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The doghouse

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Original poster

Dog upstairs or not?

49 replies

GreyhoundGardens · 21/03/2022 12:35

I know at lot of this will come down to personal preference, but I'd love some insights into my particular situation.

We have a newly adopted ex-racing greyhound. He's a lovely chap. He's been with us for almost two months now, so still very early days!

He's having some issues with getting upset when the whole family goes upstairs. It started off as a bit of whinging, but it's getting worse and he is whining and barking persistently while we're up there. And we've had a few occasions now where he's wee'd on his bed while we've been upstairs. So he's clearly not happy!

It's probably worth adding that we don't leave him at home alone very often, on the odd weekday morning for 15-20 minutes for school/nursery run and we've done two other longer sessions (between 2-3 hours) since we've had him. The first time he was fine, the second time he obviously got upset and it transpires he went upstairs (he's never shown any interest in climbing them before!) and he wee'd on my sons bed. So he obviously was not "fine" being left and we're now going back to only leaving him for short periods of time again and we'll work on building it up gradually again in the future. I feel awful about this but the centre we got him from had indicated he was OK with alone time occasionally and until this incident he hadn't given us any indication that he was struggling being left.

But since he's found his way upstairs he's now getting more upset at being left downstairs. We only discovered he had conquered the stairs when we took the kids up to bed and he suddenly appeared up there with us. It was shortly after this when we discovered the wee on the bed and realised what must have happened.

At night he is fine staying downstairs. He knows the routine and goes straight to his bed after his last week break and we've had no overnight accidents or whinging/barking, etc. but when we're upstairs during the day he is getting upset.

My husband is firmly in the camp of he needs to learn to stay downstairs. I'm more of the view that we should let him join us upstairs during the day. It's causing him stress being left and it is also causing us stress when he is left downstairs as we don't know if we're going to come down to a wee accident.

We now hair a stair gate at the bottom of the stairs so he can't climb up (we've always had one at the top for the kids but didn't close this when going out as we didn't anticipate he was going to start exploring!).

I'm just not sure what the right avenue is... and would love to get some thoughts from more experienced dog owners. Before we got him my husband and I agreed we'd "see what happened" about him coming upstairs, but when he didn't show any interest in going up initially that just became the default.

Thoughts?

OP posts:

BotterMon · 21/03/2022 22:02

I've had dogs of all breeds for past 40 years and they have never gone upstairs. Stairs are not natural for dogs and exacerbates wear and tear on joints.

If you don't want him upstairs, and can't teach your dog yourself, then get someone experienced to help you train your animal.

Maxifly · 21/03/2022 22:06

When my ex racing greyhound came to me 2 years ago, she had a good look/sniff around including upstairs. But when she came to want to go back downstairs, that was a different story. Gangly legs and a timid type meant I had to carry her down! So she didn't bother trying again. And tbh I'm glad, she has her own bed etc and wanders around freely. Yours may settle into something like this, give it time.

Eyeplayer · 21/03/2022 22:11

Ours wasn’t too interested in coming up at first but since we’ve been leaving him on his own more during the day he seems to want to be with us more and at night time so we’ve let him follow us up when he wants to and he sleeps in our room. We don’t let him on the bed though (yet )

userxx · 21/03/2022 22:20

@Maxifly

Those long gangly legs take up a lot of room on the bed!

Highlandrainbows · 21/03/2022 22:26

No. Our girls are downstairs only. Stairs aren't good for dog joints anyway, they love their crates and their own cosy spots, and they're only left alone at night or when we are getting ready. I personally find it unsanitary to have dogs on the bed and it's dangerous to have dogs around sleeping children so I wouldn't risk either.

They're really happy with this arrangement, as are we, and they're 100% part of the family - but there's nothing wrong with having boundaries/ground rules. Dogs need to know how to listen and respect their spaces, it sets them up for good training habits.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 22/03/2022 06:06

Dogs need to know how to listen and respect their spaces, it sets them up for good training habits.

But equally, having dogs upstairs and in the beds is fine too, and doesn't mean they're badly trained or don't know how to listen.

Dogs upstairs/on beds/on furniture is nothing more than a personal choice.

ABitBesotted · 22/03/2022 06:25

@Doglikeahorse

Those of you that have dogs upstairs at night, do you have young children?

We used to let ours up but now don’t and I feel so guilty! Not sure how I feel about them wandering around in the night when we have babies/toddlers in bed though as much as we trust them while we are around!

Dog always spends ppart of the noght on primary-school aged Dd's bed. Utterly aggression-free dog from a trustworthy family breed.

GiveMeNovocain · 22/03/2022 06:36

Our dog isn't allowed upstairs. She disagrees with this rule and often pops up to join us or sometimes just to hang out in dd's bedroom alone. She gets sent straight back down every time. We'll see who breaks first!

