[Anyone With Cats?]

Payton has space aggression issues and everyone leaves him alone when he is lying down – except the cats. If he is up and about, he is absolutely terrified of the cats and will just stand there whining if one comes near him. But if he is in his bed, he will growl and they do not take a hint.

 

The cats and dogs are separated when I am not at home, but I let the cats out of my room when we are home. When I hear him growl at them, I rush to move the cat away from him, but I am worried that I might not get there quickly enough one day and he snap at them.

 

Does anyone have this issue? How do you handle it?

 

Thanks so much (again)!

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

Just a quick update- it seems like he just needed any extra trip outside in the morning, although, he acts like he doesn’t. He has not had an accident in the house since I posted this (knock on wood).

 

Also, a few days after I posted this, my husband ended up sleeping in one morning. He said that after I left for work, Payton cried and whined for an hour. So I started leaving him out of his crate.

 

Question, he is starting to use the potty while on his leash, so we can walk now. However, after his walk, he drinks a ton of water. Would he be able to hold it all day after drinking that much water right before I leave?

 

Thanks for everyone's help!

[To Rename Or Not To Rename?]

My daughter and I both adopted greyhounds and neither one responded to their call name. We both renamed them. Her dog’s call name was Ferdi and she changed it to Charlie. He did not have any trouble learning his new name.

 

I changed Pelton to Payton. He started responding within a couple of days. I nicknamed him Paypay and he responds to that as well.

[So Now What?]

Glad you got some advice from someone who has seen your pup and may understand the situation better. If you do feel in doubt of anything at all, a good dog trainer can be very helpful, too. There are many KPA graduates out there. Some are good, some are not so good, and some are great. But there's probably more KPA trainers in/around Louisiana than vet behaviorists or behavior consultants:

https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/find-a-trainer

 

There is also one trainer in Louisiana who graduated from the SF SPCA trainer academy (led by Jean Donaldson, who I adore):

Upward Dog Training & Counseling 504-701-1133 gallivant@upwarddog.org

I found the listing here: http://www.sfspca.org/resources/library

 

Good luck!

Thank you! I appreciate the help and information!

[So Now What?]

by the way, is he related to Palm City Karly? a friend of mine has her and based on your location we may use the same adoption group

Yes, it is the same adoption group. 😃 They are not from the same litter but the same owners. That owner apparently does a great job with his dogs.

 

I have read tons of posts regarding hounds that have actually bitten their owners (including one that was just posted about one that bit a child) and most of those dogs seem to adjust fine. Payton has not bitten And space aggression seems to be very common. I am completely willing to give him the opportunity to adjust. He has made a lot of progress in the 7 weeks he has been here. I have never had a greyhound, but I am not an inexperienced dog owner. But greyhounds are a different breed although. And it is very difficult not to panic when something like that happens.

 

I am trying to look at the whole picture. The lab is not scared of the greyhound at all. Both are acting completely normal today. It is hard not to second guess myself. He is very affectionate and calm in general. But if he is disturbed in his bed, he will growl. Even at the cats, who he is scared to death of. The adoption group felt like there was some doggy communication going on between the two dogs that I missed yesterday

 

Although there are not any behavior experts near us, I think I will bring Payton to a basic obedience class just to try to help him adjust to new situations. I have been working on obedience, but a new environment might help

 

I really appreciate everyone's advice. I am really hoping for the best. If space aggression is his issue, we can deal with that-leave him alone in his bed. Hopefully, the dogs will adjust to each other.

[So Now What?]

No, it wasn't a "I'm going to rip out your throat" attack, but it was more than a little warning growl.

 

I called my vet and they said that there were not any behavioral experts any where near us. I also searched the links and there are none in our state.

 

I called the adoption group and explained what happened. She spent a lot of time with Payton and doesn't feel like it was a serious issue. She doesn't believe he is truly aggressive. She said he needs more time to adjust and recommended keeping his muzzle on for a while.

 

I guess at this point I am going to follow her advice and keep up the training we have been doing.

[So Now What?]

It is difficult to know what is the right thing. I put a treat bowl in the fireplace above his bed and we give him a treat when we walk by. It is working pretty well and when we walk by him while he is laying down, he just looks at you expectantly.

 

He tends to be very sweet and loves attention. He will walk up to you and lay his head on you. DD has been feeding him, giving him treats, walking with him, etc. I just said a couple of days ago that I was so glad we kept him. He has been doing really well. We leave him alone while he is sleeping.

