christinepi

My apologies for the confusion---I forgot to add the link!!

I hope this is ok to post this here--it's hilarious IMO.

This really helped me: http://canineconcepts.co.za/articles/its-mine-a-k-a-resource-guarding/. Tracker was a bit of a high value treat guarder and is fine now. The link came from another member of this group.

I also always want to know exactly why these critters do what they do. Sometimes, I guess, they're the only ones who will ever know the reason. I feel this is just resource guarding and you and he just haven't been in a situation yet where this might come with such intensity. I was shocked, too, when my otherwise docile Tracker growled at me for the first time when I was trying to take away a bone from him that he found on the ground. It's as if he'd become a stranger all of a sudden, when really it's just an unprecedented situation that needs training. Speaking of food guarding: you mention Roscoe growled at other people when they tried to take something away from him. It would seem he indeed isn't entirely clear on the concept of the inappropriateness of growling in that or other situations, so maybe he'll just need more lessons to understand that it's ok when people want to take something away from him that he wants also.

Giselle, I'll try the pillow toss. I bought Jane Killion's book "The impossible dog" exactly for the attention deficit problem and to help teach him that offering behaviors will get him stuff and therefore convince him that paying attention pays off. However, I quickly ran into issues with even that: he's figured out the c/t connection as such, and I've even tought him to Go Settle, but I KNOW he hasn't made the connection to the overall picture, meaning he's not generalizing, which becomes apparent when I click anything else he does randomly. Go Settle was easy for him because he lies down relatively easy anyway, and it was easy to have him step on the pad. But beyond that, no dice. He'll touch things with his muzzle on command or voluntarily, but nothing else. I realize Greys are less likely to do offer things than, say, a Lab or Border Collie, since Greys are supposed to think independently and rely much less on cooperation with their handlers. But even Greys can be taught to offer behaviors, I have no doubt, but I don't have the experience yet. I'm sure our connection would improve very quickly if the light bulb went on. The reason I wrote the above paragraph is that I can see this coming that he'll look at the pillow or whatever else I throw/do to get him to look ONCE and then lose interest exactly because he doesn't get the connection between his behavior at the very moment he heard the click. But I'll definitely try it. It's amazing how one's creativity is challenged with dogs, at least for somebody as inexperienced as me. It often feels like I'm just blundering about...

To Borzoix: I use a 2" wide martingale and a 6 foot leather leash. To Giselle: this all makes sense. One thing I didn't mention, however, is that LAT runs into a problem with him right off the bat, because it doesn't even take the distraction of another dog to make him "leave": it could be absolutely "nothing" (to me, of course), like just staring off into the middle distance, and I could wrap a 2lb slab of grass fed Sirloin around his muzzle and he wouldn't notice. He's spat out or completely ignored many treats in such situations, no matter what they are: hot dogs, liver, you name it. He's seems unreachable. But, that said, I'll probably just have to start with teeny tiny steps in situations where I know he'll love a treat and build from there in the direction you suggest (I finally got behind teaching him Wait, Give and Leave it much more consistently since he growled when I tried to take away a bone he found on the street last week, something he's only done two o three times before, and he's taken well to the training). Re: "Teach focused, relaxation behaviors. A few: 1) Long down-stay 2) extended eye contact ("Focus") 3) Relax on a mat 4) slow blinking/relaxation of the facial muscles (this is a little harder, but I can write steps down if you're interested).": Does 4) refer to my face or his? Or both? And yes, if you don't mind and have the time, I'm curious how that works. Should I avoid getting in the vicinity of other dogs when he's on leash altogether for the time being as to avoid triggers? Or is that depriving him of something (on the other hand, none of the involved seem to be getting anything out of it other than frustration or being scared)? He's also not interested in toys, balls or tug games, unfortunately. And lastly, out of curiosity, is this just the typical leash bound frustration that people talk about? What is so weird, too, is that he's otherwise such a relaxed dog, being a greyhound and all. But leash reactivity knows no bounds, I guess...

