House training greyhounds is generally not a problem. When first brought into the home, your greyhound should be treated in a similar manner to a puppy being house trained. After the greyhound’s initial visit to the garden, we suggest you take your new pet to the garden (or on a short five minute walk) every hour or so on the first day, every two hours on the second day and every three hours on the third day. During this time it is unlikely that your greyhound will have had a chance to have an accident inside and at the end of this three day regime they should be familiar with the idea that any toilet areas are outside.
If your dog has an accident inside, please bear in mind that punishment does not work, and can actually make matters worse. Punishing your dog for these accidents may cause unneeded stress and can lead your greyhound to urinate discreetly in the home. Instead, try to anticipate when your dog needs to go, take him or her outside, and praise them when they do what is expected. Any accidents inside the home should be washed thoroughly with an odour-eliminating product, (such as Pet Goe or Delete). This will take the smell away and prevent the dog from returning to the same place.
Be sure to take your greyhound to the toilet immediately after food, when it gets up in the morning, and before it goes to bed. These are the times where your dog may need to go to the toilet most.
Do not expect your dog to be able to spend an entire day locked indoors without having an accident – toilet training takes time and patience, but thankfully only a small amount of both. If you leave your dog inside while you are out, you should turn the dog out for toileting before you start getting ready to leave.
Pacing up and down, whining, sniffing intently on the ground, scratching at the door and circling are all signs that your greyhound may need to go to the toilet. Greyhounds are generally very clean animals and actively avoid soiling their sleeping quarters. They also learn quickly, so housetraining is rarely an issue – just be patient and consistent.
