Urgent help required before bedtime!

[allthehounds]

Some of you might remember that a couple of weeks ago whilst we were back in the UK we adopted a new greyhound girl called Lily who's 4 years old. Ernie our existing greyhound had been on his own for the last 10 months since Mou died back in February and so wasn't particulary interested in the new arrival! We were staying at my mum's house whilst we were in the UK (we live in France) and for the first week whilst he was still on his own, Ernie slept in the bed he's always slept in whilst we're at their house until Lily came along that is. We tried to get Lily to sleep in Mou's old bed which was at the foot of our bed and Ernie sleeps at the side of our bed but she seemed to want to be close to him and insisted in climbing into bed with him. Ernie seems to want his own space and he and Mou never shared a bed in the 6 years they were together although sharing the settee during the day is acceptable! Within seconds of Lily cuddling up to him he got up and moved to the smaller bed at the end of ours and that's what happened every night we were there. After the third night he didn't even go to his original bed and move he just went straight to the other one. We just got back to France and Ernie went to his bed as usual last night but Lily wasn't interested in sleeping in her own bed and again climbed over Ernie to get in next to him! Ernie once again moved and sat on the smaller bed but instead of staying there to sleep as he had done at my mum's he paced around the bedroom and finally ended up sleeping with us all night. Lily seemed quite happy in Ernie's bed all night and we didn't heara peep out of her until this morning. I know that Ernie was the one to move beds in the first place back in Wales but it doesn't seem right that she's taken over his bed here too and we really don't know what to do for the best. She doesn't seem that dominant and I think she'd be quite happy to share the bed but Ernie likes his own space at night to stretch out and really doesn't want to share his bed with her. Anyone got any ideas on what I should do tonight? Thanks

Sian x

[nataliesian]

Hi Sian, have you washed both beds ? In my experience some dogs just dont like an unknown dogs smell. You could also move the two bed next to each other- maybe thatll be enough for her but not too much for him. Id certainly be trying to get her smell on the bed you'd like her to use.

Failing that what about getting a huge bed ;0)

[julies]

TBH I think you have to just accept that they choose where they want to sleep - or Lily does and Ernie agrees .. when we had fireworks my Charlie allowed (!!) Lucy to share his bed downstairs ..not that he was worried you understand LOL .. when the fireworks were over and she tried to get in the bed with him he snarled and did an air snap so she slunk off I know it's hard when the existing dog appears to be pushed out but it's just their nature to find a hierarchy ...

I'm sure they'll settle well if you let them find their own level tho I never allow squabbling ...

Julie x

[Lisa]

I agree with Julie. Sadly there is a natural hierarchy with the hounds and the bitch is usually the hierarchy ;D The males are more laid back and accepting and he will just get use to being the lower ranking dog. It doesnt mean it will upset him or put his nose out of joint its just something he will deal with. Bit like a marriage really and all them poor blokes who live happily alone till they chose their bitch and their life gets ruined

[sassbu]

;D

Ohh this is sooo true, you could be writing about our house when foster bitches arrive ;D they always want the nicest bed and the nicest bed is always the one with a dog already in it!!

We did feel sorry for him and tried some trickery by calling them to the kitchen for last treats before bed and then giving his first before hers so he could run back to the bed first but nine times out of ten he never really "got it" and ate it on the rug allowing her to slidaddle past and dive on favourite bed, cheeky mares ;D

[allthehounds]

Thanks so much for your replies and telling me your experiences. You obviously all agree that we should just let them get on with it and let Ernie move to a different bed which is what I was thinking but I read on the internet someone said we should physically remove Lily every time she gets in Ernie's bed and keep doing it even if it means lifting her out every 5 minutes all night long but to be honest I didn't really like the idea of that and it wouldn't work anyway because Ernie would have already shipped out by then and knowing him he wouldn't go back! We're going to move some furniture around later on (Owen so pleased about that) and put the beds next to each other so they've got a lot more space and Ernie hopefully won't feel too crowded. When we were at my mum's there was a bit of an issue because she's only got one settee (very inconvenient of her!) and we used to encourage Ernie to get on first but he'd just stand and look at it by which time Lily would shoot past jump over the arm and stretch herself flat out leaving no space for him to get on. He then had to make do with the bed on the floor but just seemed to accept it. I suppose we just thought that now we're at home Ernie should sleep where he's always slept but thanks for putting my mind at rest that it's quite normal for Lily to push him out and we shouldn't worry about it too much. He was never the leader when Mou was alive and she always used to boss him about so looks like Lily is just carrying on where Mou left off. ;D

[Lisa]

and lets face it where do you think the phrase bitch came from ;D I always say that greyhound girls are the ones who put the word bitch into female dog

[Flaperoo]

Three dogs and a bitch here - the bitch gets the bed she wants everytime ;D. All previous bitches have been the same ;D

Maryx

[dash4misty]

Obie does as he is told as well ;D ;D Dulcie will sleep where she wants to, she gets in obies bed with him so funny to watch she almost shuffles him up to get in ,he is so laid back bless him

[loopylou]

;D ;D Tia a;ways gets the bed or sofa of choice here.If one of the others are where she wants to be she will lie else where for a bit then just walk over to her chosen spot until they either move by choice or she will climb over them to make sure they move. Cheeky girls I love them. ;D

[andywillow]

My bitches are opposite, they just lay wherever is free, its Joe the big slob of a dog who literally climbs onto the sofa and stares at whoever is there till they move (unless I see him beforehand and remove him!) ;D

[dizzi]

Pecking order in this house:

Cat (aka Supreme Overlord of the Universe)

Baby

Me

Female Greyhound (she'd dispute this but until she can work cashpoint cards to buy her own dog food I come on top)

Husband

Fleas

Microbes in the fridge

Our very soppy, easy-going, definitely not an alpha, male dog

[sammy13]

;D ;D ;D Love reading this. When Nell arrived she took all Sams beds and sleeping places except under the table( she cant get under). Sam was happy to sleep in the girls room :)When we lost him she was distraught and took over our bed in the daytime,which is where he slept during the day . Bracken has taken over the big sofa but she will squeeze on and push him out of the way inch by inch He wont lie on her bed in our room as he might get a telling off from her I love dominant females ;D

[allthehounds]

This certainly seems to have struck a chord with lots of people and makes me feel much better about Lily taking over! Mou was very dominant but because we adopted her and Ernie together and they'd been in the kennels together he already knew what to expect so I suppose I was a bit worried that after several months on his own he'd find it a bit of a shock having a new girl rule the roost. I'm pleased to report though that last night we moved Lily's smaller bed into the space where Ernie used to sleep and moved Ernie's huge bed to another corner of the room and Lily went straight to Ernie's old spot and slept on her smaller bed and after a couple of seconds debate and confusion Ernie went to his usual bed just in a different location. Hope that makes sense but basically everybody got a good nights sleep in the correct bed, nobody was on top of us and Lily is in charge!! ;D Glad that's sorted then!

[elmuervo]

Bless


Just to add that Twirl sleeps exactly wherever the hell she likes, and if Barney or Biggly are already there then it's just plain tough - they have to shift! ;D ;D ;D


She also tells them off sometimes if they're just walking around minding their own business but are getting on her nerves ;D ;D. In fact she's tried it with Steve a couple of times, too . . . ;D ;D ;D ;D


Jo
x