Acadianarose

I am so sorry this happened. Payton and my lab were recently attacked by a unleashed dog. Both dogs were okay but DD had a broken hand. Both dogs and DD handled much better than I did. I agree with the others - call animal control ASAP. I can't stand irresponsible pet owners!

We have been following everyone's advice and things seem back to normal. Payton seems to be getting back in his grove too. They stopped fighting over the beds, at least temporarily. I am getting them new beds but I haven't found anything I like yet. Also, I realized that the scrap on the lab's face was not from Payton. He is developing skin issues and he keeps scratching his own face.

Thanks for sharing! It is nice to see that the hard work can pay off. He is a handsome man!

I believe you have to look at how far you have come. You are doing a great job with Rudy and he will continue to improve. I see all of the pictures of people snuggling with their dogs and at times I wish Payton was more like that. I can't even cut his darn nails! But he has come so far and little improvements mean so much to me. He jumped up in bed and laid with DD for a little while the other day. He playbowed and tried to engage us in the play for the first time this week. Other people with easy dogs take things like that for granted. We don't.

Yep. I was just about to chime in. Your post could have been written by me. Payton has only been here 4 months and is doing much better, but I don't think he will ever be a snuggler. We can pet him if his head is up and he is alert (which is a huge improvement), but no one touches him if he is sleeping. We have been doing a lot of reconditioning and it has helped. We can walk around him or near him and he is fine. DD even accidently bumped his butt the other day and he just looked at her then laid back down. But there are times when he still makes me nervous. I think he wants to be a snuggler, but sleeping next to someone stresses him out too much. I know exactly what you are going through! But Rudy is so lucky to have you.

Yay, Henry!

It's seems like some greys can walk into a new home and fit right in with no issues. My Payton is not that dog. He has space aggression, is very bossy and does not want to share anything. At first, he stole more things than you can imagine. I couldn't believe the crap I found in his bed. We have an 11 year old lab who very laid back. He doesn't argue with Payton for the most part. And toys - Payton loves toys. And he guards them! My lab does not play with toys otherwise we would have some fights. As it is, I have to keep the toys put away and just give out toys when I am watching. When my daughter's greyhound comes to visit, Payton takes all of Charlie's toys, puts them in his bed and lays on top of them. He will growl if another dog even looks at the toys. He is slowly getting better. He is food motivated so now in situations that once caused a growl, like someone near his bed, he now looks for a treat instead. I second the hot dogs. As far as my dogs are concerned, hot dogs are the best thing in the world.

This is the one I have. It would work great if Payton would let me trim his nails. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003TU0XFU/ref=pd_aw_sbs_2?pi=SS115

Congratulations! Payton won't let me anywhere near his nails. I think I am bringing him to the groomers...

Payton decided to take both bed... Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to separate them for the time being. I don't know if identical beds will help but I am going to try that too.

What about those baby proofing covers for the knobs on the stove? I never needed them because our knobs were on top of the stove, so I can't say how well they actually work. But most baby proofing products work well for dog proofing. Also, there are products that hold the refrigerator door closed or the toilet seat down. I bet there is something to hold the oven door closed too.

If you search "trade up" in this forum, you will find tons of posts. I was going to post a couple of links here, but there are so many, you will get the most information if you read them. Totally agree! Although, being growled at is very scary for us and pretty effective for the dog. I think that is the hardest thing for most of us average dog owners is that we are used to having dogs we have had since they were puppies. They rarely growl at us!

Payton is my first greyhound, but I have had dogs my entire life. I do believe that sometimes you do have to intervene. They all depend on me to keep them safe and Toby really can't defend himself anymore.

I took the bed out to wash it yesterday so they both wanted another bed that is in the room! What I see happening - If it is Toby on the bed, Payton will stand on the bed right beside him and try to push him off. If Payton is on the bed, Toby will stand near the bed and wait for him to get up.

When he growls at Toby, I go over to him and tell him "it's ok" in a relaxed tone. He will generally relax and look at me. When he does, I give him a treat and tell him "good boy". I also do that if he growls at the cats. As soon as I say this, I know I will jinx myself, but we have been working on space agression and as he has gotten more comfortable with us, I have not heard him growl at a human (other than me cutting his nails) for a couple of months.

I muzzled at first, but I haven't for a couple of months. Payton is really bossy, but they get along pretty well now, at least until the last couple of days. He doesn't seem to be in pain. The growling is while he is in his bed. As crazy as it is, I really think a big thing right now is the beds. Toby generally doesn't lay on a bed, but has suddenly decided he wants to and they both want the same bed. I can try identical beds and see if that helps. Also, he is getting a bit too heavy so I have cut his food a little bit. Not much, about 1/4 cup each meal. I am giving him green beans to make up the difference but he still seems hungry. That seems to make him grumpy. He is really, really, really food motivated, so I am ramping up his training to try to get him back on track. I keep a bowl of tiny kibble above his bed and we always give him a treat when we walk by his bed. He expects it now. We are also teaching him to sit, touch and give me paw.

Toby is kind of old (11) and if Payton growls at him, he lies down submissively. But Toby does like his comfort and he won't get up if Payton tries to take his bed... Crazy thing about this bed- I have had it for months, even before we had Payton, and neither of them touched it. All of sudden, it is the hot bed of the house. You're right, but it gets so frustrating to get so far and then backtrack.

Payton has to pee three times in the morning or he will have an accident. I take him out when he wakes up, an hour later and then about 1/2 hour later right before I leave. I have learned that if he doesn't need to pee, he won't pee unless I tell him to. It took a while of standing outside with him until he learned what "go potty" meant. He seems to have learned to hold it much better.

Payton always does that. He will kind of rub against me to scratch his back. I think that spot is super sensitive.

Payton has been with us four months. When he first arrived he was very space aggressive and growled at everyone and everything. We have spent so much time working with him and training. He has been doing great and I haven't heard him growl in a couple of months. He even jumped up in the bed and laid down with Lexi. This week, he seems to have regressed. He is growling at Toby out of the blue and just seeming off. My husband (yes, husband) for some stupid reason thought it was a good idea to sit on Payton's bed with him which freaked the heck out of Payton. Also, I have been trying to trim his nail and that's not making him happy. And, even though we have three beds in the living room, he and Toby want the same one and Payton has been really aggressive (for lack of better word) about it. Toby had scrapes on his face yesterday when we got home. Is it a case of two steps forward, one step back? Should I keep up what I have been doing (before this week) or try something new? Or is this week of stressors just too much?

Lol! Payton will partake in a kitty litter buffet if given the chance. Every once in a while, he will eat poop out of the yard. I make sure to clean it up every day or two, but he still finds it sometimes. I have no idea why, but he seems to so it more when he is hungry, especially when I am adjusting his food.

So are there times when growling is not appropriate? Like when I am trying to trim his nails? I always just tell him "it's okay" if he growls and he usually calms down. Except for the nails...

Ugggg as soon as he saw the dremel tool, he started growling at me. I think I taught him how not to get his nails trimmed!

Thank goodness it's not cancer!

I second that! Brilliant!