KickReturn

Sorry you are having these troubles. I don't want to undermine what Giselle has said above as I agree with it, but there are Greys that simply cannot exist unless they can be with their people at night. My boy would rather die trying to get to me than to be separated (if I am in the house), . Proceed with caution. If he starts to destroy himself in the crate than you are out of options for this problem. I suspect the change in his behaviour may have a lot to do with how he feels about you, obviously a stronger bond has developed.

Except of course for Grey that can be called out of a full chase of a rabbit, squirrel, or other dog. Apparently there is the odd one of those around.

His race history shows no comments about him "pulling up" and finishing last. There are no gaps in his record and he only had one NR. The last few races of his career were safe mid pack finishes. When he has "felt" like running hard (not that often) he has been impressive - even among younger Greys he seems effortlessly faster in a straight line. I have given him a range of motion exam when he has been limping and I do get a slight pain response. When he appears fine I get no pain response. There will be a trip to the vet soon.

Last couple of days no limping. Lots of scampering around on this mornings big walk. He definitely has some issues but nothing serious enough to demand intervention at this point. No corns either. He does have a torn gracillis but I don't think that causes him any discomfort. He just has to slow down when he turns to the right while running. Thanks everyone for the kind words and admiration of the big fella'. Today he gave a wild bunny the same half circle of respect. The rabbit just stood and watched us pass. When he first came to me about 18 months ago he used to hunt the rabbits. I corrected him once and that was that. He is very special. For my part, while I would like to claim that I am a gifted trainer, the reallity is that I am just the custodian of a most unusual Greyhound.

A classic case of not enough research, knowledge, etc. prior to adoption and followed up with a lack of caution and awareness. That said, for your situation I think a dog that can roll with the odd mistep or two by the owner would be better for you. There are lots of those. At the very least Faye is obviously of the less forgiving sort and should be returned. At worst she could be considered quite dangerous in her current situation. Don't take it hard, try not to be emotional about it, don't think that you failed. We all make mistakes. There are easier going versions out there, work with your group to get one of these. FWIW I have a dog who to a fault is obsessively, madly in love with me, and I would never think of bending, stepping over him when he is down - not ever. When he is down I approach him on my belly or very low, and only did so after months of gaining his trust. It is a matter of simple respect for his life experience. He is granted this respect always. Regardless of the dog you end up with you should consider this approach. Good luck, don't fret. Good move IMO. Don't give up on Greys. There is the perfect dog waiting for you. In the meantime I recommend you read as much as you can on this forum and also search Greyhound Articles Online and read everything there (it will take weeks)

I love how concerned everyone is about the "limp", you are all very sweet, thank you. In the deer video I think Hester is walking slowly because I am walking slowly. As mentioned we are on an extremely steep hill, and fifteen minutes earlier he had a bit of a run. Hester does move differently than any other Grey I have seen. While we are very slow in the deer video, I have walked other Greys with Hester and they have to trot to keep up with his walk. He has a very slinky action that looks more like a Panther that a typical Greyhound. I have to really walk fast to get him into a trot. Remember he is tall and crazy long and covers ground effortlessly in an easy walk. All that said, he has definately been trying to protect his front left over the last couple of weeks. I would be concerned except that he can still run a bit. If there is anything I should do for Hester, I am happy to hear any advice. This video was shot 15 minutes before the deer encounter. It is the second of three small runs. Should I be concerned or is he OK? (sorry for the shaky camera but I was on the move to draw Hester away from a hazard in the grass) and this video again (from a week ago) shows him walking on level ground. I am walking fast here and he does break into a little trot when he lags behind. Seems healthy enough.

An nearby owner of a fawn Grey reported that shortly after he got him he saw a deer enter his yard and go nose-to-nose with his dog. The deer must be confused by the shape and size of some Greyhounds. It really doesn't make much sense. Obsessed is the best way to describe it. We have been followed for blocks. I have opened my front door because I heard footsteps in the entry way only to be eye-to-eye with with a 10 point buck! This is no place for a high prey dog of any sort. 50 yards prior to today's encounter, a rabbit was flushed from undergrowth immediately beside Hester's front feet (fortunately he understands that chasing bunnies is something we no longer do, he was a bit keen of them when he first arrived I must admit). I am still bracing for my first Cougar encounter. Believe me, this video is the least of if. Yesterday we literally passed through a "herd". Four females and two yearlings on our left even closer than today's encounter, and two huge bucks on the lawn across the street.

