Day 4 and new dog keeps barking

[beonmycalls]

When you settle him down for the night and leave?

Doesn't bark at all in the day. Not on walks. At the post. Nothing. No bark

But at night when left, he has started crying and barking

Why do this now and not when he was first here? He is seeming 100% settled now so why didn't he do this when he wasn't as settled?

I do not want a dog in my room. I don't like that. So what can I do?

I've tried changing rooms

Neighbours know he's new but have informed me he's waking and disturbing their dogs

How can he be 100% settled on day 4? 😕He barks and cries because he doesn't want to be alone. If you don't sleep in the same room as him, he will continue to cry and bark 🤷‍♀️

Because in the day he acts like he's lived here his whole life!

But what I meant was, why didn't he bark and cry on the first 3 nights? He was fine then and just slept through

Ours barked allllllll night for a good month. Harder than a newborn (and I have 3, 2 of which are twins…)

Don't lock him anywhere at bed time - let him explore whilst he settles and learns you'll always greet him the same time in the morning (routine) etc. Establish a routine (bed time wee, then into bed with a treat to reinforce bed positivity) but don't lock him in just now. Once he knows his options and his positive routine and doesn't feel locked in, he will feel safe, and you can reinforce the routine and positivity with his own bed over time.

I'm so sad to hear of his distress at night. Don't let him keep crying at night as it will deepen and reinforce his anxiety. Give him freedom whilst you establish a positive routine.

Is he from a rescue centre if so I'm really surprised they didn't tell you about the rule of 3?

He's not even begun to properly settle in yet and obviously he's now starting to show his personality, which will continue to show as he gets more comfortable. If you don't want him to bark and you won't consider letting him in your room then you need to spend some time sleeping downstairs with him to help him feel more settled.

You’ve barely had him any time at all - he was probably shut down for the first few days hence no barking. If you leave him to cry he will get worse. So you either bring his crate up into your room for now and slowly work on moving it back downstairs when he’s more confident, or you’ll have to sleep downstairs with him.

you’re not giving in to him, you’re building his confidence by supporting him to be able to sleep alone. Sleep on the sofa and put his crate next to you so you can soothe him back to sleep or stroke him through the bars. New dogs are hard work but it’ll be worth it on the end!

He was probably knackered for the 1st few nights, a new home , new owners , new smells , new walks new food it will of tired him out.

Now he's caught up on sleep he's rearing to go.

If you go down to him and make a fuss every time he barks he will keep barking .

If he needs to go to the toilet during the night go down let him out to go bring him back in all with the least amount of interaction as possible.

Short simple commands, no fussing / stroking , no chatting to him no playing.

That way he goes to the toilet but doest learn that barking gets him fun stuff .

Remember you need to train him how to behave , not have him training you when to give affection.

During the day , yes lots of fuss and affection , just not when it's past bed time.

You could also try games in the evening that mental wear him out but don't get him over excited.

Finding a treat under a cup
Find his favourite toy ( in plain sight to start with then getting harder and harder to find)
Basic commands like sit , stand , stay , lie down .
Do each one just for 5 minutes or you and your dog will get bored.

He's a greyhound! He doesn't do any tricks and this breed doesn't 'sit' like other dogs

He couldn't be less interested in any games but I've read the majority of this breed aren't

He finally settled last night because I put his bed in the hallway and closed my bedroom door

I think tonight I'll sleep on the sofa. And keep that up for a while. But am I not going to upset him when I eventually start sleeping upstairs again?

Ha ha I take it back , they they tend not to do the whole sit and roll over thing.
However they are sight hounds so hunting for things should be interesting for him .

I agree that sleeping with / near him and then moving away is just going to prelong the issue , I would persist with the sleeping arrangements you want him to live by. ( and buy your neighbours a bottle of wine )

But am I not going to upset him when I eventually start sleeping upstairs again?

You won't just be able to go straight from the sofa to upstairs straight away, you'll need to slowly move away over the course of a few weeks while he gets settled.

That's why many people prefer to stay in bed and move the dog further and further away as it at least means you get to sleep in your bed and be as comfortable as possible!

He needs you. Simple as. Night times are different to day times. Dogs don’t generalise.

Greyhounds are notorious for separation problems due to their backgrounds. Not something you want long term.

Be there for him. Sleep with him one way or another and in time, weeks or months then you can slowly introduce separation at his pace. The first few days he would have been shut down. Now he’s beginning to realise what’s going on.

when we brought our puppy home, we slept in the same room for two weeks , and then would edit until he was asleep before going to bed.

You’ve had him for four days. He’s still getting used to his new surroundings.

I'd definitely sleep near him. Build his confidence up. There are no guarantees, but it makes sense that a confident and secure dog is going to be easier to eventually leave. I'd also want to nip the problem in the bud before all night barking becomes an engrained habit.

Dogs can mask their emotions and fears as self preservation so he might have been shell-shocked when he arrived so shut down. Can you have him outside your room so he's near you ?

Greyhounds have lived in kennels their whole lives, surrounded by their siblings and then their kennel mates. They're not used to being alone. This is why we always have two!

Ours sleep in the room with us. I work from home and they both sleep in my office during the day. They are quite needy as a breed, I find, which is ok by me as we accommodate it, but it's something the rescue centre should have warned or helped you with.

They are in shock when you get them home at first, it can take months for them to settle in properly. Our first (who we had loads of issues with as we were new to the breed and not experienced dog owners) didn't start to express her personality for six months. Our last two settled in much quicker, probably because we knew how to read them better and also there was another greyhound in the home to settle them in and show them the ropes.

They are a fabulous breed but have some challenges to deal with. Did you get him from a dedicated greyhound rescue? They will be the key to a happy integration.

10 min late night calm down walk
licky mat at bedtime
sheet over crate for total darkness

Speaking as someone who’s rescued greyhounds please be aware that day 4 is sooooo early. It will take months for him to really feel settled and trust that he’s safe. He’ll also be missing his kennel mates!

Can you not put him a bed in your room - or a child’s room if you have one , he’s probably lonely in the dark . Or try leaving the lights and radio on .

Ah well, when I got my dog as a puppy, I read that you should spend the first few nights with them wherever they are settling. So that was a few nights on the sofa. He was fine after that, no extra dependency of note. He settled himself downstairs when I went to bed for the next 2 years, but as I've been single since then, he comes to bed with me, I like sleeping with him, he's quieter and more obedient of where to sleep on the bed than any man I've known😁. He only comes when I invite him though as his default is still downstairs. Ideal really, if I want to be alone, he's fine with it.