whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Jan 26, 2014 15:57:41 GMT -5
River and I have come a long way since my initial post about her crying, but I am truly at a loss for how to take the next training step.
River hasn't figured out a good way to let me know that she needs out yet. Sometimes she will go and lie by the door (an explicit indication) and I try to reward her for that by taking her out as soon as I notice. Most of the time though, she just cries. I'd have no trouble with that except that crying/singing is her go to for all her needs - food, water, outside, warmth, excitement, companionship, playing, and pain. I was hoping that after long enough she would either figure out how to differentiate her requests or I would learn, like with a baby, how to distinguish between her cries.
Neither has happened, and she and I both get frustrated sometimes as I go through the rather long list eliminating possibilities. Especially if it involves the long process of getting ready to go outside when all she really wanted was a scratch behind the ear.
Has anyone had success teaching their hound an explicit "I need out" behaviour? I tried putting bells on the front door in the hopes that she'd get curious about them and I could teach her to ring them, but she’s never been remotely interested.
(Side note: as a university student my schedule is inherently all over the place. I try to stick to routine with River's needs and feed her and take her out at the same times each day, but by necessity what I do just before or after taking her out changes all the time. Sometimes I leave after, sometimes I stay home. Result: except for my 7:30 morning alarm River has no sense of time which I am sure doesn't help. So when I ask if she wants out she always seems surprised.)
I should also mention that figuring out what she wants is usually a race against the clock - I have about five minutes to guess it before she falls back to sleep again :-P
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Post by newtothis1 on Jan 26, 2014 17:52:57 GMT -5
Scully has finally figured out that he has to go to the door. This took quite a while, up till then it was just me letting him out on a regular basis. Now however, if he goes to the door and I don't see him or am busy, he will come and stand in front of me and nudge me, lay his head in my lap and generally be a pain in the butt until I get it. Then when I ask if he has to go out he gets super excited and heads to the door.
So you see it was really not a matter of me training him to let me know, it was a matter of him training me to recognize his signals.
Good luck!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 14:05:33 GMT -5
Each and every one of mine has a different way of communicating except for one boy that never asks EVER! He just comes when he's told and follows the others. I agree with Scully's mom, sometimes they train us and it can take a little while. Keep doing what you're doing and it will all fall into place. Just a note, this is the same dog I was referring to in your other post. You see, they're all so different.
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Post by angelollie on Jan 27, 2014 21:11:44 GMT -5
Greyhounds have never had to ask to go out prior to living in a home environment ... their turn-out times or pee breaks at the kennel were decided for them. They were simply told when to potty. So it's no wonder they have no clue how to let you know when they need to go out. But as others have mentioned, you and River will figure it out. Of my three, Mary will go to the back door and if I don't come right away, she'll come back and stare at me. Willy does a dance with some crying but his dancing always is in the direction of the back door and Johnny, I've noticed his body language changes; his body is no longer relaxed but appears to be more on a mission.
Whenever a hound first comes home, I start right away by asking him/her "do you have to go potty/pee" always using the same tone of voice. That new hound soon recognizes that that statement "do you have to go pee" means it's times to go out to do their business. So even today after having these hounds for a few years, I will ask them that same statement say at bedtime or first thing in the morning and immediately they are ready to go pee. River could get into this habit at any time. Hope this helps.
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Post by rubylottie14 on Jan 27, 2014 22:11:33 GMT -5
I've had 4 greyhounds and they all did different things. Gerry never asked cos he wouldn't toilet in my yard only on walks. I regularly let them outside, whether they asked or not to be on the safe side. I would always say something like 'go on do a wee wee/poo for mummy' or 'go and do your business' and I, like Shari would do it in a certain tone to help them get the idea. I relied on Ruby to 'teach' Lottie that the garden was where wees and poos were done.
