Continual Whining When Excited

[bret]

HI all, i will do my best to explain the issue without sounding harsh.

I know that everyone says this about their dog and I am no different. I have a 3yr old border who was trained quite thoroughly for well over 1.5 years. She is a very obedient dog, and smart as a normal collie would be. She is actually very timid in regards to playing with other dogs and prefers the company of people, although the dog we live with now they love playing and get on really quite well together.

my issue arises in the her greeting of friends, espeically friends she knows and has lived with, and to only a lesser extent people who come into the house.

I get it when she wakes up, but I actually just let her out of the crate and walk away from her until she calms down, which i am finding harder to control when friends come over.

anyway, when they come over, as trained as she is she will sit at their feet waiting for a pat (yes that was supposed to happen) but her excited state is so high that she squeals, and barks until she gets the pat, and then she whimpers as she is getting the pat due to shear excitement. I instructed my friends to ignore her until she calms down, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it is getting to a point now where it is just getting annoying, as it will last for at least 5 or 10 minutes of whimpering. She was never really bad, but a quick 'no' would settle her down and she would just lap up the pats and attention.

Now though, her correction is much more forceful, where i have to yell at her to get her attention, move her away (via voice command, not physically) to the other side of the room and make her lay down until she calms down. that usually takes 10 minutes, but then when she is given permission to go over and say hello, the whimpering starts, but only at about 50%, so not quite as bad.

She has always nuzzled everyone for cuddles and pats, and after she has received it she quite happily walks away. The greetings though at the door and when friends/family come over is just getting out of hand, and i am not sure how to train that out.

anyone has any suggestions please I would love to hear them

regards

bret

[ChristineX]

Hi Bret,

I can't give any advice, but I can tell you it could be worse. Duke does that too, particularly in the car when he sees another dog, or we are heading to training. And as annoying as it is, 2 years ago it used to be a fullblooded scream right next to my left ear! (Yes, some hearing has been lost).

I'm happy to put up with the whine/whinge!

ChristineX

[VJB]

She has always nuzzled everyone for cuddles and pats, and after she has received it she quite happily walks away.

I'm not sure how to handle this, as I have limited experience with dog behaviour as such, but if she goes away happily once she's received the cuddles and pats, can you not just have people acknowledge her existence, quick pat and cuddle, then it would all be over and done with. Or is she continuing to disturb people again after the initial greetings? Depends how 'obedient' you want your dog, and at what level you are aiming for. I guess for people trailing their dogs, or showing, it would be more important to control this trait of hers.

How do you greet her when you arrive home (through the front door, not from releasing from crate)...? Just wondering whether you are showing excitement when you arrive home, and she expects the same from everyone else..

Edited July 1, 2010 by VJB

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

she is instigating the contact and by nuzzling she is demanding the pat. if it was me i would up my leadership and use NILF with her until she realised she didnt control the action.

i am sure others with more training knowledge will come in with good advise.

[bret]

she is instigating the contact and by nuzzling she is demanding the pat. if it was me i would up my leadership and use NILF with her until she realised she didnt control the action.

i am sure others with more training knowledge will come in with good advise.

I'll respond to all 3 posts but using this quote. when is arrive home she is out the back, i don't get super excited when i see her do to previous training and questions, usually i get home let her see i am home through the glass door, then she will settle down and i will go see her about 5/-10 min later. I know how to control the squealing when i am home, she gets the NILF treatment as this is how she was trained as a pup. When i pat her and stuff I don't use high pitch excited voices she just gets good rubs, a little whining but as soon as she starts I walk away.

It is easy for me to do that. The problem that I am asking about is with friends. They are all up to speed with my training of maiya and her discipline, they are all told to ignore her for 10 minutes when they walk in to settle her down. Sometimes this works, sometimes this doesn't. Yes she is instigating the nuzzling by the contact later on, but her training was always 'if you wanted to be patted, then you must sit down' she does this with perfection every time, it is the whining that has really become a problem.

it is not that it goes on forever, it is just really loud and involves barking to get the attention, which is when i step in and make her go to the corner and stay there and settle down so she can receive the pat. She is a very affectionate dog and from what i hear that is a collie trait after speak to a number of collie owners, the love the pat and usually do nuzzle in and get the old head rub.

anyone else with some other suggestions that might help out?

bret'

[Aussienot]

She already knows the critera for petting - it is to sit. Now you need to raise the critera for petting to sitting, calm and quiet.

