“I have noticed often that my dog whines when he sees other dogs. What could be the reason?” Today, we answer this question from one of our readers.
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A pet dog is a man’s best friend. Though they remain close to humans, the behaviors of your furry friend might be very different from you.
For example, when you take your pet out for a walk or when your dog sees another dog from the house, he might start whining loudly. This whining can be annoying, and you might have to face complaints from the people around you because of this.
But whining or crying does not always mean complaining. There are several reasons why your dog whines or cries. In fact, you will be surprised to know that dogs might sometimes whine to greet another dog or human!
Let’s understand what dog whines mean in this article. There is a long list of things a whine can mean: fear, submissiveness, and sometimes there might even be inadvertent encouragement for it. So, let’s get started.
Why Does My Dog Whine When He Sees Other Dogs?
Your dog whines when seeing other dogs mostly as a form of greeting or excitement.
Dogs have several habits that may seem weird to humans. They behave differently from us in many circumstances. Though they can whine anytime, it has been seen that they mostly whine when another dog is around them.
This whining can sometimes take the extreme form of loud barking, growling and after a few seconds, you might also feel a snap, and your dog will be out of the leash without any control.
There are multiple reasons behind dogs whining after seeing other dogs, including:
- Fear of getting harmed
- Habituated to do that
- Appeasement behavior
- Excited Greeting
- Being Jealous
- Mistreatment in the past
Let us understand all of these factors in more detail:
Fear of getting harmed
If your dog is afraid of other dogs, this fear can make them whine whenever they see another dog. This fear can settle in a dog at an early age. When your dog was a puppy, he might have been attacked by a ferocious dog which causes trauma in your furry friend.
This trauma can further develop into PTSD, and the anxiety caused by this PTSD will make your dog unsocial. He will take a long time to get along with another dog, and in the first meeting, he will cry as your pet will consider the other dog his enemy.
Habituated to whine
We as humans find it difficult to get rid of our habits, and pet dogs are very similar to us in this case. Dogs develop several good and bad habits, and one of these bad habits is whining after seeing another male or female dog. This habit usually develops if your pet manages to draw your attention by whining.
So, you should never encourage your dog’s whining. Ignore him whenever he whines. You can take a lesson from reverse psychology. Reward your pet when he does not whine, and as you start ignoring his whine, the dog will automatically stop whining for fulfilling its demand after a few days.
Appeasement behavior
All animals have a natural survival instinct. So whenever your dog is threatened, he will try to save himself and will want to get out of that situation without getting harmed. Your dog can behave with appeasement which includes many submissive gestures which will convey the message to other dogs that he does not want to fight.
Whining is one of these submissive gestures, lips licking with tongue, exposing the stomach, and others. The bottom line is simply that your dog is just trying to avoid an upcoming conflict.
Excited Greeting
Dogs are highly social animals. They love to interact with humans as well as other dogs. The heading probably guesses dogs’ behavior that matches with humans, and yes, we are talking about the human habit of crying while we get excited. Basically, when your dog is crying or whining while looking at another dig, it might just be trying to say ‘Hello.’ The biggest indication that your dog is happy is that he will wag his tail. If he is whining, then there is no doubt that your dog is doing this out of excitement.
Being Jealous
Jealousy can be seen in many animals, and dogs are no different. Dogs often get jealous and consider the other dogs as their competition. Because of this jealousy, whenever your dog meets a new dog, his jealousy can make him whine more and more. Your dog can also growl, bark loud and chase the newly met dog out of jealousy.
Mistreatment in the past
Mistreatments can be of several kinds. In the past, other dogs might have been unfriendly towards your dog, and this aggressive nature of those dogs is guaranteed to leave a lasting impact on your dog’s mind. Moreover, if you or his previous owner have treated him harshly after meeting with a new friend, this bitter memory can also cause whining in your dog.
There are not many ways to solve this problem. Among the few possible solutions, the best one is positive reinforcement, which can be done by treating your dog well, irrespective of his behavior. You can also help him socialize at any given opportunity.
Now that you might have understood the psychology behind your dog’s whining, we hope you will be able to help him in that situation when he is feeling scared after seeing another dog or whatever the reason behind the problem is.
My dog whines when he sees other dogs: Is this normal?
No, this is a common behavioral trait, and you might want to just ignore it.
Not all dogs express the same behaviors. It varies from species to species. Other than that, the upbringing of a fully grown male dog from a puppy can also cause this whining effect in dogs.
When you observe this whining habit in your pet friend, it is natural that you will feel curious about it. But you need not worry too much as it is nothing uncommon, and you are not the only pet owner who has to deal with this whining of a dog. You can stop your dog from whining by training him properly.
The best way to do this is to ignore your dog whining and never encourage this behavior. Your dog will eventually understand that you don’t like this behavior and will stop doing it after a certain period.
