In Need Of Help With New Greyhound

[Guest GoingRogue]

Ok my family and I brought our new greyhound home Saturday (6/19) and he has truly been great. He sleeps in his crate at night and we never hear a peep out of him. He does his business outside. He gets along great with my kids and my 2 cats. He has really been great until today.

 

I took off work this week to be home with him. My husband and I have been doing the "go out and come back" to help him get used to being alone. Today was the first time he was left alone for the day (from 8:30-5:00). We did the Kong filled with treats, a marrow bone and a soft dog toy in the crate with him (he didn't touch any of it). I usually leave the tv on but it hit me when we got home that I completely forgot today.

 

When we got home the metal bars below the crate door were bent, he had peed (which is understandable for his first time alone) and there was blood on the carpet, the pan in the crate and the wall. After checking him over the only thing I can thing of is that he made a claw bleed scratching at the crate. There are not any cuts on him and his teeth/gums look ok.

 

I feel I'm out of my element because I don't know what to do to make being alone any easier for him. I don't want separation anxiety to become a major issue for him. I have heard horror stories about dogs with separation anxiety. My husband and I can't get a second greyhound right now, although we do plan on it in the future.

 

Is it still to soon for him to be settled and will this get better? Do we need to be overly concerned this early?

[CaliforniaGreys]

Is it necessary to crate him? Maybe he hates the crate

[Batmom]

8:30 to 5:00 is a long time to be alone. It might be worthwhile to get a midday dog-walker for 2-3 months, until he gets used to your schedule (assuming nobody can come home for lunch).

 

I'll also second what cbudshome asked about the crate. If he's going to fuss that badly, you're probably better off dogproofing the room where the family spends the most time with him and leaving him uncrated. One caution -- DON'T leave him in a bedroom, laundry room, etc. with the door closed. Use a baby gate if you need to confine him to a particular room or two.

[tydyelady]

We leave Opie usually up to 7 hours, and if its longer, that is unusual. But he can and will hold if as long as we are gone. Many greys are left all day while their owners have to work. But it seems like you were home with you boy the first week, outside of going out and coming back for short periods. Now you left him for 9 hours, and forgot to leave the TV on. He probably felt very alone. And, he may just not want to be crated that long. So I will third the comment about the crate. Does he need it? We left Opie out after 3 days, because he did the same thing - drooled, cried, peed, pooped, and broke out of the crate, scraping himself all over. We gave him the run of the house except for babygating off the kitchen and dining room areas (we have birds) and he was fine. Never looked back, and gave the crate back to the adoption group.

[Walliered]

My grey also bent the crate. They have powerful jaws!!! I just leave him out and close all bedroom and bathroom doors. He has never bothered anything except his raised feeder..He has about destroyed it. I also take his collar off of him because I do not want him getting it tangled on something and choking himself. Good luck.

[Guest gecko_foot]

I leave Tumnus in the crate on average 5-8 hours daily, but he can go longer on those very rare occasions that I am held up. I started him out in the crate with a peanut butter-filled kong and a couple of toys, but he didn't care about any of them. While he only had very minor separation anxiety, it was bad enough that I had to start muzzling him inside of his crate because he would gnaw on the bars. Luckily, I caught it before any teeth had to be pulled. I did try a few trial runs of leaving him out of the crate, but his behavior when left outside of the crate was dramatically worse (barking, howling, etc.), so Tumnus is now crated whenever I leave for more than 10 minutes. I have always fed him inside of the crate, and when I come home, Tumnus isn't allowed out of the crate until he lays down and relaxes. Now, Tumnus will go into his crate willingly, and relaxation is his default mode whenever he's in there.

 

Bottom line: some dogs do well in crates while others are better left out. As others have stated, I would definitely try dog-proofing the main room and leave your dog free. Muzzling would also be a good idea if you're worried about him being destructive. He's still new, so it may take some time for him to get used to the routine. Good luck and congrats on your new grey!

Edited June 26, 2010 by gecko_foot

[Guest Jubilee251]

After the 2nd day of Molly bending the bars on the crate, we got baby gates and it was the best decision ever. She loves to settle in her crate at night, but we can NOT leave her alone in the there with the door closed. She does perfectly with baby gates - just a few seconds of whining when we first leave, but no accidents and no destruction. We see no reason to keep her in the crate anymore.

