Thinking about adopting a greyhound

LillyJ

We had that exact thing with people telling us that our dog was skinny when we got him. He was, but that wasn't our fault, and he is a big dog so he takes a lot of food to keep him bulked out (and he isn't a great eater). He is now the perfect weight and I weigh him every time we go to the vets, so that I can check he isn't getting fat! (alot of rescue dogs go the other way as their owners spoil them).

I agree about sleeping in the one room. Ours sleeps in the kitchen, because if we let him have the house he gets a bit stressed as he thinks he has to look after it all for us! And he can see out of the front window otherwise, and terrorises all the neighbourhood dogs by barking and going mad when they walk past! (he is the local yob!)

tylersbabe

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

good luck - keep on with the leaving her and returning frequently throughout the day, for random lengths of time, (anything from a couple of minutes upwards) - with no fuss before or on your return... it will soon become commonplace and boring to her!!

Do you leave her in one room or with free run of the house? I would suggest one room with a bed in a comfy secluded corner, where she also sleeps at night, as this feels more secure to the dog.

Hi and thanks

I've a feeling am making lots of mistakes here so.... on a night she sleeps in my bedroom, on her own bed. During the day she tends to settle in the frount room where I sit.
When I leave her she is in the hallway but has access to kitchen, and no other room. There is a bed in the passage for her and access to water. Plan is to restrict access to the kitchen with a doggie gate, so she only has access to passage therefore less area for her to 'gaurd' hopefully reducing stress.

Question is am I confusing the poor girl with all these diffrent sleeping areas, and giving out conflicting messages, especially as she has only been here for six days.

foreign_correspondent

hmm, I think maybe - personally my dog has her own corner in the kitchen, behind the table. Her bed is in there and her water bowl is too. She is fed twice a day and no food is left down inbetween (not that there is ever any left after 30 seconds!)

I think the dog then associates that place with settling down and resting, so knows what to do in there.. does that make any sense?

I have never let dogs go upstairs, so I don't know how that works really, but I do know if I put the dog in the kitchen she automatically goes and gets in her comfy bed.

Also, if your dogs barks when people come to the door I dont know whether being in the hallway would make her feel a need to be alert and possibly noisy? (as normally that will be what she is up to when she heads into there)

Also as she tends to settle in the living room when given a free choice perhaps she feels more settled there than in the hallway?

tylersbabe

Thank you for quick response

Have sat and thought about it, and Millie now has a place in the passage, this is a nice enclosed(on three sides) space which is short passage to a cupboard. She has a quilt access to water in the main passage and access to passage area and kitchen (until get doggie gate). Hopefully Millie will feel secure here, she went straight in and settled for sleep when guided.

Would have left her in frount room but have a stupid glass door there and was worried if overly stressed and anxious could seriously hurt herself when left alone.

Tommorrow will start leaving her and addressing anxiety as guided by advice on GAP (greyhounds as pets) site. Hopefully Millie will start feeling more secure and less stressed when left alone.

I am still really proud of her she get cuiter (sp sorry) by the day, and so long as I learn to help her I think we will manage ok.

foreign_correspondent

No problems, I am supposed to be working, but procrastinating over the last bits, so lurking around, hence the quick reply! She sounds lovely and your plan sounds like a good idea especially as she naturally settled there when directed. Make it a nice place where she also gets some fuss or a few treats evry now and again when you are in.

I think you are doing a great job btw, every new dog is a learning curve cos its hard to remember what the last one was like when they first came to live with us. I half expected Badger (new dog, rescued 1 year ago this week) to know things that my old doggo Che had known - of course she didnt!!

.. of course you will do fine, its only been a few days! She will soon settle in!

...However, on a note of warning - I spoke to me neighbour today after two days of on and off barking from next door I assumed they had a new dog... it turns out they are dog sitting a dog (which her mum has recently taken in) which was previously owned by a very elderly lady who never left the dog alone - as a result the dog barks continuously when alone, even though she is now 13!! So do work on getting her used to it asap!! lol - I have now offered to let the dog come round here in the daytime whilst she is at work as I would rather do that then listen to its contant barks - poor thing!

foreign_correspondent

tylersbabe wrote: »

I am still really proud of her she get cuiter (sp sorry) by the day, and so long as I learn to help her I think we will manage ok.

yes, she really does look beautiful - get the camera fixed so you can show off some piccies - we are missing out here!!!:mad:

:rotfl:

Slimcilla

Hi

It's an interesting question - many people will have different answers though...

