Guest Newowner Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hello, We have our first grey. A big beautiful black boy called Carlos. An ex-racer from RSPCA West Norfolk. He is around 2.5 years old. This is the second week we have had him and would like information on leaving him alone at home please. We left him alone indoors yesterday for 15 minutes and he did some minor damage. We have previously put him in our double garage but he kept jumping up the door and scratched it. Any advice from experienced owners would be most appreciated. At the moment, we have not bought a crate for him. Many thanks in advance for your advice. Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) If he is used to a crate then that might be best. I remember when I got Peggy and just 4 weeks later I had to dash a relative off to hospital at 3pm and couldn't get back til 10pm. I came back to a chewed bed (luckily only a pine beadstead). I think what I'd do in the absence of a crate is shut the dog in the kitchen along with his bed and some water, plus a radio left on. I'd dog proof everything potentially dangerous like cables and loose things. Gradually extend the being away period to 20 minutes, half an hour and then an hour. Add: And welcome and congrats on getting a Greyhound on finding this interesting website where virtually all you need to know about Greys annd more can easily be found. Edited July 11, 2012 by JohnF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjpk Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Please refer to this board and find "alone training",very helpful hints from much experienced people. Also read "Greyhounds for Dummies". Good luck and stick to this board as we have all been through your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HoundWorks Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I would suggest the kitchen or large bathroom as well and use a baby gate to gate off the room. Leave a soft bed for him to sleep on. Do not close the door as some dogs feel trapped, but if they can see through a baby gate it gives them some comfort that they are not completely shut out. Leave a toy with some goodies (peanut butter, cottage cheese...) to keep him busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blondealonso Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) Babygate worked well for us, we took the first two weeks off work (we both do shift work) and over the two weeks gradually spent more time away from but made sure we were out of the house. I tried to work in my home office upstairs and shutting him downstairs but as he knew I was upstairs he would pine and likely saw it as a punishment. I now make sure I spend time with him or allow him to be near me whenever I'm in the house. I don't make a fuss when I leave or when I come home. He still gets very excited when we come home but we make sure we dont make an 'event' out of it, we wait until he's calmed down then make a fuss over him . Picking up and putting down my keys as well numerous times throughout the days has helped him desensitizing himself to us leaving. Buy a kong, fill it with yogurt/treats and then seal it with peanut butter and freeze it. Al will spend ages licking it and trying to get the treats inside! Keeps him busy. The other thing is we make sure we spend some good quality time with your grey every morning and evening, with walks twice a day. You could try getting a plugin for your wall that lets off a doggy aroma therapy thing that calms them... you can them from pets at home for £20 with 1 refil, and £20 for 2 refils. We only have ours on when we're out of the house. Best of luck! Edited July 11, 2012 by blondealonso Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 When I left Teague I first practiced by just leaving the house to work outside for short periods where he could see and hear me but was separated. I also did not allow or encourage him to follow me everywhere in the house and would work in separate rooms from him for part of the day. Also, if a dog is already showing signs of anxiety as you are leaving, things are not going to go well when you're gone. If things like going to the door, putting your shoes on, getting your keys, etc. trigger him to become anxious, I would practice doing this over and over without leaving the house until he stops reacting. Also, I am a big believer in always tiring a dog out before leaving them alone, especially in the beginning. Dogs are programmed to go into a rest mode after a lot of exercise and food, so you can use this to your advantage by tiring him out as much as you can, and feeding him after he has settled as you leave. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyhoundGirl Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I crate mine when I'm gone. They're used to the crates and it's security for them. All of mine have eventually gotten to the point where they don't need it but at the beginning it makes us all feel better. I try to leave for a 1/2 hour at first and then work my up from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastDogsOwnMe Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Great advice so far. I just wanted to say welcome and thanks for adopting. Would love to see your pup! I also suggest a crate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sashasmom Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I have three and have never crated. I will say this, I was careful in the beginning and would "leave" and check in the window to see what they were doing. I also have a "Nanny cam" so I can check in and see.(yes crazy mom) My first was over 6 when I got her and she keeps the others in line. In the beginning its safer to have the crate, even if you leave the door open some times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vjgrey Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I also have a "Nanny cam" so I can check in and see.(yes crazy mom) We're super crazy and have "nanny cam" from two angles - my laptop (with Skype) is set up in my office, and DH's is set up in our bedroom, the two rooms they have access to while we're away. We only recently stopped crating Cash, who came home in April, so we wanted to make sure he did okay with our girls. So far, we've had ZERO issues, but it's still really fun to watch them sleep while we're out. Yesterday, DH texted me from a business trip in Europe to say that Cash had just roached himself off the raised dog bed and was still laying like that, half on, half off. Quote Valerie w/ Cash (CashforClunkers) & Lucy (Racing School Dropout)Missing our gorgeous Miss Diamond (Shorty's Diamond), sweet boy Gabe (Zared) and Holly (ByGollyItsHolly), who never made it home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddgirl Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) The piece of advice I wish I had followed from the beginning was to close off most of the house to the greyhound if he's home alone. We have an open-concept kitchen/living room and that's where Batman gets to spend the day - he doesn't get to go in the bedrooms or bathrooms unsupervised. It was just asking for trouble (chewing pens, paper, clothes, venetian blinds, etc). We did use the crate for awhile, and I would recommend trying that if the animal is used to it. Personally, Batman hated being alone in his crate so much that he was a danger to himself in it. But I do think that the first week when he was alone in the crate helped ease the transition a little bit. (Also, IME the most anxiety is going to occur in the first 15-20 minutes of separation. If you are consistent and teach your grey over time that you'll always come back, they may calm down without any other intervention. It helps to have a schedule - always leaving around the same time and returning around the same time.) Edited July 11, 2012 by muddgirl 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...
Guest Newowner Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Thanks very much for all your replies. We will work through them and hopefully find the best fit! All the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Great advice so far. I just wanted to say welcome and thanks for adopting. Would love to see your pup! I also suggest a crate. ditto....and no matter what the breed, dog owners feel anxious leaving their dogs alone at first no mater what the sex of the child, parents feel the same way leaving their kids alone for the first time and no matter what the age of the young adult, parents feel anxious letting their kids drive independently for the first couple of times. it all comes with the territory of life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.