Whining in class, barking at dogs.

[Tyrant]

Hi there, just after a bit of advise really.
I have a 5 month old male GSD who I take to classes. We've just moved up from Puppy class and are working towards out Bronze certificate. He's very quick to learn but the issue I'm having is the entire hour we're at class, he will whine. If he's not whining, he's barking at the other dogs despite seeing them weekly for an hour and interacting with them. I've tried ignoring it, tried to distract him, tried to walk away when he starts and taking him with me, I've tried making a loud noise, treats and toys but nothing is working and it's really starting to get irritating, not only for me but for the other handlers as their dogs are all very quiet and relaxed.
It's not a case that he's not relaxed in class, he'll quite happily lay down but as soon as there is a bit of movement he starts again.
He also has real seperation anxiety from me but only in class. He'll follow me off the lead when we're out, he will follow me around the house but he's quite happy to go off elsewhere after a while. At class we need to do recalls (which he's wonderful at) but as soon as I leave him with the trainer he goes mental, crying, barking, jumping whining etc. He does the recall without a hitch but we're now learning 'stay' which he will do with me on our own but as soon as we're in class and I need to take more then 3 steps away from him he will go mental again. It's a little frustrating as he's so good at it at home. I understand it's a different enviroment but it's getting irritating that he seems to be the only dog in the class with these issues, yet when I explain he's excellent at the excerises at home I feel that no one believes me as he's such a handful in class...

Does anyone have any advice into what could be happening?

I initially believed it was due to when I first got him at 11 weeks, we were walking and a staff jumped it's fence and attacked him (vile little dog) and he's since felt the need to bark at all dogs he sees. I've tried socialising him, praising him if he actually does ignore a dog, letting him meet and greet other dogs whilst making him avoid others but nothing will stop the barking.

I know GSD's are vocal animals, and they do whine a lot but this is going to new limits. I've grown up with GSD's having 4 in total before I finally got my baby (the others were my parents dogs but I now live in my own home, he's technically my first GSD) but none of them have ever been such a handful.

Any advice is welcome!

[Alakys]

This is similar to the problem I have with Tikaani! The advice I have just been given is to take her somewhere where there are other dogs, like the park, and sit on a bench with her, if another dog goes past get her attention on me and if she doesn't bark treat her, if she does bark tell her 'leave it' and when she stops barking and looks at me treat her. For the whining and barking in class, if he barks or whines do the same as in the park and tell him to 'leave' if that doesn't work take him outside for a couple of minutes then go back in and keep repeating this until he stops,apparently this should help them realise that it's not that scarey being around other dogs it might be an idea to explain to the instructor what you are doing though. If he is the same as Tiki and is barking through a bit of fear due to being attacked any negative based reprimand will just make it worse so don't let them squirt him.Good luck

[Mewzard]

I'll be pleased to read other replies. Oka is quite vocal, she whines alot though does stop most times when i say 'enough'. She's only 16weeks so we are in puppy class, but she will bark at the other pups. She will settle, but like your GSD, she starts up again as soon as some one moves/gets up/makes a tiny noise. The trainer says that she's insecure about the other pups but she will play with them all fine in the puppy play session - i think she doesn't like them moving thier attention elsewhere.

I don't know about the seperation anxiety (new to this myself) Oka isn't too worried about that, does our recall bits totally fine. I would try working on the 'stays' somewhere with a small distraction (the garden, the drive) then build up to more...It took nearly 5 minutes to lure Oka into sit whilst out once even though she knows it as a voice command inside!

[Tyrant]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've tried the whole moving outside but it doesn't seem to bother him, yes he'll stop whining when we're outside but as soon as we go back in he'll start again. I wish I could work out what it is that is causing it - some weeks he's worse then others.
I'll try your advice of doing his home training in different places. I do them out on walks but I should try doing it closer to the roadside and in busier areas then a quiet country path I guess!
My trainer doesn't seem to help, just calls him a squinny and laughs about it. She's had GSD's all her life so knows what she's doing. Last week was the first week she told me to tell him off but that doesn't seem to make any difference. I'm probably far too soft on him in class. No one else has to tell their dog off so it's a bit embarassing.

[Caryll]

I don't think 'telling him off' is going to do any good at all. He'll just get miserable & that won't be nice.

As said before, try sitting on a bench with a few of his absolute favourite treats. If he whines or barks at another dog, tell him to "leave" firmly and attract his attention with the treat. As soon as he stops barking & gives you his attention, give him the treat.

You might also try to get him to 'watch' you. There was someone on this forum who described how to teach this a few days ago, but I can't remember who it was! ARE YOU OUT THERE?

[Tyrant]

Yes he does 'watch me' already but at the moment getting him to do anything other then sit, down and other basics without a treat isn't working. "Watch me" works to an extent when we're in class but he soon gets bored of it.
I shall try the sitting in a park idea as well, normally we don't sit and let the world go by so it might be something to try!

[Caryll]

So, when you're sitting & watching the world go by & he barks at a dog, tel him "watch me" and when he does & he's quiet, give him a treat - might work!

[LOVEGSD]

What does your trainer suggest to handle this??? I would have thought your trainer should be helping you with this.

I would agree with Alakys, he needs more socialisation around other dogs so he can learn to switch off to them and focus on you.

Let us know how you get on...xx

[Tyrant]

Originally Posted by LOVEGSD

What does your trainer suggest to handle this??? I would have thought your trainer should be helping you with this.

I would agree with Alakys, he needs more socialisation around other dogs so he can learn to switch off to them and focus on you.

Let us know how you get on...xx

She hasn't actually suggested anything apart form last week when she told me I should be telling him off after an entire class of whining... and that was about it. I think she just thinks he's a whiney gsd but he's never like this when we're home, not even when we're out walking it's just in class.

[T'sAndC's]

I remember Spyke being restless in his puppy class. It wasn`t until about the third or fourth week into an eight week block that he began to bark and become really aggitated unless we were doing an exercise. I posted on here as I was mortified, he was the only GSD pup and towered over all the other puppies.

What eventually worked for us/him was to use his leave command, I`d put a treat on one or both of his front paws and get him to `leave it` ... then he`d get the release `ok` command so he could eat it. This kept him amused and focused enough for the trainer to speak.

I didn`t go onto the next block with this training club, I didn`t feel it was fair on the other owners. Some of them were looking a bit concerned at our Spyke. We `re at another class now and he`s doing fab.

Spyke seemed to stop his barking at the world phase after we`d attended a dogs trust day. I think there were just too many people and dogs for him. It maybe just coincidence but no barking or lunging from him. He doesn`t bark a peep in his training class. He`s not perfect but he`s getting there

Tracy