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How long is too long to ignore your puppy?

We have a toy poodle, Dexter, who is 7 months old. He is as cute as a button & as sweet as a toothache :) However, he whines soooo much for attention. The poor thing can't get enough because he is constantly getting attention. My husband and I are doing the whole, ignore him when we come in the house because as small as he is, little man can jump really high lol. When he calms down, eventually, then we pet him. Its a slow process & we also know that as much as we ignore him when he whines, everyone who comes in contact has to do it too. My question is, how long is too long to ignore him?? I feel bad sometimes, but he just won't stop. So is it bad to ignore him (not his needs, just the whining) for a long time?


Asked by Member 1031251 on Apr 20th 2011 Tagged whining, jumpingupatpeople in Behavior & Training
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Wiley

Why ignore him? Train him as to what you expect from him. He is whining & jumping when you come in. Of course, he loves you & you've been gone all day. Now you're home & he wants to say hi & you ignore him? Would you do that to your spouse or kid? Take the time to train him to sit when you come in, then reward him for it. It is so much easier to teach a dog what TO DO rather than what NOT TO DO. At 7 months old, ignoring should only be for a few minutes. Maybe have a room or his crate that can be used as his timeout spot. Ignoring does not neccesarily improve behaviour if the dog has no alternate behaviour to offer. Make sense?


Wiley answered on 4/20/11. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


Hush

Here is some info about a couple behavioral principles:
1) Extinction - exactly what it sounds like, not delivering ANY reinforcers (attention) for a behavior you are trying to extinguish (whining); can be difficult to implement correctly and may result in an extinction burst (an increase in the behavior after extinction has be implemented; think about when you push a button on a vending machine and the item doesn't come out... More button usually ensues)
2) Intermittent reinforcement -reinforcing behavior on a variable schedule; behaviors that are intermittently reinforced are the hardest to get rid of because they will result in acquiring the reinforcers some of the time.

Extinction works if you do it right all the time. If you give in some of the time, it will make the behavior worse. Ignoring an adorable pup is really hard, so will want to think of an alternate behavior (appropriate way to get attn) to train, too!


Hush answered on 4/20/11. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 1 Report this answer


Bridget aka Bad Pants, Ruby Ru

ignoring is good when you don't want to reinforce jumping and whining.
But, then you have include exercise with the dog, he can't be in the house 24/7 as that will increase those behaviors.
Once you are home then you should snap on his leash and give him 20-30 minutes of exercise, that might not be just walking but letting him run outside and play ball, swimming, hiking, ect.... they have to expell the energy that has built up every day. I give my dog at least 3 hrs per day of exercise. I am not working right now, but if i did she'd be outside when I come home for at least a couple of hours she runs the perimeter of the property to burn off steam.
If he starts whining after you expell the energy then buy a rubber kong stuff it and throw it away from you so he can go off and chew. Once he starts chewing on it, praise him. If you catch him on his bed being quite, praise him. Praise the quiet times even if it is only 30 seconds. Some dogs are naturally whinny, like Bridget she yowls


Bridget aka Bad Pants, Ruby Ru answered on 4/21/11. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


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