Brandiandwe

More experienced people than me will chime in but..... have you done any alone training? Stepping up from only being alone for a couple of hours to 6 - 8 hours is a BIG step. We found our number 1 Brandi was fine being alone for up to 4 hours. After that, we had accidents. This is a dog who will sleep for 15 hours without a problem, so capacity isn't the issue. Emotional state is. We know this because, even now, if she's anxious, nervous, scared or excited (like from me coming home after a particularly long day at work) she will pee. Lots of alone training, working up gradually, consistency and calmness are the only things that work for us.

I've started wetting the kibble because PK is a little bit picky and seems to prefer it that way. Some plain yoghurt, some probiotic mixed with some water, mix through the kibble and serve. Brandi will eat anything any time and still pretend she's starving.

I'm counting. We have 4 fleece dog blankets, 2 QS doonas (comforters) and 2 double doonas that are for the dogs. They nest away to their hearts content. When we leave the house, our bed is made, then covered with two of their QS doonas and sometimes a blanket. We come home and out own doona and bed is intact even if they have nested in the others. It also reduces the amount of dog hair in our bed (but doesn't eliminate it entirely).

Another option: could you walk with a friend who would take Treasure while you manage Iker? That way you can focus on Iker, but he has the benefit of a copnfident friend?

A chicken, usually adult, maybe a hen would be a better word. As in 'I'll go and feed the chooks'. Can also be used to refer to adult/ older women, 'the old chooks' (vs the 'old ducks') in comparison to the 'chicks' (young women)

I like to let my dogs sniff. I figure the walk is their time to have some stimulation. But if I'm in a hurry..... we go a very familiar and boring route where they know all the smells. I also have the choice between a quiet residential street and the grassy verge. A quick walk means the concrete so there's less interest. I've also let them sniff then called them away with a 'Let's go!' in a happy voice. Now if they want to sniff and i want to keep moving, the 'Let's go!' calls them back immediately and I don't need to break stride.

Sydney. Still working on the obedience stuff. How ate you getting on?

I guess that I am very lucky that my vet allows me to bring along the spare dog "for moral support". Mine would too, but number 2 was (and is) quite small dog aggressive and an enclosed vet office isn't where I'd want to be dealing with 2 active hounds. A

I wanted to update this thread, because only greyhound owners understand...... PK hadn't been to obedience for some time, with bringing Booster along and busy weekends. It had therefore been about 4 weeks. So yesterday she was loaded into the car and we headed off. She was immensely stressed when we got there, unable to focus on me and constantly whining and giving her little roos that she does when she's anxious about other dogs. She wouldn't look at me and kept backing away from me to get into the centre of the group of dogs to be able to see everything. About half way through the class, something changed. Sjhe still wouldn't do anything (like sit, down, recall) but she wasn't calling out any more and she began taking treats from em and looking at me. Then we had to do the dreaded weaving walk between other dogs trying to keep her attention. This has been our downfall in the past. To my delight, after getting very excited going past one small fluffy, and us circling several times to regain control and focus, she walked past a further three with no problems. Then they had to walk past us. She never took her eyes off me, and completely ignored them! I know this isn't the end of the road, but this is really such a big step forward for us (though an equally big one backwards is likely in the near future) that I had to share. Teenie tiny steps.....

We got number 2 to help with SA in number 1. Good news: the SA vanished overnight, because she wasn't being left alone. Then, bad news, number 2 had to go to the vet. Number 1 was being left alone. We were lucky in that DH could be at home, BUT he vanished into the garage (aka The Shed) so number 1 was alone for the first time since getting number 2. Several hours after number 2 and I left, DH came out of his power tool induced trance and remembered number 1. He headed inside to discover ..... nothing. Number 1 had followed her routine establiushed with number 2 and had claimed the prime position on our bed. He walked in to a blissfully roaching hound who was a little annoyed at having her power nap disturbed. Since then, I figure that bnumber 2 has helped with number 1's anxiety and increased her confidence in all ways. Also she's had more time with us and realises that we always come home. In terms of training, one learns from the other - good and bad. Number 1 taught number 2 the stairs, where the beds are and what is more or less acceptable inside the house. Number 2 taught number 1 how to bark, some leash reactivity (though that is changing slowly), that car rides are fun and how to get onto the furniture. Training goes on all the time. Good behaviours are easier to establish with two, but so are bad ones, and it's hard to focus on only one (one needs to be shut away or distracted). Also, corrections can be tricky, but it's definitely do-able.

If by 'belt buckle' you mean the leashes which plug into the seat belt buckle bit we have two. Ours must be secured by law. They have harnesses and the leashes are clipped on. The leashes stay in the car all the time. We also have a hammock thing which attaches to the front and rear seat head rests. I love them.

We got a second to help with SA. In retrospect, I suspect that we could have managed the SA but.... I really wanted another hound. Now we have two females. They are starting to snuggle, hang out together and generally have a good time, but their primary focus is on me. And at playgroups, they will tend to play with other hounds rather than each other - it usually splits along colour lines, strangely.

Brandi lies down, PK loves the car and stands up as much as possible, or rests her butt on the drivers shoulder or seat to look out the window. She lies down only if she is tired or we are travelling for more than 45 minutes. Luckily she's small and generally doesn't block the view at all.

