Should I get rid of the crate or is there any other way?!

[Karolintschka]

Hello you guys I once more need your honest opinion and maybe someone experienced this type of problem with their Greyhound as well

Faye has been with us for a month now (whew, time really flies) and overall she´s a wonderful and easygoing girl, very calm and still anixous or scared at times but nothing like in the beginning - it´s already so much better and I can see her change everyday. She sleeps through the night and also got a hang of our daily routine or rather what´s left of it because of the pandemic

She lies or sleeps in her crate all day...and this is where the not so fun part starts: she won´t come out of the crate unless I close it right behind her so she can´t go back in...which doesn´t work well for either of us because unfortunately she now knows that I might close the door so she becomes more and more hesitant to leave the crate and if I´m lucky enough for her to walk out completely chances are that she turns around right away - and there we go again...I tried to lure her out with treats or let my other dog walk by because normally that´s a sign for Faye that they are getting food or we are going for a walk etc. but there´s just NO reaction at all anymore...

She´ll only come out when I prepare their food (I can´t prepare dog food everytime I need her to come out) but also very hesitant and she´ll even go back in the crate while she´s eating - it´s just IN - OUT - IN - OUT all the time if I´m not fast enough to close the door, which makes all of us nervous. And don´t even let me get started on going for walks...it´s not possible to put her harness on and simply go out, we play a literal "game" of how to get her out of the crate long enough for me to close the door from that point on it´s alright for her, she´ll let me put on the leash, coat or whatever needed and we just leave for our walk...

BUT there´s another much bigger problem that comes with her crate obsession...she won´t even leave it to go potty in the garden anymore but she´ll rather pee INSIDE her crate than come out!!! I don´t get it at all...she´d always come out of the crate and I´d open the back door for her to go outside in the morning or whenever she had to do her business - never a problem until a few days ago and I can´t figure out what happened because I was always out with her or both dogs, so there were never any noises etc. that scared her...yes there are people walking by and my neighbours talk to each other sometimes but most of the time it´s pretty peaceful and it never concerned her before. So I´m getting pretty frustrated at the situation right now because she does it more and more often and I have to wash EVERYTHING which takes time and she doesn´t pee a little bit but a freaking LAKE

So originally I got the crate because I was thinking it would help her adjust and give her a safe space...as well as contain her while I´m out for work because I don´t want to leave her alone with my small dog yet and I´m afraid that she´d start peeing everywhere while I´m gone or start some trouble. I don´t know her well enough yet and I don´t want my flat ruined when I come back!

But if I don´t find a way for her to come out of the crate when I need her to, I´m thinking about getting rid of the crate and I had to force her out of the crate for the first time today because she peed in it right before my eyes rather than coming out, so I dragged her out in the garden but I opened the door and calmly told her "outside" before I released her and as she finished peeing in the yard I praised her a lot and let her back in...but I feel so horrible about it as I really don´t want to make her leave the crate by force but I couldn´t just stand there and watch her pee!

I had to clean behind the crate the day before yesterday and when I pushed it away to gain access to the dirty area Faye wouldn´t come out of the corner the crate normally stands in but she tried to lay down there instead and I had to push and lure her out of there. So maybe a dog bed would be the easier option but I´m afraid she´d close herself up even more...

I just can´t keep washing all of her blankets nearly every day and the smell of urine makes me naseous, I feel like it reeks of it everywhere I could get rid of the crate and replace it with a large dog bed, muzzle her or put my small dog away in another room...

Has anyone experienced something similar or knows how to cope with this? Should I give her more time and see if she comes out on her own? I´m just so overwhelmed right now...

 

 

 

[1Moregrey]

Not sure of the cultural differences of the use of crates.   We use them for a touchstone of consistency to the new home from the track, the emotional comfort (dogs personal area that they never get bothered in), for training in a new home, to keep them safe from open doors. So they are viewed as more of a training safety tool. 

Why are you using the crate, what did you want from using it?  Why are you shutting the door behind her?  What do you want her to do when she is locked out?  

