Signs Of Sa?

[Guest psdirector]

Update on Hutch and Tibbs. I went to a meeting last night for about 3 hours. I left Tibbs in his crate, and confined Hutch to the kitchen, in sight of his brother. We found out at the vet that poor Hutch had worn down or broken a number of teeth from trying to gnaw his way out of a crate. So, no crate for him. We left stuffed Kongs for both. When we came home, all was well. Happy dogs, happy family.

 

So... we followed a similar routine this morning. My husband left them with their frozen Kongs and all was well. My daughter, who is our midday dog walker/ feeder called me to tell me that Hutch seemed VERY stressed - panting and upset - and had peed on the comforter I'd put over his bed. We decided to leave Tibbs uncrated in the kitchen with Hutch for the afternoon. By the way, Tibbs was happy as a clam in his crate, no problems whatsoever. My daughter walked them - Tibbs went potty, but Hutch did not. She moved Tibbs' bed into the kitchen and left. Tibbs, of course, trotted happily into the kitchen and flopped down on his bed. No problem for him! When I came home, there was poop and pee on the kitchen throw rug and there was kibble (from a Kong) thrown everywhere. It was a real mess. Of course I couldn't yell at poor Hutch and I felt terrible. We're adopting these boys so that they will have a good life, not to stress either of them out. I want Hutch's life to be better, not worse! I am also amazed at how different two littermates can be. Of course, we know they probably had different race experiences. Hutch had twice as many races as Mr. Tibbs did.

 

Is this something that will improve over time? Hutch isn't bothered at all when I go to do laundry or go upstairs to work for a while. We have them baby gated in the kitchen / family room area when we are home. In a moment of insanity I even wondered if I should leave them in the kitchen AND family room while we are gone since they are used to this space and maybe it's the confining that is bothering Hutch, but I'm terrified of what the family room carpet might look like when I get home. I wonder if it's worth a try? The family room has a shaggy area rug and I can't imagine having to dig poop out of it.

 

I know that our boys have had their whole world turned upside down since Friday morning and we've probably done too much, too soon. Friday morning the boys were still at the prison with their foster moms. Friday afternoon they were with us. Saturday we took them to a Meet and Greet. Monday they went to the vet.

 

We've tried to feed them at the same time and walk them at about the same time each day. Our bedtime routine has been identical every night (yeah, I know - all four of them). I know that we have to get them on a regular schedule. My husband and I both have to go to work, although he leaves later than I do. My daughter (who the dogs really seem to like - Tibbs gave Steph a greyhound smile yesterday) comes to take care of them midday and I'm home by 6. One of the reasons we never even considered adopting a single dog was because we believed that the dogs would help each other and be company for each other when we couldn't be home.

 

The good? They are both so darned sweet. They walk beautifully on leashes. They make us laugh. We enjoy everything about them (ok, everything except the poop and pee in the house!) We love them so much.

[greysmom]

Just because Tibbs is fine with you leaving is no reason to neglect your alone training with Hutch. Leaving him in one shot like that might have been too much. Or, he could have been fine, and then upset by some noise outside, a delivery person at the door, or the furnace coming on. It's hard to say. Some people have rigged up a camera through their laptops/smartphones/Skyp to see what their dogs do during the day. You might consider this.

 

Yes, they do need to be put on a set schedule. Hutch especially will benefit from this. The schedule needs to include a nice long walk in the morning before you leave. A tired dog is a happy dog! At the very least, he needs to be sure to poop and pee before the last person leaves in the morning.

 

If three hours seems to be his limit, is it possible for your daughter to make two visits - one in the morning and one in the afternoon - instead of just one midday?

[JJNg]

I definitely think getting video of what they're doing would be helpful if you're able to do that.

 

And just an additional thought. Have you tried Hutch in a crate to see how he would respond? Just because he has worn/broken teeth doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't feel more secure in a crate.

