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Frustration With Soiling In House, Please Help!


Guest Bex68

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Hello everyone,

We've had Roxy the rescue grey for 20 months, she's 3. We've had no problems with her (apart from the usual grey traits) and she even settled with a Staffie house guest, who is her best friend. The Staffie and his owner moved across the road about 3 months ago, but we still have him during the day while his owner is at work.

 

About a month ago Roxy started soiling downstairs, both wee and poo. It got to the stage where we were putting newspapers down on the laminate flooring cause it's starting to separate. Every time the area is scrubbed with deodoriser. Sometimes she would go on the paper but most of the time it was dry. I put training pads down but she didn't soil on those either, so I got complacent and didn't put anything down. My rug has been washed every morning since Monday this week So I'm getting a bit frustrated now.

 

Rox goes out for a walk before we go to bed, usually about 10-10.30pm and I make sure she empties her bladder and bowels and her food and water is taken up around 8pm. She's also taken to having the bin over during the night too, so we've had to start taping it up again, we haven't had to do that for about 8 months.

 

At first we thought Rox was missing her buddy overnight but I don't understand why the soiling didn't start as soon as he left. I'm sure many replies will be get her to the vets with a urine sample but she is showing no signs of being ill. She still can't get enough to eat, drinking normally, having her gallops daily as well as regular walks. Apart from the vets I think weve done everything we can do but I need to sort this out soon. Putting her in a crate is not an option, I couldn't do it to her and we don't have the room. Taking my gorgeous girl back to the shelter is not an option, she wasn't our first choice but once we met her we were hooked and now wouldn't be without her.

 

Any advice would be greatly received, we've had dogs in the past but not a greyhound who, I'm finding out, is a breed way above all the others 😊

 

Becky

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So (confused), she's messing overnight? Does she sleep in your room with you? If not, why not? If she's in there, she's with her pack, and you can hear her if she's moving around. Is she cold? Does she have a uti? Worms? Change in diet?

All this. Do a fecal (or just go ahead and worm) and a urinalysis. Keep her with you at night.

 

Also, it sounds like you're free feeding - I'd put her on a schedule of two meals per day so her elimination needs will become more predictable. :)

 

Is it possible to put your bin somewhere she cannot access it, like a pantry or a cupboard? Do you have a lid on your bin? I'd try to remove the temptation as much as possible.

Edited by turbotaina


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"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire

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Thank you for replying, I'll start with the answers in order:

Yes she's soiling overnight

No she doesn't sleep upstairs with us, she has had the option but within minutes she wants to go back downstairs, even when we take her bed, duvet and blanket with her.

See above for cold, I doubt it, she sleeps wherever she wants usually on the sofa amongst her duvet.

She is wormed regularly and has had no change in diet.

UTI? I'll have to take her to the vets to check.

 

She won't stay with us at night, she just wants to be downstairs, when the Staffie moved out we tried everything including treats and toys to keep her upstairs.

Free feeding? Well, her bowl is always down with biscuits, so I have to take it up when she's finished so she can't graze?

The bin, does have a lid on it that is taped down now. There is nowhere else for it to go (we have a very small house), we live on a very wet and windy island so if I put it outside I'd never see it again 😕

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What about closing your bedroom door or using a baby gate? That's what we do. If I left the door open, Summit would probably be in the living room so he can sleep on the couch, but he settles just fine on a comfy dog bed when we gate them in with us. I prefer to have the dogs sleep in the same room in case there's an emergency of some kind. What does your dog do if you confine her to the bedroom with you?

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Yeah, try using a baby gate to keep her in with you. I've got a couch sleeper, too. He will wander in the bedroom at 2:00 am looking for snuggles though :lol


Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi.

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire

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If we close the bedroom door she stands at the door and cries until she's let out and then she bolts downstairs.

 

As for the baby gate idea, she jumps the big gate made to keep her in the garden! A baby gate would be chicken feed to her.

 

We (3 humans) get up at different times in the morning so sleeping with bedroom doors open would mean the whole house would be up with the first one, rather than just 2 of us, and that's not fair on my son who is very ill, however, he's just said he doesn't mind sleeping with his door open and he'll try it tonight. So fingers crossed everyone please, and if that doesn't work then we're off to see the doggy dr on Monday.

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These are my frist thoughts, based on general greyhound behavior:

 

First eliminate *all* medical reasons for her problems - worms, UTI, full anal glands. Then you can reasonably address her behavior issues.

 

She's cold: She goes to sleep fine in the evening, but sometimes during the night the house starts to cool down (especially in winter) and she wakes up, and, naturally, has to go potty (because that's how a mammals body works). While she's up taking care of business, she also gets into mischief with the trash bin - maybe looking for something to eat. She's used to "grazing" so she feels like she should be able to eat whenever she wants with whatever she can find.

