# The whining won't stop.. AND always hungry.



## madicloer (Jul 12, 2015)

My 6.5 month old male is great. He is obedient, loves his crate, socialized well, knows 10+ commands.. BUT he ALWAYS whines and is super vocal. It's cute sometimes, but he "talks" and whines constantly. When he's hungry, wants to go outside, when he's tired, when he wants me to pet him, for no reason at all sometimes. Any idea on how to make that stop? We also have a 1 year and 4 months year old gsd/husky mix who never whines and isn't vocal at all.

Another thing, he's always hungry. When we first got him as a puppy, he was malnourished because he was found in the woods at around 6 weeks old. We started off feeding him 3-4 times a day in smaller increments because that's what the vet recommended, but every since we changed it to 2 times a day, every time we feed him he scarfs his food down and whines afterwards. I'm worried maybe we aren't feeding him enough. As of now, he is 77 pounds and still gaining quickly. We are feeding him 2.5 cups of purina pro plan large breed puppy in the morning and 2.5 at night. 


Sorry this was so long, just a worried fur-mom worried about her baby.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Hi madi,
I don't believe that the Purina is meeting your pups nutritional needs and he's hungry.

I'm not criticizing you here on your dog food choice....just presenting the facts. Meat's & Fish should always be NAMED. ........Salmon/Salmon Oil, Lamb, etc......

Purina products contain poor and questionable ingredients. 
Chicken, Brewers rice, Corn gluten meal (left overs from the human food chain), Whole grain corn, Poultry * by-product* meal (by-product meal could be ANYTHING with feathers!), Whole grain wheat, Animal fat (WHAT animal???)preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), Pea fiber, Fish meal (WHICH fish???), Dried egg product, Animal digest (probably the worst ingredient! Un-Known sources), Fish oil (WHICH fish???),

Compare to this: Orijen Puppy: _Boneless chicken*, chicken meal, chicken liver*, whole herring*, boneless turkey*, turkey meal, turkey liver*, whole eggs*, boneless walleye*, whole salmon*, chicken heart*, chicken cartilage*, herring meal, salmon meal, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, chicken liver oil, sun-cured alfalfa, yams*, pea fiber, chickpeas, pumpkin*, butternut squash*, spinach greens*, carrots*, Red Delicious apples*, Bartlett pears*, cranberries*, blueberries*, kelp, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, Enterococcus faecium. 

_Also, check the treats you are feeding.

I think if you change your kibble (always do this SLOWLY) you will see a big difference.

Here are some other quality kibbles to consider:
These are the grain free varieties but scan thru the site to find the "Puppy" version.
*ACANA REGIONALS (grain free):* Acana Regionals | Acana Store locator: Store Locator | Acana
*
FROMM'S FOUR STAR (grain free): *Four-Star Gourmet Recipes for dogs - Fromm Family Foods locator: Find a store that carries Fromm
4 Star Non Grains include: Beef Frittata, Surf N Turf, Salmon Tunalini, Pork & Peas, Lamb & Lentil, or Game Bird.

*THE HONEST KITCHEN DEHYDRATED FOOD: *EMBARK: Embark - Grain Free, High Protein Dog Food | The Honest Kitchen Store Locator: Where to Buy Honest Kitchen - Honest Kitchen Stores | The Honest Kitchen A 10# box RE-hydrates to about 35 pounds of food.

*Nature's Variety* (not Nature's Recipe) Instinct Healthy, Natural Kibble Products for Dogs | Instinct Pet Food for Dogs and Cats 
Store locator: Find A Store | Nature's Variety

*Nature's Logic* *(Gluten Free):* Our son's dog is sensitive to lentils and pea products so we went with a "Gluten Free" kibble and he's doing great! Dog Products Archives - Nature's LogicNature's Logic Fine a retailer: Store Locator - Nature's Logic

Treats:
*Bravo Bonus Bites:* are 100% all meat, and made from all natural, antibiotic-free, grain free meats and organ meat protein sources.
Example:_ "Dry Roasted" Buffalo Liver: _Ingredients Grass-fed buffalo liver.
_"Freeze Dried Treats" - Venison Liver:_ Ingredients Grass-fed venison liver.


Good luck with your puppy!

Moms


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## MayzieGSD (Aug 28, 2006)

If you can figure out how to stop the whining, let me know! :laugh:


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Is he super boney/skinny? How does he LOOK, not so much how is he acting. 