Sounds like she is new from your other post.  By keeping her from it (shutting the door) you have taken her only familiar (safety blanket and emotional security) item away.  She is scared she can not get back to her safety so she does not want to leave.  
Think of it this way you travel to a new place do not speak the language, food comes once in a while you get brave enough to go eat but it only ends in not being able to get back to your safe place.  I know I would rather be safe than fed if I was feeling overwhelmed and nervous.

She most likely does not want to pee in her crate but is afraid to leave it for fear of not being able to get back in.  I think you might be moving to fast, relax and let here come and go while you are able to supervise.  When she comes out for food put a leash on her and take her out to potty spend some time together.  Then let her eat going into and out of the crate as she pleases.

It takes time sometimes we make a few steps forward then a bunch backwards to get comfortable and then just move on in leaps and bounds.  Be patient, calm and loving.  Reach out to the adoption/place you got her from for information/help and if it is not working out / more than you can handle you can always return the greyhound.  

[Time4ANap]

The crate is what she considers to be her safe space. At only a month in a new home, she needs much more time to adjust, and a crate has been her only personal space her whole life up until now.  Let her come and go as she wishes, and do not close her off from access to the crate. 

As long as you get her into a routine with potty times, she will eventually be fine with leaving the crate for that.  One of the things that we have done with every dog we've had is train them to go outside immediately after eating as part of establishing the routine.  As soon as the last bite is out of their bowl, they are taken to the door to go out.  Consistency in the routine is what these hounds are used to, and she is still learning what you expect of her as well as the new routine in a new home. 

Good luck! 

[Karolintschka]

2 hours ago, 1Moregrey said:

Not sure of the cultural differences of the use of crates.   We use them for a touchstone of consistency to the new home from the track, the emotional comfort (dogs personal area that they never get bothered in), for training in a new home, to keep them safe from open doors. So they are viewed as more of a training safety tool. 

Why are you using the crate, what did you want from using it?  Why are you shutting the door behind her?  What do you want her to do when she is locked out?  

Sounds like she is new from your other post.  By keeping her from it (shutting the door) you have taken her only familiar (safety blanket and emotional security) item away.  She is scared she can not get back to her safety so she does not want to leave.  
Think of it this way you travel to a new place do not speak the language, food comes once in a while you get brave enough to go eat but it only ends in not being able to get back to your safe place.  I know I would rather be safe than fed if I was feeling overwhelmed and nervous.

She most likely does not want to pee in her crate but is afraid to leave it for fear of not being able to get back in.  I think you might be moving to fast, relax and let here come and go while you are able to supervise.  When she comes out for food put a leash on her and take her out to potty spend some time together.  Then let her eat going into and out of the crate as she pleases.

It takes time sometimes we make a few steps forward then a bunch backwards to get comfortable and then just move on in leaps and bounds.  Be patient, calm and loving.  Reach out to the adoption/place you got her from for information/help and if it is not working out / more than you can handle you can always return the greyhound.  

Alright, I think I get what you mean and it seems like I´m the problem not her...I guess I´m moving too fast and try to get her to do things she doesn´t want to do. I´ll try out the things you told me and it might make a difference. She´ll spend 24/7 in the crate but I think I have to accept the fact that there won´t be any walks or other interactions with her until she´s ready for it. I wanted the crate to be her safe space and I took it from her...I feel super bad right now because I never saw it that way and I was very egoistic.

I just wanted to be able to communicate with her normally but I get that my way of doing it isn´t right for her...I´ll try to get her into a fitting routine and try to take her out to potty on a leash after her meals and I hope I´m fast enough to do that. I´ll still close the crate while I´m at work because it´s safer for her and I won´t be too worried.

Thank you very much for your reply and opening my eyes in this matter!

 

[Karolintschka]

27 minutes ago, Time4ANap said:

The crate is what she considers to be her safe space. At only a month in a new home, she needs much more time to adjust, and a crate has been her only personal space her whole life up until now.  Let her come and go as she wishes, and do not close her off from access to the crate. 