Lottie just walks into the kitchen and it took me a while to figure it out - I missed her cues on several occaions cos they are so subtle, and I thought she was going to her water bowl or choosing to go upstairs. I've started blocking off the bottom of the stairs that lead directly from the kitchen (no door) to stop her from going upstairs and peeing on the bed (my bed, totally yuk) and this draws my attention to her since she then comes back into the lounge and I think, oh oh maybe she's telling me she needs a wee. If I miss the cue (doesn't happen often now) she will squat and pee on her own bed (?) and once she's started no ammount of 'stop stop' makes any difference. Kind of 'I've started so I'll finish'. She makes no noise at all and no 'dance' like some other greys so it's easy to miss.
Just like us they are all different and it's a case of being aware and keeping an eye out for any little clues. Ruby used to pace up and down by my bed a few times, but if I wasn't quick enough she'd trot downstairs and pee/poo on the lounge floor. Lottie will also do this, but more subtley, sometimes she just stands by my bed.
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Post by Heather (& KC) on Jan 28, 2014 19:00:57 GMT -5
Such good news things are better with River!! The comments about turn outs and having to learn their signals really resonate with me. Both our greys have been the same. Thunder goes to the door and if we don't see him or don't "get it", he just circles and is generally unsettled. My husband says, if he's not laying on his pillow or on the bed and he's fed, he likely has to go out!!
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Post by lotsoffreetime on Jan 28, 2014 20:05:57 GMT -5
Let me see…Merlin comes and barks really loudly in our faces when he wants out (Merlin is up for adoption if anyone wants him)…Mirage walks to the door and whines…Willy runs around back and forth from the door to use looking, um, uncomfortable and frantic…Rio waits until the others need out, lies not the floor and then charges after them out the door…and Tiana, well, she holds her bladder until she is about to explode, comes flying down the stairs to the door, then when you go to let her out she runs away from you back up to her crate and refuses to go out for another hour until she is really desperate…then she will only go out if "the right person lets her out" (Tiana has "issues"…lol).
I do pretty much what Angleollie did…linked a phrase with letting them out as soon as they came home, and I still use this phrase with them (do you want to go outside?) when I see their signals…this results in excitement (except in Tiana who runs back upstairs). I chose this one because I also have to use "go do pee pee now" and "go do the other one" at times, especially with Mirage and Tiana, because they like to play games and pretend they have done all their business and try to sneak back inside and fool me. They invariably hang their heads when I give them this second phrase (dependent on what i have just seen them do, or course), and grudgingly go back off the deck into the yard to do whatever they have not yet done….Drama Queens!
FYI, I tried the bell thing with my 5, because I had trained Little Kasie that way and loved it…the Greys looked at like I was nuts. I also tried to train them to scratch on the door to let me know they needed out (we have a steel door so it is okay)…now Willy scratches as I am opening the door, not in advance to let me know…crazy hound!)
Good luck with River!!!