Tracker, whom we've had for 9 months now, goes to organized day care for off leash play time twice a week with a variety of breeds and has never had shown signs of aggression there. We do this because we live in a relatively remote area and want him to get his fill on socialization and off leash running. We also walk him 1.5 to 2h a day on the non day care days. We mostly walk him right around where we live; there are some rural off leash dogs around, with whom he gets along, but he'll never encounter other people walking their dogs. What disturbs me, is what he always does when he sees a new dog, on leash or off, when we drive to the nearest beach or into town; he does this with dogs, horses, alpacas, cats, and goats also, btw, if not as intensely: he goes onto a different planet, and completely focusses on the other dog/animal, and so badly wants to get to them that he'll try to hurl himself at them and into the air when he feels the leash holding him back (the goats, behind their fence, find this a rather fascinating behavior). Sometimes he'll initiate this with play bowing. To other dog owners all of this looks rather frightening, and some of their dogs have, understandably, been very put off or even been scared by such rude behavior. There never have been incidents of actual biting or snapping. To me, who's a novice dog owner, this seems overall more frustration rather than actual aggression (even though he has growled, once, for 1/2 a second), because he does the same thing with other species, too. Obviously I've learned to stay clear of any strange dogs and warn oncoming owners. But it's unsettling and inappropriate. And far from ideal. What can I do to help him with this? It doesn't seem undersocialization is the issue. Is it just training? I'm in the process of finding a trainer to help me with this, but I'm always trying to get different peoples' inputs. The first thing, it seems to me, would be finding a way to get his attention, and work from there, but that, I find almost impossible to do in general. What is it like for other Grey owners? Are your dogs equally often "spaced out" (not just in a situation as described above--all it takes for Tracker is a buzzing insect or something other tiny little thing that's distracting and he's GONE mentally. It's so hard to train anything if I can't get him to listen (I do all sorts of training with him, clicker, obedience, look at me, leave it etc, and he's attentive while treats are around, but otherwise...) I guess ultimately I'd like to know whether this is all totally normal for a Grey, and that with time, he'll let me more into his world and head... and btw, otherwise he's a fabulous dog who's extremely mellow and polite in the house.

We've had Tracker for 8 months. We work from home on our farm, which means we're in and out a lot, but rarely ever more than 1.5 hours at a stretch during the day. We sometimes go out at night, but since Tracker is basically "dead" after he had his meal at 5pm, I don't even think he realizes (or cares that) we're gone, so that's never been a problem. We've been invited in two weeks to a place a 1hour drive away in the late morning. Which means that's 2h total drive time plus the event part (probably ca 1.5-2h). So this could be up to 4h without anybody with him, which may be fine, or, well, not. I tried to organize a dog walker, but she doesn't do weekends. No friends or neighbors. Maybe I'm hyper concerned, and I realize this is a speculative question which is impossible to answer with certainty by the group, but it would still help me to hear about other peoples' experiences and thoughts: is it possible that he could be severely stressed by a sudden longer absence like this? And could that then mean in turn that he may develop an ongoing higher level of separation anxiety/stress about being alone? I can load him up with Kongs and all that, but I know he always gets restless after ca 2 hours, but that could also be plain old because we're always there to entertain him, not because he's incapable of being alone. I can cancel the event, it's not like I HAVE to go. I am aware that ideally I should have trained him already to be comfy with increasingly longer absences. It's just incredibly inconvenient to come up with reasons to stay away from the house for hours when I really want to be and need to be in the house, but it may not even take more than a few times to build his comfort level, I don't know.

I started clicker training Tracker and clearly hot dogs work by far the best. He vacuums them up, though. So far I've given ca 2/3 of one a day, and they're organic ones w/o lots of gross stuff in them. But still, there's salt and onion powder and the likes. His tummy has been fine with the amount so far, but I could easily feed him times as much during sessions. But that seems to be a bit crazy. Any thoughts? I use cheese and dried meat treats, too, but they don't generate as much enthusiasm.

I use a little gadget called a clicker though you can also clicker train with your voice. A good place to start is here: http://www.clickertraining.com/. I used Karen Pryor's books, and also When Pigs Fly, by Jane Killion (I highly recommend it, because it's about clicker training more independently thinking--and therefore sometimes more challenging to train--dogs like hounds and terriers); with those books, I taught myself, and also by watching many youtube videos on the subject.

What I've noticed with Tracker, who is leash reactive with other dogs (but loves/ignores all dogs off leash), that he's so far gone attention wise once he's spotted that dog (in your case that would be squirrels) that I just can't access him. Even "Leave It" would go unheard. To that end, I've started him on clicker training, to make the concept of paying attention to me heck of a lot more interesting (with the goal to always be able to override HIS desires of the moment if needed). I find that to truly shape their existing (undesirable) behavior into something desirable and cooperative clicker training is the way to go. I don't have proof yet with Tracker, because it's been too soon, but from all the leg work I've done it's certainly one great and permanent way (that doesn't rely on gadgets) to change behavior. And it's fun!!

