Received A Warning For Noise

[Guest karilynn]

The pizza bones are ALL his. I ordered some ice cream, too... when I celebrate, I go all out. Go big or go home, that's what they say!

 

I'm so happy he's settling in, too. I actually cried a little happy tear or two and gave him a big hug after I watched the video from today.

[Guest Timo]

Not sure if anyone suggested this because I didn't read all the posts, but we trained timo to LOVE his crate. Periodically everyday (at least 4-5 times daily, if not more), we tell him to go in his crate, and we give him a treat. EVERY TIME. And, we leave the door open when we do this, so he can go in and out as he pleases. Someitmes he stays in there and lounges and sometimes he runs out immediately after getting his treat. Now, he's trained us by going into the crate without being asked but expecting a treat. And, we are suckers, so we give him a treat then, too but, at least the crate is a very happy place for him, so when we leave and close the door to it, he's in his happy place.

[kudzu]

Great news, Karilynn. From your description it doesn't sound like Bruce has SA. Sounds more like confusion & loneliness, but not anxiety. Though I understand people's feelings about not crating, I think the crate isn't your problem. In fact, your situation is exactly the type where crating can be a huge help. Having a dog who can be relatively calm & relaxed in a crate can have big pay offs down the road, including traveling & being in a cage at a vet's office.

 

We use xpens for fosters but we do not leave them in xpens when we are not there. Ours are usually set up in a square but that has more to do with our room layout. We also use xpens as fencing. We set them up across larger areas or openings to segregate dogs. Usually 42" is the tallest we use but strange as it sounds it's the 24" tall xpen that gets the most use. It's like a wide, portable baby gate. Most of the time, the way we set it up is such that a determined dog could move it. Then again a determined dog could simply jump it. Why they do not remains a mystery. So far only the little morsel sized dogs have gone over it, not the big one. Go figure. We do sometimes sort of wrap it around corners, walls or doors to give it more stability.

 

One of the more successful uses I've had is for a couple dogs who were not yet crate trained. They liked to lay on the bed in the crate but were not comfortable being closed in. So until we had done crate training I clipped the xpen to the sides of the crate so they could come & go into & out of the crate but could not venture outside the confines of the xpen. Again, a really determined or desperate dog could have escaped. But these were not SA dogs, merely untrained dogs who needed limits when not supervised. Which sounds like Bruce to me.

 

Not sure if anyone suggested this because I didn't read all the posts, but we trained timo to LOVE his crate. Periodically everyday (at least 4-5 times daily, if not more), we tell him to go in his crate, and we give him a treat. EVERY TIME. And, we leave the door open when we do this, so he can go in and out as he pleases. Sometimes he stays in there and lounges and sometimes he runs out immediately after getting his treat. Now, he's trained us by going into the crate without being asked but expecting a treat. And, we are suckers, so we give him a treat then, too but, at least the crate is a very happy place for him, so when we leave and close the door to it, he's in his happy place.

 

And that is a huge part of crate training!

[Guest verthib]

I am so happy for you and Bruce!!! I would strongly recommend continuing to use the crate, ESPECIALLY because you have a CAT. It's crucial for the safety of the cat. I have two cats and it's been months since mine have lived happily with the cats but when we're gone they still get crated or gated. We also did the treat training for the crate as the other poster mentioned. We put them in their crates while we're home too , for a half hour or so a day for weeks, with treats, so they didn't associate the crate with us being gone all the time. I periodically hide treats under their crate beds too so when they wander in they find a surprise. It definitely makes the crate a happy place. Good luck! It sounds like all will be well !!

[XTRAWLD]

YAY. HAPPY! Congrats on your progress!

[Guest madredhare]

I am so happy for you! If you would still need a bigger gate, I have looked on e-bay for them. There are some really nice ones on there.

[FiveRoooooers]

Fantastic! I am so happy for you Both!

[PrairieProf]

In fact, your situation is exactly the type where crating can be a huge help. Having a dog who can be relatively calm & relaxed in a crate can have big pay offs down the road, including traveling & being in a cage at a vet's office.