 

This incident really caught me off guard. He is kind of pushy with the lab, but they generally ignore each other. He will walk by the lab and kind of push him. He has growled a couple of time if the lab goes near his bed (he has growled at the cats before too) but the lab doesn't seemed to be worried about him. So I generally let them work things out between them.

 

Because of our issues with him, I watch him like a hawk. I want to make sure I intervene if there is a chance that someone could get hurt.

 

The lab is fine. Payton didn't bite him. The lab turned and laid down. Payton acted like he did when my daughter picked his toy up that time. Like the lab was in his space.

 

I do not want to be one of those people who should have gotten rid of dog and didn't and someone got hurt. At the same time, I don't want to give up on a good dog. We are all really attached to him.

[So Now What?]

We have had Payton for about 7 weeks now. I posted a while back about his space agression issues. That is getting somewhat better.

 

We have an 11 year old lab that Payton tends to run over but I try to let them work it out on their own. However, today both dogs were standing at the door looking out when Payton turned for no reason and attacked to lab.

 

I don't know what to do. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

^{They do use the bathroom on leash very often before a race. Watch a race sometime live and you will see between 2-4 on average each race going to the bathroom on the way to the box. They are kept in the Jinny pit for hours before race time, so many do have to go to the bathroom when they are on the way to the boxes.}

The only race I have ever seen is on YouTube so I'm clueless. I am just repeating what I was told. ;D

 

We went out an extra time this morning and although he acted like he didn't need to pee, he eventually peed again and it was a lot again. He didn't have an accident today but I get off early on Fridays so I got home a couple of hours early.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

How does he get along with the lab? Are they buddies or does the lab annoy the greyhound...or vice versa, considering your lab's age? Is your grey completely cat safe? I always feel bad when one dog is confined and another has free roam.

 

They get along ok. They seem to ignore each other for the most part. Payton is scared of the cats so he leaves them alone, but I keep the cats in my bedroom while no one is home. I don't want to take any chances.

 

I think I will get a baby gate and maybe gate him in the kitchen. He stays out at night, but I can't let him roam the house yet while no one is home, at least not all day. He is fine for a couple of hours.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

He was trained to not potty on leash...

 

Never heard that one before.

 

She races greyhounds as well and she said that the only time the dogs are on a leash are when they are on about to race. They are put in a pen to use to potty.

 

Are you leaving him crated and letting your lab run loose?

 

Yes, the lab is not crated any longer. He hasn’t been crated for many years. He is 11 and completely house trained.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

 

Don't just "bring him out." WALK HIM.

 

It'll be good for both of you, and it'll be great for bonding.

 

Male does love to mark new things. The more you walk, the more most of them pee!

 

My boy gets a 45 minute walk every morning before work.

 

Are you leaving anything for him in the crate? I recently found, after giving my dog a Kong with peanut butter in it every work day for six years, that peanut butter apparently makes it more difficult for him to hold it! He hasn't had an accident in the house since I stopped his peanut butter! And I cannot believe it took me so darn long to try that--since I had proclaimed "I've tried everything!" a hundred times!

 

He won't really go when he is on the leash. He may mark a little here or there, but that is it. I did talk to the adoption group and she said that he was trained not to potty while on the leash. Eventually, he can learn to go on the leash, but since we have a fenced yard, he goes outside. He will generally wait until we get home after a walk to potty in the yard.

 

Also, I don't believe he is very heat tolerant. After about 25-30 minutes (about a mile), he refuses to go any further.

 

I do leave a peanut butter kong in his crate! Yogurt maybe instead?

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. He may not empty in the morning on some days. I will be more careful and see if that helps. He is able to hold it at night. I do know his foster crated him during the day while she was working, but I don't know how well he did.

 

He doesn't seem to have SA, but I can't be 100% sure. I am going to try to set up my laptop and try streaming video.

 

I am also going to bring him out more times before I leave. We get up at 5 am so we have time.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

Well, he doesn't necessarily have to stay in a crate, does he?

No but if he is peeing in his crate, what stops him from peeing in the house?

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

Thanks for the help. I will try to find someone. I have never had an adult dog to go in a crate.

[How To Stop Peeing In Crate]

We adopted our 3 year old male retired racer about 4 weeks ago. He is having occasional accidents during the day while I am at work. He usually goes into his crate at around 8:00 am and out by 4:00. Some days he doesn't have an accident. Some days he does. How do I house break him before he gets in the habit of wetting in his kennel?

[From Snapper To Snuggler]

Thanks for sharing! That is my ultimate goal. I am so glad to know it can be done!

[Feeling Sad Today -]

I have no advice whatsoever. We adopted our first greyhound two weeks ago and we have had similar issues. I just wanted to offer my support. I know how difficult it is to be in this position, especially when you have children involved.

