sleeping on the sofa, worried about sleep startle

[Greymike]

Hi all. I plan to adopt a greyhound soon and need advice on sleeping arrangements. I live in a small house with a small kitchen and living room downstairs. I don't really go upstairs to the bedroom at all. I sleep on the sofa and fall asleep watching tv. I have a crate already and I'm going to get 2 dog beds, one for the crate and one for the floor. The crate will be in the living room next to the sofa. So I know my future greyhound will want to sit on the sofa and probably want to sleep there. I don't mind the dog sitting and sleeping on the sofa as long as I'm awake, but when bedtimes comes, I'll want to dog to vacate my sofa so I can go to sleep. What do I do, how do I get the dog to get off the sofa when I need it to?

[macoduck]

Good question!  When you want your hound off the couch just clip a leash to the collar, say "down", and reward with a small treat once he/she is off the couch. Guide to the dog bed and give another small treat when dog goes there. Limit treat giving "just because" so it will be more effective for behavior modification.

Never just pull on collar to remove a hound from the couch. Since some sleep with their eyes open, always speak to your hound first.

Great information on this page: https://www.greyhoundfriends.com/adopt/resources/
I wrote the New Adopters Guide.
I also wrote the Lost Greyhound Emergency booklet. https://www.greyhoundfriends.com/2022/06/lost-greyhound-booklet/

Both of those will come as a free pdf download.

[Jerilyn]

A dog doesn't have to be on the couch. You can make that a rule as soon as he arrives. That makes things much easier. And not all dogs want to be on the couch. Neither of my two greyhounds ever even considered getting on the furniture, even after spending time with dogs who did.

[HeyRunDog]

Not all greyhounds suffer with sleep startle if that's your worry. Neither of my two do but as Jerlyn says they don't have to go on the sofa if you don't want them to. I only encouraged mine to do so as I have rheumatoid arthritis and the floor is a long way down.

Also you might want to start using your bedroom as greyhounds can be very noisy when they start licking various parts in the middle of the night and they might have a gas problem

[Greymike]

I think I'll let her onto the sofa during the day but crate her at night. I just hope she doesn't whine cause that's a killer when I'm trying to sleep.

[FiveRoooooers]

You can either clip a lead to her collar and ask her to "Off" or throw some treats on the floor and say the same "Off" in a nice but firm voice. After she's complied, follow up with a "Thank you" and lots of pets. 

[1Moregrey]

Welcome to you and your new hound,  there is lots of good information for you to look up on GT.

My greyhound does not like her toes trimmed, they were trimmed on the couch once she will not get back on it for nothing.

Be sure to be well rested before you bring your greyhound home and if you can arrange it be able to sleep in if you need it the next day.  Just remember that this could be the first time your greyhound will be separated from other greyhound.  It is a big adjustment with time and patience you will find a good routine there just may be some bumps in the road.  

There are also things that you can do to help get over/manage sleep startle in some dogs too.  Search sleep startle for some ideas if you need them.   Post pictures and ask questions
 

 

 

 

 

[cleptogrey]

what ever you train them to do they do. as per night whining, i generally resort to a plant spray. one spritz and they stop whining- but remember your dog has always been crated, so this should not be a difficult transition/kennel crate to home crate.

[greysmom]

There *will* be whining.  Just expect it.  Any new dog in a new situation in a new home with new people is going to whine.  There is no way around it.  The good news is the behavior should extinguish itself in time.

Dogs are quite capable of learning the difference between day and night - on the couch during the day, off the couch (and in the crate) at night.  We teach all our dogs commands for moving them around right from the start.  "Off" means off the whatever-they're-sitting-on.  "On your bed" means just that.   "Scoot" means scoot over and give me some room on the d@mn couch!   "Kennel up" (your dog may know this one already) means go in your kennel and settle down.  Just decide on a command name and say it every time you ask them to do the maneuver. 

Remember to praise and treat when when they do it right.  Patience and consistency are key.

[ramonaghan]

On 3/15/2023 at 8:57 AM, Jerilyn said:

And not all dogs want to be on the couch. Neither of my two greyhounds ever even considered getting on the furniture, even after spending time with dogs who did.

 Jerilyn and I apparently get our dogs from the same batch o' weirdos, because none of my three have ever tried the furniture either. A few days ago I even put Doolin's front legs on the outdoor couch on our porch, and he hopped the rest of the way up and then immediately back down. You never know!

[Jerilyn]

24 minutes ago, ramonaghan said:

 Jerilyn and I apparently get our dogs from the same batch o' weirdos

This made me laugh so hard!  Because it's true.  Give your weirdos a smooch from me.

[ramonaghan]

2 minutes ago, Jerilyn said:

This made me laugh so hard!  Because it's true.  Give your weirdos a smooch from me.

Delivered! Please do the same if you can locate the bandit. 

[Jerilyn]

11 minutes ago, ramonaghan said:

Delivered! Please do the same if you can locate the bandit. 

She's right here with me. She doesn't like to be out of my sight unless she's doing bandit business. 

[FiveRoooooers]

1 hour ago, ramonaghan said:

 Jerilyn and I apparently get our dogs from the same batch o' weirdos, because none of my three have ever tried the furniture either. A few days ago I even put Doolin's front legs on the outdoor couch on our porch, and he hopped the rest of the way up and then immediately back down. You never know!

36 minutes ago, Jerilyn said:

She's right here with me. She doesn't like to be out of my sight unless she's doing bandit business. 

You know she's knot on the couch 

[Apollo_the_Grey]

Apollo has sleep startle and sleeps with his eyes open.  (tongue hanging out too, but that's for another thread!)

My solution to the startle problem is this...I start by saying his name as I approach..."Apollo, are you sleeping?  Hey buddy, I'm coming up here, what are you doing?"    Then I start rubbing his hind leg and then up to the chest  and back, talking the entire time.  Usually I wait until his breathing changes.  Usually it's a sigh or something.   That's when I will rub on his neck or head and he's aware that it's me.  

If I need him to move while he's sound asleep, I get a high value treat and place it a few inches in front of his nose.  When he wakes up I toss it to where I want him to go.  He doesn't like couches though and prefers his bed... or my comfy bed.

[MerseyGrey]

Buddy’s from the same gene pool as Wiki, Doolin and Willa. The sofa is too squishy underfoot, and Buds prefers the ground under his feet to be firm and unmoving.

Your dog will probably love that you are in the same room as him as he won’t have to sleep alone. The whining will probably subside when he’s used to his environment- but it’s the middle of the night flapattack that could shred your nerves!

https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/859413541370510139/

You could look up Rich Skipworth’s Greyhound glossary for other such quirky traits, including the ‘glopping’ that HeyRunDog mentions above!

[sobesmom]

Hi!  I just wanted to say welcome to GT. Ask LOTS of questions.  So many great resources here.  Just remember, each dog is an individual.  No matter how much research you do, you'll have specific questions for the dog you get.  

Best of luck to you!  It's an awesome adventure!