Just letting you know that it does take time but it can work. Yesterday we headed out for a walk as a family and as we left our garage and walked towards our neighbours, their garage door was open and their two horrible little fluffy things charged straight at us barking. In the past PK in particular, would have attempted to kill them, and Booster would have exploded. This time, both girls were a little surprised and reached out to sniff the horrible critters who were eventually called away by their owner. The owner claimed that they had 'never done it before'. Yeah. Right. These are the same sdogs who go insane whenever we go into our backyard. It's something they do - undersocialised and under-trained. They are also owned by an 'animal communicator'. BUT aside from my small issues wither her and her business, which doesn't match up to her dogs behaviour, I was so proud of my two. But then later in the walk, a big black pup caused a couple of issues. Small steps, small steps.

Booster loves attention anytime any place from almost anyone. But as we've gotten to know her and she's become more confident, she isn't as interested in getting attention from just anyone - it's more attention from me and then DH and then others she knows. She's still the one who goes towards strangers and introduces them to hounds. PK is really only interested in attention from me, and sometimes DH. Strangers leave her cold. And its been five months and only recently has she begun deliberately seeking out DH for some attention or restuing her head on him. She is a mummy's girl.

Ours understand they are allowed on the bed when we aren't and if either of us is, they know to get off when asked and don't join us until invited. Except at 3am when Brandi gets cold and sneaks in between.

I don't have a spook, thankfully, and admire those of you who manage them. I'd do whatever works for you and the hound. The only thing I would say or be worried about is what I worry about with a horse who is not float trained. All well and good until you need to evacuate for fire or flood. Hopefully that would never happen, but is it worthwhile getting her desensitised enough to the car that if you did need to leave, you could without too much hassle? I don't know if this means a crate in the car for her that is hers alone or what.

Two leash reactive hounds, one high prey drive here. It's gotten better but now its been nearly five months. PK (high prey drive) is now not too bad about small fluffies though we have good days and bad days. Booster is still very reactive to all dogs, and PK sometimes is. What's helped is lots of socialisation - we go to mixed breed obedience and although everyone else is progressing nicely, my two are beginning to learn that it is possible to simply ignore all other dogs. This seems to be translating into other situations as well. Time has been my friend, and also embracing the realisation that you need to take each day as it comes and celebrate every small achievement. My two are also muzzled at all times on walks, but that's because its the law here. It does give me slightly more confidence though.

I've spent most of the time with ours two. They are both more closely bonded to me. PK has only just started to warm up to DH though Brandi loves attention from anyone. But I'm the one they listen to every time, I'm the one they follow round the house and I'm the one who they trust. It's down to time and effort, but even with equal time and effort, I suspect that they both put me above DH.

Can you get Tracker absolutely exhausted before taking him out to eh bluffs a few times? So he's tired and the edge is taken off so that he's less reactive? I've found this helps with hyper-stimulating situations - I don't take my girls to greyhound playgroup without walking them in the morning their normal walk, and they don't go to obedience without thorough exercise either.

I'm a relatively new owner and own 2 2 year olds. They are allowed off -leash in our backyard, maybe once a month. They go to a dog park to meet up with other greyhounds once a fortnight. They run at the dog park for perhaps ten minutes max, then lie down and wait for the humans to be ready to take them for a stroll around the park before heading home for a pre-dinner nap. They are not off-lead at any other time. They don't seem to need to run - ours are happy with two long-ish waks each day and perhaps two minutes of zoomies with stuffies in the house.

Like Staffies - I think it's cute!

Welcome from Sydney AUS. More details are needed about your lovely pair! What made you take both of them at once (other than the fact that they are just adorable!)

And then, back to 'normal'. Met lots of small fluffies this morning, but I managed to stay calm and institute my plan. Leashes shortened so girls are beside me, me between them and the other dogs, lots of chatting in a sing-song high pitched voice telling they are good girls then lots of praise for the right reaction (being no reaction). And it worked. PKL gave one dart and a small whine before looking back at me and coming back to my side. Booster lots of interest but no shoulder dislocation. Cats and lizards are a different story though. And those I'm not as worried about. Given that we just need to get to the stage of being less reactive on leash, and PK will never run with other breeds if I can help it, things are looking slightly brighter. christinepi, how's Tracker going?

Great observation! Like with children, activity is a distraction and routine promotes balance. And in hounds, generally speaking, leads to a happier one! When necessary (ie when company is coming over, etc), we'll take the hounds out for a car ride / Petsmart, etc before guests arrival so that when they do, everyone is calm and more interested in napping than trying to get our attention through misbehavior! Hopefully you will start seeing immediate improvement. We've found that tired houndies is good houndies. Ours get two hours of exercise a day most days. Some days they get only an hour and a half, but every morning they get at least an hour. We used to have problems getting them to 'go' when outside as well, but I make sure that they are 'empty' when I leave for work. In the past, this meant staying outside for over two hours on a walk until I knew everything was gone. Bitter experience taught me that Booster in particular needs a 'warm-up' poop before the 'main event'. We also still have some problems with submissive urination. This is something both DH and I have to deal with, but the routine helps. Hang in there - it does get easier.