New Girl Has Terrible Separation Anxiety, And Other Things...

[Guest Snarfums]

Hello everyone, what a fantastic community- I have read so many helpful things on here Hopefully this isn't too long of a read for anyone!

 

About 5 days ago we adopted a super sweet greyhound named Tasha. She is the best dog ever, very friendly, 4 1/2 years old- she even plays fetch and comes (most of the time) when you call her name. She likes to be with us everywhere we go in the house and usually she will lay down and take a nap knowing that we are within sight.

 

The problem is, when we have to leave for work we have to put her in her crate, and she absolutely HATES it! She does the typical "freezing" when we get her right up next to the opening of her crate and after a lot of convincing, she will finally go in. Once she is inside she starts crying and whining like the whole world is coming to an end! Every day we have been coming back home over our lunch break, so she's in the crate for about 3 1/2 hours until we get back for lunch, and then another 3-4 hours until we get home after work. The foster family we adopted her from said that she was probably chewing on her crate during her racing days because her teeth are really worn down and in pretty bad shape. We put toys and treats in her crate while we are gone and she doesn't even touch them until we get back. She has also had a number of pee accidents in there as well. When we are home and she is free roaming the house, she will start to freak out if either of us are out of view. She has to know where we are every second or else she starts crying. Any advice about getting her used to being alone/ in the crate?

 

Second question- Tasha gets along fine with both of our cats, when they're not moving faster than a slow walk! We have one Maine Coon and one Savannah who are still getting used to having a new dog around, they love to play like normal cats do, but now it seems like if they want to play or run up the stairs to the litterbox, Tasha wants to chase them too! I know it's a greyhound's instinct to want to chase anything moving, but I want to make it so that she doesn't want to scare the cats when they want their play time in as well. I'm just afraid that Tasha might want to chase down one of the cats and hurt them in the process. Does anyone here have experience with their greyhounds and cats?

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my concerns- I know there are a lot of great people on here and I'm excited to hear some good input!

[OwnedBySummer]

I don't have SA issues with Summer, nor am I into crating. So I guess I'm lucky that I never had to deal with it. She has the whole house to roam in at all times.

 

As to the cats, Summer never adjusted to my cat and I had to find a new home for kitty. I tried for a month and then gave up. She was determined that the cat was going to be a snack. But one suggestion that I have for you is to pull all the furniture away from the walls. Just a bit, just enough for the kitties to escape behind but not enough for the greyhound to follow. Then they always have escape routes that are within reach. And you might want to think about muzzling the grey when the cats are out, until they are all used to each other.

 

Good luck and welcome!

Edited December 5, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[GeorgeofNE]

I was going to ask why you're crating a dog who clearly hates it--but then I got to the cats part!

 

Did anyone indicate to you that this particular Greyhound had been "cat tested"? If not, you could have a problem--or this might be a very temporary thing that you can work out.

 

I have two cats--had three when I got George. He has no interest in them and never has. They're also totally unafraid of dogs, having grown up with my other dog, so they don't run from him either.

 

I don't have any experience teaching a hound to leave cats alone, but I can tell you that there are LOTS of Greyhounds who live peacefully with cats. Many of those dogs were judged "cat workable" or "cat trainable" by their respective adoption groups. There was a dog in my group I really wanted, but they would not let me even consider him since he was not cat safe and in their experience never would be.

 

I hope that someone with a lot of Greyhound experience evaluated your girl and your situation carefully before placing her with you. The adoption group is a good resource for these kind of issues.

 

Was she not fostered with a cat? Have you asked the foster family for some ideas?

 

If the crate continues to be a problem, can you put the cats in a bedroom during the day? Until you're sure they'll all be safe together?

[jenn8]

Hi there. Did your adoption group give you any instructions on alone training? If not, we can help. That is the most essential thing you can do for your dog in the very beginning.

 

Aside from that, she may not be the crating type. There are alternatives that could be easier than trying to force her into her crate. Muzzling, baby gates, escape routes for the kitties, along with the training mentioned above.

 

I have had greyhounds for over 15 years and never needed to crate any of them... knock on wood. I do realize it is necessary in some cases but mostly for dogs who find security and comfort in them and for injured or multiple dogs.

