Greyhounds in bedroom and door

[rogereli]

I've seen a lot of people say about their dog sleeping in the bedroom next to them but what do people do (who let them sleep in the bedroom) about the door. Do they close it so the hound stays in the bedroom? Has it caused any issues?

[1Moregrey]

I have both a cat and greyhound so the door is left open enough for the cat to get in and out.  None of my greyhounds have ever messed with or tried to open the door. Sometimes the cat will push the door wide open and a greyhound will get a drink in the morning then come back to there bed.

[rogereli]

Thank you. It's very early days but it seems like what a lot of people say on the forum...he seems happy downstairs during the day but at night likes to be near us, which is fine but occasionally a noise spooks him/gets his attention and starts to bark or run down stairs...I'm wondering whether keeping the bedroom door shut would help or if that is likely to cause more issues.

[FiveRoooooers]

Try putting a baby gate across the doorway. 

[Potomacpupsmom]

Our greys have beds in our bedroom and sleep in them every night.   We put a baby gate across the door.

[LBass]

My hounds and cat too sleep in my bedroom.  I have a baby gate with a cat opening that I usually close--primarily so that if dogs want out to potty they will fuss in the bedroom and wake me up.

[FiveRoooooers]

Additionally, the baby gate can be placed just a few inches above the floor to provide an exit for the kittehs. This has worked well for us.

[Remolacha]

3 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:

Additionally, the baby gate can be placed just a few inches above the floor to provide an exit for the kittehs. This has worked well for us.

I have found this ideal for giving cats access to (or from) a room that you don’t want the dogs in or out of.

I have a dog door, so obviously I don’t close the bedroom door, but once most of my dogs settle in for the night they don’t leave until we get up the next morning, although they do sometimes switch beds during the night. The only exception was Fletcher, who was, unlike most greyhounds, was very territorial and protective. If he heard a noise in the yard he would jump up off his bed, bolt out the dog door, and search for the noise. He made so much noise he never caught anything  

Edited June 17, 2022 by Remolacha

[Time4ANap]

Baby gate here too. The longer they live here the less it gets used because they like to change rooms during the night, but we don't allow that until we know they can be trusted to wake us up if they need to go outside. LaVida makes no noise like whining or barking to let us know, but will shake her head a few times while standing next to the bed. When we hear her ears flapping in the wind we know to get up.  Mark talks or barks to let us know.  When we have other hounds visiting, everyone is secured using the baby gate so that we know where everyone is during the night. 

[1Moregrey]

10 hours ago, rogereli said:

I'm wondering whether keeping the bedroom door shut would help or if that is likely to cause more issues.

As long as you are in the bedroom too it should be fine.  If they are going to have problems it is more likely cause they are being kept away from you and just want to join you or see you.

24 minutes ago, Time4ANap said:

LaVida makes no noise like whining or barking to let us know, but will shake her head a few times while standing next to the bed. When we hear her ears flapping in the wind we know to get up

 

Journey does the quiet signals also if the head shake does not work I get the morning stretch with heavily placed front paws on the hardwood floors.  Means get up now mom.

The sitters know if she is up walking she need to go out cause that is her sign.  Permanent stealth mode. 

[palmettobug]

Baby gate if needed, but Fuzzy sleeps with me, Roman on a dog bed, in the bedroom, and G is either in the living room or with us. If he stays down the hall, he'll usually come to the bedroom around sunrise. 

Roman is the morning alarm clock, he gets whiny. G is dinner and chew bone time alarm, he'll bark at me if I don't move fast enough. Fuzzy prefers comfort and sleep!

If they need a middle of the night potty, Roman gets pacey and whiny, G has accidents. Poor guy.

[rogereli]

A slight update.  He wants to be upstairs and settles but any noise outside or car lights sets him off barking... this doesn't happen in the day, has anyone experienced this? 

[MerseyGrey]

I can’t help much with this as ours sleeps downstairs at home and is not very vocal, but when we’ve gone on holiday with him, it takes him a while to settle at night in new surroundings (generally we have gone away for four-night stays, and by the third or fourth night, he is much more at home and will sleep through the night. So when we come home we need another holiday to catch up on the lack of sleep!). Hopefully this new behaviour is caused by a change in situation and it will pass in a couple of days. Good luck!

[Legendaryfrank]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:11 AM, rogereli said:

A slight update.  He wants to be upstairs and settles but any noise outside or car lights sets him off barking... this doesn't happen in the day, has anyone experienced this? 

im not an expert at greyhound care or dog care for that matter, but it might help to keep trying to desensitize him perhaps?

I would maybe get a flashlight to mimic car lights.. and find a video that plays random noises and see if that will set him off (assuming of course it's not causing him a huge amount of distress). I would keep high value treats on hand. Anytime you can flash a light like a car, or play a loud noise and your hound is quiet, treat him right away and praise.

That what I would do at least. Anyone feel free to correct me on correct training methods!

Edited June 21, 2022 by Legendaryfrank

[1Moregrey]

1 hour ago, Legendaryfrank said:

On 6/18/2022 at 2:11 AM, rogereli said:

A slight update.  He wants to be upstairs and settles but any noise outside or car lights sets him off barking... this doesn't happen in the day, has anyone experienced this? 

im not an expert at greyhound care or dog care for that matter, but it might help to keep trying to desensitize him perhaps?

I would maybe get a flashlight to mimic car lights.. and find a video that plays random noises and see if that will set him off (assuming of course it's not causing him a huge amount of distress). I would keep high value treats on hand. Anytime you can flash a light like a car, or play a loud noise and your hound is quiet, treat him right away and praise.

That what I would do at least. Anyone feel free to correct me on correct training methods!

I would try what Ledendaryfrank said and add a word of your choice that means “thank you so much I see or hear what you do and will take over from here now go relax/play”

Clicker training works great for this.  Teach him to bark when he hears the noise or sees the lights you need to be a little faster than him.  “Bark” just before the noise or light or between his barks.  Once he will do this on command.  Teach him to be quiet.  
 

I have used this with hearding dogs and working dogs that get over focused.  I used “off guard” as they did most of it while patrolling the yard.  Once they learned “off guard” they would happily play in the yard and not make a sound.  I would over dramatically thank them for letting me know the leaf/cat/dog on the other side of the fence within there view was nothing to worry about.  It took repetitions and good timing but once they got it worked like a charm.