[Guest Furmom]

Is it necessary to crate him? Maybe he hates the crate

 

 

We are a new adopter too.... we purchased a doggy playpen.... and leaving her alone in it for a few hours doesn't seem to get her going

[Guest GoingRogue]

His crate is in our bedroom and he sleeps in it at night with the door closed and us in the same room. We watch tv in the living room when we are home and he likes to lay in there with us. After reading everyone's posts we are now considering dogproofing our bedroom and using the baby gate. He has tried to chew on wood furniture. We correct him and he walks away. My husband is worried about him getting destructive.

 

My husband also says Rogue (our greyhound) is picking up on my stress. I think I am having separation anxiety when I leave him.

[GeorgeofNE]

Is it necessary to crate him? Maybe he hates the crate

 

 

We are a new adopter too.... we purchased a doggy playpen.... and leaving her alone in it for a few hours doesn't seem to get her going

 

Do you mean an x-pen? A free standing set of panels? Because those can EASILY be knocked over at which point they collapse on the dog. Make sure you've secured it with weights or something!

 

As to the original poster--

 

It's WAY too soon for you to be terribly concerned about one bad day, but my dog HATED his crate. I kept using it...and then one day I video taped him when I was gone. He spent the entire 2 hours of the tape howling at the top of his lungs.

 

I put the crate away, and he hasn't made a peep since. He's never chewed anything either!

 

Make sure your cats have a safe escape route, and consider perhaps baby gating him into one room that you've dog proofed.

 

Oh, check his tail. The blood is possibly from smacking his tail on the crate.

[Guest Furmom]

Do you mean an x-pen?

 

yes - we bought one to keep everyone seperate (7 years ago)and keep it against walls if need be) and it has been a godsend (for surgeries etc) As long as they are not too terrified they should be comfortable with another hound.

[greysmom]

I would try some alone training this weekend with him baby-gated into your bedroom and see how he does. Make sure you actually leave -walk or drive away as you normally would, don't just stand outsie the dorr. If you're worried about chewing, just pop his muzzle on. He may whine or bark or howl. Ignore this behavior as much as possible; it should get less as time goes on.

 

Make sure when you're leaving your routine is very calm and low key. Set a routine and do the same routine *every time you leave* no matter where you're going or for how long. No high, squeaky voice goodbyes, or hellos for that matter.

[Guest GoingRogue]

OK we left him gated in our room a couple of times already today and he is trying to dig up the carpet in front of the gate so he is going to have to adjust to his crate when we aren't here. He sleeps in it at night with the door closed with no problem. I don't want to leave him in the crate with his muzzle on for several hours but I don't want tooth issues either. I go back to work Monday and will go home for lunch everyday. I only work 4 days a week so hopefully (praying hard) everything will work out. The absolute last thing we want to do is return him. It breaks my heart to even think about that.

[jenn8]

Give him a good walk in the morning and leave him muzzled in the living room. It will work much better if you spend the whole weekend alone training as well.

 

Jenn

 

ETA: All night and all day is too much time in a crate. He is giving you clear signs of this. He can hurt himself very badly trying to get out.

Edited June 26, 2010 by jenn8

[Guest BlingDogs]

You can baby gate the stairs to give him a free run of one level. Have you tried tossing little pieces of food everywhere and leaving when he's too busy trying to find them to notice?

[jenn8]

After reading your post more carefully, I think you may just need to work more on alone training, meaning more trips out and back for shorter periods of time. This can entail a whole bunch of trips in one day but it is more effective than say, two today and three tomorrow, etc. The idea is to get your dog to a point where he is so used to (or bored with) you coming and going that he quits worrying that you will never come back. You leave for just a few seconds the first time and then a few minutes, then 10 minutes, 15, 30, 1 hour, 2 hours and so on. If when you return, you see that your dog is crying or in distress, that's your sign to go back and shorten the trips again until you return to a quiet dog.

 

Jenn

[Guest GoingRogue]

We did alone training today and have recorded them. The last one was not bad. We were gone for about 45 minutes and on the video he finally laid down and got quiet. This was after 20 or so minutes of barking and howling. He never got completely relaxed but it's an improvement.

[tydyelady]

Just another thought - you said you babygated him IN the bedroom. Maybe its just the confining thing. We only babygate off the kitchen and dining room = Opie has the run of the rest of the house. One day we had some workers in the house installing new windows. We tried putting Opie in the bedroom with the babygate so he could see out. It was all of about 5 seconds before he said NO WAY to that too, and just jumped over the gate. Perhaps you could leave him out where he has the run of most of the house, with a muzzle on if you are afraid of him chewing, and see how that goes.

[Guest cheltzey]

Lando has SA, but we're working on it. He has NEVER destroyed anything, but we've had a lot of poo and pee on the floor. And it's as annoying as all get out.

