anniebellshafe

Zeppelin is 85 pounds and has a deep scary bark. He really doesn't use it often but when we first got him (maybe a month in) someone cut through the house next door's backyard because the house was vacant and Zep had a fit - needless to say nobody cut through that yard again. He doesn't bark very often, mostly at night when we are in bed and oddly, more often when my husband is on night shift and I'm home alone. He definitely makes me feel a little bit safer.

Thank you! It may not have been "aggressive" but it was definitely his "mean" bark. He has never been aggressive towards humans before.... scared and startled, yes, but not aggressive. It was just so unlike him, it startled me and it seemed like he was going after the child, who did walk in last and was not loud or hyper. I was sitting down when it happened as people come and go all the time and he's never reacted, it may have been that for some reason it startled him. I will definitely try the approach of keeping him next to me when someone new walks in and using treats. Thank you for your advice!

I thought about that because he most definitely sleep startles if you touch him while he's sleeping but never from someone walking in the front door

I've had Zeppelin over a year and he is very sweet and docile. The only time he barks at the door is when my husband works the night shift and I'm sleeping home alone. During the day people can knock at the door and he won't pay it any mind, people can come in and out most of the time he doesn't even get up. We are currently staying at my parents due to unforeeen circumstances , we have been here for two months and he's been fine , no barking at the door ever even when my parents dog does. Today, my dad came in the door with my cousin and his child and zeppelin freaked out. He got up and barked at my cousin and his child the way he does in the middle of the night. My dad had to grab him and then I took him outside where he laid down. When they left he went to the fence and watched. I'm just curious as to if anybody has any suggestion as to why he would be so aggressive all of a sudden when usually it's just at night when I'm home alone. It's also important to note that my cousin and his child were here last week and my dad said zeppelin was fine. (I was at work at the time).

We have had Zeppelin over a year and he's still not much of a big "player." We will throw a tennis ball and he might run to get it but then he gets distracted and would rather do zoomies than play fetch. As previously noted in this post, he also likes to play with a deflated soccer ball, he will chase it and kind of throw it up in the air as he runs. I suggest keeping it deflated as one time we had a inflated ball and the poor baby got his teeth stuck in it and we had to hold him still and deflate the ball to get it out =( We bought all kinds of stuffed toys for him and he has no interest in them. The squeaking gets his attention but then he just leaves it alone. He loves his walks, zoomies in the backyard, bones, and playing with my parents terrier mix but that's about it. As long as they are healthy and happy, I think that's all that matters! =)

Yes he definitely would have bitten if my dad went any further, luckily he came out of it and realized where we were. We will just wait for renovations to be done before we stay the night again so we can stay in a room with a door where no one can sneak up on him!

Last night my husband and I stayed the night at my parents house with Zeppelin (he has been to my parents and stayed the night several times). Due to home renovations we had to sleep in the living room so I slept on a mattress on the floor next to zeppelins bed. My dad came out to make coffee in the morning and when he came around the corner to where we were Zeppelin got up and started barking his head off with his tail straight out at my dad. It woke me up right away and it took about 15 seconds of me and my dad saying his name before he stopped. He does sleep startle but has always stopped when he's awake and realizes who it is, but this was different he was definitely awake and conscious. He is usually very comfortable with my parents. My question is was this him protecting me? He never barks when someone knocks on the door... Or could this have been a sleep startle? It was just very strange and a little scary as it seemed that he was in attack mode and would have lunged if my dad came any closer. After he realized who it was he just laid back down and acted normal.

I wish I could limit his exposure but unfortunately I live in South Florida and in a heavily populated area, we do have a nice sized fenced in backyard where he does zoomies but he really loves his walks. Yes, the small dogs really freak him out, maybe it's all the barking! lol I will definitely look into nosework classes! Obedience training was more an idea for him to get accustomed to other dogs, not so much for behavior, although he definitely has a special relationship with my husband as he has somewhat become a therapy dog for him (no training, just comfort on his sleepless nights). That makes me happy to hear, maybe Zeppy will take the same route, he definitely does the same jump in the air and try and run bit!! I will look into meet and greets with other greyhounds, I know my agency has them, the last one was at a dog park for "doggie-palooza" and so I was a little nervous how he would be with all the other breeds, but I like the idea of him seeing how other greys react with other breeds.

