KickReturn

We never scold for growling. My view is I want our boy to be able to express himself if he is unhappy with us. Being able to pet your grey on its bed is not a necessity. Don't assume that your Grey will ever be comfortable being touched on its bed. My Hester would never dream of harming a human but I don't even stand over him when he is on his bed out of respect. When i do approach I come in very low at the end with the head. If he reaches out with his paw or roaches than its petting time. Otherwise I move on. Ditto on the comments above about your child and the dog. Be super careful. It can go well 100 times and then the dog could be accidentally started and you may have a real disaster on your hands. 4 month is not a long time.

Be careful. I have the same problem with my Hester. He inspires an exagerated response in most other dogs he meets. Some are fearful, some are agressive but most are very attracted. Even when I am out with other Greyhounds all the dogs we pass will turn and follow just Hester determined to have a good sniff. The odd thing is he is Mr. "Joe Cool", totaly laid back, aloof, and ignores the majority of dogs as long as they behave. The catch is that he is very alpha and when another dog does not show the appropriate deference to him, conflict can escalate. And worst of all certain insecure dogs may attack. Just pay attention to your surroundings and give a wide birth to dogs you are concerned about until you know your dog better.

It will work with the right dog. It will be very difficult with the wrong dog. If you think the schedule will interfer with your ability to exercise the dog properly than IMO I wouldn't adopt. FWIW I have a different schedule everyday and my boy is more than fine - he's might be the happiest Greyhound ever so it can work. But I believe our success is the result of a minimum of 3 hours of walks per day.

I know I sound like a broken record but the best bonding will occur on long walks together. In the house you may be nothing to her right now. But out on an adventure you are her leader, her teacher, her security. Demonstrate calm, confident, competent leadership and she will become a part of you.

The panting and pacing is stress. Peggy is really freaked out right now. It is super important to be patient and to build up her confidence gradually. You want to accumulate lots of little successes. You really want to avoid any mishaps right now that would set back the process. Do everything you can to expose her to the scary things very slowly and with great care to avoid startles. Walk her at quieter times or in "safe" places, look ahead for potential problems, quiet and calm in the house. And through all of this you must be only calm, relaxed, and confident in your leadership. A nervous owner will make the task more difficult. Trust that the confidence will come - right now everything is new to her. And yes a great idea is an open crate with a very comfortable bed in it. You can even hang a large blanket over the back and sides to make it more like a den.

Keep in mind that your new boy may be extremely depressed and confused. Please be very gentle and patient. As others have said use food to encourage and reward the behaviour you desire. Remember these are very sensitive creatures. It may take a while for him to trust you. Many owners see their Greyhounds continue to open up for a year or more. 6 months is more typical though. As for the statuing, you can try turning a tight circle and then contunuing. A nice piece of cooked chicken, etc. can help to distract him and get him going. Sometimes it's OK just to stand with him for a bit. Maybe give a gentle ear scratch or belly rub if he likes that kind of thing. In time he will see you as a confident and competent leader and he will be happy to follow you anywhere. You did mention that he sometimes comes to you when you call. This is a great sign. I highly recommend that you get some very high value treats and increase this recall training. Lots of rewards and happy praise everytime he comes to you when called. Than get him to "stay" and "wait" and them "come".

Like others have said Greyhounds come in all flavours from super snuggler to don't touch me (although the latter is rare). However, regardless of the character of the dog, I highly recommend that you take things very slowly and give any Greyhound plenty of time to learn to trust you. Build up the amount and type of contact slowly and with respect. There are many that prefer not to be touched when they are on their beds but otherwise love pats, scratches, and rubs. I think where Greyhound do stand the most is in their emotional intensity. You have to own one to understand what I mean.

IMO it doesn't matter whether the Grey has sleep startle or not. I subscribe to the protocol that all Greys much be approached with the utmost respect when they are "down", either on the their bed or lying elsewhere. Ex racers did not grow up in homes and were rarely if ever approached when they were down. The feel vulnerable particularely with their bellies exposed and may react defensively. When you do approach do it from the side and never from above. Watch the dog closely, in time you will learn their body language when they invite you and when they prefer to be left alone. If there is no reaction than suspect that they may be asleep - even with eyes open.

Poor Stewie. Turkey necks have been mentioned above but I will put a fine spin on it here: Order a 30lb box from your butcher. (Cost will be 1.50 to $2 per pound) Separate and individually wrap. If they are huge cut them in half (you will need a cleaver). Store in the freezer Feed semi frozen. You should be able to bend them but they should not be too soft. Give one every day in the yard after a walk or perhaps before bed. If you haven't done this before you will be amazed at the improvement. This will take care of all but the canine teeth and the front nibblers (as I like to call them). To deal with the canines find a toothpaste your dog likes (Petrodex Beef flavoured works around here). Apply to super soft brush and let him lick it off. Repeat for several days and very slowly work up to giving light scrub of the canines at the gum line. As soon as he pulls away end the brushing. If you force it he will associate the smell of toothpaste with a bad experience. It will take a bit longer until you are able to brush the nibblers. After several weeks of Turkey necks and light brushing I would be surprised if he didn't let you do a full brushing. FWIW I do all my brushing when Hester is lying down on his side. I do whichever side is up and get the other side when it is up. It took 6 months of daily care to get teeth that appear as though they will never require a dental. Finally Stewie is new (how new?) so go slow.

