# Dog Whining In the Blind. Please Help!!!!!!!!!



## seeingred (Dec 15, 2009)

Dog Whining in the blind. PLEASE HELP!!! 

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I am new to the board, but have lurked for awhile. I would greatly appreciate any help with my problem.

I have a 2 year old chocolate lab in her 2nd season of hunting. She has her junior title and has completed advanced hand signal training. I could not be more pleased with her marking, retrieving, obedience and hand signals.

She is also great around the family and 10 month old. She is very calm and spends most of the day sleeping on our bed. For the most part, we couldn't be happier. 

However, I am becoming very frustrated with a MAJOR problem that doesn’t seem to be getting better with age. My dog is so "geared up" in live hunting situations that she is incessantly whines with the anticipation of birds. I noticed it on our first dove hunt two years ago, but thought she would grow out of it with time. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. She has been on over 75 hunts and the whining has no gotten any better with time. It is especially annoying when I am duck hunting with a group.

I asked my trainer (Rody Best) what to do and he gave me a few things to try, but all have been unsuccessful. They were as follows:

1) get some energy out of her before the hunt by throwing bumpers, etc.
2) have her close to you so you can put your hand around her muzzle and forcibly tell her “quiet” (which she knows) when she begins whining
3) use the e-collar in a similar way to correct her when she whines combined with the word “quiet”.

None of these techniques have been remotely successful and I work on them EVERY hunt. It is getting to the point that I don’t want to even take her anymore, even though she is the main reason I duck hunt.

After studying her, I don’t think if she knows she is making these sounds… like it is almost a tic. She is just so excited she can’t seem to help it. Also, she has never whined during training sessions, so I can’t work on it anywhere but live situations.

I am thinking about trying to give her a Benadryl before the next hunt to calm her down. Thoughts?

If anyone has any suggestions, I am willing to listen and try. PLEASE HELP!!!!

Thanks,
Chris


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## rmilner (Dec 27, 2005)

The only luck I have had with the whining problem has been by catching it early.
You teach them that a retrieve is the reward for sitting quietly. Then you put it on a varable schedule (random) by picking up in training most of the falls either yourself or with another dog. You let the whiner retrieve only the occasional fall, and of course never give them the retrieve when they whine.

It would be a lot of trouble to change the hunting-cued piece of her behavior. You would probably have to hunt with 2 dogs for a while, and let the whiner pick up only the occasional bird when she has been calm and quiet.

With as much reinforcement as the dog has received for whining while hunting, I would be surprised if the retraining would carry over to hunting at this point.

Here is a video clip of the beginning of the process.

Lizzie gets steadiness lesson with clicker – bridging from food reward to retrieve reward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoZgrn76b8


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## Robert (Feb 28, 2006)

I’ve got 6 year old whiner. Wonderful hunter and wouldn’t think about waterfowling without her.

I can keep it at a minimum but wish I would of put the kobash on it early in her life but didn’t have the experience to recognize the issue. 

What I’m getting to it’s not the hunt per say that makes her whine. It’s the que’s that build up the excitement until she starts whining. 

Shotgun comes out of the case, decoys hitting the water, duck call starts being blown, etc, etc, etc. 

She knows what is about to come (birds) and the excitement gets to her. Watch your dog very carefully to nip these ques in the bud before it becomes a habit like my dog.


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## fishduck (Jun 5, 2008)

Send the dog to Alabama to hunt. The duck hunting is the same with one exception. We don't have any ducks so no or very little retrieving is involved.

I had a dog like that in the past. I had very little luck stopping the problem.
Mark L.


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## Warren Flynt (Nov 14, 2007)

fishduck said:


> Send the dog to Alabama to hunt. The duck hunting is the same with one exception. We don't have any ducks so no or very little retrieving is involved.
> 
> I had a dog like that in the past. I had very little luck stopping the problem.
> Mark L.


Mark is right. A retriever in AL has to have alot of patience.


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## jevc (Aug 24, 2006)

I have a whiner. He is a fine, steady, duckdog. but the whining will drive a person nuts. I have tried many things to cure this and he has improved. The one thing that works for me is to put him in a dog blind while hunting. for some reason He is very quiet while in there.


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

I discovered that my dog (who turned 2 yrs old today) is a big-time whiner when I took him on his first duck hunt back in Oct. He's exactly like you describe, seeinred.

I'm trying many of the methods others have suggested here and on other RTF threads, but I'm also planning to put another strategy into practice over the coming year....

My thought is that my dog used to whine and cry like mad when we first got him and left him in the kennel when we went to work. But after several weeks of that, he slowly settled down to the point that soon he was calm and quiet whenever we left him, put him in the kennel, etc.

