krissy
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Posts posted by krissy
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Going home vs. exercise is an either/or situation because my boyfriend is not a walker and he won't walk the dog farther than around the block twice a day. He works long hours too and has to look after the 3 rabbits right now too.
To whoever asked how much work can 3 rabbits and a dog be, it's a lot for someone who has looked after absolutely no animals before. So like I said, if he's not showing any signs of improvement by the weekend when the BF comes down to visit then he'll take Summit home, but he will get much more attention and care being with me than with his dad which is why it really is better for him to adapt to the new living arrangements. I literally mean he will get minimal care. He'll get 2 short walks and no more. He's got an iron bladder, but even I would prefer him to get out at least 3 times. He's not old but he's not exactly young, and I worry about the stress that puts on his kidneys. Not to mention that the BF doesn't always listen to the things I tell him... things like "No, the dog can't have that, it has onions" or "No, you cannot let the dog off leash" or "No, the dog can't run around like a mad thing 4 hours after his surgery" or "Please don't let the dog stick his whole head out the window while you're driving". Maybe I'm a little over protective because I see the ramifications of these things at work and school, but the BF totally doesn't get the significance of some of my precautions.
Note that when I say people are in and out, I don't mean all day. The little girl is at school, her mom is at work, and her dad works 2 hours away and is therefore only home Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I leave about an hour before the kid goes to school and her mom comes to work, and I get home usually an hour after the little girl gets home with her grandmother, and so long as she doesn't have an after school activity to go to before I get home they usually let him out when they get home. So it's not all that often that he is home with people tromping in and out, just our schedules don't perfectly match so there's a bit of overlap.
In terms of ramping up the exercise, I don't think I can. He's tired when he gets home. I've tried to take him jogging with me, but he will only go for about 3 minutes, dragging at the end of the leash the whole time. I could get him a backpack and put a 500 ml water bottle in each side but I'm not sure he's really lacking in the exercise department, especially with the warmer weather.
Anyway, I'm thinking about moving his crate upstairs to the living room. He doesn't break out because he wants to look for me, because when I come home he has his 2 seconds of "hey! You're home!" and then runs straight upstairs to the living room to sleep. All he really wants is to sleep on the carpet in the living room. I have no idea why. He's allowed on the bed which is way comfier. So maybe being in his crate in his favourite spot will resolve this issue. It will also be somewhere he can see people if they do come home so he knows who's home and can see the action.
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no advice, just cyber sympathy and support.
that is what you came here for.
Thanks.
It is I guess what I was looking for because I do know what the problem is, it's just a situation with no really good solution. I'll just have to see how he's doing by the end of the week and pick the lesser of the evils.Robin - No worries, I figured you meant me.
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Leiden, do you live in Guelph? I live in Kitchener, but if Summit is cat safe, I'd be happy to let him hang out here on the days that I work from home, which I do a lot. Treasure is lonely and would love the company.
Thanks for the offer Robin. I'm not in Guelph right now though, I'm in Stratford. That would be a 40 minute round trip twice a day to drop him off and pick him up so I'm not sure that would really work. I think if he isn't showing any signs of improvement by the end of the week when my boyfriend comes down for the weekend I will have to send him home with the BF. I do worry though as the rabbits aren't getting to come out or getting attention as it is. I know he won't walk the dog in the morning. He gets up at 5 for work and he's been on about a dozen evening walks with us over the last 7 months. He'll just turn him out in the backyard in the am and probably take him around the block before bed. But if he prefers home with no exercise or attention to the place we are now with lots of exercise and attention then that's what we'll have to do. Strange animals greyhounds are sometimes. [sigh] He'll still have to travel because BF has to come down every weekend until I'm done to fix the damage, but at least it'll only be on the weekend when we're both home.
I wish they could understand English so I could point out that he had it pretty good with being downstairs gated on his own. Oh well. Poor boy. We'll see what happens. Another older greyhound just came in... owner is a little older too so I may see if her grey would like some company a few days a week.
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Other people and goings-on in the house that he can't see or get to. That will drive most dogs absolutely nuts -- one of the toughest situations to live with.
Perhaps there is someone in your group who could foster him for you, for a bit?
George would go totally ballistic if he were shut in the basement and he could hear people and another dog above him. And that wouldn't be "out of character" because his routine now is that he's loose in his own home on the top floor and he can move about freely and see anything that might be going on outside in the condo parking lot. I assure you, if I were to lock him up in ANY room and have someone going about their business (a plumber, let's say) it would be a totally different story.
I'm not sure I understand why your landlord/friend or whatever needs you to keep him confined in the basement when they already have a dog and presumably LIKE dogs.
