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greydad92

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    Vacation Dilemma / Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Zero is great...8 years old, nice shiny teeth, soft coat, lots of smiles and hugs.

     

    I have a dilemma I'd like to share with you all and interested in your thoughts. I'm going away on a vacation this Summer for a week. It's about 4 hours away with my family. I will going several places where dogs aren't allowed. When I'm at work Zero alone in my house baby-gated into my bedroom, a hallway and the guest room. He's home for ten hours a day with Kongs and toys and does great. He's a very good boy. The problem is, if I travel with him somewhere and have to leave him alone at say my mother's house where he's been several times he doesn't do well, panting, drooling like crazy, chewing up moldings on the doors and goodness knows what else. He doesn't crate well either, I've already gone down that route.

     

    So here are my options (any other suggestions would be appreciated):

    1.) My dog/house sitter isn't available that week. He's a great guy and Zero can be home and "safe"

    2.) I could bring him with me, but just don't trust him in the house alone. I could do the go away for a minute, come back, 2 minutes come back, 3 minutes, come back, etc., etc., etc. thing, but I honestly don't know if that will work. If it doesn't I'm kind of limited as to what I can do as far as going places, doing things, etc.

    3.) Sure I could have family members watch him, but don't really want to "burden" them with that. They all have busy lives during the week as we all do.

    4.) I took him to a local greyhound rescue for a night and they said he did fine in the crate with other greyhounds around. It's just that I left him alone in a crate in my Mom's house once and he actually got out of it and could have killed himself in the process, than God he didn't.

    5.) I thought about finding someone else with a greyhound that could sit him, but he had an "issue" once when left alone with another grey. Who started what I'm not sure.

     

    So there you have it. I'm not sure what to do.

     

    Thanks for reading (listening),

    Zero's Daddy

    Lazy Greyhound

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    That's normal for my nearly 7 year old gray, and even normal for my 3 year old grey. Does he get play time other than a walk? For some reason Angus just seems to need to be off leash and get some energy out and then he's back to laying around everywhere.

     

    Yes, Zero like to play at home with his sqeaky toys. He also has those "greyhound" sperts of energy on his walk where he spins around.....freezes, spins around....freezes....growels....spins around....it's so funny.

    Lazy Greyhound

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted · Edited by aryon92

    Hi All,

     

    Zero's daddy here. First off Zero will be eight in April and he's doing great, my how time flys. The vet gave him a thumbs up on his checkup and said his teeth look great!! That's from brishing them daily. I think I posted something like this a while ago, but are greyhounds as lazy as I think they are? Zero just lays down all over the place. If he's on my bed and I need to make it he'll jump off and get on his bed and lay down. If I'm in the kitchen he lays on the rug right in front of the sink......convenient place eah :) He's a lazy boy indeed. I've also mentioned before that on walks he quite often lags behind me to where I'm almost pulling him along, no limping or anything, just lagging behind. However, when we walk with other greys he always walks in front of me. Sure, he's getting older, but I definitely like to keep him exercised. Other times he walks beside me, but more often walks behind.

     

    Anyway, just a survey to y'all to ask, are your greyhounds lazy? Silly question right? "40 mph couch potatoes".

     

    Sincerely,

    Zeeo's Daddy

    Swallowing All The Time

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Just got back from vet. She took an x-ray df Zero's mid section and it looked normal. She said probably whatever he ate on the golf course may have upset his stomach and may have caused some acid reflux. She gave him a shot of and perscribed Pepsid.

     

    Thanks to all for your comments.

     

    Sincerely,

    Tony

    Swallowing All The Time

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Very strange behavior from my greyhound this morning. I was getting ready to take Zero out and all of a sudden he started swallowing like something was stuck in his throat or he was going vomit, but he never ate anything. I took him outside and he immediately started eating the slush on the ground and the grass. He kept doing that no matter where we went in the yard. He peed, I brought him back inside, still swallowing. His breathing seems to be ok. I gave him his breakfast thinking that it could wash down whatever was in his throat, but he was still swallowing. Now it's about 1/2 later and he's still doing it. He's also extremely clingy to me, following me around the house more than usual. I don't know what this is. If it keeps up for much longer I'm going to take him to the emergency room. Has anyone ever seen this in their greyhound?

