Whining

Question
Hello,

I have a mutt (rottweiler, lab, german sheppard mix) who's approximately 3 years old (he's a stray). He's always been an indoor dog (unfortunately in an apartment). He's never had issues with it, and has always been happy and healthy.

Lately, however, he has been restless and whining a lot.

I thought he maybe needed more exercise, so I've been taking him running with me for a half hour every day. I've been doing that for the past month, but it hasn't seemed to help.

I was wondering if this a behavioral thing or medical. He's recently been to the vet and got a clean bill of health, and nothing's been altered in his lifestyle since then...

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Is he lonely? He does spend time alone when I'm at work... but he continues to whine when I'm home. Also, he's not fixed yet, could this factor in to it at all? Puberty maybe?

Thank you for any insight. Have a great day.

Charlotte

Answer
Hi Charlotte,

Male dogs go through puberty at around 6 months of age, so that's not the problem here.

It's possible there's a female dog in heat somewhere in your area. A dog in heat can be VERY disruptive to a male dog's behavior. If your dog returns to his normal self after about 21 days (the average length of a female's heat cycle) then getting your dog fixed would be a good idea.

Another thing to consider is just like a baby cries to get attention, so does a dog will whine to get its masters attention. Unfortunately, most dog owners get dog whining all wrong. Instead of ignoring the sound or trying to reduce their dogs need to get attention through whining, they immediately try to comfort their dogs. This only rewards the dog for its whining, and positively reinforces the behavior. The dog knows that by whining, it can get whatever it wants. Not only does this prolong the behavior, but also it puts the dog at a higher rank than its owner and family. When the dog becomes the "alpha", deeper behavioral problems can arise: aggression, biting, chewing, and overall disobedience. If you can't get your dog to stop whining, you wont be able to stop barking, biting, or other negative behaviors. Try ignoring your dog when he whines, and see if in a several days things don't seem better.

I hope that helps.
Patti