whining... soooo annoying!

I just want to find out how people would combat the staffy whining! It was cute... now its just doing my head in. Russell whines ALL the time whenever he wants anything, and I have never given in to his whining so I don't know why he keeps doing it.

if he's outside - as soon as he has eaten his dinner/done his business he will sit at the door and whine and whine and whine.

if I don't invite him on the couch with me - whine whine whine

in the car sitting on the seat (I have been giving him treats for laying down to reinforce that in the car so he expects them all the time) whine whine whine.

I haven't really done anything to stop it other than say no and ignore him till he stops, then when he stops let him have what ever he wants.
we were going to try spraying him with water, but it is abit cold for that atm especially if he is outside.

thanks for any advice!

There are a few ways to get rid of unwanted behaviors. With attention seeking behaviors like barking or whining it's often hard to do it with corrections, as in fact you ARE paying attention to the dog, which is what it wants. You mention you initially thought it was cute, which has of course given him plenty of attention for it. Having taught him to whine doesn't mean you can't teach him not to, though. You can start reinforcing the behavior you want (being quiet) or your you can train him to whine on command (and then very rarely give the command). It might be a bit easier with a clicker, but you can make up a sound or word to act as a clicker, or even just use praise (it'll just take you longer).

Staffs are often VERY vocal! Whines, yelps etc.

I taught my boy the "Quiet" command. Every time he made a noise I didn't want (whining, barking, yelping etc) I'd say "Quiet", hold my hand up with palm facing him, and as soon as he stopped I'd treat him. I gradually replaced the treats with a fuss, and eventually with just a "good boy!".

Caryll wrote:Staffs are often VERY vocal! Whines, yelps etc.

I taught my boy the "Quiet" command. Every time he made a noise I didn't want (whining, barking, yelping etc) I'd say "Quiet", hold my hand up with palm facing him, and as soon as he stopped I'd treat him. I gradually replaced the treats with a fuss, and eventually with just a "good boy!".

i personally think this is the best and easyest way to stop the unwanted behaviour

Same method as Caryll but it hasn't completly worked yet. Espically if Suki has not been exercised for awhile but that's not really a whine and more like a howl that I have no idea of how to stop.

They can be SO vocal!!

thanks for both of your advice, caryll yours does sound a lot simpler than clicker training... and it also seems so obvious that I feel silly for not already thinking of it haha. so I might try that first, it will be easy to do in the car as I keep the treats in my door handle haha.

funny the sounds staffy's make were the first thing that attracted me to the breed, I saw one in the back of a ute ones crying like they do and I thought it sounded so funny (this was when I was about 12 years old) but the non stop whining was not what I had in mind haha

Suki will start of whining and then if she isn't exercised will increase to howling like a wolf at the top of her lungs which will guarentee she gets instant attention because she knows we can't annoy the neighbors

russdogmum wrote:thanks for both of your advice, caryll yours does sound a lot simpler than clicker training...

Clicker training is very good for all round training, but if you're looking at just one aspect of it, it's quite involved because you have to 'condition' the dog with the clicker before you can start.

yeah, I've never really been inspired by the whole clicker training thing, partly because im too lazy to read about it haha, basic training is my fav!

russdogmum wrote:yeah, I've never really been inspired by the whole clicker training thing, partly because im too lazy to read about it haha, basic training is my fav!

Same here. I just want a companion that I can love and trust though and have no plans at any type of dog competetion. Plus I'm a wee bit old fashioned espically given my age.

Take Your Puppy For A Walk Before It Goes Bed, To Make It Tired Burn All its Unwanted Engery, Another Tip Put The Radio On Turn Off The Lights, So It Gets Use To The Dark, And It Will Associate The Dark In Its Area Wherever You Keep Your Puppy, As Going Bed, Egnore The Unwanted Behaviour, What I do Is While Going Bed At Night, Check It Every Like 4 Hours, Out Of 8 Hour Sleep, Just To Clean Up The Puppys Urine Etc, And Make Sure Ok, Let Her Whine Unless It Sounds To Serious, Presistance Pays Off Within Couple Days Worked For Our Puppy, Maybe Sometimes Abit Longer With Other Puppies, Be Patience Presistant It All Work Out, Remember All New Place, Taken Away From Hes Or Her Family And Mum, Hope This Is Of Some Help To You.

thanks Miguel, but he has passed the stage of whining when we put him to bed, its just for attention or food or anything during the day now, he happily hops in to bed when its time so we're good on that part!