HeyRunDog

First thing she WILL get over it. Remember Missy has just been propelled onto a strange new planet where all her customs and rules have been replaced with strange new ones. Greyhounds seem to go through a "honeymoon" period when you first get them home when everything is overwhelming so the blindly follow. Then as they start to figure things out they will refuse to do things until it makes sense to them. Unless she is very reactive to other dogs, cats etc I would remove her muzzle. I removed Grace's on walks after a few days once I got used to her. I've done the greyhound carrying, much to my neighbours amusement. You could try the bowling technique. Stand by the side of your hound and put a couple of fingers through her collar. Start walking and at the same time, as if you are ten pin bowling, give a firm forward and slightly upward tug on the collar and give the command "Lets Go". Apparently it's similar to the way the trainer gets the dog into the trap for a race. I only had to do it three or four times to overcome Grace's freezing.

Well done. If he's happy to do that then you should have no problem getting him to do the same when you leave him. I agree with BatterseaBrindl. He knows you haven't really gone away. You need to go away properly so he can't hear, see or sense you. Get a cheap dog-cam so you can see what he does when he is left alone and he might surprise you. Also try leaving the radio on quietly to kill the silence. When I leave Grace she will eat her Kong then climb onto the sofa and look out of the window. When I get back I can see her still looking out of the window before she runs to the door to great me. I purchased a dog-cam to see what she did in between. When she realises I'm not coming back straight away she curls up on the sofa, and apart from a couple of roaching sessions, that's it. I usually get back from work just after the school kids go past and it's that that alerts her I'm on my way, so she takes up her sentry duties looking out of the window for when I come back.

Two and a half years and still won't come for a ear rub never mind a cuddle but she will now allow me to go to her . As for kisses, have you seen what they lick?

Glad the op was a success.Try putting a poo bag on before the sock to keep things dry. Just keep an eye on where the coverings are fastened to the leg for signs of rubbing.

Silly question but does he limp on all surfaces or just hard ones?

The only time Grace sits is so she can look out of the back window of the car. Goodness knows what the driver behind thinks when he sees a greyhound's head suddenly appear looking straight at him.

I agree, if your OH takes over looking after him he'll hopefully accept that he is OK to walk with. When you are out walking and you leave your OH with Samson don't make a big deal of it. Just a quick "see you later" and go. Don't even break your stride, tighten the lead or give out any other signal.

I'm glad you've got past the first few hurdles and now you have the confidence to get over the ones to come. Grace has been keeping me on my toes with new quirks for over two years and counting.................

I too have been known to be seen carrying a greyhound home because she "superglued" her feet to the pavement It's a common trait with greyhounds and most of us have gone through it in various degrees. When you first got her she would be overwhelmed with all the new sights and sounds and now she's had time to get used to them she's decided that she wants to make sure of some of them and check out if they are dangerous or not, so statues until her brain sorts it out. But they do get better with time and patience. If she's happy to be taken to the park then do so but don't force the issue. You could try high value treats to get her moving or walking around in circles or just waiting it out. If this fails you could try how the trainers do it when they are putting the hounds into the traps for a race. You stand to the side of your greyhound and put a couple of fingers under her collar. Then confidently, using the same motion as if you are ten pin bowling take a step forward and apply a forward and slight upward movement to the collar and give the command "Let's Go" and start walking. This worked for Grace and I only had to do it four or five times.

You have to remember that greyhounds aren't socialised with other dogs when they are young and have only been around other greyhounds. When you are out walking with him and you see someone with a calm quiet larger breed of dog ask them if your dogs can say hello to each other, but don't be surprised if he totally ignores the other dog. Let them have a quick sniff and move on as soon as he seems uncomfortable. Eventually he will become more accepting of other dogs and start to accept them but don't expect a quick fix.

It's a corn and unfortunately there is nothing new. Try duct tape, Burt's Bees hand salve, corn plasters/ointment etc. etc. If the corn is persistent some owners recommend a small operation where the tendon to the toe is cut so it becomes a sprung toe which means no pressure is put through it when walking. That's OK but it puts more pressure on the other toes and what happens if she gets a corn on one of those? I've been through nearly all the "remedies" in the last couple of years as my Grace has three corns on separate toes on one one of her front feet. It is now a case of managing her corns by grinding them down with a dog nail grinder and taking her to the local park in the car so she only walks on grass. If she does have to walk on a hard surface she is perfectly happy with a boot on just that one foot.

I second that. Hopefully it's resource guarding but get him to the vets sooner rather than later

The same here. Grace had the saline bag boot after she had her foot op. I used to put one of my old boot socks over the bag to give her a bit of grip.

