My dog won't stop barking

[bakewellbride]

Having a terrible night with my ex racer greyhound. We've only had him for 2 weeks. So far he's been fine at night but tonight's a different story and he just will not settle. Does anyone have any words of wisdom? I'm absolutely exhausted and have 2 young children who need me too. Very stressed out right now.

I do understand the problem, OP.
Hope you get some sleep soon.

Poor lad. He’s scared and just wants the reassurance of being near you. He’ll settle if you let him upstairs. He’ll probably keep barking if you don’t. Been there, it’s a tough phase, poor boy has gone through a lot and it’s early days.

Sorry this is happening OP. Can you put his bed in the hallway upstairs?
Not quite in your bedroom with the kids but he will perhaps realise that you are close by.

It’s totally reasonable that the OP can’t have him in the bedroom with a young DC. Especially when she’s only had him a couple of weeks so doesn’t know him well.

OP, could you leave the TV or radio on for him so he’s got some background noise? Just so it’s a bit less stark when he wakes up and notices you’ve left. Hope you all get some sleep soon.

I don’t understand being at a loss. It’s clear that he feels unsettled being left on his own. I understand your concern about access to your children, but I think you could (and should) work around it.

Dog in his bed next to your bed, on a lead?

Dog in his bed on the landing, with a baby gate?

Dog in a crate next to your bed, with you stroking/patting him as needed?

I know you’re tired and stressed, but he needs more from you, regardless of whether you have children or not.

Hope you all got some sleep, OP.

It's getting cold at night now could he be cold? I have a diva dog who will bark if she dosent have her blanket

He will be much less of a risk to your children if he isn't stressed, trust me!

Find a way to be with him. Either you with him or him near you on the floor.

Did you get much sleep OP?

It does sound like you need to re-think his sleeping arrangements - greyhounds are used to sleeping in kennels with other dogs, they're not accustomed to sleeping alone in a house.

Having your dog upstairs with you isn't a risk to your children providing you have a secure set up. The dog can sleep behind a gate or in a crate, for example, so he's still near you but your children can't get to him.

I'd also agree with those saying he was probably cold - most sight hounds need to wear pajamas or to face lots of blankets and warm bedding due to their total lack of body fat, so you may need to go and get him some for tonight.

Remember, you've only had him two weeks and he barely knows you or your home - it's totally natural for him to be scared and to need reassurance, so you probably need to adjust your expectations a bit, at least in the short term.

Maybe a large rescue ddog wasn't the right thing op... BTW when you are stroking him you are actually rewarding him barking!!

Definitely apologise to the neighbours today.

I agree with this.

But I also think if OP is unwilling or unable to provide proper comfort (I.e having a terrified dog upstairs) to the dog, then she needs to re-think this. It’s not her fault, but the rescue should have told OP what to expect from a dog like a greyhound…and I can’t help but think they failed her and OP didn’t go into this with her eyes open.

If the dog is scared or stressed it won’t have a clue what is or isn’t being rewarded.

If you are scared does human comfort make you more scared? Don’t think so.

Definitely separation anxiety. This is the reality of dog ownership. It's not the dog's fault. On the previous greyhound thread many people mentioned separation being an issue. You can get very good breed specific training in the longer term.
Bring him upstairs outside your room and if you are worried about letting him in your room you can buy a super lightweight muzzle (I recommend The Sighthound Club on Etsy) and problem solved.

With ours we find if he barks like that at night if we give him a big chewy treat that takes a long time to eat, it calms him down and he stops.
Also if he is short-haired like our dog a blanket for him to snuggle under helps.
Ours has also got into the habit of wanting the light left on, if we turn it off he howls!

Also I agree with @Blusterydaytodaypoohbear . If you go in and stroke him you are rewarding the barking. Every time you leave he will bark again to make you come back and stroke him! We made that mistake with our dog for a while. He would keep us up all night doing that. We find distraction is key, the chewy treats works well for that and ours hardly ever barks at night now. We give it to him as we go to bed so it’s a trigger for him to know it’s time to sleep.

He needs to be with you, the poor thing. How would he have access to your children? Do you all sleep on the same room.

