I've only taken my pup(12 months) Hunting, 3 Times this year.
I take him to the duck blinds that aren't known for Slaughtering Ducks and bringing in Big Groups etc. and usually with younger Hunters who obviously won't mind if I have to take a time out with pup(Which I haven't really had to do) Usually the 1 to 5 ducks a day type blinds which actually seems to work out perfect for young dogs right?
This post I made earlier has some more info in it to digest;
I did all sorts or socializing for my pup when it came to hunting scenarios, or so I thought. Somehow, I too just never thought about the BLACK HOLE IN THE EARTH that I wanted my Dog to get DOWN INTO and be still in. At least that's how I think he saw it LOL!
First hunt I physically had to put him IN IT. Once in it he kind of whined about it. Not LOUD but just enough volume to be annoying.
I also hadn't really prepared him to see WAKE MAKERS, boy was that a trip.
So after a couple hunts, he now jumps into the Box and sits down and also pays the Wake Makers no mind at all. Still whines though ..... might need some help with that in another topic.
This video LINK below is a Sport/Paid Hunters Dog. He did this almost the entire hunt. We worked it out later with the tone button on the collar(Different Story lol). However this is just an example of what my pup is NOT doing. He doesn't bark or get loud like this 2 yr old.
This is the ONLY audio/video(Dark vid) I have of my pup doing this. You might have to turn up the Volume to hear it, but beware the SHOTS ARE LOUD!
So at first I thought he just wanted some affection b/c he seems to stop when I give him my hand are rub on his face etc. But it does seem like it could be a bit of anxiety too or maybe just being bored in the box?
This is why I said I made need advice or maybe assurance that he's just a young pup that needs Blind Time to calm down? However I obviously don't want this to become a habit either and I do grab his muzzle and pop him when he does it. But that doesn't seem to work....
Do I ignore him? Do I pop him every single time instantly? Do I see how he does the next couple times?
I am having the exact same problem. My dog is not a fire breather at all. She is normally veryy calm in training and has never wimperd at the line for marks or anything. She just turned 13months old and this is her first year hunting (been probably 8 times so far) and she surprisingly is a whinner. It starts soft then progresses to semi loud, then she may let out one high pitched quick bark. this is verry aggravating to deal with and i am hoping that with years of birds birds and more birds and shots and duck calls it will simmer away. I try to correct with a stick "sit" or a stick "quiet" but it does not seem to help much and i just wind up doing it the whole hunting session. but it is hard to correct during training bc she does not do it at the line "yet"
Yea I should also say that he ONLY does this little whimper in the Blind. Never during training etc. and has never barked are opened his mouth to whine. Just the closed mouth whine you hear in the video.
But like seen in the other video, that Dog was 2 Yrs old! and I doubt it was his first time doing that although they said he never was that loud?
I just don't want to have a 2yr old dog doing that.
yea me to i am hoping that with more experience the whinning in my case will go away. I hope its just all new to her and she just wants to go that bad. but maybe someone with alot more experience than me will chime in.
It could be that he's bored or uncomfortable or excited....excited especially if it happens more when you are working ducks than at any other time. My golden used to whine and like your pup all I had to do was give him some attention and he'd stop. As he got older he'd only do it when he got bored and my cure for that was I'd rattle my duck calls on my lanyard or shift my gun and he'd instantly come to attention and stare skyward. This worked like a charm his whole hunting life.
It could be that he's bored or uncomfortable or excited....excited especially if it happens more when you are working ducks than at any other time. My golden used to whine and like your pup all I had to do was give him some attention and he'd stop. As he got older he'd only do it when he got bored and my cure for that was I'd rattle my duck calls on my lanyard or shift my gun and he'd instantly come to attention and stare skyward. This worked like a charm his whole hunting life.
Thanks. That's kind of how he does too. Sitting there he might start, but If I grab my call or my gun *ZAP* eyes forward and up and he's focused. Like in my avatar picture.
