New Rescue Soiling His Crate

[Guest franci]

Hello ,

i adopted my first greyhound saturday and he is a sweet mild 2 yo.

while his foster homes did have any problems with him peeing or pooping inside but since he's been with us, even if we kept as close as possible the same schedule he had prior we have been having few incidents of pee and poop even a minute after coming back from a long walk. now it's 3 days in a row that soils his crate even if we had a walker coming and taking him out. he seems to be suffering a bit of separation anxiety.

i'm quite worries since i am aware greyhound do not soil their crate and kinda clueless on what to do since we were relying on the crate to house train him.

any suggestions?

Thank you so much

[MaryJane]

Can you provide more information - how long is he in crate, what times do you walk and for how long, how long is he alone during the day, when is the soiling happening?

[KickReturn]

So he is doing this when he is left alone in his crate? You need to be very careful. This poor dog may be having a complete melt down panic attack when left alone in the crate. Set up a camera to confirm behaviour. If the dog is freaking out in the crate than you need to try a completely different strategy- something not involving a crate. Remember being alone in a crate in an empty building is completely different than being in a crate at the track surrounded by 20 other greyhounds and also different then being in a crate at the foster home with other dogs around.

[robinw]

Can you ditch the crate?

[GeorgeofNE]

Crates are probably the most overrated adoption tool there is.

 

Yes, some greyhounds find them comforting. A 2 year old likely did very little racing, and may not have spent much time crate in his short life. A wire box in the living room of a strange place bears no reassemblance to his time at the track or the kennel, so it's not the same thing AT ALL.

 

Do you know anything about housebreaking a dog?

 

You need to treat this fellow as if he is a little puppy who has no idea he isn't supposed to go inside (in the crate or in the house).

 

Any dog will soil a crate if 1) they have to go, or 2) they're stressed, or 3) he has a health issue (usually easily treated)

[Guest bubbagumpshrimp]

Hello ,

i adopted my first greyhound saturday and he is a sweet mild 2 yo.

while his foster homes did have any problems with him peeing or pooping inside but since he's been with us, even if we kept as close as possible the same schedule he had prior we have been having few incidents of pee and poop even a minute after coming back from a long walk. now it's 3 days in a row that soils his crate even if we had a walker coming and taking him out. he seems to be suffering a bit of separation anxiety.

i'm quite worries since i am aware greyhound do not soil their crate and kinda clueless on what to do since we were relying on the crate to house train him.

any suggestions?

Thank you so much

 

Did the foster "parents" crate him or not? When we first got Barnaby, we attempted to crate him. We had to use treats to get him into the crate. Once he got in there...he just started panicking to get out. We removed the crate from the equation and he did great. We gradually permitted him access to more and more house space (ex. First day...just one room) over a period of a few days.

 

 

 

Crates are probably the most overrated adoption tool there is.

 

Yes, some greyhounds find them comforting. A 2 year old likely did very little racing, and may not have spent much time crate in his short life. A wire box in the living room of a strange place bears no reassemblance to his time at the track or the kennel, so it's not the same thing AT ALL.

 

Do you know anything about housebreaking a dog?

 

You need to treat this fellow as if he is a little puppy who has no idea he isn't supposed to go inside (in the crate or in the house).

 

Any dog will soil a crate if 1) they have to go, or 2) they're stressed, or 3) he has a health issue (usually easily treated)

 

I agree. Some dogs like crates and view them as a "safey safe" (Ralphie May reference). Barnaby is not one of them. We got him right off the track (no foster time). I'm sure he did fine in his crate at the track, but he did not take to it well once we got him.

 

That's what we did when we got ours. We took him out throughout the day if he even looked like he might need to go out. You have to learn your dogs body language. Within a day, it was VERY obvious when Barnaby had to do his business. ex. Lowers head while walking around room, starts sniffing/walking the perimeter of room, panting, etc.

 

Schedule is irrelevant until a dog gets settled into its new surroundings. They need to get used to the new smells and have to be shown that the whole living space is its den...not just a small part of the house (ex. a Crate). That and as you said...if he or she has got to go...they're going to go.

 

Another thing...Barnaby is VERY quirky. For the most part, he is what I'll call a "fence pooper." LOTS of the time, he could be about to burst (bowel wise), but if you don't find a fence for him to do his business by...he will just hold it in. If we didn't process that and make accommodations for him (find a fence), he'd burst sooner or later...regardless of where he is.

 

Try different things and see what works for your dog. ex. It could be that he's walking, has to drop a deuce, but he just has not been presented with the right set of circumstances (ex. Quiet area, fence, etc.) to take his dump.

Edited January 19, 2018 by bubbagumpshrimp

[LaFlaca]

Crates are over-rated. Neither of my two Greyhounds could tolerate being in a crate. Lola escaped her crate twice (and soiled it, as well) before we decided to get rid of it. Can you use baby gates to confine your boy to a dog-proof area? It sounds like he might have some separation anxiety. Begin "alone" training. A great resource is Patricia B. McConnell's book, I'll Be Home Soon! Get him checked out by your vet to make sure that there are no underlying heath issues. Sometimes medication is helpful for extreme S.A. My Lola had dreadful S.A. We used training, medication, and DAP diffusers to help Lola overcome the anxiety. It took four months but she's fine now. We discovered that she feels calmer if we leave the living room blinds open so that she can see outside when she's alone.