 

Crates can also cause added stress for dogs with or without separation anxiety. The best way to know if this is the case is to try going without -BUT- using other safeguards and alone training at the same time.

 

Jenn

[Guest Snarfums]

Thanks so much for the quick replies! Tasha does great with the cats, as long as they are not running around. Kimba, our Savannah, will go right up to her and rub against her nose and legs and Tasha seems to like the attention, she kind of just stands there and nudges back against her. But, if the cats aren't right next to her and happen to be running around, then Tasha wants to chase. She will go from sleeping soundly on her bed to up and running if she hears any sort of movement from the cats. She hasn't been able to catch them yet because we will try to block and stop her from getting to them if we see her starting to chase or get interested, so we don't know if she just wants to play, or if she wants to hurt them. We don't want to find out either!

 

The fosters we got Tasha from also had one cat, but he wasn't very active and would stay on the counters most of the time from what we had seen when we visited them. They said she would ignore their cat most of the time, but I think they had only been fostering her for a couple weeks so maybe she was still getting used to everything? They also had another greyhound who probably wasn't bothered by the cat so maybe Tasha was just going along with his reactions to the cat, or lack thereof.

 

I think that if we left Tasha outside of the crate while we are gone we would get the same reaction out of her- she would probably start crying etc. because she seems to do that once we are out of her sight no matter if she is in the crate or not.

 

I'm trying to accommodate the needs of the cats as well since they went from sleeping every night in the bedroom with us to not being able to because of the new huge dog. They used to play and run around with eachother and chase toys and now they are very cautious about going around and having fun because they will get chased. They were the first family members and now we're in the stage of trying to fit the new doggy into the pack.

 

I suppose we could try training her to stay at home without going in the crate, and any tips on doing that would be awesome. We would prefer that the cats could have free reign of the house while we are gone and have the dog kept in one room or area, so we are open to any advice

 

Thanks so much for the responses, you guys are awesome!

[Guest Patience]

I think you are right to wonder if she'd still have anxiety without the crate. We have 2 greyhounds and no cats, but our first hound needed the crate and the second hated it with a passion. We now don't crate either of them.

 

Does Tasha ever go in the crate while you are home? Our Gracie would go into it every time she felt nervous, so we left the door open while she got used to our home. We also put treats and toys in there to encourage this behavior--it was fine with us if she saw this as a secure place while we were home so she would be happy to go in there when we had to leave her alone. If it's JUST a place she goes when left alone, she might associate it with the anxiety of being alone. (Or so we think.)

 

Then, about a year after getting her, we moved to a bigger house and got a second hound who only got anxious if we crated him. We discovered then that Gracie was fine w/o the crate now that she had a new buddy. We did basic alone training for both of them, leaving for only 5 minutes, then 10, then 30, etc, so they knew we would always return in time. They now make a sad face when we leave , but don't cry or make trouble.

 

The cats do pose a separate issue. Is there a way you could use baby gates across a doorway or staircase so the cats have a safe zone apart from the dogs?

[3greytjoys]

Cats:

Multi-Greyhound household here with 2 cats (3 originally who have since passed from old age.) I've worked with cat-friendly, cat-workable, and non-cat hounds. Many, many hounds are great with cats, just remember there are no 100% guarantees with any animals. It can easily be done with a little careful management, especially at the beginning. Please don't take chances with your cats.

 

I'd be careful to muzzle Tasha whenever she has access to your cats (for however long it takes her to respond to a strong "NO" if she tries to run after them). You will know if a leash is needed to keep her back from cats, but she sounds much more cat-friendly, especially if she's not charging after them aggressively with dinner in mind.

Make sure Tasha sees you frequently sitting with each cat, holding, petting, talking sweetly to the cat so she gets the idea that they are valued family members.

A tall baby-gate installed about 6" up from the floor level allows cats an escape from hounds. This also allows young cats to run/play/bounce off walls in the other side of the house without living in fear.

Cats should be able to eat, sleep, and potty in a safe zone.

I have my cat's favorite bedroom/fun room gated. (A closet door left ajar with access to a high shelf can be another escape route, if the hound can't open the door.)

Caution: Even a muzzled hound in "play" mode can harm a cat with it's legs and paws.