You may just have a whiner. I had a buddy that had a dog that would whine.No matter what he did she would whine.It was annoying. In fact his dog was banned from the club he hunted at for whining. I wish I could give you some help. My dog use to whine a little when she was younger,but a tap on the nose and a "no" she stopped. Only did it when hunting. She's 9 now so its been a while since I had to deal with that. Hopefully somebody with some real dog training experince will jump in and help.
As a side note...I had a dog that would bark when riding in the truck or boat. Wouldn't do it any other time. Very annoying. I tried everything,including a bark collar. He'd bark through the zap until the battery run down! Never saw anything like it. I ended up selling that dog, I just couldn't take the barking.
My 4 year old BLF will whine a bit, but only when she's bored and the coots are around. You see when she was a pup and the ducks were few between I would shoot her coots, the coots gave us something to do and built her enthusiasm for the game. I only shot the coots for the first year, but now at the break of dawn when the coots get out of the tules and make their way into the pond my girl just can't figure out why I'm not shooting them for her. I don't have to get physical with her to stop, a simple "quite" usually works for a while.
Other than what was outlined above my dog is not a vocal dog, she does not whine during training or testing. And when the action is good in the blind, not sound. My son says she has ADHD, I can't argue with that.
In reality, the dog wasn't corrected for whining...he was rewarded. Since the pup is not through basics, an ingrained correction process is not in place. This means the pup probably is not fully ready to hunt. If you continue (without a consistent, understood correction process in place), whining will become a negative expectation (bad habit) that will be more difficult to extinguish.
Had the same problem with several dogs. Most recently whining in the Duck blind and the holding blind and trying to always be looking out. I know when you are hunting it is nice if the dog can mark some retrieves. But this cured my dog of whining all the time.
I started in the house making her lay down at my feet where ever we were. (I had to teach her to lay down with the down command.) Then moved that to several holding blinds, move from blind to blind making her sit then with the command "down" she would lay down at my feet. Takes some time but it worked. Finally she gave in and settled down.
Then as we trained I would set up a holding blind 10 to 20 yards from where we were running the other dogs. As the others ran their dogs I would spend time with her laying in the holding blind.
You will not only cure the whining but will establish a great bond with your dog. Eventually when you return to the hunting blind she/he will be as patient as you are.
Now it sounds like your dog is just very excited and wants to do what you have trained him to do, which is to retieve.
May I suggest that you watch a little "Ceasar" THE DOG WHISPERER. This whole process will make alot more sense.
Hi Dustin, I an many others can relate to what Your going through.My dog is three now and we've been dealing with this issue since the first time we started actually hunting. We have tried everything done just about anything trying to quiet him down.We have passed Three finished tests but barely because of whining.I know that two of his litter mates have the same issue.After doing tons of research and talking to some pros, I have come to the conclsion in my case at least that most if not all of this vocalisation is hereditary.Age doesnt seem to be helping much.I know there are pros out there that could help but i dont have the resources for that.I wish i would have waited to hunt over him he was 12 months when i took him. Maybe your dog is to young also.
Yea no doubt he's young and I think it's possible that he still thinks he can do what he wants to do. Since Hunting season started we haven't trained near as hard as we normally do. At the Start of Teal Season we were training 3-5 times a week.
He's only been hunting 4 maybe 5 times. In Teal Season he didn't make a peep b/c it was his first time I guess.
2nd Hunt was short with plenty birds to retrieve so no problem.
3-4th Hunt was this soft whining. his mouth never opens, he just exhales the whine sort of but like I said from popping him with a no to drop kicking him, there's no stopping it.
I've got all access to several blinds and hundreds of acres of rice fields and plan on making full use of them now that Duck Season is Over.
I'm confident that once training picks back up and some more time in the blind with a friend throwing 'Marks' and planting blinds etc I can get it under control.
Thanks for the replies folks.
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