[Advice Regarding Space/sleep Aggression]

I totally agree with you, especially about the Lab. I don't worry about him (although there is no dog I trust 100%), he is 11 years old now. The GSD was a different story, but simply because she was much more hyper (she passed away last summer). But what I meant was that Alexis is not frightened by their size.

 

While Alexis is kind to the animals, she is very accustomed to the Lab. She can walk up to him at any point and do anything (in a manner of speaking) and he is completely happy just to have her around. And while I always supervised her interaction with the GSD, she had basically the same attitude-she loved having Alexis around her.

 

Payton is incredibly affectionate and loves to be petted. But we definitely need to teach Alexis that he is a different dog and needs time to adjust. The concern I have is that he lives in the house with us. So we all have to share space so to speak.

 

My expectations are basically that I expect no one to be bitten by a dog for simply picking something up off of the floor. I believe there are situations where the dog has every right to bite. That was not one of them. I realize that he didn't actually bite Alexis, but I don't know if it a precursor to biting. Alexis is not a toddler, and she knows better than to hurt the dog. She definitely is the type to pet the animals all of the time. Showering with affection is a good way to put it. That is what Alexis is like.

 

I have no problems putting in the effort to work with Payton. All of my dogs have been trained, but Payton is a different animal all together.

 

Also, I did buy and read "Childproofing your Dog" last night. I am sure I am not good a reading Payton's signals yet, but he definitely does not give off the same signals as the Lab or the GSD. I have not even seen him wag his tail yet, but I know there are times when he is definitely happy.

 

I do appreciate your help!

[Advice Regarding Space/sleep Aggression]

Charlies_Dad, thanks for the great advice and the encouragement. Rmarie, thank you as well.

 

Rocket, yes, it scary and I don’t won’t to chance it either.

 

a_daerr, thank you! I don’t think he dislikes her. He is very excited to see her and loves to play with her. Your story cracked me up! I appreciate your advice. She is feeding him and kind of hanging around while he eats (not messing with him at all) and giving him treats, etc. Hopefully he will come around.

 

It is very hard to reconcile the very affectionate dog that loves attention and petting, etc. to the dog that almost attacked her for touching his toys. Alexis is very familiar with large dogs (she has been raised with a GSD and Lab since she was a baby), and she is not scared of them at all. The difference, I guess, is that the dogs were raised with her too.

 

I am constantly second guessing myself and imagining the worst. But other than this one incident, he has been a perfect angel (except for the sleep aggression, which I don’t hold against him. It is understandable).

 

Bottom line – complete honesty- am I asking for trouble or it is entirely likely that he will adjust?

[Advice Regarding Space/sleep Aggression]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

One thing I failed to mention is that it is only our daughter that he seems to have issues with. I can walk up to him anytime he is laying down or take any toy and he will not have a problem. The adoption group said that he never growled at all with them. He was in foster care for a month or so also with no problems.

 

Is that common?

[Advice Regarding Space/sleep Aggression]

Hi everyone. We just adopted our first retired greyhound, Payton, two weeks ago. I read as much as I could find on greyhounds before we got him. I felt completely prepared. However, I was completely unprepared when he growled at one of us for petting him while he was laying down. Ok, so I learned about space aggression and I have instructed our 9 year old daughter never to touch him while he is laying down. Seemed ok.

 

A week later, I hear him growling and looked to see the cat messing with his ears. Understandability annoying.

 

Then, a couple of days ago, our 9 year old daughter tried to pick up one of his toys and he went crazy. He just up and started barking at her. She dropped on the ground and covered her face. He stood on her head but didn't actually bite her.

 

So I completely see what she did wrong and she does too. I read pretty much every post on this forum, every article I could find and talked to group we adopted him from. I felt pretty confident that Payton just needed his space and that he needed to learn that My daughter is not a litter mate.

 

Most everything I read said that sleep/space aggression were normal. Doesn't mean an aggressive dog.

 

Then I read a post on here about a dog that showed mild space aggression and after two months, bit her owner in the head. Everyone seemed to blame the owner and said that she should have seen the signs. I couldn't see that she did anything wrong. It seemed that the dog showed aggression at first, but after a couple the dog was fine.

 

Now I am really concerned again. I know that any dog can bite under certain circumstances but it really seemed like that bite was unprovoked. Are space aggressive dogs always space aggressive? A bite like that could seriously injure a child.

 

Any advice, suggestions, whatever would be great.

 

PS- we love Payton. He is such an awesome dog.