 

For my cats' safety, my hounds don't get soft, furry, squishy toys in small animal shapes, nor do I use a lure pole for Greyhounds (which can encourage a hound's prey chasing instinct). I'm sure there are many great toys for hounds living with cats, but I like "Tuffie Toys" which are shaped like doughnuts, etc. They are safer than soft, stuffed toys, and designed on a "toughness scale." Our Greyhounds' favorite size/weight Tuffies: "Ultimate" series, 9 toughness. http://www.tuffietoy...ultimate-series

Please keep the litterbox out of hound's reach. Greys sometimes think of a litter box as a dessert plate.

Cat toys should be out of Greyhound's reach!

My cat toys in Greyhound rooms are wadded up balls of thin or shredded paper. If the hounds get one, they usually just shred the paper (since many hounds had shredded paper as bedding in their racing kennels. (Intestinal blockage problems can occur from small cat toys, even a large chewed up tennis ball, etc.)

 

Separation Anxiety (just a few tips):

Keeping Tasha baby-gated will help her learn that she will live when mom/dad leave the room for second/minutes without her.

Don't allow her to velcro herself to either of you when inside the house.

Feed all her meals in her crate with the door closed. Start with just meal time with closed crate, slowly advance to a little longer waiting times after her meal before you open the crate door (all while your are still in the room/home). Eventually, she will probably start running into her crate at meal time.)

She may not love the crate when she watches your leaving for work "queues," but hopefully she'll adjust. Expect a training period. She been with other dogs all her life so this is a big adjustment. It's okay to let her cry as long as she's had her potty needs handled first.

Never put her in her crate as punishment. Crates need to be a dog's happy, comfortable, good place.

Leave crate door open so she can enter to relax there whenever she'd like when you're home.

Turn on talk radio during your absences.

When she's ready, you might try an ex-pen, or dog-safe baby-gated room. Both cases would require the cats to be behind a fully closed door when you're not home until you feel more confident of Tasha's lack of interest in a running cat.

Good for each of you to separately care for/walk Tasha so she doesn't "lock on to one of you for her comfortable existence.

 

There is a lot of great information on GT. Please read other GT posts about SA. You should find more info. by entering "Separation Anxiety" or "SA" in the search box.

Edited December 5, 2010 by 3greytjoys

[Guest widowcali]

2 greyhounds, 1 irish wolfhound, 2 cats. Cali and Bri (IW) love to chase cats, Widow actually caught a stray outside once.

 

Nobody is crated. But.... I made sure that the cats and dogs were seperated until I could enure that there would be no eating of the smaller siblings. Is there any way that you could keep your cats seperated from your new dog? I don't know if you live in a house or apartment, but could you close off the master bedroom and master bath, put the litter box in there, and make sure both cats were in there? That's what I did with Rosie the cat when I adopted Cali. Then, when I adopted Sprite the cat, I seperated her from everyone. That seemed to work, along with making sure I stopped any possible bad behavior when I was home to wach it.

 

Everyone is right, there are no guarantees,but rewardin good behavior (nuzzling, grooming) and stoping bad behavior (chasing) would help with the assimilation. And, if you are able to keep the cats seperate from the dog, or give them a way to get away from doggy (maybe a gate barior that the cat can get thru but not the dog, then that might help with the anxiety. It mihght not be SA so much as not wanting to be in the crate.

[seeh2o]

I don't have any experience with cats, but Carl had terrible SA and hated his crate so much he literally ripped it apart, soldering and all. The crate was immediately retired. He responded well to muzzling, he was much less destructive...couldn't get to things with his mouth, though he was very vocal. Long story short, he ended up needing medication to really "get" alone training. You might try limiting her to an area of the house with a baby gate and using a muzzle as well. At first I was really horrified about muzzling him, but when I saw the big basket muzzle and realized he could eat and drink through it I felt better. I also could see him physically relaxing when I put it on him, it's like his pacifier or a safety blankie.

 

Best of luck to you with this. You might want to go to Google and do a Greytalk specific search for Separation Anxiety, put this phrase into Google: "separation anxiety site:greytalk.com" . You will come up with a wealth of information.

Edited December 6, 2010 by seeh2o

[greyhoundgang]

Good information here. I would call your adoption group and have your representative come over and work with you. Time, patience, and training will help. I, too, would ditch the crate. Muzzle though when you leave. And leave blinds and shades open so she can see out.

