Greyhound constant squeaking

Crisp_£_note

Our Greyhound x Salukie is driving us despair and we really cannot understand what it is he is in need of.

We have asked the vet but they cant find anything wrong with him from the basic checks - we are going to book him in this week as his booster is due so will discuss it again.

He is around 7 or 8 years old and is neutered and was rescued. We have had him for at least 3 years probably much longer.

The issue is at night more than any other time. Especially an hour or two after his dinner which is a dry complete mix.

He will not settle and just squeaks all evening from the time my husband and I settle down to watch tv or go online to the time we go to bed.
Whatever we try does not pacify the dog and beleive me we have gone beyond the norm to figure out what it may be thats upsetting him, stressing him out, causing him to be uncomfortable etc. We have even gone back to basic training right back to just shutting him out in the conservatry so he is alone and letting him out when he goes quiet (not punishment but training) - trouble here is he simply does not go quiet it continues and gets louder.

It is now driving my husband and me to the point we have had enough and we are battling with our emotions (what to do to help the dog or what alternatives we have) and arguing with each other the majority of the evening on how to handle the dog and who sits where and to be honest we simply go to bed worn out and not having enjoyed the time to relax at all.

To cap it all off our other dog has begun to show his own problems which is another thing to have to deal with. It's not connected to the squeaking dog as far as we know and we let the second dog have a quiet place to retreat to as we know it does get irritated by the first one as well!

We dont have a lot of money to be honest so am not sure we could afford a behaviourist or extensive vet research but we do love our dogs and just want to help and whats best for all.

Thanks for any replies.

krlyr

A bit of WD40 maybe?

Joking aside, a thorough vet check is definately a good idea. If you cannot afford lots, I would at least try to have a blood panel done and include comprehensive thyroid levels too (not just TSH). A thyroid condition can cause a multitude of physical and behavioural symptoms - some so subtle, you don't realise they were symptoms until treatment stops them. However, thyroid levels in Greyhounds aren't generally the same as with most other breeds, so I would recommend doing some reading up and trying to find a vet who perhaps specialises in the breed - try some Greyhound forums/rescues for recommendations.

Another condition to consider, given his age, is canine dementia - there is no cure (and I don't think there's a test for it - perhaps an MRI of the brain but that would be beyond your budget presumably if it even was a diagnostic option) but there are medications that will slow down progress and relieve some symptoms.

I wouldn't do the trick of taking the dog out of the room, as that is likely to stress him out more. Imagine if you started a new job, and every time you did something wrong, your manager/supervisor just sent you to the staff room with no explanation. You may become aware that what you were doing at the time wasn't right, but you wouldn't know why or what the correct procedure was. Dogs fare much better when shown what they should do, rather than what they shouldn't be doing.

Instead, I would work on training him to settle on his bed. Not just to go on to the bed, but to physically settle and relax on it. I did this for my dog suffering separation anxiety, and I did notice she picked it up and would be quicker to go on the bed and start to settle for longer periods of times when left (we were recording her progress on video)

It would likely help to reward the dog for any signs of relaxing - so I would invest in a treat bag to clip onto your clothes so you have treats at all times, and when you see him lie down or do another action that appears to be him relaxing, just approach with minimal interaction and deliver a treat. For the first few times you do this, he will then probably focus on you for more treats - do not reward this, but instead carry on your way and wait for him to genuinely begin to settle down again. He will soon twig that it is the behaviour of relaxing that is rewarding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2oeOUZ8kls

If he is interested in a Kong, this can be a very valuable tool. I would stop feeding him from a bowl, if that's how you normally feed him, and make all his meal times a reward for good behaviour. So when you settle down to watch TV, give him a Kong full of food to occupy him. This may mean compromising initially, and only watching 10 minutes of TV - you don't want him to finish his Kong and then get stressed and start squeaking, you ideally want to stop watching TV just before he finishes his Kong and then he will only have the positive associations with it. I see you use a dry food - I would consider using wet for the Kong, or soaking his biscuits to a paste (I find a bit of warm water and a blitz in the food processor works well for biscuits). Perhaps even consider a change in diet as part of the solution - some dogs can react badly to food and express this as behavioural issues. What food do you feed?

