Worried About Our New Grey As An Only Dog.

[Guest an7863]

Today, our first grey is coming home to live with us. He's 5.5 years old and has been at his foster home for about 5 weeks. He will be our only dog. I've been reading around, and it seems that the general consensus is that greys are generally okay as an only dog if things are handled correctly. My biggest concern is that his foster owners told us a couple times that he has really bonded with one of their current greys. He told us in an email that "he will need lots of love, especially tonight" because of how he bonded with their other dog. He even mentioned the fact that they were sleeping together. And to make even more worried, he said that, even though he is not crated at their home when they leave, we may want to crate him when we do as he may panic a bit. I guess my first question is, will he be okay as an only dog, but I know that question can really only be answered by us finding out. Having said that, what signs should I look for to know he is okay as an only dog, and what we do if he is not?

 

Just an fyi...."worst case scenario" we are willing to get a 2nd grey, but would rather not right now. Also, just for the record, I did specifically ask his foster owners if they think he would be okay as an only dog and they said they though he would be, but I dont really know how they could be sure considering he's never been an only dog.

[greysmom]

You probably won't know until you try. And since his foster never actually left him alone, they don't really know either. All those things they said may be true - and he could still be OK as an only dog. If he's not OK right away, there are a lot of things to try before you get to "adopt another dog."

 

Do a search here for "alone training." You need to start this right away when he comes home. Basically it involves leaving him for increasing amounts of time to get him used to being alone. Some greys are fine from the get go, and some need some support. He might whine, yodel, bark, or have other vocalizations. If you live in an apartment or have close neighbors, let them know you just brought home a new dog and are working with him. It will save a lot of hard feelings.

 

A crate can be useful if you have one and are going to have it around for your dog anyway. Otherwise, just baby-gate him in a comfy area. Don't put him in a room and close the door, he will likely freak out.

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[deboosh]

Congratulations on adopting your first greyhound and welcome to the forum! You sound very level-headed, at least much more so than I was when we adopted Bonnie a year ago last Christmas, lol. I was very nervous, as Bonnie was our first dog. You will get lots of great information, but in the end, no matter the subject, you will make a decision that's best for you and your grey.

 

Take things one day at a time, and remind yourself that life will eventually get back to a new normal. The transition will be stressful, but more so for your grey, as there is a lot to learn in retirement. Learning stairs, a new diet, and new routines are bound to make your grey feel out of sorts. He may also experience digestive upsets, so you may need to be extra vigilant about reading the bathroom signs. Pacing, panting and standing by the door are all signs that your grey needs to go outside. Establishing a routine will help acclimate your dog, and he will quickly learn what to expect and when.

 

I think you would be wise to at least wait until your grey is more settled before considering a 2nd dog. Staying connected with forum members will be of great support. There are many here who are very experienced and with great advice to share. In the end, please know that getting to know your grey will be fun and rewarding. Wishing you a smooth transition!

[Guest karilynn]

Oh, can I relate to this.

 

When I got my greyhound, he had bonded with another grey at his foster home. I had no intention of ever getting a second (still do not) so I was a little worried about how he would do as an only greyhound. I will say that I do think situations arise where a greyhound NEEDS to have another dog, whether they have severe separation anxiety or their personality suits them best in a multi-dog household, but I believe those to be less common cases and I don't think you necessarily need to worry about that yet.

 

First and foremost, you need to bring him home and allow him to adjust. He probably will be nervous at first, but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it is because he misses other greyhounds. It's a scary change for any dog to go from one place to another. What you can do for him immediately is start what is called "alone training" where you teach him how to be comfortable being alone. This includes not over doing it with attention or making any sort of fuss over him when you leave or come back home. I truly cannot stress how important alone training is. I know the pack leader theory is somewhat controversial and whether or not it exists, I can tell you that you don't want to let him be in charge, at least not at first. That being said, I wouldn't let him on furniture right away and be sure to give him structure. He has likely never been alone before in his 5 years and it will be scary for him, but he can adjust to being alone. He can also most likely adjust to a crate. My greyhound loves his crate and although he doesn't need to be crated anymore, I leave it up because he loves to spend time in there. Make his crate a nice place to be and definitely never put him in his crate as punishment.