Personally I found that when I restricted Speedy to one room with or without access to the hall he freaked and chewed the door frame/stairs/bannisters/anything else in reach. I learned that if I gave him access to more of the house he freaked much less.. He has beds in the kitchen, my bedroom and dining room (cool room when he is too hot.) He sleeps in my bedroom at night and alternates between the kitchen and living room during the day but he mostly sleeps in the dining room when I am out as his ears appear in the window when I arrive home. Occasionally there is a greyhound-at-sleep shape on my bed but thats rare; thankfully he prefers his bed to mine. That's where the charity shop duvets came into use - one of them is duck feather and utterly sumptuous when puffed up; probably better than my duvet but it only cost a fiver!

I found that with access to most of the house he was less destructive when I was out. Nowadays he may occasionally pick up a piece of clothing from my bedroom and carry it downstairs but he doesn't chew it at all. The last thing he chewed was a very expensive pair of boots about 18 months ago - but I had slipped and fallen over (when stone cold sober) in a bar in front of him on badly cleaned up tomato ketchup and weakened the heel so maybe that was his way of telling me they weren't safe to wear(?) The fantastic shoe mender where I lived at the time claimed they were un-repairable so Speedy probably did me a favour.

When Speedy first stayed at my Parents after I had had him for about 4 months he lunged, clawed and eventually opened all the doors from the utility room, through the kitchen and up the stairs until he groaned and lay down outside their bedroom door, he needed to be close to human company. The damage was a bit bad but I had warned them he wouldn't be happy in the utility room.. He is not a dog - he is a hound! (and spoilt rotten!) My parents have a different house now and are more Speedy-acceptable. Speedy now is allowed to sleep in the upstairs hall or on the floor in my room there. Less damage and a happier dog!

If you are determined for her to sleep where you choose then stick to it, maybe I made a mistake giving Speedy access to so much but it seemed easier at the time as he attached a door frame and his mouth was full of blood and splinters and that made me freak! I have to say that after the last week in kennels he is much less "clingy" that usual but I am sure that will change! I might take the opportunity to change certain things about his living arrangements though..

Basically I have learned to live with him and he has learned to live with me. I did the "leave it" command today for the first time in ages today as some nutters were swimming in the sea and Speedy was desperate to investigate their clothes - a quick "leave it" did the job and they got out of the sea to clothes not pee'd on by my dog - I can't vouch for other dogs though!

Keep at it! You will get there. Jan Fennel recommends leaving and entering the house by different routes - if you live in a terrace than that may mean climbing through a window but the main thing is to leave the house one way and come back in another way.. I did all that and it did make a big difference. I felt really stupid breaking into my own house though..

I think what I am trying to say is - give it time - it's early days - stick what works and forget what doesn't... You will both quickly learn what works and what doesn't! Then you get respect for each other and thats great when it all finally happens for the best.

Enjoy her! Have you looked up her ear marks on Greyhound-data.com yet? If I am really bored and it's raining I can get Speedy's history back to a dog owned by Mad King George 3rd in 1770's - wow! Perhaps thats the reason he owns me and not the other way round..

Must take the Speedster out for a pee. Keep posting as I love to hear how you are getting on..

CC x

foreign_correspondent

yup - no doubt slimcilla, there is no one size fits all when it comes to animals!

I would not advise keeping a dog in a room where it sems unhappy, and this will vary depending on the dog - however, all of ours have sept in the kitchen and soon settled happily, and there is a school of thought that dogs like secure corners where they can see all angles, rather than have too big an area to patrol! However, they are all individuals :-)

tylersbabe

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I think you are doing a great job btw, every new dog is a learning curve cos its hard to remember what the last one was like when they first came to live with us. I half expected Badger (new dog, rescued 1 year ago this week) to know things that my old doggo Che had known - of course she didnt!!

Actually I was doing this, I expected her to cope like Tyler would and react to situations in similar ways and of course Millie is an individual who is six years old and in a really new and strange situation. Rather than a dog who arrived as a eight week old puppy who learned to make his minders do his bidding :rotfl:

Slimcilla
"I think what I am trying to say is - give it time - it's early days - stick what works and forget what doesn't... You will both quickly learn what works and what doesn't! Then you get respect for each other and thats great when it all finally happens for the best"


Great advice we will have to learn as we go along, at the moment she is sound asleep in her bed looking more relaxed than me!

Slimcilla

Fabulous! She is sleeping - she must be settled for the night - keep at it! You are doing something right! Has she been out for a pee though? - sometimes they let you know at the most horrid early hours.. Speedy has been out but not pee'd so I now have to kick him out and sit in the garden with him.. Better than when I got him and lived in a flat and had to take him round the block though....
Keep at it - you will both learn and appreciate each other..

CC x