Where does your dog sleep at night? Re-homed a greyhound. He hates being alone.

[tortoise]

We got our retired greyhound yesterday from greyhound rescue(pics in profile).
I left him downstairs last night and within half an hour he was barking loudly and whining.
In the end through sheer tiredness i let him upstairs and he slept on my bed.
I was planning on him sleeping downstairs as advised but i can't go through this everynight. have neighbours and DC to think about. DS1 was woken by the barking last night and tired today.

So where do your dogs sleep and is it really that bad for him to sleep upstairs at night so he isn't alone?

Tortoise! Congratulations on your greyhound that was really quick!

When we got Harvey he didn't like sleeping downstairs, we did let him sleep on our bedroom floor but the continual slurping washing all night drove me mad so we put him back in the lounge and he was fine.

If you can bear with a few nights of him being unhappy he will get used to it. Don't give in though if you make that decision because once you do it will take a whole lot longer if you decide he is to sleep on his own!!!

He looks quite like ours. If I could work out how to put photos on my profile I'd show you!!!

Have managed to put some pics on my profile

Do you have any racing history for Mickey?

I used to work at our local greyhound track - albeit in the offices but we came into a lot of contact with owners and dogs. They are a fantastic breed. I witnessed some poor treatment for the dogs - when I used to object I was, to be honest, laughed at.

One owner said they just need a warm bed and loads of love and they are fine. He was trying to get me to bring home one of his ex racers tho.

Good luck, think you need loads of patience. They are like newborns really.

how did it go last night tortoise?

Hi.
Wangle He is lovely.
Sorry didn't get online yest.
Night befire lst he was on my bed again. But he just took up too much room so on Saturday i did controlled barking (lol) with him. Left him for 10 mins and came down and praised when he was quiet. Did this twice then left him for half an hour and he was quiet. Last night he barked for a few mins once and i didn't hear a peep out of him all night! result!!

He does sleep on the sofa though, i discoved this morning! But thats better than my bed.

He really is settling in very well.

Wangke I forgot to add that i have his racing book. He is Irish and it looks like he only did a few trials.

Fantastic, ah yes the sofa, we gave up trying to get him on the floor and put a blanket on our sofa!

Harvey only did a few trials, he was a bit crap at racing lol we do let him off in a field and he runs REALLY fast but then he'll do something stupid like try and scratch himself mid run!!

Our mutt is allowed on the bed when dp is away, otherwise she sleeps on an old sheepskin by my side of the bed. She will sleep in the kitchen if we forget to leave the stair gates open though.

If I had a stressy dog who didn't want to be alone I would definitely let him sleep in my room with me, though not necessarily on the bed - would depend on the temprament of the dog.

lol poor Harvey. I hope to be able to let Mickey off one day but not for a while yet.
Just took him for a wlk down the road in the pouring rain. He wouldn't do a poo though. Always worrying if he doesn't poo now then he will do it over night! Will have to take him round the garden before bed tonight i think. Its really wet out!

Congrats on your greyhound - we have two that we re-homed last year. Hubby slept on the sofa for about 2 weeks with them because he was worried they would get lonely!! The 2nd one is quite a nervous little thing and likes to sleep by the bed - they will both come up when they can but I won't allow them actually on the bed - you need to decide what they can and can't do very quickly and stick to it. A nice old duvet and old clothing with your smell could help, leaving the radio on very low could also help and as suggested by someone else a DAP disffuser too. Try logging onto Clarks Farm website - they're a retired greyhound rescue centre in Madlon Essex but they have a forum you can join which can offer great advice. I hope he settles down soon for you. - oh maybe he needs a companion - go on another greyhound won't take up much space

Hi kitti. Thanks for the advice. He was terrible last night. Was barking until midnight and i couldn't take it anymore! And was very worried about the neighbours! I would prefer it if he would sleep downstairs.

I do not have room for another one! 4 kids and a greyhound is plenty.

