Guest sandydee Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 We brought home a new greyhound yesterday. She is young - barely two and not housebroken. Thankfully she has chosen a rather cheap throw rug as her spot of choice when we do not catch her in time. That is something we can deal with. The rub is she was previously adopted and barely lasted a few days in that home apparently kept crated while owner was at work and this was horrible - crying whining etc. Separation anxiety?? After her return to the adoption agency it is unclear whether or not they crated her but we were told she hates the crate. Needless to say we have two set up in the living room and she has been closed in on a few occasions so far for a couple of hours at most. She has a bed to chose as an option too. We also got the phermone plug in and that is near the crate. Did I mention that we have a 5 year old male who is mellow as mellow can be? She has currently gone into said crate and is laying down (door open). We are both home until Monday night. I may play hokey on Tuesday just in case. She is on a bed uncrated for bedtime. The first night (a given) was rough. But an added twist is that she seems to be afraid of the cats. She whines and cries when she sees them. This is a concern with leaving her uncrated. Will the presence of the cats roaming around agitate her so much that she works herself into a lather and has an accident or destroys something or hurt herself? Our dog walker will be by midday and if I high tail it I can be home by 3:45. I have rambled as I am sleep deprived, but my gut says with her young age, house breaking concerns, fear of the cats that it would be best to have her crated while we are gone and that we can turn the experience into a positive one for her. At the least we did get a baby gate to block off the hallway and allow the cats to be in the bedroom and avoid accidents on the wall to wall carpet there. But I am still leaning towards crating.... Please confirm for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissy Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I'd test her over the weekend with very short intervals and see how she does. In new dogs I am willing to accept that there will be some whining, maybe even a bit of barking. What I don't like is incessant, panicked barking (I call it "screaming") or any digging, bar biting, thrashing, or destruction of blankets. If that is the case I'd go back to alone training 101 if it is particularly necessary to crate. Otherwise I'd find an alternative solution. If house training is still an issue I'd use an ex-pen or baby gate to confine her to a reasonably small area to prevent accidents. Once house training has been achieved and only cats are an issue I might try baby gated in a larger area or loose and muzzled. I think it is really beneficial for a dog to be able to crate well. Kennels, vets, groomers, airline travel... just some of the many situations in which a dog may be crated. Even for dogs that are loose at home, I think it is still important to maintain good crate habits. For your dog you may want to look at solutions involving not crating at home on a daily basis but still do some crate training. Quote Kristie and the Apex Agility Greyhounds: Kili (ATChC AgMCh Lakilanni Where Eagles Fly RN IP MSCDC MTRDC ExS Bronze ExJ Bronze ) and Kenna (Lakilanni Kiss The Sky RN MADC MJDC AGDC AGEx AGExJ). Waiting at the Bridge: Retired racer Summit (Bbf Dropout) May 5, 2005-Jan 30, 2019 Like us on Facebook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey14me Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I wouldn't crate a dog that you've been told already hates the crate. Can you babygate her with the other greyhound somewhere? Have the babygate a few inches off the floor so the cats can run under it if she gets overly excited and wants to chase them. Quote Michelle...forever missing her girls, Holly 5/22/99-9/13/10 and Bailey 8/1/93-7/11/05 Religion is the smile on a dog...Edie Brickell Wag more, bark less :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I'm also one who thinks if a crate is hated, don't use it. My Annie hated her crate, though I was told differently by her foster family. Within a day or two after adopting her, I no longer insisted on her going into the crate and a week later folded it up and put it away. I was very lucky, though, because she had no issues with my cat (ignored it) nor any potty accidents in the house. She just hated the crate. I never used a gate or pen either. She just didn't need them. Edited October 12, 2014 by Feisty49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walliered Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Baby Gate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandydee Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Tried closed in the crate for a small bit this am since she had been laying in the crate on her own - no door. Wild screaming whining barking. Next intervention - before opening the baby gate (in case in needs to be returned) I laid the new crate (still boxed) that was going to go in the bedroom as a quiet space for Annie. Some whining for the first 5 minutes but not bad. 2nd 7 minute stretch considerably worse. She actually moved the big box out of the way to whine at the bedroom door. Finally settled on the bed so I am going to try to walk away again. I am feeling disheartened. I can only play hokey tomorrow and I don;t