Up At Night

[Guest GlennandMelissa]

Hello. My family adopted an almost 4 year old greyhound close to three months ago. It has been an adventure to say the least! Here’s the rundown of the biggest problem at the moment… At night he’s waking me up crying and barking. We bought a crate and had been putting him in that at night but he now it has become a problem as he gets very upset during the night, even has tried to bite his way out of the cage and getting his jaw stuck.

 

For several days we tried having him upstairs with us. The first night we baby gated him into our Master bathroom, which worked out well. Night two he wanted nothing to do with the bathroom so we let him in our bedroom and put him in a crate that was right next to the bed. He also was very upset in the crate even with it next to our bed. We tried letting him out of the crate and baby gated the entrance to our bedroom but it took him a long time to settle down. The next few nights were even worse so we ended up putting him back down in the family room. We do not crate him at this point, although his crate is available to him, which he will lay in from time to time. The only catch with him being back in the family room is that we cannot let him out immediately before going up to bed at night (10 pm). We have to let him out early enough (around 9-9:15 pm) that when he comes back in he can lay down, settle in and then fall asleep while the tv is still on before us going up for the night. When we go to shut off the tv we put the radio on for him. If we don't let him settle we're faced with him whining, barking, etc. until we come back down.

 

With all this said, he is still waking me up 1-3 times in the night. Each time he barks he is up and standing by the gate to be let out. Only once did I come down to find him laying down just looking for someone to be near him. He typically eats dinner between 6-7 pm and then has treats at 8-8:30 or so. I also try to limit his water after dinner. Any suggestions on how to phase out these night time outings? I know he can hold it since he's home alone while we are at work and is not having accidents.

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Edited January 8, 2013 by GlennandMelissa

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Sounds like he has trained you well. This would be my suggestion:

 

1) find a way to baby gate him on the side of your bed (maybe between the wall and your bed?), but small enough area so that he cannot roam.

2) let him out at the end of the night just before you go to bed.

3) once he comes back in, put him into the small area, turn the light off and go to sleep

 

no talking to him, petting him, or otherwise telling him to go to sleep. You turn off the light and IGNORE him until morning. It will probably take a few nights as he has already learned that you can be motivated in the middle of the night to pet him or otherwise deal with him. I have 3 of my own, as well as foster hounds. everyone knows the routine and at 10pm we have last turn out, then lights out. No if, and or buts. There is no need for a crate in the night as long as you find a way to keep his travels limited. Gating him in another room has shown itself not to work either. Put him on the floor next to your bed, and go to sleep.

 

 

Chad

Edited January 8, 2013 by Greyt_dog_lover

[Guest GlennandMelissa]

Perhaps he has trained me well, but for me at this point it's about how to get sleep! I'm desperate! It's been worse than having a newborn. I grew up with dogs (English Springer Spaniels) who all slept in crates quietly all night long so this is all new to me.

 

I think I'll try your suggestion starting Friday night as I know he has cried from 11 pm to 6 am before and with that I know there'd be no way I'd be able to get up for work the next day... of course hubby and the kids are able to sleep through all of the whining and barking. lol

 

Any advise on also then helping him learn how to climb steps? lol we have hardwood steps going from the first floor to 2nd and he's already scratched up the lower few terribly as he won't go farther up then his back paws being on the the floor. He puts his paws wide open - sort of like Bambi on the ice. lol We also have open basement steps, but when we try to coax his down he looks then runs away. The few nights we did have him upstairs, my husband was carrying him up and down, including in the middle of the night. He ended up pulling out his back since the dog weighs about 80 lbs.

 

Chad, thanks for your help!

 

Melissa

[greytpups]

I'd suggest putting a runner on the stairs. it will be challenging to help him learn stairs if he's afraid of them. You may be able to remove the runner some day if you don't like the decor, but not until he's confident on stairs.

