amalexia

I want to preface this by saying that I know a growl is a growl and a form of communication that is pertinent only in the moment and does not need to be analyzed over and over again. I am mostly curious about how common is this and if this will tend to diminish with time (not a problem if not). We call Cameron miss grumpy because she is, well, a grumpy dog sometimes. The best explanation I can give is I have never had/seen a dog that growls that often for small things. For example, we do not allow her on the sofa when we are sitting on it because she will growl if we move (sometimes not even toward her). Fixed it easy: no sofa when we are using it. We make her get down and that's it. Other example: the other day she was running around with my husband and she stopped abruptly which caused my husband to fall down (not on her, but close). She growled a bit. The other day, I pushed one of her toys out of the way, close to her bed (she was awake, I made sure of it) and she growled. So just a bunch of small things that happen on a somewhat regular basis (a lot of the growling seems to be directed at my husband, whom I have told many times to read up on dog body language as this is his first ever dog mostly after he does something that makes her uncomfortable). We're not getting upset at things like that as we understand it's a way for her to express that in that moment, she is not comfortable and wants whatever is going on to stop. We also never reprimand it because we want to keep her expressing the growl when needed. I am just wondering if this is just a thing of she is still settling in and it will eventually diminish or do we just have a grumpy dog (for lack of a better expression) that just has a low tolerance level for whatever annoys her?

Just wanted to update as we had the family gathering yesterday. We decided to opt for the room with a baby gate (that bedroom has full view on the main living area so it wasn't as if she wasn't part of the group). In advance of the gathering, we had started to put her in that room with a bed, a treat (raw turkey neck, bully stick, treat toy, etc.) everyday so that she had a positive association with the room. It did work as she is now super excited whenever we bring one of her beds in there. On the day of, we placed both of her beds and her raised feeder in the room. We had her greet most guests and then we put her in the room and gave her some treats and a frozen Kong. It kept her occupied for a bit and then she would just come to the gate and receive pets from guests. Whenever she wanted some peace, she would go to one of her beds. We took her out for potty when needed and she was always happy to go back to her room. After her meal, she settled down and slept pretty much the rest of the evening, getting up only once for potty break. We're quite happy with how it went. We ended up with a much less stressed and exhausted dog at the end of the night and it shows today as she has her normal amount of energy (whereas she would be very tired the day after we have visitors). I've never seen her this relaxed when we have visitors over. It also gave us peace of mind throughout the evening that she was fine and that the small kids were safe/not annoying her.

I'll see if we can baby gate the living room (where we put her slumberball when we have guests so that she has space of her own. That would probably make her feel more part of it. People will be over probably between 3pm and 9-10pm so it won't be over multiple days.

Completely agree on the bully stick (well, and everything else in your post). I would never give that to her with children present. I gave it last night as we were only four (all adults) and all understood to leave her alone. That would otherwise not be something I would do. She does seem to have a "shorter fuse" recently as she has been worried by the cat (we finally pinned it down with the adoption group and the trainer by filming her reaction) and a bit more stressed than usual and that is probably not helping her when we have people over so we'll see how she does next week but the bedroom might be the best option. I don't trust the kids much and neither the parents to enforce the rules (they all have family dogs at home and feel like Cameron will put up with whatever their dogs put up with (cuddling, hugging, laying on her bed, etc.). It's crazy to me how much people sometimes fail to try and understand why we have rules for Cameron as she is so new despite being an adult dog... Totally agree. She is still quite new. We just passed the six-month period with her and about 3 months ago, we definitely saw that the honeymoon period was over (silly us, we thought we were just lucky and she would never have some quirks!). Part of it might have been our fault as we left her bed there in the first place (it really is in a busy place when we have guests and we normally don't keep it there so that she is not in the way). We now know that she has a bigger personal space bubble when with strangers hence why I think the bedroom is the safest thing with the small kids.

