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Establishing a Routine

Importance of routine

For all of his racing life your dog has been used to doing the same thing at the same time every day. He has always known what to expect, and suddenly this has changed. Obviously this will make him feel very insecure and uncertain, and different dogs react in different ways to this uncertainty.

One of the quickest ways you can help your dog to settle is to establish a routine and stick to it. If possible it is helpful to find out roughly what time things such as feeding and exercise took place at the kennels he was in, and try to follow this at least for the first week or so. Once your dog has settled down it will become easy to gradually change his routine so it fits in more easily with your lifestyle.

House training

Other than helping your dog to settle in more quickly, a routine is particularly helpful to aid the process of house training.

Most greyhounds are naturally clean, and even though they have never lived in a house before, it is generally quick and easy to housetrain them. As long as adequate opportunities are provided for them to relieve themselves outside, it should not be necessary to lay paper in the house for them as you would with a puppy.

Before you bring your dog home ask at the kennels if he is usually clean in his kennel overnight. Hopefully they will be honest with you, helping you to know what to expect. You must also bear in mind that most Greyhounds are in their kennels from 4pm until 8am the next morning. Just because they have the occasional accident in their kennel does not mean this will also happen in your home when they have more opportunities to go outside.

Routine plays an important part in establishing where you require them to relieve themselves. By providing regular walks or access to a garden, most dogs by choice will wait to go to the toilet. This can be further aided by going on the same route at the same time each day, as the dog will quickly learn just how many lamp posts and grassy patches there are before you return home. If you want your dog to use your garden as a toilet you need to remember that this may not be obvious to him. It often helps to have another dog come round a day or two before you collect your dog and use your garden to relieve himself. Males in particular will get the idea pretty quickly if they have the smells of another dog to cover!

If your dog does have an accident in the house it is better to clean the area with a product specially designed for this purpose (available from most pet shops), as many common household cleaners are ammonia based, which simply encourages the dog to use the area again. If you catch your dog in the act of relieving himself in the house you should say ‘No’ firmly, and take him outside immediately.

When he performs outside it is important to let him know that this is good behaviour by praising him.

Many dogs give clear signs they are about to go to the toilet and may pace, whine, or circle. The minute your dog starts to display these behaviours take him outside.

Most good dog books will have a chapter with more detail on how to house train your dog. Avoid any that advise actions such as shouting, smacking, or rubbing the dogs nose in his accidents. The only place a rolled up newspaper has in house training is to use it to hit yourself after your dog has had an accident, because you failed to let him out often enough.

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