Laurenbiz

A few questions about the items on your list - and some that I didn't see. You say she's fine when you leave. Are you ignoring her, avoiding eye contact, and just exiting the house? If you make an emotionally-loaded departure (pet her, say, "Oh, I'll miss you, I'll be back," etc.,) then this may increase her anxiety once you actually leave the house. Are you playing classical music during other times of the day when you are home with her? If the classical music only gets turned on once you're ready to leave, this may be a trigger for her and she'll see this as a sign of you leaving. Have you done alone training? Leave your house for 30 seconds and come back in, multiple times. Then one minute and come back in. Then two minutes, and so on. If she starts howling at, say, two minutes, then don't try to keep increasing the time. Alone training for the humans is pretty tedious, but it can really help the dog! Good luck PS - I've learned from Bernie that a dog with separation anxiety can look just dandy when you leave the house. But, that anxiety is there! His problems have been bad enough that he is now taking antidepressants, and even though he is lounging on his dog bed as I leave, his anxiety is still there since he exhibits his typical SA behaviors later!

Let me add! Closed door: A friend of ours kept discouraging us about getting a Greyhound during our adoption process. He told us the same story, over and over, about his former neighbors and their Greyhound. He said that they couldn't crate the hound, so they put him in a bathroom and closed the door. They said that their house had $10,000 worth of water damage because the dog went nuts and somehow flipped the drain stop on the sink and had turned the faucet on, causing the bathroom to flood! Whatever, we still adopted a Greyhound, and we didn't listen to our friend. But, yes!...It's true what other posters are saying about Greyhounds panicking behind closed doors. Crate: Bernie escaped his crate just a few weeks ago. He bent the bars, and I found white fur and blood on the inside of the crate. He had cuts all over his body. Bye bye, crate! SA: Bernie's SA never seemed to decrease in the 4+ months we did alone training, counter-conditioning, obedience class, DAP diffusers - collar - spray, Rescue Remedy, two daily walks, calming dog music, I mean the list really goes on and on and on. Until recently, the one thing we hadn't tried is anti-anxiety medication. He's been on Clomipramine for about a month now, and we really are seeing progress. Bernie's issue is that he urinates or defecates in the crate/safe room/run of the house whenever he is alone. He hasn't really damaged anything like your hound. I hate to make it sound like I'm all for medicine being the answer to any problem - I'm not. But, considering that Bernie's SA doesn't even sound as intense as your hound's, medication may at least be something you might want to consider. Before that, though, does she have the other, more simple factors to keep her calm when alone? - Music and/or TV - Lavender oil or DAP diffuser/spray? - Your comings and going are boring, and you ignore her? Bernie seems to be more panicky during alone periods that I haven't had music on. Plus, leaving stuffed kongs, bully sticks, etc., for him is pretty useless. (I still do it, though!) Even though this is a common strategy for dealing with SA, I've found that Bernie is so nervous being alone that he could care less about any treats around him. Good luck. I know how you feel!

Bernie seems to be picky with his kibble, too. He is on TOTW Sierra Mountain, which is the lamb protein. He scarfs down his whole food bowl when I do this: * Use softened wet dog food and mix in about 1 - 1.5 spoonfuls (take the dog food and mix it with warm water first and mush it up so it's really soft!) thoroughly into he kibble so there are no chunks * Take about two spoonfuls of ground chuck and mix that into the kibble so, again, he can't eat out actual chunks * Take one spoonful of nonfat yogurt and stir it in a little Boom, food is gone! He loves it. I haven't tried the raw hamburger until recently. But, every time I've used that in his food, he LOVES it.

No no no! Some friends of ours have even told Justin and I, "Hey, just get another dog," to solve Bernie's SA. We have absolutely no proof that this would help him. We also don't know if the new dog may even contribute to it!...we may have tinkle and poops alone - DOUBLED! We aren't opposed to getting another dog, but we are convinced to get Bernie well on his own before adding another dog into the mix. I don't think it's right to add another dog to a situation, in some effort to fix things, in which the first dog isn't balanced himself. You could always try fostering another Greyhound, or volunteering with your local rescue group to be a pet-sitter for people going out of town. Also, I've heard many SA stories regarding multiple-dog households where a dog still has bad SA when the owner leaves. A friend of mine has 2 pedigree Goldens and 2 Cardigan Welsh Corgis. One of the Goldens is on meds because she panics so much when the owner leaves - even though she clearly isn't alone around three other dogs! Many times, I believe SA is the anxiety caused by the person/dog separation. The dog is panicked because its person has left him/her. (I've seen similar stories even here on Greytalk.) Keep us updated!