I started today with tossing treats on the ground and found it really helps to bend down a bit before I drop the treat from my hand so he can follow my hand with his eyes and then see where the treat lands much more readily (some treats bounce a bit, I've found!). This seems to help him. I also started c/t whenever he offers behavior throughout the day. And we also do short sessions when I just c/t specifically for whatever he offers me, like turning his head, looking straight at me, pointing his nose between his forelegs when he's lying down etc. I think I've gotten a feel for the flow of things with him in terms of how he responds in the moment and to just be creative with whatever he might be doing (I'm saying "doing", because he's not "offering" yet). Thanks for the compliment on my doing this; it's so much fun to watch his mind work and having my creativity and timing tested that I don't understand why not more people do this either! What a wonderful foundation for a canine/human relationship. I have "The Thinking Dog" on order...

That bubbles trick is hilarious!! I immediately after reading your post, Neylasmom, tried the treat in water test and all he did was drink the water to get to the hot dog... We'll try again tomorrow. But on the Reaching the Animal Mind I also watched the Scotty with ball video and since Tracker has an easy time nose butting things, I pulled out a ball and he immediately started pushing it a bit. Since a ball rolls, unlike a box, that's a fun and easy thing to teach, and in addition might get him interested in balls generally (he's got zero interest in toys). I also tried throwing the treats on the floor, which greatly confused him because he's so used at getting them from my hand. So between the pushing the ball and looking for treats on the floor he got a bit discombobulated, but I think we're on the right track. I also like the suggestion to work with behavior that Tracker finds rewarding, and not get stuck on a box. I'll try the spinning suggestion. I assume you shaped that from a turn of the head until he completed a circle? Your post has also been very helpful to me in pointing out that some dogs/hounds in particular won't offer behaviors readily. That's 100% true for Tracker. So far I've always stopped before he got to the point of frustration and just rewarded whatever small movement he'd make. Together we're figuring this out, step by step. It's so interesting to collect this information from other people's experiences here on GT and better and better understand breed specific behaviors. It helps to know it's not just me.

We have similar leash reactivity issues with Tracker. I've come to the conclusion that the first step with him is to get his attention reliably, which is extremely hard to get (maybe if I plunged a piece of Sirloin steak each time in front of him, but even then...). So we've started working with clicker training to ultimately teach him that nothing, ever, is as interesting as his owners (let's see how long that will take, but, according to Jane Killion's book "When Pigs Fly", which is what I'm working with, even independent dogs like hounds and terriers and the like can be taught this) when addressed. We have had the exact same experience with cats, babies and small dogs held in people's arms. Tracker will be irresistibly drawn to get to them when, if they were on the ground, he'd not even look at them. In his case, it's never been my impression that he's intent on eating them, but it's still odd enough behavior that I keep him at a safe distance until I know he has friendly intentions.

That's a really good point, countrydogs (since I DON'T want him to repeat the same behavior over and over), that I for a while click ANYTHING he does. I've not done that specifically enough for his way of learning, I realize now. And then, even more specifically, DON'T c/t the same behavior twice in a row. This will hopefully get us both unstuck. I shall try that tomorrow right away!

I've been trying to clicker train Tracker for almost a week now. I'm new to this, as is he. It's pretty clear to him that click means treat now. But what I haven't gotten across yet is that it's HIM and his behavior who holds the key to the cookie jar. I put a shoe box in front of him to get him to offer behaviors, and he'll poke it with his nose for a bit (and gets c/t'd every time), and then just looks at me and/or lies down (more comfy) and looks at me some more for many seconds, while the box is right next to him. And boy, does he loose interest fast if the treats don't come flying, and even then (I use hot dog pieces, which he loves) he'll quickly run out of steam (i.e. ideas). And that's all he ever offers. It seems to me that I need come up with something that works with his way of thinking at this point to help him get over the hump. Any suggestions as to what I can do with the only behavior on offer, which is pushing things with his nose? Any particular objects/set ups you used to get a somewhat "creatively challenged" hound to get it? I cannot believe he's the slow one; it must be the lack of experience on my part. It would seem to me that each breed would also have their specific strengths and abilities in the way they learn, which is why I posted here first. But just in case, does anybody know of a good clicker training forum online?

Thanks for the good wishes. He was definitely much better today, if somewhat less energetic, but HUNGRY! I fed him rice and pumpkin and a little meat and it all seems to be ok with his system. I guess it was one of these 24 or 36 hour bugs...

