What are the tips to deal with greyhounds separation anxiety?

This blog answers questions: What are the tips to deal with greyhounds separation anxiety? How to reduce separation anxiety in greyhounds? What are the symptoms of separation anxiety seen in Greyhounds?

What are the tips to deal with greyhounds separation anxiety?

A few tips to manage greyhounds separation anxiety:

• Avoid leaving the blinds down so that they can see outside the windows and are not locked up in the dark for long.
• Don’t enclose them in a room, that is do not lock the room such that they are allowed access to other rooms in the house.
• In cases where the greyhounds are chewers, muzzles can be a good option where something soft is put inside the muzzle over the nose area.
• Give your greyhound some exercise during the day so that they require some amount of rest to recover, further keeping them happy and quiet.
• Make some time to take your greyhound on a walk so that they get some fresh air and their stress levels also reduce improving their mood
• Avoid projecting your anxieties onto them, stay calm when you or your pet are anxious.
• Many greyhounds do not like the feeling of being alone. Keeping them in pairs from the beginning it’s a good option to avoid the development of separation anxiety in greyhounds.
• Greyhounds are a breed of dogs that require understanding, time, and patience from their owners to keep away their anxieties.
• Help your greyhound get comfortable being alone for a while using radius techniques.

How to reduce separation anxiety in greyhounds?

Normalize living

Many pet owners shower affection on the Greyhound before leaving in the form of cuddles and kisses, though this gives them a sense of joy when a pet owner releases them and approaches the door after unconditional affection they feel a sense of fear and threat.

This makes Greyhound more anxious about their owners leaving and forms a negative association between their departure and unconditional affection.

Further on they start to rely on a pattern that whenever they are showered with such kind of love it means that they are going to be left alone at home.

Hence many pet owners are suggested that they do not make a big deal about their departure or arrival.

Avoid the association of objects with you leaving

Greyhounds are good observers and they pay close attention to all the clues and events related to their owner’s departure. For instance, if a Greyhound owner has a habit of picking up particular shoes while leaving Greyhound spontaneously realizes that it’s time for their departure due to the object that they picked up, that is their shoes.

As they form negative associations with such objects these objects might create a sense of anxiety in them every time the owner departs.

The best way to help avoid such negative associations is to shuffle the order of things that the pet owners do before their departure such that it does not lead to a pattern that their Greyhound picks upon.

Give them a habit of being alone

One of the most crucial ways to help Greyhound deal with their anxiety is to help them be alone and realize that being alone does not mean being in danger or it does not mean anything bad.

Pet owners must help Greyhound to get comfortable staying alone. They can do this by following small steps such as leaving them outside the supermarket when they walk in, leaving them in the car for a while when they are filling petrol, leaving them in the backyard for a while while they’re cleaning up the house.

These small steps become very crucial to help Greyhound get comfortable staying alone when their owners are away for a long time.

Use distraction

The best way to help Greyhound from experiencing a sense of anxiety when their owners are away is to keep them distracted.

Pet owners can take the help of companion toys, food dispensing toys, or any object that reminds them of the owner’s presence when they are away to keep them distracted for a while without feeling uncomfortable.

Using a pee pad 

Waiting for the owners to come back to get done with their washroom needs might be very stressful for many Greyhounds and impossible in some cases.

To reduce the stress related to their washroom needs owners can place pee pads which makes it easier to get rid of their washroom needs when needed

Select the right toys

Toys can be of two types one that provides entertainment when Greyhound feels alone, upset, and require toys to interact, and the second one could be using a treat dispenser which helps to distract Greyhound when the pet owners are away.

A proper treat-dispensing toy can help keep the dogs occupied while the owners are away and fulfill their hunger needs too.

Play canine-specific calming music

Leaving the TV or radio on leaves no control over the type of commercials that are displayed, while playing calming music tailored for dogs can aid in a happy mood and a nice environment for the dog when left alone.

Through A Dog’s Ear: Music To Calm Your Canine Companion which is available as unlimited streaming, a CD, or an MP3 can be used for the purpose.

What are the symptoms of separation anxiety seen in Greyhounds?

Some symptoms of separation anxiety seen in Greyhounds are:

• Increased level of anxiety when the owners prepare to leave in the form of pacing, panting, and trembling.
• Refusal to eat when owners are absent but eat immediately when they return.
• Excessive salivation
• Howling, whining, and barking.
• Defecating or urinating indoors
• Carrying out destructive behaviors and damaging household properties with their nails or tooth. In this process, they also end up harming themselves.
• Display of escape behaviors where Greyhounds destroy windows, doors, or dig under fences.
• Exaggerated greeting behavior
• Seek ways to maintain contacts with their owners and display clingy behavior
• Rarely spend time outside alone.

Understanding their pet’s symptoms helps them to tackle them better. Pet owners must keep a lookout for these behaviors in their absence to provide their dogs with the necessary tools and types of equipment to deal with their anxieties

Frequently asked questions: What are the tips to deal with greyhounds separation anxiety?

Are greyhounds OK to be left alone?

Greyhounds can be left home alone however the time of isolation must not exceed more than eight hours at a time. Long hours of isolation can lead to loneliness, anxiety, and boredom.

Greyhounds are a breed that suffers from loneliness hence making it important to provide them with appropriate tools and company.

Why are greyhounds anxious?

Greyhounds are a breed that experiences anxiety and fear when left alone this can probably be due to genetics and also a lack of appropriate socialization to the domestic environment.

Why do greyhounds cry so much?

Greyhounds communicate to people by whining. That can be a reason why pet owners feel that greyhounds cry a lot.

Citation

Separation Anxiety