy hurdle.

    Due to the multitude of reasons behind barking and whining, fully rectifying the behavior may take several weeks. It will be quicker to tackle the problem in puppies who are more receptive than their elder counterparts, who have had years to cement their bad habits. But while it may be challenging, it is important to manage if you want a peaceful home and a comfortable environment for friends and family to visit.

    Before you get to work, you will need to get together a number of things. First, you will need food or treats to incentivize and reward him. You will also need a quiet environment, free from distractions.

    If it is your puppy whining, you will need a secure crate to house him in to begin with. You may also want a radio or TV that you can use to help distract the dog from passersby.

    An optimistic, proactive attitude will also be required for fast, effective results. Once you have gathered all the necessities, you can get going on the task at hand.

    First, ensure his physical needs are met. It is mostly puppies that whine, but teaching all dogs not to whine is relatively straightforward. When he first whines, make sure it is not because he needs the toilet or because he is too hot or cold. Address these questions first, so you understand your dogs routine and can provide him with these things before he needs to whine.

    When he starts whining, gently ask him to ‘stop’. Look at him while you say it, eye contact will help reinforce the point.

    If he doesn’t stop whining (he probably won’t to start with), say much louder and firmer ‘STOP’. Said firmly enough, this will probably silence him. If it doesn’t, say it again louder. Repeat this process whenever he whines. He will quickly learn to stop whining when you say it gently the first time, as he won’t want to see you get to the shouting stage.

    Never reward him for whining. If he whines, ensure you never reward him with a treat or attention. You would then be teaching him that if he whines, he will get exactly want he wants.

    He will have less energy to whine and seek attention if he is already tired. So if you can’t walk him more, throw things for him to fetch during the walk, this will quickly tire him out. Also, play with him when he isn’t whining so the attention box is ticked already. A combination of all of these steps will slowly reduce the frequency he whines until you achieve blissful silence in your home.

    Most dogs bark as a protective sign of their territory. That is why many dogs will bark when people enter their home or walk past it. So look for signs this is the case. Does he run to the window or door to bark when people walk by? Does he go rigid? Does his tail drop between his legs? These are all signs of fear and will explain the barking.

    A quick and easy way to prevent him barking at neighbours or people passing the house is to distract him. Leave the radio on near his bed, or leave a TV on. If he can’t hear people approaching, he simply won’t bark.

    Always stand in front of him when people enter the house. If he is ahead of you, he will feel like he is the pack leader and that it’s his job to defend you. So keep him way back when new people enter the house, by acting as physical barrier you will negate his need to defend the home.

    Reward him when people do enter the home without him barking. Be sure to go over and praise him after people enter peacefully, plus give him a well-deserved treat. Repeat this reward system whenever he doesn’t bark.

    If he does bark, ignore him. It is important you don’t give him attention when he does bark. He needs to see that barking won’t have an impact, so also advise guests to ignore him if he acts up. This combined with the rewarding for not barking will slowly drill into him why barking isn’t worth it.

    Get a treat and take him into a quiet room, away from distractions. This technique is for dogs that bark and whine for attention. You are going to teach him to roll over. This may seem bizarre, but the logic is simple; when he barks or whines, you will get him to perform a trick instead to distract him. Soon, instead of barking and whining, he will realize that performing a trick is the quickest and most effective way to get attention.

    Instruct him to lie down and then hold the treat in front of his nose. Ensure he is fully aware there is a delicious treat just centimeters from his mouth. Then firmly say “roll over”.

    Slowly rotate your hand over his head, leading him by their nose as you go. He will follow your hand until he falls over onto his side. You can also gently help him roll over with your hand. As soon as he rolls over, quickly give him a treat and shower him with praise. Practice this trick for 10-15 minutes every day for a week, then slowly reduce the frequency of the treats until he rolls over just from the command.

    Now as soon as he bark, stand in front of him, instruct him to lie down and then ‘roll over’. Block him from whatever it is he was barking at and have him perform the trick. Then quickly give him a treat and praise him. This promise of food will quickly distract him from whatever it is he was barking at.

    Be consistent. You need to keep a careful eye on him and have him roll over whenever he starts to bark or whine. By simply distracting him every time he gets vocal, he will slowly break the habit.