# Barking, Whining and Groaning...



## Standard (Aug 25, 2010)

My Standard Riker has always been a very vocal poodle, and barks/whines when he is excited. Since he was a puppy he has also made all sorts of groaning noises to get his point across. When he was younger he would start groaning right next to my head to let me know he wanted to go out in the morning. Of course this was fine, I would rather be woken up to let him out then wake up to an accident. 

Anyways, he is now 9months and this behaviour has deviated to him groaning/whining and sometimes even barking at me when he is bored. I understand it is not the most stimulating thing for him for me to be studying or working, but he demands almost constant attention. Depending on my schedule, he gets 1-2 walks a day usually morning (30 min) and evening (1hr with off leash). As well, I have another dog and currently a puppy (but this is only temporary) to play with. 

Just recently he has began doing this at night. Last night he got up, came right next to my head and started with the groaning, which when I ignored him he started barking. It was 3am! I let him out, and he immediately came back in and began doing it again! To me this is disrespectful and unacceptable behaviour. He has been steadily getting worse as he gets older. Constantly bothering me when I am studying, and making it almost impossible to make any progress. I always make sure he has been outside, has food, water and lots of toys, and yet he still does this.

Does anyone else have this problem? Ignoring him does NOT work, he only get louder and resorts to barking. As well, he was just at the vets mere days ago and is in excellent health.


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## robin (Dec 18, 2010)

Is he crate-trained? That would be my first attempt at a solution: Crating him while you're busy with the books or sleeping.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

I also have a Spoo, nearly 4 months old, and he is very vocal as well. He is crate trained, the crate is by our bed. He groans and moans while he is falling asleep, and then he starts to yawn when he wants out. It starts out as a little yawn, then becomes nearly a "yell-yawn". I've just recently started "Shushing" him if I think he doesn't really need to go out. Lots of times he will settle till I get up at 5:30 am. So crating seems to work for him. Hope this helps


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## all that jazz (Feb 6, 2011)

The crate is the answer. You need to be able to put him in a safe place which he will hopefully consider "his space" while you study and do what you have to do. You certainly give him all he needs. At first he will likely go crazy vocally in the crate but then with a toy inside should eventually settle down and not look at it as a punishment if he was just walked and played with, etc. I would be careful not to consider his behavior "disrespectful", that is anthropomorphizing and adds a willful, negative connotation to his behavior which is unlikely, I think.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

It sounds as if you have been able to ignore him at first, but have given in and given him attention when he kept it up for a while - inadvertently teaching him that he needs to make more noise for longer to get your attention. He's not trying to dominate you - he is just bored and wants someone to play with. I had a similar problem with Sophy, and taught her the meaning of "Busy" by turning the whole thing on its head. 

Take some time when you are not studying, and can concentrate on the dog. Work on ignoring him when he makes a noise - keep your nose stuck in a book, or do something else that corresponds to your being "Busy". The moment he is quiet, even for a second, reward him with a quick game. Quickly build up to a game for 30 seconds quiet, then for a minute. You will probably get an extinction burst of noisy complaint before he gets the idea - think of a human hammering on the elevator button before giving in and taking the stairs!

I found with Sophy that after a day or two of teaching her that she got played with for being quiet, I could shift to playing for a few minutes every 15 - 20 minutes (keep it variable, or you will have a dog that knows the game comes after exactly 12.5 minutes and is anxiously anticipating it!), then longer gaps, until I took a break every few hours for a coffee and game. A really good Kong helped to get the message across that settling down quietly can also be enjoyable!


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Our cockapoo did this at night, as well, when we first got her (she's almost 7 years old, and we got her from my MIL when she couldn't keep her any longer). We finally resorted to crating her in a bedroom on the other side of our house, with the doors shut to both rooms. We also had our elderly lab in there with her to keep her company. It took a few nights (Arghhhhh!) of whining and barking for awhile, but she finally settled down. Now, she's graduated to sleeping in our large master bathroom without a fuss. She doesn't sleep in our room, b/c she's snores really really loud! :argh:


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

My mini was like this during doggie adolescence, about 9 months to 12 months for us. He was very demanding and pushy with the barking for attention and anything else he wanted (treats, toys, play). That was absolutely not OK in my house. I had to work really hard with him to break it and now he rarely does it. What I did was put him in a sit-stay or down-stay for five minutes or so every single time he was barking for my attention. If he broke it, I put him back in. Then I would make him do a series of sits or downs for whatever he wanted, only then would I give it to him. If this didn't work, I took away his freedom by putting him on his leash or in the crate. He likes being "free" so this usually worked. 

