Review the sentence:
Whining in a pitiful manner, Rodney waited for a commercial break to let
the dog in from the rain.
Whining in a pitiful manner, a participle phrase, comes right before Rodney, an illogical target. Rodney is warm and dry in the house, so what does he have to be whining about? It is the poor, wet dog who is crying to come in!
Before you continue, review the rules for misplaced and dangling modifiers.