We don't want our puppy's to be fat, but not boney either. And the amounts my pups are fed during the first year change ALOT from month to month. I always use the recommended amounts on the bags of food as just a starting point. After that I look at my dog and how they feel/look to adjust as needed.

Currently my dogs are doing best on Taste of the Wild, the bison mix. By around 6 months all my dogs are on adult food.

For whining, I've found the more proactive I can be with dog classes, hiking, exercising and socializing. The more tired my pup is when in the house and more likely they are going to go 'lie down' and not come back for a few hours! Can't be fast asleep in their beds and following me around whining at the same time


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

My dog whines ALOT. When he is happy, sad, hungry, tired, excited, etc. He is such a whiner. Annoys the heck out of me. But, a stern quite usually settles him down in the house. Car is another question. 

Food...get a higher quality food for him. Something that is reasonably priced and good quality would be Fromm (but you will need to feed alot of it) or Dr. Tim's momentum. We are on our second bag of it and he is getting 4.5 cups a day which equates to 2600 calories roughly.


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## Apoolutz (Jan 19, 2013)

I would try a better food


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## T-Bone'sMamma (Mar 3, 2012)

My GSD pup loves to tell me everything on his mind  My previous GSD also always did. We called it his "whistling" since he would always just whine at that pitch, lol. I think it may just be a GSD thing. 

My puppy has been switched to Fromm and it hasn't slowed down his appetite at all, even though it is considered one of the best foods. Granted he is only 4 months. If your guy isn't wormy, underweight, dull coated, etc and there is no change after a food switch to something more nourishing,... he may just like to eat.


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## XindisMom (Jun 14, 2015)

MayzieGSD said:


> If you can figure out how to stop the whining, let me know! :laugh:


Regarding whining... My baby girl, aged 10 mos, loves to whine and bark and whistle, etc. 

Recently, she had really upped the ante and barks at all sorts of things she never used to bark at or whine at. I do not consider barking or whining as a sign of protection or any other beneficial dog behavior. 

For this reason, I correct her harshly for barking at things she never used to bark at. As for the whining: I try to guage the level of whining, (just like I did with my human kids when they were babies) if the whining was soft and controlled, I ignore it. If the whine is escalating because she's ramping up to get barkey (with no real dangerous stimulus)I give her a firm correction. 

It's taken work to determine the best correction for my wonderful strong willed girl, but thanks to this forum, Ceasar Milan's videos plus Leerburg, I think I've found the best method to correct her. 

To sum it up: mild whining is fine. Whining as a way to warm up to barking at stimuli that do not warrant barking is not. 

So far, so good! She did whine once today as I walked past her to go to my car while she was in the backyard. I said "No". No more whines. She did one bark a few mins later and I said "no!". She listened. 

If she had made another whine or bark, she would have received a correction. I'm trying to teach her not to bark at stimuli that aren't a threat!


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## T-Bone'sMamma (Mar 3, 2012)

Oops, I waited too long to add something to my previous reply so had to make a new one. 

How are his stools? Stools can be a great indicator or malabsorption issues, which can often leave a dog feeling hungry. Color, consistency, and frequency?


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

My Newlie is also very vocal, not just whines and not necessarily barks, but a range of sounds that he makes to communicate. On the good side, I am rarely in any doubt as to his feelings about anything. I do think that it does tend to be kind of a shepherd thing. On the other hand, there are times when I pull out the "mom" card and tell him the equivalent of "Not one more word." That is the word "Quiet" which he seemed to learn pretty easily once he learned the word "Speak." I won't kid you, it has worked well on barking, not as well on whining, etc, but that is my error. I used the word speak a couple of times when he barked, and then when he stopped, I would say "quiet" and praise him. Now I need to do the same thing when he whines or talks if I want him to be quiet


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

When he whines do not give him what he wants. Just as if he was barking or whining in a crate to get out you wait for them to stop and quiet down then let them out. Otherwise they are taught to whine/bark and they get what they want. Then he will probably adopt a most pitiful face to torture you when they want something. Gsds are very communicative. When max was a real young pup 10 weeks if he wanted more water he would sit and bark at the sink or fridge(where is bottles of water come from) now he will just stare at. If im not paying attention he make let out a bark.


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