I got the belly band for Bernie through KV Vet Supply. I'm not sure the exact URL - but you can find them if you Google them. KV Vet has always gotten my order shipped out within 1 business day, and I've never had problems. I'm always happy to shop with them. I believe his is called a 'Male Doggy Wrap' or 'Male Canine Wrap' or something along those lines. I took a piece of string to measure around his groin so I knew what size to get.

Hey, you are not alone in your predicament! Our closest doggie daycare is in Madison, WI - which is 45 min. the wrong direction from my work. A doggie daycare facility is not feasible for us, and neither is dropping Bernie off at someone's house, or letting someone come into our house when we aren't home. Somebody told us, "Take Bernie to his grandparents' house during the day!" Since Justin and I aren't originally from WI, we don't really have any relatives near us. (And Bernie's grandparents are 8 hours away!)

He sounds somewhat like my Bernie boy, who has bad SA. We got Bernie this past October. Just like Kevin, we received reports that Bernie did not have accidents at his foster home. We left him alone in his crate on Day 1 for less than an hour when we went to grab fast food for dinner. We came back to tinkle on the floor outside his crate. And, it never stopped. We've done crate training, alone training, other behavior modification exercises, DAP collar/diffuser/spray, etc., Rescue Remedy - everything. (No, really, my list goes on and on and on and on....) Because Bernie either urinates and/or defecates when he is alone probably at least 90% of the time, we've finally started him on Clomipramine recently. He seems to be less anxious, but we still come home to potties in the house sometimes. I know he is still getting used to the medication. So, here is my guess. I can actually see that Bernie's seratonin levels in his brain are more in sync than what they were prior. His shaking, panting, trembling, howling are now non-existent. Yet, he is still urinating in the house sometimes while he's alone. But, based off his behavior as I leave the house, (he's just resting on a dog bed and does not have a care in the world,) I wouldn't say that he has S.A. But I know he does. Like you said, Kevin doesn't seem to have S.A. But from your info, I get the idea that he is only urinating in the house/crate when he is alone? To me, that signals something! Good idea with the urine sample to rule out a UTI - you never know. You've only had to clean up 3 tinkle spots in your house!?...You're a novice! (Bernie can't be crated...go figure...!) Alone training, alone training, alone training! Good luck! I'm interested to see what other posters have to say.

Hello! My Bernie is on Clomipramine, which I believe is the same as Clomicalm. (Clomicalm is just the brand name, I'm pretty sure.) We started him Jan. 24th, and he was on 25mg the first two weeks. Just recently, the vet has bumped him up to 50mg. His anxiety issues have basically gotten better. The trembling, panting, and howling as we're simply getting ready for our day - even 30 or 45 minutes before we leave - have completely disappeared. He just lays around the house now! Occasionally, we are still coming home to find some urine spots and/or poop after we've left him alone. (His urinating/defecating in the house were his big SA issue - not as much destruction.) He did escape the crate and bend some bars during the second week we had him on Clomipramine. He's never done this before! We found blood inside the crate after this, and he had cuts all over his body. I said - Nope, if he's capable of this, I'm not putting him in there again. So, we got rid of the crate. Since that issue during his second week on the meds, he hasn't had any problems and he has gotten better. What dosage is your dog on? My guesses are: * The mg is too high, too soon (we had 25mg for the first two weeks) * This type of anti-depressant just isn't working, and you may want to try a different one * Clomipramine patients may just have a weird regression at two weeks, like Bernie did (I have no clue if this is true - but if your regression is at, say, two weeks now, and I saw that happen with Bernie, this is at least a guess!) Good luck, and keep us posted!

Hi everyone- We got our four-year-old Bernie boy back in October. He had nice, soft fur when we adopted him. He also had a lot of spotting/ticking in his white areas. Within just the past month, he now has a bald butt and a bald belly. Even the fur on the outside of his back thighs, and on the front of his shoulders/below his neck is also bald. The spots are also gone. ??? This fur has disappeared so quickly. Even at Christmas time, he had nice, thick fur. I do pour in a pinch of cod liver oil in his food, twice a day. * Is this a concern? * And, will his thicker fur ever come back? Thanks!

:yay

I forgot to add that the number I've read about Greyhounds sleeping is that they sleep on average 16-18 hours a day. I think my Bernie is determined to beat that statistic, though, by the way he sleeps! Remember, Greyhounds are one of the 'laziest' dog breeds out there. I might argue that they are THE laziest.

Ummm, yes. He will sleep forever, considering that he is a Greyhound Eight days is nuthin'. My rescue group's adoption rep told us the same thing time and time again during our adoption process: It takes roughly a year for your new Greyhound's personality to really develop. So, if your guy is scared of pots and pans after only a week with you - don't be alarmed! He's adjusting, and will probably be over the coming months.

