Stopping whining?

[Springfield Pointers]

Dogs that whine or are noisy while on a lead in a hunting environment rarely settle down unfortunately.

[Cornish Cutie]

Not impossible just need to stick with it. Going out with the group might mean your dog doesn't work the next 3 months - just watches. Just remember that you are training even though she's just sitting there. stick with it.

The 'just watches' is a good idea. What should my response be when the whine starts?

[Judy]

Walk away to a distance she can cope with without getting over excited, how old is she? A young dog sometimes whines with excitement but if you can avoid overstimulating the pup until it is more mature they can grow out of it BUT you mustn't let it become a habit.

[Naj]

I think that's the way to tackle it, prevention rather than cure. Some dogs have it in them to squeak but if it's due to frustration & over arousal then the more likely cause is that the handler hasn't developed self-control in the dog from the get-go. The trend for winding pups up by letting them run-in to retrieves for several months until some become obsessive on the chase element can be counter productive for those inexperienced in getting the balance right. It's also very confusing for a pup that has been formerly encouraged to chase in after every retrieve to suddenly be corrected for doing something it had previously been trained to do. If you're using some form of punishment to achieve this then that simply suppresses the running-in behaviour which will still be underlying the steadiness element for quite some time so it's perhaps no wonder that pups might get exasperated.

With an existing squeaker I think all you can do is try to build self-control as others have mentioned. I'd work heavily on walking the dog away from retrieves so it can mentally make the break from them. If a dog did squeak prior to sending it I'd immediately walk it away another few yards & set it up again, and keep repeating this until the dog remained silent. In that way you're punishing the unwanted behaviour by taking the dog farther from the thing it finds rewarding. But it's as well to remember that squeaking is indicative of an emotional state and emotions can't be trained like behaviour can. Personally I'd learn to live with it (which I have done with squeaky dogs before) but make sure I do things differently the next time around.

Naj

Naj

[Cornish Cutie]

As usual, excellent advice. On reflection I have never really made my dog wait for anything so it's my own fault.
I suppose there is no point crying over an impatient, squeaky dog. Lesson learnt and things will most certainly be done differently next time round. Just a shame it's been at the expense of my first dog.

[Matt]

As usual, excellent advice. On reflection I have never really made my dog wait for anything so it's my own fault.
I suppose there is no point crying over an impatient, squeaky dog. Lesson learnt and things will most certainly be done differently next time round. Just a shame it's been at the expense of my first dog.

Don't write off the dog completely - if you had high hopes of trialling then I defer to those above with greater knowledge - but for a shooting companion it isn't over yet. My younger dog went through a noisy phase - he has never been one for incessant whining - but used to give off little frustrated yelps and whinges on occasion when training in company. Lots of work on self control has, if not cured the problem (he's only 3 so I can't yet tell if he's "cured") certainly banished it for the time being.

[chrokeva]

Here in the states I have witnessed several trial dogs that are noisy at the line and sometimes even while running. It is always interesting to me to see how some judges take it seriously but many tend to not think twice about it. Interesting fact is that many trial dogs here are trained by a "pro" and some of the same dogs that tend to make noise when there amateur owner is handling them are quite as church mice when handled by a pro which tells me there is hope of at least managing the problem?

[newf]

On reflection I have never really made my dog wait for anything so it's my own fault.

If the dog never waits he doesn't learn how to handle the stress when you try to apply it. Secondly, if a squeak procedes the release for anything, then he has discovered the key. My two cents.

[chrokeva]

Secondly, if a squeak proceeds the release for anything, then he has discovered the key. My two cents.

Never thought of the squeak after release like this but I have seen a few dogs that although quite on the line will take off with a few squeaks. Is there anyway for a handler to avoid the dog discovering this "key" or do many dogs just figure it out in time?

[Naj]

Is that proceeds or precedes??