Adopting Another Girl..advice?

[MachosMom]

Hi Everyone!

 

I know- I've been a bad mommy.. I haven't posted any Moonbeam updates!!! And here I am, asking for your assistance for adding another.

 

Yep. that's right.. I may be adopting my second girl greyhound this weekend! Her name is Hattie, and I fell in love with her when we adopted Moonbeam and almost adopted her at the same time. She got adopted the next weekend, and just got returned. Has super separation anxiety, and needs to be with another dog or two. She is cat friendly, has the sweetest personality, I could go on and on.....(oh, and she is 17 months old. Had an injury to her leg so she can't race - only raced once, here's her greyhound data info http://greyhound-dat...=Kiowa Hats Off)

 

So..enter me. Taking it as a sign to not let it go this time, we may be driving an hour away to go meet her again and hopefully adopt her. I am going to email the head of the group and see if we can get all the ends tied up so we know when she can come home, and make everything smooth.

 

Now... that being said.. I need some advice and know you guys are the peeps to ask!

 

I have Moonbeam, who is crated during the day in Macho's old crate (she is so much smaller than he was that she can stretch out no worries)... and I have Batista - my Shepard boy who hangs out in the office or the bedroom during the day being lazy with the cat

 

My house is uber small (600 sq ft)... I'm not sure where to put another crate, or how to handle two greys that have some separation anxiety. I am thinking they will help each other out a bit. Moon isn't bad at all, just can't be left out of her crate during the day because she gets really upset, so we are slowly alone training her. At night - she is peachy keene by herself and zonks out on the sofa

 

How can I make this easy on everyone? I know you can't tell me where to place the crate for Hattie, because you can't see how tiny my living room is...(which is where Moon's crate is)... I will have to work that out.

 

But i'm a little scared that I may be getting in over my head - can you guys give me some pointers? Batista will be in heaven having two girls in the house... Moonbeam and he are two peas in a pod, it's so cute.

 

I will have to get on the computer later and upload some Moonbeam photos and give you guys an update on her as well .

[greytpups]

Is she ok in an xpen rather than a crate? Perhaps you can block her off in an area where she can't hurt herself.

[beledi]

I envy you. Would love to have another Grey. I have three cats, a Border Collie, a Schipperke and my Greyhound lad...Love them all, but Samlur, my Grey, is my heart dog.

[NeylasMom]

Your new addition may do better outside of the crate, you'll just have to wait and see and figure it out through trial and error. My experience has been that most dog's SA is independent of the crate, but Zuri does much better when crated whereas Violet cannot be crated (her being able to watch me come and go from the door seemed to be a key part of that). Do you already know if her SA is addressed by the presence of another dog? If not, I would think taking on 2 new dogs, both with SA pretty much at the same time might be a lot, but if you don't have neighbors who mind noise while you work through it and are willing to put in the time and work then more power to you.

[MachosMom]

I am not sure about a pen instead of a crate yet. Moon will jump over a baby gate if she gets too upset and tries to follow you. (we have curbed that by keeping her busy with peanut butter filled treats ) ... Moon has made big progress in the crate department, we just aren't yet at 8 hours straight out of the crate, unless at night because then she knows we are home, just in the other room and she doesn't jump the baby gate to get into the bedroom at all.

 

Moon doesn't have the anxiety if my other dog is out with her - then she's like "whatever mom". However, he can be cranky, so we don't leave them all day together to be safe.

 

From what I know about Hattie, yes- she does better with another dog or two in regards to being alone. So, I think the company of Moon may help her, though I am preparing for that being a big FAIL. I'm putting "I'll be home soon" on my ereader and making an alone plan for both girls. Just hoping I'm not in over my head.

 

Luckily our neighbors aren't too too close, so that's not a big deal either. PHEW. I want to get a webcam installed too so I can monitor them.

[Guest SeeJoy]

~ I am so new that this is my first post..but I have been an avid reader of GreyTalk for a few weeks now!

Since I live in a home that is less than a thousand square feet, and adopted my first grey, "Sophia" fka Jim Martha, 3 weeks ago.. and adopted my second, "Roo" fka Magic Mangroo, just this past Sunday..I thought I would share how it's out worked for me so far.

Sophia was thought of as a "shy" dog, and was, and "Roo" even more so.

Over the past 3 weeks Sophia has just blossomed )

When we brought her home 3 weeks ago we decided to crate her the 2 days a week that my BF and I are both gone all day to work. On the other days he mostly works from home.

(We have a great gal that comes mid-day to take her out on the days we are away)

At night Sophia sleeps upstairs by my bed.

When we decided to go "double", I didn't know if I should buy another crate or not. The one we had already took up am awful lot of space in the living-room/Grey-room. And they are expensive.

So we took a chance, and went crate less for both dogs.

This decision was based on that fact that the girls get along very well and from a crate free test we had Monday, for about an hour.

I know that doesn't sound like much time for a true test... but when we came back home not a hair was out of place.

Having another grey in the house has "settled" our first grey in a deeper manner than she had already settled in. You can feel it.

She is so content to have a grey companion!

( we also have a 13yr old shorted legged Jack Russell but it's not the same)

And our new girl, though quite timid at this point, follows Sophia's lead in just about everything!

Sophia is very smart..

We realize that potty incidents might take place some time in the future but both dogs know that outside is for doing their business.

For what it's worth, we keep the JR upstairs when we are gone with the door closed and our cat in the basement with the door closed. We didn't want the possiblity of a "prey" accident..

When we are home all the 4 leggers get along with just a hiss and swat from the cat once in awhile.

Having two greys is life changing but in a great way!

I know Sophia is extra happy now~~

 

Best of luck with your new girl!!