     

    Sincerely,

    Tony (Zero's daddy)

    Ingestion Of 1/2 Loaf Of Bread

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    Zero's daddy here. I went to the grocery store and made another quick stop. While I was in the store Zero got into my shopping band and ate 1/2 loaf of very dense whole wheat bread.

    Should I take him to the vet? What should I look out for? I know lots of poop to come. What. Should I do? Just one piece of this bread is is 100 calories, contains 4 grams of fiber. He probably ate ten plus slices.

     

    Sincerely,

    Tony

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    ""Zero actually sleeps in his crate on his bed every night, with the crate door open of course. My mom has a six bedroom six bathroom house with antiques. There is a lot to get into. I don't think I'd feel comfortable letting him have run of the house with no one home""

     

    This is why people are suggesting the muzzle. Very simple solution, free run and muzzle. If you are going to do the alone training (which is where you should start), you cant go straight to 5 minutes. More like 5 seconds, then 20 seconds,ect. If at any time you hear whining, or barking, you have been gone too long and need to make the duration shorter.

     

    Chad

     

    Thanks for the suggestion Chad. I'll do the 5 sec, 20 sec. thing.

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Tony, how you and Zero getting along ?? You know my Boy Morty would to freak totaly out ,if I lock him into a Room( not to mention a Crate and Room ) . He needs to see ,that his World around him is ok and trusts you to come back for him. Would Mom be ok , if you confine him to a smaller Area with a Babygate (that you have in your Car visiting People ) . Zero is such a good Boy and Companion . I am glad ,he did not get hurt more seriosly . Give him hugs from me :grouphug:grouphug:grouphug

     

    I'll totally give him a hug for you. He is a very good boy. Mom would totally be fine if I confine him with a baby gate. Luckily she has friends in the area that can stay with him at her house if we go out to dinner or something like that for short periods of time. It looks like that may be the best answer to this, but I would like him to be abble to stay relaxed when left alone though in those situations.

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I think what you're seeing is a general feeling this isn't separation anxiety, per se. He didn't freak out because you left. He freaked out because you locked him in his cage (and sleeping in a cage at night, at home, with the door open isn't the same thing AT ALL), and shut the door to the room. He can't see anything that might be going on.

     

    If your mother insists on him being crated (for what it's worth, almost everything I own is an antique, and absolutely everything my mother owns is an antique--things don't last hundreds of years if they're so delicate they can't withstand a dog walking around the house), perhaps you could put him out in the main living area?

     

    Better still, what about baby gating him into, say, the kitchen?

     

    Give him a Kong, turn on the radio, and I bet he'd be just fine!

     

    Hi George,

    Thanks for your response. Even if Zero is home in or out of his crate and I'm out doing yard work, mowing the lawn or anything right outside the house, he freaks as well. He's chewed up a window sill, drools all over and pants. However, when I go to work and leave him for ten hours a day he's fine.

     

     

    The next time I go to Mom's house I'll try the baby gate thing. I'll also do the 'leave him for 5 minutes, check, 10 minutes, check, 20 minutes, check, etc.' so he gets used to it.

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Carl can't be crated either. I had him in a big wire crate, dog bed and blankets and water. Came home to him waiting at the front door - also with paint chips on his head. He had broken the soldering on the crate, my downstairs neighbor described the sound as someone lifting the crate up about 6" and dropping it - over and over again. I was lucky, he didn't destroy his teeth and only had superficial cuts. The crate and the door sustained terrible damage.

     

    I did lots of alone training with him, took an obedience class, tried a DAP diffuser, all sorts of music and herbal concoctions, but ultimately there were four things that helped him turn the corner. Medication, chlomipramine hydrochloride sometimes in conjunction with diazapam (which he was on for 4 - 5 months), intense alone training while he was on the medication, using my home phone and cell phone as a long distance baby monitor and wearing a muzzle while I'm gone (which to this day he still wears even when I'm going to be gone for a short trip). Baby gates - torn down. This boy will not be contained.

