Looking for advice

[Heather Brown-Santanelli]

We adopted Visa about a month ago. We are pretty used to his daytime bathroom routine but we are having some issues with him at night. He cries in his crate at about 1am but doesn't have to do anything he just wants out of his crate. Then he cries at 4:30am to go to the bathroom and eat. What can I do to get him to stop crying to get out ( we already put blankets on his crate and put the radio on for him) and to get him to eat and go to the bathroom later?
I appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks. 

[Mike Volkmar]

We had a similar issue with Callie, our latest adoptee. She would always need to go out around 2-3am. For me it wasn't too bad since I keep wacky hours anyway, but if I was sleeping and missed her cues, there would be a mess in the morning. (We don't crate her.) I found that making less water available later in the day, a quick walk before bed, persistence and patience helped, as she now goes through the night without issue. 

As far as eating, only feed him on your schedule. He will adapt. Greyhounds are very routine oriented, change may be hard at first, but they soon get the idea. Remember, you're the boss, not the dog.

When we were crating and our hound was whining we did the standard sharp reprimand and whack the crate with a newspaper and that worked for us. Greyhounds tend to be emotionally sensitive and "a good talking to" often works well. Perhaps he doesn't like the radio station you have set for him? LOL

[Heather Brown-Santanelli]

Thank you for the advice. We have been implementing it and Visa has gotten better although he still has to do his business at  4-5 am but we'll get there