 

Here's what works for us:

1. No confinement. He has the run of the first floor. I just make sure all closets, bathrooms, and pantry doors are shut. And I have to scan the kitchen to make sure food is put away.

2. TWO baby gates. One on the 3rd stair and one on the 4th. He can clear it if it's just one. And when he gets upstairs, that's when he poops.

3. Melatonin 30-45 mins before we leave.

4. A quick walk before we go.

5. Radio left on (talk radio seems to work well).

6. MOST IMPORTANT: utter calm when we leave. If I start to get panicked about time or have to come back in because I forgot something, that's when we have problems.

 

Good luck! It's really a pain in the rear, but you've only had him for less than 2 weeks. I think it's WAY too early to think about returning him. Let him get used to the routine. And stock up on oxiclean an Nature's Miracle for a while.

[Guest tinams8]

What size is the crate?

 

Can you spend a little time walking him or otherwise burning off some energy in the morning?

 

I would try a calming "potion" if I were in your shoes...it would be an easy fix if it helped, at least at first while he gets used to it.

[rschultz]

i also agree with "wearing him out' a little by walking him in the am before work. coming home at lunch time seems like a good plan to me too.

[Guest GoingRogue]

Lando has SA, but we're working on it. He has NEVER destroyed anything, but we've had a lot of poo and pee on the floor. And it's as annoying as all get out.

 

Here's what works for us:

1. No confinement. He has the run of the first floor. I just make sure all closets, bathrooms, and pantry doors are shut. And I have to scan the kitchen to make sure food is put away.

2. TWO baby gates. One on the 3rd stair and one on the 4th. He can clear it if it's just one. And when he gets upstairs, that's when he poops.

3. Melatonin 30-45 mins before we leave.

4. A quick walk before we go.

5. Radio left on (talk radio seems to work well).

6. MOST IMPORTANT: utter calm when we leave. If I start to get panicked about time or have to come back in because I forgot something, that's when we have problems.

 

Good luck! It's really a pain in the rear, but you've only had him for less than 2 weeks. I think it's WAY too early to think about returning him. Let him get used to the routine. And stock up on oxiclean an Nature's Miracle for a while.

I following you except on the melatonin.

[Guest GoingRogue]

I'm just not quite there on the trust to leave him uncrated. He really went to town on the carpet earlier today. Had he been left alone longer, he would have really torn it up. Something else I forgot to mention in the original post, he is not quite 2. His b'day is July 11th. So he still has some maturing to do.

[Guest cheltzey]

I'm just not quite there on the trust to leave him uncrated. He really went to town on the carpet earlier today. Had he been left alone longer, he would have really torn it up. Something else I forgot to mention in the original post, he is not quite 2. His b'day is July 11th. So he still has some maturing to do.

 

But he was only doing that when he was enclosed in the room, right? Lando freaks out if he's confined anywhere. Has he ever shown any other destructive behavior? If not, I would try letting him loose. Set up a nanny cam (I know that there was a thread around here talking about how to do that) and see how he does.

 

As far as the melatonin goes, I give one tablet (3mg, I think?) before we go. It seems to promote relaxation. It was recommended by others here. Works for some dogs, and not for others. If Lando's seeming particularly anxious (some days are worse than others), I'll give him two. I haven't noticed any negative side effects, but it does take a bit of time to kick in.

Edited June 27, 2010 by cheltzey

[jenn8]

We did alone training today and have recorded them. The last one was not bad. We were gone for about 45 minutes and on the video he finally laid down and got quiet. This was after 20 or so minutes of barking and howling. He never got completely relaxed but it's an improvement.

You need to shorten the trips so he can see you leave and come back before he has a chance to freak out. Then you gradually work up from there. Your neighbors might think you are nuts but literally, you walk out, close the door, open it and walk back in. Then grab a magazine or whatever, turn back around and walk out again. Go to your car, then turn around and come back. No barking? Good. Wait a few minutes, go back out, get in the car, start it, turn it off, get back out and walk back in the house. By now, Rogue should be thoroughly confused or bored to tears with your coming and going. Walk back out, get in the car and drive around the block, come back home, etc., etc. After a bunch of these trips, Rogue should start to get the idea it's okay when you leave because you always come back.

 

Ir really helps though, if you leave him where he wants to be in the house. The signs he is showing seem more indicitive of anxiety from the crate and seclusion. Muzzling in the crate could add to his risk of injury because it could get caught on something while he is trying to push himself out. And yes, there have been greyhounds who managed to squeeze completely out.... not all good endings either.

 

By the way, kudos to you for recording Rogue while you train him. To me, it just seems so important.

 

Jenn