Well, this may not be an allergy, but this happens to me! If I'm around cigarette smoke, I immediately fall into a sneezing attack. After lots of doctor visits a few years back concerning sinus problems, I did find out that my body treats cigarette smoke as an irritant - and not actually an allergen - which makes my sinuses act up with the smoke! I'd say it's possible that Phoebe can be sensitive like this, too. My aunt smokes, and she has a Bichon, named Buddy. He has developed such a funny quirk with his owner's smoking. When he hears the sound of the lighter, he snarls his teeth and turns his head away from her! It's really funny. Even though I love my aunt, this is totally what her dog should do!

My Bernie has bad SA, which has caused him to pee in the house/crate nearly every period that he's been alone at home since we got him in October. Now he's on anti-depressants. So trust me, I feel like -the- tinkle-cleaner-upper expert. (I'm not suggesting your guy has S.A. - from what you said, I would not assume that.) When Bernie wetted on our carpet, we did this: * Use tons of paper towels to very, very thoroughly soak it all up * Use Nature's Miracle enzymatic cleaner (got mine at a local pet food supply store called Mounds Pet Food Warehouse - it's like a Petco/Petsmart) * Squirt the Nature's Miracle all over the stain, and also within a 6-inch radius beyond the obvious spot * Let it set for at least 10 minutes * Thorough wipe this up with paper towels * Repeat if necessary - really! * Later, after the Nature's Miracle finally dried, we got a carpet and upholstery cleaner in a bottle (Bissell brand, I believe) with a brush cap - we used that to scrub the life out of the carpet in that whole area (usually the next day) This got rid of the smell completely I think it's important to get the enzymatic cleaner even around where he urinates. In the process of urinating, there can be little urine droplets that bounce off the floor and land 5 inches away on the floor, for example. He may be smelling even these droplets, which makes him think that area is the bathroom!

Since the dog bent crate bars, I suggest that crate just leave the house! My Bernie has had bad S.A. the whole time he's been with us since October 2010 when we adopted him. We did try crating him to contain his inappropriate urinating/defecating inside the house when he was alone. (This is S.A. - no UTI or other medical problems to cause that behavior.) But, just a few weeks ago, we came home to a dog wandering the house and the crate still closed and latched - but with many bars bent, white dog hair and blood inside the crate. Bernie had moderately-sized cuts and scrapes all over his body. He'd escaped. Our crate left the kitchen that day! It is folded up now in the basement. If this dog is bending crate bars, then I say that crate just needs to go. For me, my concern for Bernie's health and safety is a much higher priority than my frustration for doing a load of dirty laundry and mopping my kitchen after he potties inside. I just can't leave him crated knowing that he did slightly injure himself - and knowing that he is still at risk if I crate him again!

I'm stupid excited. Can I share my joy? Bernie has now been on Clomipramine for a little over two weeks. For two days, he's been on his new 50mg dose, and it was 25mg before that. I must make an announcement! Bernie spent his first 8-day hour day, alone, out of the crate, no belly band, full run of the house...with NO destruction and no potty incidents today!!! This is the very first time!!! :yay

...I didn't see 'Alone Training' in that list?

I'm sorry, Anne! I've been reading this thread - but I don't think I have much advice. Bernie and Beth are totally related. He goes through picky spells with his food. (Of course, her spell right now may be something else.) Tonight, for example, I gave him his usual bowl of TOTW Sierra Mountain kibble, with some TOTW wet food High Prairie on top, and some boiled carrots mixed in. (I boil a few handfuls of veggies and then use them later to mix into his food a little every day!) He barely ate any of it. So I went back and put a dollup of yogurt in his food. Then, he ate about half. I then sprinkled some cheese on it later. Finally, he ate the last half! I'd feel bad if I saw him totally avoid it, so I let him force me into trying out different ways to make his food appealing. Cesar Millan would not be proud

I hope I will, over the course of the next few months! Bernie has a cat sister, but that's it. Since we really have no proof that another dog with him would really help him, we're not ready to just throw another hound into the mix. Bernie is not balanced by himself, and we're determined to get him - and only him - happy and balanced in life before we want to add another dog into our lives. I do know a woman who has pedigree Golden Retrievers and Corgis. She does shows and agility with all of them. Even though she has four dogs in her home, one of the Goldens has terrible SA even with three other dogs with her all the time.

What sorts of composers work well with him? I've tried the 'calming dog CDs' with Bernie - what a waste! But, I've never though of the classical music. I have lots of Chopin and DeBussy CDs, though...