Quick fix: Get her a pair of pajamas. Or you can use an old T-shirt or sweatshirt - put her front legs through the arms, and tie up the excess over her back. If you're crafty, you can also cut/sew the bottom of the shirt to fit her. I also would suggest establishing feeding times and sticking with them. She will not like this since she's been free feeding for a while now, but she would have been fed meals in the breeding/racing kennel, so she is used to it.

 

She's lonely: Sleep>gets cold> wakes up> Goes looking for a human to help her and can't find one due to all the closed doors, and takes care of business on her own. Most, though certainly not all, greyhounds like to sleep with their people/pack. It comforts them to be included, and helps the bonding process. The bonus to this is their humans can keep better track if the dog wakes up and needs something - toilet, vomiting, seizure, other medical issue.

Fix: If you really need to sleep with closed doors, I would try and get her to sleep in your room. Yes, this will be very hard for about two weeks and nobody will get much sleep. Get her a nice, comfortable bed for the bedroom, so you don't have to keep moving one bed back and forth each night. A nice blanket and her new pajamas will help keep her warm. If she gets up and starts whining, lead her back to her to bed and tell her to go to sleep (or whatever command word you want to use) - repeat, repeat, repeat. She will eventually get tired though it might be long after *you* do! Once she lays down and is quiet, toss her a small, yummy treat. Be advised, however, that some greyhounds don't like to be closed in a room. This could be part of her issue in sleeping with you.

 

She's not tired: At 3 years old she has the body of an adult dog with the mind and energy level of a puppy. It's likely she needs much more daily exercise than she's getting. Particularly later at night before she goes to bed. The traditional axiom is "A tired dog is a sleeping dog."

Fix: If you normally do last toileting out in the garden, I would switch to a good long leash walk. And try to fit in sometime for either a training session or another off-leash exercise period during the day. If she's at home alone a lot, look into food puzzles that engage her mind as those will mentally tire her, which is good.

 

Good luck and lt us know how it goes.

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Hello everyone,

Well, it just gets worse!! Been to the vets this morning and no evidence of uti or any bowel problem.

 

All the doors are now left open at night and she has sort of taking to sleeping with my son, apart from in the middle of the night, she still goes downstairs to do her business! And this morning, after clearing away the training pads, I went in to the kitchen and my other half said she's having a wee. And sure enough she was peeing on the lounge floor, she didn't ask to go out and didn't follow me into the kitchen like she would normally, cause then she goes straight out. I'm wondering if she now thinks the lounge is now her toilet.

 

We tried the t shirt too but she pulled it off, it was an XL though, and last night she laid the full length of the bed snuggled into my son, so she had his body heat.

 

Greys mom - she's never left alone in the house, my son doesn't work as he has some illnesses which means he can't work. And her last walk is a walk on the lead, not just a let out in the garden, we used to do that but not since she started soiling, she's out for about 20 mins and also has a good run during that walk as it is on wasteland. She also has a walk and a good run in a field during the day.

 

So thank you for all of this, I am very grateful and we shall persevere, I'm sure she'll get over this blip with a lot of patience from her humans.

Edited by Bex68
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For one of my dogs, I built -- very cheaply -- a very tall see-through mesh gate for the bedroom door. It's 6' tall. 1"x2" lumber for the frame, plastic garden mesh, a couple light duty hinges to attach it to the wall, hooks and eyes (one eye to hold it in place across the doorway, one eye to hold it flat to the wall when not in use). Might be worth a try to see if that would keep her in a bedroom so you could better figure out when/what is going on. I have had more than one dog who has needed extra encouragement to stay out and finish his/her business at night. Best luck to you.

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This may be a silly question--but did you ever make an attempt at housebreaking her? Or did you assume because you adopted ad adult dog she would already understand the concept of going outside?


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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This may be a silly question--but did you ever make an attempt at housebreaking her? Or did you assume because you adopted ad adult dog she would already understand the concept of going outside?

Hahaha! No, she was already house trained and it wasn't an assumption. Her previous owners had to leave the country and couldn't take her with them, and she'd only been in the shelter about a month. She knows how to ask to go out, she barks at us and then goes to the back door and paws at it.

 

What I'm trying to establish is why now? After all this time of her being with us?

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Something in her environment changed. Since she can't tell you what it is, give her tool to cope. Set a schedule, something like: wake, quick walk to empty out, food down, food up. Long walk. Human leaves for work. Human comes home. Long energy burning walk. Food down, food up. Walk. Hanging out time. Emptying out walk before bed.

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Something in her environment changed. Since she can't tell you what it is, give her tool to cope. Set a schedule, something like: wake, quick walk to empty out, food down, food up. Long walk. Human leaves for work. Human comes home. Long energy burning walk. Food down, food up. Walk. Hanging out time. Emptying out walk before bed.