I LOVE the big ones too. I also feel strongly about keeping them skinny, IMO this is particularely important when they are big.

There is very little we could do if they did become agressive. There have been a number of attacks on dogs, but it seems to be the little yappers that get stomped. I believe that if we show the deer proper respect they will get the message and will not risk a confrontation. The big bucks that appear in the fall require a great deal of respect. 90 lbs. Why do you ask?

Yes there is a slight limp, the problem is front left. I suspect it is his shoulder. But his front left toe has recently become more splayed and flattened so it could be that. He limps sometimes after a run and we were on our way back from a morning gallop. I was initially quite concerned when it first appeared but I have seen him run quite nicely since (although he rarely ever puts it in top gear) so I assume it is just the aches and pains of 3 hard years at the track. We are also climbing a 20% hill which is hard to tell in the video.

As promised in the off-leash thread here is some video of Hester walking past a deer. This is a common occurrence where I live; there is no way to avoid these encounters. In response to outrage over my post about Hester running with deer, I have altered his view of deer. Instead of regarding them as playmates, he now simply passes and gives them a little “nod” of greeting. I have also succeeded in getting him to respond to requests to swing a bit wide in his path to show that he means no harm. He demonstrates this technique well in the video. All of his respectful behaviour has elevated him to an associate member of the herd. The deer now follow him more than ever. The shyer ones even come out of their cover to investigate him as he passes. On a few occasions deer have followed us down the driveway and watched us enter the house from the threshold of the garage. The video below consist of two clips joined. After the initial encounter ended I thought we were done, but then as we rounded a corner I heard the hoofs behind so I started up the camera again – hence the rough splice.

To make it even more rediculous we have a substantial population of eagles, falcons, and hawks. The Bald Eagles hang out mostly on the beaches, but the falcons and hawks are around town. I could swear I have seen a few hanging around the university that were so obese they could hardly get off the ground. This place is wild kingdom. Just got back from our one hour before bed walk with Hester and we saw 7 deer, 4 rabbits, and cranky Bard Owl, all in about a 2 kilometre radius of my house.

In addition to dozens of other off leash dogs that we encounter on every walk, we have to deal with horses. Does anybody have any advice as far as horses go? Proper etiquette for passing a horse, etc. As soon as I hear hoofs I call Hester and leash him. This is the one thing that really scares me. Hester thinks the horses are just big dogs that need to have their bums sniffed. Not good. He hasn't tried since I gave the UH UH last year but he is still curious. I'd like to build on his aversion. Some of the paths are so narrow we literally have to brush by the horses.

None of my business I guess. I just thought on a forum where caring for Greyhounds is discussed that it would be reasonable to ask how you manage a pack off leash out in the wilderness. And no your pictures don't really give any indication of any background work you do, or the peculiar character of individual dogs to make it possible. And yet despite all this being "none of my business" you provide in exquisite detail exactly what I was curious about. So thanks.

Everything does well in the wild here. There is so much to eat. Everything just grows like crazy. The joke here is if you stick a pencil in the ground it will sprout.

Nope, those rabbits were there and yes some of them were massive. And those photos don't give any real sense of the true magnitude of the problem. There may have been thousands of rabbits. I have seen some areas where you actually saw more rabbit than grass. Every spring hundreds of tiny bunnies would join the crowd. The roads in the University grounds were often litered with rabbit road kill. You would have to drive carefully to avoid them. In December 2011, during the Xmas break, a contractor was hired and the rabbits removed. It was claimed that the removal was humane (this community is extremely sensitive to animal welfare) but suspicions remain. How could every rabbit be removed safely? Yesterday I saw a wild rabbit on the property - the first rabbit I have seen since the "removal", which is quite extraordinary considering this town has rabbits on every patch of grass. Nonetheless the students and animal welfare groups, (that protested the removal) have been assured that the rabbits were taken safely and are enjoying the remainder of the lives on a "farm in the country". Dang it would have been something to see a high prey Grey thrown into that mix. Might very well have lost its mind.