They do like dogs, however their own dog is crated or at doggy daycare when they are not home, and considering Summit has eaten a doorframe I can see why they might not trust that he would be fine if left loose. On top of that is the fact that they have an 8 year old and other kids sometimes come by. They often accidentally don't make sure the screen door clicks into place behind them. The beagle has already taken herself for a couple of walks. Fortunately, Summit has not as he doesn't jump up on the screen door, and he's got good recall... but still, I would be nervous about that.
There is no one near by that I know of. And in that case I would probably just send him home to my BF to be in our own home, albeit getting minimal walks and no training.
Liz - I'm sure this is temporary. From what I can tell when I get the odd weekend to go home he is fine. We gate him into his room as usual, although I have to say that we don't entirely trust him now and this weekend when we went out for dinner we did muzzle him. We went through a long, hard battle with our landlord to get a dog... I can't risk him destroying our own apartment. But that said he would probably have been fine without the muzzle and once we get home and things go back to normal the muzzle will likely disappear. Unfortunately this summer is kind of crazy. I've got 4 more weeks here... a week at home, 3 weeks in Ohio, a week at home, then vacation in Sault Ste. Marie (BF's cousin is getting married). So if he's not adjusting we may have to figure something out for him for other absences, though I'm not entirely sure what that would be just yet.
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Have you checked out the stickie at the top of the Everything about Greyhounds for greysitters in the areas you're going to be travelling to? Greyhound people tend to be pretty awesome and hopefully someone could help you with Summit, so that he wouldn't have the same type of oppurtunity to destroy things.
About 2 years in with Gir, when we had worked through a few of his more skittish blips, I came back from a roadtrip for work, walked him, fed him and then had shower. In the time it took for a shower he had chewed a off a corner of a wall....
You're doing a great job with the situation in you're in and it will get better.I can't do multiquotes on the Mac, but in response to the last 3 posters, not just Audeamus....
There are supposedly quite a few greys in the town I'm in right now. The group we adopted from is probably half an hour away or less. Unfortunately I posted on the adoption group's forum and no one in the area seems to be on the forum. I have met 2 greyhounds here that have come in to the clinic. The first one had just been adopted 4 days earlier and her mom is the choir director of the choir the little girl I live with is in... so she has her own young child and I doubt their household would be any less crazy. Plus a fresh off the track dog. The other dog we met was older and calm and would probably make a good companion for Summit... however the owner didn't seem horribly interested in even having a playdate.
The beagle puppy we live with goes to doggy daycare a few times a week and at first the family offered to drop Summit off as well, but now a couple weeks in having seen how he interacts with the puppy they don't think he'd really enjoy it which is what I had said originally. He gets along famously with the puppy... he is extremely tolerant of her annoying habits, but he rarely really plays with her. And having had playdates for him with a few big dogs owned by friends, I know he doesn't play well with other large dogs. He gets very defensive and starts getting snarky. We are going to an obedience class tomorrow night. The place also does daycare so I'm going to see if their set up is better and more conducive for him. I don't know if it's possible for him to be in with the smaller dogs only and if there is some way that he can get away to go sleep without getting jumped on. Not really sure, so we'll find out tomorrow.
As for today... couldn't take him for a long walk this AM because of the bad weather (thunder and lightening) and was barely able to get him to go do his business (he didn't want to go, not that I didn't want to take him). I'm going to leave him with the shirt I've slept in for the last week. I don't really care about the shirt but I am still hoping he won't shred it. I'm hoping having my scent around will be reassuring to him. Today is my long day too of course. I intend to take him back to work with me in the evening, but he'll still have to be in a kennel. Last week I let him sleep on a blanket while I taught the kids, but this week my boss is back and I doubt he'd go for that.
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Is this your first dog, I'm guessing? You're looking at STRESS.
You've put him in a new house, locked him up, he's reasonably socialized, and there're other people in the house that he knows are there, and they don't want him around...lousy dog vibes right from the start. You keep coming and going, coming and going and, forgive me, but from your tone, you're ticked at him a lot = more stress for the dog. He's not happy, and unless you change his situation he's gonna stay unhappy. Just because you expect him to be fine, the perfect dog, doesn't mean he can get there. It would have been a good idea to talk to someone with a bit of dog experience, like maybe a trainer, to give you some idea as to how to park a dog for a few months without making him miserable. Sorry to probably sound harsh here, but from you I consistently hear a lot of petulance and blame toward a dog that's embarrassing you in a situation YOU created for him....
ETA: chewing, barking, destructive behaviour is a dog's way of trying to cope with stress when his nerves are giving out on him - you can go on about "alone training" till your eyes roll back in your head, but you need to find someone to keep him for you for the duration in a house that wants him so he gets to have a life too.
It's not that they don't want him around. It's that they're in and out. They have an 8 year old daughter with after school activities. The chewing on the baseboard was the result of the husband letting Summit out while I was at work so that the dog didn't have to be in his crate away from the action, but then didn't crate him again when he went out and just closed the door instead. He listens to me exceptionally well, but not so much to people he doesn't know very well, so re-crating him is probably easier said than done... not that he tried to re-crate him.
