Destructive When Not Home.

[Guest Lulublue]

We need some help.... We adopted a 19 month old greyhound 1 month ago. She is fine when we are home and will stay outside if need be.

 

When we are not home she's is very destructive. I'm sure not if she whines I have asked the neighbours to let me know if she does, I will go an speak to the, tomorrow.

 

She has ripped all the fly wire off the windows and 3 doors. She has totally broken the cat door on the laundry door. We have had to put up a temporary gate to keep her away from the laundry door as she was getting inside. Oh and she has also opened the back fridge twice and eaten all the food, which wasn't much thankfully. I did increase her food in case she was hungry but it hasn't made a difference.

 

Everyday when I leave for work (3 days a week and home by 3:30) I give her a chicken carcass. She has a Kong with a denta stick in it, a raw hide bone, her bed and her toys.

 

I don't know what else to do.

 

She gets walked a minimum 30 mins every afternoon and then some days we take her to dog park. I tried walking her in the morning but that made no difference. I found that hard as I had to get up way too early.

 

We also have a small dog and 2 cats. They do have access to the house. I wonder if that is adding to the situation.

 

Any suggestions would be great.

[locket]

She probably has separation anxiety. Have you tried crating her? Muzzeling her?

Have you done any alone training? If so, now is the time to start. Look in the forum for alone training, you should find plenty of stuff.

Don't leave her with a rawhide as without supervision she could choke on it. Never ever leave with chewing things (kong is ok of course).

No matter how early you leave in the morning, a walk is a must. Not a 15 minute stroll around the block, a good 45 min-1hr power walk. A tired dog is a happy dog.

When you say "They do have access to the house" Do you leave her outside while you are away?

A DAP collar/diffuser helped us a lot when Jack was lonely.

Other than that, routine. Leave everyday as if you were going to work, go get a coffee, shopping, anything. This was a life saver for us. After a while, leaving will be part of her routine.

[Guest Lulublue]

Thanks Locket

 

I will check out the alone training tomorrow morning. Interesting about the raw hide I didn't know that.

 

The other pets are inside and Lulu is outside. I do sometimes out the little dog out with her but he can get back into the house.

 

I will also look at the collars.

 

I can't take her for a morning walk on a work morning. It's dark and cold and I don't sleep well so I need all the sleep I can get. I would have to get up at 5:30 to do that. She does get a walk every afternoon though. I do see what you mean though. Maybe I could start slowly and get used to it. I will be easier in summer.

[locket]

Maybe leaving her outside without her friend isn't helping.

You can always try muzzeling her (they can work on their kong anyway) and inside with the rest of the pack. It might be she is cold or lonely outside.

I do wake up at 5h30 and I live in Canada! In the winter, all our walks are in the dark. You have to make a few concession when you are being a dog owner Especially at 19 months, your little darling is still a puppy at that age! She needs an outlet for her energy.

You can also try to tired her by mental stimulation. Feeding her in a slow bowl or maybe in a kong wobbler or something like that. Also training her in the morning is good. That's what I did with Jack in the begining, 10 minutes training and a 30 minute brisk walk. Now we are down to a 15 minute walk in the morning. Tell yourself it is only temporary You just need to work with her now to resolve the issue. You won't have to walk an hour your whole life

[GeorgeofNE]

I get up at 5:30, and have every day for 18 years. That's more than an hour earlier than I need to because I have to walk my dog.

 

[Guest Lulublue]

 

 

 

Hi Locket,

 

 

She won't be cold outside. On a cold day (15 degrees, 59 in USA terms) she has her pyjamas on and is under a covered patio and protected from any wind or rain. Mostly it's sunny here.

 

I will look into the training and start walking her in the owning as well. I will have to adjust.

 

 

Why I would use the muzzle when not home? If it's to stop her chewing that's not the issue.

 

I think we were not given all the information before adopting her. We were told she would sleep all day whilst away and all she needed was a walk in the afternoon. Also we were told to give her bones whilst away to keep her occupied.

 

Don't get me wrong we love her to bits, I just wasn't expecting all this destructive behaviour. On the up side I have lost 5 kilos walking her. Looks like I will shed more with an added morning walk.

[locket]

Yes muzzle keeps them out of trouble, but only you know exactly the kind of damage she does.

They do sleep all day long. But 1 month isn't long enough for her to have gotten used to her schedule. Jack was in panic when we left him at first too. Everything is so new to her. I cannot emphasis how much routine patience and time is key here. But of course you must work with her to resolve those issues. And as I said, it does not mean that you will have to do that everyday for the rest of your life. Give her time to settle, it took three months for my Jack. And like you we had to work with anxiety issues, he was barking non-stop when we left. It gets better, trust me

[Guest Lulublue]

Thanks Locket you have been very helpful

[Houndtime]

Is she outside all day? If so, I don't think that is very good for a house dog.

[Guest Lulublue]

No she's outside from 8am to 3:30 3 days a week. Nothing wrong with that!

[robinw]

Mine are muzzled when I'm not home, as they can also be destructive. I also put up a baby gate to keep them out of certain rooms.

 

Try leaving music or the TV on when you're not home. That might relax her a bit. And yes, a long walk in the morning may really help. A tired dog will get into less trouble

[Neighsayer]

Why does she have to stay outside alone?

