Adopting A Grey In An Apartment

[CraftyDragoon]

So I've heard greyhounds are great for apartments, which is great as that's my living situation right now. Unfortunately I'm on the third floor! I've heard some greyhounds pick it up quickly and some take some time, but we don't really have time to train a greyhound up and down the stairs if it means they won't get in the home or outside to potty 😬

The adoption agencies that are near don't foster, but is it possible to ask them to train the greyhound were interested in adopting? Or getting the dog accustomed to stairs at least? I don't know if that's an appropriate thing to ask of a kennel

[greysmom]

It's completely appropriate to talk with your adoption group about your physical living situation and to talk about needing a dog who can do stairs easily. You could get a bounce ( a dog returned through no fault fo their own) who has lived with stairs previously, or even a young dog who is familiar wtih them from his farm or kennel days.

 

What's more important, IMO, is that you fully consider how you will deal with having a large breed dog in a third floor walk up. How will you handle it if the dog (any large dog, not just a greyhound) gets sick and has diarrhea? What if the dog becomes incapacitated for whatever reason - stroke, heart attack, seizure, blood clot, other - how will you get the dog down the stairs and to the vet?

 

If you're living in an apartment a dog who is good at being alone is *very* important. Getting a dog without Separation Anxiety should also be on your list of things to talk about with the adoption group.

 

 

There are many people who have greyhounds successfully in apartments without elevators. You just need to think ahead and be prepared.

 

Also, all dogs need some training in the beginning of their time in a new home and many people take at least a few days off, combined with a weekend, to get their dog accustomed to their new living situation.

[MaryJane]

Note that if the stairs have "open backs", it is more difficult to train greyhounds to go up them. I had a set of about 5 steps going from outside to a porch and I eventually had to close the backs because the dogs refused to go up.

[cleptogrey]

none of my gh have had problems w/ stairs. food is always a great motivator and routine is the best of any animals. just let the group know that you are in a walk-up. greyhounds are very trainable dogs. good luck.

[EllenEveBaz]

Sometimes adoption programs will bring out prospective adoptables on a home visit. That would be a great way to get an initial impression of how the dogs react to your stairs and maybe get them trained on the spot.

 

My first grey had been specifically trained by her first family not to go up stairs as they didn't want her in the bedrooms on the 2nd floor. She was easily convinced to try the stairs at my parents -- I put a leash on her and treated her like a suitcase. Close and tight, no options, and treats at the top! Hardest thing was getting her not to jump down the last 3-5 steps when descending. She was so pleased with herself for going up and down -- sometimes she'd do it just for fun. Just 'cuz she could.

[Houndtime]

I met someone who lived in a high rise apartment building with the opposite issue. She didn't know if her dog would venture into the elevator.

 

Well he does and she says he waits, patiently, for it to arrive. He also holds his pee, very well, until they reach the outside of their building. It is all what they get used to.

 

The older dog or sick dog issue is really one to consider. Our 83 lb boy, fell on the ice and lost use of his back legs. It took both of us to carry him out of our house into the car. The dog couldn't walk at all.

[cleptogrey]

mmm.....2 salukis- 3 flights of stairs, they used to visit the super for treats on the way up.

1 saluki- 5th floor apt and the elevator always was out, that meant carry a sleeping kid in a stroller and the dog walking up to the 5th floor

1 greyhound- iced exterior flight of stairs at winter rental- towels on the treds did the trick

2 greyhounds - rental at beach house- 3 flights of wooden open back stairs to get to the rental.

 

if there is a will, there is a way!

[krissy]

We've fostered a number of dogs off the track and have never had significant trouble training them to use the stairs. If that's the only way in/out they pick it up out of necessity a lot faster than dogs who don't absolutely have to do the stairs. When we first got into greyhound we lived in a basement apartment, so our very first foster had to learn to do the stairs at least 3 times per day to get in and out. It meant budgeting a bit of extra time every time we wanted to take him out at first, but he learned to do those stairs like a pro within a week. Lots of treats and gentle persistence were involved.

 

Since then we've fostered a number of greyhounds. Fortunately, the house we were in when we did that had fewer stairs since it was a bungalow, but they still had to do about 4 or 5. They also had to learn to do the stairs to the basement if they wanted in on the training fun with my dogs. Our current house is also a bungalow, but is raised so has about 8 stairs to get to the front door. We haven't been fostering recently, but no doubt the dogs would figure it out just fine!

