Whining Boxer...

[billyp]

I'm a bit confused as to how to fix this problem.
Taika is 16 mths old and has been a whiner all of her life.
She whines mostly when we take her on a walk and wants to go see other dogs. She doesn't whine for food nor does she whine for any other particular reason.
Now she knows how to walk on leash and the basic obedience command like stay heel sit etc...
When I walk her and she starts whining I try to have her in a sit position which she accepts for a few seconds.... However, as soon as she sits the whining goes excessive. She whines, cry, and what I really don't like is that she gets to the point where she starts shaking. I've tried not moving until she stops (waited up to 20 minutes on the same spot and she never calmed down). Also, she forgets everything she knows when she's started her show...she pulls on the leash, won't come when called, won sit/stay or anything...
I've tried bringing her to different places, parks with lots of dogs, other places with less dogs and more people...and it is always the same story.
Anyone has an idea of what I should do?

[luckypenny]

Do you make her sit when she sees another dog? What is the other dog doing while you have her sit?

I would try to keep her moving rather than have her stay still. This way she's not given a chance to fixate on whatever is distracting her. Have you tried teaching her the 'LOOK' command? It's quite simple but you have to practice often. You can start indoors and gradually take it outdoors. I used tiny treats as rewards when I began to teach my dogs and then used them randomly when we practiced. You hold a treat near your eye and (when Taika is in the same room as you but not looking at you) say "Taika, look." When she does, praise her and give her the treat. When she looks at you (actually the treat held near your eye) every time you give the command, you can start to just point at your eye when you say, "Taika, look." Continue with the rewards but you shouldn't give them to her all the time. Once she's understood what's expected of her, you can follow the look command with another such as come, sit, heel, etc. This is very handy when you need to distract and re-direct her.

Ok, once she's got it indoors, in the yard, and then elsewhere, try it next time she sees another dog. Say, "Laika look, good girl. Laika heel, good girl." It will help if you do this when she's at a distance from another dog and not when she's only a few feet away. At first, don't continue walking forwards but change directions instead until the other dog is out of sight. With lots of practice and patience, she will eventually look at you for direction instead of becoming distracted by another dog. Remember, every time she looks at you, tell her what to do and praise her.

[BoxerMom]

Let her know the behavior is not desireable (by a quick 'no', or such). Do this EVERYTIME. Be consistant and reward when she does good...She'll get it if you STICK TO IT!

[billyp]

well I'll give the look command a try this is somthing that i'd nerver thought about.
And I'll also try having her walking in the opposite position where she cannot be distracted by the other dogs even though that will be a bit of a struggle I know that she will do everything in her power to look at the dogs and go towards them...
But I'm pretty sure to look command will do no harm thanks!! will let u know...

[billyp]

boxermom I see you have 3 boxers!!!! that's gotta be something!!!!

[Prin]

Also, be careful not to reward it. If when she goes nuts on you, you release her from the sit, she'll learn quickly that to get out of a sit, she just has to be a brat...