Ditto with going up to bed - prepare a Kong to leave him when you go up to bed. If he's likely to disturb you in the night, have a spare Kong in the fridge to offer..ideally you want to offer it before he gets distressed, so if you know he'll wake up at 4am distressed, beat him to it by going down at 3.45 to give him the Kong. With mine, I couldn't predict it so I simply went down when she started whining or barking, offered a toilet break, then left the Kong down and went back to bed with no further interaction.

I also made every time I exited the room positive by scattering treats, or putting down a Kong that was just lightly smeared with squeezy cheese or similar. Nipping to the dustbin, up to the loo etc. - 10 seconds or 5 minutes, every time there was this reward that reinforced me leaving = good things happen. She very quickly twigged on, I'd say the whining/barking in the night stopped within a week or two, but you do need to be consistant (both of you, and anyone else in the house too)

I have two dogs, like you, so in this process I did a Kong for the other dog whenever I gave one to Kiki too - again, I'd replace mealtimes with the Kongs so you're not overfeeding. Scattered treats would be done in two directions, so they both got their fair share. If either dog has issues with food/resource guarding though, I would be wary with this method and would consider separating the dogs when unattended.


I would also look into over-the-counter calmative products. For example, Adaptil plug-ins, collars and sprays can have good effect on anxious dogs. Pet Remedy do a herbal plug-in as another option, there are oral supplements like Calmex and Zylkene, as well as products like Stress-less (magnesium supplement - a deficiency can cause anxiety, and stressed dogs burn up more magnesium too), Serene-Um and so on.
There are also products like the Thundershirt, and also learning some T-Touch moves that could help.
In extreme cases, vets can prescribe medications for anxieties, but these should be used in conjuction with behavioural therapy and not just given on their own.
Different products and medications have different effects on every dog. Some products can worsen anxiety - I witnessed this with Adaptil in my own dog, so it's unfortunately a case of trying one at a time and seeing how things go. Calmex did help her a little bit, but as hers was mostly down to her undiagnosed hypothyroidism (this is why I mention the condition - it had some very mild physical symptoms but contributed a lot to her separation anxiety) I'm not sure any of the products would have 'cured' her, some did take the edge off her behaviour though.

Wickedkitten

It's not really going to help you much but I think greyhounds and lurchers in particular are just prone to squeaking. Has he always done it?

helenut

Our whippet cries all that time at seemingly nothing but the only time she cries/squeaks non-stop is when she's cold. I know it sounds like a silly solution but have you tried a jumper?
The adaptil plug-in also worked wonders on keeping her settled.
I hope you get it sorted x

Crisp_£_note

krlyr ~ Yes WD40 and cod liver oil were our initial amusements too

However food options just arnt on the menu in whatever shape or form other than in a bowl at set times im afraid as the other dog has majour issues with food and agression and separation at feeding times doesnt solve anything as once their reintroduced it still all kicks off - another story!

We have tried the adaptil plug in, colar and spray (I think thats what it was its the dog version of Feliway?) as reccomended by the vets for fireworks some years ago but it made one dog worse yet worked for the other (cant remember which way round now).

The foods we have been through almost all the ranges of dry complete foods from the better ones from Pets at home and the vets to the cheaper supermarket variety. The greyhound would just eat the whole bag and then some if he could get hold of it as he is a raider and thats again another story of having to 'secure' the kitchen etc.

I will ask the vet about the blood tests and the other options to the Adaptil etc so thanks for the time you took to mention everything and sorry if I sound a bit of a nutter having already tried so many things already it does stress me out that perhaps its not the lack of training but whatever we do wont change a medical issue.

