Guest kmcmcf Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Hello everyone, So, Cora's first training session with my service dog trainer was Saturday, and she thought it would be a good idea to concentrate on the building blocks of task-training first - one of those is waking me up when a certain alarm tone goes off. The only thing I'm supposed to be doing this week to work towards that task is training her to pay attention to the alarm tone, shaping towards her making physical contact when she hears it, but when my trainer asked me if she sleeps with me, it got me thinking - she sleeps in her crate for now because she's only been home a week and I'm not confident in her house-training, but even when she's loose in my room she won't get up on the bed. Today, she put both paws up on it to try and get at a baked potato (mmm, bacon ), but when I lifted her back end up on it she just stood there, refusing to lie down, and eventually very gingerly stepped off it. She's a petite girl, 52lbs, but I'm sure that she can get on the bed - it's just that neither she or I know quite how to get her up there on her own. I would try steps of some sort, but my room's so small that there's only a few feet of space between my bed and her crate and that's used to put her bed there during the day, not to mention I've heard pretty bad things about accidents with them. I'd also try food, since that seems to motivate her, but if even a potato full of cheese and bacon couldn't make her get more than her front legs up on the bed, I'm not too confident that treats could either. Lowering the bed isn't an option either, due to space issues, plus the frame I've got currently is about the lowest you can get without plain putting the box springs and mattress on the floor. I'm going to be asking my trainer more about this in depth at our next session this coming Saturday, but in the meantime, anyone have any advice or suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 If she's only been home for a week and she's comfortable in her crate, I wouldn't force it. Allow her to sleep next to your bed in her crate until trust and a bond is established. Sharing sleeping space is one of the ultimate forms of intimacy for greyhounds. Think about it- would you get in bed with someone you've only known for a week? Also, be cognizant of potential space aggression problems. Greyhounds are prone to get snarky when they perceive their space is being invaded (strangely enough, I think it's just a genetic thing because my AKC hound is much worse at this than my ex-racer). If you allow her on the bed, make sure she understands that the bed is YOUR space by teaching a command like "off." And just a general piece of advice, I would give her a little bit of time to settle in before delving too far into training. I understand that she's intended to be a service dog, but her future success is likely to be greater if you take it slow and try not to overwhelm her with too much too quickly. Good luck, and let's see some pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Ah, how I wish I hadn't done this!!! I just picked my dog up and put him on the bed the first time. He shook like jelly, and jumped off. Next time I put him up there I got on with him and fed him cookies and petted him. Eventually (5 minutes?) he relaxed, and that was all she wrote! Mind you this was about 10 months after I got him. Took him 18 months to figure out he could turn around inside and he didn't have to walk backwards out of a room...what can I say? I would NOT choose a Greyhound if I were looking for an excellent training prospect! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schultzlc Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 I hate to say it, but some hounds may never really be comfortable on the bed with you. I have had a girl for nearly two years now who simply has no desire to be overly snuggly. She has no problem lounging on my bed all day long, but as soon as I get in, she'll stay up there for a couple of minutes just to be polite, before jumping down to settle in on her own pillow. She's just very independent and likes having her own space, and I have learned to accept that aspect of her quirky personality. Quote Laura, mom to Luna (Boc's Duchess) and Nova (Atascocita Venus).Forever in my heart, Phantom (Tequila Nights) and Zippy (Iruska Monte). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kmcmcf Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 If she's only been home for a week and she's comfortable in her crate, I wouldn't force it. Allow her to sleep next to your bed in her crate until trust and a bond is established. Sharing sleeping space is one of the ultimate forms of intimacy for greyhounds. Think about it- would you get in bed with someone you've only known for a week? Also, be cognizant of potential space aggression problems. Greyhounds are prone to get snarky when they perceive their space is being invaded (strangely enough, I think it's just a genetic thing because my AKC hound is much worse at this than my ex-racer). If you allow her on the bed, make sure she understands that the bed is YOUR space by teaching a command like "off." And just a general