My hubbys ESS pup who is 9 months old , we have had him from 14 weeks old , constantly whinges and whines if anyone of our family is not in the same room. The four of us have to be together for him to be content . Do you think this is extreme separation anxiety ? as my hubby thinks so.
If he is put in his crate he barks the house down , we have tried the usual training ( like we have with all our past pups ) but it doesn't work. Like leaving him crated for small times , even crating him if we are eating but he whines until he is let out . He is given plenty of stimulation and is walked appropriate for his age and also given runs along the beach , but he is still not happy unless we are all together.
Hubby has spoken to people in the breed at a show when he was younger who said to hold his muzzle until he is quiet , I say this is cruel , but then he brings in a breed specific book which also states this ! I don't like this technique at all. Another in the spaniel world but different breed say he should not be in the house , he should be kenneled , but I won't have that , I like my dogs indoors .

Anyone who can offer any advice on where we may be going wrong , please share.
I have thought about castration but he is too young yet as he needs to mature , but don't know how much of a calming effect it will have , he is extremely hyper and constantly trying to mount my other dogs whenever he gets near them.

Hi Cani1,

Obviously I do not agree with either of the suggestions you have been given he does not need kenneling or his muzzle holding, it has never been needed to train a dog.

He sounds like a tightly wound spring, you know many Springers and Working Cockers need another outlet, some are so highly strung that they divert their working drive onto other things he may well be diverting in this way.

Apart from the usual techniques in combating separation anxiety he may well need you to take up agility or gun-dog work with him too. Training needs to include the commands Shhh.... Quiet! Along with everything else you are teaching him, is he doing puppy classes, KC bronze, silver, gold along with your usual training, it just helps to have back up and get the command training correct, a whistle or clicker is important here to make sure your 'voice' is heard and not misunderstood.

Some dogs can and do suffer from separation anxiety it is important for a pup to get used to being left alone away from you in other rooms, whilst you go upstairs or out etc for a few minutes a day......... and building that up to longer times away, giving no attention if he whines. So keep that up, if he is in a crate whining put a cover over it to stop him being stimulated and leave treats etc in there with him to make the crate a good place, better still have him behind a dog gate, don't speak or return if he cries, continue talking, laughing etc as though oblivious to him, give no eye contact, sometimes that is all a dog requires to know you are listening to him, so avert him completely, when he is quiet allow him back in and reward. If he is loud put on music, the TV etc, if 3 of you are in the room and he cries for the 4th, don't give that reward, 2 of you leave and go elsewhere, go in and out of the room he is in, again with no eye contact or fuss when you return.

Does he also whine if any of your other dogs are also away from him, taken from the house? Generally it is with everything in the house if a diversion problem.

Unfortunately, if he has a very strong work drive the beach walk and off lead runs are just not enough the mind is buzzing with the need to do something else too, they are very intelligent dogs and need to use their brains as with Collies who will focus on other things when not able to work like rounding up people or becoming addicted to chasing light and balls etc.

Continue with the training, it cures most problems and gives him something to do, above all else try not to get frustrated with him, he is anxious and it will make things worse, re-focus him on other things and it will dissipate, keep upbeat and give no attention to unwanted behaviours.  :-)

And if nothing you try works get in a reputable behaviourist as it is always difficult on a forum not being able to see your house set up and how everyone acts with the dog, vital things can be missed.  Good luck! :-) He must be driving you mad..... though shhhh.... we won't tell him that. :-D

Hi Cani1

Some dogs are just very vocal and make it clear that they are bored/want your attention/have an unsatisfied desire for something.  This is the sort of whining you might get if you're eating your breakfast and your dog is with you, waiting for his walk.  Unfortunately, there's very little you can do about this sort of whining.  I do believe that dogs can be taught not to bark - but they seem to be much less aware that they are whining, it just seems to be an unconscious thing a lot of the time and I think it's largely genetic.

It's v hard to know if you have a dog with this sort of 'bored' whining or a dog which has SA, from your description.  But barking the house down in his crate suggests SA. 

The first step of crate training is NOT TO LEAVE THE DOG IN THE CRATE!  The dog must be absolutely fine in the crate for any length of time with you sitting right next to it, before you begin to leave him in there.  I'd suggest you revisit the various crate training steps without leaving him.  In short:

1.  Leaving crate door open and hiding treats in there when he's not looking, so he believes it is a magic treat producing place - do this for several days.  NEVER close the door at this stage.  Make sure the blankets and bed in there are very comfy though so he might decide to lie down in there of his own free choice - still don't close the door.  The crate should be in a busy family room, not in an unused utility room - it should be at the centre of family life.
2.  Feed him his meals in the crate, putting the bowl in there at the back and closing the door whilst he eats, then IMMEDIATELY opening it when he finishes.  Do this for several days.
3.  Now comes the first time you shut him in.  Make sure he is well-exercised and tired.  Fill SEVERAL kongs with peanut butter or soft cheese spread, put them all in the crate and SIT NEXT TO THE CRATE.  Do NOT leave him.  Watch a film on TV, sitting right by the crate for several hours.  Do this until he is fine with it.  This might be several days or weeks.  NEVER leave him in the crate during this time. 

Only after that can you begin the separation training elements, which I won't go into here... 

There are 2 parts to crate training:  A) getting the dog used to being in the crate and happy in that confined space and B) getting the dog used to your separation from him.  Too often owners combine these two things at once.  Then when the dog barks, you've no idea if the dog is barking because he doesn't like the crate or because of the separation from you.  You need to ensure the dog likes the crate first, so you can then KNOW that any later barking is due to separation and not to the crate.

