Why does my dog whine when my husband starts walking around the house?

Question

Ok, we have 2 dogs, one of which for the past couple of years has developed this strange habit of whining, even whimpering, when my husband gets out of bed and starts walking around. He'll go to the bathroom before he lets the dogs out and during that 30 seconds the dogs whining has managed to wake me and my baby up!! grr! anyway, my husband says it's because he is hungry. Well so what, can't he wait one minute the other dog has no problem doing so. It's not like we're starving him. He is a lab and with that comes the greedy nature for food and always is scanning for crumbs in the kitchen, but this is just a bit much with the freaking out in the morning and around dinner time again. He could care less if I get out of bed even though some days I do let them out and feed them, but it's come to the point that if my husband wakes up just to pee in the middle of the night the dog starts whining because he thinks it's time to eat I guess. He even would start jumping and pawing at the door until we blocked the door off so he wouldn't do just that. Is there anything we can do to break this annoying habit, I just can't figure out why he does this.

Answer 1

My fiance's dog would do something similar.  It would bark ALL night and would whine in the mornings.  It is easily remedied.  Dogs understand when you "explain" what is acceptable.  Talk to your dog is a very strict tone and say, "Nooooo! No whining! You be quiet, you'll get to go out in a second."  The more you do this, the sooner it will end.  Dogs understand, much like very young children.

My cat used to meow so loudly every morning at my door for food/attention/to be let out.  I finally would spray it will a bottle of water.  That ended that. Now it scratches lightly at the door instead.  Everyone is happy.

Sometimes animals like the attention and some do not know patience.  If you (or your husband) practices the aforementioned habit, it will all be over.  Especially if this is a new habit for the pooch.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

I think that your dog is probably just so excited to see his human.  Labs are pretty vocal dogs, they will talk to you.  

Another thought is that some attention is better than no attention at all, and perhaps he has learned that when he whines, he gets attention or most importantly FOOD.  You are right, your dog is not going to starve by waiting a few minutes.  I would suggest waiting to feed your dog until after he stops whining.  You can distract him with a short game of fetch or something, so that he doesn't whine, then feed him.  Always praise behaviour that you like.  Praise when he doesn't whine, ignore and turn your back when he does.

I would strongly suggest crate training your dogs so that they have a secure place to sleep at night.  You need two separate crates, just big enough for the dogs to stand, turn around, and lay down.  Introduce them to the crates slowly, just a little bit at a time with lots of praise and treats.  Use a cue word such as "bed" when they go inside.  When you finally put your dog in the crate all night, be prepared to be frustrated.  If a dog is not used to being crated at night, it will howl and cry.  This is ok, but don't do anything.  Don't yell, don't comfort, don't pound on the top of the crate and by all means do not let the dog out.  He will get used to it.

Now on to fixing the whining.  When your dog whines from his crate, ignore him.  He will probably start to whine as soon as you go to let him out again.  If he does so, just turn and walk away.  As soon as he stops whining say "good boy" very excited and let him out.  As he gets better with training wait for longer periods of no whining before the praise.

Good luck!

BTW  crate training is not cruel.  At night I say "lets go to bed" and all of my dogs walk to their own crate and get inside.  No fusses, and I don't have to worry what they are doing to the house at night.  I also like the security of knowing that if there is an emergency, I know exactly where my dogs are, and that I can grab them quickly and securely.  

Answer 3

Maybe the dog has to go to the bathroom. My lab doesn't whine unless he has to go to the bathroom. Maybe your husband can let him out while he is up.

Dogs do have to pee ya know their not always hungry.

Try that if it don't have to go give it some water maybe its thirsty.

Answer 4

some dogs have a strong attachment to their owners. I know mine do with me.

Have your husband let the dog go into the bathroom with him. He will probably just sit there quietly on the floor and wait till he is done.

If your husband goes back to bed, the dog probably will too.

This does not sound like a hunger problem, but more of an attachment problem.

Dogs can also sense when one owner doesn't feel the same towards him as the other owner.  

If the dog is allowed to be in the same room as your husband, this should allow you the peace & quiet to sleep.

Good Luck!  

Answer 5

As for the night time/early morning behavior of your dog, it seems that he has learned when he whimpers to your husband, he gets fed - it's time for your husband to "untrain" him.  I would let them outside before going to the bathroom myself - and then wait before feeding them once they're back indoors.  Stretch out the time between the bathroom and feeding a little bit more each day and see what happens.  Crate training is also a good idea - our dog loves his little "den" and even goes into it to sleep during the day on his own or when my 3 year old grandson bugs him too much - it's his safe haven.      As for the scavenging behavior, our dog does that also - we're not sure if it's instinct or if it was ingrained when he was a young pup (we rescued him from a shelter when he was about 6 months old) but it is quite annoying for sure!  He'll grab whatever he can - crumbs, socks, toys, etc. and run outside with it like he just stole a steak!  He is well fed with good-quality food, so it's not that he's hungry either.