     

    I was freaked out by the muzzle, but it was recommended by two groups independent of each other. They assured me that he was no stranger to muzzles having been a racer, that it wasn't considered a punishment, and that he would be able to eat, drink, play and even, godforebid, throw up safely while wearing it. The first time I put it on him I could see him physically relax, his body just went from very very tense to relaxed.

     

    I'd get a muzzle, maybe at your mom's house you could set up a couple of rooms that he could be in using an ex pen...while wearing the muzzle.

     

    Best of luck to you and Zero. He can get through this, but really needs your help and dedication to whatever it takes to learn new coping behaviors while you are gone.

     

    Medication will be an absolute last resort. I'd rather him not be on one because he is fine most of the time. Would I have to have him on meds all the time or is this as a need to use basis? I will do whatever it takes to help my boy. I should have known better about leaving him in that crate.

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Sounds like crate anxiety to me. And most dogs hate being in a closed room. Have you tried just letting him be loose? You've had him for a while by now. He should be pretty well adapted to being in a house.

     

    I can't even imagine what George would do confined in a crate, in bedroom, with the door closed. That would be his idea of torture.

     

    Left to his own devices, he sleeps on my bed, or his bed. No issues whatsoever.

     

    Zero actually sleeps in his crate on his bed every night, with the crate door open of course. My mom has a six bedroom six bathroom house with antiques. There is a lot to get into. I don't think I'd feel comfortable letting him have run of the house with no one home

     

    I'm sorry to hear this.

     

    As already stated in a previous post, he might be a greyhound that doesn't crate - both of my greyhounds are like that - they are so bad that they would hurt themselves to get out of the crate.

     

    You might need to work on leaving him baby gated in one room at your mother's house and going out for 10 minutes and coming back and then increasing the time gradually so that he knows that you will come back.

     

    One note, way back when I was working on this with Larry he was able to use his mouth to open my back door - it sounds like Zero may also have this "skill" so make sure that you take appropriate safeguards with the main door out of the house.

     

    Hi MaryJane,

     

    Thanks for the advise :) Zero actually sleeps in his crate every night, with the door open of course. Thanks again.

     

    I can't even imagine what George would do confined in a crate, in bedroom, with the door closed. That would be his idea of torture.

     

    I could not agree more. My Murray would lose his mind locked in a room inside a crate with the door closed.

     

    Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for your response

    Zero - Separation Anxiety

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Hi All,

     

    This past weekend I went to visit my mother in Pennsylvania. I went down Saturday and came back today. Sunday, Mom & I went to church. I put Zero in his very large metal wire crate in my bedroom with his bed, a Kong & water. Air conditioning was on and talk radio was playing softly in the background. I shut my bedroom door and proceeded to go to church with my mother. We returned two hours later. When she unlocked her front door, Zero was standing there with paint chips on his face, obviously shaken up. I went up stairs and found that he chewed and broke up 1/3 of the plastic bottom of the crate and he managed to squeeze his way through the bottom front of the crate to get out. He then proceeded to chew the molding on the side of the bedroom door to bits and somehow managed to open the door. There was probably 1/2 cup of drool on the floor.

     

    Zero is lucky he didn’t rip himself open and kill himself getting out of that crate, but he had no injuries thank God. He obviously has extreme separation anxiety. When he’s home and has access to my bedroom and guest room 10-hours-a-day he’s fine. However, if I leave him in his crate and I go outside to mow the lawn or do yard work he barks non-stop and I find him drooling all over himself. I’ve run into issues with him before leaving him alone in my mothers house. The last time I was there he was uncrated and left in my bedroom with the door shut. He chewed the molding by the door up pretty badly.

     

    I’m very upset by all this. I’m going to work as hard as I can to resolve this. I would appreciate sharing any information you have have about this.

     

    Sincerely,

    Aryon92

    Sudden Dizziness In Greyhound

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Thanks all for the kind words. I'm beating myself up over the money for the vet bill because I really couldn't afford it. However, I took Zero to the animal hospital because I wanted only the best for him. Deep down I cared and it was that good person inside me that only wanted the best for him. He's doing really well actually. His dizziness is getting better :-)

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