Tracker is 4 and we've had him for 7 months now. Yesterday evening he vomited in the yard, and pooped and peed. This morning he ate ok, but I only gave him half of his usual ration so it wouldn't burden his system too much, just in case. After that, it took him a long time to make up his mind whether he wanted to go for a walk or not (of course completely unusual). He wasn't as energetic, but walked the same route as usual quite happily. He eliminated normally. No vomiting. The rest of the day, he just lay on the sofa and had to be cajoled to go out just to pee (he refused the offer of a walk). He refused his usual wet food/dry food mix dinner, but ate a few treats and his bully stick, and is otherwise responsive to cuddling and petting. We'll take him to the vet tomorrow morning, if nothing changes. But if anybody has any thoughts on what this might be, I could take that info to the vet to make sure I can ask as many questions as possible.

Hi, I'm trying to watch Giselle's Curbing Leash Reactivity video and simply can't manage to register with Photobucket (I guess it's a technical glitch), and therefore cannot watch the video. If Giselle's reading this: do you have an actual link that you could post? Thanks.

So what would I ask for exactly at the butcher's to get this type of meat bone? As a mostly vegetarian, I'm really clueless on cuts and cow/pig body part names. And what size is good/safe?

I've fed my hound marrow bones so far w/o problems, but am becoming more aware of the potential dangers to his teeth, so I might stop that altogether. But I've just had a cow raising neighbor deliver 10lbs right into my freezer of what I thought would be marrow bones only (and the kind they sell in supermarkets--the hollow cylinder with marrow in it); turns out it's a mix of knuckle and marrow bones and all sorts of pointy flat-ish and rib like pieces. I have this hunch that this might not be a good idea, but am I just being paranoid or would it indeed be smarter to not feed these bones? And then switch to bully sticks entirely? And how much stock do 10lbs of bones make?!

Our male grey is the first dog I've ever owned (we got him 5 months ago). The question I have is, I doubt, specific to greys. But why is it that, when on walks, some dogs that come our way (or are somewhere in the distance) ABSOLUTELY have to be met and checked out (life or death importance, clearly, with me having an intensely pulling, deaf-to-me dog on my hands) and others that we meet are of no particular interest (he keeps right on walking)? Is it all based on the other dog's body language, scent, actions, vibes, mood, whatever else? He's good with other dogs, never has shown aggression, is very confident; so it's not per se a problem. I just want to understand better what makes these guys tick. Any good books on that?

We'd like to build a bigger enclosed run area for our hound. What we currently have is a six foot fence right outside our back door (tiny area) to prevent the dog from escaping out the door. We are thinking of either a 5 or 6 foot livestock fence for the new area. 5 foot just doesn't seem that impressive (the new area would be large enough to gather speed/momentum), but 6 seems to be getting unsightly, but if that's the smart thing to do, we'll do that. What are peoples' feeling on this? Our hound is a slender, fit 73lb male, if that bit of info matters.

We've had Tracker (only dog) for 4 months now, and due to toe problems (he ultimately needed a toe removed) and recovery time he hasn't had any opportunity for off leash running. We live in rural, coastal California, where the nearest dog park is too far away to be a regular option, besides, everybody warns about dog parks, and I, being a novice dog owner, don't want to take any chances. So we signed him up for a once a week dog day care situation where he can play with "approved" other dogs in an outdoor field. He went today for the first time. He had no interest in all these exuberant, ball obsessed retrievers, but took an immediate liking to the only hound there, an Irish wolfhound lady. She's much like him, no surprise, being a hound, quiet and gentle and more interested in sleeping and taking things easy. 1. When I looked up her breed on Wikipedia, it said there that when hounds get to play together, it is not uncommon for them to course another dog. Has this happened for anybody in this group? 2. Tracker hasn't, over the months, not quite come out of his shell yet in terms of playfulness, and that's fine. My question is: is there some potential for his really not liking all this other, in his mind, over the top rambunctious behavior (apart from Lili's) and being stressed (or bored) rather than enjoying it? I'll definitely give it some time; only time will tell, but I'm curious about others' experiences. Maybe, as long as there's at least one other hound, that's all he needs.

I've been feeding my greyhound one frozen marrow bone a day (2") for months now as a treat. He gets no diarrhea from it nor is he gaining weight from the marrow. Could there be a problem down the road with pancreatitis (just read that somewhere without any kind of medical back up) or anything else? Also, what's the deal with raw hide, even if made in the US? Some people seem completely opposed, because it's not food, and others seem to be giving it to their greys w/o problems. I've not given any to my dog (yet), but wanted to hear others'opinions first. Since my dog won't chew on anything else but marrow bones or raw hide (he got his paws on one of the neighbor's dog's raw hide, so he clearly loves it), I want to give him as much opportunity as possible. He has no interest in Nylabones or any other chew toy.