What Can You Do to Stop Your Dog From Whining?
If you think that the whining is caused by any one of the reasons mentioned above, then we are here to help you with the solutions to this problem.
- Don’t Allow Your Dog: This ignoring whining habit may sound very obvious, but most dog owners fail to do this simple thing. It may sound harsh, but you can count on us for its effectiveness.
- Positive Reinforcement: If you choose to punish your dog for whining, it will negatively impact your dog’s mind. Instead of that, try the positive reinforcement technique in which whenever your dog does something good, reward him with a treat, and on the contrary, don’t treat him if he behaves negatively.
- Pay a Visit to a Dog Behaviorist: If none of those mentioned above methods are working, it is ideal to consult a veterinary clinic for help. A dog behaviorist can identify the root cause behind this problem and can also stop it from happening.
Why is My Puppy So Calm?
There could be several reasons for this, including stress and tiredness.
While we talked about whiny dogs above, sometimes too much quiet is also not good. For example, you might expect a puppy to be always bubbly and playful. But when you find a puppy behaving differently and staying calm and quiet all the time, you might wonder if there is something wrong with him.
As a dog parent, you will notice changes in your dog’s behavior throughout its life cycle. One of the most common issues that dog owners complain about is that their puppy becomes quiet and calm.
This transition usually happens suddenly. Out of the blue, you might notice that the puppy who was excitedly playing with you the previous day seems a bit withdrawn from all sorts of activities.
This calmness will not only remain while playing, but you will start noticing the same when they eat. If your dog’s behavior raises a lot of questions in your mind, then let us tell you that just like whining, there are also possible explanations behind this behavior of your puppy.
First, you need to get the definition of calm right. Calm breeds of dogs usually don’t bark much, do not indulge in stressful activities, eat less et cetera.
Before going into the details, let us tell you that it is entirely natural for a puppy or a dog to have a calm and collective personality. Being shy and not paying attention to the behavior is justified. The way of exerting energy is different in all the dogs you can see around you, including your puppy.
As we mentioned earlier in this section, you need to be worried if it is happening suddenly. Now it is time to take a look at the possible reasons behind this sudden calmness in your puppy.
Tiredness
The amount of energy produced in a fully grown dog’s body is quite different from a puppy. We all know that puppies love to play and mess around with all the things in their surroundings. It requires a whole lot of energy.
Whenever a puppy feels that they are short of energy, it tries to calm itself down. At that very moment and in their resting period, if you take a look at them, you will find your puppy in a calm state, but it is nothing but a tired feeling settling in.
Illness
This is a serious issue. Suppose your dog is suffering from a serious health issue such as Kennel cough, Distemper, the effect of Parvovirus on the body, and others. In that case, he will remain calm throughout the day due to a lack of energy in the body.
Stress
Stress always impacts the body adversely. After running around all day, your puppy can feel stressed due to the heavy activities. This stress will bring a sense of calmness to your dog’s body.
Outside Environment
The surrounding environment heavily impacts both humans and animals. When your puppy roams throughout the day in the scorching heat of summer, there is a high possibility that he will get tired by this. So in this situation, your little pet friend will take a rest for a prolonged period, and you might get the feeling that he has become calm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do dogs whine when they see another dog?
It could be because they are excited or they are greeting the other dog.
There are several reasons behind a dog’s whining. Your pet dog might be whining to show the other dog that he doesn’t want to get into a fight, or it could be a haunting memory that has traumatized him a lot.
On the other hand, there are also some positive sides to a dog whining. This whining could be a friendly gesture, and your dog is simply trying to greet his newly met friend by doing this.
How do I get my dog to stop whining when he sees other dogs?
You need to train this behavior out of him by a system of treats and commands.
It is understandable that you will want your dog to behave calmly and friendly when it approaches another dog. In this situation, you as an owner will not want your dog to whine. There are a few ways to ensure that your dog doesn’t whine when he sees other dogs. You have to train him properly.
Give him strong vocal orders and also teach him to obey you, especially when you two will be in public, as it has been seen that dogs behave in an unruly manner when they go outside of their home.
Final Words
Now, as you know why your dog whines whenever he sees any other dog on the streets or in the house, we hope that you have become less worried about your pet friend. You can use the techniques mentioned in the article to stop your dog from crying loudly in public.
But no matter what you do, never be harsh on your dogs as this can traumatize them more if the cause of whining is a trauma in the past. Try to be calm and gentle, and always look out for the best interest of your best friend.
Thank you for reading the article, I hope you got the answers you were looking for if not, then just drop a word in the comment box below. Since you are looking to understand your dog’s behavior, I would also suggest you read: Why Does My Dog Like Looking Out The Window?, Why Does My Dog Scratch The Carpet In The Middle Of The Night? And Dog Growls When Lying Down