I have a 2 year old male heeler. Every single morning he whines and barks the second he hears a noise. He will whine for literally an hour. He sleeps in a crate at night and stays in one during the day, and has been doing so since he was 2 months old. The whining gets worse and worse each day. I know that sounds dramatic but it's 100% true. The bastard keeps me from sleeping and it's driving me crazy. I'm to the point where I've woken up pissed off at the dog the last few days. That's not how I want to start my day.

Suggestions?

Outdoor kennel & dog house (insulated if you're in cold climate), You can build in a heat source if it's really cold. If that's too much work, then get yourself into a habitual routine of getting up early and taking the dog for a long walk before breakfast. Give it some playtime running, fetching, etc..., and go for a walk after dinner. You should be feeding the dog twice a day. I do 6:30 a.m. and p.m. My dogs know exactly when mealtime is. This keeps them regular too. Shit early a.m. and around 3 - 4 in the afternoon. After a pup is housebroken, I don't think it's a good idea to keep it crated. If it's chewing up your house, then give it a room to be in where it can't wreck anything. Give it something it can chew without choking, or poisoning itself, while you're out. I suspect the dog is wanting more bonding with you, and feels insecure. Getting mad at the dog will only make it worse. Just hang in there, be patient, and get into a routine. My male Lab, Bear, drives my wife crazy when I have gone off and left him. That dog NEEDS to be with me. LOL, love him!

I actually have a pretty similar routine as you do. We've tried to leave him out at night but he will wake up during the night and jump on me whilst sleeping. He's pretty housebroken and I don't think he would have problems going to the bathroom inside during the night. He definitely has to be crated during the day.

One of the biggest problems I have with him is he's stupid. And, I don't say that to be mean. He's not smart at all and his instincts are horrible. On top of that he's the least-coordinated dog I've encountered. I've spent more time training him than I did with my last two dogs combined. He just doesn't get it. If ever there was a retarded dog, it's him. To me that's the most frustrating part. I know I'm dealing with stupid.

Get a cat. hehe

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080301084712AAk6O32

Good info:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dealing-with-whining-dogs/page1.aspx

Get a second dog.

We also have a 5 y/o chocolate lab. I'm looking into the ultrasonic and spray collars. Y'all have any luck with those? I've read a lot of reviews and they seem like they're pretty hit or miss.

So...I ordered one of these http://www.sportdog.com/Gear/E-Collars/All-Purpose/NoBark-10R. I don't necessarily like the idea of applying a static shock but this particular product comes very highly rated. I read a lot of reviews about the citronella sprayers. They seem pretty effective but the dog is a heavy scratcher and from what I read that will make the unit less effective since it has to be lined up pretty well. Having to adjust it frequently is a problem. The biggest selling points for me were it's rechargeable and it has 3 different programs. I like the second program in that it always starts at the lowest setting then increases if necessary. I only plan on putting it on the dog at night when we go to bed. That's the only time his barking/whining is problematic.

Will let everyone know how it works out.

If two dogs whine at the same time, does the whine cancel it self or is it exponentially annoying??

Well from what you've said, I think he's really looking for some attention. If the dog is dumb, then don't "train" it. Just play with it. How come it "has to be crated during the day"? If this dog has any sense of adventure, you're putting a big damper on that. It's no wonder the dog can't sleep at night, it's probably nearly bored to death all day. Give the thing more love and attention, and see if that helps calm it's nerves.

I don't like shock collars for barking/whining cuz it destroys the dog's natural instinct to warn you... and in this case, to talk to you. The dog wants your help, and you're gonna gag it?!? Totally unhealthy...

Makoi wrote:

Well from what you've said, I think he's really looking for some attention. If the dog is dumb, then don't "train" it. Just play with it. How come it "has to be crated during the day"? If this dog has any sense of adventure, you're putting a big damper on that. It's no wonder the dog can't sleep at night, it's probably nearly bored to death all day. Give the thing more love and attention, and see if that helps calm it's nerves.

I don't like shock collars for barking/whining cuz it destroys the dog's natural instinct to warn you... and in this case, to talk to you. The dog wants your help, and you're gonna gag it?!? Totally unhealthy...

Like

(we need a tumbs up emoticon)

I have a German Shorthair Pointer shes damn smart and wears the same collar you posted. Its a good collar but I have never tried any of the other programms on it. After about 2 years it needs a new battery it will only stay charged for 2 days now. It doesent stop whining or other noises the dog may make in fact the dog has become smart enough that she makes other noises and has learned how many barks she can get out before she gets hit by it. Her problem was a nuissance bark and a non stop bark. She has pleanty of yard to run around in and play in witch any dog with high intellegence needs to keep from getting bored. She stays in the yard when we are away and in the house at night and is very good in the house a little hyper active yes but she can be trusted without a doubt inside. She is a very affectionate dog and loves attention. We tried the whole crate training thing with her when she was a puppy but had the same problems you are having so once she was able to be trusted in the house she graduated from it. At that time we lived in a basement appartment and would leave her outside in a dog run when we where away. she never really seemed to like it or was happy with it and thats when the nuisance barking started and neighbors complaind so I had to do something. She seems alot happier now that we are in a house and she has a yard to play in but the problem now is all the neighbors have dogs and she wants to play with them and barks at them and diggs at the fence. About 5 months ago we got my wife a yorkie pup now talk about a dumb dog but still a pretty good one.