Fedupsotired · 22/03/2022 06:43

We never have had dogs upstairs, ours shed so much hair and create so much dust I want to sleep in an environment which is pleasant. We don't spend much time up there anyway and they are chilled in their own living space. We also don't allow them on sofas as they are spaniels and you can never fully clean them 🙄. They are perfectly happy but I don't think of them as mini humans as so many people do. Each to their own- I don't have to sleep upstairs in your house so whatever works for you!!

ukborn · 22/03/2022 06:45

When I first had my dogs due to the house layout the dogs didn't go upstairs. But I crate trained them so they had their den and felt secure there. This is how I house trained them and also to be on their own. Never had any issues.
When we moved (older dog would have been about three, younger just over one) it was different layout so the were allowed upstairs and now come up and sleep on my bed at night.
However I don't go up hardly ever during the day, and certainly not the whole family. I didn't get the first dog til my youngest was at school.
I'd let the dog up, but if you want to leave him down get a crate with his bed blanket and toys in there. Also put him in if you go out. Eventually you can leave the crate door open and get rid of it altogether. Ex racing dogs will be well used to crates.

Original poster

GreyhoundGardens · 22/03/2022 10:51

Thanks for all the responses.

Maybe I could just get rid of DH?

I was utterly amazed that he could get back down the stairs to be honest. Going up is easy. Going down doesn't look comfortable or natural for him at all. He's got an injury on his back leg, so that's another concern for me about him going up and down. I've made an appointment for him with a physiotherapist so I'll ask her about the stairs and whether it's a concern for his leg long term, before making any decisions.

Interesting that crates are mentioned. It's something I'm aware of but not something I've really considered for him. Do they help with separation anxiety?

OP posts:

Original poster

GreyhoundGardens · 22/03/2022 10:56

He's a beautifully soft boy and I don't really have any issues with him around the children - although we do supervise as you never know.

Although I think our plan would be for him to stay downstairs at night anyway, even if we do ultimately let him upstairs during the day.

So far he is one of those greys who cannot work out how to push a door open, even if it's already ajar. Bless!

OP posts:

danadas · 22/03/2022 11:00

Our dog isn't allowed upstairs for various reasons but he is fine with it.

The bit that stood out for me though was saying you wouldn't necessarily be able to supervise him with the kids up there so that would be a hard no for me. Just in case.

Iamblossom · 22/03/2022 11:09

Both my dogs sleep downstairs, with the sausage allowed up some mornings for the occasional cuddle.

But I wage daily war against black lab hair downstairs and I cannot bear the thought of having to do that upstairs as well.

nearlyspringyay · 22/03/2022 11:10

DDog has always been allowed upstairs, he follows me in particular everywhere I go. At night he comes up with me and starts of sleeping in the kids' bedroom. Then at some point in the night he comes into our room, makes a performance of jumping onto the bed and goes off to sleep again.

vjg13 · 22/03/2022 16:09

I have 2 greyhounds now but we have never let any of our dogs go upstairs. They all tried at various times but a firm no and sending them down stopped it. Unhealthy wear and tear on their joints and I find dogs on beds and furniture pretty revolting.

WhiteXmas21 · 22/03/2022 17:45

@sophienelisse, wow, I will stop being offended when I wake up looking at Labrador butt.😂
Although sometimes he snuggles in like a wee spoon, so not sure what that means.

VampireMoney · 22/03/2022 18:02

Upstairs is a dog free zone in our house, non negotiable. It's mainly to do with their size and the fact that they blow their entire coat twice a year, and also because I think it's nice to have somewhere that's just for us. Doesn't make them any less a part of the family! And they've never made a fuss so it's not a problem.

justturnedacorner · 22/03/2022 19:15

@WhiteXmas21 I read somewhere on line they are putting their vulnerable bit towards you and the pointy end the teeth to defend you if needs be

MrsWinters · 22/03/2022 19:23

Mine are upstairs on the bed, but then I’m a cheapskate and won’t put the heating on. Solving the energy crisis in my own way

Whydoiwearsomuchleopardprint · 22/03/2022 19:40

Our dog allowed upstairs too but only when we are here. If I pop up to get something he likes to come too, I think he would be sad if he couldn’t! He sleeps downstairs at night but has been known to sleep on our bed on occasion!

Scattyhattie · 22/03/2022 21:28

Have you tried giving him a lickimat, Kong or chew to keep him busy while you're upstairs, if he's settled overnight when everyone is in bed then seems like he just wants to be part of the action.
Get those terry cotton waterproof mattress covers next time at IKEA or online as makes it much less a drama to clean.

Ladyrattles · 22/03/2022 21:34

Our dog wasn't allowed to climb stairs after surgery and has never tried in the years since. If we have to be upstairs without him during the day, or if we go out for the day we leave the radio on, and then he's completely fine. Not sure if it will work for your lad but worth a shot perhaps

MabelMoo23 · 23/03/2022 06:51

We have a dachshund and she’s only a puppy so not allowed upstairs to protect her back with regards to the stairs, to give our cats peace and quiet and also we have young children with lots of toys and so the toys need to be safe, as it’s not fair for Barbie to get her leg chewed off whilst simply in my daughters bedroom

But that’s it. I have no issues with furniture, our pup is a sofa monster - it’s just practical issues for us

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