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Whining At Night.


Guest Jdct

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We got Baxter about a month ago and he seems to be settling in well except for the fact that he whines and barks almost every night now. At first he'd only whine at night when he had to go (one night he had diarrhea) but the other nights when he whine my mother would take him out and nothing. It's getting to the point where we're losing sleep. Sometimes my mother has to go sleep on the couch. We tried leaving a light on and the tv even but nothing works. We even reprimand him sometimes but that only works for a while. I don't know what to do. He doesn't do stairs so he can't sleep with us and if we let him out he pulls things off shelves or bites the knobs off drawers. Anyone have any tips?

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Guest Muscovy

Sounds like he wants to be with you! He's learned that whining at night will get his people to come downstairs and be with him, which is most likely what he wants. Does he stop crying when your mum sleeps downstairs on the couch with him? If so, you have your answer :)

 

Easiest fix is to teach him the stairs and let him sleep in your room. I don't think there's any harm in that, and it will make everyone happy. Here is a link to a video which helped me teach my new boy the stairs:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iv-U2EYjnhs

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Easiest fix is to teach him the stairs and let him sleep in your room. I don't think there's any harm in that, and it will make everyone happy. Here is a link to a video which helped me teach my new boy the stairs:

 

Agreed. He's going to have to do stairs at some point in his life. The longer you wait, the more avoidant he'll get.

You can put a muzzle on him to help with the destructive behaviors.

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Just remember that these dogs have never, ever slept alone. It's scary! Our boy sleeps in our room most of the time, sometimes on the bed, but he also wanders and sometimes ends up in a spare room or the living room. However, I know the whining would be endless if we actually locked him out! Let that sweetie sleep by you and everyone will get more rest :)

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Everybody who has posted and will post will tell you the same thing: teach him stairs and let him sleep with somebody. He's lonely. Greyhounds need and want to be with another living thing and you're it! LOL

 

It can be a bit intimidating trying to teach a dog something new, but teaching your boy to do stairs isn't an option. It's a necessity. My girl *hated* the stairs going up to the second floor and refused to do them. She slept downstairs alone for 5-6 months before she started whining and barking at night. That first night, I slept on the couch with her, but I don't like sleeping on a couch and I need my sleep. The next day I taught Annie the stairs. One step at a time: front paw/paw; back paw/paw; push on the butt; up to the top of the stairs. Up and down 4 times. On the 5th time, she did it herself and that was that.

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Guest OPointyDog

We had this problem and tried lots of things to fix it, including letting him bark/whine all night (everyone said he would stop if we ignored him. Nope!), taking him to a professional trainer, taking him out multiple times, scolding him, etc. Nothing worked. Finally our vet recommended a spray collar - it sprays compressed gas at him when he barks. Doesn't hurt him in any way, just startles him when he barks. It sprayed him exactly once and he has never barked again at night. In his case it was attention seeking behavior rather than anxiety. He does sleep with another greyhound, too.

 

I agree that if you can reasonably have him sleep near you, then that's a good solution. If not (and there are many reasons why this may not be possible), then rule out any medical issues first and then consider a spray collar.

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