The Shar-Pei Forums-Health Behavior Diet & Rescue Info and Discussion Group

I'm wondering if anybody has suggestions for helping to calm a wound up, whining Pei?

Annabel is almost 8 months old, and she has always been pretty vocal. Lately though her whining has really been over the top. She seems to get in this hyper-vigilant guarding mode where she runs from door to door to window and back again whining and huffing at absolutely anything and everything, and I have no idea how to console her or redirect her energy.

Whining is annoying. Have you gently pushed on her lower jaw while she is whining and given her a shhhhh?
With a firm pinch on the scruff of her neck or rib cage? Mimics their mother's behavior. Only do it
carefully not to reach too fast and scare her or she will bite.

Teach her appropriate vocalizations. She may have missed this lesson from her dame or sire.
We mimmick quiet barking. Very soft 'woof' 'woof' sounds so our dogs learn 'quiet barking' when they
see the mailman or neighbors walking across the street from our home.
If my dogs over alert at the window, we block their view by closing the curtain
or removing their bench. They learn really quick how to be
quiet nosey parkers. We also sit with our younger dogs or rescues for a few weeks
at the window and see what they are alerting to and instruct. Shhh, 'quiet woof' command for normal activities.
and we stay quiet when a stranger comes to the door and allow a louder bark.

Also, when a dog runs away like that they are anxious.
Tether the dog and teach it to lay down near you.
keep tethering until the running whining is minimized.
It takes a few weeks.
Age appropriate behavior. Annabel is asking you to teach
her 'how to guard' appropriately.

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mmmm koda does this from time to time av found that hes got a lot of built up energy that he cant deal with in the house so i take him to the field at the end of the road and let him run mad for at least 30mins then when we get back in hes settled and calms down hes bout 7months now.i call it his cabin fever whin lol hope this helps

I tend to think this is anxiety as well and to redirect you need to catch it right before it starts as she is showing signs and take out to walk , run , play or use it for training time . These are young pups and they need stimulation as well as excersise.
Some times a mental game of hide and seek or finding a toy or chewy is a good redirection as well
And you need to not allow anxious unwanted barking

In addition, I wouldn't rule out that Annabel may have some pain that's been affecting her.

When Boo was in pain from a recent surgery and had an ear infection I didn't know about, she sat in her crate for a week, and was possessive of her crate area, her food, and was often grumpy when I approached her while she slept. She paced and grunted a lot during that time. Since being healed and having her ears cleaned, she's been back to her normal behavior.

Thank you for all of your advice! Annabel is my first dog, and as she is entering adolescence I definitely FEEL like a first time parent!

What is an effective way to teach her not to anxious bark? We did puppy kindergarten and have some of the basics down (most of the time) - sit, stay, leave it. But the anxious whining and barking is a new thing and she has me a little baffled lately.

more exercise...mine whine like crazy if I don't get up to let them out in the morning (no sleeping in for this girl!). They also whine at any wildlife (birds, coyotes, rabbits) they see through the window. As far as redirecting - a few thrown balls down the hallway (say 5-6 times) to get her tuckered out is good. correction with a water bottle (squirt variety) is another way to stop whining and/or barking if timed right.

M'boi sometimes gets very anxious about something or someone she sees out of the living room window and will start to whine and pace backwards and forwards from door to window.

I've found the best way to calm her down is to stand next to her at the window, put my arm round her neck so her body is in contact with mine and talk to her quietly. I'll ask her what is it she can see and tell her it's nothing to worry about .... it's only a bird or the delivery man or whatever.

What you say doesn't matter .... it's the calm voice that counts and the positive energy you're transmitting through your body.