Separation Anxiety?

[Guest pisces1331]

I’m currently trying to adopt a greyhound from my local rescue group and received a phone call from them letting me know that they’re reviewing my application. I originally thought that it would be pretty easy to be placed with a greyhound since I have no other pets, but she let me know that it was actually the opposite. I was told that pretty much all greyhounds suffer from separation anxiety and it was rare to find one that didn’t. She explained that since I work full time it would be easier if I had another pet, then the greyhound would have a friend to hang out with to help minimize the anxiety. She also implied that the dog shouldn’t be left alone for more than 2-3 hours. I can’t help but feel like that is an unrealistic expectation unless you work from home. While I can certainly visit the dog during my lunch break it wasn’t something I was going to make a habit of. While I’ve never had a greyhound before, I’ve been around and owned dogs all my life including ones with mild to severe separation anxiety and can’t help but feel like something is a bit off here. I’m also planning on crate training since that’s what helped my previous dog with separation anxiety.

 

Do all greyhounds really suffer from separation anxiety? Are the adoption agency’s expectations unrealistic or are mine?

 

Obviously every dog has their own challenges and has to go through an adjustment period. But I can’t help but feel like she was trying to scare me off for some reason.

[Guest braun]

I am not an experienced owner. We adopted about 4 weeks ago. I took 3 days off work to do some alone training and on the 4th day he spent 9h alone and for a total of 10mins barking/whining. At first we used the crate and then phased it out to the point we now removed the crate, baby gate him and he spends 9h by himself. The group we went through was ultra helpful through the whole process and not once did they make us feel we weren't suitable adopters. We have no other pets and can't come home at lunch. I did buy a baby cam just to make sure he can't get into trouble.

 

That being said, from talking to other people with greyhounds, some of them seem to have pretty sever anxiety. On the other hand the group really helped us pick a dog they thought would be the best fit for us and they hit the mark 100%.

[greytpups]

We adopted 5 and none have had separation anxiety, nor do I have any friends whose greyhounds suffered with SA. So I wouldn't say a lot of greyhounds have SA, simply because that isn't my experience. However, your adoption group may have had may people contact them needing help with SA.

 

Please keep in mind that we will have exposure to SA behaviour issues because more people with post for help on here than those whose greyhound is fine. I also have a few friends who have and/or had a single greyhound and they were fine too. We had an only for about 6 weeks and she was fine. Again, I imagine it's all based on perspective.

[GeorgeofNE]

If there is another group in your area, I'd contact them and see if they have more realistic expectations of an adopter.

 

It's ridiculous to suggest that "pretty much all" greyhounds suffer from SA. Plenty of people work full time jobs and do NOT go home at lunch. I've been a single gal with a dog for over 20 years now, and I paid a dog walker for exactly two weeks in those 20 years (and it didn't help my dog who did have SA one bit).

 

A healthy adult dog is perfectly fine alone during work hours. The trick is making sure you get up earlier than you normally would without a dog, give the dog a quick potty break, then feed, then have your own coffee and check the news (or whatever) and then take the dog for at least a 30 minute walk. Not a quick trip in the back yard. A walk. Then your dog will in all probability sleep most of the 9 hours you are at work and commuting.

 

I have a live feed of my condo, and I can tell you for a fact my dog sleeps ALL DAY Monday through Friday.

 

My first greyhound did have SA. And it was rough. But SA can be overcome. He learned to live with my schedule with a lot of work on my part, and time on his. I wouldn't say he ever loved it, but he was fine.

 

I do have cats, but I think my current dog would be just as fine alone if I didn't.

 

I do commit to spending my evenings home. I don't feel working all day and then also going out at night is fair, but certainly dogs can do just fine with a working person as a caretaker.

[locket]

When we adopted Jack, he was the only living being during the day. Like most person, we both work full-time, however we tweaked our schedule a little bit so they overlap and thus limiting the alone time. Even with that, we went through 3 months of barking and being crated or running in the house before we found out a routine that worked for all of us. After that he settled in and was able to stay on his own the whole day while we were working.

Our second hound? Settled right in without a peep!

[Guest pisces1331]

Thanks for the help guys! It kinda came out of left field when she made a big deal about SA since it never came up in any of the research I did.

 

 

If there is another group in your area, I'd contact them and see if they have more realistic expectations of an adopter.

 

There is another organization but it's quite far from me, it's about a 3-4 hour drive. Personally I think the expectations of the group, I'm currently working with, were high since they have a large pool of potential adopters to pull from. The woman who I talked with told me that they had 40+ other applications!

[Guest braun]

Thanks for the help guys! It kinda came out of left field when she made a big deal about SA since it never came up in any of the research I did.

 

 

 

There is another organization but it's quite far from me, it's about a 3-4 hour drive. Personally I think the expectations of the group, I'm currently working with, were high since they have a large pool of potential adopters to pull from. The woman who I talked with told me that they had 40+ other applications!

thats pretty awesome that they have that many applications but there are so many dogs that need homes I don't see why they would "refuse" you just because you work. Kind of weird IMO. You may want to contact the other group and ask questions 3-4 hours is long but if the group is a better fit for you it may be worth it.