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Jan 28, 2014 21:38:41 GMT -5
Oh, I am glad I posted this. All your stories gave me such a good laugh. Greyhounds really are unique creatures apparently - I guess I just need to meet more of them so I can see it for myself! And lotsoffreetime - your bit about Merlin being up for adoption just about made my tea come out my nose. Well written indeed. I guess River is more like a Tiana and that's my problem. When I ask her if she wants to go outside she does her absolute best to ignore me completely. After the phrase has been uttered, she won't even make eye contact. It's like I'm the teacher and she's the really shy kid in the class. I ask the question and she looks anywhere but at me in the hopes that, somehow, it'll make her invisible. I think she's hoping that if she ignores me completely I'll pick someone else to go outside with me (unfortunately for her, there isn't anyone else). I honestly thought before reading your replies that she just might not know the phrase (I've also always used the same one) but now I see that no, her behaviour is completely consistent. She knows exactly what I'm saying. So yes, just like Tiana she will hold it until she gets absolutely desperate, at which point she cries and waits for me to come to her to see what might be up. And then I ask if she wants out and she tries not to look at me. And sometimes she gets lucky and I give up and go away so she can hold it for another hour until she is truly truly desperate. Sometimes I honestly think that River is a cat in a dog's body. And this explains it - see, I was kind of concerned that I just really wasn't reading her right. As an owner of Labs previously - who just about die of excitement when a human uses the phrase "want to go for a walk?" - I thought her body language was a greyhound thing. I thought that maybe she was just being efficient and waiting until I was truly committed to the walk (coat on, boots on, keys in pocket, boots done up, gloves on, poop bag in pocket, leash in hand) before thinking about getting up. But from the sounds of it, I just picked a silly one. I've even resorted to actually leaving without her - something which would have made my labs absolutely crazy - but the most reaction that's ever elicited is a deep sigh on her part. And the truly strange thing is, once we get outside she loves it out there. Her absolute favorite thing is to play in the snow. She wades in it and buries her face in it and gets all frisky. Nope, even in this harsh "polar vortex" cold snap, it's clear she loves winter. Especially if it means climbing to the top of snowbanks by our neighbours' driveways (some of which are taller than me now) to poop and then - this is the best part - getting to watch me climb up there and collect it. So, thanks. It's nice to know that River is, in fact, still a dog. Just a quirkier dog than I realized.
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Sandra G
Newbie
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Post by Sandra G on Jan 28, 2014 21:46:46 GMT -5
I bought poochie bells for my grey that I adopted two days ago. It's so cold here in Southern Ontario and he is a very fine coat white male. I live on the second floor so I have to bait him with Hansel and Gretel treat crumbs on each stair and support his body going up and down to find he won't go pee or poop or walk today. He has two coats from Greenhawk and wears both at the same time. He walked around the block three times the first day and now flat out refuses to walk today. He pee'd at 9 am and that was it all day! Is taking a dog out 3 times in this cold with no release normal? I could tell he was going to pee on my dining room floor a couple times but I got to him before he actually started and took him outside immediately - nothing! He was pacing but would not go outside. In desperation, at 5 pm I drove him to Petsmart to walk around somewhere warm and smell all the other dog markings outside. After the maiden voyage to Petsmart he Finally went pee and poop in their parking lot. Sorry, I'm a cat/rabbit person. My first dog!!! HELP... am I doing something wrong?
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whovian
Junior Grey Lover
River (a.k.a Iruska Cool Chic) has claimed me as her "friendbeast"
Posts: 171
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Post by whovian on Jan 28, 2014 23:23:16 GMT -5
Does he have boots? It's definitely cold enough here for frostbite, and the salt can also really be unpleasant on their paws. Muttlucks are good quality boots (a little pricey - but they'll last) and I know the petsmart here carries them. I personally swear by dogbooties.com merchandise now, but that is shipping from the states and will take a little while to get to you. There are a couple of threads on this forum from earlier in the winter if you need more info about good boots. Also, River got frostbite in December (also a thread in the Health & Medical section) so now I am extra careful to make sure her toes are warm. I use infant (age 2-6 months) socks inside her shoes, even doubling up on the socks, when it is cold like this. When we get in from a walk, I always check now to make sure her toes were warm enough by putting her pad on the back of my hand when I take her foot out of the boot. It gives me a good feeling to know that her toes were almost room temperature while walking out in the -35 windchill for 15 min. On the rare occasion that she loses a boot, especially in the last few days, she now holds the naked foot up and won't walk until I find the boot and put it back on, so I know the cold snow hurts her feet.
Otherwise, no, I don't think you are doing anything wrong. River was strange about peeing on the lead when I first brought her home, she just wouldn't do it. Now I know that she hates going in the backyard, and will only do it under the most dire of circumstances (we don't have a fully fenced-in yard, so she's on a leash there too). I have to walk her around the block. And she is very selective about which yard she pees or poops in, so she never does it at the same house twice in one week. It took a while for her to figure out that she needed to do it on the leash, and for me to figure out that she needed to go around the block. Your new guy is learning all kinds of things from you and, whether you realize it or not, you're already learning his habits. It'll click one of these times you take him out, like it did for me when I realized that she wouldn't go in our backyard, but as soon as we walked across the street she squatted right away.