So, I'm planning on pushing his duck hunting buttons in the same way pretty much EVERY day between ice-out this coming spring and next opener. I'll take him to the marsh, throw out decoys, blow on duck calls, fire cap pistols, etc. and make him sit quietly the whole time. I figure 90-plus consecutive days of these mock hunts should get him so used to the experience that he won't make a peep when it's time for the real thing...hopefully!!


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## budisit (Feb 26, 2005)

My last dog whinned. I sold him because of it. It was either that or shoot him. (kidding some)

E-collar won't work, tried that. Lots of things don't work. I did try sticking a bumper in his mouth. That seemed to work or at least help. He was force fetched so he'd hold a bumper for however long. 

Shove something in his mouth and it makes it harder to whine. Make him hold it (FF).

Good luck......if you figure out something please do share with the rest of us. 

Selling the dog does for sure work, I can attest to that. I've not heard a peep out of him since.


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## rabersin (Dec 2, 2009)

I would have a friend bring another dog (or if you have another dog), make sure that dog is steady and quiet while hunting. When birds are shot, I would make my whinning dog stay, while the steady non-whining dog picked up the birds. Make your dog honor the other dog. If multiple birds are dropped and your dog stops the whinning while the first bird is picked up, go ahead and send him on the second bird. Let the dog know they will be rewards for being calm, steady and quiet. When the next flight comes in, continue to talk to the dog about being quiet. If the dog sits quietly, let them pick up the first bird. By the way, I would not be shooting myself at this point. Let your hunting partners shoot the ducks while you "train" your dog. This is an honor drill in the most exciting enviroment. You can train for this. My hunting partners and I bring our dogs out to the duck ponds and set up senerios to train for hunting conditions. We use an electronic thrower to throw a dead duck, at the same time we release a clay pigeon. The handler shoots the clay pigeon, the dead duck is thrown and if the dog is steady, they are sent to retrieve the dead duck. Of course we sit and call before hand to simulate a duck hunt. If the dog whines or is unsteady, they do not get to retrieve the bird. This is a problem you can solve. Also remember to train each time on honoring other dogs. This will help.


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## Randy Bohn (Jan 16, 2004)

seeingred.....where do you live?? If your local to Pa. it isn't that hard to fix. Randy Bohn


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## Mike Perry (Jun 26, 2003)

Shoot more ducks quicker. don 't give the dog a chance to whine.
I don't think it can be fixed. Never heard of one that was stopped after puppy stage.
I have a client who will be getting his female back for next year and he is going to hate her in the blind. Whines all the time and vocal. Very immature dog.
Good luck. 
Sell her to a pet home.Start looking for another for next year.


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## jevc (Aug 24, 2006)

My dog ussually stops whining after retrieving a few ducks. problem is where I hunt (S.Cal) I shoot very few ducks. mostly just hunt to get out of the house and in the blind.


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## Aussie (Jan 4, 2003)

Randy Bohn said:


> seeingred.....where do you live?? If your local to Pa. it isn't that hard to fix. Randy Bohn


Come on type the cure. 

Genetic?

Teach a dog to bark. Easy reward it. 

Does the dog bark or whine less in the down position?


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## seeingred (Dec 15, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I like the idea of making her hold a bumper in her mouth. I won't be giving her away either....


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## PackLeader (Jan 12, 2009)

I had a lab that did this but lucky for me I figured out a way to break it early in a way that me and the dog both enjoyed.

If you have fish in he pond where you hunt take him fishing. 

Dad has a long object in his hands, stuff is splashing out in the water. She will be in hunt drive for sure.

After awhile the dog learns that what you are doing is not hunting at all and doesn't involve him. 

I don't know why but I can deal with whiny dog for a long time with a pole in my hand ...


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

Nick for "sit" at every sound he makes.....................


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## marc laplante (Jul 8, 2009)

I liked the '' honor'' part in a previous post. My dog whines like a s.o.b. and I hunt with a buddy of mine who's dog is quiet as a mouse. When we shoot birds, if my dog so much as makes a peep. I have her sit and my buddy lets his dog pick th birds up. All the while I tell her '' quiet'' When she does eventually shut up, I may even have my buddy fire off a shot and throw a bird we've shot and I'll let me dog pick it up. but only if she hasnt said a peep. Hunting with a buddy that has a quiet dog is yoru best bet. If the dog keeps whining, bring it back in the truck and all the while saying QUIET and hunt with your buddies dog. I swear I was about to hit my dog with the butt of my shotgun at some time this year..then we started doing more honor drills and the whining stopped.