 

here's some more. Greyhound Ganghas lots of information which will help.

click on these links -

 

- Greyhound Guide

- Separation Anxietyinformation - how to deal with it

- Separation Anxiety- natural homeopathic remedy - which will help. 10% off this month.

[Laurenbiz]

While we are still working with our Bernie boy with separation anxiety, I can't offer you much about crate training. I have a dog who completely freezes when we get him to stand in front of it, as well! We are forced to use the crate with our situation right now because of his peeing in the house while he is alone.

 

But, in your case...

 

- I must echo the question another poster asked about the cat testing. Did your adoption group actually cat-test this Greyhound? If the dog wants to chase the cat when the cat gets moving quickly, I question whether this is truly a 'cat-friendly' Greyhound. Bernie is cat-friendly, and when our cat gets on her crazy kick and runs all around the house, Bernie just looks at her like, "Huh? What is that furry thing doing?" and then closes his eyes and returns to his nap as she continues to bounce off the walls.

 

- I haven't seen that anyone else has offered you advice about the dog following you everywhere in the house. This is a huge indicator that the dog has separation anxiety. IF you are giving your Grey affection/attention because she likes to follow you around, I would discontinue this. If she gets any indicator from you when she follows you around, she may think that you are rewarding her for this behavior. When she follows you around, I suggest you totally ignore her.

 

Good luck!

[greyhoundgang]

- I haven't seen that anyone else has offered you advice about the dog following you everywhere in the house. This is a huge indicator that the dog has separation anxiety. IF you are giving your Grey affection/attention because she likes to follow you around, I would discontinue this. If she gets any indicator from you when she follows you around, she may think that you are rewarding her for this behavior. When she follows you around, I suggest you totally ignore her.

 

 

I would respectfully disagree.

 

Most greyhounds will follow their people around, particularly in the beginning until they understand the rules. This is not usually one of the indicators of Separation Anxiety (in my opinion from the hundreds of hounds who have followed me around my home when I did major rescue work)

 

When a greyhound comes into a home, it is a totally new experience for them. I've often likened it to aliens abducting a human and putting them in a new environment. Humans would need counseling, greyhounds just adapt. With time, love and patience, greyhounds totally get the routine, and adapt. Or you do. Affection is key during this time (and all other times). Certainly setting limits and being consistent is also important. As I type on my computer, I have two hounds in here. They like to be where I am, and I like that too.

 

I've found most true SA hounds just need another dog around. They have always been around other greyhounds, so to be the ONLY dog is what is MOST scary and new. Try having your rep bring another greyhound over, and watch the change. If you can foster, even better.

[Guest Snarfums]

Thanks again for the great responses!

 

I'll answer you guys in order, Grey Pup- We have her crate in the living room, which is right next to where she sleeps most of the time, but she hasn't really gone fully into it on her own. We have been feeding her in there, but I haven't closed the door on her yet, we will advance to that tomorrow- thanks for the idea! I have put some treats in there hoping that she will want to go all the way in and get them, but she reaches as far as she can to get the treat and then backs out. We do have a baby gate that we could probably use somewhere for the cats- we have a tri-level floorplan so for most of the time we are on the bottom level where the door to go out to the backyard is, but she doesn't like to hang out down there as much since we have wood floors on that level and she has slipped around a few times. We have put some rugs down there and she seems to be more confident down there now, but I think she likes to be on the carpet better The kitchen, her crate, and living room are on the mid level- we spend some time there on our laptops and she likes to lay on her bed which is about 10 feet away from us. The bedroom is upstairs and she only goes up there with us when we go to bed. I suppose we could put the gate across the bottom of the stairs so the cats can learn to go up there while Tasha is down here with us. We'll try a few things and see what happens...

 

I don't think Tasha wants to harm the cats when she chases them, but I don't really know the greyhound personality too well so I could be wrong. She has never growled or barked at them, she just lifts her ears up and chases if we don't catch her reaction in time when she sees or hears movement from them. I think after a few days of being scolded she has been getting better, but the cats have been more cautious around her too so maybe they're learning too!

 

Would a greyhound be able to smash through a baby gate? Would they even try? I know Tasha is plenty strong enough to break through one, is the visual barrier enough to stop a greyhound from passing?

