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Yep, this is the Turid Rugaas concept of "parallel walking." I plan to try this, but his leash manners are not so great right now.

It sounds like Gracie has learned that holding it = more time outside = more time spent with mom, and both of those things are self-rewarding for her. This is something that might be hard to break because she already has free reign of the house and can go off and have accidents in the middle of the night with no real consequences. The only surefire training I know to remedy this problem is some type of crating or confining method. If you read Puppy Housetraining 101, the protocol is this. If you "know" they have to go, take them out on leash for a few minutes and encourage them to go with whatever command you use ("go poop" or "go potty" whatever). If they don't go, bring them back inside and put them in the crate. Try again in fifteen minutes. If they don't go, back inside and into the crate. Repeat as necessary until they go, then reward, reward, reward. Here, the crate is not a punishment. It simply acts as a "holding zone" because dogs typically do not mess in their crates.

I'm going to preface this by saying that many greys start with some prey tendencies toward cats and small dogs. And there are many owners who have done great work re-training them to be safe and appropriate. In your situation, however, I would probably take the advice of the adoption group and rehome this dog. What you are describing sounds exactly like heightened prey-drive (no forewarning, having to pry your dog away from the white fluffy, totally fixed on the cat and attempting to chase). Greys can cheat on their cat tests, and sometimes prey drive comes out after they became more comfortable and confident in your home. I'm all for doing everything possible to provide training and prevent rehoming, but prey drive is a dealbreaker. It takes an experienced trainer and is very hard to reverse. I wouldn't take any chances, especially for the cat. You'll never be able to forgive yourself if your cat gets killed (spoken from experience).

This was actually my first plan of attack (and also how I trained Henry), but Truman didn't seem to understand. He would just stand at the end of the leash, not pulling, but still not loosening up. Even when he loosened, I couldn't easily get him back to heel position. He'd want to be way out in front of me. When I turn in a circle, he has to hurry to catch up with me, and then I can reward him for being in a heel. He also doesn't seem to want to pull if he doesn't know where the destination is. It's working pretty well so far. I think you are right about giving him a decompress-type time out. I'm going to try that.

Yeah, that's definitely something I need to work on. I tighten up almost subconsciously in situations when I think he might be reactive. Any advice on alternatives?

Never considered a head halter, but I feel like he'd be more reactive with something on his head/face.

Ugh, well, bad news. He crossed his threshold in class today and got very reactive with a Rottweiler who made eye contact with him. The other dog also responded aggressively, which almost started a fight. It was awful, and his focus then continued to decline for the rest of class. We're going to have to start a very structured training program. Here's what I'm thinking, and maybe you all can offer your thoughts. 1. I ordered a book on Amazon specifically geared toward leash reactivity (Patricia McConnell and Karen London). I'm going to start by reading that and applying the information in conjunction to any help his trainer can give me. 2. Lots of leash walking with no harness. Whenever he starts pulling, I give up the slack in leash, and immediately turn and start walking in the opposite direction. I just started doing that a few days ago on walks, and it has improved things a good bit. With enough practice, that will hopefully teach him that pulling will not get him to his desired destination. Then ultimately, if I can eliminate the fear/pain associated with the leash and totally remove the harness, that should make dog-dog introductions easier. 3. No dog parks for awhile. He seems to have a combination of leash frustration and leash aggression- sometimes he gets spazzy (barking, jumping, lunging) because he wants to play with the other dog. It's happened on our walk last night with a Weimaraner (one he's already familiar with from the dog park). Other times, like in class today, it was a sheer fear-aggression response. So we can't do dog parks unless he can learn appropriate greetings on leash first. 4. Classes and private sessions. I'm going to have to keep him in a class at all times now to keep practicing focus and reinforcing positive experiences with other dogs. I'm also going to see about having a trainer come out and do private sessions to help with some specific problems. He acts much so much better at home and in class. Also, I know how to manage his behavior then. It's a different story when we're out in public and he's lost all focus. Maybe they can help me recognize and manage his thresholds better. The one thing I'm conflicted about is continuing the training session AFTER he's crossed his threshold. I've read some material that says once the meltdown occurs, it's best to stop the training. When their fight or flight response happens, and the adrenaline chemicals enter their body, no more learning can occur. Then other trainers say that removing them from the situation inadvertently rewards them by giving them what they want. Like today in class, after his meltdown, he started losing focus rapidly. I wonder if I should've just stopped then and there? Hopefully I'll get everything figured out, and he can start improving. Poor guy. I feel like such a failure.

She'd want you to forgive yourself.

Hoping she's just tired. I boarded Henry once. Bad experience. Even though it was a greyhound kennel, he majorly regressed and was fearful of everything when he came home. Since then, we just take him on vacation. If there's somewhere he can't go, I plan to get a pet-sitter.

All very good info. I have been reading up on Turid Rugaas and 'parallel walking.' I think that could go a long way (and be much less pressure) in making Truman more comfortable on leash. Also, no more harness altogether. Just seeing his reaction when I brought the harness out (turning and running away), it's clear that it's not working as a training tool. And Jen, I definitely agree. This is more for my benefit than his. We're doing TDI training together, and I think he could be a good candidate since he does enjoy people. But I know he won't be able to pass the test if he's this reactive on leash... Especially since the test now requires you to test in the presence of several other dogs and do down-stays right next to them other dogs.

