Separation and crating

[Stellza]

Hello! We brought our new adoptee home about a week and a half ago. She is almost 2 and we are having a lot of trouble with leaving the house.

She has her own room with a crate in it and has started to resist going in there at night and when we leave. We have left for 5, 10 and 20 minute stints and she doesn’t seem to be improving. I play music for her and have the tv on (only soft music at night, no tv) when we leave or at night and it doesnt seem to help with her howling and crying.

Is this something we should continue to persist with? Or should we think about moving her crate to a more open area?

I would much prefer she be limited to her room while we are out for the moment to teach her that this is where we sleeps at night and her safe place while we are out. But I don’t want her to continue with this behaviour of resisting going in there and crying the whole time.

I get that these things take time, but I just want to do the best thing for us and her without scarring her anymore than she already is.

thoughts and opinions please :)

[Stellza]

I have also another option - staying in her room with her for 10 minutes before bed or i leave. But I’m not sure if thats making a big deal out of it. 

[HeyRunDog]

Greyhounds respond to bribes and persuasion and like to give the impression that it was their idea to do something and not because they were told to do it.

Are you shutting her in the crate or just putting her in the room with the crate door left open? I'll think you'll find most greyhound owners don't use crates but if you must use a crate put it in the room where you spend most of the day with her and leave the door open so she can decide if she wants to go in it or not.

A week and a bit is not long and she'll still be getting used to her new life so continue with the alone training. A lot of the forum members recommend the book "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia B. McConnell to help with your hounds separation anxiety.

 

[Kathy02]

We were told by our adoption agency to keep our dog crated for most of the day for the first week or so, and to feed meals exclusively in the crate, to establish the crate as a good and safe space. They also suggested that we keep the crate in an area where we spent more time at first, so that the dog would be able to be near us even while she was in the crate in the first couple of weeks. We have since moved it (maybe a month into adoption) to an area that's more out of the way.

Are you putting her in that room/in the crate only when you leave her (either leaving the house or at bedtime)? Then she might be associating that room with your absence, which is probably why she's resisting going in. It might be useful to have her spend some time in there while you're still around, so that you're not creating that association. Same goes for playing music or leaving the TV on.

[BatterseaBrindl]

First of all, Greyhounds have never, ever been alone.  Ever.

They are always with other Greys --lots and lots of Greys -- from birth until when they retire and are adopted out.  Going to live in their adoptive home is like dropping them onto Mars.    

Secondly, just because your Greyhound was perfectly fine spending a lot of time in a crate at the kennel, does not mean he will be happy staying in one when he is in your home.  At the kennels, his crate is surrounded by many other crated Greys.  There is also a lot of human activity going on around him for many, many hours each day. 

Placing him alone, in a crate in a room, in a house with people he does not know is devastating to him.  How would you feel, taken away from everything you have know for your entire life, by total strangers !?

 

Please read this article by Kathleen Gilley.  It will hopefully explain what your poor dog is going through.

https://www.greyhoundinfo.org/?page_id=341

 

Then get the short booklet   'I'll Be Home Soon'   by Patricia McConnell. 

It is an excellent booklet on how to set you Greyhound up for success when being left alone.  This 'Alone Training' is a MUST for most newly adopted Greys. It will take time and patience on your part. 

Please do right by your dog!

[Feefee147]

On 10/9/2020 at 12:11 PM, Kathy02 said:

We were told by our adoption agency to keep our dog crated for most of the day for the first week or so, and to feed meals exclusively in the crate, to establish the crate as a good and safe space. They also suggested that we keep the crate in an area where we spent more time at first, so that the dog would be able to be near us even while she was in the crate in the first couple of weeks. We have since moved it (maybe a month into adoption) to an area that's more out of the way.

Are you putting her in that room/in the crate only when you leave her (either leaving the house or at bedtime)? Then she might be associating that room with your absence, which is probably why she's resisting going in. It might be useful to have her spend some time in there while you're still around, so that you're not creating that association. Same goes for playing music or leaving the TV on.

Blimey! I've never heard that (keeping the dog crated for most of the day for the first week or so) from a rescue place before! Seems a very bizarre thing to do. 

They take a long time to adjust to their new surroundings and bond with new people. Wouldn't it be better to let them go where they want, hide away in a quiet space if they need a breather and also let them have the freedom to approach you if/when they start to feel confident and wish to interact? 

Ours has free roam of the whole place and can sleep/interact/play whenever he wants. Initially when we were brushing up on his toilet training and counter surfing issues we did restrict where he could go a little (eg no kitchen and bedroom unless we were in there) but we certainly never kept him shut in a crate. Especially not all day! 

I think if you're only using a crate with the door closed for bedtime and alone time they are, of course, going to very quickly associate that with being left alone and resist going in there!