 

That being said, some greyhounds absolutely cannot be crated because they will harm themselves trying to escape and they actually will be less stressed if not crated. You'll figure out when you get your boy home how he does.

 

It took some time for my greyhound to adjust to life as an only dog, but I can tell you that he loves it He still sees other dogs when we go to the dog park (and please be careful with the dog park if you plan on going, definitely don't go until you know his prey drive and be aware that many greyhounds do not do well at dog parks, thankfully mine does and absolutely loves them) I actually think his personality would change and not for the better if I added a second dog. I've had him for over 2 years now and he does great on his own. He did need an adjustment period at first, alone training was life saving, so definitely research that. You will figure out overtime his personality and how he does on his own and you will be able to address issues as they arise. I can tell you that if he ends up being a greyhound that requires the companionship of another dog, I have heard that having two greyhounds is super fun and not that difficult.

 

Congratulations on your first houndie! They are the best dogs, hands down.

[ramonaghan]

Sweep was fostered with another grey for five MONTHS, and they were pretty good buddies from what I understand. However, she has done fine here as an only for the past year and a half (I am not counting the two cats, because I am sure she wouldn't ). I do work from home, which made the transition easier, but I still believe on the whole they are pretty resilient dogs after an initial adjustment period. We talk about getting another grey, but it would be mostly for us: I think she is fine either way.

 

Is the foster close enough that you could arrange some play dates with the other dog periodically?

 

ETA: I forgot to say congrats on your new addition, and I do hope you'll post again to formally introduce him—with lots of pictures!

Edited May 9, 2014 by ramonaghan

[mom2four]

Congratulations on your new family member! I can tell you of our experience, it's with a couple of foster dogs we had.

 

We ourselves had 5 Greyhounds at the time and were fostering 2 newly off the track hounds. They were with us for 3 months and 5 months respectively, so they were both used to having other hounds around. Both went to homes as only dogs- one has some cat roommates though. They both do very well being only dogs.

 

It does depend on the dog, and I hope that your new addition will do as well as our former fosters did!

 

Let us know.

 

 

 

 

[CharlieRhea]

Welcome and congratulations! You have plenty of good advice so I have nothing to add except not to worry too much. He may love being the only one showered with attention and love.

Edited May 9, 2014 by CharlieRhea

[Guest an7863]

Thank you so much for the help. This definitely helps me feel a bit better about things. We get him kinda late tonight but Saturday and Sunday will pretty dedicated to alone training. We are so excited for him to be part of our family! I'll be sure to introduce him! Again, thank you so much!

[PatricksMom]

Congratulations on your new family member! It's hard to say--My Patrick lived 11 years as an only dog and liked it that way. We had to return one potential dog because he was absolutely miserable and terrified without another greyhound. Those are probably the extremes, so stay open to what your dog seems to need and follow the alone training other people have suggested and go from there.

[Brandiandwe]

Good luck! We have three. Our first, Brandi, would not do well without another dog. She is one who will always need company. Paige and Hermon could take it or leave it. So I'd say, most of them will be fine.

 

I also think ours love living in a multi-dog household, and the interaction and play between them is a lot of fun. But it is more work and more expensive, so if you can get away with one initially, I'd do that!

[Guest rarmstrong]

Congrats!

 

I can relate a lot to your situation. The first greyhound I adopted had really severe separation anxiety. So much so, that I felt that my only home environment wasn't suitable for him and I ended up returning him to his foster (that phrase still upsets me, but I can't find a more appropriate way to describe it). His separation anxiety was the culmination of the following behaviors,

 

-loud, nonstop vocalization

-whining

-self injurious attempts to escape from the crate

-accidents (pee and poo)

-damage to exit points of the house (namely the windows-he destroyed my blinds)

-sensitivity to exit "signals" (picking up my keys, getting ready, putting on my coat, opening the front door). He would begin to pant/pace, bolt towards the door if it was opened, dilated eyes, restless

-destructive behavior (shredding of blankets, my couch, blinds)

 

When I was home, if I went into the other room and closed the door he would bolt to the door, scratch at it, whine, pant and pace. This guy had a really tough time being alone :/

 

I was very scared to adopt another dog, but after reading greytalk I saw that I most likely ended up with one of those greys who can't be by themselves and saw that not all greys are like that. I was definitely very rattled, and felt so guilty for putting Rep through all of that. However, it makes me really happy to know that he was adopted out again maybe two months later. He found the right forever home

 

Anyway, my adoption group was very kind and understanding and I was so grateful to have the opportunity to adopt another greyhound. But I was very adamant about having some assurance that I would get a grey that could be an only dog. As I was told, most foster homes already have a dog/multiple dogs and it truly is a hard thing to know for sure.

