Running 'dangerously' In The House

[Guest noddemix]

I have a four year old retired racer, a big 35kg boy and multiple winner at A1/Open grade (UK), so he has decent racing pedigree and is very lively.

 

After his last walk we clean his paws and remove his collar, open the door into the living room and boom - off he goes. In the available space it wouldn't be possible to go any faster, up a flight of about 20 steps only touching them twice and then 180deg at the top of the stairs, launching himself on to our bed but often sliding clean off the other side. It's frantic and sometimes he misjudges it - he's gone into the bed frame, the door frame and the coffee table in the living room. If he goes over the bed he ends up in a heap on the floor.

 

I've tried letting him go at the bottom of the stairs but it's worse, he struggles to get up cleanly without the run up. I've tried distracting him with treats but once he's done with the treat he just flies up as he would otherwise. When you get upstairs you find him curled up in a mess of duvet panting heavily with a sort of crazed look about him. I've decided he behaves like this because he's concerned that we won't let him sleep in our bed, so it's perhaps a kind of anxiety he has about that. He doesn't do this after any of his walks except his last, although he does throw himself on his bed in the living room after any walk in the rain/wind.

 

Is there any way to modify this behaviour before he does himself some harm? Yep he sleeps in our bed, I'm not mad keen but I feel like we've gone too far to turn back now. Could that be the crux of the problem?

 

I'm posting this because he had a heavy contact with the wall/door frame tonight and I've heard horror stories about broken shoulders etc.

[XTRAWLD]

He sure is excited isn't he!

 

I think you will get some good feedback, but you might need to start with distraction at the door, like a toy to play with you to get out some energy before bolting. Might want to think about baby gating the bottom of the stairs to start breaking his habit. Or maybe something taller in the way to just prevent him from going up for a little while.

[Guest noddemix]

Thanks for your thoughts. Gating's an interesting idea I hadn't thought of, combined with walking him to the foot of the stairs so he can see it's there before he sets off. We made the mistake of shutting the bedroom door a couple times and he just ran straight into it. I can't walk him up there on a lead because he won't safely go upstairs on a lead (he has to run/jump up stairs).

 

I haven't found distractions to work, toys seems to make him more excited so when he does set off upstairs he does it even more frantically. I could persist with that though and see if I can maybe even wear him out, but he's at his craziest when you play with him.

 

I should probably mention that we've had him over a year and he's being doing this probably for about half that time, and it seems to be getting worse in terms of how reckless he is.

[greysmom]

Obviously we 're not seeing the behavior, but I'm betting he super excited/eager, not really anxious. He won't do anything to deliberately hurt himself, but we've all had indoor "zoomies" that scare the pants off us! He's having fun hurdling the stairs and taking a running jump onto your bouncy bed slide! WooHooooo!

 

Couple thoughts:

>Stop his ability to go through his routine. Right in the place where you come in and let him off leash. Baby gate the room, or keep him near you until he calms down. Gating the stairs is also a good idea. It will be inconvenient for you for a while, but leave the gate up all the time, unless you are going to be there to supervise his going upstairs.

 

>Along with this, you need to teach him to slow down on the stairs. He just needs to be slowed down and taught to go one step at a time. There are numerous threads here you can search out for "teaching stairs."

 

>If he's not responding to treats at this time you need to up your treat value significantly. The higher his level of excitement, the higher the treat value needs to be to gain his attention and concentration. Just his normal, walking treats won't do. You need some super YUMMY!!! like roasted chicken, dehydrated liver, smelly cheese, liverwurst, sausages or hot dogs. What ever is the. best. thing. EVER to him. Get his attention with the treats before you take off his leash. Use a command like "watch me" or "sit" (if he will/can). Whatever will get him to settle and look at you. Once he's done that, speak calmly and ask him for behaviors - several in a row - then give him a larger chew-type treat that will take a few minutes. You can give him a stuff Kong as well - anything to break his zoomy cycle and get him to calm down.

 

>Try and find a way to burn off some more of his energy earlier in the evening - add in an extra walk or play session in the garden, take him to training class, a nice run in an off leash area. If he's tired out he'll be less likely to want to go bonkers.

 

This is something he's finding really fun right now, so it's going to take some work and patience to break him out of it. Keep at it and remember to keep things fun!

[krissy]

Keep him on leash with you once you're in the house for about 5-10 minutes, or until he's calm and has elected to relax/lay down on his own. My dogs frequently get super excited after they come in from potty in the yard or going for a walk. It's basically just a warm up for them... doesn't do anything to alleviate any energy.

[sobesmom]

Meh - some times the fools will do what they will do. Let it happen. It's an expression of exuberance and joy. My greys would occasionally race around the house, wipe out on the slippery floors, slam into the cabinets, start off again, take out a couple kitchen chairs - I'd fret,fuss, and worry, and my DH would cheer them on and jump into the craziness. Once in a while there was a scrape or a scratch or a bruise from their craziness, but they never noticed.

 

Let the happy happen. You CAN'T bubble-wrap them. Yes, they are greyhounds, but never forget - they are DOGS.

 

(Yes, I know this is NOT the response you'll get from many posters. Take it or leave it.)

[XTRAWLD]

Meh - some times the fools will do what they will do. Let it happen. It's an expression of exuberance and joy. My greys would occasionally race around the house, wipe out on the slippery floors, slam into the cabinets, start off again, take out a couple kitchen chairs - I'd fret,fuss, and worry, and my DH would cheer them on and jump into the craziness. Once in a while there was a scrape or a scratch or a bruise from their craziness, but they never noticed.

 

Let the happy happen. You CAN'T bubble-wrap them. Yes, they are greyhounds, but never forget - they are DOGS.

 

(Yes, I know this is NOT the response you'll get from many posters. Take it or leave it.)

This is a helpful perspective none the less, and I have used this approach in many situations myself. Gotta let a dog be a dog. I will never forget Kasey's bounds of joy, leaping from a full run from kitchen to living room to slide across the rug with a beautiful smile on his face - saying DID YA SEE THAT MOM! I swear he was going for a record long jump every day, even though he could easily have hurt himself. It's what made him and his personality! Just sounds like this stair runner though one might really cause himself harm!

 

I hope the OP can provide an update!