[Fruitycake]

At that age she is still very much a puppy and has way more energy than many retired racers. We got out Monty when he was that age and he didn't really calm down to "couch potato" lazybones until he was about three. More walks and more mental exercising with reward-based training can help her tire out if done in the mornings. I understand your dislike of the idea of shifting your wake up time earlier, but adding things to tire her out in the mornings can really help her (and you) now.

[Houndtime]

No she's outside from 8am to 3:30 3 days a week. Nothing wrong with that!

 

You are asking for help, opinions, etc., but when someone suggests or differs with you; you reject what is offered. They dog is outside too long, you should take her for a long walk before you leave, give her some activity to keep her busy, and don't leave her with a rawhide. That is my summary. Good luck with training your dog. She will come around as she gets older.

[Guest Lulublue]

Neighsayer She's outside for those hours because I work 3 days a week.

 

Hound time... Sorry I mistook the tone of your message. I'm not rejecting anything. I have already stated that I will be getting up earlier to take for a walk in the morning. I work 3 days a week which is when she's outside. We were given the wrong advice about the rawhide from the pet shop. She has her chew toys and stuffed animals that she plays with and I always leave her with a raw chicken carcass or something to keep her occupied for a while.

 

Yesterday we tried leaving the door open when we went out and left her inside so we will see how that goes. It's just not great for security but if that is what will make her feel better then that's what we will do from now on.

 

 

When we are home she's inside. The door is open and she will sometimes go and lay on the lounge outside inside the sun. She does spend a lot of time sleeping when home.

 

Also I need to state that when we adopted her I did mention I was at work 3 days a week and she would be outside. She is totally undercover and protected from wind and rain. They assured us that she would ok at her foster family she was outside all day everyday with them and there were no problems.

[Guest Noosh]

When I read through this, it is very like our situation. Our newly adopted girl is 20 months old. Really, still a puppy! Also, consideration should also be given to the fact that before being offered for adoption, she lived in a structured, racing kennel environment. Which would be like Mars compared to a home and family environment.

We employ all of the strategies suggested. A long walk, at least an hour, interesting walks to the beach, bush, trails, and leafy neighbourhood walks. She always meets other dogs and people for a chat! Fed breakfast, of half the days food amount. Yummy treated filled Kongs. Rawhide chewy bones. Soft comfy bed. Chicken necks. Some obedience training. Soft squeaky toys. Lots of cuddles and love. Next store have a little dog to chat to...!

Yet, we still have LOTS of chewing and mischief! Our local Greyhound group tell us, after they turn three, this seems to quickly ameliorate. In fact, it's then, they won't do anything but sleep all day!!

I wish us luck ( and a good sense of humour!)

[GeorgeofNE]

I think this poster must live in a country that is not the USA, because NO group I know of would adopt a dog out to someone planning on leaving it outside when they're not home. And yes, in parts of the US, some people do think that's an OK way to have a pet dog, but for the most part, we just don't do that here. We would also never, ever tell someone to give their dogs bones when you're not home.

[Guest Lulublue]

George I'm sure why you wouldn't leave your dog outside when not home. But yes I am in Australia and most dogs here are outside dogs. Maybe it's the weather. It's extremely rare to have a dog inside the house when not home if they can't get out.

 

Also I couldn't come home to a day's worth of poop and urine in the house. To me that's unhygienic even if it is contained to 1 area. Plus I have a very weak stomach.

 

So yeah different countries different expectations. Neither is better than the other - just different.

Noosh - yes exactly... Good luck

Noosh - yes exactly... Good luck

[krissy]

Also I couldn't come home to a day's worth of poop and urine in the house. To me that's unhygienic even if it is contained to 1 area.

The matter of leaving dogs outside unattended aside, because cultural norms are very different in different places, why would you come home to a day's worth of poop and urine in the house? This is not what happens in North America where we keep our dogs inside. The dogs go out in the morning to pee and poop, then they come in for the day while owners go to work for 8 hours, then when owners come home the dogs go out and pee and poop. The average dog is not going to the bathroom inside the house. Exceptions would be dogs/puppies not yet housebroken, the occasional accident (usually owner induced by forgetfulness etc), and old dogs that aren't able to hold it as long. Dogs with separation anxiety may also go in the house because anxiety stimulates the need to eliminate.

 

If your dog goes to the bathroom in the house, then you need to determine if she's not housebroken or if it is due to her separation anxiety. If the former, housetraining 101, back to basics. If the latter, you need to work on your alone training.

 

Now, coming back to cultural norms, it may be normal in Australia to leave dogs outside during the day, but you said you have two other dogs that stay in the house. I can accept cultural differences, even when I don't agree with them, but to me it sounds like this is less about culture and more about the destruction if other dogs are in the house while she's outside. Destruction is obviously not tolerable, but I think there are methods better suited to helping her. If she has separation anxiety I'm not sure being isolated is the best method of dealing with it. If you want to put her outside, I'd potentially put another dog out with her to keep her company, assuming they get along well. Or, preferably, I'd see how well crate trained she is and crate her. And if course there needs to be some intensive alone training.

 

I only have 1 dog out of 3 that is not crated while I'm gone, and that's the 11 yr old. The 3.5 year old and 15 week old are crated for their safety, and my sanity. Kili is only just starting to be trustworthy, and even so she's inconsistent, which means I continue with the crate. She loves her crate and it keeps her, and the house, safe.