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Where Does Your Greyhound Sleep?


Guest manawatugal

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Guest manawatugal

I only ask because our lovely boy who we have had for 5 days now really wants to sleep in our bedroom beside our bed. But I have a few issues with this, firstly, our room is quite small and I feel he should have his own 'space' which he does, a lovely stretcher bed with padding in our family room, hopefully to move into our conservatory which he did sleep in first night. Last night we had to shut him out of our room and he slept outside in the corridor on the carpet. Now if I lived alone I would possibly have a dog in my room not on the bed, they are too bleeding huge for that and I don't want him to think he is pack leader and can do what he wants, therefore just wanted to know what other greyhound owners do.

I suppose I should toughen up and just shut doors where his bed is to make him stay there and so he gets the message. I am not sure what his life was like before but he did use to race until 6 months ago and then was fostered for a few weeks before coming to us. He is 5 years old.

Any advice to a newbie gratefully received.

We don't have any other pets.

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Ours sleeps anywhere he wants. :lol

 

Really...some nights he sleeps in our room on a dog bed at the foot of the bed. Other nights he likes the rug by the front door or a dog bed in the living room. About 90% of the time he uses the dog bed in our room. Works for us, that way we can hear him if there's a problem or he needs to go out, which rarely happens.

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Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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Guest crazy4greys

In my old house when I only had 3 greyhounds and a larger bedroom, they slept in my room on dog beds. Now that I have 5 greyhounds, and an occasional foster, there is no way they all would fit in my room and if one of my own went upstairs, then the others would whine :lol

 

So they sleep downstairs in their own room with the couch, recliner, dog beds and crates and they are very happy. I do leave the radio on for them, 24/7 actually.

 

The only time a dog sleeps in my room is if it is a foster dog and they don't like sleeping alone even though there are 5 other dogs :rolleyes:

 

A lot of dogs prefer to sleep in the bedroom with their mom and/or dad. They just don't like being alone ;)

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Where the dog sleeps has less to do with who he thinks is the leader in the house than how well YOU lead.

 

Ours sleep pretty much wherever they want - dog bed, available chairs, our bed. Only one consistently sleeps with us, another will ocassionally. They will all get on the bed at various times. We have five greys and three cats in a 900 sq foot, 1 bedroom house. It's close, but comfy!

 

Most greyhounds prefer to sleep close to their owner. They become very attached, very quickly, and especially in the beginning, this seems to be a comfort for them. Also, I prefer to have them close so I can hear tem if they need to go out or have other issues. Many greys will choose to sleep in other rooms as they become settled into home life. Where did he sleep in his foster home?

 

But, he is a dog. He will learn to sleep where you want him.

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 shanesmom

My boy sleeps on his bed right next to my bed. He had never been all alone before. Even at the track there were lots of other greys in their crates all around him. Being an only dog here, he is much happier being close to me. I actually babygate him in my room because I don't like to close my door and if he has free run of the place he will find something to get into while I sleep.

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Guest fringepup

Willie has his own bed in our room and he seems to be happy there. Our room is small too, but we did rearrange things so he could at least be with us. He doesn't try to get on the bed which is good for us. Our last dog was in our bed and we would usually be the ones clinging to each side. We agreed that he would sleep in his own bed for our own sanity. Since we only have Willie, we didn't want him to be alone at night. But you have to do what works best for you. Good luck and congrats on your new family member!

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Guest happygrey

.. I am not sure what his life was like before but he did use to race until 6 months ago and then was fostered for a few weeks before coming to us. He is 5 years old.

Any advice to a newbie gratefully received.

We don't have any other pets.

Just to address what you wondered about -- you can count on the fact that he's never been left alone. Greys always live with other dogs. Unlike a lot of dogs that are separated from their packs early, greys aren't and even with they split from their siblings, they are with other greys. If he's new I can see that he'd want to be with his people.

 

Our 2 greys sleep in our room with us -- but neither sleeps on the bed with us.

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Bella would sleep with us until about 2 months ago (we've had her since April) and now she has no interest in sleeping with us. Her crate is in our bedroom so she'll go on the bed for a few minutes and snuggle but then she goes into her crate, all on her own.

Dave (GLS DeviousDavid) - 6/27/18
Gracie (AMF Saying Grace) - 10/21/12
Bella (KT Britta) - 4/29/05 to 2/13/20

 

 

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Guest Lakota

my bed most of the time. Before she was comfortable with that, she slept on a dog bed on the floor by my bed. There is no doubt that she understands that I am the boss.

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Guest mbfilby

Ours also sleep where-ever they want. This includes our bed where one, both, or none may be at any given time. Usually Mickey will be on our bed, and Cy will be on the floor beside.