Cameron loves people. She's always happy to meet people on walks, at stores (the few that we take her to, mostly the pet store where we get her treats, toys and other) and even at home when they arrive. When we walk, she will try to greet each person she sees. We've also had guests at our house multiple times since we've had her and she was always doing great (we have been enforcing a rule of not touching her if she is lying down and we give her plenty of space) although sometimes a little stressed (especially if the group is larger). Yesterday, we had friends over (just two) for the afternoon and evening. She was fine at first: greeted them happily at the door, especially happy to get the special visitor treats (we have everyone who visits give one of these so that she associates that guests over mean tasty treats) and she settled down happily in her beds (she would switch between the more secluded slumberball in the living room and another bed which was in a more busy area of the main living area (we have one big open room for kitchen, dining and living room). At one point, she was laying down on the bed in the busier area and she snarled at one of our friends as he was walking by. Our friend is great with dogs and was not freaked out by this. I took Cameron out to potty and told my husband to take the bed in the busy area away so that she wouldn't have to deal with people walking close by and stressing her more. Once we got back in, I gave her a bully stick on her slumberball to keep her occupied (and relieve stress with chewing) and she was fine for the rest of the evening (still stressed but fine). She eventually fell asleep and even dreamed. My concern is twofold. First, this is new as she never had that kind of reaction to any guest at home. She still loves people and when on our walk this morning was happy to (try) to walk up to any stranger (we don't allow her to do do because not everyone likes dogs and I don't want to impose my dog to anyone; if they want to meet her, then we allow it), but I can't really put my finger on what happened that caused her to snarl like that. Anything we should be doing for this? We don't host all the time, but we do have people over usually around once or twice a month and I'd like her not to get worked up like that so that having people over doesn't get all of us worried or that we completely stop having people over. Second, we are hosting our family next week, which will involve small children (ages 3 to 7). Given what happened yesterday, I think we will have her greet the people early and then put her in our spare bedroom with a baby gate to ensure everyone's safety and wellbeing. She'll have her beds in there with her water bowl and I might give her some interactive toys throughout the afternoon/evening to keep her busy if she is fretting (frozen Kong, licky mat, etc.). Does this sound like a sensible idea?

Yes, we've been treating consistently now (my husband was of the opinion of letting things work themselves out, but I explained we had to show a united front and set clear boundaries). It is helping and she now even looks at us when the cat comes into the room (so we must be doing something ok). We'll keep at it. You are correct, the salt the city uses is painful and they also put some small rocks for adherence, which are uncomfortable for Cameron (we notice a marked changed in her way of walking where she passes on the rocks). We have the Voyager boots, but Cameron hates them. She already does not like getting boots on and the Voyager are long to put on so it's an additional hurdle there. We're getting NGAP boots in the mail. We'll see if she likes those more. The boots she cares less about are the dreadful Pawz, but then they rip off as soon as she starts bouncing around in the snow.

You are totally right that I am anxious. I have been focusing on calming down and it is going better so it is clear to me that she is feeding off of my personal anxiety. So my first step is to calm down to make everything smoother. My husband did tell me that Cameron is calmer when I am not around so it does show that I have an impact on her (hard thing with anxiety sometimes is realizing you are anxious). She does not like boots, but the salt and the rocks the city uses are definitely [painful for her. We're lucky that we have a fenced yard so what we do at the moment is walk when there is enough snow to cover the rocks and the salt and yard if not possible to walk. We'll be talking to the trainer next week to see how we can work around getting her to like the boots. We might also just keep doing what we are doing. She definitely loves the snow, so that's a big plus. And for the nails, you are right, everyone can call themselves a groomer and I am pretty sure she never took the time to acclimate Cameron to the sound of the tool so it gradually just made Cameron more nervous. We'll give a call to a local vet and see if we can pop in for nail trimming (without me present). We also have a dremel coming in. We'll see if we can acclimate Cameron to it eventually.

Just re-read your reply and it is in line with what we are doing: treats, close supervision or otherwise they are kept apart. We'll keep at it. Plus, about the grabbing, she did not lunge and did not pursue. She is easily redirected to us by using treats.