[a_daerr]

Yep, it sounds like he's trained you. Every time you've caved in and let him out when he barked, or took him outside another time, tried this, tried that, he's learned that barking and whining gets him the attention he wants. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us. If he truly had crate anxiety, he wouldn't go in on his own accord from time to time. Crate goes right next to your bed. Take him out for his last P&P as late as possible. Make sure the crate is as interesting as possible (blankets, toys, etc). Invest in a good set of earplugs, then be prepared to endure the crying. At this point, you have to counter-condition what you've already reinforced- the idea that his noise is "rewarded" by letting him out of the crate.

[Guest RMarie]

Quite frankly, I'm surprised you were allowed to bring him home with no traction on the hardwood stairs. Our adoption group would not have allowed that. I did not want to permanently cover our hardwood stairs, so I bought stairs treads from improvementscatalog.com. They're machine washable!

 

As far as the night time behavior goes, our guy was doing this to us for a while. He was mainly whining because he was hungry. We adjusted his food intake to make dinner bigger and to give him a night time snack. We also increased his exercise and bought a food interactive toy (tug a jug, or whatever it's called). He tuckered himself out playing with that so much last night that we actually awoke to our electronic alarm, as opposed to our canine alarm.

[greyhoundgang]

Greyhound Gang has a free Greyhound Guide which is helpful with all the newness to you and the hound.

If you'd like a hard copy, it's only $3 on Gang's web site - with all proceeds helping hounds.

It's also available as a Kindle Ebook. If you have Amazon Prime, it's a free download.

 

I would also respectfully submit that your adoption group should be helping you with this transition.

 

Whining is his way to telling you something. Lonely, hungry, bored, hurt - whatever it is - if you find what the issue is and fix that problem (not the symptom) everyone will be happier.

Most greyhounds want to be near other dogs, or their people during the night. A tired greyhound is a sleepy greyhound - so making sure he plays and romps and run before bedtime is a good thing.

Some greyhounds don't do well as only dogs.

Traction on stairs is key, particularly if he's already had a bad experience by splaying out and hurting or scaring himself. You need to help him do stairs over and over. Reward and praise. Once up, going down is very scary too - so you have to hold his collar and help him.

 

Imagine aliens have captured you and brought you to their home. You'd be wigged out and scared and whining about everything. Your home was like an alien environment to him. He needs time to adjust, but he needs you to help him and make him feel secure and loved.

[Guest GlennandMelissa]

Hello,

 

Thank you all for your comments. If anyone has more to add, keep them coming!

 

 

I would also respectfully submit that your adoption group should be helping you with this transition.

 

 

As far as the adoption group is concerned, I had e-mailed the gal who fostered him as well as two others from the group that she had e-mail when I first told them of our night time problems. This time only one of the three replied to my email saying I should turn to this website for help.

 

He is fed 2 cups of food in the morning, which he typically has some left when we get home from work. We mix what's left with another 2 cups at night mixed with some wet dog food, which he then completely finishes. He also has treats with peanut butter both before we leave for work and again after dinner. We let him out before leaving for work, again around 4 pm, and then another 2-3 times before going to sleep. Then the mid night outings. We have a fenced in area of our yard that he can roam freely when he goes outside and we also walk him.

 

I'd love to fix the problem, just am not sure what it is. I'll take a closer look at Greyhound Guide. Thanks!

[greyhoundgang]

We let him out before leaving for work, again around 4 pm, and then another 2-3 times before going to sleep.

**he needs more exercise. Throwing stuffies with him, going outside with him when you let him out (you didn't say how big your fenced area is), taking him for walks (2 - 3 miles daily at the very least), taking him in the car with you to do errands, taking him to work if you can, taking him to a dog park where he has a few acres to run around in will give you a happy, bonded, sleepy dog.

 

I'd love to fix the problem, just am not sure what it is.

