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Leaving Your Grey Loose At Night


Guest hounddog

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Guest hounddog

When did you know you can trust your grey to be loose all night without worrying about them getting in to trouble? How do you test the waters or just go for it?

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I rest a baby gate at the top of the stairs, so they are only on the bedroom level. They could move the gate, but they never do. It is not attached to anything. They just want to sleep where we are.

Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware
Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine
Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com
Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds

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I think it was 2 nights after we got Opie! He would not "crate", crying, whining and scraping at the bars. We let him in the bedroom on his bed by ours, and he was quite and slept all night. I think the first night or 2 we closed the bedroom door to make sure he wouldn't roam, but since he never left his bed all night, we opened the door very quickly. You have to take your cues from your dog. Then just go for it!

Mom to Toley (Astascocita Toley) DOB 1/12/09, and Bridge Angel Opie (Wine Sips Away) 3/14/03-12/29/12

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When I first got him, he would only sleep in his crate, his idea. After a few weeks he would only sleep in my room, his idea (with baby gate). After a while I removed the baby gate. He has since moved to the living room, his idea. Sometimes he will wonder from the living room to my room. He leaves everything alone, so I really do not care where he sleeps. I have since removed the crate and will put it in the atic when the weather stops being 100F.

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One night, about a month after we adopted Argos, he started howling and barking in his crate and wouldn't stop. I opened the crate and he went upstairs and laid on the floor next to our bed and didn't make another sound. About a month or so after that, I started leaving him loose when I left the house. Never once got into anything. Then again, he was perfect. :)

 

Bootsy, who is far from perfect (and we love him just as he is), was also allowed to sleep with us after about a month, and we let him loose in the house shortly after that. He also has never gotten into anything.

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Christie and Bootsy (Turt McGurt and Gil too)
Loving and missing Argos & Likky, forever and ever.
~Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to. ~

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We have a very very large bedroom and there is a baby gate up. But if we didn't, I would close doors of any room I did not want them in and use baby gates were appropriate.

 

 

ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties.

Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi

Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project

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They were all loose at night as soon as we got them since our first grey would not crate up at night. She sleeps in our room on her bed. With Ziggy and Dawson, they were both good sleepers at night and neither one was crated at night. I was sleeping in the living room then because of an injury so they could wander from bedroom to living room. No one has done anything bad at night.

 

When we leave, that is another story. Ziggy was very destructive. He pulled the back off of our loveseat! We did crate him when we were gone. One time we came home and the crate had been moved. Dawn had been pulling on the blanket in his crate because she wanted his milkbone that he didn't eat. Then another time, we came home and he met us at the back door. He had anhilated the crate. No crate from then on. He had severe SA for a while. Now we can leave and the worst he does is to grab the hand towel from the bathroom.

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All of ours are loose at night, but we do shut the bedroom door so they can't roam. They are also all loose whenever we are gone. We've not had many problems at all. Toni does have a tendency to get into the bathroom trash and chew the kitchen hand towels, but we just shut the bathroom door and pick up the towels - no problems.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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Guest LindsaySF

I still shut my bedroom door at night, I don't want any wandering. :) I start with new dogs crated. Once they are on our potty schedule and are sleeping through the night, I have them on a dog bed with an ex-pen up to limit roaming in my bedroom. (For potential chewers I muzzle also). Depending on how that goes I remove the ex-pen and they can wander my bedroom if they want. Each dog has decided which bed is "theirs" though and they go to it at bedtime, so they don't move around all that much. It took Rogan several months before he was allowed to be loose in my bedroom at night (he would pee in the corner without waking me rolleyes.gif). Honey graduated from the crate in 2 weeks, Teagan was never crated.

 

 

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Guest PiagetsMom

I'm not sure if you mean loose as in "not in a crate but sleeping in your room" or if you mean loose as in "having free run of the house to sleep where they choose at night".

 

I've never crated Mirage, but I did crate Piaget for several nights when I first brought her home (partially because she had a broken hock and a cast on her leg). She was very restless, and we quickly moved her out of the crate and babygated her in our bedroom on her own bed. Never a problem.

 

Both pups sleep in our bedroom in their own beds, but we do use a babygate to keep them there. At this point, I'm not really sure they would leave the bedroom (well, I know Mirage wouldn't as he wants to be close by - Piaget might) but I like knowing where they are at night, so we leave it as is as they both seem perfectly content with the arrangement.