@GerogeofNE (sorry, I can't PM yet) When would it become concerning? For example, Cameron got up as the cat approached my cereal bowl and tried to grab her. I know that if she really wanted to get the cat she could, which she did not.

Wasn't sure where to post this. In another thread (http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/322125-new-interest-in-cat/), I was explaining how Cameron was newly interested in the cat. While I'm not concerned for the cat, I am now getting concerned for Cameron herself. She seems to be getting stressed by the cat walking around. She will often start lightly panting when looking at the cat (especially if the cat is sitting in the entrance or getting pet by us, but it can also happen if the cat has been moving around quite a bit). This has been going on since last Monday (marking day seven now), but the stress has somewhat seemed to be increasing. She seems agitated even while sleeping (she's shifting a lot, sighing a lot). At what point should we be concerned? I don't want Cameron to feel stressed because we have a cat. I don't want Cameron to feel stressed generally. At the end of the day, we want to do right by her and having her stressed at all times (or multiple times a day) is no way to live. We know medication might help her relax, but is it fair to have her on meds for a cat? Also, yesterday, we had the lady coming over over to get her nails trimmed. It normally is not too much of a problem, but I guess with the extra stressed week, it was too much yesterday. We keep Cameron muzzled during nail trimming as precaution and I am so glad we did yesterday. It first started with a GSOD for no apparent reason (i.e., the quick was not touched), but Cameron was definitely nervous as I could notice her body tensing up and a lot of lip licking. I was opposed to starting again after this, but my husband and the groomer wanted to see if they could continue. As soon as the dremel got close to her nails, Cameron growled and would have snapped if not for the muzzle. After that point, the groomer could not even get close to her anymore without a growl. We stopped it there, gave the groomer a few treats to throw to Cameron (by then, she was laying in the furthest possible bed and panting quite a lot from stress). I feel terrible for not trusting my gut which was to stop right after the cry and pushing her being uncomfortable. I have searched on the forum and found threads on nail trimming containing desensitizing information (start by just the dremel running close to her and treats, then move to touching her paw, then nails, etc. and using lots and lots of treats). Any other tips we should be thinking of? How soon after yesterday's incident should we start this process? This is a major concern for me as we need to trim her nails.

We have a "permanent" baby gate to block off the stairs to the basement where the cat food and litter are. Before this new interest, we would add a temporary baby gate for our bedroom so that the cat would also have a safe space upstairs. With the new interest, to keep them completely apart when no one is home to supervise we pile three baby gates so that the cat can't sneak upstairs.

Also an option the trainer listed for the change. She did say we could go around for days trying to figure out what started this new interest and still not know. She was, however, not very concerned as she did say Cameron's demeanor was that of a curious dog, not a dog hunting. She advised to keep with the treats and separate them when we're not home just to be safe. You should see the wall of baby gates we created to stop the cat from being upstairs (three baby gates on top of each other). It's hilarious, but I now wish I had a door at the bottom of the stairs!

Thanks for your input. It was mostly the sudden aspect of the quite focused interest, but I guess this comes with her adjusting to the new home. Something might have happened on Monday while we were away that might have piqued Cameron's interest (the cat has exclusive access to the basement and she might have made some noise down there). The interest is still there, but it is easily turned to either me or my husband. I have no problem having her look at the cat, but I'd rather have her dial it down a little bit. I guess with time and proper reinforcement, this will diminish.

We had our behaviourist/trainer in last night for our first session (great timing given this new curiosity with the cat). She was able to observe Cameron's interest in the cat a few times during the session and she did not express concerns. She agreed with our approach of separating them when we are not home and to keep at it with the treats so that we create an incompatibility in her mind between looking at the cat and getting treats. So glad we got that trainer in as we learned a lot and will be upping Cameron's obedience sessions with us everyday. We got so many tips to work on sit, coming to us, focus on us and emergency recall along with suggestions for mental stimulation throughout the day.