piece of advice, I would give her a little bit of time to settle in before delving too far into training. I understand that she's intended to be a service dog, but her future success is likely to be greater if you take it slow and try not to overwhelm her with too much too quickly. Good luck, and let's see some pictures! You're right about the too soon bit - I might not be picky about where I sleep, but no, def wouldn't get into bed with someone after just a week I'm just the kind of person who would like to know what to do now so it'll be ingrained in my ADHD brain if it's still a problem in a few months. Luckily, she doesn't seem to have any sleep space aggression issues thus far (learned by waking her up when I didn't know she'd been sleeping with her eyes open - bit of a start, but no aggression). And don't worry about too much too soon - I probably made it sound like we're doing a lot, but we're not even training specific commands yet, just "establishing a vocabulary" as my trainer puts it (saying 'good down!' when she lies down, 'good quiet place!' when she follows me to the bathroom, etc etc), we're just doing the alarm thing so soon too bc it's such a simple thing to start before shaping it towards the task in a few months, and that made me think, "well, what if she still can't get on the bed in a few months? Better ask greytalk just in case!" But thanks so much for the answer! Very helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_daerr Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 You're right about the too soon bit - I might not be picky about where I sleep, but no, def wouldn't get into bed with someone after just a week I'm just the kind of person who would like to know what to do now so it'll be ingrained in my ADHD brain if it's still a problem in a few months. Luckily, she doesn't seem to have any sleep space aggression issues thus far (learned by waking her up when I didn't know she'd been sleeping with her eyes open - bit of a start, but no aggression). And don't worry about too much too soon - I probably made it sound like we're doing a lot, but we're not even training specific commands yet, just "establishing a vocabulary" as my trainer puts it (saying 'good down!' when she lies down, 'good quiet place!' when she follows me to the bathroom, etc etc), we're just doing the alarm thing so soon too bc it's such a simple thing to start before shaping it towards the task in a few months, and that made me think, "well, what if she still can't get on the bed in a few months? Better ask greytalk just in case!" But thanks so much for the answer! Very helpful Sounds like she's coming along well! Good to hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kmcmcf Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Took him 18 months to figure out he could turn around inside and he didn't have to walk backwards out of a room...what can I say? I would NOT choose a Greyhound if I were looking for an excellent training prospect! I've been researching for 3+ years before I got her, and while some greys might be a little thickheaded, you'd be surprised just how intelligent they are when you pick a good candidate specifically to train for work I know several greyhound service dog handlers now, and their dogs are all as smart as collies, just in a different way, and not nearly as neurotic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scouts_mom Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 When she does join you on the bed, make sure she doesn't fall off. My Henry finally joined me in my bed after several years of encouragement. He was sound asleep when he rolled to the side and fell into the crack between my bed and the wall. He was stuck upside down! I had to move the bed and help him out. He has never attempted to sleep on my bed again and I don't blame him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clawsandpaws Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 I made the mistake of trying to force my guy on the bed when we first got him, after a couple days of traumatizing him, (He was my first dog and I had no experience with training) I gave up and decided that I would just wait it out. A week or so later, we came home to poop on our bed... Twice! So he was jumping on the bed when we weren't home! After hiring a trainer (and behaviorist, which was unnecessary) she taught us simple things to do to make him more confident, such as hand feeding, lots of praise, etc etc(basically everything you can google about positive reinforcement and common sense, which I was lacking) A couple of weeks after that, he was on the bed more than we were!! We had to buy a king sized bed to accommodate us all! I don't regret it though, I love waking up to a view of his toofers. Definitely follow the advice here just wait for her to realize how awesome the bed is. My females have no problem jumping up and down since they are typically put in the top crate in racing kennels. btw I follow you on instagram and she is BEAUTIFUL! Here's my boy enjoying his bed privileges.. used his butt to mess up the sheets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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