As long as you get her into a routine with potty times, she will eventually be fine with leaving the crate for that.  One of the things that we have done with every dog we've had is train them to go outside immediately after eating as part of establishing the routine.  As soon as the last bite is out of their bowl, they are taken to the door to go out.  Consistency in the routine is what these hounds are used to, and she is still learning what you expect of her as well as the new routine in a new home. 

Good luck! 

Thank you very much for your reply and for telling me this! I was moving too fast and took her only safe space away from her...it´s my fault for not considering that she might not feel secure enough with me and in her new environment. I just wanted to take her for nice walks and spend some time with her but that´s not possible I guess. I´ll have to take her out on a leash right after she finishes eating and hopefully that will prevent her from doing her business in the crate.

I´ll try to establish a fitting routine for all of us but it would have been nice to walk both dogs together and not leave her crated at home while I walk my Pinscher...I´ll have to accept that she´s not ready to do that yet. Maybe she´ll adjust a bit better this way and without me pushing her to her limits. I´ll see how it goes from there...

[Time4ANap]

1 minute ago, Karolintschka said:

Thank you very much for your reply and for telling me this! I was moving too fast and took her only safe space away from her...it´s my fault for not considering that she might not feel secure enough with me and in her new environment. I just wanted to take her for nice walks and spend some time with her but that´s not possible I guess. I´ll have to take her out on a leash right after she finishes eating and hopefully that will prevent her from doing her business in the crate.

I´ll try to establish a fitting routine for all of us but it would have been nice to walk both dogs together and not leave her crated at home while I walk my Pinscher...I´ll have to accept that she´s not ready to do that yet. Maybe she´ll adjust a bit better this way and without me pushing her to her limits. I´ll see how it goes from there...

You will see that in 6 months you have a completely different hound than you have now and in a year it will be like she has always been there.  We left an open crate available for many years for our first hound and he only used it when there was a good sunbeam hitting the crate.  He had his priorities. 

[cleptogrey]

she needs to adjust. her entire life aside from turn out, training, racing has been in the crate. 

if you want to use a harness(she is used to a flat collar) just keep it on her.

it takes quite a few months for many to adjust. stick w/ a routine, that is what she has had her entire life and be patient. every sight, sound and smell is NEW.  try house breaking on a strict schedule, same place, same time even if she doesn't look like she needs to go. same TREATS when she does potty. that a start. do leave out a dog bed, soon enough she will start using it. my first gh was a lot like yours, very reserved....until i started clicker training. she woke up- had a mission and loved to work.  hopefully something like that can bring out the best in your dog. i thought i had a real dead head or brain damaged dog- mine was just bored waiting for a job.

[HeyRunDog]

As cleptogrey suggested put another dog bed out for her and if possible at the other end of the room and leave the crate door open. If you don't need to shut her in it for safety reasons take the door off. Let her come out when she's ready and as Time4ANap says, take her out as soon as she's finished feeding.

Greyhounds have a tendency to take a step backwards in their behaviour as they try and work out their new world. They want to understand what every noise is and where it comes from before accepting it as safe. Grace would walk quite happily for the first week after I got her then she started freezing and it was another three weeks before she would walk along quiet roads. Then we had to overcome noisy traffic. Now she's not bothered about the sights and sounds we normally come across unless someone's playing with a ball, or noisy children, or fireworks. She's never been bothered by the vacuum, washing machine, lawnmower or me swearing

[BatterseaBrindl]

You have received excellent advice! When we got our Nixon he spent most of his time in the crate. He would only eat in the crate and only if the door was closed.  We allowed this for a few days then started leaving the door open... Just a bit, then gradually widened the opening.  We often had to leash him to take him out to potty late at night. He took over 3 weeks to attempt the stairs. 

We just left him alone and let him figure things out. 

Then one day he just decided life outside the crate was just fine! 

Be patient and kind with Faye and soon she will be your best friend.