 

She doesn't seem really interested in many toys, but she LOVES to fetch the tennis ball for us when we throw it for her outside. I think it's a good thing that she doesn't care much for toys inside so she's less inclined to act goofy while indoors. I've seen something similar to the Tyffy toys at PetsMart, maybe I'll check it out! Thanks for the link! Our Savannah cat treats her toys just like a dog would so usually they get thrown away or hidden after they get shredded within the first hour!

 

Wow thanks so much for all the helpful info, we will definitely try everything you have mentioned!

 

 

Widowcali- The cats currently have free reign of the entire house at all times. If we were keep them completely separate from Tasha would it be harder for them to adjust when they do come in contact with her? The only problems they have with her is when they want to play, she wants to chase. They seem to be doing pretty well in the same room if nobody is interested in anyone else I think the gate is an awesome idea!

 

 

Seeh2o- I can't believe Carl ripped apart his crate! Wow, that's just so hard to imagine! Did he hurt himself? When you let him roam the house while you are out do you have him confined to one room, or can he go anywhere he chooses? I suppose all retired greyhounds are more or less comfortable wearing a muzzle since they were them every time they race, right? I would like to hope that someday Tasha could be trusted enough to be on her own in the house, but with cats in the equation, that might prove a bit difficult. Here's hoping!

 

 

Again, thanks so much everyone for the great responses. We will keep working with her and report back. Tomorrow it will officially be one whole week of Tasha being with us! Maybe she's still just getting the hang of things

[seeh2o]

By some miracle he wasn't cut up from ripping his crate part, he just cut his gum a tiny bit. He/I was very lucky. Carl accepted the muzzle without a problem, though I line it with mole skin (you can buy this in any drugstore, .99cent store, etc in the foot section) so it is nice and soft. The only time I've confined him was to keep him out of the kitchen because my beloved Sheila (was very old, blind and cranky) couldn't be trusted around him alone. Now that she has passed Carl & Claire have the full run of the house, but both are muzzled to prevent shenanigans. Claire doesn't have SA, but when I leave they roo/howl for 30 - 60 seconds then settle down for the day.

 

I also have to agree with Greyhoundgang, walking around the house with you is just what they do. If you are in another room and she starts whining, I would ignore that as you don't want to fuel bad behavior, but I wouldn't dissuade her from walking around the house with you. When I come home from work Carl is literally velcro on my leg as I walk into the house, but I don't give him pets or love because I know that it fuels his SA. I am pleasant, but firm with him.

 

Please keep us posted on Tasha's progress!

[Guest IrskasMom]

I can't add anything to the SA Issue . My Morty never had that.We got Morty never knowing if he would be Cat safe or not (we have a Kitty ) but we took a Chance.Morty ignores the Kitty and only sometimes (very far in between ) we have a little shuffle and its over.Intrestingly when Kitty starts running from him it turns into a chase.My Neighbors Cats ( 4 ) are fair Game. He hates them with a Passion.

[Guest Shermanator]

My Sherman had severe separation anxiety in his crate. He got explosive pooh (ew.) and broke a tooth while chewing on it. The last straw was when he set the house alarm off, by slamming the crate so hard into the wall, that it set the glass breakage sensor off. We have 2 cats, and immediately got rid of the crate. Sherman was never one to chase the cats, we were lucky in that sense.

Anyway, we started video taping Sherman when we went away to see what he was up to. We wanted to see if there was any destructive behavior or separation anxiety while we were away. We did this several times, and ended up with several hours of video of Sherman in various states of lounging/napping in his bed.

Video taping could provide some clues as to what Tasha's up to while you are away.

We also keep furniture away from the walls for a kitty escape route and a baby gated area for them, since our other greyhound was a kitty chaser. Patton never caught them, just chased for the fun of it.

 

Sherman and Patton passed this summer, and we adopted 2 new little girly greyhounds. We do not crate or muzzle while we are away. (Muzzling them means they will destroy the house by rubbing them all over the painted walls, furniture, everything.) Anyway, we keep the house completely Travel and Echo-proofed the house and leave lots of bones and toys out to keep them occupied. That keeps them out of trouble while we are away.

