Separation anxiety? Fear?

[mrsmcd7]

 Our first greyhound passed away fall 2018. We finally felt we were ready to adopt and now we have Watson a 3 year old male. We got him one week ago and he turned 3 Friday. He broke his right hock the week of May 8 which ended his racing career. Slight limp otherwise it doesn’t bother him at all. Likes his crate and hangs out in it on occasion. Has been sleeping in crate downstairs and our bedrooms are upstairs. At foster he slept in a crate in fosters room on main floor.  We are waiting until his vet visit Aug 1 to do stairs bc he hates them and I want to be sure his hock is checked first as we don’t know what track did as far as care for the hock. His first few days went very well. Took him out frequently if he seemed anxious. Longer walks 1-2 times a day.  Eliminated on leash fine. About 4 days ago he started banging around and crying in his crate when we’d come downstairs. The first time I let him our right away in case he really had to “go” but he didn’t. Next couple of days I tried to wait for him to calm down by ignoring the behavior but that doesn’t work. This morning he started it even before I came down. He did go out and poop. Then about an hour later I asked him to go on a walk and he cried and acted anxious. He seemed to calm so I put harness on him then he whined and peed right where he was standing. I said “no!” And put him outside while I cleaned it up then went out and harnessed him and walked him. He enjoys the walks a lot. Any advice on this behavior?

 Thanks

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by mrsmcd7

[greysmom]

My first thought is that now that he's more comfortable in his new home he's not *really* potty trained.  The second thought is that he already seems to be an excellent "human trainer!"   

It's difficult for us with the pandemic going on to really keep a strict schedule - off days and work days are all mixed up and we aren't really disciplined like we would be if we were doing our normal get-up-and-go work routine everyday.  But that's what he needs.  Set a schedule for him that will work when you go back to "normal."  He needs to go out every time he wakes up, after every meal, after every play session.  Basically if he starts moving around after being still he needs to go out for potties.  He looks like an adult dog, but at 3 years old he's still got a LOT of puppy left in him.  Most greyhounds don't settle into a more mature personality until 4 years old or later.

If he's been released into adoption without any splinting or bandaging he's probably OK to do stairs.  Greyhounds have never been alone in the their whole lives and that's the hardest thing for them to get used to.  They want to be with their pack all the time, and having him sleep in your room is the easiest way to bring home to him that he's a part of the family.  It will also allow you to keep an eye on him if he needs to go during the night,  If you have room for his crate that would be swell, but that shouldn't be a deal breaker.  You can keep using the crate for when you leave the house either way.

[mrsmcd7]

5 hours ago, greysmom said:

My first thought is that now that he's more comfortable in his new home he's not *really* potty trained.  The second thought is that he already seems to be an excellent "human trainer!"   

It's difficult for us with the pandemic going on to really keep a strict schedule - off days and work days are all mixed up and we aren't really disciplined like we would be if we were doing our normal get-up-and-go work routine everyday.  But that's what he needs.  Set a schedule for him that will work when you go back to "normal."  He needs to go out every time he wakes up, after every meal, after every play session.  Basically if he starts moving around after being still he needs to go out for potties.  He looks like an adult dog, but at 3 years old he's still got a LOT of puppy left in him.  Most greyhounds don't settle into a more mature personality until 4 years old or later.

If he's been released into adoption without any splinting or bandaging he's probably OK to do stairs.  Greyhounds have never been alone in the their whole lives and that's the hardest thing for them to get used to.  They want to be with their pack all the time, and having him sleep in your room is the easiest way to bring home to him that he's a part of the family.  It will also allow you to keep an eye on him if he needs to go during the night,  If you have room for his crate that would be swell, but that shouldn't be a deal breaker.  You can keep using the crate for when you leave the house either way.

Thanks!!!