Sure-Fire Ways to Stop Dogs Whining

Dogs whine for any number of reasons. In order to effectively solve the problem, you first need to know the core reason of the whining.

A couple of reasons dogs whine are that they are not feeling well, or that they are lacking attention. The whining is simply a form of telling you that's something's not right. Whining due to feeling lonely or in need of attention can be simply cured by spending some time playing with your dog. Dogs that aren't feeling well for other reasons should be taken to a vet promptly.

Dogs also whine at times when they are left at home alone. If your dog is whining when you're not there, it is probably due to separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is something that can be fixed relatively easily. All you need to do is to teach your dog that when you leave the house, you will always return. Start by leaving the house for one or two minutes at a time, slowly work this up to 10 minutes and then half an hour once your dog gets accustomed.

While teaching your dog using this method, make sure that leaving the house and returning is never made to be a big deal.

After spending some time practicing 5 and 10 minute "away" intervals, slowly increase this until you are gone for over an hour. Little by little your dog will stop paying attention to when you return home and will stop whining completely.

Another approach to stop your dog whining is to using negative reinforcement. This method is rather controversial however as it involves ignoring your dog which can be dangerous if he has a real problem. Firstly, tell your dog in a firm way to stop whining. If your dog doesn't stop, start making some loud unpleasant noise that your dog will associate with the whining. In time your dog will learn that whining is unpleasant and will stop.

Even if your dog's whining is driving you crazy, never resort to physical punishment. Abuse is not an effective form of training and it's also against the law. It can have many harmful effects on your dog, more than just the pain of the abuse. The best way to get lasting results when training your dog is to treat it with love and firm but fair respect.