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'm struggling with my newly retired greyhound too OP, and she can't go up/down stairs.

Going to keep sleeping downstairs until she's more settled and hopefully it'll work out. It is exhausting.

He’s only been with you for two weeks. He is still settling and learning that he is safe.

can you put on some classical music downstairs for some calming background noise?

be patient, I know the nights seem long right now but soon he’ll settle and this will be a thing of the past. Just stay calm, never ever tell him off and be patient. It will pass.

I know absolutely nothing about dogs but surely a dog basically bred to race needs some serious exercise before bedtime? Plus, may not be used to being indoors but in a kennel. I would definitely ask for advice from the rescue.

Actually Greyhounds needs surprisingly little exercise.

But they do need warmth and to be with humans - they get very cold very easily and are prone to severe separation anxiety. That’s why everyone’s told OP (who’s not yet come back…) to invest in a jumper and bring him upstairs.

Doubtful the kennel will be much use at this point given they clearly didn’t prepare OP properly…

Have you tried the adaptil plug in? It is supposed to calm dogs down.
I'd definitely suggest extra blankets or even a single duvet. Maybe tuck him up as part of his nighttime routine as you go up to bed?

Greyhounds actually need barely any exercise.

Our dog sleeps in his basket on the landing and settles well. Completely understand your concerns about having a dog you hardly know in the room with your children.

Doubtful the kennel will be much use at this point given they clearly didn’t prepare OP properly…

Perhaps they did but OP listened to them in the same manner she's listened to the vast majority of other posters on the thread! Some pretty terrible advice on here too from those outliers including leaving them for several hours a day to get them used to being alone and one that described sleep training a human baby 😅.

Do you have a partner OP? You don't mention whether you do or not.

Poor dog either needs someone to stay down with them (once dc is asleep) or to come up. The more distressed they feel downstairs alone the more it will reinforce that being alone is scary. That's how dogs work! I don't see the issue being in the room with dc if you are there too but you could even try just outside the room

Our dog sometimes does this if there are slugs in the kitchen we remove the slugs and he goes to sleep....

How about a hot water bottle in his bed?
I have a 5 yr old cavalier who is a rescue. Born for breeding then just dumped when no longer a money machine. We got her last yr. I've never brought dogs into the bedroom or upstairs. The first couple of nights she slept all night then all of a sudden barking, running around at night and whining. My vet recommended a hot water bottle place in her bed might soothe her. Worked a treat for us.
Hope you got some sleep. X

A similar recommendation we were given (as long as your dog isn’t the type that will chew everything and prone to breaking things apart!) is to wrap a kitchen clock (but the old fashioned type that ticks) in a cloth and tuck it into the bed. They said it replicates a heartbeat and soothes them.

Talk to your vet; you should be able to get some mild sedation medication to give a couple of hours before bedtime for a while. Separation anxiety is a tough one because it's logical - nobody wants to be alone - but it makes life very difficult and it's easy to inadvertently reinforce it if you're not well informed. A good behaviourist will help you a lot.

Yes agree with mild sedation, my dog is elderly and it's been a life changer.

Is he cold? Most of the rescued greys I know wear fleece pyjamas at night.