[greysmom]

Having the two together may be the answer to both their problems with SA. It's really not that big an issue to have one crated and one not in the same room. I would muzzle both of them when first trying to leave them out together. Can the shepherd and the greys see each other during the day? You might also consider stacking two baby gates in the door to keep Moon from jumping them.

 

If you can, take Moon with you to the kennel to see how the two of them get along on somewhat neutral ground. I'm thinking they'll be fine together, but it never hurts to make sure.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

what about staking a second crate on top of the first. She will be able to jump up to the second crate, they all can, even the boys if you encourage them enough. Heck a friend of mine has a tri-pod girl that jumps up to her crate on the top level.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Greyt_dog_lover

[NeylasMom]

A webcam was a lifesaver for me when figuring out Violet's SA. Does your laptop not have one? If not, you can pick one up at a place like Best Buy for about $20 - you don't need anything special. I used UStream to then monitor them live. You can watch both online and on an app that's downloadable to your phone and I rarely had issues with it. The one downside is that it's a public feed, but I just gave it some random name so people weren't likely to come across it while searching for something.

[Guest undergreysspell]

Just looked up Hattie -we adopted from BAGA also- and she is absolutely beautiful ! Her description sounds like she'll fit right in with your group. Good luck !!

[MachosMom]

Thanks everyone! I'm feeling better about it by the moment. Looks like we go see her and hopefully take her home with us Saturday morning! YAY!

 

1. My laptop does have a webcam on it..good idea.. I'll have to test that out. Didn't even THINK of using the laptop.

2. We could stack the crates - the one Hattie will be using is from our dear friend Jenn who has Moon's half brother (and Macho's half brother there abouts)... so at least we aren't out any money for a crate just in case we get lucky and don't need it that long!

3. Thank you sooo much SeeJoy and welcome to GreyTalk. I love everyone here, and they've always been so helpful no matter what I'm going through. Your experience was very insightful and made me feel a bit more like I could handle it.

4. Yes - although in separate rooms, the greys will be able to see Batista our shepard mix. We try to make sure they aren't in a "closed" room as we know that adds stress sometimes. It did with Macho the one and only time we tried that !

 

We will most likely be bringin Moon along with us. She was fostered with Hattie briefly before we adopted her, so they are familiar with each other already! But never hurts to take her on an adventure and go visit again!

 

Thanks again, I'm slowly feeling like I can do this with no worries! Of course if I run into any bumps, you'll know where i'll be

[Guest SeeJoy]

I am really excited for you!

 

We adopted from the NGAP in NW Philly and my girls happened to come in on the same day, 6/16/12.

It's very possible that they were turned out together while they were there..but I don't know that for certain.

There's no doubts they are very comfortable together and I am so happy for them, and us!

 

Looking forward to hearing stories about your new pack member

[Guest DeniseL]

I am really excited for you!

 

We adopted from the NGAP in NW Philly and my girls happened to come in on the same day, 6/16/12.

It's very possible that they were turned out together while they were there..but I don't know that for certain.

There's no doubts they are very comfortable together and I am so happy for them, and us!

 

Looking forward to hearing stories about your new pack member

 

Awwww!!! You adopted Martha and Mangroo! They were so cute! We met them both at NGAP while in the process of adopting our two hounds...we ended up adopting Miami and Thyme (Time). Glad to hear they are doing well and are together

[Guest SeeJoy]

Grey Pup~

Did you adopt your sweetie's at the same time ?

Miami and Thyme are adorable!

How did energetic Miami adjust to home life?

 

Thyme looks a lot like Martha.. and Mangroo... lol

[Guest DeniseL]

Ummm....well, thyme was a dream, just perfection, loves to cuddle, instantly house trained, no sa, just loves to eat, (she will eat anything in site! Very food motivated!) Just a little mouthy when playing, but we are working on that. A real sweetheart.

Miami has been our challenge. VERY SENSITIVE, amost comatose in fear the first 2 months, but not in a shy, spooky way, just extremely overwelmed with the new surrondings. He also loves to eat things, just not edible things. Before we really wised up and TOTALLY puppy proofed the house, he ate tape, socks, shoe laces, a picture frame and a brillo pad. I mean ATE, as in pooped them out a day later lol. Except for the brillo pad, we caught him eating that, the vet made him vomit it up. But he had such a personality now!! I love him! Really silly! Just have to keep one eye on him at all times....

Glad to here someone else decided to adopt two at once, thought we were the only crazy ones LOL just kidding! Its been an interesting few months

 

Oh, and we have a relatively small house, 1100 sq feet townhouse in the city. Only bought one crate because we brought them home a week apart. Thyme used the crate for a few days, then she wanted no parts of it, she discovered the couch

Miami used the same crate for a bit longer, but now its in a box in the basement. But mine have no SA....

[Guest SeeJoy]

 

Trying to eat a Brillo Pad ? Gotta love it~ lol

We too learned to keep counter and desk tops free from grey-interesting items. Martha, now Sophia, has become very inquistive and is always looking for a snack!

When she first came home she was quite reserved and showed signs of SA whenever I left the house.

We'd always planned on crating her when we both had to be away, simply because our living situation was so new to her. It only took a week before she was much more comfortable over all. Once she learned the steps to the second floor, she was really proud of herself and has just blossomed from there!

Mangroo, now Roo, is much more reserved. But on the leash, when she isn't afraid of something, (like dark panel vans), she's the one striding out in front, pulling me along, her steps ground shaking! Sophia, princess that she is, walks light as a feather..so light on the leash that if she's right beside me I can't even feel her there and have to look down to check for her where abouts.

 

The crate door has been shut for 3 days and tomorrow I'll be folding it up and taking it out to the garage.