The cat doesn't go outside (well she does, but wearing a harness and accompanied by either me or my husband and never with the dog). Looking at it, she seems just very curious. I am working from home today (snowstorm) and Cameron is now sleeping peacefully. We'll just keep at making her understand that the cat is to be looked at from a distance.

(Me again, sorry!) When we adopted Cameron, she was classified as "cat workable". While we were picking her up, there were cats in the kennel just roaming around. She looked interested, but was not chasing or anything. We were explained this is why she was classified cat workable. When we got home, we made proper presentations with our resident cat who then proceeded to disappear to the basement for a little while. We also had multiple baby gates up so that Cameron would be confined to the main living area and the cat was able to retreat to safe spaces easily. The muzzle was kept on (first at all times, then only when we were not home). After a few weeks, we were able to have the muzzle off when we were not home. Cameron was not showing much interest in the cat and when she did, we just had to call her name for her to stop focussing on the cat (mind you, she never showed agression or prey drive toward the cat; it really was just curiosity). Fast forward a few months and we've now had Cameron for five months. Since yesterday, Cameron has been focussed on the cat. If the cat moves, Cameron looks at her. If the cat lays down somewhere in the living area, Cameron looks at her sometimes. If the cat drinks water, Cameron looks at her. Last night, she even got up to see the cat. Cameron will lay down and look at the cat. Again, this is not done in an agressive way. The ears are forward, but not completely up and when she goes toward the cat, a firm no stops her. I've started giving her treats every time I call her name and she stops looking at the cat. She has been given a lot of treats since last night. I was hoping that last night was just a fluke, but this seems to keep happening this morning. Should we keep at the treats? Anything else we should be doing? I am worried that this interest will escalate and prove dangerous for the cat. Is that possible? Should we be worried?

Cameron will put the harness on happily (she's used to it) as long as she is happy to go out for a walk. She is just the laziest dog I have ever seen. She does need to go out for the last pee (which is now around 9pm most evenings), but doesn't feel like getting up. I now do some obedience training and then take her out for a last pee. At that point, she is up and happy to be doing tricks for treats and won't mind going out for a quick pee.

Thanks! She's pretty awesome herself!

Thank you!

Could you tell me about WW's Bull Fight? I know she ran in Alabama about 50 races, but really can't read the stats to understand them. Ear mark: 74A-64403 Dam: WW Kyra No Bull (that line has always looked weird to me as it seems like WW Kyra No Bull is the offspring of dogs coming from same dam and sire but different litter) Sire: WW Greys Drifter

Thanks! I must say I am an anxious person myself, so it all felt like so much over the weekend (especially with lack of sleep). So far, no other growling at the cat (when she is awake, she doesn't even care about the cat). We're *trying* to teach the cat to not approach the dog bed (shaking a water bottle if she comes close, which has no effect on Cameron but does get the cat away). So far so good. We'll keep some treats handy to positively reinforce the being calm while the cat is around/looking at her. We've bought some Muttlocks (which have been recommended by many adopters in our region). They will both protect from cold (when it gets really cold) and salt/rocks if needed. My husband did put the boots on by using treats (actually on the same day she snapped, but later when she was happy to get up and using the muzzle just in case). She didn't even mind having him put the boots on. We'll keep at it with the boots so that she gets completely unfazed by the process.

Thanks for your response! It's funny how my initial response was "I don't think she's very anxious" which changed to "maybe she is anxious" given all that was said. I always said that she was not afraid of the dark (once she is outside, she is quite fine in the dark), she just doesn't like getting up to go outside if it's dark (my personal guess: not really interesting to be outside in the dark because all the squirrels are sleeping!). So, it's nice to have someone going in the same direction! We'll see what the behaviourist will say once we meet with her. In any case, we do need to get some additional training in for Cameron. And thanks for the book suggestion, will definitely look that up!

