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Introduction
We recommend you plan to be home with your Greyhound for a few days after he gets home. We prefer, for those who work, to schedule the “take home day” on a Friday or Saturday, or when you have a couple of days off. You will be able to get to know him, teach him what is OK in your home, and help him become a member of the family a little faster. Remember, once he gets to your house, it will be the first time in his whole life he hasn’t had lots of other Greyhounds around him all the time. Being left alone the first few times can be a little scary. If possible, it’s best to work him into being left alone during the first few days, so when he is left alone for longer periods of time (like when everyone goes back to work or school) it isn’t quite such a shock to his system.
Crates are sometimes a necessary evil. Your Greyhound has spent a large portion of its life in one, so do not think of it as cruel. We recommend crates to help the initial introduction into the home go more smoothly, especially if your new Greyhound will be the only dog in the house. The crate allows the dog to learn he can be left alone and be perfectly fine while you're gone. All dogs should be weaned off the use of a crate as soon as possible for that particular dog (some dogs may take longer to wean from the crate than others). Our experience has been, the younger the dog, the greater the possibility of needing a crate. Note, too, that there are some Greyhounds which will always need to be crated. If you happen to have one of those dogs, don't feel it's cruel or unkind to keep them crated. Being loved in your home but using a crate is preferable to being returned and rejected and waiting for a new owner.
If your dog is one who will be crated initially when you are away, proper introduction to the crate is needed. The crate should NEVER be used as punishment. The crate offers the Greyhound a familiar, quiet sanctuary. Put a crate pad, blanket or comforter in the bottom of the crate to pad the floor well. We recommend the crate be located in your bedroom, where the dog feels most comfortable. Feed your Greyhound biscuits or treats in the crate. You may find your dog will use the crate as a bed. Make the crate a fun place. When the dog is left alone, leave stuffed animals, rawhides, and/or chew hooves inside to keep him company.
When you arrive home with your new Greyhound, make every attempt to stay with the dog the rest of that day and night. The following morning, leave the house (dog inside, preferably in the crate with a treat and toys) for 10 or 15 minutes. Walk around the block, then return. That afternoon, repeat the same procedure, but stay away for 45 minutes to an hour. The next day, try two hours in the morning, two hours in the evening. The first day the family leaves for work/school, try to have someone return home at lunch. Repeat this for the next two to three days.
Keep in mind you may not see your new friend's true personality for a few days. It usually takes a Greyhound 3 to 5 days to feel "at home" in a new environment and safe enough to be himself. During the first few days, he may be more shy than usual, or may test your patience, almost making you prove you love him.
Remember, many Greyhounds GRIN, which can, to the uninitiated, look very scary! When your Greyhound is happy and excited to see you, he may pull up his upper lip, usually front end down and rear end in the air, and may yip and nip at you. He isn't attacking; he wants to love you! We recommend you discourage the nipping. While they are usually good about only getting cloth, they occasionally get too excited, and it can hurt!
You may want to keep your Greyhound in your bedroom with you at night with the door closed
the first few nights. This will usually settle the dog down quickly and
help both you and him to
get a good nights sleep (although the first night is often a less than restful one!). This method
works best because it allows you to hear when the dog becomes restless, a sign he may need to go
outside and relieve himself. The first night or two may be somewhat stressful for the dog, and he
may whine, pant, pace and generally do all kinds of stuff that will keep you awake. A quiet word
of reassurance will usually settle him down. Although the first night or two might be a little rough,
the dogs seem to adapt much more quickly if they are allowed to be near you at night. A few Greyhounds will initially have what we call "sleep space aggression" when they first move
into their new homes. They have always slept in a kennel environment, and are not used to
anything or anyone touching them when they are asleep. For that reason, a Greyhound may
wake with a start and even a growl or snap if startled by touching while asleep. Make sure the
dog is awake before touching him. Remember, Greyhounds can, and do, sleep with their eyes
open! Say the dog's name loudly, clap you hands, make enough noise in some manner to make
sure your dog is really awake before touching! Always, always, always teach children to say the
dog's name loudly before touching the dog.
Some Greyhounds do suffer from separation anxiety and need to learn you will come back when you leave. If your Greyhound does have separation anxiety, he may cry, chew, relieve himself in the house, etc. If separation anxiety becomes a problem, a crate or limited access to the home is necessary. A dog with separation anxiety does not like being left in a closed room. You may come home to chewed doors, carpet, etc. A crate works best, as it offers a sense of security to the dog while offering you peace of mind. And if possible, put the crate near a window or sliding door so the dog can see outside; he or she will be less bored that way. Remember, leaving a greyhound in a closed, small room (laundry room, bathroom) is inviting trouble. You may well return home to find a considerable amount of damage to doors, walls, and anything else the dog can get teeth or toenails on.
If you choose not to use a crate for the first few days or weeks with your new dog, a baby gate may do the trick. The baby gate is used to limit the dog to one room of the house, or a certain section of the house. Most Greyhounds will not jump or knock down a baby gate. A barrier to them means they cannot go there, and being able to see over the gate helps with the “trapped” feeling. The kitchen may be a good choice to leave the dog because of the floor (easy cleanups!). If you confine your Greyhound to a room, make sure to open the curtains and pull up any blinds on the window. He will want to see out the window, and having curtains or blinds open will eliminate the temptation to remove them for better viewing! If you choose to leave your greyhound in a room with a tile or other hard floor, make sure you leave them something nice and soft to lie on.
Greyhounds and open doorways do not mix. It is very important that doors not leading to fenced areas are never left standing open. To a Greyhound, an open door is a written invitation to go investigating. We recommend that prior to opening any door, you get a hold of your dog by the collar. This also helps assure that when visitors arrive, an over exuberant pup does not greet them. If you have small children, PLEASE set ground rules immediately that only adults may open doors. Apply this same logic to yard gates, etc. If you have a yard gate, please consider placing some kind of lock on the gate so that it isn’t inadvertently left open.
Greyhounds love to look and see what’s on that counter. Greyhounds need to be taught that it’s not acceptable to investigate a counter too closely. If the dog shows a little too much interest in the counter, a sharp “No” and sometimes an accompanying clap of the hands works well. We recommend that you get in the habit of keeping kitchen counters clear of food or other interesting items. This is especially true for bread. For some reason, bread just isn’t safe around these guys. Unless you want the Greyhound to have it, put it in a cabinet or in the pantry! There are also some tricks you can try for "counter surfers." One is to use a piece of nice, wide, sticky tape, roll it into a tube, sticky side out, and place on the edge of the counter. Dog jumps up, feet stick, and hopefully he won't like the sticking part and won't do it again. You can also take a nice, tempting morsel, attach it by string to a can with pennies in it, the can taped shut so the pennies can't get out and be eaten by the dog. Leave the "bait" on the edge of the counter, and when the dog grabs it, the can comes down, hopefully making enough noise to deter repeat attempts.
Like countertops, garbage cans are just too interesting to these guys to leave alone. It's really
much easier to relocate the garbage and trashcans to a pantry or under a counter, or buy a
trashcan with a lid than to try and train them to stay out.
Greyhound puppies are raised their
first few months with shredded paper in their beds. When their paper
is changed every few days, it’s a big party. As a result, Greyhounds
view paper products -- newspaper, magazines, paperback books, hardback
books, etc. -- as toys which are there to be shredded. If
you leave any of these items lying about, they figure you’ve left it
out for them to SHRED!
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