[CharlieRhea]

I adopted Charlie because he was so afraid of everything. I was staff at the shelter he was at. He has been with us for 4 plus yrs and no separation anxiety at all. I did have a German Shepherd and they got along great. She passed at almost 14 yrs old this past Nov. Charlie missed her i knew because he wouldn't sleep in the room for one month that they shared. He is ok now I am a dog walker so i am back and forth and he isn't home alone more than 2-3 hrs day, not sure if that's why but he is always asleep when i come home, i don't crate him btw. If you do, please have no collars on in the crate. Best of luck!!

Edited August 17, 2016 by CharlieRhea

[Guest pisces1331]

thats pretty awesome that they have that many applications but there are so many dogs that need homes I don't see why they would "refuse" you just because you work. Kind of weird IMO. You may want to contact the other group and ask questions 3-4 hours is long but if the group is a better fit for you it may be worth it.

 

They haven't refused me yet, just was told to be very patient. Glad to know I'm not the only person who thought the situation was a little weird.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Two out of my three have had SA.

We have always had multiple dogs so when Nixon arrived he had company....we had a GSDx and a PointerX. But Nixon really didn't seem to mind if he was on his own. Plus, we are semi retired and one of us is usually home.

Ruby had a home before ours, but destroyed her crate...and other things ... and was returned to the kennel after a few days, where she waited for a new home for nearly a year. She settled in quickly with us, but could not bear to be alone in the house. At all. Not even for a couple of minutes. It took a long time to teach her it was OK...we would be back. Even now...5 years later...she whines if she's alone for more than a few minutes.

Nigel was also 'bounced' to us from another hime due to SA, although his was not as severe as

[mansbestfriend]

It's definitely not weird to suggest greyhounds may be anxious and stressed about being alone.

 

What can you offer a dog/greyhound to ensure it has a better life?

 

It's common for rescue groups to try to match an appropriate dog to a person/family/lifestyle/etc. Every dog is different. Be patient. Cheers.

[CharlieRhea]

TYPO Have collars OFF in the crate not ON sheesh

[claudiav]

"pretty much all greyhounds suffer from separation anxiety and it is rare to find one that didn’t"

 

This comment is so wrong! Where do they get their dogs? That is just weird... I have a problem with groups that place SA dogs with first time adopters... does your local group have a kennel full of dogs, or do they foster them before adoption? I would ask that they NOT give you a dog that hasn't been fostered, if this is your first time. Your first experience with an adopted greyhound should NOT be with an SA dog. In addition, the group should evaluate their dogs well enough to know what is truly an SA dog, or just one that is low confidence, spook, doesn't like being alone, etc... If they don't foster the dogs before adopting, I would research and find another group in your state that DOES foster, and can place a houndie that has been correctly evaluated, that does not have SA, that doesn't mind being an only dog, and that does fine being alone for long stretches of time. There are plenty of confident dogs out there that can handle all that. They should be most concerned with placing the RIGHT dog with a first time adopter, not any dog they get, not even knowing it's true personality.

 

In my opinion, you should not crate a greyhound for 8-9 hours straight, if that is how long you are away for work. Dog should be walked long enough in the morning to empty their bowels, and can be alone while you're at work, but i don't think they should be confined to the crate that entire time.. they should at least be free to move around, even if confined to one room.

 

Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

[Guest pisces1331]

"pretty much all greyhounds suffer from separation anxiety and it is rare to find one that didn’t"

 

This comment is so wrong! Where do they get their dogs? That is just weird... I have a problem with groups that place SA dogs with first time adopters... does your local group have a kennel full of dogs, or do they foster them before adoption? I would ask that they NOT give you a dog that hasn't been fostered, if this is your first time. Your first experience with an adopted greyhound should NOT be with an SA dog. In addition, the group should evaluate their dogs well enough to know what is truly an SA dog, or just one that is low confidence, spook, doesn't like being alone, etc... If they don't foster the dogs before adopting, I would research and find another group in your state that DOES foster, and can place a houndie that has been correctly evaluated, that does not have SA, that doesn't mind being an only dog, and that does fine being alone for long stretches of time. There are plenty of confident dogs out there that can handle all that. They should be most concerned with placing the RIGHT dog with a first time adopter, not any dog they get, not even knowing it's true personality.

 

In my opinion, you should not crate a greyhound for 8-9 hours straight, if that is how long you are away for work. Dog should be walked long enough in the morning to empty their bowels, and can be alone while you're at work, but i don't think they should be confined to the crate that entire time.. they should at least be free to move around, even if confined to one room.

 

Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

Most of their dogs come from the track, but a few also come from local shelters and a few have come from cruelty seizures. All of their dogs are fostered but most of the dogs live in homes with a bunch of other fosters. It didn't seem uncommon for the foster families to have around 4-6 dogs. I'm assuming for these dogs that when they're adopted it might be the first time that they're alone. The lady who I talked with from the rescue group told me that they didn't want me to adopt a dog with SA, but since they believe that most greys do have SA, it might take a while and that I should be patient. Thanks for the advice!

[sobesmom]

Not all greys have SA. Ask for an older dog, and one that shows signs of ability to be an only pet. I had one with terrible SA, 14 fosters who didn't and 1 other of my own that didn't.

 

It's not unreasonable to leave a greyhound alone while you work. Many of us do it every day.