 

The one thing I caution about was your comment to close doors to keep him in. Not a great idea. Most dogs do not do well in an enclosed space. There may be much whining, scratching and chewing of things..

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Guest greymama002

Ours liked sleeping on dogbeds on the floor of our room when we first got them, but after awhile, they would just sleep on whatever dog bed or couch they ended up on, in the living room or den, and often change spots during the night. Tina, who we just lost a month ago, was the only one who always slept at the foot of my bed every night, and yes, our room is small, so I would have to step over her every morning to get by. I have yet to move that bed, even though none of the others ever use it.

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Our boy sleeps on his bed in our room, next to our bed. We don't have a huge bedroom either, but we just step over the bed. Its in front of the long closet, so sometimes I have to move it a bit either way to open the closet doors, but no big deal. Opie is our baby, and he wants to sleep by us. I think its telling that your boy slept on the floor in front of your closed door. He wants to be with you. I would say, make it work somehow.

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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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Another vote for sleeping in the bedroom. All 4 of my dogs sleep on dog beds on the floor of my bedroom. Willow will join me in my bed sometime in the middle of the night or early morning. Dogs are social animals and enjoy staying close to their family. While many can learn to sleep elsewhere, or may choose to do so if given the freedom, I honestly feel that the majority of dogs are happiest when able to stay with their owners.

 

I also think people worry too much about the whole pack leader/alpha thing. Having a well-behaved dog has nothing to do with dominance. It's about teaching them proper manners, setting appropriate guidelines and expectations, and mutual love and respect. Where the dog sleeps, who goes through doors first, who eats first, or any of the other numerous rules about dominance are just myths. JMO :)

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

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Guest Wasserbuffel

Mine sleeps in her crate in our room next to my side of the bed. It leaves me with just a little space for getting in and out of bed, but it's enough. When I sleep on the couch, which I do a few times a month when I have trouble sleeping and don't want to disturb DH, she either sleeps on the couch with me or will sleep on the other couch.

 

Your pup won't think he's the leader of the pack if you let him choose his sleeping place. I can truly understand not wanting him in your bed. Mine's just a little gal and she's such a bed hog that we had to kick her off.

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I have beds for all 4 dogs in my bedroom and also in the living room. Java usually tries to start out on the bed but I generally make them all get on their own beds to start out. They sneak up on the bed during the night. It may only be 1 dog but I have had all 4 on the bed (a queen & it is just me).

 

If I wake up and can't turn over because of the dogs, they get told to "Get Off" and they go back to their beds. Occasionally, Jave won't like the only available bed and sleep in the living room until she can sneak back up. :P

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Adrienne - with the kitties Tippy & Tyler Too

Missing my bridge angels Boo Zsee, Java Bean (Nitro Kristen), Zeeba and Baer the not-so-miniature schnauzer

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Argos slept on a dog bed in our room - his choice. Bootsy started out that way, but several months ago decided he preferred to stay downstairs to sleep. Again, his choice. Both of them slept in their crates for the first several weeks.

 

Hope that helps! good luck with your new boy!

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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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Guest manawatugal

Blimey! thanks guys and such quick and varied replies but then I suppose being on the other side of the world brings in replies quicker than expected. Hubby actually doesn't mind Stanley sleeping in our room so maybe I will make a space for him to snuggle down in. He has a huge dog beanbag bed that the greyhound adoption people sell and he wouldn't go on it until today (it was a bit slippery and unstable underfoot) so I got a big secondhand duvet to put on top and he has been on it twice already I think because he now feels secure on it. That's very portable so maybe that is the way to go. I really don't want him on the bed though, there definitely wouldn't be enough room for all of us and we need undisturbed sleep. When I was growing up I could never get our black lab to stay on my bed for more than 2 mins. Actually Stanley doesn't know how to jump up, he can't get in the back of my car without me giving him a helping shove up the bum and he's so heavy. He had difficulty going up a big step today too which was quite funny to watch. I have to remember where he has come from only having lived in a domestic situation with his fosterer even though his trainer/owner kept him for a while after he stopped racing 5 months ago. I suspect he stayed in the kennels with the other dogs maybe?

You all sound such devoted owners aswell and I am really enjoying reading everything about them. Didn't know anything about these dogs until 8 months or so ago when I started researching. www.greyhoundsaspets.org.nz (GAP) charity that started here in 2006 have until now adopted out 600 to people in NZ. My region (Palmerston North/Manawatu) is apparently quite slow for adoptions so as soon as his promotional vest arrives I will be out and about informing people of what wonderful pets they make. I've already had many favourable comments from passersby.

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Well, I hate to admit this but my DH and I rarely sleep in the same bed. I moan and groan in my sleep which wakes him up. So, I have a daybed in the living room. The two boys sleep in my bed with me. Our little girl sleeps beside my bed on her doggie bed on the floor.

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