A false negative is possible... Has you vet had experience with Greys before? I ask this because of an article I read recently in the adoption packet we got with Bernie. Since we took him to the vet a few weeks ago, I was reviewing all the info that GPA gave us in his folder. I read about the fact that vets need to know how to interpret Greyhound hematology results from other breeds. The article gave lots of info about how a normal white blood cell count in most dogs is 50, for example, but for Greyhounds, the normal level should be 15, for example. (I don't remember the values - I'm just throwing out some numbers here!) So, if your vet possibly doesn't know about the differences in interpreting the bloodwork of a Greyhound compared to other breeds, you may be getting some jumbled, inaccurate information about Ruthie's 'normal' bloodwork. This is my guess - and I may be totally wrong. When I read your post, it reminded me about that bloodwork article I read not too long ago.

Shannon- Greetings from Wisconsin to my hometown! I grew up in KCMO. Go Royals! We've recently started Bernie on Clomipramine for SA. We've had him since October, and he's lost control of his bladder nearly every instance he's been alone since October. Medical problems have been ruled out. Despite alone training, crate training, and obedience training (we did this just to help increase his overall confidence,) we've seen absolutely no progress. Meds never were our ideal option, but we feel we've exhausted all other options. I don't know the story about the adopters you're working with - but I can tell you that neighbors and friends have told Justin and I to just get rid of Bernie! People don't seem to understand that we spent more than a year considering adopting a dog, we prepared for the arrival of this dog, and that we signed up to just not have a pet - but we feel that we signed up to bring a new family member into our lives. We're not going to give up on Bernie! For Clomipramine, though, I've heard lots of great stories. He hasn't been taking the drug long enough yet for us to see any changes yet. Keep us updated

How new is he? Following you from room to room CAN signal that he may have separation anxiety. Once he is actually separated from you, then you'd be able to know if he has SA or not. If you hear him whining when you go outside with the trash, then he likely has SA. My guy has SA that has not improved despite our training for four months - he is now taking anti-anxiety medication. Read up on signs of SA on the internet - there's a lot out there

Here is the link that didn't work originally: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/266067-house-soiling-behavior-questions/page__p__4786698__hl__%2Bhouse+%2Bsoiling+%2Bbehavior__fromsearch__1#entry4786698 Unfortunately, we haven't been able to dog-sit for anyone since we've had Bernie since October. I've offered on the forum on my rescue group's website! He did spend four days at another volunteer's house in January. She was only able to leave her house twice - and left Bernie alone with her two Greys. One time, he did urinate, and the other time, he stayed dry. It's 50/50 We do walk him twice a day - always in the morning. He also has a big backyard that he loooooves running around in. I have not noticed a difference with his SA issues, even after exercising. He seems to potty in the house whether he got a 5 minute walk around the block, or an hour-long vigorous workout at the dog park! The holistic remedies (DAP collar, DAP diffuser, DAP spray and wet wipes on bedding, Rescue Remedy,) are all on our "we've tried and it didn't work" list Sorry that link didn't work! For Batmom- With alone training, we are going into the garage, opening and closing the garage door, and then just standing there. He starts whining after a few seconds of silence once the garage doors are finished closing. Going anywhere else in the house doesn't work with us, anyway - he could care less since he knows we're still there! For Neyla- Yes, his issue is the urinating. Really, we've had very few instances of being destructive until the crate issue recently. We've gated him into one room before, and we still had the same problems. I absolutely agree that this is safer than the crate! Now that we've decided to ax the crate, Justin wants to let him roam the basement and make a carpeted area with dog beds, blankets, toys, etc. Bernie is just fine walking up and down stairs, and he occasionally wanders around down there on his own, anyway. The clean-up would be very easy since it's an unfinished basement. Since this isn't a high-traffic area of the house, though, I'm not sure if this is a good place? Or just the kitchen as a safe room? (His crate was in the kitchen.) Thanks everyone!

I'm back with more Bernie issues! Here is an older post of mine about his issues And the post about us starting Clomipramine for anxiety We started the Clomipramine last week. We cut a piece of a hot dog, stick it in the hot dog, and he takes the pills just fine. We've literally started over with crate training, alone training, and desensitizing/counter-conditioning with his anxiety triggers. For about a week, we've only been doing 45 second bursts of alone time - he will whine if we stay away any longer. This week, though, he's had two pretty bad days. Yesterday, he'd escaped his crate and tinkled in the kitchen. Today, he escaped again! Justin put him in the crate today, and we both checked that he everything was securely latched. Some of the bottom horizontal bars near the latch are now bent inward. He has a few little nicks on his legs, too - I assume from this adventure. Today, after he escaped the crate, he pooped in the living room. The vet did tell us that the anti-anxiety medication would not take effect immediately. I'm just getting concerned because Bernie actually hasn't escaped the crate before until recent! We feel forced to crate him in order to contain his urinating. Even in a safe room or with the run of the house, he will urinate - with or without a belly band. (He somehow gets the belly band away from his groin to still be able to urinate, so the belly band isn't really effective!) My question is: Where do I go from here? Crate training until I'm blue in the face, or is my only option an X-Pen or safe room now? Thanks