[CraftyDragoon]

Awesome thanks so much guys!! We won't be at this apartment much longer, year and a half max, and then we'll get a house. We're hoping to get a younger dog so hopefully won't have any major health issues to worry about before moving. If it does though, my husband could easily take the dog up or down, just not everytime if the dog freezes at the stairs for potty or walks 😂

The stairs are wooden, not slick, outside and closed so it should be okay from what I'm hearing. All the advice certainly helps and I'll reach out to adoption agency I'm wanting to go through and let them know my living situation.

[MandysMom]

I live on the fourth floor with no elevator. Thirty-nine steps. I count them every time we go up and down. My first Greyhound picked them up pretty quickly. They are easy steps, in a semi-enclosed hallway, short flights of closed-back, carpeted, with a brick wall on one side. The Greyhound I have now, who I adopted as a four-year-old return, was truly unhappy with the stairs at first. I spent almost a week patiently going up with my hip on his backside to encourage him. A hint: he does a million times better if he is next to the brick wall, I think it makes him feel more secure; maybe your potential new pup will need that assurance.

 

I sat a foster dog who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He would stand and stare at his reflection in the windows in front of each building. I live in a condo development, so we'd pass what seems like a million windows on every walk. Well, he just would NOT do the stairs, so I had to lug his 75 pound butt up and down four times a day. Not fun. I watched him for 10 days over the Christmas holidays. In that time, he walked up unassisted exactly once: the first walk of Christmas morning. I started to cry, thinking it was a Christmas miracle. Yeah, no such luck. By lunchtime, he was back to balking. He ended up going to a single family home where he didn't have to do stairs. If I had adopted him, he would have had to learn, but I don't think my back would have held out.

 

It was mentioned previously, but you will want to do everything you can do to prevent or reduce separation anxiety. Please read about alone training (the Dummies book has a nice explanation) and do exactly as directed, even though it seems kind of strange. My first Greyhound had terrible SA. It was beyond awful. And, to exacerbate the situation, my downstairs neighbor would call me literally seconds after I got home to tell me about every moment that Mandy cried. It took me a long time, a lot of work, and many tears to get her to be okay with my being gone. I had to settle for okay, because she would never be happy when I left. There is a relationship between SA and thunderphobia. Mandy was also a horrible thunderphobe. Since your group doesn't foster, maybe they will know how your potential pup is with storms. It's not foolproof, but it's one thing to consider.

 

Welcome to the world of Greyhounds! They are wonderful dogs.

[mrsmcd7]

My hound stopped using flights of stairs at age 6, but could do one or 2 stairs. Just FYI.

I live on the fourth floor with no elevator. Thirty-nine steps. I count them every time we go up and down. My first Greyhound picked them up pretty quickly. They are easy steps, in a semi-enclosed hallway, short flights of closed-back, carpeted, with a brick wall on one side. The Greyhound I have now, who I adopted as a four-year-old return, was truly unhappy with the stairs at first. I spent almost a week patiently going up with my hip on his backside to encourage him. A hint: he does a million times better if he is next to the brick wall, I think it makes him feel more secure; maybe your potential new pup will need that assurance.

 

I sat a foster dog who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He would stand and stare at his reflection in the windows in front of each building. I live in a condo development, so we'd pass what seems like a million windows on every walk. Well, he just would NOT do the stairs, so I had to lug his 75 pound butt up and down four times a day. Not fun. I watched him for 10 days over the Christmas holidays. In that time, he walked up unassisted exactly once: the first walk of Christmas morning. I started to cry, thinking it was a Christmas miracle. Yeah, no such luck. By lunchtime, he was back to balking. He ended up going to a single family home where he didn't have to do stairs. If I had adopted him, he would have had to learn, but I don't think my back would have held out.

 

It was mentioned previously, but you will want to do everything you can do to prevent or reduce separation anxiety. Please read about alone training (the Dummies book has a nice explanation) and do exactly as directed, even though it seems kind of strange. My first Greyhound had terrible SA. It was beyond awful. And, to exacerbate the situation, my downstairs neighbor would call me literally seconds after I got home to tell me about every moment that Mandy cried. It took me a long time, a lot of work, and many tears to get her to be okay with my being gone. I had to settle for okay, because she would never be happy when I left. There is a relationship between SA and thunderphobia. Mandy was also a horrible thunderphobe. Since your group doesn't foster, maybe they will know how your potential pup is with storms. It's not foolproof, but it's one thing to consider.

 

Welcome to the world of Greyhounds! They are wonderful dogs.

The "not the sharpest knife in the drawer" dog is hilarious! Staring at his reflection? Too funny! Edited September 19, 2018 by mrsmcd7

[fastpointydoge]

Lots of good info already, just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.

