How to get a dog to stop whining?

J

Jessica.

New member
This is a full grown dog we're talking about here. He's three years old and a lab pitbull mixed. We just got him about a week ago, because the owners before us couldn't take care of him anymore. He's allowed in and out of our house and we have him on a running cable whenever he's outside.

He whines whenever he's outside at night. We put him inside and he still whines, even whenever we acknowledge that he's here. He whines and howls non-stop. It's insane.

He used to be allowed to run around the neighborhood as he pleased by his former owners, could this be a reason why he constantly whines and howls?
 
Your dog is doing two things. One, he's expressing that he's unhappy with the current situation and more than likely bored since you say he's used to having the run of the neighborhood. Two, he's trying to get your attention.

Luckily this isn't a life-or-death situation; in fact, almost every new puppy owner goes through the same thing when the new pup is taken from his mother and siblings and is told he needs to sleep on his own now.

You first need to decide where you want the dog to be at night. I, personally, would keep the dog indoors; it is safer, climate controlled, and your dog may feel more at ease and thus calm down faster. Once you make this decision, stick to it--don't get up to let the dog in and out. You want to avoid anything too exciting that could keep him up at night; no noise-making toys or rawhides that will stir him up. A Kong with a small amount of peanut butter, a warm blanket, or a snuggle toy (as long as he doesn't like destroying soft toys) may work. Classical music played very softly, a ticking clock, or a heartbeat machine can make a big difference too.

Once you have your dog set up for the night, go to bed and ignore him. Ear plugs are not a bad idea. If the dog barks or howls in the night, giving him ANY type of attention (ie: yelling at him, going into the room he's in, petting him, letting him outside/inside, etc) teaches him that the barking and howling gets him what he wants and it will become worse instead of better. The only time you should check on him is if he is becoming destructive. If that is the case, you may want to consider crating him at night.

Don't give up. It takes most dogs several nights before they begin to settle into a routine. If you become desperate, you can also try a pheromone based product such as Comfort Zone to help keep him calmer at night or talk to your vet about other calming options.
 
He's probably missing his former owner. I know when dogs are turned in to the shelter by their owner, it takes about 3 - 4 days of pining, watching and waiting before they realize their owners aren't coming back.

Spend more time with him, play with him, get a crate, put it by your bed and let him sleep in it.
 
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