Nothing has changed in her environment. Her schedule is pretty much what you've said, except there is someone all day every day, she gets an energy burning run during the day and then when I get home from work we go for a long walk, about 2-3 miles. It's all I can manage at the moment after a knee replacement last year. But yes, the schedule is the same.

Have you changed her diet? How much exercise is she getting?

Diet is the same. And see above for exercise.

 

Last night though we put her in a small t shirt, which she kept on, and although she cried a lot during the night, she mainly spent it with my son, and he even let her out for a wee at 6am but she didn't do anything. BUT we had a dry night!!!!! We've now just bought her a thunder shirt, which will keep her warm at night and might also make her feel secure so she doesn't cry all night.

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Excellent news! About the t-shirt. So maybe she IS cold? Anything that keeps her from a sound sleep and she is more apt to need to pee. And if you're all sleeping and not noticing her asking to go out, well...a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do! So maybe some greyhound pajamas are in order?


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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There are UK suppliers for greyhound pyjamas too - try e.g. Etsy and ebay.

Clare with Tiger (Snapper Gar, b. 18/05/2015), and remembering Ken (Boomtown Ken, 01/05/2011-21/02/2020) and Doc (Barefoot Doctor, 20/08/2001-15/04/2015).

"It is also to be noted of every species, that the handsomest of each move best ... and beasts of the most elegant form, always excel in speed; of this, the horse and greyhound are beautiful examples."----Wiliam Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty, 1753.

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There are UK suppliers for greyhound pyjamas too - try e.g. Etsy and ebay.

Wow, I shall have a look on eBay, they are a must for my girl. Thank you so much

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Yes. Irene is a member here and she sells them. HoundTime

 

Thank you for the recommendation. I do make flannel, fleece or knit housecoats. My dogs sleep in them all winter. On really cold days, they keep them on during the daytime, too. Keep in mind, if they lay the floor, cold air drops, so, they are at the coldest place in your house. It is the same, even if, they are on carpeting.

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Thank you for the recommendation. I do make flannel, fleece or knit housecoats. My dogs sleep in them all winter. On really cold days, they keep them on during the daytime, too. Keep in mind, if they lay the floor, cold air drops, so, they are at the coldest place in your house. It is the same, even if, they are on carpeting.

 

Thanks Irene, but I live in the UK so delivery would probably be expensive

 

Can I just say a HUGE thank you to the greytalk community for all of your advice and help. We had a second dry night last night. Seeing as she was crying a lot at my door the previous night, I took her bed up with us and put it next to ours,and had her thunder shirt and nighty (t shirt) on. When we settled down, she got in to her bed about 5 mins after and didn't move until we woke up this morning.

 

I'm not naive but I'm hoping we may have found the answer. I shall keep you all informed.

 

Thank you again.

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Bex, I meant to add yesterday that if you don't mind doing a little sewing there is a very easy pattern for a 'snuggler' (dog nightie) that you can make up yourself at the bottom of the page on this link: http://www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/howyoucanhelp/howyoucanhelpFrame.htm?http&&&www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/howyoucanhelp/coat2.htm

 

I used an old fleece throw so only needed to sew three seams, as the edges could be left unhemmed. The hemmed edges of the original throw were reused as ties which cross over to make a bow on the dog's back. I made this for Doc originally, but it has proved durable enough for Ken to be able wear it gratefully on the very few chilly nights we have had this winter!

Clare with Tiger (Snapper Gar, b. 18/05/2015), and remembering Ken (Boomtown Ken, 01/05/2011-21/02/2020) and Doc (Barefoot Doctor, 20/08/2001-15/04/2015).

"It is also to be noted of every species, that the handsomest of each move best ... and beasts of the most elegant form, always excel in speed; of this, the horse and greyhound are beautiful examples."----Wiliam Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty, 1753.

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Bex, I meant to add yesterday that if you don't mind doing a little sewing there is a very easy pattern for a 'snuggler' (dog nightie) that you can make up yourself at the bottom of the page on this link: http://www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/howyoucanhelp/howyoucanhelpFrame.htm?http&&&www.greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/howyoucanhelp/coat2.htm

 

I used an old fleece throw so only needed to sew three seams, as the edges could be left unhemmed. The hemmed edges of the original throw were reused as ties which cross over to make a bow on the dog's back. I made this for Doc originally, but it has proved durable enough for Ken to be able wear it gratefully on the very few chilly nights we have had this winter!

Excellent! I can do that, will just dust down the old sewing machine

So now try buying a second bed, so you don't have to carry it up and down all the time.

That s the plan! I've even thought about putting a hot water bottle on the floor under her bed. Now I know it's the cold that's bothering her I just want her all snugly and warm.

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