Looking for advice on newly homed greyhounds and a problem we have with them scratching on the doors whilst we are out (solid wood doors). We have had Toby and Josie now for 1 week and the problem has gone from bad to worse. They are alone during the day and we walk them at lunchtime and when we return from work they have continued to shred the door frame and skirtings. Tried gaffa taping the area but it just gets ripped off. Any advice please on how to stop them? i fear that moving them to another room will not stop it as they will do it in that room too.

Greyhounds dont seem to like being shut in a single room, hardly surprising given the tiny cages they often spend most of their time in. If possible, you might be better to let them roam in 2-3 rooms while you are out, and instead of closing doors on them, use a stairgate. They seem happier when they can see beyond their confines. If they've only been with you a week, they havent had nearly enough time to setle into a new routine so will be feeling very unsettled - greys thrive on strict routine and theirs has been hugely upset. They probably also find the house very much hotter than they have been used to in kennels.I would always recommend taking at least a week's leave from work anyway when taking in a new dog of any type to help settle them into their new surroundings. If you look at their point of view, they are nervous, completely unsettled, they dont know what you want from them or what your commands mean, they have no idea if they are safe with you. Then to be left in a strange room with doors firmly closed, of course there can be problems. It is also very helpful to ensure plenty exercise to help relieve their stress in the early days. Josie is a very young girl and the standard 30 minutes a couple of times a day may not be enough especially when she is stressed with a complete new environment and new carers. Hope some of this is helpful. Happy greyhounds are not destructive in the least, they are too lazy.

To give you more backgound...we spent 5 days with them at the start and completely understand they need time to settle. They have a large hall, stairs and another hall area to roam in so not entirely closed in. In additon, we give them both 2 x 30 min walks a day and 1 x 15 min one at lunch time but we can walk more if thats all thats needed. Re stairgates would they not simply jump them? We will leave more doors open tomorrow and will see if this helps.

Hi there

Just read your post - and was wondering - what is beyond the door they are scratching at?

Do they know you have left the house - perhaps they still think you are there and trying to get your response....maybe this door leads to a room they favor better - ie warmer/or the base of the home - where you all gather when together.

I would look into the reasons why they might be doing this.

Argos have a gate that is higher than the normal child gate - just below chest height on me, very useful when guest arrive for a visit

I would also suggest a kong (one each) -filled with something to keep them busy in your absence this can be a seen as a reward too - this will also state that you are going out (if you keep it as a toy only for giving when you are going out) - but will also be something they will look forward to receiving in your absence and may think - you going out...is great fun - "gees the Kong".

It can last longer if you freeze the contents before giving (but only stuff that is safe to do so!).

All the best.
x

I find that Bambi does not like closed doors even now and even if I am in the house!! I close my bedroon door when I go out but other than that she has the run of the house (altho I dont think she goes anywhere really!!lol) I tried Kongs with her and they did distract her initially for a bit but she bored fairly quickly of them I now use Denta sticks and she knows if she gets one of these then i willbe going out as this is the only time she gets them and so she knows what is going on - the knowing what is going on thing is Bambi's main concern now not whether I am going out or not so like has been said already getting the routine set is the main thing and its early days for that but they do seem to click on fairly quick!! Hope they start to settle soon!!

Hope I didnt sound like critical which isnt what I meant at all. But any of mine who have been with me for years would tear doors to bits if shut in even now. Sounds like yours do have quite an area to move around in, but the closed door may still be a source of anxiety. I have often used a stairgate, and though the dogs are perfectly capable of jumping over it, in fact they dont, they just accept it as their boundary. Yours will also accept their boundaries in time, especially if you have them spend time behind their barrier(eg stairgate) while you are at home. But if they make a fuss, you never let them out while they are fussing, but wait till they are calm. Always reward the desired behaviour, and make sure you dont inadvertantly reward bad behaviour by: letting them out, speaking to them, giving them a toy to distract them etc. Dont show anger though as this could upset them more. Also, there may be elements of seperation anxiety - signs are following you everywhere when you are at home and maybe whining when you go out of sight. This can be sorted though its hard work for a week or two. But I would definitley recommend just trying a stairgate in case its just the feeling of being shut in, and just put them behind it for a few minutes then gradually extend the time, with a reward when they get out. Good luck,it can be frustrating but tremendous satisfaction when they settle. By the way, i'm quite envious of you, had my eye on beautiful wee Josie! Look forwaqrd to hearing how they both settle

Hi Lana D

We had the same problem when we got our first grey Forth. When we left him on his own he would scratch and bite at the doors & skirtings. With Forth it was a combination of time (i.e. him realising we were coming back and not just leaving him) and us slowly 'weaning' him out of his problem. On a day off (1 or both of us) we would leave the house as normal then return 10 mins later, then we would leave again and come back 20 minutes later. Each time we left we would stay away for a bit longer. It's a bit of slow proccess but it did seem to work (that mixed with him settling into the home environment). To be honest Forth was hard work to start with but we worked with him and now he is the most layed back individual on the planet!!

The Kong bone idea is also a good solution. Our little girl Minnie was chewing on it for 2 and a half hours the other night; if they are interested in it they are REALLY interested in it! It's the only toy she hasn't ripped to shreds so it does do exactly what it says on the tin!

Best of luck

Hi Lana D,

When we initially got Quincy for the first few months he was perfectly behaved everytime we had to leave him but I think it was because he was so eager to please us. Then after a while the anxiety of separation did kick in. We used to let him have the full run of the downstairs when we were out. He was not overly destructive, however he had a nibble at the window sill, and at a chair leg. He used to steal John's hats and gloves and take them back to his bed and keep them there ( I think this was as he had his scent). Through trial and error we found that restricting Quincy to the livingroom is where he is happiest. He chills out on the couch for hours on end. After fireworks night he was completely out of sorts though and took a week or so to settle down again.
As previously mentioned it is a good idea on a day off to pop out now and again to give them the reassurance you are returning. I fell into the trap of taking him everywhere with me when I went out however in the end this just makes it worse when you do have to leave them. Hope this helps.

Karen

Thanks for all the messages, greatly appreciated. Things are getting better, the door they scratch is the one we leave out of and naturally they are anxious that we may not return. We have opened more doors in the house and added some more toys (including the Kong) which seems to amuse them, plus we have spent more time with them recently with some longer periods away (not too many). Fingers crossed things keep improving..thanks again