Edited by PiagetsMom
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Guest 4dogscrazy

When I first brought Jesse home, he disrupted our pack big time. Before that, the girls were only crated when we left, and the crates were in another room. They slept in our room on dog beds, usually with a baby gate blocking them into our side of the house. I always crate newbies at night in my room in the beginning, but when I started leaving him out of the crate at night, they would fight over beds. To the point that I was yelling the standard "knock it off" several times a night, much to DH's dismay. Sooooo...back into the crates the two young ones went, crates moved into our room. I also put a major stop to any serious rough housing outside, and for the first time started muzzling them. It's been 10 months, and last week I just took both crates down. They are fine now at night. So far, so good. And everyone has deveoped much better play habits.

 

I think it totally depends on the dog and your household circumstances and pack dynamics. When he came he bumped my alpha female, Piper, and she did not find that amusing. Funny thing is they were all intoduced at the kennel and spent a good amount of time together and got along fine, but I guess when he came into the household things were different. It wasn't anything that I couldn't handle, obviously we still have him, but I was surprised to figure out that we had to go back to using the crates. Goes to show you....never get rid of the crates!

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Guest mcsheltie

I don't give any of ours free run of the house at night. Our hall is hardwood, so I put a gate up at the end of it. If someone has an accident at night they will usually go near the gate and it is easy clean up. Otherwise the living room rug is the first place they all head for.

 

I decide when they can stay out of the crate at night based on their behavior during the day.

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I think the longest of the three was Corinna at about a week. We did shut the bedroom door for a month or so because our cats were on her menu at first but all is good now.

 

The two boys were free at night within a day or two.

Hobbes-Ricard Hatch09/23/99-12/21/09 Always loved, never forgotten. Wally TNJ Boy Howdy, GLS Genuinerisk Corinna

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Guest littlesyd85

Mine sleep in the bedroom with us. We have an attack bedroom (the entire attack is our master bedroom and master bath). I have a few dog beds on the floor. Lola sleeps in bed with us and Walker sleeps on a dog bed. We have a foster living with us right now who also sleeps on a dog bed on the floor. They all sleep through the night without any problems.

 

Good Luck!

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Guest IrskasMom

My Morty sleeps wherever ! He has never Countersurfed , never raided the Trashcan ,never had an Accident in the House and is allaround the perfect Boy. He sleeps right next to my Bed . :colgate:colgate:colgate

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Mine are loose as in uncrated but confined to the bedroom at night from Day 1. I did muzzle Joseph and Gidget for a couple nights when she came home to make sure they didn't have any significant problems together.

 

I do have a really unattractive gate in the bedroom doorway because Joseph does not like a closed door.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest Samantha

None of mine have ever been crated, Bob used to chew toilet roll if he wandered out of the bedroom at night, and he once chewed my Moms shoes ...new that had never been worn :lol: .So he was confined at night to whatever bedroom he decided he was sleeping in. Danny & suzie both used to sleep at the end of my brothers bed and never moved, Maddison just doesnt do stairs and has never attempted, although i know she can as she has used stairs outside. So she is confined to the living room and the small hall way during the night. Im a light sleeper so i hear her get up, shake herself then go back to sleep, i suppose you will know when they are ready, but as we have never ever crated our dogs it was necesary for us.

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George was five when I got him. It never occured to me he would "get into trouble" at night. He's not a puppy. He gets plenty of exercise during the day. He sleeps at night!

 

I crated him at night for the first few weeks only because I have cats and needed to make sure all would be safe.


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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Guest hounddog

I must first thank all of you for great ideas and responses. Now for the good news. Last night we moved Forti's bed into the bedroom. We blocked her into a corner by our bed and she did wonderful. When I woke up this morning she was still sleeping. What a wonderful fathers day present. So a special thanks to the wonderful people of Greytalk.(best forum I have ever been on) Yes I am ruined in a good way. I am hooked on Greyhounds.

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Guest jupiterooos

Angler is allowed to roam at night, he is a pretty trustworthy dog. He trucks back and forth between the couch and his bed in our room a couple of times. Jupiter, on the other hand, can NOT be trusted to do the same - we confine him to a small space beside our bed (he used to be crated at night but we had to put it in the living room to make room for a crib). If allowed to wander he will get into stuff, pace, and refuse to sleep. He's just one of those dogs that needs close quarters to snooze.

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Guest kydie

Mine was loose from day one, or should I say night one, :blink: of coarse,,,,,,,he was perfect :lol

Although I did baby gate him when I left the house for a short time,,,,,,,,,which was usless

as the "birders" jumped the gate to be with him :lol

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Our greys have always been loose from day 1...not sure if we are just lucky, but when we brought out the crate for Ben and then again for Brooke, no one ever showed and interest. They new grey just seemed to follow the grey who was here at the time so we never have had issues.

Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field.  Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

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