kightfam

Not a greyhound owner, just a fellow overthinker/nerd! I think Patricia McConnell (my favorite dog psychologist of all time) would recommend teaching your girl a separate, incompatible behavior when she hears the garage door. Something like lay down on this mat -- or sit on the couch -- or go get my stuffy and sit by the door -- or even run into an open crate. It would take a lot of small step conditioning -- basically just making it rain treats when she is in the desired "spot" and then syncing it up with the audible trigger. I have to give you so much kudos with how well you care for and look after your girls! They sound like a bit of a handful, but they're absolutely with the right human for them! <3

I just saw a Dun service dog greyhound in our local Target! My jaw just dropped— he was so gorgeous! Wish I could have talked to the owner but they were working, of course, so I didn’t interrupt. So so pretty though!

This is very helpful! It's incredible to me that these crazy athletic dogs don't tend to be jumpers, because, as the videos show, they could clear anything they WANTED to! I do supervise for potty breaks in the yard, but I'm not sure even my watching would stop a dog from leaping over to get a closer look at a neighborhood cat or rabbit, so I think I'll add a little extension to the top of the fence until we get our privacy fence installed. The adoption group approved our set up, but ultimately the dog's safety is on me, and I just wouldn't want to chance it!

I haven't been able to find any definite recommendations on fence heights for a retired racers. Galgos seem to need 6 feet, no matter what, but I've seen anything from 3 feet to 6 feet for greyhounds. Like anything, I'm sure it depends on the individual and their athleticism and motivation to hop a fence. We have an almost 4 foot fence currently, that we intend to someday replace with a 6 footer, but I'd like to know if we should prioritize that before adopting, or if we'd be ok for a while. (We're on the list with a good rescue group, and may find the right one within 6 months or so! The adoption volunteer I talked with thought we'd be fine fence-wise, but I'm not convinced.)

(Not a greyhound owner here, but I've had other dogs) If her reactivity is remaining at a low level like you're describing, try conditioning her to think that dogs passing = FOOD! From far enough away that she's noticing but not reacting, start handing out incredible treats, only when the other dog is in sight. Might have to work up to closer and closer interactions over time, so that there's never a bad feeling associated with passing dogs. But if you keep her under reactivity threshold and show her that looking at other dogs makes it rain treats, I'm sure she'll make rapid progress!

Yes, lurchers do seem to be a little more accessible to families with children, for some reason. We had the benefit of meeting several lurchers and galgos with the previous rescue. The lurchers were very boisterous and bouncy and fast moving, the galgos were generally more aloof and unsure about strangers and children. (The one we brought home was exceptionally friendly and well balanced with the kids.) Our children are really quite mellow, and were not very comfortable around the lurchers, but I know we might be able to find the one odd lurcher who is not quite so pushy. For now, I'm going to see if we can pursue a true greyhound-- I really feel that a more laidback and low key nature would be a good fit for us. But we'll see what turns up!

Oh, and we are located in northern MN! I've looked into a few rescues in our region, but they seemed to have fairly strict child policies. Still worth having a conversation with them, perhaps.

Thank you so much for this, @EllenEveBaz! We will probably consider adopting in a year-- our pittie's health has begun to decline, so we will probably let her live out her life without too much chaos, and then prepare fora new dog. But that will give us plenty of time to find a rescue that fits us well, and get on a waiting list for a dog they think will be a good match.

Sorry it's been a while since I last checked in. The boy we brought home very much escalated in reactive behavior towards our senior dog, sadly. She was getting increasingly anxious, as he would go into a barking/growling rage anytime he so much as heard her walking around out of his sight. I have done thorough reading and was really very careful with his homecoming, but that kind of reactivity is not something we are equipped to handle. I am very grateful that the rescue has a 2 week period to evaluate fit, so he could find a home where he's not triggered constantly. But next time I am determined to work with a rescue who uses foster homes, instead of a kennel situation, so that there will be fewer big surprises like that. He was marshmallow soft to humans-- just not comfortable enough around other dogs in a home. The task will be to find a rescue that works with families with younger children. We are responsible parents, and know that they are usually the problem in dog-to-child interactions. So we supervise and separate religiously. But all the rescues in the area (minus the one we found the galgo through) have a 5 y/o minimum age for all kids in the home. If anyone has recommendations for rescues that use foster homes, and who will talk to families with younger kids at least on a case by case basis, could you let me know? I think we are mostly interested in a retired racing greyhound, so that would be a plus too if that is the rescue's primary work. Thanks!

Absolutely. It's always easier to go slower than necessary than try to undo something!

That's amazing!! So glad to be part of this community! So far he seems very well adjusted and easy. The one thing I can tell we'll have to help him with is realizing that it's ok for another dog to be within sight while he's eating, and vice versa. Our dogs are being kept very separate for now, but she walked within his line of sight while he was eating dinner, and he barked at her. Then later my husband gave our first dog a little piece of sweet potato from his plate, within galgo boy's sight, and he again started barking at her. No growls, and he honestly doesn't seem all that food motivated (he has a kong with a little peanut butter smeared inside that he hasn't touched all day), and he's otherwise very soft and gentle. So I'm hopeful that we can help him associate seeing Nellie with good things, and then start connecting the dots to where he's not on guard against her when either one is eating. If anyone can weigh in with experience and/or just provide encouragement it would be much appreciated! <3

That's awesome! They seem like such a great organization. I loved seeing them represented on Yo Galgo.

One of his "headshots" from FBM-- he really is so handsome!

Our galgo is here! He came home yesterday morning and spent the entire day sleeping on his new bed. Today he's a bit more alert, some restlessness and whining occasionally as he gets his bearings. He's incredibly gentle and unobtrusive, likes the kids and hasn't bothered to do much with our current dog (they're being kept apart, just outside together for potty breaks-- he's kept on a leash). He seems very interested in squirrels-- definitely going to invest in that six foot fence next spring!-- and is learning to keep his paws off the counter tops, lol. Overall, a delightful guy! The rescue he's from does a 2 week evaluation period before making adoption final, but so far, so good on our end. I'm super impressed by his social skills, especially considering he's lived in rescue for nearly his whole life. We're still working on a name... Fred, Nigel, and Asa are our favorites so far. I hope I successfully figured out how to share photos! He's a cute little goofball! https://ibb.co/tB4CTwS https://ibb.co/C7kw20D https://ibb.co/41DYHqn

Thank you so much! That is helpful and encouraging to hear! We did go and meet a gaggle of galgos this weekend, haha. The boy I thought we'd like best turned out to be a bit more shy and reluctant to interact than I thought he'd be. A little too startled by kid movement and sound, etc. So, we decided that a more confident dog would be a better fit. Fortunately, the next boy they brought in was PERFECT. Perfect respectful energy with our dogs, curious and interested with the kids, not startled at all, and very mild, pleasant energy. He wanted to be pet and touched and was very laid back. He's almost three, which I thought might be too young energy-wise with our granny dogs, but he's so mellow and kind that they were not bothered by him at all. Turns out, he was pretty much raised in rescue, he was taken from a hunter as a puppy and given lots of good socialization at FBM. He's had a relatively normal dog life, and he's got good manners with dogs and people. I think it will be helpful for us newbs to *not* start out with a very traumatized galgo-- which as you said, traumatized galgos are sadly fairly common. Anyway, he'll likely come to us in a couple weeks when the adoption process is complete! The rescue does a two week "trial period" to make sure everyone is a good fit for each other, which will be really helpful. We're excited to give this sweet boy a home!