This is charming. Hester can only be where I am. Not in the same bed but on his own bed beside me and postioned so he can stare at me.

That is about as adorable as it gets.

Haha, excitable? Hester wants to know how he could ever look like a totally cool, chilled out dude if he was excited? Not gonna happen.

I don't think that Hester could even conceive of putting his mouth on another human - it's only me he wants. But glad to hear the other side of this. I think like with so many of the "risky" behaviours, it depends on the dog.

Something for us all to remember is that when Greyhounds do their shaking thing, the action can easily unlatch most standard clips. Add in human error and it is a big reminder to train recall. Being able to see your dog will do you no good if they will not come to you. The story isn't quite clear - did you just notice Mytle was missing when you were on your way home? So she just wandered away instead of staying with the pack once her leash was off? These dogs can be oh so quiet. The feet just sounds like she chased something on a paved surface.

Wow, so everyone is into bitey face. And if I get an accidental injury I will wear it as a badge of love. Next I am going to try and teach this boy to snuggle.

My perfectly mannered Hester would be the dream dog for owners rambunctious dogs. I on-the-other-hand would love him to be confident enough to make a little more contact with his people (me). Problem is he is too darn polite. However, when I greet him during his morning roaching sessions, he will open his jaws wide and swing his head toward me. You can tell he is just dying to hold part of me in his mouth. Occasionally he has put his open mouth over my arm. I am careful not to move but if a tooth makes contact he pulls back immediately. Over the last few weeks he has become a bit bolder and has progressed to alternately kissing and very gently grabbing my chin with his mouth. Once he even got most of my face in his mouth. He absolutely squirms with delight when this happens and stretches into massive roach. It is the happiest I ever see him and so contrary to how serious and dignified he usually is. When our morning greeting routine is over he jumps up prances around the room and than wacks me with his snout a few times. Any reason to avoid bitey behavour? Has anyone ever been bitten by a Grey with which they are fully bonded? I assume other than the risk from accidental contact with teeth that Hester is not suddenly decide it's time to bite his daddy. But I ask because I wouldn't want to be wrong about that.

If overall health is good that I wouldn't worry about it. A bare tummy is more fun to rub and tickle anyway.

When I have new visitors we always start not with a short walk but rather a huge walk for everyone. The dogs bond and extra energy is expended. If you have help it should be all hands on deck during mealtime. Consider not letting all dogs into the yard at once. Maybe only two at a time and muzzles.

Why not just leave the toy with the dog. It's his afterall. I would never take a toy from my boy. I would only take away things that the dog should not have. Interestingly when they know it's yours and you really want it they always give it up with out resistance. Sensitive and clever animals I must say.

Hester is just shy of 90 lbs and gets close to 3 lbs raw per day and is a slim dog. Depending on activity level you may be a bit light on total amount. On the other hand if you are wanting to take some weight off than let him be a bit hungry and watch him over the next three weeks. When he slims down to what you want just up the rations to hold his weight. His appetite will probably moderate at that point also.

It's been a year now and we have a set routine: 10 minutes around the block at 7:00 AM (or quick turnout if the weather is very bad) 1.5 to 2 hours between 10 AM and Noon rain or shine 1 hour around 4PM 45 minutes at 9 PM All of these walks are over very hilly terrain. When Hester first arrived he was exhausted after 30 minutes but now he is very fit and loves every minute of his walks. He is also permitted to choose the route of the longer walks and amazingly avoids doing the same route two days in a row (there are about 4 main options and he generally follows a consistant rotation). Certain days he resists me putting on his leash which I have learned means that he wants to walk in the forest or the park which are his off leash routes. The only downside to all the exercise is food consumption is significantly higher.

Understand that the end of the eurethra is not a round hole but rather more of a slot that is narrower in the middle than at the edges. This allows a normal flow of liquid to twist and produce a compact stream - essential for good marking. It is not unusual for a light flow to fail to open the whole eurethra and instead produce two distinct streams from the wider edges of the opening. The only downside is that your boy may be able to pee on both his feet at once.

It has come out above but I'll repeat it: all dogs are different and you must be very sensitive to what is best for yours. Do not follow any proscription but rather observe and make wise, safe choices. I recommend recording him in the crate to see how he does. If he is relaxed than don't mess with it. It has only been three days and some dogs panic when given the run of a house alone. FWIW my boy was terrible in the crate, absolutely went to peices, nearly injured his mouth and feet trying to get out. He was OK but not geat confined to part of the house. Better with the run of the house with a muzzle on. But best of all, perfect in fact with the run of the house and no muzzle. I filmed it all.

That's great that the walking is taken care of. I am a big believer in a decent walk before bed for dogs with night issues. My take is Nancy just loves the bed and it will take time for her to learn it's off limits. Stick with it, if she believes there is a chance that you will give in than she will never give up.

This is tragic - I am sorry you are in this situation. Maybe you can take a couple of your dogs by vehicle to an appropriate area for proper walks.