See how quickly they can start training you? Gracie is smart! Gotta make sure she empties out on the last P&P of the night (try to do it as late as possible). Then unfortunately, you just have to ignore the barking. If she contines having accidents, you may need to implement some type of crating/confining method.

Well, we went to the dog park last night, and again, Truman was a perfect gentleman off leash. Allowed several introductions and butt sniffs- even play bowed and ran with the other dogs. This reinforces the idea that our root problem is the leash. I have a call with our trainer tonight to discuss a plan for training. In the meantime, we are going to do a lot of loose leash walking exercises to hopefully eliminate the harness. Another thing I have to remind myself is that Truman is not a track greyhound. He never grew up with hundreds of over greyhounds, interacted with them, and learned to trust. So for me to expect him to just be okay with lots of dogs in a tight space approaching and sniffing him... It's just way too overwhelming. Truman doesn't have the attraction to greyhounds that an ex-racer has.

Any thoughts on the harness? Could that be another reason he's feeling "trapped"? I've been doing some basic leashing training 101 at home over the past few days, like clicking the leash on his martingale, and giving treats. Letting him wear the leash around the house for awhile without anything scary happening and lots of treats. He's doing fine with that, but he really seems to dislike the harness. When I got it out yesterday, he ran away upstairs. After a minute or so, he cautiously came down and took the treats, but still did not want anything to do with the harness. Very hesitant to even come near it- I didn't even try putting it on him. The reason I have been using the WWW because he's a puller when he's hyper-stimulated. And he's 84 pounds and STRONG. He heels nicely on walks and in class, but he still pulls when he's excited. Maybe I should just put more work into loose leash walking and heeling without the harness? I wonder if that would improve anything?

That's the frustrating thing. We've done "watch me" to death, and he's great at that. Ultimately, I want him to be able to appropriately greet and sniff other dogs on leash. Not "watch me" while another dog is sniffing him up and down. Does that make sense?

After being around large groups of leashed dogs all weekend at Grapehounds, it became VERY apparent that Truman has a problem with leash reactivity. It upsets me because he never had a problem with this before, and I'm wondering if I need to stop taking him to greyhound events altogether. This is how it usually goes. When we're getting ready to go somewhere, I can tell he is happy and excited, but he is very reluctant to put on the leash and harness. Sometimes I have to kind of corner him in the hallway to get the leash on. Then when we're out somewhere with other leashed dogs, he is curious, but on edge. He is okay with seeing the dog from a "safe" distance, at least 2-3 feet. He'll watch them with his ears perked and sometimes move to get a closer vantage point. But if the dog starts approaching him (and especially if the dog sniffs him from behind) it results in an immediate bark/growl from Truman. If the other dog is overly rambunctious or pushy, he will bare his teeth. With larger dogs or dogs of the same size it's more of a problem (introductions with small dogs tend to go much better). This kept happening over and over at Grapehounds, so I started to tell people that he wasn't friendly and not to allow their dogs to approach. Of course, they're "greyhound people" so they get it and were happy to do that. But it's really disheartening and embarrassing to Truman (who literally used to pull me across the street to meet another dog) becoming so antisocial. I really do not believe it's alpha-dominant behavior. I think it's the result of one bad experience (or several bad experiences that were seemingly insignificant to me). And now he's very fearful to be on-leash in the presence of unfamiliar dogs. I should also mention that he is just turning 2 at the end of August, so in many ways, he's still in that "not very confident adolescent" stage. The weirdest part about this behavior is that he is fine with other dogs off-leash. The only issues I have with him at dog parks is when another dog tries to jump on top of him, gets in his face, or tries to come at him from behind. Then he gives a little "errr" or a bark that signals he's uncomfortable, which to me, is appropriate dog-dog communication. I took him to the off-leash dog park in Ithaca, and he was having an excellent time with a Shiba Inu and a little fox terrier. They ran around together, shared the baby pool. No incidents whatsoever. Then the next day at one of the wineries (where all the dogs were on leash), he had an absolute meltdown when a group of three borzoi passed closely near him. I had Sterling take him out to the car for about 20 minutes just so he could settle down. FInally, I decided to make a little area behind the counter where I was selling my collars, and I blocked it off with stacks of chairs. I took the leash off and he was finally able to relax, even though there were still tons of dogs in view. The only research I can find on leash reactivity is for dogs who become reactive at the sheer sight of another dog. It's recommended to practice "watch me" and give treats for a calm reaction. Truman already does that well. Right now, we're actually in a TDI Prep class because he is well-behaved in mainly every other aspect. It's only when the other dog approaches or tries to sniff (and presumably he feels trapped by the leash) that he becomes reactive. What can I do training wise to help?

