Acting Out?

[Guest EmergencyOps]

Our girl Anita has become destructive as of late. I am often deployed to other states, and on my first deployment of this year, I brought her with me. It was her first time being by herself, regularly, for 5 or 6 hours at a time. She did great, never eliminating in the hotel room and only tore a hole in a bedsheet once.

 

My most recent deployment has taken me further away, to a locale where I couldn't take her with me. Despite the same hours (7a-12noon...momma coming home for lunch...1-5p), she has started "acting out" (at least it seems that way). The wife will come home to find a puddle (or worse), and something shredded, broken, ect. Do dogs act out, or might there be some underlying cause? One thing to note is that our other dog is kept in a closed-off bedroom (not in a crate) as part of her crating.

[Guest scfilby]

The experts say that dogs are not capable of acting out, but my bridge dobie Daisy is proof to the contrary. Daisy had severe SA and would eliminate in the house and destroy anything that had my scent on it (comforters, remotes, cell phones, shoes, keys, the couch). I could take her out for potty and literally be gone for only minutes, and she would eliminate or destroy something. I was convinced she was trying to punish me for leaving..

 

Crateing or baby gateing into a dog proof area may help.. a muzzle will stop the chewing. The behavior can also be curbed by a companion, can both dogs be together? I would not suggest being closed in a room..

[Guest EmergencyOps]

S.A. does not seem to be an issue for Anita. She might bark for 10 seconds, then she calms down. When we attempted to puppygate her in the kitchen, bad things happened. The composite/plastic puppygate was simply plowed over. We installed the metal kind (screwed into the wall), and she knawed on it and finally hurt herself scaling it. We decided to stop using it when we came home and saw her roaming the apartment with dried blood wounds on the backs of her front legs. We did have both dogs in one side of the house (bedroom/bathroom/closet) one day when Anita refused to come out from the back of the closet during a morning thunderstorm; she peed on the bathroom floor that time. I *think* it is a matter of missing me (trying not to sound too self-absorbed ). I was the stay-at-home pappa in the three months post-adoption. When I got deployed, I took her with me. So essentially, she has always had attention from me every day. Recently, however, she only sees momma, since I am gone at this point.

[Batmom]

Wouldn't hurt to run a pee/poop sample to the vet and check for UTI/worms. Good to rule those things out because either can make a dog uncomfy enough to cause problems.

 

If all checks out there, might be worth trying some of the same techniques for SA dogs -- extra trip outside for potty before leaving home, brisk walk or play session to wear her out before leaving, Kong toy stuffed with goodies for her to work on for awhile. Could be she is just adjusting to the changes (you not there) and so is not quite relaxed when she is left.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

S.A. does not seem to be an issue for Anita. She might bark for 10 seconds, then she calms down. When we attempted to puppygate her in the kitchen, bad things happened. The composite/plastic puppygate was simply plowed over. We installed the metal kind (screwed into the wall), and she knawed on it and finally hurt herself scaling it. We decided to stop using it when we came home and saw her roaming the apartment with dried blood wounds on the backs of her front legs. We did have both dogs in one side of the house (bedroom/bathroom/closet) one day when Anita refused to come out from the back of the closet during a morning thunderstorm; she peed on the bathroom floor that time. I *think* it is a matter of missing me (trying not to sound too self-absorbed ). I was the stay-at-home pappa in the three months post-adoption. When I got deployed, I took her with me. So essentially, she has always had attention from me every day. Recently, however, she only sees momma, since I am gone at this point.

 

Is there a reason you dont either use a crate, or just give her free roam of the house? Closing a greyhound in a room with the door closed is not similar to a crate, in fact it is better for a hound to be in a crate as opposed to a room with the door closed. When you came home and she was free around the house, was there a problem, you didnt give any detail other than "bad things happened"? If there is a chewing problem when you leave her free around the house, simply put a muzzle on her and leave her free. If there is an elimination problem, then longer walks before you leave. I am a proponent of crating, so that would be my first suggestion, but if you have already been leaving her out of a crate for any longer than a week or so, you will have a bit of a fight when trying to get back to crating for more than 1 hour at a time. During a morning thunderstorm she "peed on the bathroom floor" well thats a no-brainer as to what the issue is there, thunderphobia. I agree that a vet visit is in order and if all is normal, the fact that you were allways there, and now gone, she is not "acting out" she could very well be having anxiety issues.

[GeorgeofNE]

Is she getting any exercise?

 

It is stressful for dogs to move, but I don't believe dogs have the ability to "act out," but if she's bored, restless, not getting enough attention for any reason, her pent up energy might SEEM like acting out.

 

Why is she closed in the bedroom?

[Guest EmergencyOps]

Is there a reason you dont either use a crate, or just give her free roam of the house? Closing a greyhound in a room with the door closed is not similar to a crate, in fact it is better for a hound to be in a crate as opposed to a room with the door closed. When you came home and she was free around the house, was there a problem, you didnt give any detail other than "bad things happened"? If there is a chewing problem when you leave her free around the house, simply put a muzzle on her and leave her free. If there is an elimination problem, then longer walks before you leave. I am a proponent of crating, so that would be my first suggestion, but if you have already been leaving her out of a crate for any longer than a week or so, you will have a bit of a fight when trying to get back to crating for more than 1 hour at a time. During a morning thunderstorm she "peed on the bathroom floor" well thats a no-brainer as to what the issue is there, thunderphobia. I agree that a vet visit is in order and if all is normal, the fact that you were allways there, and now gone, she is not "acting out" she could very well be having anxiety issues.