I am not ticked with him. I'm not mad at him at all. I have a fairly good understanding of dog behaviour. However, I am frustrated that nothing is helping. Exercising him until he's tired should improve the situation. Training and mental stimulation should improve the situation. I'm not saying completely correct it, but it should have beneficial effects. It hasn't.
Putting him somewhere else isn't really an option even if I'd like it to be. I can send him back to live with my BF in our home which is familiar. But he'll also only get two short walks a day and breakfast and dinner. My BF doesn't look after the animals. I do. As it is he's looking after the 3 rabbits, and it's almost more than he can handle. If I throw the dog back to him all 4 are going to end up getting minimal care. The BF means well, but he's just not the caregiver for the pets.
I don't know where you keep getting the idea that I'm blaming the dog. I don't blame the dog. I've said multiple times that I get that it's an awkward situation for him. My point is that regardless, having seen him in other not so ideal situations, I find the behaviour out of character. I'm stressed out by it, yes. I'd like you to find one person who is not stressed out by their dog being upset and damaging property that is not theirs. My trainer knew I was travelling with him this summer and knowing him and knowing me she didn't think there would be any issues, honestly, neither did I. And there weren't, for 2 weeks. So you go right on ahead and think I'm ticked with the dog since that's clearly the opinion you want to have. As far as I know, going to the bathroom and crying because I'm frustrated, then wiping away the tears and taking my dog for a nice, long walk followed by a training session and his dinner is far from being ticked off with the dog. Being ticked off at the dog is yelling at him in his crate which he wouldn't understand. You can pretend to know me and know my dog all you want, but, unless you stalk us, I'm betting you don't. At least other people have offered constructive suggestions instead of just blaming me for things that are speculation. Nothing you've said is at all helpful to our situation.
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Robin - No, I don't think anything is physically/medically wrong with him. He is being treated for hookworm but having been through that with our foster boy previously I don't find that it changes behaviour. He had bloodwork done in December and more bloodwork and urinalysis done in February. This did all start after the May 2-4 weekend. We discovered that he is deathly afraid of fireworks. I suppose that COULD be a trigger, but I honestly think it's more of a coincidence because aside from the destruction he has been great.
June - It's not exactly a breaking point in terms of anything drastic like having to rehome him or anything like that, it's just that I'm staying with a family that has given me a room and invited me into their home out of the kindness of their hearts. I do pay them a small rent, but it's less than half what I would pay anywhere else and they're always inviting me to eat with them, letting me steal condiments and other little things that would be a pain for me to have to buy... so they're really not making any money off me. So yes, it's very stressful to have my dog destroying their house. It's also stressful because it means that instead of relaxing or studying during my time off I'm going to be helping my BF fix the damage... instead of spending time together doing something more enjoyable (like walking the dog or watching a movie together) when we only get to see each other once a week for 2 months. And I'm leaving for 3 weeks in Ohio after this too. To live with another kind person who isn't charging us, and not seeing my BF for the entire time. And it's upsetting because Summit's obviously not happy about something but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like SA, except that when I AM home and he's NOT in his crate... he's almost always sleeping somewhere where I'm not. It's not like he's glued to me, it's not like he's anxious that I'm gone. I honestly think he's just upset about not getting to sleep in his favourite spot... which for whatever reason is upstairs on the carpet by the living room window. Baffles me considering he's allowed on my bed downstairs and it's way comfier. And my adoption group is definitely NOT an option. I may contact the group we fostered for though because they were very helpful when we had our foster boy, it was just a weird, convoluted twist of fate that we ended up not adopting from them in the end.
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So the saga continues with Summit.
In spite of getting more exercise, more mentally stimulating toys, and more training, his strange behaviour continues. I recognize that this is an unfamiliar house, with unfamiliar people in it, however I am still somewhat confused by his behaviour. We never had a single issue when we got him and walked him into an unfamiliar house with unfamiliar people (us).
To recap, two weeks ago Summit gnawed a huge hole in the door frame of the bedroom where he was gated. Where he had been gated for the previous 2 weeks without incident. He did it in the 10 minutes I was in the shower. I was advised to muzzle him and all would be well. It was not. He knocked down the baby gate. So I tightened the baby gate so it couldn't be knocked down. He jumped the gate and opened a door. Then, last week someone else let him out of his crate while I was at work so he could hang out, but then had to go out and instead of recrating him simply put him back in the basement (where our room is) and closed the basement door. He gnawed a small chunk out of the baseboard but it's been agreed that wasn't really Summit's fault since he was uncrated behind a closed door.
