Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 so Otis is a whiner, he talks and whines for nothing and every thing. He is with us for 2 1/2 months now and he has a lot of personnality! During the day it's "manageable" but he started whinning during the nights... here's the situation: Otis sleeps alone on the main floor, we sleep in our bedroom in the basement. He never comes downstairs, the staircase is steep and dangerous for hounds, never a greyhound step down there by itself. The first 2 weeks DH tooks Otis in his arms and got him in our bedroom to sleep each nights. As soon as Otis learn how to go up the staircase by himself he dont want to stay downstairs, so that's why he sleeps upstairs alone (Tuffy also slep alone upstairs). We go to bed around 10pm. At that moment Otis is sleeping on his bed and everything is ok. Around 12am/1am He will get up and start whinning, walking around the house. This will last 15 to 30 minutes and he will get back to his bed and sleep. Around 3am/4am same thing, wakes up, whines, walk... The night whinning is not to go outside and not a pain cry... if we go upstairs Otis is all happy and even wants to play! We decided to ignore him and never go upstairs when he whines...he wont prevail and win... He seems to not want to be alone upstairs but dont want to come sleep with us downstairs. You may say: just bring him downstairs and close the access so he wont be able to go back up... but he will still get up in the night and whines... even if we are in the room with him! Otis is quite outgoing and has a lot of energy... maybe he thinks sleeping at night is a waste of time to play? thanks for your advices! Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatterseaBrindl Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) The night whinning is not to go outside and not a pain cry... if we go upstairs Otis is all happy and even wants to play! We decided to ignore him and never go upstairs when he whines...he wont prevail and win... He seems to not want to be alone upstairs but dont want to come sleep with us downstairs. I think you have figured this out yourself! Otis does not want to be alone at night...who can blame him?!?!? Can you teach him how to do the stairs? How steep are they? I'm sure with some practice, he can learn to do them. Most Greys are agile and clever! If you really cannot have him downstairs for the night, then I would just ignore the whining. Do not respond at all....'tough love' ! Sooner or later he'll 'get it'. If you give in...even once... then you have taught him that if he whines, you will pay attention. Good luck!! Edited September 7, 2011 by BatterseaBrindl Quote Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi. Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie), Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 If Otis is ex-racing Greyhound then he is used to a crate, so consider getting one and making it comfy like a den with a blanket top and 3 sides. If you want him downstair then he can go in a crate there too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Time4ANap Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 If Otis is ex-racing Greyhound then he is used to a crate, so consider getting one and making it comfy like a den with a blanket top and 3 sides. If you want him downstair then he can go in a crate there too. Just to add to this, you probably don't need to crate him,but just have a crate available for him to come and go as he pleases. It is kind of a safe spot. We keep the crate open 24/7, and even though Rocket is never really "crated" anymore, we do find him in there from time to time. Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 BatterseaBrindi: even if we get him downstairs to sleep with us he goes back upstairs or if I block the staircase he whines with us in the room... If Otis is ex-racing Greyhound then he is used to a crate, so consider getting one and making it comfy like a den with a blanket top and 3 sides. If you want him downstair then he can go in a crate there too. He had a crate for the first month... he got up and whines even with it... Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 one other thing... if I get up and go upstairs and sleep on the sofa I have to order Otis to lay down and sleep... he does settle down and sleep... if not he will want to play... Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddgirl Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 What is your feeding schedule? Our grey would get up and whine around 4am, and after awhile we figured out that he was hungry. We started feeding him closer to bedtime, but before his final turn-out/play time, and that seemed to do the trick. (In other words, instead of feeding at 7am and 6pm, we feed at 7am, a biscuit or snack after work, and final meal around 9:30, bed-time at 10:30). Quote Batman (racing name CTW Battle Plan) adopted May 2011, passed away July 2017 Buffy (racing name CTW Bathsheba) adopted Oct 2012, passed away March 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) muddgirl: yes I thought of that... Otis is fed at 7:30am, 7hpm and has a snack around 9:45pm, just before bed. Edited September 7, 2011 by Josie Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Maybe block him into a very small space in your room. All of my fosters are baby-gated into the cubbyhole between the bed and the wall. It is an area about 4'x4'. When its time to go to bed, all the hounds know the "go to bed command". Everyone gets into their favorite spot, the foster is ushered into the cubbyhole and the gate is put up. The lights go off and everyone goes to sleep. Fosters usually try the first few nights to make noise, I simply ignore it, or give them the "shhhhhh". Try limiting the amount of room he has to move around and it may encourage him to sleep instead of looking for things to get into. Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I didn't see anyone mention exercise. Try going on a 45 minute to 1 hour walk about 7pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) I didn't see anyone mention exercise. Try going on a 45 minute to 1 hour walk about 7pm. He gets 30 minutes in the morning and 1 hour walk (6 to 7 pm) I think the problem is that no one told him he is not a golden retriever or a labrador even if he got the right color Edited September 7, 2011 by Josie Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatterseaBrindl Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Well...if Otis is tired out from a long evening walk and he is not hungry, but the whining at bedtime continues.... until you go upstairs and sleep with him ... Hmmmm.... have you considered the fact that Otis has you well trained?!? Sorry to be so blunt! Quote Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi. Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie), Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 Well...if Otis is tired out from a long evening walk and he is not hungry, but the whining at bedtime continues.... until you go upstairs and sleep with him ... Hmmmm.... have you considered the fact that Otis has you well trained?!? Sorry to be so blunt! I know! that's what DH says.. good thing that boy is so darn cute! Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsugrad Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I guess Robin and I are made for each other. I can't make it through the night without getting up to use the bathroom once, and neither can he. Whichever of us wakes up first on any given night walks over to get the other one up so we can both 'go' at the same time. Even when I am on vacation/houndless, I still have to get up once in the middle of the night to go. Quote Rita, mom to Dakota (Dakotas Dream) & Wish (Kiowa Wish Wish) and my angels Toby (Sol Marcus) and Robin (Greys Robin Hood) Forever missing our beloved Robin and Toby "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Is there enough light for him to see on the stairs if he wanted to come down to sleep with you guys? He may not have enough confidence with stairs yet to do them in the dark? Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) I think you already answered your own question; if you ignore it, eventually he'll give up. I've never met a dog that isn't hungry ALL THE TIME. I wouldn't change his feeding schedule. Assuming he CAN get downstairs if he wants to, I think it's a matter of who has more endurance! My father's last dog was a whiner. Dad made the mistake of reaching down and petting him (the dog laid by his chair) every time he whined. So we ended up with a dog who wanted to be petted all day every day, and would whine when you stopped. It was unbearable! George used to wake me up at EXACTLY 4 AM when I first adopted him. I got all sorts of ideas--but I felt most of them would simply enforce his behavior, not curtail it. What did work was a stern "go lie down" and then rolling over and putting my pillow over my head! He gave up after a week and hasn't done it since. Edited cause I meant to say "wouldn't" not would! Edited September 8, 2011 by GeorgeofNE Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 What everybody has said. LOL It's similar to putting a toddler to bed who doesn't want to go. He calls for water. He cries. He calls for momma or dadda. The best thing to do is ignore ignore ignore. Eventually the child falls asleep. So will your 4-footed baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josie Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 thanks for your responds last night after almost 45minutes of whinning at 3:30am DH went to the staircase (staying in the basement) and said firmly and with authority "go lie down" and Otis stop and went back to bed. so.. guess that's the best way to do this... Feisty49: you're right.. I got a 3 years old toddler that's testing the limits of his parents Quote Our first greyhound, Tuffy: You will always be there with us my angel! Tuffy greyhound-dataOtis greyhound-data Abbey greyhound-data"When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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