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How To Get My Dog To Stop Whining?

My dog is constantly whining and it drives me crazy! She's not a puppy, well almost 2 years, but she whines when she's in her kennel. She'll be out all day, in and outside the house. If I stick her in there because of guests or bed-time, she'll wine, won't be quiet. It's not constantly non-stop, but if she hears anybody moving or someone pulling in the driveway she'll just go nuts.

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Sounds like she may need some work on teaching her to love her kennel. Even if she doesn't panic or try to escape, she clearly doesn't have a positive association with being in there. If you make her kennel a safe, happy place where good things always happen to her, she should become content staying in there. Start with rewarding her for entering the kennel (and immediately allowing her to leave), and work up to shutting the door for just a second (feeding her treats through the walls) before reopening it, and working up to longer and longer periods of time that she can stay quietly in the kennel will help her learn that the kennel isn't a prison, but is a safe place for her to hang out. Try giving her a special toy or treat while she's in there, like a stuffed Kong or a long-lasting chew. If you're going to be doing something exciting while she's in there, make sure she's good and tired before it's time to crate up and has something super special to keep her occupied so she doesn't feel like she's missing out on the fun.

In addition to the crate training, it sounds like she reacts to certain sounds and activities. You can work on desensitization/counter-conditioning to those activities, like someone pulling in the driveway or talking in another room, by setting up training sessions where she will hear the trigger and gets rewarded constantly until the trigger stops. If you can do this regularly then she should start to associate the sound with getting treats, and she'll start pointing out when she hears a car pull in or someone talking to ask for her reward. Once she's consistently looking to you when she hears the trigger, you can start to phase out the treats for praise, or ask her to perform a new behavior, like go to her kennel, when she hears the sounds before getting her treat. Teach her what you WANT her to do when cars pull in and she'll stop practicing the unwanted behavior.

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Ignore it. Wait for the dog to be calm and stop whining, and reward them at THAT moment. Also, reward them with a high value treat when they go into the kennel to make it an attractive experience.

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I agree with above posts - making the kennel a happy place. It's hard for dogs when guests are over, as it's their territory and they like to know everyone who is coming in. Is she over-excitable with guests? It may help to even allow her to be introduces to guests if it's possible, then ONLY treat her in the kennel, or even give her meals in the kennel!

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Hi there! My first advice is in relation to the crate: whining is a learned behavior. Make sure you're not using the crate as a punishment EVER, because this will teach her that it's a negative place, making normal crate days an unhappy experience. If you're already doing this, make sure you're ignoring her complaints. Many owners hear their dog whining and feel sorry for them, thinking they're "crying". While your dog is perfectly capable of feeling sad and essentially crying, she is also capable of realizing that when she whines, you pay attention. Whether you're letting her out because you feel bad, speaking to her to quiet her, or even just looking in her direction to see what she needs, you're unknowingly rewarding her vocalizations; this teaches her that whining gets her attention that she considers positive, so she's essentially trying to train you to respond to her!

If it's strictly a plea for attention, ignoring her efforts will eventually cause even a stubborn dog to stop. Alternatively, you could be dealing with real anxiety. If you absolutely want to train your dog to sleep in the closed crate, I would try leaving it open during the day, placing her favorite bed and toys inside it to encourage her to enter on her own. If you have a special toy that she only gets when she goes in her crate, you can encourage her to get excited or happy to go inside. A favorite toy or a Kong with a little kibble inside can do a lot to calm her down when she goes inside, and it makes it a positive experience for her to go inside.

Finally, make sure she's feeling satisfied when she goes in for the night. Is she getting enough exercise? Does she get to play with any people or other dogs? If she has too much pent up energy, she will never be able to calm down. If she's well exercised and tired by the time she enters, she'll be in much better spirits and more receptive to being calm and falling asleep. Good luck!

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Similar to what Laura said, it's best to create a positive association with her kennel. Practicing shorter kennel times for training purposes only (ex: 5 minutes, increasing to 15 minutes) can be a great exercise. Sit by her in the kennel, and reward her with treats and positive reinforcement. If she whines, turn away. As soon as she's quite, reward her and give her a treat. Avoid only kenneling her when you have to leave her for long periods of time. Sometimes covering the kennel with a blanket can help calm nerves, partnered with a good Kong Treat filled with peanut butter :)