Today I came home to find that he had somehow managed to pull a towel out of the laundry back (it's about a foot away from his crate) into his crate and shredded it. His own blankets in his crate were completely unharmed. He had also somehow managed to move his crate back. I don't know what he was doing, but he moved the crate backwards hard enough to put dents into the drywall (yet more damage that I have to repair).
I am sort of at a loss. This behaviour is completely out of character, even back when we first adopted him and brought him home. He is getting an approximately 45 minute walk in the morning. This is no jaunt in the park, it's a good brisk walk. It's also very regimented. Previously I was allowing him to somewhat leisurely decide what he wanted to sniff and pee on. Now he has to be given permission to step off the sidewalk to sniff something. This keeps our walk moving along at a good clip. After work I take him out for about half an hour to 45 minutes in the full heat. Again, this is a good paced walk. I try to take him somewhere interesting for a longer walk if I'm not on call. The last outing of the evening is sometimes just a turnout into the backyard, otherwise it's a more casual 20 minute walk. Depends on how tired I am. I have also been teaching him new tricks and working on old ones. I try to get in about 15 minutes of training in a day but it does depend on how much else is going on. The rest of his "being left behind" routine is exactly the same as it would be at home. Radio, kong, etc.
I am frustrated and upset. I don't really know why he's behaving like this, and I find it hard to believe that this out of character behaviour continues in spite of increased exercise and mental stimulation. I am going to spend tonight doing some alone training I guess. Crating him and going to do the things I need to do, letting him out for a bit, and then crating while I do some other errand or task.
I need advice of something I can do beyond what I am already doing which to the best of my knowledge is basically everything I always tell others with new dogs with anxiety to do. I can't have him continuing to destroy things and being so upset.
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I've noticed a lot of IGs and whippets that stand with their tails like that and just assumed that was sort of normal for the breeds, kind of like how husky type breeds almost always have their tails curled over their backs. Will be interested to hear what more experienced members have to say about this. I have only ever seen my grey's tail between his legs once, and that was a few weekends back when there were fireworks.
Edited for spelling.
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I use the WWW harness as well, but only for hiking as I use an 8 foot lead to give him more freedom to sniff around. I didn't want any pulling on his neck in case the line got caught on something, or in the unlikely event that he gives chase. Also it keeps him from stepping over his leash and having it between his legs since the line is so long. The leash is also tied around my waist (which makes the slack only about 6.5 ft or so for him to work with) and gives more security because it can't be accidentally ripped out of my hand.
For regular walking we just use a martingale and 4ft leash.
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One night is not long enough in my opinion. When we had our foster dog (before adopting our boy) he was crated in our bedroom. The first night he whined a little when we first put him in, but he stopped after a few minutes. We just ignored him and got into bed and he stopped though he was very restless. We got very little sleep the first night. The second night was a little better but he was still restless. After the second night we slept great.
Think about if you had brought home an 8 week old puppy. You would expect him/her to cry and howl for the first few nights away from the mother and rest of the litter, and then the puppy would learn to settle and sleep through the night.
The key to many things with a new dog is to ignore behaviours you don't like. Ignore crying in the crate, ignore restlessness at night, etc. The beginning steps of alone training will help with the crate aversion. Have your wife (since he is wary of you near the crate) throw treats in for him so he goes in of his own free will and then have her give him lots of praise and treats while he remains in the crate. After a few minutes (before he becomes uncomfortable in any way) have her invite him out calmly. Do not praise him for coming out of the crate, do not give treats. Coming out of the crate is no big deal. Don't even shut the door on him when you do this. You just want him to associate the crate with good things and to not create the impression in his mind that every time he goes into the crate he gets locked in against his will.
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i would think that part of what's motivating him to 'escape' your room is that he knows there are other people and another dog in the house and he just wants to be with them rather than be alone... if i gated our dogs in the basement but someone was upstairs walking around, my dogs would probably do whatever they could to get to them.
he's also in a strange place and is alone a lot more there than at home while you're at school... nothing to be done about it, but you should try to not get too frustrated with him- he's not doing anything to be a brat, it sounds like he's just lonely and wants to be with whomever he hears walking around upstairs.
Exactly so. That's a miserably difficult position for a dog to be in.
Poor guy is lonely and bored. It has nothing to do with "smartening him up".
I buy that he's lonely, but I don't buy that he's bored. I leave him with several toys requiring brain power to get food, and he's a chow hound. He's been fine in his crate so far. Haven't left him for a full day, but been working on his alone training a bit leaving him for 15 minutes up to about 2 hours. He's been great compared to the 3 hours I left him yesterday and he broke out of his room. I realize it's a less than ideal situation, but the unfortunate fact is that we're moving around a lot this summer because of school things. He just needs to learn to settle and deal with change. He's done it twice already in his life... retirement and then coming to a second family (us) with really no major issues, so I have faith that he can learn to do it again. In retrospect when being introduced to those new situations he was crated. I think he needs his freedom limited a bit in new situations/strange places. Hopefully in another couple of weeks he'll settle better and we can go back to trying a double gate and muzzle.