Don't let her approach your friends when she is in an anxious state. You will probably need to keep her on lead. I'd walk her forward towards a person but only move forward if she is quiet. Any sign of anxiety, noise, hyperventillating, shaking, lunging, etc, turn around and walk away. Wait for calm, then approach again, and only get near to the person if she can keep it together.

Yes, it will take a while, and you'll probably want to train it at first with one or two very patient friends.

[VJB]

I use to have a problem of my dog seeking attention, barking, climbing up, and forceful nudging with visitors when excitement takes over. These days, if someone new comes over, I usually prepare them, and myself before they enter the front gate. I need to keep the people moving, because standing around makes Heidi more crazy, in anticipation of something happening....so all visitors are quickly moves from front door area, through the house, and we sometimes don't even sit until these initial excited moments have passed, which is relatively quick these days. If we sit, they might get pashed from Heidi. Things are better these days, but those first minutes, I spend more time making sure my dog is behaving, than greeting the new visitor.

First, I make sure I have some tasty treats on hand. I let her greet, and treat her for not jumping etc. Then, once we are actually settled inside, I make her lay etc, all similar to what you are doing (except I haven't got the whining). She responds well to this.

Sometimes, rarely, she can try a little too hard to attention seek, and although it is not what many people will do, I use a spray bottle of water. I have only ever used this maybe twice EVER,,, but she hates the sight of it. If she is becoming a nuisance, I pick up a spray bottle,, and she backs off immediately, and her manners suddenly return. Like I said, probably not the best training technique, but it's worked wonders here. Once she's backed off, I continue with the treats for good behaviour, and before too long, those first 10 minutes have passed, novelty has worn off, and all is good.

I would not use the spray bottle except for when she is being totally ridiculous. Very affectionate breed. Maybe, only maybe, this could help with the whining situation.

Edited July 1, 2010 by VJB

[JulesP]

I have a border girl that squeaks too! Unless you have heard the racket she makes it is a little hard to explain. It is very high pitched. Most of my guests think it is cute and seem to like it. Even the guy that come last time to read the meter seemed to think it was endearing. As long as she isn't jumping I don't bother too much with the squeaking. It is not good if one has a head ache though! Telling her to be quiet makes her squeak more.

My new border puppy does this funny woohoo noise when she is excited so I now get woohooing and squeaking when I get home!

Edited July 2, 2010 by JulesP

[bret]

She already knows the critera for petting - it is to sit. Now you need to raise the critera for petting to sitting, calm and quiet.

Don't let her approach your friends when she is in an anxious state. You will probably need to keep her on lead. I'd walk her forward towards a person but only move forward if she is quiet. Any sign of anxiety, noise, hyperventillating, shaking, lunging, etc, turn around and walk away. Wait for calm, then approach again, and only get near to the person if she can keep it together.

Yes, it will take a while, and you'll probably want to train it at first with one or two very patient friends.

thanks, that makes sense, I will try that at home, it is the same with my parents. HOpefully i will be able to use them as the guinea pigs, and then it will transfer into other people.

bret

[mita]

She already knows the critera for petting - it is to sit. Now you need to raise the critera for petting to sitting, calm and quiet.

Don't let her approach your friends when she is in an anxious state. You will probably need to keep her on lead. I'd walk her forward towards a person but only move forward if she is quiet. Any sign of anxiety, noise, hyperventillating, shaking, lunging, etc, turn around and walk away. Wait for calm, then approach again, and only get near to the person if she can keep it together.

Yes, it will take a while, and you'll probably want to train it at first with one or two very patient friends.

I totally agree with this advice. Nothing teaches better than IGNORE for any over-the-top attention seeking behaviour. I've used a similar approach for a small tibbie who'd shriek her excitement. Worked great. As the penny dropped for her that shrieks brought ignore & quiet calm brought attention....she'd start to shriek, then REMEMBER the link. And the sound would cut out like someone turned a radio off. After a while, she did the calm quiet behaviour first because she knew the attention would follow.

The trick is to be consistent.

I'd never use a spray bottle with my breed of choice, either. That would only make them anxious....& not willing to come anywhere near me!!!!