Good link here:  http://www.ddfl.org/sites/default/files/crate-train.pdf

Hi thank you Carrington and Rabid for your replies

It has given me something to work with. The crate we have is in the front room , he often will go and sit in it with the door open and just sit and whine , I honestly think after reading these posts that it is boredom. My hubby wanted to do agility with him and contacted a local club when he was about 5 month but they told him they only take dogs over two years old. Stupid me has just taken that , I don't know why!!! I am going to get a list of clubs from google and see if we can get him started as he is so full of energy and you can see his mind is craving stimulation. BYW he is a show type , usually they are calmer than workers but I'd match him to a working type anyday. My hubby had a worker years ago which he trained to the gun , but he no longer has his guns , I know he would of enjoyed this too as he retrieves anything you throw for him.

Carrington he only whinges for the humans , he isn't bothered where the other dogs are in the house , he is just so attached to us , he has an especially strong bond with our nine year old son. When he goes to school he misses him dreadfully and seems to relax when he comes home.

He isn't crated at night he sleeps in the bedroom , I have had a quick read through the attachment but will sit and have a thorough read later today when I get a spare few minutes . It seems to give good advice , I agree not crateing for long , I am in all day so he is with me around the house all of the time if not out and about with me. I will start from scratch again and see how we go :)

sounds like you do need professional help.

I think you'll probably find that, no matter what you do, if the whining comes from boredom or frustration, that to some degree it will continue.  I say that because we have a whiner and she is definitely stimulated, being a working dog.  She doesn't whine when working, only in situations like being in the car (waiting for a walk), waiting for us to eat breakfast and take her out for walk in the morning - any time she is expecting something and waiting for it. 

You can try using more kong toys, feeding meals from kongs, or treat dispensers, so he has to work for his food.  Try some trick training if he is clever and needs stimulation - you can do that at home easily with a clicker and a trick training book.  Play more tuggy with him and use tuggy as a reward sometimes.  For agility see www.agilitynet.com and click on the (very small type) 'Clubs' at the top.  Some agility places take dogs over 12mnths, not 2 yrs, so you may be able to find somewhere soon.  They also can have long waiting lists so it's worth investigating now and putting your name down for it.  And some agility clubs run classes for puppies and young dogs which don't involve the jumps - only the equipment on the ground.

But you will probably find that the more you do, the more he loves it and wants it - and the whining is likely to continue - for his new-found fun and games again.  That's what I mean by it being genetic...

Definitely ignore him when he whines and don't give him the thing he wants whilst he is whining - wait for a moment of quiet before you give whatever it is he wants, so you don't reward the whining.  This doesn't always work though, because like I said, I think many dogs are not quite aware that they are whining and that the noise is coming from them.

hi
i have ess 6 of them 2 of them whinge now and then one is 7 and one is 4 and i  have had them since pups.Can i ask is your pup a working  bred ess or show bred ess? Is he the only dog in the house ? At the age he is you cant take him for long walks so is he in the garden much so he can play?
Are you with him most of the time?.
maybe he needs to have time out starting with a few minutes and going a bit longer as you progress
But i,m afraid ess love to be in company of humans " CONSTANTLY" if they could
Have you tried indroducing a friends older more laid back dog and see how that goes if they could visit for a while to see if he needs a FRIEND
But as other post says he is stll a baby yet and they can take up to 2 years to settle
Have you contacted the breeder for any feedback they may have some suggestions

if you are wanting to find an agility club near you go onto the agilitynet website and they have a list of A-Z clubs they also have a fb page and youcould ask on there good luck

Hi Welshie

He is a show type , and we have other dogs whom he loves but it is only us he whinges for . I am at home with him all day but he is only happy when the 4 of us are all together. I know we can't take him on long walks as he needs to mature , we are very aware of not causing his hips etc any damage .
I have him in and out the garden and play games with him then he gets his beach walk later on , we find this better for him as don't want him on hard ground too much ( incase of damage ) while he is young .
Hubby even takes him for drives in the car just to satisfy him , he loves driving around and watching everything out the window.
I am going to look on the agility website which has been recommended and see if they have any puppy classes.

I have never owned a spaniel , he is completely different from my breeds but love him to bits , he is great with my two children .

Have you thought of doing working trials training with him until he's old enough for agility. I am starting Willow next week and she's only 5 months. They don t do any jumping at first so thay can start earlier. I found a lady off the KC website. Jane

> I have never owned a spaniel ,

I used to look after a friends Springer and Labrador while they were on holiday.

I found that I almost had to completely ignore the Spaniel, and be very casual in any interactions  otherwise he just whined constantly and drove us nuts.

Hard as it might be you may just have to learn to ignore it, and only interact with him when he doesn't do it, as soon as he starts ignore him as if he didn't exist.  Obviously you will pat him casually etc when he is 'settled'.

You can teach a wired dog a settle command, to help them switch off.

Google protocol for training calm.  Its is worth a try and it does help a lot (my beagle was a whiner too).  I also have a springer, they are pretty intense!  And definitely more about the people than the dogs.  The protocol basically helps the dog learn to be calmer, I don't use food to do this as mine are much too food motivated, the presence actually winds them up more.

*Hard as it might be you may just have to learn to ignore it, and only interact with him when he doesn't do it, as soon as he starts ignore him as if he didn't exist.*

I can ignore it , I have a whinging husband too and have managed to ignore him for 16 years LOL

Getting back on track , I have found ignoring and not giving him the eye contact has cut the whining a little , when he has stopped I've made a bit of a fuss over him but not too much . I will google the calming techniques that is a good idea , I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly as he just wants to learn and please constantly.