Help - Whining puppy...

sgautschi

We have a  7 month old German Shepherd mix (we think with lab and something else). She has been whining EVERY morning around 7am (when DH leaves in the morning). I know it's because she has to go potty, because when I let her out she runs as fast as she can to the grass outside, but I don't want her to get into a habit of whining for what she wants. We put her to bed at around 10-10:30pm, and she goes potty immediately before bed. I've tried ignoring her, which doesn't work, she's a very stubborn girl. I've tried getting up earlier than 7am to let her out, in hopes to beat her to the punch, so to speak, but she starts whining as soon as she hears me get out of bed. What else can I do??

sandollar1010

I wouldn't want to stop a puppy from whining because she has to pee.  I'm sure she wakes up when she hears you and needs to go badly.  Most dogs have to go right when they wake up, especially a 7 month old pup.  One of my dogs doesn't give me any signals when he needs to go, and sometimes has accidents if he isn't taken out right on schedule   I wish he would whine.  Whining for needs vs. whining for wants are very different in my opinion. 

Temp752290812504671

Totally agree with sandollar. In this case, whining is a good thing. I guess I am confused as to why you just don't let her out. I, unfortunately, have to get up hours before my husband. As soon as I do, the dogs get up too and they need to go out.

If her last potty break is 10:30 pm, it is not unreasonable that she needs to go out at 7:00am. That is 9 hours of holding which is a long time for a 7 month old puppy.

sgautschi

To clarify, I do let her out, and I'm okay with her letting me know about her needs, but she is also starting to whine for other reasons. She whines about every hour to go outside, so we let her out, and she runs around aimlessly (not going potty) and 5 minutes later she's whining to come back in. Also, it's not like we don't have a routine for letting her out. Neither DH or I sleep in on the weekends anyways, and she gets let out at the same time every morning, so I don't get why she whines. I did try ignoring her a few times to see if I could get her to stop whining, but she just whined louder...I'm just getting annoyed with the loud whining every morning.

I actually do think part of the whining is that she wants to see us in the morning, because she runs to our door first, then runs straight outside to the grass. And I'm starting to think she's just a vocal girl, and she will probably always whine and make other noises. I just wanted to know if there is anything else I can do to get her to chill out a little bit.

aggiebug

I suggest teaching her a new way of telling you to go out. maybe bell training. that way it is clear that the bell means out. When she starts whining at other times you can start redirecting her behavior at that time. That breed can be quite talkative in general.

MegCinNYC

The bell sounds like a great idea!

 

Also maybe pick up her water bowl an hour or two before bedtime so she doesn't have to go so bad in the morning.  

kep0589

aggiebug:

I suggest teaching her a new way of telling you to go out. maybe bell training. that way it is clear that the bell means out. When she starts whining at other times you can start redirecting her behavior at that time. That breed can be quite talkative in general.

 

My 1yr old Gshep is Bell trained, this time a year you'll easily find door knob Bells for Christmas. It's so much better than barking or whining to go out.