I'm sure you're already doing this, but when he does relieve himself, make sure you give him lots of praise for doing it outside. Pretty soon he will get the idea.
He's probably just nervous, like you. You'll figure each other out in a few days' worth of pee breaks. :-)
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Post by Heather (& KC) on Jan 29, 2014 7:34:39 GMT -5
Good tips whovian. Sandra, we've had Thunder almost a year. I had forgotten the first days of learning the ropes of relieving outside! I thought I was going to lose my mind. Thunder went the first time and then I could not get him to take a dump. I thought he'd burst or do it on the floor. I finally walked him to the place he'd done his first dump and low and behold he got it. Oh happy moment. He then returned to that spot faithfully. Still to this day he favours that area although he goes elsewhere too. Hang in there. The early days of discovering the new potty routine are challenging but it doesn't take long at all. p.s. Remember that his pads are baby soft and not used to the snow so be very careful. They will cut easily and are very sensitive to the cold. Boots would be good if you can find them but I'd suggest limiting outside time in this extreme cold. And, welcome to the forum and to life with houndies.
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Post by newtothis1 on Jan 29, 2014 21:13:26 GMT -5
Welcome to the from Sandra. I know when I brought my guy home I was amazed at how long he could hold everything. It takes while for them to get it but like Heather said, keep going to the same place. I don't think it's to cold for three times a day so long as you don't keep him out very long each time. Before you know it he will be right on schedule. I found that taking him out at the same time each day really helped him get the idea.
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Post by Havencroft on Jan 30, 2014 12:16:32 GMT -5
My boys are still quite offended that we make them go outside in the cold to pee! Sometimes they look at me as if to imply that I ordered the weather specifically to torment them When we first got Boaz home, we had an accident or two, but now he's a pro. We invited a couple of friends and their whippets over after the accidents and just had him follow their lead. We also found that having a routine and using the same phrase each time helped him figure it out. We tried the bell idea, but our other hound, Ozzie tried to eat it. Of course, he's a little s**t who can open the door and take himself out Hang in there, he'll figure it out soon enough! I know it's a little scary at first, but greys are very adaptable and tolerant of our fumblings. It took both our guys a few weeks to get settled and relaxed into their new life. Just give him loads of love and cuddles; everything else is just details! There are lots of great articles on this site and on the web if you have time to read them
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 10:38:17 GMT -5
Sandra, paws up to you for such a greyt idea in taking your pup to petsmart to relieve himself - genious! my daughters greyhound literally "freezes" when she puts a coat on him. he just doesn't seem to realize he can walk while wearing it. could this be the problem perhaps? Martha
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Sandra G
Newbie
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Post by Sandra G on Feb 1, 2014 11:11:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the "genius" Martha. Thankfully, he is quite compliant for his coats. I think the extreme cold just made him hate being a newly landed Canadian and his move to a neighborhood setting made him feel like he is on another planet! He is enjoying a longer walk now that the sidewalks are bare and it's hovering around the freezing mark instead of much below! His voids are not at regular times yet or in the same spots always (male). We cut down to 3 outings a day now that he seems house trained. He hasn't had an accident inside in 3 days. I would prefer if he pooped/morning pee/before bed pee on my property rather than during a walk to be honest but everything (recent frigid temps, 3 flights of stairs to learn, suburbia, and wearing doggy apparel) were overwhelming for him so I didn't play the wait game on my property while he stared at me and shook in one spot. I know I should have hung in there but I couldn't stand to see the total lack of understanding of leash-voiding in one spot in his eyes. I could tell he had no idea of what I wanted from him. Boots are on my shopping list. Thanks to all for your ideas and shared experiences!!!
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