know if that is going to be enough for her.... She is also stressing out our other greyhound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdsmoxie Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I would say the crate is not an option. She was returnrd by her first owner because she didn't want to be crated and she is telling you the same thing. If you can't leave her in a room babygated while you work I would suggest, for both the sake of the dog and you, that you return her and get a dog that is better suited for you. The advantage of getting a dog that has been fostered or returned is you know of any problems the dog might have. If a dog has food agression or sleep startle people with small children wouldn't want that dog. Others with no small children could easily take a dog like this and either try to work through it or just leave the dog alone while eating or sleeping. If this doesn't work out for you it doesn't make you a failure, it just makes you and your situation not a match for the dog. Hopefully, you can find a solution that works for both you and the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llm51807 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Does this have more to do with SA and the need for alone training than to crate or not to crate? The fact that she cried and whined and barked when her first family left her all day may have less to do with the crate than just being alone. I don't think I'd be so fast to ditch the crate; it sure makes the transition easier and safer, especially with cats involved. That said, if she's crazed in the crate and could injure herself, then it's not an option. I have one that hated the crate and in spite of all our alone training and time, still hated the crate. We removed the crate, and he's been a perfect boy for the last four years. We tried that with our second boy (because we just didn't want that big crate in the house) and he's proven that he can't be trusted with free range of the house AND he is a more relaxed, well-behaved hound when he's in the crate while we're gone. Lots of treats associated with the crate and with leaving the house. They're happy to see us getting ready to go! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KickReturn Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Like most others here, to me the evidence suggests NO CRATE for this one. And (as I usually do) I will ask how much exercise does this dog get before it is left alone? I bet an hour or two of intense hiking (if she is in shape) would go a long way to settling this little angle down. Certainly worth a try. This is afterall a very young dog. Edited October 13, 2014 by KickReturn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyhound_in_LA Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 If she has separation anxiety, then crate or no crate, she'll still be anxious. And hating the crate will add more stress on top of the separation anxiety. I think a lot of morning exercise to tire her out and some freedom in a smaller space might work better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sandydee Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 After much thought and some sage advice from our dog walker Annie will start her stay with us in some doggie day care. Then we can work on alone time when it will just be practice and not for real. And Gable won't get stressed out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PipDG Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 A combination of doggy daycare, baby gating and us coming home at different times of the day helped with our first girl, Emmie. Eventually she told us she didn't want to go to daycare any more (one of them anyway - she still loved the other place we took her to), and a dog cam confirmed she slept the day away. Your baby is young and everything's still new to her. Hopefully with a little time everything will settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I find it very odd that a dog who is NOT ALONE has such a problem. Clearly she has S.A. I would second the exercise, and take both dogs for a long walk. They need to bond with each other, and the new dog with you. If you can get the dogs attached to each other, she may no longer be anxious. I have a new dog too, and I crated him for exactly one day. He's somewhat of a miracle in that he housebroke himself...but he's been fabulous! Did a bit of whining and such the first week (I have a camera I can watch him on) and has settled in after that. Sleeps most of the day! I have two cats to keep him company, and he gets a long walk before I leave. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marion Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 NO CRATE... Quote -------------------------------------------- Marion, Ivy & Soldi Perseverance is not a long race... it is many short races one after another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinw Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hating the crate does not necessary mean SA. She just might hate the crate. No crate. Quote Xavi the galgo and Peter the cat. Missing Iker the galgo ?-Feb.9/19, Treasure (USS Treasure) April 12/01-May 6/13, Phoenix (Hallo Top Son) Dec.14/99-June 4/11 and Loca (Reko Swahili) Oct.9/95 - June 1/09, Allen the boss cat, died late November, 2021, age 19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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