Now, if he wants something from me, his default behavior is a down-stay in front of me (usually with tail wagging). The other day I was holding some dog treats that the vet had given us. I was talking to my husband and I was going to walk over and put the treats away in the dog's basket for another time. Well, I eventually look down and there is the dog in a down-stay. He didn't make a peep and he was probably there for a good three or four minutes before I saw him. I was so pleased! He got a treat for that one.


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## Standard (Aug 25, 2010)

I agree that I have inadvertently taught him this behaviour fjm. It had never been an issue before as the only other dog I have had with this level of problem solving intelligence was extremely willing to please. 

As for crate training, no he is not crate trained, in fact the only crates I own are for my cats to go to the vet. Although I see the benefits of crate training, I am not totally comfortable with them. If it comes to that and for the sake of my GPA :laugh: I will try crate training. 

It is nice to know I'm not alone, I remember commenting on one thread about how loud poodles can be, and someone claimed they were very quiet. And I thought, well... mine certainly isn't! I will try what you suggested fjm and Paddleaddict, if that fails I will come back for consultations on crate training.

Thanks everyone!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Of course, the the near complete cure for Sophy's occasional boredom came when I brought Poppy home ...!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

Standard said:


> Although I see the benefits of crate training, I am not totally comfortable with them.


Why are you uncomfortable with crate training? My mini loves, loves, LOVES his crate. It's his cozy den, a space that's all his and very comfy. He sleeps in his crate and travels in it at times, too.


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## Standard (Aug 25, 2010)

Well, my family has never used them, and never needed them, so I have no experience with them. As well, I have often seen them being abused. Not in a physical way, but almost all dog owners I know (who don't know anything about dogs) use it as a way to be lazy and not deal with their dog. Eg, go to work for 12 hours and leave you dog in it all day and never really house train or teach their dog not to chew, or have people over and don't want your dog bothering them so put them in the crate (although this is okay sometimes, some do it all the time never letting their dog participate and socialize). It most definately can be used positively, as I'm sure the majority of people on this forum do, eg puppy training (so they don't chew). 

Perhaps my worst fear however, was a situation that happened to the people who lived 8 houses down from me. At around 1am we were woken up sirens. When we went outside to investigate the our neighbours house down the street was consumed by flames. Everyone got out, including their cat, EXCEPT their dogs. They crated their dogs at night in the kitchen, where the blaze started, by the time they woke up the kitchen was engulfed in flames. The dogs had no way to escape. They had 2 beautiful German Shepards and a Jack Russel, all great dogs, It just hit really close to home. I will never put my dogs in a place where they can't have a chance to get out. This is another reason I dislike when people crate when they are gone. What if something happens when you are not there? A gas leak? A fire? A flood? You drastically reduce your dogs chance of survival by crating. 

This being said, it can be be very beneficial in certain circumstances. Which is why I am not totally opposed to trying crating if nothing else works. I have no problem when people do it at home during the day with their supervision. I'm sure I would not see them in such a negative light if something like that had not happened to a family and three dogs I knew well.


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

What a sad story. Our dog's crate is in our bedroom, so if something were to happen, he would be with us. In fact, he would be safer in the event of an earthquake or fire because he would be safely contained and we could grab him and go.

Also, we don't crate our dog during the day, just at night while we sleep. A crate is a very valuable tool. You can use it however you see fit... it will help with the current situation at hand and you might find that your dog enjoys the crate. 

A co-worker of mine was having a problem with her dog pacing the house all night. He seemed to feel the need to "patrol" while they slept and was somewhat nervous and on edge. I suggested a crate and she was resistant--just didn't like them. Well, many months later she finally tried it out and found that the dog loved the crate and was much more content in his den than worrying that he had to protect the family while they slept.


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

We are doing the "bed" training in our next bout of puppy classes. You may be more comfortable with this. We all bring a "Bed" or "Mat" to class and train the pup to stay on the mat. Very handy if you're going visiting with your canine companion, easier to bring than the crate. If all goes according to plan, the pup will stay on the bed till released  Wish me luck


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## Jessie's Mom (Mar 23, 2010)

standard - i have never crated jessie either. i totally understand about the vocalizing. the noises she makes sometimes are really funny. jessie is very vocal. she has different sounds for different things. all kinds of groans and sounds i can't even describe. her yawns are like a mans! it can all be pretty funny, except for the times when she's bored and the sounds start out low and persistent and they continue and get louder and then escalate to a bark - & it's all for attention. 

i use to use a stern voice and tell her "shhhh - no barking" but she would wag her tail and just be happy that she got my attention. so now, i ignore her either my turning my back or walking away - body language. she will eventually quiet down and then i reward that by giving her one of her dry marrow bones and she's content with that.

i know what works for one doesn't work for everyone, however, i believe the ignoring and not rewarding the noise is definitely the route to take. it takes persistence and patience on our part.


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