 

 

TOTALLY agree, and also with the poster who pointed out that the crate ensures your cat's safety. I am not an expert because I've only had one greyhound and she is and always has been totally fine with her crate -- I still crate her when I go out after over three years. (She has a tendency to chew stuff, I like not worrying about my cats, and I know she is calmer in a crate.) The crate helps SO MUCH when visiting people with the dog -- it's a "home away from home" the dog will feel familiar in and no worry about the dangers in a different environment. Also at the vet, and if the dog is injured and needs crate rest. I'm really not clear how the people who don't/can't use crates deal with these common situations! It's not abnormal for the dog to be a little whiny when left the first time in a new environment as Bruce was. I'm glad things are evidently fine!

[mychip1]

So glad to hear things are going well. Continued good wishes!!!!

[BatterseaBrindl]

I'm so glad to read he's made lots of progress in the past couple of days!

Did he enjoy the pizza bones???

[3greytjoys]

Yea to Bruce's improvement! At this point, I agree that it does not appear that Bruce has true S.A.; just a temporary adjustment period. I'll toss in few more suggestions as general food for thought...

 

I completely agree about keeping him crated while he's adjusting to living with your cat. I'd recommend feeding all meals in his crate (meals = super strong positive reinforcement of crate = happy place). Please do let him outside within 5 minutes after finishing meals, and then back inside to relax freely in studio with you. (Like early puppy housebreaking lessons: dogs go from crate directly outside to potty before spending free time in house.) New hounds usually need more frequent potty outings than long adjusted hounds.

 

Before departing for work, give ample opportunities to drain his tank. (Some hounds who go on leashed walks (both sexes) hold back a urine reserve for "marking" purposes.) If he needs to potty before you get home to let him out, it's natural for dogs to whine to express their discomfort.

 

I agree re: radio on news "talk" station, or very mellow (sleepy) music. (TV is okay but daytime talk shows have frequent loud audience clapping, which may awaken him/set off whining, especially if he awakens needing to potty.) Personally, I would not subject hounds to stimulating rock music all day long. I prefer to encourage restful behavior with relaxing music. Dogs' hearing is MUCH more keen/sensitive than human's hearing. (Our hounds sometimes whine if the TV or music is too loud, or when certain tones hurt their ears. Just happened this week during X-Factor on TV.)

 

"Carpet squares" (fit like puzzle) are good for pet owners to form carpet areas. Easier to clean than full size area rug. As mentioned, rubber backed throw rugs are okay too, unless you want something thicker/more dense under foot.

 

In lieu of a live second Greyhound, a large mirror placed at floor level reflecting the hound's own image back to himself can help an only hound feel less alone, especially at first. (Retired racers are used to seeing a kennel full of Greyhounds when looking out of their crate.) Be careful to secure a mirror safely. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Make sure it doesn't get any direct sunlight at any time of day. (This avoids a reflective fire hazard.) Also, leaving your worn clothing next to crate is comforting for them to smell.

 

Hard "Durachews," "Souper size" (made by Nylabone) help relieve boredom for chewers. Best if flavored bacon or chicken, etc. I recommend the hard "Durachews" for hounds to chew even when owners are home. (Don't buy "original flavor," that is really no flavor at all.) If needed, smearing peanut butter on the hard "Durachew" the first time helps Greys learn it's their own toy to chew. They last a very long time, and are great to help keep teeth cleaner!

 

Even if a new hound isn't an immediate chewer, I keep hard "Durachews" available. One of our newer hounds just started chewing a Durachew after 20+ months. I am thrilled since that hound has poor teeth and already needed 2 full dentals. Durachews help the other hounds' teeth so much. We can extend time between dentals.

 

Collars and crates: Please don't leave a Martingale collar on inside house. It's great to leave Martingale collar connected to the leash for walking outside. Even though Martingales are soft fabric, they are still "choke" collars. The D-ring can catch on many things inside a home. Any tags are best placed on the side hardware of a Martingale, not the choke D-ring.

 

IMO, the safest 24/7 ID collar is a flat, embroidered ID collar without any tags or ring (ours are reflective at night). Other hounds' tags have gotten caught between crate bars... very dangerous. A flat breakaway ID collar, or no collar is safer while inside a crate. Otherwise, a flat ID collar is great to have on a hound 24/7.