Agree 100%, trainer is an idiot. Why, if they KNEW she was guarding the bone, would they still attempt to take it with a fake hand???? As Batmom said, totally setting the dog up for failure. This is a behavior that is EASILY correctable. Please don't think they gave you an aggressive dog. The behavior stems from the fact that she has never had such a high value treat before. She is not trying to be the alpha or act dominant- she simply doesn't want her bone to be taken away. It's very common with track greyhounds and dogs in general. The first thing you need to do is work on convincing her that your hand gives and brings good things. Start by routinely dropping high value treats in her bowl while she's eating. Trading up, exactly as Batmom outlined, is another tried and true method. Eventually she'll come to learn that a human hand = good things. If the behavior continues, contact a different trainer or behaviorist (i.e. one with half a brain who knows how to handle resource guarding).

Me, Sterling, and the two dogs were upstairs getting ready for bed last night when all of a sudden, Truman pops up off his bed and starts peeing. Mid-stream, he tried running toward the stairs (which resulted in a pee trail that was fun to clean up). It seemed weird to me because he hasn't had an accident in at least a year. Also, it wasn't a whole lot of pee and it had no discernable odor. Immediately, he ran downstairs and headed out the dog door, almost like he knew what he was supposed to do, but just couldn't make it in time. When he got outside, he just stood there for a few minutes and didn't pee again. I'm just wondering if this sounds like a UTI? Neither of my dogs have ever had one.

IMHO, adding another dog is not the solution... you could end up with TWO dogs with problems and TWO big financial commitments instead of just one. And it sounds like Otto really needs your undivided attention right now. As the others have said, I'd continue with a strict alone training program in combination with the meds. If that doesn't work, it may be worth considering that not every dog is right for every home (and vice versa).

Put a tennis ball in her bowl... or you could try one of those Slow Down Bowls like this.

I think food allergies are waaaaay over-diagnosed, but what you're describing sounds like a legitimate food allergy. I'd look into switching foods. Probably nix the melatonin too.

Just now seeing this. My seizure dog was around 3 when he started having seizures. His seizures were also grand mal, but then every once in awhile he'd have a partial. At first they were sporadic (once every few months). We opted not to do an MRI. At that time, my vet explained that in a relatively healthy, young dog, tumor is very unlikely. At least for us, everything pointed to idiopathic epilepsy. When the seizures started getting closer together, about one every month, we started him on Zonisamide. Eight months later, he's still seizure free! So to answer your original question, no, I probably wouldn't go crazy with testing trying to figure out the cause (if he's epileptic, there's nothing to find). But I was really happy we did a consult with a veterinary neurologist to discuss medication options. It was only about $100, and the vet gave us way more information. Pheno is usually the first-line treatment for seizures, but there are many other options that don't have as many long-term side effects.

Yikes. Looks really swollen. Is it hot to the touch? It may already be infected...

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Vet ASAP. As the others said, it sounds like it needs stapled/stitched and antibiotics.

Henry was very fearful of children. Even now, he doesn't love kids, but he did learn to tolerate them. We were very lucky to have an all-greyhound training class available in our area. Some of the owners in our class brought their children from time to time, and we did socialization that way. The kids would slowly walk around the room and toss treats to the dogs. Then we worked up to having the kids approach the dogs, pet them, skip around the room, throw a ball around. All with lots of reassurance and treats. It's a gradual process where one simple act is met with a positive experience, and you can continue building from there... I will say, we didn't try to tackle this issue until MONTHS after Henry was home. When we did, he and I had already cemented our relationship, and he was trusting of me. Until that point, we observed children at a distance or, if possible, avoided them. Given Grace's reaction, I would say that it was waaay too much too soon. She's just starting to get used to "her" house, "her" bed, "her" routine. Now, her world is turned upside down because these tiny, loud people have infiltrated it! It gets frustrating because we as humans know there's nothing to be scared of. You want to say, "Buck up- face your fears." But the absolute worst mistake you can make with a fearful dog is to push them into something they're not ready for. Now that she's had what I would consider a "bad" experience (from your description of the retreating, hiding, refusal to take food), I wouldn't be surprised if Grace is even more afraid of children. You may even see her regressing in other ways because this was very scary, perhaps a little traumatizing in some ways. Don't feel bad though, it's a beginner's mistake. I did it too. And more than likely, she'll recover. Just remember though- it's MUCH easier to recover from an experience that was just a little bit scary where nothing really happened than a full-out fiasco where all her worst fears are confirmed. Also, it's important to be careful when you're working with a fearful dog, as the fear can often translate to aggression if you're not totally perceptive of the dog's signals. Even the sweetest, most well-mannered dog can surprise you by growling or snapping when threatened. Henry snapped at a child twice in the time that I've had him. The second time, he was on his bed, which was in the corner of our living room. He felt helpless and cornered, and he lashed out in the only way he knew how. Both times were 100% my fault for pushing him too hard. I learned that it was better to go too slow than to overwhelm him and risk possible injury. At this point, be vigilant about not having ANYONE approach Grace on her "safe bed." It's essential that she have a place to retreat if she's feeling overwhelmed. Give her some more time to adjust, then slowly integrate a socialization program where you can practice in small intervals on neutral territory.