One of us had to sleep downstairs outside the kitchen door for 3 nights after we got our puppy. She whined and cried every 20 minutes or so all night and sleeping down there was easier than going up and down all night.
After that though, she was fine.

Maybe i should sleep on the sofa! Would he just get used to me being there rather than getting used to being alone?

Well that's a tricky one to answer - I know I felt hubby was being abit daft but I do think it helped. Maybe try for a couple of nights and then every other night until you do your back in . It's no good all the barking because that'll stress you out and probably your neighbours - crikey 4 kids as well! I have 3 kids and it is a handful I must say. You should definitely log onto the forum - you don't have to give too much info about yourself with your avatar if you don't want so no-one will know who you are but trust me - other greyhound owners can be a brilliant support and someone else has usually suffered a similar problem. DAP diffusers can be quite expensive but I've heard good things about them (especially come bonfire night) - also keep a note of Bestpet and Vetuk websites where you can buy a lot of vet products at more than half price (like Frontline and Drontol can really cost the earth through the vets but on these websites they are way cheaper. I just bought some Drontol (higher strength) at £5 per tablet and I remember paying about £38 for the year's supply of Frontline and through Vetuk it was something like £21!!! Sorry gone off your thread abit but I think it's important to know where to get cheap stuff - anyway Vetuk sell DAP diffusers and other things for nervous dogs which might help you out with the barking - try the cheapest option first like sleeping downstairs. It can be very difficult for a greyhound to adjust because they are so used to kennel life - they live in kennels throughout their racing careers and then some can spend many many years going around retired greyhound kennels until they are re-homed. Although we're offering them a lovely home with alot of comforts it is totally alien to them and can take time to adjust. The important thing is don't give up or get disillusioned! Many people think that their dog is unhappy and decide to take them back to the kennels - it just takes a little time and patience but it really will be worth it all in the end. People pften say greyhounds aren't very loving but my oldest one (he's 8 this year) loves to climb up on the sofa and cuddle up to me. It's wonderful when they finally settle in and become part of the family. Were you given much assistance (info) from the place that you got him/her from?? I have a spare booklet from the etired Greyhound Trust if you give me your e-mail I can contact you and post it - also good books Greyhound by Anne Finch and Greyhounds - a complete pet owners manual by Barron's.

Is he/she toileting inside?? Just wondered if perhaps he/she might need to pop out into the garden last thing at night before you finally go to bed.

My dog is a whippet - so also prone to separation anxiety, strong desire to be up high on anything soft, squishy and warm - so i understand your dillemma. He had gone through a couple of fazes when he's barked when he gets put to bed at night - locked in the kitchen with a nice comfy bed of his own and a fleecy jacket to keep him warm . One faze took about two weeks to break (he's pretty determined) but he gave up eventually - and we lived with it by buying some ear plugs. Our dog trainer said it could take till he's three to properly establish all the boundaries, and he'll keep testing till then. have you thought about giving him an old t-shirt or something like that with your smell on it. Might make him feel more secure.

My dog sleeps on a beanbag. A flowery one.

In the utility room.

Thanks kitti. He has been fine since my last post. Sleeps downstairs fine every night! I am really pleased with how well he is doing.
He has only wee'd once in the house and that was the 1st morning so now as soon as i get up i take him for a quick wee in the garden.

He isn't so keen to be alone in the day. But i don't know how much he barks. I only got feedback from next door once so far. I try and take him with me most of the time.

Can't believe he has been here a whole week already!

our dogs have a basket each in our bedroom. What with the dogs snoring and the baby farting and me talking in my sleep (aparently) I'm suprised DH gets any sleep, lol.

tortoise,

The bach flower remedy for 'known' anxiety is mimulus, put a few drops in his water every time you fill the bowl. We also had to give charcoal tablets as the farting was dire, never cured the bad breath though!

('tis nnc from further up btw)

the small one sleeps on my bed and the bigger one sleeps on the settee in the sitting room. :D