 

What really helped me was reading, "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell. The great thing about the book is it helps you learn what separation anxiety really is (for example, accidents when alone in and of itself does not separation make, same with whining/vocalizations, destructive behavior etc) and what it isn't. It also devotes quite a bit of time explaining how you can "prevent" separation anxiety. I followed her advice when I adopted Willis. The end of the book describes what to do in the event that you have a dog with separation anxiety, but I'd argue that she really devotes most of the book to defining it and setting up good habits for your dog to be alone successfully. She touches into proper crate training, leaving/arriving routines, alone training, activities to keep your dog busy, etc. And it is available as an Ebook AND pdf on her website, so you don't have to worry about not being able to rush to a book store to read or worrying about ordering it if said book store doesn't have it. Also, it's easy to follow and not too long.

 

When I adopted Willis, I made sure to follow her suggestions, had a DAP diffuser already plugged in, devoted most of my time to proper crate training, and did some alone training. However, it took some time for me to wrap my head around the fact that Willis wasn't Rep, and that I shouldn't catastrophize every single one of his behaviors. I took audio recordings to look for his levels of distress and any whining put my stomach into a huge knot. My DBF had to talk me off the ledge almost every night, and it took a good solid month for me to understand that Willis is okay and his brief whining is actually really typical for any dog transitioning into a new home.

 

So, in short

-Be informed

-Be prepared (which it already sounds like you are)

-Take a deep breath, and just enjoy it try to take everything in stride.

 

Again, so excited for you!!!!! I'm so in love with Willis and couldn't be happier to have tried again.

Edited May 10, 2014 by rarmstrong

[Feisty49]

Only dogs can be happy houndies. Annie is an only and has been fine from day 1 and she had been in two different foster homes for three months prior to adoption and each home had multiple dogs. The only issue -- which wasn't and isn't an issue -- is she hated her crate. She'd go in it, with a lot of encouragement, but she was miserable. Funny thing is that even then, she never whined or cried or attempted to get out. She just lay there, miserable. The solution was to not use it by day #3 and that solved that problem.

 

Annie has never had SA, except, for example, if I'm in the driveway talking to a neighbor and Annie is in the house. She'll whine that I'm-so-sad-'cause-I'm-here-and-you're-there whine on and off for a minute, and if I don't respond, she sighs and lays down.

 

She barks so seldom, as in once very three months, give or take a month, that it always startles me! She doesn't bother the cat. She doesn't go in the garbage (because she won't go into the kitchen -- hates the floor). She doesn't even go on furniture.

 

Only dogs can be just fine, albeit a little boring.

[Guest an7863]

Again, I'd like to say thank you to everyone. He seems to be doing pretty good so far. There was one accident within the first 10 min of him being here but I'm convinced is wasn't his fault. He had a long car ride to get here and was really wound up and there person from the adoption agency didn't let him go before he came inside. Other than that, he sleeped pretty well and any whining has been very minimal. I mean nearly none. He's been sleeping a ton today and when he's not sleeping he pants a LOT. His stools are also really really soft so I know there is still a decent amount of stress/anxiety. But he's already found his spot on the couch and seems to like cuddling up against me-he's asleep with his head on my lap right now. He's definitely the definition of a velcro dog. We'll see how his alone training goes in a few here. So far though things have gone pretty good. Again.... Thank you for the help.... I still have give him a proper introduction though

[mychip1]

Best wishes! Keep us informed of how it's going!

[Ragsysmum]

Try not to let him be too clingy in the first few days. Velcro dogs can be hard work if you don't break them of it from the start and help them develop confidence out of sight of you early on.