[Guest psdirector]

Yesterday was definitely better! We put them in the kitchen together and they were happy to see my daughter at noon and she said that Hutch was a lot more relaxed. She took them for a long walk, gave them new Kongs, and all was well. When I got home I had two happy boys, no poop, no pee. Both Kongs were empty. Hutch seemed relaxed. Tibbs gave me a true greyhound smile and tail wags. He is such an easy going boy! We haven't had wags from Hutch yet.

 

We did think about trying Hutch in a crate, but both of his foster moms sent letters saying that he had such an extreme fear of being crated that we haven't wanted to push it. The vet also recommended not crating him based on the condition of his teeth - almost all of them show wear from gnawing on the crate and several are broken.

 

I did find that Tibbs had chewed on the end of a plastic measuring cup (not sure who left it on the kitchen counter) - he barfed up the little pieces in the middle of the night which were chewed and seemed kind of sharp - he seems ok and hungry this morning, so should I assume he's ok? Should I bring him to the vet? It seemed like all the pieces came up and he was plenty hungry this morning. I am going to be hyper-vigilant about stuff on the kitchen counters from now on as well.

[Batmom]

Sounds like Hutch is starting to settle.

 

Re eating illicit objects: Some folks use their kennel (basket) muzzles to help prevent illicit chewing -- as well as squabbling over Kongs, etc. -- when they're not home. They can still enjoy a Kong with peanutbutter, cream cheese, frozen yogurt, small kibble/treat pieces with a muzzle on. Note that if you decide to muzzle, you have to muzzle both.

 

As long as no evident pain or ongoing upset, wouldn't worry about what was eaten.

[a_daerr]

My dogs do NOT like to be separated from each other. SA from me? No way. They have SA from each other. For the first week I brought Truman home, I tried to gate him off in his own area for housetraining purposes. He wiggled through the cat door to be with Henry. Once he got too big to get through the door, he started knocking the gate over. Maybe Hutch was distressed that he could see his brother, but could not interact with him? Just a thought.

 

P.S. We told you there'd be "OMG, what have I done?" moments! You're doing a good job. It only gets better from here.

[Guest psdirector]

a_daerr: We found the same thing this morning! When my husband came back from a long walk with the pups, Hutch made a beeline for his bed in our bedroom and would not be budged. My hubby made the mistake of leaving Tibbs in the kitchen. When my daughter got there, she found that Tibbs had knocked down the gate to get up to his brother. They were happily sleeping on their beds in our bedroom. Of course one/ both had also left a poop/ pee present on one of their quilts in the kitchen. Political statement? Probably. My daughter walked them (they love their walks), then brought them into the family room that is attached to the kitchen (the place where we spend most of our time) and they settled right down. I think we're going to try leaving the gate between the kitchen/ family room open and see what happens. Tibbs' crate is there with the door open so he can go in if he wants to. It doesn't seem to be a fear of the kitchen itself, because Hutch was laying on the floor in the kitchen next to me last evening while I made dinner and then later while I cleaned up and they are both more than happy to come to the kitchen to eat. Apparently it's being confined in kitchen. One of the reasons we wanted two greyhounds is because we wanted dogs who had each other for company. Needless to say, we won't separate them again during the day.

 

One interesting thing - we were prepared for greyhounds who got up at the crack smack of dawn. I get up at 5:30 because as a teacher I have to be at work by 7:00. We never imagined having pups who preferred to sleep in until at least 7:45 AM. They do NOT like to get up early at all! After our walk at 10:30 PM every night, they go straight up to their beds, lie down, and don't get up or leave.

 

We haven't even had these boys a week and we love them already. They are so sweet. It's worth working through any problems to find a solution that works for them. Next week we'll have our fence installed and they will have our huge backyard to run and play in. Hutch's papers all say how much he loves to run with other dogs. I feel as if burning off energy by running laps may help him calm down, at least a bit.

[a_daerr]

Housetraining is a work in progress... it's always harder when you work and have a dog that does not like to be confined. My thought is that Hutch gets some confidence and reassurance from his brother- it doesn't necessarily mean they're bonded. It could just be that Tibbs is the ONE thing that is familiar, and being around him makes him feel more comfortable. The fence + dog door made a huge difference for us. Best of luck.