Wickedkitten - He has had a touch of separation anxiety in the past but we conquered that eventualy. However I do notice that the dog does look at me a lot more and squeak a lot louder if I am sat next to my husband or if the other dog is on his favoured spot of the night. I wonder if its jealousy he is expressing !?

helenut - yes he has blankets and a duvet and we get up to put them on him (he will kick them off if he is too hot) but the interesting thing is his squeak pitch changes when he actually wants something like he is cold etc

We were wondering if it was the lights that are bothering him for some reason as he does prefer to have the blanket over his head as well as if to shade his eyes.

Thanks all for taking the time to reply it's much apreciated

Merry_Wanderer

My greyhound squeaks, .. erm I mean 'talks'. Either attention, food, cold, wanting out, scared of a dog walking past, or just as she mutters to herself settling down. Some days she hardly does it, and others can be constant - mostly when my husband is at work or nightshift. Kongs work on distracting her, and sometimes I shout 'shoosh' and she will skulk off to bed knowing I'm not giving in.

quietheart

Have you considered changing from dry food to raw meat?
My greyhound had all sorts of problems. We now given her frozen chicken pieces (sainsburys economy), it takes her a while to eat them and then she is fairly tired so leaves us in peace. Her attention seeking has decreased and her coat is silky. She was smelly and bedragled before.
She can still be a bit needy but we use frozen Kongs with leftovers and peanut butter in and she soon goes quiet!
Good luck


Krlyr - what a great reply, covered everything i could think of!

Crisp_£_note

Merry Wanderer ~ Yes all that and then some reverbirate with us. Infact it was nice to have a chuckle and realise were not the only ones who dont give in and firmly command SHUSH! It really is a battle of who is the most stubbourn and so far its a constant draw as none of us will give up !

We find a jumper with husbands scent often helps when he is gone all day and I discovered its better to wait and offer it to the dog later in the day when husband would normaly be home more often or say after feeding time which he would usualy do. If the dog doesnt settle with it then take it away and try again later eventually we find it pacifies like a baby and a dummy! However it doesnt work if he is around. Surprisingly it works with my dog shirt too should I on the rare occasion not be around!

krlyr

Interesting that you say about the lights - I do vaguely recall reading about a dog that had behaviour issues and the owners finally twigged that it was coinciding with the light in the room being on. I think it was a certain kind of bulb or fitting that must have been emitting a noise that was upsetting the dog.

There are so many random things like that, it can be difficult to get to the bottom of it. I would say vet check first, as medical conditions can have a huge effect on behaviour. Then consider diet, as that too can play a large role in behavioural issues. Exercise regime (not just 'is my dog getting enough exercise' but 'is my dog getting the right kind of exercise' - not all exercise is equal and games like fetch can raise adrenaline and worsen a stressed dog's behaviour), any other behavioural issues that may be contributing (so consider whether the separation anxiety may be playing a part here, whether the other dog's behavioural issues are stressing the Greyhound out, etc) and slowly eliminate environmental causes.

Crisp_£_note

quietheart ~ thanks for the idea. We have to be careful which food we choose for the dogs as theres also the problem of flatulence which is eyewatering and room evacuating

Kongs as I mentioned before there is a no treat policy due to food agression with ou lurcher cross. And quite simply our greyhound would eat the kong as well. He doesnt know when to stop eating and will go on the search and eat anything. Not knowing his history as a younger dog (other than he is a rescue and was used for rabbiting) we cant solve this problem other than to control what he can eat and lock the rest away in the cupboards with padlocks as he chews through the childcatches. We can only summise he was starved as a youngster as the vet has checked him and he is constantly on the line between underweight and ok no matter what or how much he eats and he will often get an upset stomach if its anything out of the normal even with careful gradual changed diet and regular worming, exercise etc.

Thanks

catkins

I know quite a lot of greyhound owners and the majority of them have dogs that "talk" or "squeak". I have a sighthound who is very vocal, especially in the mornings.