I'll see if we can do some drop in obedience classes here and there as well. He had a run with a couple of other greys today, though it was too hot for them to make much of the opportunity.
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I wouldn't say he's alone longer than when I'm at school. Except Tuesdays when I have to go back to work. I typically work 9-10 hours, and school is usually 9 hours. We do actually have people who live upstairs at home too, so he hears them moving about, but they have no interaction with him. I think the difference too is that at home he only wants to be in that one room. He doesn't like the floors throughout the rest of the apartment, but here there's carpet almost everywhere. I know he is probably lonely to some degree, but the last time he escaped his room there was actually no one home. I don't think the other dog was even home. Sam came home and found him on the couch.
I don't get paid this summer and I live entirely off a line of credit, so daycare is not an option. Besides that he has dog issues and I wouldn't feel comfortable having him around other dogs that I don't know.
BF brought his crate up so he'll just have to go in that from now on. I feel bad but he's sort of done it to himself. I've tried all the other feasible options that are open to me at this point. He's been getting plenty of exercise the last few days, bought him new toys that require brain power, training him again in the evenings... tried the muzzle and gate. So I don't know. He's not happy about this crate thing. I could send him home with my boyfriend but the reason Summit came with me in the first place is because BF is already looking after the 3 rabbits while I'm gone. I normally look after everyone, and I can guarantee with 4 animals they're all going to get neglected and have things forgotten. But if he starts to really cause trouble he'll just have to go home and fend for himself with dad.
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I honestly don't even think it's SA. I mean he'd probably rather I stay home, but he's not over the moon when I come home. He's happy but not exactly ecstatic. I think he just is making a fuss about being gated. Problem is I can't explain to him that he can't have the whole house because it isn't ours and it could be a potential dangerous situation for him. He's never had a problem with his crate, we just graduated him from it. He escaped an x-pen over the holidays because he wanted to get up on the bed. The door to the room was closed and he never cared. Just wanted to sleep in bed. I wouldn't put him in an x-pen now though because he knows how to get out of it.
A second baby gate is a possibility. A PITA, but a possibility. BF is bringing up the crate today anyway though so we'll just use that. If he decides to smarten up and behave then we'll try some other option later. And we will reinforce alone training this weekend even though I think it's not really an SA issue, just in case.
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So now get this. Yesterday afternoon I went to the pet store. I bought some wet dog food to use in his Kongs because I've been using peanut butter every day. He loves peanut butter but usually at home I rotate through a couple of things to keep it interesting. I also bought him some "marrow bone" cookies to spice up his training treat options, and I bought this thing called a "Tug a Jug" which I had looked for in Guelph but couldn't find. It's a bottle with a rope through the opening. You unscrew the bottom, fill it with treats and kibble, screw the lid back on, and then the dog has to get the food out through the opening of the bottle (which is partly blocked up by the rope). I figured that's some new entertainment for him, even with his muzzle on. I tightened the baby gate so there was NO WAY he was knocking it down.
I was gone for three hours. You'll never believe this. Sam (husband of the couple I'm staying with) tells me he came home and found Summit wandering around the house. Baby gate is still up, door to the basement is shut. Muzzle still on. So he jumped the baby gate and opened the door at the top of the stairs. The door is usually open if the puppy is in her crate, but Sam forgot to open it when he went out today. And people say greyhounds are dumb dogs. Although, to be fair... he figured out how to get out of a babygated room and how to open a door, but he can't figure out how to get his muzzle off. Anyway, bf is coming in a few hours and will bring the crate. I'm starting to think maybe he'll figure a way out of that too... but I doubt it. We'll see if he still feels so smart now that he's back to being in a crate when he could have happily stayed in a comfy bedroom.
[sigh]
I found a playground near by that I can use to keep his agility skills sharp though which is nice. And a place to go hiking which we did yesterday.
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Why cant he roam free in the persons house your staying with? Have you discussed this option with them? I cant imagine he would get into ti much trouble and he would probably be so much happier.
He's not allowed free roam at our home because we're not there yet with him. I don't feel comfortable asking for him to be free roam in their house when he isn't even at our house yet. I was happy enough that they didn't expect him to be crated. And also, like I said, this is a fairly high traffic house with children in and out quite often. I don't want them to feel responsible if Summit gets out and something bad happens. I'd rather be safe and have him not be as happy than be dead on the road. I would worry far too much about a potential escape to make that at all possible.