 

I adopted a 5 y/o grey from the adoption kennel so he had never been in a house before. I lived in a 2nd floor apartment. There were some cement steps outside the kennels that I tested him on. He baulked a little when I brought him home but we basically had a party as if the stairs were the best thing ever and got it done!

 

He will always go down and up on the side closest to the wall.

 

We moved to another 2nd floor apartment, this one with narrower, steeper stairs but again, with lots of praise, he did them.

 

The only time he's flat out said no was when I stayed over at a friend's old house and it was a steep staircase that curved around. He tried going up and down once and then just slept downstairs.

 

In an emergency, I know I would have to carry him down the stairs or fire escape.

 

I would just try to get a confident hound and have some tasty treats on hand. I really like the idea of having a meet and greet at your place to test them out.

[locket]

I live on the second floor with no elevator. I have a greyhound who had been with me a year and a half prior to the situation and a galgo.

We go up and down a MINIMUM of 4 times a day. You should see our bumbums!

Jokes apart, the carrying up and down the steps is an important consideration. My galgo ran full speed into my grey at the park and my grey wouldn't walk. Much less do stairs. So for about 3 days I had to carry him up and down the stairs. From the second floor. 4 times a day. That is 504 steps with a 70 pounds dog in my arms!

If your adoption group can train a grey for you that would be ideal. Otherwise I would advise you to wait until you get a house, it won't be long anyway as you said

There are many issues with a new grey that could potentially cause problems in a appartment but that would be manageable in a house (steps, noise, barking, separation anxiety, rough playing in the house, house training) If you and your neighbors are willing to work through these, that is great! I know mine wouldn't tolerate it!

On the other hand, there has been many successful adoptions that I know of in an appartment. I just know that if it was me, I would wait as it would be much easier for all of you

[Beachbum1]

When I got Taylor (90 pounds), I lived in an apartment over a detached 2 car garage.

Outside solid concrete stairs, up against the building, and the left side was solid, around 40" tall, to a landing, and then a right turn through a door into the apartment.

 

The completion of the adoption basically revolved about Taylor being able to walk up and down stairs.

No way could I carry him.

 

The woman who ran the adoption agency came to the house.

She walked him up, down, and up again.

That was it.

For the next year and a half, we went up and down those stairs at least a dozen times a day.

 

He also did fine in elevators.

[palmettobug]

I live in a second floor condo with open back stairs. Johnny was fostered in a fourth floor apartment with an elevator and closed stairs. He did balk at my stairs for the first few days, but once he learned that FOOD and BEDS were up those stairs, I couldn't stop him. He does walk on the side with the wall. Elevators he does without hesitation, too, after all these years.

[XTRAWLD]

Surely you have an elevator - at least I hope! But greys do learn to do stairs. Some gracefully, some less gracefully. One of mine would bound up them 3 jumps at a time up a flight, the other, very methodically one at a time. The kind of steps also matter: if they are open to the back, I would expect them to resist a little more because there could be some fear there (i.e. my boy that would bound up them would be fearful because if he misplaced a paw at all while bounding up them, he could easily put his leg through the step and that would be no good).

 

If they are closed back and slippery, it could be a tough go. Dogs aren't color blind, rather they can distinguish colors that are brighter against a darker background, https://www.aspca.org/news/fearful-dogs-fresh-coat-paint-makes-all-difference so depending again on the type of stairs - the surface in particular, carpeted, painted, slippery, could make a big difference in the willingness to go up them. Bright areas are also best, so I assume the stairway is well lit.

 

Sounds like you'll have to get a willing and outgoing personality, but it can be trained!

[gracegirl]

In my situation, ignorance was bliss. I didnt know about Greytalk until after I adopted Grace.

 

I lived in a second floor studio in downtown Seattle. I adopted a dog right off the track who hadnt been fostered. I didnt know how she did with cars, stairs, elevators, noise, small dogs, non-greys, etc.

 

When we got to my apartment, it was just me and Grace. We went to the grass patch a block away to pee, then went to the back door. I said to her -lets go girl- and walked right up. I didnt hesitate, and she went right up. We also had no idea if shed have separation anxiety. She was fine, and turned out to be my heart dog. She was perfect.

 

On the contrary, my brother lived in Manhattan and for the first few weeks he had his grey, he had to carry him up and down three flights of wooden interior stairs. After a few weeks, he decided that he hated being carried so learned to do them on his own. He and his girlfriend had to work as a team at first, one at the bottom and the other at the top...hes only go up unleashed at first. Once he figured them out, he was fine.