 

Begin intensive potty training. Keep an eye on him so he cannot "stealth" pee when you're not looking. If he likes to pee on area rugs, put the rugs away for now. Use a product like Nature's Miracle to get rid of the urine odor. Take him out many, many times a day. As soon as he finishes urinating or defecating, treat and praise lavishly. He'll get it eventually. My girl, Wendy, was housebroken in two days! Lola took 3 months to get the idea.

 

It takes a lot of work and consistency but both of you can do it!

[Guest franci]

Thank you all for the responses and suggestions!

 

Yeah the pup was technically already housebroken but we had a few accidents and mostly when we "disappeared" into another room or we left. There is no pattern when it happens. the crate is 48 inch long.

We have been very consistent with a schedule of

6.30 am - 10/15 min business walk

7 am - feeding time

8 am - 30 min walk

1 pm - 30 min walk

6.30 pm - feeding time

7 pm - 30 min walk

10 pm - 10/15 business walk

 

we have not crated him the past 2 nights and everything was fine, he's not destructive or had any incidents, we gave him option where to sleep and chose his bed in the living room (with our bedroom open and available)

i think the first days was also not accustomed to do his business on a leash, now with a lot of praise and treats, found his spots outside with us and he's going regularly. we had to give him space as well in a way, as if he was embarrassed.

i have no experience with greys so i am asking to who knows more than me, but honestly just by instinct it doesn't seem like he likes the crate all that much (he's never there voluntarily unless when he keeps an eye on us in the morning while getting there) and was definitely looking into the option of a camera and or a baby gate into a room...

He cries a lot when we leave in the morning (we are at work between 9 and 6.30 with a walker coming in between) so i assume what's happening is really some stress from being alone.

 

we are going to do some incremental training this weekend starting from 10 minutes, and maybe see how he behaves outside of the crate with a baby gate..

he's already shown some signs of feeling more comfortable, so with patience he'll settle soon hopefully.

[robinw]

Another thing you can try doing when you're home is attaching his leash to you (via your waist or whatever works; with him on the other end) so you can watch for "I have to go out" signals. Once you have those, you can incorporate his internal schedule into the schedule he already has. Sometimes the signs are really subtle, such as eye contact.

[Hubcitypam]

Totally agree crates are overrated. The crates at the tracks are big enough for me to sleep in and they have dozens of friends in eyesight. Try babygating in the kitchen if possible and put the crate with door open there as a woobie spot.

[XTRAWLD]

I'd also be concerned about something underlying like a UTI, less common in boys, but they can come with all kinds of things off the track. Good to see you are making some progress though.

 

Everything is incredibly new to him, he needs time.

[Guest franci]

Crates are probably the most overrated adoption tool there is.

 

Yes, some greyhounds find them comforting. A 2 year old likely did very little racing, and may not have spent much time crate in his short life. A wire box in the living room of a strange place bears no reassemblance to his time at the track or the kennel, so it's not the same thing AT ALL.

 

Do you know anything about housebreaking a dog?

 

You need to treat this fellow as if he is a little puppy who has no idea he isn't supposed to go inside (in the crate or in the house).

 

Any dog will soil a crate if 1) they have to go, or 2) they're stressed, or 3) he has a health issue (usually easily treated)

 

he had 10 races so basically spent at the racetrack from mid august to mid november i think

i have never housebroken a puppy but been talking to everyone i know that did it and learned as much possible on how to do it.

he understood in a day or 2 how to do his business on a leash (i don't think he's ever had to do it, the fosters had a yard) and after that the accidents are only in the crate when we are away. with positive reinforcement and finding the spots the work for him he has been going pretty consistently every time we walk. crating is the problem. and i am fairly sure that it's stress. when uncrated at night never had an incident for way more hours than the ones he is left in the crate.

[Batmom]

Do you know when he's soiling? Before walker comes or after or both? If before, it might help to have the walker come twice for a couple weeks (ouch, expensive, I know); if after, either a longer walk or, if it's too cold for that, quick walk, 15 minutes playtime indoors, and another quick walk to help him get empty. Best luck!

[Guest franci]

Do you know when he's soiling? Before walker comes or after or both? If before, it might help to have the walker come twice for a couple weeks (ouch, expensive, I know); if after, either a longer walk or, if it's too cold for that, quick walk, 15 minutes playtime indoors, and another quick walk to help him get empty. Best luck!

happens in the morning between when we leave and when the walker comes.

I am thinking to get the walker to come twice for a couple weeks

[XTRAWLD]

Honestly, my one boy could not go when at the end of a leash to save his life! It took so much time to teach him yes this is where you do your thing. Hours, then half hours, then 10 mins....he still never was a record breaker at going first thing he got to the grass, he needed a good walk to get things flowing. I unfortunately was late for work many days but knew I just had to be patient and ride it out till he went and using tonnes of praise when he did.

 

They guys are for the most part "easy" but again he's only been around a couple of days so everything is new. He doesn't know your routine yet, etc. Stick to a good routine and you'll see him come around. If the soiling keeps up, check him out at a vet though. For most dogs, messing their space is the very last thing they want to do unless they are desperate.

 

How much water is he drinking and when? I know when my boy drinks a lot, he should be going out after 1-2 hours. He doesnt have a signal to tell me he has to go either, he just paces. Keep that in mind. Everytime you look at him, think about if he has to go. He might not know how to tell you.

Edited January 20, 2018 by XTRAWLD