Night Barking

[Guest grisabella]

HI, all well me and my partner have ended up with 2 greyhounds, We have never had greyhounds, but have had lots of other animal and strays that need a home due to neglect, health or saving them from being put down. This is the case with the greyhounds we first got Polo on Sunday, being told that if a home wasn't found he was being put down on the Monday. We couldn't say no, how anyone can put a healthy animal down is beyond me. When we went to pick him up there was another one more there, but he was meant to been taken if though the other person had let them down a couple of times. Any way Wednesday phone call Mario was going to get put down that day if he wasn't taken.

 

So the first night we ended up spending the night with polo (Sunday) as he would not settle and keep crying out. Managed to get him with the use of the radio not being turned off to settle at night, but at 4am he stirs and well wants out and attention. Then we added Mario in at first we had, this is my bed issues, but we worked that out and the help of muzzles. The share the same room and of course, being such short notice for both a few hour info before we hadn't gotten kennels for them this does not seem an issue but now we have the both of them at bout 2am and 4am and some time 6am which we our up for they start barking not 100%sure which one but the greyhounds don't bark... Is a lie in our house. i know its early days, but any advice on calming this would be appreciated we can't separate the dog due to the fact we have 5 cats as well, as I said look after any animals that need it why we get the call if an animal in trouble.

 

Mario

 

 

Polo

Edited January 25, 2014 by grisabella

[spottydog]

Bless you for saving their lives. I'm no expert, but it's not unusual for the first few days to be bumpy. They are stressed beyond belief. Hopefully they we begin to settle in to your schedule soon. I'm sure some other more experienced people we chime in to help you out.

[Sambuca]

Are they in the room with you? If not, that will probably help.

[Guest grisabella]

The dogs are not in the same room as us, we did tryed the first night, but even though they are clean they did not see the bedroom as their home and well lots of mess to sort out... and the need of a new duvet is now need... are well.

 

I do have to say though we have had better nights past 2 nights so we took them a little later and a lot longer and it seems to have worked and the been settle all night WOOT!! but it does worry me as they do not like the bad weather and when its rain which it will, I wonder how else we can tire them out and get them to go. I am sure though that we sort that out when it comes.

[silverfish]

Hang in there. Be patient and stay calm.

Try to establish a routine with them. They probably need a regular time for waking and breakfast, beds in a place they are comfortable with and can call their own, and regular trips outside to relieve themselves. Also regular walks, which should be long enough to tire them a little bit, but not so long that you are setting a difficult pattern for yourself - in other words, start as you mean to go on.

 

If you can establish a routine for bed time, that should help too. We give ours a snack/drink a short while before we go to bed, and we send them outside to pee as soon as they have finished that. They know then that it's time to go to their 'night time' area - with these two, at the moment, that's on the floor of the bedroom where they have an area of duvets, memory foam and sheepskins.

Do you have weatherproof coats for them? If not, you will need to get some. Greyhounds usually need a raincoat, and in some areas a warm, fleece-lined one - we have a waterproof, fleece-lined raincoat, and also a light rain coat for days when it isn't cold. What you will need depends on where you live, but greyhounds are not 'waterproof' dogs. They don't have an oily coat and can get absolutely soaked through, and then they can get very cold, very quickly.

Did you get any advice at all about greyhounds from the people you adopted them from? So lovely of you to take them in - handsome dogs, too!

[Guest grisabella]

Hang in there. Be patient and stay calm.

 

Try to establish a routine with them. They probably need a regular time for waking and breakfast, beds in a place they are comfortable with and can call their own, and regular trips outside to relieve themselves. Also regular walks, which should be long enough to tire them a little bit, but not so long that you are setting a difficult pattern for yourself - in other words, start as you mean to go on.

 

If you can establish a routine for bed time, that should help too. We give ours a snack/drink a short while before we go to bed, and we send them outside to pee as soon as they have finished that. They know then that it's time to go to their 'night time' area - with these two, at the moment, that's on the floor of the bedroom where they have an area of duvets, memory foam and sheepskins.

 

Do you have weatherproof coats for them? If not, you will need to get some. Greyhounds usually need a raincoat, and in some areas a warm, fleece-lined one - we have a waterproof, fleece-lined raincoat, and also a light rain coat for days when it isn't cold. What you will need depends on where you live, but greyhounds are not 'waterproof' dogs. They don't have an oily coat and can get absolutely soaked through, and then they can get very cold, very quickly.

 

Did you get any advice at all about greyhounds from the people you adopted them from? So lovely of you to take them in - handsome dogs, too!

To be honest, we didn't get a lot of advice and wasn't planing on getting 2 it just there a person that know that we won't see animals put down so asked if we could rescue them. Anyway i managed to get a coat for polo going get a coat tomorrow for mario. A bit disorganized and stressed week, but we do seem to have got into a pattern and polo seems to be the barking and when he wants to go out. But as I said earlier, we have had 2 nights where they have selpt through the have there own area room, and a duvet each and they seem very happy. once there more settled we hope to get them to know our cats, but the layout of the place if it don't work we can get all the animal in and out with out there path crossing. Thank you for the advice though I have gone through the forum looking up information to help and some things that are so obvious I have missed and been a great help.