My 10 months old Greyhound is constantly whining for what seems to be no reason

[Shadaia]

Hello. We have a 10 month old Greyhound and we're having some very specific issues with him. When we first got him, everything was fine - in extreme cases we could even leave him alone the entire time we were at work and nothing bad happened, he learned how to be alone. Right now because of coronavirus we're working from home and everything became completely messed up. He has extreme seperation anxiety (because we're with him all the time) and it's slowly becoming unbearable. I would like to point out that he's not energetic or bored when this happens - he gets 3 training sessions every day for mental stimulation and about 2-3 hours of running sessions, so he surely gets enough.

We're teaching him how to stay alone, and he manages to stay home for like 2-3 hours. He will whine a bit when we're outside, but mostly he will just lay down and sleep through it. The worst part is happening when we are home.

My fiancee is working till late so she often sleeps during the day. Our Greyhound is extremely annoying when she's not in the same room as he is - he's walking around the house, whining, biting on everything he gets his teeth on and so on. We have a crate, and we tried to lock him inside (he likes the crate and he goes there all the time, as long as we don't lock him up), but when we close it he just keeps on whining and we can see he's extremely frustrated. He starts to bite the metal, and he often destroys everything within reach, including his bed.

I can endure the whining when he's in crate or just walking around and looking for my fiancee, however I can't supervise him non stop because I'm working remotely. We also cannot take the dog's bed away from the crate because he can't lay on its floor, and no matter what else we throw in there, it will just get torn apart once he realised he can't get what he wants.

Please guys, help us. We're really making amazing progress with this dog but this one thing bothers us A LOT. Thanks for any advice.

[cleptogrey]

exercise, training and training and exercise will take care of the boredom is his life. a young dog- especially an adolescent sight hound is a handful! i've been there with both greyhounds and saluki pups. you are putting the time in, so i'll give you my secret weapon.

a water gun or plant spray when you want them quiet. it works. the first time it's shhhh- and spray. no verbal shhhh after that just the plant spray. at least your home and can do this. it works- you may need to relocate the crate for a while so you can just shoot and drench.  other wise have the crate in it's spot walk to a spot where the spray can get him and spray. put the bottle down and walk out. i had a bottle filled with the same water for years- i never sprayed it. just showing felix the bottle was enough. felix did this at the door- he learned not to scratch it- but he whined and barked- until the plant spray taught him not to!

i also had a difficult foster who screamed all night. she was in 2 other foster homes. the plant spray taught her to sleep in her crate all night. it works, your not the bad guy, the plant spray is! good luck- been there, done it!

 

[mansbestfriend]

Sounds like your dog has trained you very well  . The more you give, the more he expects.  A Positive Reinforcement type trainer/behaviourist can EDIT:assess your and your dog's situation and help with a plan that's in your and your dog's best interest.

In the meantime: https://greyhoundrescue.com.au/2020/03/23/nine-greyt-boredom-busting-ideas-for-your-hound/

Cheers.  

Edited September 7, 2020 by mansbestfriend
spelling

[greysmom]

If your 10 month old puppy was following a usual track for growing greyhounds, he would still be living on a farm, in a lo-o-o-o-ong pen, with all his male littermates.  He would spend his entire day running, playing with his brothers, eating and sleeping.  So while we, as owners, think we're giving them enough daily stimulation and exercise, it's not anywhere near the amount they would have if left to their own devices.

The squirt bottle method described above may well work, but I would only use it as a last resort after you try other, positive reinforment methods.  To that end I would recommend several training books by a very good writer and trainer Patricia McConnell:  The Puppy Primer (mainly for younger dogs than yours but still helpful); Family Friendly Dog Training (for general training advice), and I'll Be Home Soon (for separation anxiety).  Between them these should give you some really good ideas and methods to help get your through this hard time.

You might also look at getting him out of the house for a while each week, either for a few hours at a day care, or arranging a play date with sympathetic friends who have a similar age younger greyhound for them to play together.

Another easy fix to try is to plug in a DAP diffuser near his crate.  Especially if his anxiety isn't so much from being alone (or boredom), but if he is *specifically* missing your wife.  They can develop a kind of attachment disorder where they get anxious away from a specific person.  If your wife usually does most of the dog care, it may help to try and strengthen his bond with you so it's more balanced.  Take over as much of the dog care as you can.

It may also help to just let him hang out wherever she's sleeping, as long as he's quiet and doesn't bug her.  One of ours is a Daddy's girl and will often take naps with her Dad (who sleeps during the day).  When she wants/needs something, she comes and finds me.  Though with a puppy he needs to keep to his strict daily schedule for eating, play times, and potties, so you may need to go fetch him at the appropriate times.

[cleptogrey]

this is not anxiety- this is a healthy obnoxious(adolescent sight hounds win the award for being obnoxious) puppy- that's what they often do- they don't know any better and can be vocal.

DAP diffusers are a waste of $$$. 

spend your $$ on marrow bones, hoofs, etc for the chewing and once classes resume- obedience classes. remember they are called land sharks for a reason! 

Edited September 9, 2020 by cleptogrey