I feel for you

Yes have him upstairs at night. He just wants to feel secure.

This breed is notorious for separation anxiety.

Ours sleeps on a single duvet folded in half on the bedroom floor. I cover it with a Sherpa duvet cover and the half that is I filled goes over him as a blanket. Extra blanket in the winter.

OP, last night sounded tough.
I can't believe the grief you are getting about where he sleeps.
His room is downstairs. That's entirely where it should be.
This is what I would try in the same shoes.

1. I would keep a pee and poo chart for the dog from today so you know his 'system'. After a couple of weeks you will be able to know roughly when he will need 'to go'. We had to do this for an elderly dog and just used a little white board stuck to the fridge. This eliminates much of the guess work.
2. Put his bed/ cage in a corner of the room so he feels 'protected' and not exposed in an 'open space ' position
3. Teach him the words 'bed' and 'pee' and 'poo' by saying these words loudly during the day so he begins to understand what they mean
4. Next, use the same psychology as you do with your child. Create rituals and orderly patterns of behaviour. Make him feel confident about being fed, being in his own space, belonging to your family but not necessarily joined at the hip. Remember to leave him all by himself for a few hours a day so that being alone is entirely normal
5. Before bed time dim the lights, take him outside for last pee, get him in a routine, have the same nightly ritual.
6. Potentially swaddle him like a baby with a old blanket or fleece to make him feel secure when you go upstairs for last time. Put his toy beside him.
7. Persevere with him at night. Borrow the baby monitor to see if you can find out what he is doing in the room. That's what I'd be doing but I am not a regular on this thread. All the best.

When he barks I really wouldn't go down and stroke him to 'reassure' him. What you're doing is telling him that every time he barks you'll give him lots of love - which of course he thinks is great. Unfortunately he'll start thinking that as barking at night gets you back for love, every time you go out the door he'll think it's the answer to get you back for lots of love too - and then you'll have a dog that is a real problem. Also by reassuring him you're telling him that there is something to be concerned about.

I would go down stairs and wait for him to stop barking for a second and then go in. Don't give him love but consider that he might like some blankets - it has got colder recently. Don't fuss him, put the blankets round him tell him 'bed time' and go upstairs again. If he starts barking again go down cover him with blankets again say 'bed time' and leave again. Then next time stay outside the door and say 'bed time'. It might take a while but you will get there if you persevere.

I dog sat for a dog who was getting up through the night because the owner thought he'd trained her to bark to let him know when she needed the toilet. What he'd actually trained her to do was to bark every time she fancied going out for a sniff around the garden. I ignored the random barking in the middle of the night and she didn't bother again - dogs can be very fast learners, but don't always learn what you think they're learning!

If you do have him upstairs, be aware that that might not be enough for him either and he'll end up barking to be in bed with you or just climb in during the night anyway. I've experienced that with a dog with no boundaries at home who also sleeps in their owners room. Personally there's no way I'd be starting that.

I rescued a Whippet that had apparently slept in it's previous owners bed, He was happy down stairs with bed, duvet covers and blankets galore. I'd definitely be seeing if that is the issue before anything else.

You can't reward fear. Comforting a distressed dog is absolutely the right thing to do.

Thing is, your dog has separation anxiety and the only option to manage separation anxiety is to not leave the dog alone and distressed, whether you like it or not, whether practical for you or not. We can't tailor another solution for you, because there isn't any. Except rehoming of course.

I know, because I have a dog with SA, and am working on building his confidence, but that means never leave him alone for longer than he can handle.
I'd love it if there was a quick fix but it doesn't work this way.

Have you got a mouse? Critters come looking for warmth this time of year and your dog might be hearing new sounds

I'd also bring him upstairs. Our dog has the run of the house at night, if she gets locked in the lounge (door self closes when she shoves it open) then she'll bark because she wants to pad around and look after her pack when they're sleeping - it's funny when we go away she'll do her checks, sleep at the top of the stairs, sleep in all the bedrooms like she's checking everyone is ok. When we go out as a
Family she'll go bonkers if the pack gets split up, she wants us all
Together - I think just being the dog upstairs and let them have the pack
Comfort when sleeping