Some of you might remember me from a few weeks ago when we were having trouble getting our girl, Cameron, to go out for her evening walk. Thanks to all the suggestions, we have now moved up her walk to some point in the afternoon (depending on when we are home) so she gets to go when it's still light out. We've also moved up her dinner time to 6pm and last potty to somewhere between 8:30pm and 10:00pm. Everything has been much smoother since those changes. A few weeks back, we've had the first snow/ice which meant the city put some salt on the sidewalks along with small rocks (as abrasive). It became clear Cameron finds it painful to walk on that so we put the boots on. The first set we tried, she managed to get them out pretty easily. We tried a few other times, but she kept getting them off. We asked for advice and got some Pawz (they look like balloons) and a new set of boots. The new boots turned out to be too big so, between trying them and getting the smaller size, we used Pawz. In any case, one morning, when it was very early and pitch black outside, she snapped at my husband who was putting the Pawz on (husband was wearing a coat, so he was protected and he says it would not have injured him as she barely applied pressure. We managed to take her for her walk, but we were both pretty upset but she was herself and playful. After the walk, I got in touch with our adoption group. They suggested a full physical to rule out any medical issue and to not use boots for now. We have a yard and we have a park super close by (we can walk in our quiet street, away from the little rocks) so it's not a problem. On weekends, we take her to a different park by car. All in all, it has been pretty good. We've also stopped trying to get to walk when it's pitch black in the morning. Fast forward almost a week to last Tuesday (it took that long to get an appointment with our vet who is the recommended vet for greyhounds in our area), we got her in for a physical, stool and urine analysis and blood draw. The vet said she was physically perfect and called us back a few days (yesterday) later with results: all clear. He did say that we should work with a behaviourist and determine if she maybe is anxious and might need some anxiety meds to help her cope. I was surprised at first because Cameron has been doing so great from day one (we've had five months now). No SA whatsoever and pretty laid back since we got her (up to a month, month and a half ago). She does not seem nervous or anxious to me, although she sometimes gets scared but bounces back after a couple of hours or so. I am, however, the first to say that she is very stoic and maybe she is slightly anxious and we can't see it because we are not trained to see it. We have the name of a trainer/behaviour specialist and will be calling her tomorrow to set up an initial consult and get a plan in place for Cameron. She seems to have started to get sleep startled, especially this past week. On Thursday night, the cat woke her up by sniffing her and she growled and jumped at her, but did not pursue. She was stressed afterwards so I took out her snuffle mat to get her mind off of it. This worked and after a 10-minute session with the mat, she went back to sleep. Last night (Saturday), she was sleeping and the cat was on the sofa with us (Cameron doesn't use the sofa). The cat moved to the ottoman and looked at Cameron. Cameron growled and barked at the cat and the cat ran away. The cat then proceeded to slunk away to the basement and Cameron saw it again and growled a bit. Five minutes later, she was fast asleep and dreaming. So now I am thinking that she might have started to have some sleep startling issues, which kind of feeds into the anxiety theory from the vet. In any case, the adoption group is lending us a crate to see if it's going to help on this front. I am concerned that she is getting more and more anxious and I feel like I'm failing her as a dog parent for not figuring out what is going on. My husband's theory is that she is getting more and more settled in and might let herself fall asleep deeper which then leads to sleep startle. I am worried that my own worry about her not being comfortable or maybe even regressing might be feeding her discomfort. All in all, a whole lot of worry going around today. Any tips or advice for us while we wait to meet with the trainer/behaviour specialist? I have read up a bit about DAP diffuser so we might be getting that.

Yes, we're in Montreal. They've adopted this ridiculous by-law whereby dogs over 40 pounds need to be harnessed and "pitbull-type" dogs need to be muzzled (and if lost by their owner, they will be euthanized and the bill sent to the owner...). It's beyond ridiculous. We elected a new mayor last week and part of her platform is to go back on the by-law. Fingers crossed!

Small update: Got her out a few minutes ago. I'll consider this her last call for the night as I know she usually starts sleeping quite deeply around 9pm or so. So far, the new schedule has proven to be quite helpful. And honestly, it's actually nicer for me to walk her when I get back from work instead of when I have been relaxing for a while at home in my pjs. Thanks all for all the tips! Fingers crossed things work out like today.