I have read this article. I stumbled upon Jennifer's blog while doing research before Hester's arrival. Reinforces the point that you have to be more interesting to your dog than environmental distractions. But when you're out on the trail with your dog you should expect them to stray to sniff, perhaps lag behind a bit and then trot ahead. If your dog maintains a perfect heel than you might as well put on a leash. To me the key is: does you dog stop and look back for you before he gets out of sight, wait for you to catch up before proceeding? If they lag behind do they break into a fast trot before you get out of sight? Anyone can teach recall to most dogs, but I don't think that's adequate, which brings up Jennifer's other point that a lot depends on the dog - which was the point I made at the beginning of this thread and why I post the videos on page 4 of my obsessed but very happy doggy. Last night we passed 5 rabbits and he didn't lift up his head. My only regret is that the rabbits have been removed from our local university. There used to be literally hundreds to be seen on the lawns. I would have loved to test Hester's ability to focus on me as opposed to hundreds of fleeing rabbits. Anyone ever put their Grey in a situation like below? My guess is Hester could handle it.

Cool, I like this. Problem is the groups are committing criminal tresspass. Not that I care - doing best for the dogs makes it worth the limited risk of prosecution.

Yes this bothered me also. I asked WhiteWave how she supervises her dogs in that situation, I didn't get a reply. Good recall? Do they all just follow one leader who follows WhiteWave? And what about Joey? - that's a young Greyhound. An extra challenge I assume? That's quite a varied pack of dogs. No small feat for one person to supervise in some serious wilderness. Not to mention the natural hazards in the Florida wilderness can be a fair bit more serious than most other areas. Tell us please - how do you do it? What are your tricks/techniques? And a_daerr, any Greyhound on this forum would be lucky to have you as their owner.

Yes, only moral suasion could be used to get a resistant owner to return a improperly cared for dog. But of course a legal status of the agreement is not the best way to ensure the wellbeing of Greyhounds. Knowledge such as that contained in this thread and making sure only the right people end up with them in the first place is the key.

How much walking is he getting? Some dogs just need more. Yes you can train better behaviour but if what he really need is more time on walks that you're not really addressing the root of the problem. I believe many agencies do a diservice to Greyhounds by advertising that they can get by with two twenty minute walks per day. Same with calling them "couch potatoes". For some this applies but for many it does not. And time in the yard doesn't count IMO. The guy probably wants to explore and sniff.

To me it sounds like you have a real candidate for off leash adventures. The only thing to watch is his response to rabbits and squirrels. If he is content to ignore them (with or without your encouragement) then you'll probably do fine. Over time expect him to build confidence and stray a little further from you to sniff and pee. He will probably keep his eye on you during though. Please post photos of your adventures. As for the "personal attacks" I am sure everyone had both your dogs and your best interest at heart. Don't give it a moments thought. I have never felt attacked and I am by far the worst offender when it comes to off leash shennanigans. Good luck, carry your best treats and always scan the trail ahead.

This is a bit funny to me. I have the complete opposite problem. Hester seems terrified of touching my skin with his teeth. He is so careful that half of the time the treats get dropped. I end up having to put my hand under his chin and "throw" the treat right into his mouth. (He might just be a bit of a spazz.) But the fist technique sounds great - I have lots of visitors who are a bit rough, going to try it.

It's not whether the dog knows its life could be better or not. It's about the owner recognizing it could be better and providing the opportunity if circumstances allow. And as I pointed out unless you can compare the same dog in both situations you will never know the contribution that being off leash will make to that particular dog. And indeed a dog can have a truly great life without ever being off leash. (Hester did for the first six months he was with me.)

This is such a hard thing to determine. Unless you have seen your dog in both situations it really is impossible to know. Seeing Hester on and off leash regularely makes it clear his existence is elevated a great deal when given off leash freedom. He thinks more, he sniffs more, checks out more and different things, he changes pace more, more prancing, he looks around more. His face also lights up a bit more, more smiles, etc, is free to greet or avoid other off leash dogs. And in other ways he has made it clear it is what he prefers. I suspect for some dogs it wouldn't make a difference but for Hester it clearly does. If you have a dog that is not safe than it is a non starter. The fact is there are dogs and situations (fenced area, secure beach etc) that are safe so it becomes a consideration.