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So I just got a call at work from the husband of the couple that I'm staying with (the wife is here at work with me) to let me know that Summit knocked down the babygate and was wandering around the house with his muzzle on. He was just calling to tell me he was taking the muzzle off and that everything was okay. In spite of the fact that last night and this morning he got long walks, we've gone back to training, and I leave him plenty to do. So I guess it's back to the crate. [sigh]
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This computer won't let me multiquote for some reason, so please excuse that most of these quotes are "unnamed".
Just curious about something. You're on a veterinary internship, right? Where you're surrounded with classrooms about animals? And you're gonna be surrounded with animals the rest of your working life? Well, take him with you, for pete sake! i.e. , "he's mine, we belong to each other...it's not negotiable - It's kind of weird that you have to leave him behind and lonely to learn to do him good, if you get what I mean. Why would anyone freak if you turned up with him ? the difference between us animal people and the rest of the world is - animal people always have some (damn
dog attached to their left leg - go for it -celebrate it!!I did an externship at a clinic where the vet and staff brought their own dogs to work with them daily, but in general, this is not the norm for the majority of vet practices, especially busy, fast-paced hospitals. The clinic where everyone brought their dogs was a small, low-volume practice where the vet was essentially practicing as a hobby. They often only saw 3-4 appointments a day, and it was rather chaotic with 5+ dogs milling around the back treatment area all the time.
At my current practice, my staff and I occasionally bring our pets to work, but it's on a limited basis, and usually only on slower days. On busy days, they would be in the kennel all day to keep them from getting in the way, and they're more comfortable at home. Plus, there's always the risk of exposure to disease in the hospital setting, so not always the best solution.
At my old clinic our vets often brought their two dogs to work and sometimes staff did as well. But the vet's dog's hung out in their office and the rest of the staff dogs had to be caged or kenneled. I brought Summit to work with me the day after his destruction because I hadn't decided what to do yet. I thought it would be alright for him to hang out in the staff room with a baby gate for one day. I was wrong and was told to move him to a kennel. If this was my old practice I wouldn't mind because there's lots of traffic through the kennel area (not distruptive traffic but people do walk by now and then) and the kennels are all in well-lit, well ventilated areas. The majority of the kennels at this practice (and all of the runs... i.e. anything big enough to hold Summit) are downstairs in the basement. It's cold, it's dark, it's completely isolated because no one goes down there for any reason other than to get an animal. I would not want him down there and wasn't happy about having to put him down there even for the one day. I thought we could deal with the inconvenience of the baby gate for ONE day, nope. I'd rather he be at home where it's warm and he has a soft bed to sleep on, since he'll be isolated and alone either way.
In general I don't like the idea of bringing him to work with me anyway because it's a good way to pick up diseases.
Interestingly, of all the "vets" (I use quotations because I'm including myself but I'm not graduated yet) I'm the only one who has a dog. And of all the people who work at this clinic only myself and the lady I'm staying with have dogs. Go figure.
NeylasMom - I know. I just wanted to clarify why I wasn't already doing those things. Busy as I am, I do try to be a good parent.
Up until I got sick we were running through all of his tricks a few times every night before bed. I was so miserable honestly that I could barely get up just to let him out into the backyard. It was bad. I had to go around a few days later to pick up out there because I didn't pick up after him the few days I was sick. But I'm feeling a lot better. I've been training the beagleX as well, and Summit thinks it's great fun to show her up. Maybe I'll teach him a new trick though just to give him something new and different to do. I may work on his retrieving in the backyard. We may have to go back to basics. He just gets so worked up and excited that when you throw something he tends to just go crazy and do zoomies. So maybe I'll take him out on a leash and teach him from square one outside. I wish the weather would improve though as it's been a big issue. It just keeps raining and neither of us likes that. We're princesses. lol -
Don't get in a tiff. You asked for advice and all Jen was doing was giving another piece of advice that hadn't been mentioned. Only you know what you can and cannot do. My parents owned an obedience training school and the motto was "If you don't train 'em, don't blame 'em". Pretty much sums up everything and anything people get annoyed with about their dogs. Jen just stated the obvious that the rest of us just didn't think about yet. The dog was alone for a very long time and got bored. She offered a few suggestions. I don't see anything that she posted that was derogatory at all. Good luck with the rest of the externship.
I don't think I said that anything she said was derogatory. She of everyone who replied here knows what kind of training Summit and I do, and that he is among the best trained and entertained hounds on this forum. I simply was explaining our situation and how her suggestions are really not possibilities at the present time, in case anyone in light of her comments thinks that I don't or that I simply ignored her ideas.
I'm not blaming my dog for chewing a hole out of something. I clearly said it was probably because I had such a long day. All I wanted were suggestions to prevent him from destroying things because I can't afford to replace this whole house. I was going to crate him, but on the suggestion of the majority here I decided to try him with the muzzle and leave the crate as a last resort.
