Nighttime / sleeping arrangements - advice please

[sallym]

Hi everyone

My husband has given me the okay for us to get a dog and it would be really great if we could adopt one from the Dunton kennels.

However, one thing that's concerning me is nighttime sleeping arrangements, as I have just been reading on quite a few websites & forums that lots of people let their greyhounds sleep in their bedrooms with them as apparently they get very scared & anxious if left alone downstairs at night and can bark & whine into the wee hours.

I know a certain amount of patience with the settling in period is needed but hubby has been quite adamant that if we got a dog he wouldn't want it upstairs. Our ground floor is the hallway, living room, bathroom and kitchen diner.

So my question is, where do your greyhounds sleep at night and have you encountered any problems if they've been left alone downstairs? Also, do they usually need to be let outside to go to the toilet in the night?

Thank you!

[sallyannh]

Congratulations on the go-ahead! With luck your husband will become like mine (Darcysdad) and be a passionate advocate for rehoming.

I dug about and found this greyhoundhomer.proboards.com/thread/1026/night-time-seperation-advice

It's worth mentioning that separation anxiety can happen with any type of dog, especially at night. There was an interesting TV programme a couple of years ago on the subject. They had cctv camera on two spaniels in the same household, one slept all day, the other was frantic all the time when they were left.

If you do decide to adopt a grey, bear in mind that they have probably never been on their own at any time, so patience is needed and you are probably going to have a few disturbed nights.

Our Darcy adapted to home life very quickly, he is extremely laid back. However, we did have problems at night initially. The first night was fine, he was exhausted from all the excitement. After that he started 'rooing' - once heard, never forgotten! On the third night home I resigned myself to having little sleep and sat on the stairs. When he started being noisy, I went into the kitchen, called him to bed and then went out again. No smiles, no fuss, be as boring as possible. Repeat continuously. The idea is that he is reassured that you haven't abandoned him, and realise that nothing exciting is going to happen when he makes a noise.

Roma never gave us any trouble at night, she seemed perfectly happy as another dog was there.

A radio on low will help (preferably not tuned in to a thrash metal station!), as will an article of your clothing. The pheremone plug ins seem to work, but are a bit pricey so you may want to try other methods first.

Some people do have their dogs upstairs, some don't, it's entirely an individual choice. Ours have always stayed downstairs. I've PM'd you as well.

[sueb]

How exciting, you will soon join the wonderful world of greyhounds!

We've had 3 greyhounds and they have all slept downstairs and apart from a phase with Brennan (see Sally's embedded link, above) we've not had any problems. They soon learn where their comfy bed is, but often will find another favourite spot somewhere else!

Likewise, they have not had to be let out for the loo in the middle of the night. They always go out just before we go to bed, and when we first had each of them straight in the garden as soon as we got downstairs. (They now go straight over the park first thing). When in kennels greyhounds like to keep them clean, so they also would want to do this once home, it's just a question of them seeing the whole house as their quarters, with outside/the garden as the appropriate place for the toilet! In my experience they learn this very quickly, especially going into the garden frequently, with lots of praise and a little treat every time they "perform," at first.

I have found re-homed greyhounds so much easier than taking on a puppy!

Good luck, let us know how you get on/which lovely hound you adopt.

[debbie]

Fantastic news that your re homing a greyhound..  My husband was reluctant to get a replacement dog after 15 years with our beloved "mad" Henry Collie/Lab, I dog bothered for a long 3 year period and by chance we came across a meet and greet - within 3 weeks we had visited and re homed our gorgeous Hetty - no planning can prepare for the rush of love for these peaceful, trusting creatures and all worries of where they'll sleep will go out the door.  Hetty embraced the various beds scattered around the house but these have been reduced to a covered sofa in the dining room with views of the garden and much as we said she wouldn't sleep upstairs she has made a nice bed at the top of the stairs.  The only time she ventures into the bedrooms is to make sure we don't oversleep or last thing at night she pokes head around the door to check we're "there" and then goes back to bed!  Truth be told more often than not she sleeps on the sofa downstairs as it's warmer than a drafty upstairs landing.  I wish you all the best with your new dog and look forward to visiting the forum to see who you adopt.


Debbie, Andy & Hetty