Thank you all! I did not think about the importance of a trainer in the obedience class that will understand Zeppelin's situation and cater the class to fit Zeppelin's needs as well as the other dogs. This is my first dog on my own, I had dogs growing up as a child, and have been wanting to adopt for a long time but waited for my husband to get out of the military before we adopted. Two months is a very short time, it feels like so much longer, but in a good way! I'm definitely lucky he is not aggressive, the only time he will growl at other dogs is if he is in a limited space and there is no way to get away from them, and then it is not bared teeth, just noise. I will definitely wait a little bit longer to give him more time to adjust, I'm a teacher so I was thinking if I do an obedience class, summer would be a good time. Thank you all for your advice!

I have had Zeppelin for a little over two months now, and he very much enjoys his walks, however whenever there is another dog or even a stray cat he whines and kind of speeds up his step until we are past and then will still look back before he stops to sniff or pee. This hasn't been that much of a problem as whenever I see someone walking their dog I just make sure to be on the other side of the street and it's no big deal, but yesterday we were walking (unfortunately in order for us to go on a longer walk we have to walk on a pretty busy street), and someone came around the corner with a little dog who started barking at Zeppelin which spooked him and he jumped into the road and almost slipped his collar. Thank God, there was no cars coming and I was able to adjust the collar, however he went into statue mode and I couldn't get him to move until the lady with the dog started walking. My question is, is there anything I can do to help him overcome this fear of other dogs (and even cats)? The first time Zep met my mom's dog, Arlo who is a terrier mix, he was terrified, but with a lot of work we were able to make him comfortable with Arlo and now they get along great and even play together. I was thinking about obedience classes at Petsmart or something of the type to just get him accustomed to other dog breeds. Has anyone ever done this? Also, I know 2 months is not that long, is this something that may just take time as he gets used to his new surroundings? Side note, he is not at all timid around me or my husband.

Zeppelin had the same exact cow pie poos and recently discovered that he likes pooping on the leash, which makes clean-up VERY difficult! We have had him a little over a month and the food that the adoption agency gave us ran out and they were not open when I went to get new food so I ended up with a tiny bag of Rachel Ray's Just 6 dog food and Zeppy's poo is now normal, and much easier to clean up and he loves it! I know every dog is different, but it has worked quite well for us!

Yesss, it will definitely be a balancing act! He's worked his way into our hearts for sure!

Zeppelin is fine! The vet checked everything out, his flesh wound is already scabbed over, and she gave me some anti-inflammatory/pain meds, medicine to clean his pads after he goes outside to go to the bathroom, and amoxicillin just to be on the safe side. She also gave him an injection of anti-inflmmatory/pain meds for today. She said he's probably not eating because he's in pain (just as some humans do), but to try feeding him so boiled rice and chicken. Thank you all for your advice and well wishes, it made me feel better! Luckily we do have a fenced in backyard that he likes to run in (just nowhere near as big as a dog park), once he is better I will stick to the backyard and do some research on greyhound only events in the area!

He is doing a little better, more animated this morning and he did "roach" all night in his sleep so that also made me feel better, but still no interest in food, although he did eat a dental chew last night, starting to wonder if he knows I feel bad so he's holding out for the good stuff! He also hasn't coughed at all since last night around 7:00 eastern time but I do have pet insurance and have an appointment with the vet in about an hour so I can have a peace of mind, or at least know what's going on! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Thank you all so much! Makes me feel better and not so horrible. The stop pads is what he tore too, I love the baby socks idea, I was googling dog shoes and wondering how I would get them delivered so soon, baby socks make so much more sense! I will definitely take him in tomorrow to make sure everything is okay internally. He's currently lounging on his bed and has finally left the pads alone, he did tear one when we first got him and he limped a little but it healed very quickly, so I'm hoping for the same.