And I do actually train him fairly intensively, so I guess according to the motto I could blame him. I suppose that motto was really only intended for poorly behaved AND poorly trained dogs. lol
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I'm kind of shocked I'm the first person suggesting this - how about more exercise or mental stimulation? After all of that time away, you came home and then immediately went upstairs to shower leaving him alone a third time? I would have given him a nice walk before I went to shower at the very least, or done some training with him, something after all of that time alone.
Don't you typically do a lot of agility work together? It sounds like with your externship, your time is limited. Less exercise, more time alone, less training, new environment, pesky beagle upstairs, people upstairs he can't get to...I'm surprised that's all he did. A muzzle is a bandaid - saves you from having to do more repair work and from him hurting himself, but doesn't address the underlying issue. I know this is for a limited time and there's probably a limit to what you can do, but you may need to find a petsitter like someone else suggested, or a dog walker if you can't make extra time yourself.
As an aside re: the woodchewing itself, I think some dogs find it soothing, which would explain that being the only thing he did. Zuri has mild SA, which manifests as barking and occasionally as peeing in his crate on really bad days. But every now and then he will chew on the edge of a toy basket, not when he's alone and exhibiting SA, but when I'm around. I've even seen him a few times laying on the couch and he'll lift his head up a bit and start chewing on the edge of the coffee table. I just redirect him and he leaves it alone, I can probably count on one hand the number of times he's done it and who knows why those particular days, there's just something about it that he likes.
We're an hour away from home and I'm on call almost constantly. Going home for agility or obedience is completely out of the question. I've looked at a few places here but I can't really take him if I'm on call. Even taking him for a long walk when I'm on call is taking a huge risk. If my boss calls me he expects me to be at the clinic in about 6 minutes, which requires doing nothing more than throwing on shoes and then driving about 20 km over the speed limit. If I'm 20 minutes from home with the dog... well, you see how that's kind of a big problem. He gets a half hour walk in the morning just like he always does. And even though I'm gone more and can't take him for long walks I'd say he actually gets more exercise here than back home because there's a fenced yard where he can tear around every day if he wants which is not a luxury he has at home.
He gets a Kong and I hid treats around the room, but to be honest he doesn't even look for them. I've left them in blatantly obvious places to get him started with the game, but I'll find maybe one or two missing when I come home and the rest are still there. It's not like they're too hard to find because when I come home he gets down and goes and finds them and eats them. I think he just never really gets off the bed and therefore never ends up searching.
Also, after a 12 hour day at the farm and the clinic, on top of the fact that I've been sick for a week and a half, I didn't really have the energy to take him for a really long walk. I just started being able to eat again after about 4 or 5 days of not eating, until the last day or two I've been on the verge of passing out just doing my job, never mind trying to walk the dog for more than 15 minutes. I took him for a brisk 30 minute walk tonight when I came back, but I'm really just getting back on my feet again. Unfortunately considering the fact that I have no income this summer because I'm at this externship, and I'm paying 2 rents because I have to live here, there's no money to pay someone to look after him. It's a limited time so he's going to have to just learn to deal. It sucks but that's just the way it is right now.
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We live in northern OH - just south of Cleveland, and we DO get ticks here so you'll want to treat for that. We also treat for heartworm here. No lepto for our greys, though.
Temperatures can be in the 90's in July, although generally I would say 80's. The farther south you go in Ohio (as in, Cincinnati) the hotter it will be. Not so bad up here in the NE corner, but we have central air and it's running right now with temps of 78 because it is muggy and the pollen count is high. Doggies love the a/c and so do we.
Yes, we have spiders, but I've never had a problem with poisonous ones here. Depending on where you are staying, you could see raccoon, skunk, and of course BUNNY RABBITS when walking at dawn or dusk. My greys know exactly where the bunnies hang out each morning ...
Enjoy your visit. In late August my local greyhound adoption group hosts a wonderful two-day event in Cleveland called Canine Fun Days. This year it is August 20-21. Maybe you can attend! www.greyhoundadoptionofoh.org
Summit is used to bunnies. There are 3 that terrorize him at home. He hides in the bedroom when they come out.
Canine Fun Days sounds like a good time! Unfortunately I'm only in OH for 3 weeks and will be gone already.
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I don't quite understand why he's confined to the basement in the first place? I get that it's a finished basement ROOM, but dogs don't dig being seperated from the rest of the household. Obviously your friends are dog lovers if they have one, although hearing that they keep their own dog tied up in the house makes me wonder...
If their dog is a puppy, and being crated, perhaps if the two dogs were crated together (side by side, not "together"!) that would work?
If I had to be away for 12 hours, I wouldn't be comfortable crating my dog for that long. I understand it's temporary and unavoidable.
Is there by any chance another Greyhound home in the area that might be willing to be a day care provider, so to speak??? There may be another single hound out there who would love the company during the day for a few weeks. Just a thought.