I agree. It took several months before Grace would walk wherever I wanted to walk with her, and even now over two years, later she'll occasionally decide that a short walk is enough and turn back home.

Greyhounds respond to bribes and persuasion and like to give the impression that it was their idea to do something and not because they were told to do it. Are you shutting her in the crate or just putting her in the room with the crate door left open? I'll think you'll find most greyhound owners don't use crates but if you must use a crate put it in the room where you spend most of the day with her and leave the door open so she can decide if she wants to go in it or not. A week and a bit is not long and she'll still be getting used to her new life so continue with the alone training. A lot of the forum members recommend the book "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia B. McConnell to help with your hounds separation anxiety.

You could also spray the door with bitter apple

Set a routine and stick to it so he knows what happens next and knows you are coming back. In my case I make sure I'm ready to leave with shoes and coat on, keys in my pocket etc. I give Grace her Kong on her bed, say "see you later" and go. If I forget to give her the Kong she doesn't settle the same if I don't leave immediately.

Welcome to the world of contrary greyhounds. Who feeds her and takes her out for toilet breaks? If it's your wife perhaps you could do it instead for a bit so she gets to trust you to the same level as your wife. AND don't worry, as long as she is eating, getting a bit of exercise and going to the toilet let her get used to the change in her own time and I agree with MerseyGrey when she said "Try not to encourage her out there, because the less you coax them, the quicker they do the thing you want them to do!" You're lucky in that when she freezes she will walk home. Grace wouldn't move in any direction if she decided to freeze giving my neighbours a laugh to see a six foot bloke carrying a greyhound back home. Then she would only turn right out of the drive which meant we would have to walk around the block to turn left. After a while, with time patience and a good dose of humour she got over it.

I hope you are both OK and the nerves have settled down. To make a saline solution add 1 level teaspoon of salt to 500ml (2 cups) of cooled boiled water. Although by now it's probably started to scab over so if it's not showing any signs of being infected I would try and keep it dry. Greyhounds heal surprisingly quickly. To stop licking cover it with an old sock and tape it around the sock. Be careful not to let the tape rub and cause a sore. You could spray the sock with bitter apple and let it dry before putting it on to stop her licking it. Here is Grace after her abscess removal from between her toes two years ago showing off her sock. You might need a longer one so it can be fastened higher up to avoid the injured area. .

As you may know Grace suffers with corns. She has three on three different toes of one front foot and two on one toe of the other and we have tried different remedies for the last two years since they appeared. For the last six or seven months I have been taking her to one of the various the parks near me in the car so she doesn't walk on any hard ground, and using a dog nail grinder I've been grinding the corns and her nails down when she jumps into the back of the car before we go to the park. (It saves me bending down ) If she has to walk on hard ground I've been putting a baby sock over her foot and then her boot. The baby sock keeps her claws together, including her dew claw, and makes putting the boot on easier. This morning she didn't want to jump into the car and instead wanted to walk to the park on the pavement/sidewalk with no boots on

There is a difference of opinion on whether dog should sleep in your bedroom or downstairs in another room. I think as yours has sleep startle she needs to sleep elsewhere. You have a couple of choices. As you suggested you can shut her in the sitting room, say goodnight to her, switch off the light and leave. You could put the radio on quietly tuned in to a classical music station to give calming background noise. Warn the neighbours as you'll probably have a few nights of whining and barking but you have to be tough and don't go and see her. If you go and comfort her she'll think that's the way to get you to come back and will keep doing it. Or put her bed in another bedroom, put a child's safety gate across the door and leave both doors open so she can hear you. Have you started alone training yet?

Use a martingale or fishtail collar instead of a harness as they give you more control. With a harness the dog can pull on the lead using all his body strength. If you are worried about him slipping his collar use a double ended lead with one end attached to the collar and the other to the harness. Teach him the "Watch me" command so as soon as he seems to take an interest in another dog you can distract him and keep walking. https://www.battersea.org.uk/pet-advice/dog-advice/how-teach-your-dog-watch-me-command

....and me. I had to explain to him the difference between how male and female dogs pee. I also offered him a bag of poo which he declined. Pity really because I have a regular daily supply

Are you walking him tensed ready for when he sees another dog with a tight lead and your husband walks along without a care in the world with a slack lead? If so you are signalling to him that something frightening is around and you need protecting. Your husband gives him the message he's in charge and all is well.

Agreed. If there's no sound of squabbling then they've probably sorted out themselves who sleeps where