**from what you have described I think you have a lonely, bored dog on your hands. More attention and more exercise will go aways towards making him feel comfortable. Most dogs (from my experiences with hundreds of hounds in my house) will learn stairs within a week. I'd try calling the President of the adoption group, (phone numbers are on web sites, and should be with adoption packet you got when you adopted) and talking with him/her. Every reputable adoption group will help you with adjustment and other alternatives.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Sounds like he has trained you well. This would be my suggestion:

 

1) find a way to baby gate him on the side of your bed (maybe between the wall and your bed?), but small enough area so that he cannot roam.

2) let him out at the end of the night just before you go to bed.

3) once he comes back in, put him into the small area, turn the light off and go to sleep

 

no talking to him, petting him, or otherwise telling him to go to sleep. You turn off the light and IGNORE him until morning. It will probably take a few nights as he has already learned that you can be motivated in the middle of the night to pet him or otherwise deal with him. I have 3 of my own, as well as foster hounds. everyone knows the routine and at 10pm we have last turn out, then lights out. No if, and or buts. There is no need for a crate in the night as long as you find a way to keep his travels limited. Gating him in another room has shown itself not to work either. Put him on the floor next to your bed, and go to sleep.

 

 

Chad

 

 

Put him out to potty.

Even better... take him for a long walk just before bedtime.

Bring him upstairs to your room....babygate him in.

Say goodnight....

Get some earplugs for yourself.

 

You have to be consistent !

Do not talk to him at all when he whines/barks.

Don't even look at him.....He will eventually figure it out.

 

It will take time, but don't give in.

If you give in...even once... you'll be back to 'square one'

 

Our dogs go out about 9:30pm, get a cookie, then settle for the entire night.

They all sleep in the same room with us.

Very rarely one of them asks to potty about 5 am, then we go back to sleep until 6.

 

 

I'd suggest putting a runner on the stairs. it will be challenging to help him learn stairs if he's afraid of them. You may be able to remove the runner some day if you don't like the decor, but not until he's confident on stairs.

 

 

We have slippery wooden stairs, too.

After multiple large-breed dogs living here for 20 years...yes, they are scratched.

Gives them character and we just consider that part of owning a large dog!!

 

We put adhesive non-slip strips on our wooden stairs...doen't keep them from gettingscratched, but it does help the dogs (and Grandkids) from slipping..

 

You should put a runner down your open-backed stairs to the basement.

[Batmom]

Sounds like he has trained you well. This would be my suggestion:

 

1) find a way to baby gate him on the side of your bed (maybe between the wall and your bed?), but small enough area so that he cannot roam.

2) let him out at the end of the night just before you go to bed.

3) once he comes back in, put him into the small area, turn the light off and go to sleep

 

no talking to him, petting him, or otherwise telling him to go to sleep. You turn off the light and IGNORE him until morning. It will probably take a few nights as he has already learned that you can be motivated in the middle of the night to pet him or otherwise deal with him. I have 3 of my own, as well as foster hounds. everyone knows the routine and at 10pm we have last turn out, then lights out. No if, and or buts. There is no need for a crate in the night as long as you find a way to keep his travels limited. Gating him in another room has shown itself not to work either. Put him on the floor next to your bed, and go to sleep.

 

 

Chad

 

Exactly what I would do (and have done several times ).

 

You might not have to gate him into a small area -- he might do fine just gated into the bedroom with you -- but you do have to have strength and fortitude . Consistent routine, give it at least 3 weeks.

 

Best luck!

[Guest LauraB]

We had a night time problem too. Dillard only wanted to sleep in our bed. Putting his bed next to our bed didn't work because he waited five minutes and jumped right in. We finally bought a second crate for our bedroom and he whimpered a bit the first 2 nights. Now he goes right in, and stays in the crate in the morning while I shower and get dressed.

[Guest GlennandMelissa]

Thank you for all of your help! Going to purchase some stair treads today on the website suggested, thanks RMarie! And try him back upstairs again. I also spoke to the President of the association who is going to help out as well. Not sure if people usually give updates or not, if they do, let me know and I'd be happy to keep you all posted. Have a great weekend!

[BatterseaBrindl]

Yes...please keep us updated!!