It's a bigger room than he has at home and I know all he does is sleep on the bed all day anyway. He's gated down there because that's what happens at home anyway and what will continue to happen at home for at least the next year until we can move to a place that is more our own and more easy going about dogs. The puppy is crated or at doggy daycare anyway. The grandmother is home about 2 hours earlier to look after the little girl after school, and they are allowed to let him out for a pee but I'm not comfortable with Summit being loose when I'm not home. For starters the little girl pesters him. She means well and she doesn't pull his tail or ears or anything, but she runs up to him and hugs him and holds onto his collar so he can't walk away. I want him to be able to just sleep because I know that's what he wants to do. The other thing is that they leave their front door open with just the screened door shut, which is fine but sometimes it doesn't latch and then it can be pushed open by one of the dogs. There's also little kids in and out of the house fairly regularly. Most of the kids are afraid of Summit because he's so big, and I'm concerned that he'll slip out the front door. It's safest to me if he stays downstairs and waits for me to come home. I am not gone for 12 hours most days. It's only on Tuesdays. Most other days are 9-10 hours and I can get home at lunch if I really want to.
As to another greyhound, we don't know of any here yet. As much as it would be nice, I also don't want him getting used to having another grey around, because he won't once the summer is over. There are some greys at our next stop in Ohio.
He's got his muzzle on today and couldn't have cared less when I put it on him which was surprising because he usually starts rubbing at it immediately. I'm going home at lunch to check in on him and make sure it's still on and he's not causing any trouble with it.
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Wha! I think I totally forgot about this post! I just remembered it because I was thinking about that lepto vaccine again today at work.
Thanks all for the further responses.
Did someone say spiders? Venomous spiders? I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep. I am so arachniphobic it's actually sad. It's debilitating. And I'm just talking about the little spiders we have here in southern Ontario. When I visited my uncle in Georgia/Florida... I'm not really sure how I survived... there were spiders bigger than my hand. I mean, I actually scream and cry and am nearly hysterical yelling for the BF to kill the spiders here.... It's actually embarrassing but I don't know how to fix it.
Anyway, probably won't have much time for hiking or anything like that, so I guess we'll skip the lepto and we've got two doses of tick meds left so we'll utilize those on top of our heartworm.
How hot DOES it get in July? That comment concerned me as well. Not so much for the dog as for me. I hate heat. Of course, so does Summit so I guess we'll suffer together.
Thanks for the dress code, Jane! I will make sure to bring the appropriate duds!
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Alright, well now that I've been thinking about my game plan, this begs the question... is there any point leaving him a Kong if he's muzzled? I know they can drink water and eat to some degree, but I wonder what I'm going to leave him to do while I'm gone. Is a Kong too much effort through a muzzle? I'll have my bf bring down his tricky treat ball (you know, the ones you roll and kibble pops out the hole) this weekend which should be an easy activity, but for the next two days I'm not really sure what to leave him with if anything.
It is I guess what I was looking for because I do know what the problem is, it's just a situation with no really good solution. I'll just have to see how he's doing by the end of the week and pick the lesser of the evils.
You're doing a great job with the situation in you're in and it will get better.
The Trail Of Destruction Continues
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
No, I mean 2 walks the entire day. Might get 3 some days if I really stress the importance. The BF is amazing, and he's been taking good care of the bunnies... he tries to get them out to hop around every day or every other day because he knows it's important to me even though I'm sure he feels like there are more enjoyable things he could do with his free time than supervise rabbit free time. He doesn't look after the pets regularly. If I'm sick or away he will look after them for me, but he's never had to do it for several months. He's the kind of person that likes animals and likes having pets, but not so much that he would have one if he had to look after it all by himself. On the other hand, I enjoy looking after the animals. I love feeding them and seeing them so excited for dinner, I love going for walks and having someone to accompany me. So it works out that we can have the animals, I have a back up when I'm sick (when I was single no matter how sick I was I still had to drag my butt out of bed to take care of them which was really tough) or have to be away for a few days, but I have no issues being the main caregiver. He never grew up with pets, his parents are one step further than him... they like animals but they would never have pets because they're very particular about the cleanliness and orderliness of their home. And to be fair, the 3 rabbits were mine from before we started dating, so I really don't expect help with them. He likes dogs and he wanted a dog someday, but we got the dog because I wanted one as soon we could handle one.
At home if the BF gets home from work before I get home from school, he usually doesn't walk the dog. I get home and take the dog out to do his business. I sometimes invite the BF to come with us on our evening walk, and if it's nice out he might take me up on the offer. The boy is just not a walker. Before we got the dog I would sometimes go for walks on my own just to have a nice stroll. Anyway, maybe he would if I asked him to and made a point about it being really important, but I think just the bunnies are quite the handful for him right now as it is.