My son has a 6 month old Bull Mastif that is just as friendly as you can imagine. He doesn't bark much but has a problem being left alone...think barking is an issue?


The guilty party..


The house is usually spotless...except when the pup is PO'd

Looks like a case of seperation anxiety my shorthair has it bad she knows when your leaving and starts shivering she even thinks shes going and waits by the door tell her no and she tucks her head and comes to me and I lead her outside. She also knows the sound of my truck if I go out and start it she could be completly occupied as soon as she hears it she knows shes going. When I pull back in the driveway i hear her prancing all around the yard making her noises that sounds like beaker from the muppets (her excited noise)

Hey Pete and Ben,

I totally agree that the dog, Sparky, needs to be able to be adventurous, talk to me, play, etc. I don't want y'all to have the impression that he is locked up all day, let out for a bit, not played with, then locked up all night. To me, raising dogs is similar to raising kids. At the end of the day, I want to break his will without breaking his spirit. In other words, I want them to listen, obey, and have respect but still have the freedom to be themselves and make their own choices.

Here's what a typical day looks like. Maybe y'all can find an area where I can make some improvement.

I get up around 6:15 and immediately take both dogs for a 5-7 minute walk and play fetch for 10-12 minutes. It's about all they can stand before they get tired and thirsty.
Then we go back inside and I get them some breakfast. Meanwhile, I get ready, get the boy ready, start breakfast, etc. In the meantime, the dogs are hanging out and getting some attention. Though, not a lot because I'm running 100 mph in the mornings trying to get out the door. After I leave, the lab lays down and chills for most of the day and I'm sure Sparky follows my wife around until she's ready to go to work. She typically gives them a few minutes of attention before leaving as well as a treat or two. Sparky doesn't like to roam around the house during the day. He often just stays in his crate. For him, it seems to be his safe place. We leave a toy and a couple bones with him, though he never chews on them.

I get home around 5-5:30 and immediately take the dogs out for another 5-7 minute walk and play fetch with them again until they've at least burned off some energy and their level of excitement has died down some. Then we go back inside and hang out for a bit until I start making dinner. The boy will play with Sparky some, they'll both get some attention here and there. I'll feed them around 6:30-7. I'll take them for another 5-7 minute walk before the boy starts getting ready for bed.

They'll go out at least one more time before bed, but typically twice. About half the time I play fetch for a while with Sparky in the evening. The lab is a little older, one to two sessions of fetch a day is all she's interested in. We go to bed between 10:45 and 11:30. Sparky is crated at night because he will pace around the bed, jump on and off the bed, scratch the shit out of me in the meantime, cry, whine, bark, whatever he can do to get us up. He's restless as can be. We've gone a few days trying to get him used to sleeping out of his crate but that seems to be his comfort zone and that's always where he ends up. Hell, it's the only place he sleeps. We leave the door open on his crate and he naps in it when we're home on the weekends.

Now to the whining and barking. It's something I really don't understand. I assume it's some form on separation anxiety but I feel like we've tried to give him some freedom to be closer to us and it just hasn't worked. In my opinion, there are other ways to get my attention. I'm not going to let my 4 year old son get attention by throwing a fit and I'm not going to allow a dog to do it either. Though Sparky is lacking in the brains department, he is a good dog and minds about as much as he can. The only real problem I have with him is the whining and barking at night. At the end of the day, I HAVE to be able to get a decent night's sleep. Last night was the first time he wore the shock collar and I would like to remind you, the only time he will ever wear it is at night when we go to bed. It's set on the progressive mode and was pretty successful. His whining was minimal and it didn't keep me up. For now I plan to let it ride like this for a couple weeks, then I'm going to start testing him by leaving it physically on him but turned off. I'd prefer to eventually ween him off of it. I think that's the best thing for him.

I've never had a dog with problems, so it's hard to put myself in someone else's shoes. I can tell you that I don't have one right now cause I work too much. And I would absolutely not tolerate an animal that prevents me from getting the little sleep that I get, so I do sympathies with you.

I've been watching the dog whisperer holiday marathon and although most of the dog behavior problems are caused by the owners, let me tell you, there's some pouches out there with some serious mental issues... Just like what you'll find in human society.

One dog, so scared of everything, thunder causes him to stop eating to the point of starving to death! Imagine that, a dog that won't eat!

Get Sparky a dog bed. Put that next to your side of your bed. Teach him, "On the mat", this is useful for throw rugs as well as a dog bed, so I use "on the mat" rather than "go to bed". If Sparky gets up and barks, whines, jumps on your bed.... repeat the command "on the mat". and be sure to praise Sparky for doing what you want him to do. Lavishly! Get down and hug him, tell him good-night, pet him.... after a while you should be able to grumble "get back on the mat" and that will be enough to get Sparky to lie back down without you having to give a bunch of physical and vocal praise.

Can also put the mat in his crate and then put it just outside of his crate once he learns thats his bed hell follow it where ever you move it.

How about giving him one of your old sweatshirt (lightly used not washed) so he can be comforted by your odor.

He has a dog bed in his crate on top of the plastic tray that they come with. I like the idea of putting something comforting in there, then slowly moving his bed out into the open and following up with Pete's suggestion. There are dog beds laid out all over the house and he occasionally lays on them during the day. So, at least he's used to that. Ideally, I want him to be able to roam all over the house. Tonight I think I'm going to leave the door to his crate open and see what he does.

BTW, day two with the collar went very well.