Hope it helps.


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## Dustin Maddux (Aug 18, 2008)

Jay Dufour said:


> Nick for "sit" at every sound he makes.....................


This is what my pro did and had me do. Worked great. Nice and quiet.


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## Prospect (Dec 15, 2009)

Dustin Maddux said:


> This is what my pro did and had me do. Worked great. Nice and quiet.


Can either one of you expand on this. Does this apply when the dog is sitting and whining? Or only when standing?

Any help would be appreciated.


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

Sitting.Then sitting becomes the position....and being quiet.


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## robertnla (Oct 16, 2008)

My dog is 30 months old and whines in the blind too. We have tried all the above + some woopXXX and none works. I think Budisit has the right idea. 
I'll have to live with it cause I can't see me hunting without her. She is a very skilled hunter, HRCH Test dog and a wonderful pet in the house. She goes every were I go. If I don't wanta hear her I just take another dog out. Then my wife has to hear her whine because she got left behind. 
Funny thing is once you put the gun away in the blind she will stop whining. She knows the hunt is over. She will find her a spot to lay down and sleep for the boat ride home.


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## D&S Retrievers (Jul 2, 2008)

Randy Bohn said:


> seeingred.....where do you live?? If your local to Pa. it isn't that hard to fix. Randy Bohn


Call Randy Bohn.....he can fix it. He fixed our boy!


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## seeingred (Dec 15, 2009)

**********UPDATE***********

I may have found a fix! My dad and I hunted in Brookshire this morning. I gave my dog a benadryl when I woke up at 5am. She was still full of energy, but I think it calmed her down just a little. No trembling in the blind in anticipation of birds and her whining was off by at least 80%!!!!

Now it probably didn't hurt that we had our ducks in 45 minutes, but I think we made some MAJOR progress. Also, she marked and retrieved all 12 birds shot along with a token Snow Goose. Going to try it again this weekend and will post results.


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

Just like they do with kids nowadays.....drug instead of correct.........


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## jeff t. (Jul 24, 2003)

seeingred said:


> After studying her, I don’t think if she knows she is making these sounds… like it is almost a tic.


I believe this is a key point. 

Hard to correct the dog for a mistake they don't know they are making. 

I can also say that I have seen whining made worse with a collar correction the dog didn't understand.


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## Danno (May 11, 2006)

Obabikon said:


> I discovered that my dog (who turned 2 yrs old today) is a big-time whiner when I took him on his first duck hunt back in Oct. He's exactly like you describe, seeinred.
> 
> I'm trying many of the methods others have suggested here and on other RTF threads, but I'm also planning to put another strategy into practice over the coming year....
> 
> ...


Now there is some dedication for ya! Good luck!


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## Prospect (Dec 15, 2009)

Jay Dufour said:


> Sitting.Then sitting becomes the position....and being quiet.


Jay...thanks for the quick reply. Just to make sure I apply it right...the dog is sitting in the blind whining....I say sit then nic?

So a sit-nic with each whine, while the dog is sitting?


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

> Now there is some dedication for ya! Good luck!


Don't give me too much credit (or grief)....you'll notice that I'm from Minnesota. Here it's not that long between spring ice-out and duck opener


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## Jay Dufour (Jan 19, 2003)

Yes...It is referred to as indirect pressure.Most use sit,nick,sit. I got this directly from Rex Carr when I called him to find out how to fix my dog from whining,so its not my idea.....but it sure has worked for me with countless hunting retrievers.Good luck and happy holidays.


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## PackLeader (Jan 12, 2009)

I would have some kind time frame for this nick if the dog doesn't get it. SIt nick wait 10 min and repeat. If the dog doesn't stop at all raise the level and wait ten.. don't keep giving a nagging nick if they dont stop mean what you say...


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## PackLeader (Jan 12, 2009)

I use a quiet command that starts with the crate training. Then I do the same thing when they cry in the truck or in the box. When they are quiet in the box go to the blind. When they are quiet in the blind go to the place board. 

Now you can work in reverse.. You cry in the truck you go back in the crate. You cry in the blind you go back in the truck. You get the point. 

I enforce with the collar only until they start the ohh **** shuffle. 

They will sometimes do this when you use sit..They know they are sitting and you enforce sit with the collar,. 

At this point if you keep using pressure ant sit they will probably lay down or shuffle around. Now you are not teaching the dog anything.. Put them back in the truck. 

I think that is why say you can't fix it with a collar. But you need some action going on through all of the steps. Getting them quiet with nothing going on is a wast of time IMO.


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