Advice for first time greyhound owner please

[gembob]

Hi, I am new to this thread, and new to owning a greyhound!

We adopted our lovely boy Bob on Saturday 11th October so he has been with us just a few short days.  We are all pretty smitten with him   although I would be grateful if anyone has any advice?

He sleeps in the kitchen at night behind a gate which he can see over and can see through so he isn't 'shut away' if you see what I mean.  He goes to bed fine and we don't hear a peep until.....5 am.  When he starts whining, the whining then progresses to barking which wakes the whole house and unfortunately wakes next door as well!  I appreciate he is probably nowhere near settled in yet so I have been going downstairs at 5 am and sleeping on the sofa until it is time to get up.  He settles instantly when I do this.  He isn't whining/barking to go to the loo because the first day or two I let him out and he had no interest in more than a quick 3 second piddle!

I don't think that this is due to him being in racing kennels and therefore being used to getting up very early because he was living in a foster home for 6 weeks before we adopted him and his foster mum told me that he was waking up at 7.30 each day.  

Really would be grateful for any advice as to how to settle him or how to keep him quiet until an acceptable wake up time!  Next door have four dogs and they sometimes get up at 5 am to get ready for work which causes their four dogs to all start barking so I suppose this could be waking/disturbing him but this morning he was up at 5 am again and next door didn't go to work today so there was no noise from them.  

Sorry this is so long but don't want to miss out anything that might be important.  Would be grateful to anyone for tips.  Thanks.  

[dylansdad]

I guess like most of us, sleep is a habit and maybe Bob was disturbed on a few occasions around that time

It's not something odd like your central heating timer waking him up ?

Is he cold ? - Skye took a while to learn the art of snuggling under a blanket

When we first adopter her, we tried the kitchen / crate idea but she went ballistic in the small hours, we have moved her bed into our bedroom and she sleeps soundly in the corner of the room

[vickyb]

I think you answered yourself - he'll hear next door and I'm sure that's why he's wanting to be up. My lot, lazy as they are want to know what's going on when they hear something. He's probably woken this morning as things you don't want them to do seem to become a habit horribly quickly.

When your neighbours dogs bark at 5am doesn't it wake you up? it seems a bit off that they can bark but not your boy - not that anyone would want either to do ideally!!!

I really don't know how you can stop him barking if it's response to noise esp barking next door short of maybe having him sleep upstairs with you where I guess he'd feel more secure as he settles once you're downstairs with him.

If my neighbour comes in late Maddie will bark in response to the noise but she is used to any noise he makes in the day and doesn't bark. Obviously it's still very early days for him.

[andywillow]

Was he in foster with other dogs? One of my previous dogs used to sleep as long as we did but when he went to be an only dog he too gets his mum up early. He came to stay with us for a few days as she was away and went back to sleeping as long as we did. Its very early days yet for him, maybe he would settle better if he was allowed in the living room?

Our hounds sleep upstairs with us and sleep soundly until we get up, just one of ours doesn't do stairs but he's bone idle anyway and snoozes on the sofa until we come down.

[gembob]

Thanks for the quick responses.

It is not the central heating waking him up as the timer doesn't click on until 6.30.

No, next doors dogs don't ever wake us.  They keep their dogs in the conservatory which is right 'next door' to our kitchen so when Bob is in their at night he is only separated from their dogs by a thin wall (it's a new house, walls like paper).  

Yes, he was in foster with other dogs.  One resident and between one and two fosters during his time there.  

[gembob]

Posted too soon. I don't think he is cold. He has bed, plus blankets and house coat.

[kamkay]

Welcome to Gap. The dog Andywillow is referring to is my Jet. He just seems to like to get up early . It is generally around 7 now but we still go through periods when he wakes and whines at ridiculous o'clock. Have tried all sorts to stop him, but nothing has worked. Sorry to appear like a prophet of doom. However I would add that in other ways he is a brilliant dog-doesn't counter surf or bin raid , lovely gentle nature and all round super hound. It's early days for you yet-if you find the magic formula please let me know:-)

[sherbert]

Hello
We don't have Greys but have 3 lurchers and a proper dog
3 of my dogs would happily slepp the day away but in June we were joined by Hetty who is a young lurcher. When she first arrived she would wake us up at 4am every morning whining. This has got better as she's settled in (and the mornings have got darker) but the slightest little noise will wake her and then she starts whining, which will steadily get louder, until somebody gets up with her,

[alexandsteve]

My girl Cerys sleeps until we do when she sleeps with us in our room but if she's down stairs (sometimes she has stayed on her bed by the fire) shes awake a lot earlier and I hear her fidgeting around at night.
I now make her come up with us as I can sleep better and I know she does too, I tuck her in with her blankets and usually at 6am she jumps up in our bed for cuddles

[brooke1]

Can't offer any advice as Brooke sleeps in bed with me under the covers - but welcome to the mad world of greyhound ownership!

[Mr Roo]

Hi, all ours sleep in the same room with us,2 of them in or on our bed the rest tucked up in their blankets on their beds, Andy the foster is the only one who wakes early, as soon as my alarm goes he wants to be up [5.30am]
although on a weekend i have stopped setting it,he still gets up but will now go back to bed when you tell him to go lay down its not time yet when he first came he woke us about 5am before the alarm so he is getting better.he used to yip at you to get up but that has stopped now,all we get now is his great head shoving the duvet back
hope yours settles soon and you work something out.

[lurcherlot]

My dogs all sleep upstairs, and I don't hear a sound until I wake up .... whatever time! As an only dog, I'm sure Bob would sleep better with you, rather than without you. He is used to company when in foster care, and will miss company, whether it be another dog or his humans.

[ReggieK]

I have only had my Layla for 12 weeks but she has been pretty consistent. The whining usually starts about 0630, and if I do not get up she comes up and gets me by jumping on the bed. Earliest she has got me up was 0600 and latest 0720. But this is just her needing to go to the loo, after that she comes back up with me an we go back to sleep until breakfast time

She pretty much has the run of the house and chooses to sleep on the sofa, rather than on her bed, or mine during the night. She is also very very quiet. I have heard her bark only 3 times and a single bark at that.

It was suggested that I take her up to my room at nights to help her settle, which I couldn't do as she did not "get" stairs for first 4 weeks, but maybe that would help you?

Best of luck with whatever you try.

[julies]

Ex-racers will have always had company so it's a tough call to expect them to settle on their own, in a strange environment away from their family even if you are only upstairs plus when he was in kennels I'd guess that if other dogs barked in the morning he expected the trainer etc was there and breakfast or exercise was on its way so he'd join in ... .. most of us just give in (or really understand our dogs concern )and have our greys with us ... if the same room is a No No you can put a child gate across the door and his bed on the landing so he can see you and will usually settle.

If like most racers he can't do stairs take two long towels folded lengthways so if he gets upstairs you can put one round his chest and the other under his tum in front of his back legs and 'walk' him down till he gets the hang of it

Welcome to greyhounds

Julie

[futuramafan]

Hi
I had this too and she actually howled and cried which was very upsetting. She sleeps by my side of the bed and goes to bed the same time I do and them gets up with me too. To be honest I now can't sleep if she isn't there! She snores sometimes and also farts for England but hey so does my husband so nothing new! Good luck and welcome the gap!!