Looking for Advice on a Behavior

[phall]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the latest challenge that Lucas is giving me. (Lucas is my 8 year old greyhound. He's blind, but has adapted well and I don't believe his blindness is affecting this behavior that I'm seeing. I've had Lucas for 5 years.) Also - some background on me - I've had greyhounds for about 25 years now so understand the breed, and have been on Greytalk for a long time. I respect the advice I've been given here over the years.

Here is what’s happening:

Lucas loves my van and loves to ride. Over the last few months since the weather has been a little better, I’ve been taking him and Sox (my other greyhound) with me when I go out to do errands. This has been several times a week.  Since I’ve been retired (retired last summer) I’m with them most of the time and take them with me when I go places whenever I can.

Lucas has figured out that when I have errands to do, we usually go out in the morning. So now, in the morning after he and Sox go out to pee and poop, Lucas refuses to come into the house from the utility room.  (Quick layout description – kitchen leads out to utility room, utility room leads to attached garage, door in garage leads to fenced dog yard.  Everything is enclosed.)  He will lay down in the utility room and just wait for me to go to the van (which is in the garage).  He will even go to sleep there while he waits for me.

I’ve tried:

·         luring him with extra extra high value treats (liverwurst, ham, cheese, boiled chicken, etc.)

·         rewarding him with high value treats when he comes into the garage and rewarding again when he comes into the utility room from the garage.  But that’s as far as he will go. Nothing will convince him.  For him, there is no higher value reward than the possibility of going for a ride, so I don’t think any treat will help.

He does this even when I don’t have errands to do and we are staying home, so I don’t think he is necessarily keying off my preparations as I get ready to leave the house. I think it's all routine.  This morning I tried doing something to break the routine - when he was in the utility room waiting, I decided to try taking him and Sox for a walk. I harnessed them up and started out.  Lucas was trying to figure out if the van was in the driveway - he was sniffing and walking toward it would usually be parked - but we just kept walking.  We got to the end of the driveway and he would not walk further. After trying to entice/encourage him to continue the walk, we went back home and he stayed in the utility room.

A few days ago I had a couple of appointments in the morning so I had to leave at a certain time and the dogs could not come with me.  Lucas would not come in from the utility room so I left him there.  I made sure the door to the outside was locked and everything was secure.  I was gone from about 8:30-11:30.  He was absolutely fine when I got home. Not stressed.  He was happy to come into the house with me then and he was fine going in and out the rest of the day as I went into the garage and the dog yard, etc.  (This is the normal routine – once we get to mid-day, he stops waiting expectantly to go with me).

Yesterday morning was the same.   I had a dentist appointment and then went to do some volunteer work at a Greyhound adoption group. I invited Lucas in before I left. He would not come in so I left him there again. Since I was going to be out for a number of hours, I had my dog care person come by and let him and Sox out into the fenced yard.  (She knew Lucas would be in the utility room.)  When she came a few hours after I left, he was happy to see her and went into the yard then into the house.  

However, my neighbor told me as she drove out of her driveway, she could hear him crying.  I think this was because he could hear her car, as when my dog walker arrived a little later, he was quiet.  My neighbor told me that if in the future I have to leave him in the utility room and she hears him crying, she'd go over and see if he'd go inside the house.  

Lucas is very determined, stubborn at times, and is very smart (too smart for his own good!).  Those are things that I really love about him and that have made it possible for him to adapt so well to his blindness. He is not a dog that I can forcefully bring into the house – nor would I ever do that with any dog unless it was a safety issue.

My questions:

I’m thinking that it’s fine to just leave him in the utility room when I need to go out and he can’t come with me as long as I make sure everything is secure. Especially with my neighbor being willing to listen for him. Do you agree?

I'm thinking while we work through this, I should stop taking Lucas and Sox for rides in the car.  Will it be rewarding Lucas’s behavior by taking him for a ride in the car after he’s been waiting in the utility room? Or should I just continue doing what we’ve been doing – taking them with me in the car while I do errands whenever I can – and just managing Lucas’s behavior when I can't bring him with me in the van by leaving him in the utility room?

I appreciate any brainstorming we can do.

 

[1Moregrey]

I see nothing wrong with Lucas being in the utility room as long as there is nothing he can get into that he shouldn’t.

Does he know leave it?  I would be sure to give him a run down of the morning when he gets up. (I talk to mine a lot and tell stories of the day) it would go like: today we are going out to potty, then to do errands, then home for the afternoon or today we are going potty, then we will be home for the day.  First thing in the morning or even the night before.
Then when you come in to go for a car ride say go to the car and when you are not going for a ride say leave it let’s go inside and go inside for a treat.

Practice leave it let’s go inside in the afternoon when he does not want to stay there.  He will get used to the new routine.  
Lucas best part of the week must be the car rides and he just does not want to miss any.

 

[greysmom]

Yeah.  As long as he's safe in there, I'd just let him work it out for himself.  Leave the door to the rest of the house open so he can go if he wants.  Get him a adequate bed (not too comfy!  ) but enough so he's not just laying on the floor - even though the discomfort might be a way to get him out.  

I like the idea above of teaching him a new command for leaving the utility room.  Do it outside of his normal "errand waiting time" though.  

The other thing I'd probably do is not use the utility room when going out for errands - take them out a different door or a different way to get in the car.  Mix it up so he's not so routined into one particular cue for going for a ride.  Go in the afternoon.  Go earlier.  Go later.  Anything to break up his reliance on his morning car ride routine.

Or not.  It's not so bad a thing, afterall.  He's safe.  He's happy there.  He's not upset by staying in the utility room.  Just him, doing his own thing.      You just never know with these guys sometimes!!!   

[phall]

Thank you so much to you both!  I like the idea of teaching Lucas a command for leaving the utility room and will work on that!

I also like the idea of mixing things up!  We can go out through the garage to get into the van, or from the dog yard too. (We can't use the other door from the house as it has higher steps and Lucas can't do them due to his blindness).

It helps me to get your thoughts and feedback so much.  I was thinking that it isn't so bad if he stays out there - he is safe and he likes it there - but it is very re-assuring to me to hear others say that too.

Thank you again!

[FiveRoooooers]

Maybe Lucas has simply taken an unexplained (to us) genuine liking to the utility room  Is it warm/sunny/cool there, something he might simply enjoy? Your set up sounds awesome and so dog-friendly, and both Lucas and Sox are clearly thriving!

[HeyRunDog]

If he's not stressed and has a bed and can't come to any harm then it's not really a problem. My latest adoptee, Guinness, has been known to whine and whimper after I have left him and Grace to run errands but soon stops. It's as if he's just checking I have really gone. If you are worried or want to see what he's doing why not get a cheap webcam so you can check on him when you are away?

[phall]

Thanks, FiveRoooers and HeyRunDog.  Getting thoughts from you and others who have responded helps me so much as I think this through.  I'll see how things progress and may indeed get a webcam. Several of my friends have them and like them.   The utility room is not sunny but it's a nice temperature and there are fluffy rugs there so I know Lucas is comfortable there. Plus being there lets him be ready to go on a moment's notice....