[3greytjoys]

"Would a greyhound be able to smash through a baby gate? Would they even try? I know Tasha is plenty strong enough to break through one, is the visual barrier enough to stop a greyhound from passing?"

 

It's certainly possible, but none of my pups or fosters have crashed through a tall baby gate. Gates DO need to be installed tightly, and checked periodically to secure if needed(one of my pups gets excited and places her paws on top of the baby gate). Usually, a tall baby gate barrier is all most low prey hounds need, and most are fine seeing moving critters on the other side of the gate. (My baby gate is 36" tall. Installed 6" off the floor for cat escape = total 42" tall. Taller gates are made, too.)

 

A few clues re: prey drive with indoor cats: If when hound is called, the hound won't unlock her vision and look away from a non-moving cat, or hound won't leave the gate area when you call her because she's staring, salivating, and licking her lips over the thought of eating the cat, then you'll know her prey drive is stronger. Then careful management becomes more important, and the adoption group should be contacted for more help.

 

From what you've written, your hound sounds fine, just more like she wants to chase/play with the cats, but it should still be strongly discouraged. Most hounds deemed "cat-friendly" will become desensitized to a cat in a new home more and more every day / week / month as they see the cat/s living normally (while under your supervision). Many hounds are fine to leave in the house, unmuzzled with cats after they've adjusted well and proven their trustworthiness. For my own hounds, a baby gate is my friend. Greys are faster than cats, even in play mode.

 

Always remember that outside cats = game on!

-

 

To clarify re: Separation Anxiety - Newly adopted dogs frequently want to shadow their people, especially in a new environment. That's normal. That does not mean they have full blown SA. Either way, it's a good idea to create short breaks of separation from the dog (bathroom breaks, showers, short run to the store, etc.) each day so the dog builds her/his own confidence and independence by seeing that their humans always return.

-

 

"She doesn't seem really interested in many toys, but she LOVES to fetch the tennis ball for us when we throw it for her outside."

 

If you're sold on tennis balls, you might consider a larger than standard size tennis ball for tossing under supervision. (Greys mouths are large, if a large-mouth dog catches a small ball (including a standard size tennis ball), it can cause a blocking/choking hazard. Idol chewing and ingesting of tennis balls parts has caused many blockages/deaths.

 

By all means, exercise is great for hounds, and you're lucky to have a fetcher! Have fun and enjoy your new girl... She will adjust and relax in no time... She'll change so much in 3 weeks, 3 months, and for years thereafter. You'll probably wonder how you ever lived without her!

[Guest Shermanator]

Always remember that outside cats = game on!

 

Same thing with my pups, they are respectful (somewhat) to the kitties who live here. They'll give chase, but just to get them to run, its a game. They are also fine with our cats when they lounge in the backyard (our 15 yr old kitty uses the dog door, and lounges outside in the sun- we have 6 foot privacy fences, which she cannot jump over, so she never leaves.) However, any cat who is not in our family = game ON!

 

Patton used to 'fence' cats who would dare in go our backyard. He'd see them, launch like a maniac, lunging and growling. I've NEVER see a cat move so fast.

[Guest jaws4evr]

Well you seem to have some severe separation anxiety which is also linked to the crate (obviously you know this ).

 

I think you'd have to start going back to very tiny basics with her... i'm sure others will have better advice to give than i do, but one thing a lot of people forget is make 100% sure you ignore her when you leave and when you come home... do not let her out of her crate if she's fussing. Ideally you wouldn't acknowledge that she exists if she's fussing, never mind letting her out. the same goes for if she's loose... it's very important that you ignore her.

 

You can't "say goodbye" to a dog, get it all worked up, and then leave it alone in an elevated state and expect it to be calm when you come home. The same goes for when you come home, if you walk in the door all kisses and hugs, (not saying you are), then your dog will get worked up right along with you waiting for you to come home.

 

As for the cats... our GH showed very low interest right from the day she came home, and we have very active cats. We sternly corrected and continue to correct any attention to the cats, including ear pricks. We allow sneaky bum sniffs, but anything further than that gets sterly corrected.

