got a new roommate… shes got a dog. anytime she leaves the dog paces around the house and whimpers… for the entire time shes gone… be it 15 minutes or 6 hours. how do i get the dog to shut up? its driving me nuts and i dont know how long i can take it
give the dog one of your roommate’s clothing articles (sweater, t-shirt), anything with a strong scent, the dog will lay on it and feel reassured… could also try pet toys, chew bones/rawhide keeps em interested for a while. It could be that the dog doesn’t feel comfortable being alone with you (in his mind, YOU’RE the new roommate), guess you haven’t “warmed” up to him yet, eh? Pet him a little when he whimpers, and after a consistent amt of times doing this, he’ll feel better, more relaxed.
Probly better not to bend over too far backwards reassuring him; he may read that as a reward for his whining and it might just reinforce it.
YOu need to let him know it’s not OK. Does he have a crate to live in?
Very important advice that. Most dogs see attention as a reward. If you are going to comfort the dog make sure you speak firmly to it and make it stop wimpering before giving it any positive attention. That way the dog isn’t being rewarded for wimpering.
But the dog has serious problems. Most dogs wil relax affer a few minutes, this one clearly won’t, which suggest it’s got a real fixation on its owner. One trick you might want to try is to get theowner to give the dog a lot of attention before she leaves. Dogs have limited time perception, if they are left in a good mood they tend to stay that way. If they are left anxious they tend to stay anxious.
well i’ve talked to the owner and apparently nothing will work… she says when she was living with her grandmother all they could do was put it in the garage or outside so noone had to listen to it. theyve also tried a barking collar which it barked right through. have a feeling i’ll just have to deal…
Well, yeah, but what all did they try? Did they try working with it, or was the extent of it, “SHUT UP ya stupid dog! Aaaah, that don’t work, stick it in the garage.”
Sounds like the dog may have some separation anxiety; you might want to try the suggestions offered here before giving up. Ignoring the dog and then stuffing it into a garage, where it’s even more isolated, may very well have exacerbated the problem.
I’d also recommend the book Puppies for Dummies, even though it’s not a puppy, a lot of the techniques in that book are still very helpful.
Doggie Downers. I hear they work wonders.