Whining/scratching

Hi,

I'm new here and this is my first post

I have a 17 week old tricolour, Charlie and we have one big problem! He can't stand to be locked out of a room when we're in it and he'll whine and scratch at the door. For instance, we've just been to the park and now he's wet and muddy so we've had to lock him in his room on his bed but he won't sit still. He does this all the time, but when we got and leave him in the house alone he's fine. He doesn't chew or make a mess of anything.

Can anyone recommend some help in getting him to stop? I just keep going out every now and then, sitting him on his bed and giving him so love (so he doesn't think he's been bad!)


Other than this he's a gorgeous very well behaved little puppy!

Well, what you have to be careful of is that you are not "rewarding" his whining unintentionally by giving him love whenever he does it. It's easy to fall into that trap because of course we feel bad for them when they are upset. But it sets up the reinforcement pretty quickly in his mind that scratching and whining brings you in the room for loving, but sitting quietly only gets him ignored. It would be much better to reward him during the odd time that he is being quiet, but it's much harder to time those rewards!

Is is room a closed solid door, or is it a baby gate that he can see out of? I would think it would be kind of scary for a young puppy to be closed into a small room where he can't see or hear anyone. I would think a baby gate that he can see through would be preferable.

I have no help for you- my three still do this and *have* to be in the same room with me. That's one of the things with Cavaliers- they have to be with their people.

My dogs would never understand why they were closed off in another room with no one.
If I were your dog I'd think this (just had the time of my life with my peeps and now I am being punished, wth did they forget me). He is still a pup, he doesn't understand isolation as a necessity. I would just was his muddy butt off and put him in a crate or x-pen where he can see you.

I would just was his muddy butt off and put him in a crate or x-pen where he can see you.

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Absolutely! Invest in a wire crate so he can easily see out, get a drying coat he can wear if needed. Just rinse off the mud and dry him off with a towel and put him in a crate. You can get a cavalier sized crate -- I like the small to medium sized wire crates -- for very little, under 40 pounds. It will be better money spent then on a trainer to help resolve all the anxiety behaviour problems that may well result from locking a dog away. Cavaliers are not a breed that does well locked away when everyone is home in the house and they know you are there.

It is in the breed standard for a Cavalier to want to be affectionate with you. They love the company of people, but I also understand why you don't want a wet muddy pup trotting around everywhere.

A X-pen is a good idea, or a baby-gate. The most important thing they see is that you haven't forgotten them. Teddy was always extremely afraid of that so I always had to have a baby gate anywhere that I didn't want him to go without closing the door. I wouldn't use a crate if he isn't ready for it. He is probably still in play mode and I like a crate to be peaceful and quite.

maybe the best thing to do is put him in the sink and just rinse, NOT WASH, him off and then towel dry so that he can still be with you and not make a mess!

Best of luck!

I agree with the xpen or crate or gate the door you want him behind instead of having a barrier he can't see thru.
You might want to also make the times he spends in the xpen or crate a time that he gets a kong filled with yummies or a chewy bone. He will begin to look forward to that time.