 

Yours might have a too high prey drive to be safe with cats... but with consistent corrections you might work out just fine too.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Great advice so far. I would just disagree with the caution on furry toys and lure pole. Greyhounds have no problem discerning the difference between a fox tail on the end of a line and your furry kitty. Case in point, I have lure poles, furry toys, heck I even run my hounds in LGRA (similar to lure coursing except it is a straight line draw) and I have no issues with my three hounds and foster hound bothering my cats, even when they play. I believe this to be one of those "greyhound myths" that wont go away. Get whatever toy you want, they can tell the difference.

 

Chad

[Guest Snarfums]

Tasha is doing a lot better with the cats now. She mostly ignores them but we're still keeping a close eye on her because when they start making noise or run around she wants to get them. It's a good thing Tasha doesn't like to go down to the lower level of the house if the cats are down there because it's mosttly wood floors and she slips around if she's not careful. If they're walking close to her she doesn't seem to mind too much, she usually just ignores them. She's not too big on toys inside the house so that helps with us trying not to encourage her to play and chase inside the house. But when she's outside she loves to play fetch! I heard that most greyhounds don't like to play fetch so I guess we're lucky! Grey pup, we play fetch with a kong toy attached to a nylon rope, I think it was originally intended as a water toy, but I don't think she would be able to choke on it since she can barely fit it in her mouth

 

Hooked, I love your Sherman story- I think that taping her while we're gone might be something to try out. Maybe I could set up Skype on my laptop so I can monitor her while I am at work... Very interesting idea!

 

So far we have one baby gate but haven't figured out where to put it since our floorplan is a bit strange and we can only place a gate in smaller openings. I think I will draw out a sketch of it sometime soon so maybe someone could give me some pointers where baby gates would be most effective for the cats.

 

As for the crate thing, we're still working on that... She absoluely hates being in there, she doesn't go as far as ripping it apart, but she screams like she's going to die when we're not at home. One time my husband put her in her crate while he was going to the store and she didn't realise I was still at home in the bathroom upstairs- man, you would think she was being murdered in there!! I opened the door upstairs and told her to stop, which worked for a few minutes (she was probably really confused by me still being home!) and then the crying started up again since she couldn't see me. I have tried the spray bottle, but I think she actually likes being sprayed, it doesn't even phase her! When we're about to leave in the morning it's funny because she knows we're about to put her in her crate, so she either tries to run upstairs into the bedroom, or she will jump up on the couch like she's trying to say "I promise I will be a good girl if you don't put me in my crate!" Sorry, but we don't trust you enough with the kitties yet! Maybe someday...

 

Thanks again for all of the very helpful replies! I'll keep you all updated!

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I have a spooky grey who LOVES her crate and when she gets adopted, the new owner will HAVE to have a crate for her. She is absolutely terrified without having it to dart into when she feels the need. I also have another foster with a broken hock- a fresh broken hock, still in a cast, less than a week old injury. He, of course, is crated in a giant crate with lots of bedding and toys to amuse him. He's very young and this is hard on him. He has to be crated when not directly supervised/being petted for his own safety. On the other hand, some dogs just hate the crate. I had one here once who LOVED his kennel at the track. He would tear in from the turn out pen and race to his crate and wait for you to open it. He'd leap in and sigh with relief. I assumed he'd be a crate lover here- WRONG! I had to force him in, and I finally gave up and he was fine. He's in a new home now and he has never looked back. He is muzzled when they are not home (only a short time now and then) as he is also very young and gets into stuff like books, the remote, etc. Point being, they're all so different. I second the suggestion to put the cats in a safe room and perhaps leave the Greyhound loose, muzzled. Try it for a very short outing- just go out the door and come back again. You've come to the right place!

 

Also, I too race, course, and use a lure pole with my dogs, and it does not change their cat-safe or not cat-safe status at all. Some have found it even reduces the cat chasing and squirrel stalking on walks, since the hounds have a time when they're free to chase and a time when it's off limits (not sure if that's really what's happening in those cases, but I've had friends tell me this). I've actively coursed/raced my Whippet since he was a puppy and he's the most cat safe dog I think I've ever met, of any breed. He also is a squirrel hunter, but only when released and given permission to chase them (He'd never pull on the lead).

 

It's very cool that she fetches! We use the same Kong tennis "ball" style toy with a rope. Ironically, my total nut case spook foster plays fetch. I'd have never imagined it?! But it really helps wear her out and then she's less psychotic on walks and in public