 

We have been hesitant to crate because she did perfectly fine when she was at the hotel when I went to work each day. Not a single elimination. She doesn't like to be confined (which may be something we need to "man up" about and make her like it). Bad things happened when she was confined to the kitchen...gate destroyed/bloody. We initially put her muzzle on but she would rub up against everything attempting to get it off. This is our first Greyhound, and we just need to make it for another 4 more days before we move from the apartment to our new home; we'll have to re-evaluate when we move, but we just want the apartment and our boxed stuff to be in one piece until the move! I believe that part of the problem is my wife takes quicker walks than I do, and I will try and get through to her that shorts walks ain't good. I agree, too, that a vet visit is a good idea to rule some things out.

 

She does get good exercise (jogging) almost daily. Thank you for the excellent suggestions, and we will implement them and hope that we are able to correct the situation.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

If she didnt do anything except rub her muzzle on things, then there is your answer. She's fine. Believe me, she is rubbing her muzzle on the walls and such because you are there. When you leave, she wont continue to do it. My female does this constantly when I put her muzzle on, but within 2 minutes of me leaving, she lays on the sofa and doesnt bother the muzzle. Remember, they have worn muzzles all their life, there is nothing mean about muzzling. Also, if the only thing she did was destroy the gate, thats nothing really. Bad things to me:

 

 

This was done while the hound was INSIDE the crate. Other bad things, my hound got into our spice bin and ate/spread all of our bagged spices around the house. Imagine taco seasoning packets smeared into the carpet and clumps of spices rubbed on the walls mixed with drool. Imaging comming home to missing bags of chocolate covered nuts and having to induce vomiting. I am not trying to make it a competition, I am just trying to show you how while the blood may have seemed extreme, it really is not that big of an issue. Use my suffering as a comical example of how to fail at doggie proofing your house.

 

Chad

[Guest mleekramer]

I recently took in a returned hound that lived with his family for 2 years. He was not crated there. In his medical report there was an incident of him jumping out of the basement window. The man who originally adopted him had gotten married and his wife found him tough to handle.

We recieved him super anxious and crying and whimpering constantly, not a suprise considering. We did not know what to do with him the first night, so we gated off the kitchen and put an obstacle to the family room to give him some space. Well he jumped over the backs of the furniture and got caught in the family room space and pee'd and pooped all over the room. He was crying, so my husband went down, kept trying to keep him in the kitchen and in fromt of him kept jumping over the furniture. He was also jumping on all the couches, but not knowing the other homes rules....

THe next night we crated him. It took a good amount of time getting him in. Think bucking bronco. He slept. THe next night trouble as well. Slept, cries a little. SLowly he took to it, but immediately after the 1st time anxiety went down once in.

Crated may not be for all hounds, but some need it. This guy is anxoius and maybe he will always be, but he does chill in the crate. Everytime he starts pacing and things are too much , he gets squeaky, I put him in. THe smaller personal space calms. When the human is out and all the space, might freak some out. In the Hotel there may have been constant noise, vacuum, cleaning, voices. Maybe there is slience now and that's the problem.

Whatever is the answer for your home, don't forget that crating isn't punishment. It may be a spot to chill from an anxious world for these guys. A safe place to sleep where they don't have to keep an ear up, just in case.

My guy has been out of the crate all day and pacing, squeaking, whining, unable to relax. All because my husband is home, it's Sat, and he wants to be with him at all times. He goes to the bathroom, trauma, he puts food on grill, trauma, to the shower, etc. He is now out for the night and the guy is dead out on the floor pillow. He knows my hubby isn't here hiding somewhere. He knows the garage sound. Before I go to bed, he will be crated for the night. I too hope someday he can relax enough to handle it. He has been here only 3 months after his life elsewhere, but in the meantime we ALL have some solitude with the crate! Best of luck!

[Guest tatahills]

It's not the dog, it's the environment she is in. The people taking care of your dog are probably feeling anxious about having the dog. Maybe they are giving her way too much affection and attention and feeling bad for her that her "mom" isn't around. You'll have to try and change the people's behavior in order to change your dog's. Good luck. Perfect example of how putting a dog in the right environment changes most unwanted behavior.

[Guest gecko_foot]

If she didnt do anything except rub her muzzle on things, then there is your answer. She's fine. Believe me, she is rubbing her muzzle on the walls and such because you are there. When you leave, she wont continue to do it. My female does this constantly when I put her muzzle on, but within 2 minutes of me leaving, she lays on the sofa and doesnt bother the muzzle. Remember, they have worn muzzles all their life, there is nothing mean about muzzling. Also, if the only thing she did was destroy the gate, thats nothing really. Bad things to me:

 

 

This was done while the hound was INSIDE the crate. Other bad things, my hound got into our spice bin and ate/spread all of our bagged spices around the house. Imagine taco seasoning packets smeared into the carpet and clumps of spices rubbed on the walls mixed with drool. Imaging comming home to missing bags of chocolate covered nuts and having to induce vomiting. I am not trying to make it a competition, I am just trying to show you how while the blood may have seemed extreme, it really is not that big of an issue. Use my suffering as a comical example of how to fail at doggie proofing your house.

 

Chad

 

I remember coming home to something similar. I had unintentionally left a pillow close to Tumnus' crate, and when I came home that afternoon....no more pillow. I, of course, was panicking trying to find all of the stuffing while he was jumping around me like, "Hi, mom! You're home! You'rehomeyour'rehome!" He's never eaten anything I've placed in his crate, so I started putting cardboard boxes in there for him to shred because I thought he was just bored. Then...I found out he was gnawing the bars of his crate. That earned him muzzle time while in the crate, and I haven't had an issue since. There's nothing he can get it caught on in there, and it keeps his overbite nice and pretty.