Feefee147
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Posts posted by Feefee147
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9 minutes ago, Ellen said:
When I was doing research on the best breed of dog to have as a 1st time owner, greyhounds came out top.
Only problem was I was reading all the info. from the various greyhound charities ( from around the world) and while what they said was true on the whole- they don't really tell about any of the negatives. No socialisation as pups, a jogger or cyclist approaching from behind can make him leap in the air, though that is getting better. Even managed to clean and dress his wound on my own today- it's been a 2 man job up to now
.I'm almost wishing my life away as I can't wait to see the improvements over the next few months
As someone who has grown up with, looked after, fostered many breeds...greyhounds are (in my opinion - don't shoot me, good people, I come in peace!) DEFINITELY the hardest breed! Especially for a first time owner.
Any other dog will adjust to a new life in days/weeks, irrespective of any past life and horrors. Whereas these lovely greys take a VEEEERY long time to adjust. Add in the size of them, chase drive and their lack of social skills ... it's quite a challenge!
I did in the first few months quite often panic, wonder if I was giving him what he needs and think 'ohmygodwhatthecrappinghellhaveidone'! That said, watching my boy go from a terrified, aloof, panicky (and sometimes snappy) freezing alien into a lovely, farty, gentle, cheery bundle of toy tossing sweetness has been an absolute joy and I wouldn't change anything. I love the smelly bones on him
Well done on cleaning and dressing his wound - see, improvements already
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6 minutes ago, Ellen said:
Hi, thanks' for replying. I must admit we were both getting frustrated trying to get treats through his muzzle and I gave up.Will need to practice more
I was looking at "Gentle Muzzle Guard for Dogs" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gentle-Muzzle-Guard-Dogs-Prevents/dp/B07KPJVR31/ref=bmx_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07KPJVR31&pd_rd_r=6de6e106-2a94-44de
Has anyone had any experience of these ?
Yes - I much prefer the full muzzle, mainly because my boy is reactive with small dogs and can get a nip in with the gentle muzzle guard (assuming it's not so tight it's clamping their mouth shut). I also tried a different full muzzle which is less rigid with bigger gaps...again, he could nip through it if he wanted.
My OH gets frustrated with treats through the muzzle, but I've cracked it now - tell him a treats coming and pop it through one of the top holes. He usually manages to grab it :-)
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On 10/7/2020 at 7:48 PM, MerseyGrey said:
The second picture: ‘make it stop...please’😍
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3 minutes ago, MerseyGrey said:
Do you always leave the house by the same door when you go for a walk? Could you try having your partner leave the house by a different door? Or you could try driving to a favourite walking place and wait in the car while your partner walks Samson. I don’t have any experience of this behaviour although I do know that they are creatures of habit, and sometimes an alteration in their usual routine can break patterns for them.
I’m sure you’re right that your partner and Sampson have bonded. But does he ever feed Samson? That might help to strengthen the bond even more and might help you out a bit more. I have a clingy boy as well but he will at least walk with my husband!
Brilliant idea, but sadly we only have the one door out. The garden door doesn't go anywhere. We're in Central London and don't have a car (although if it might help I'd go and buy one ;-/)
Good idea re feeding though. My OH does the morning feed. I'll suggest he does the evening feed too and pass that job over - maybe that will help ..... time will tell
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26 minutes ago, MandysMom said:
Sammy whines for many reasons, including, but not limited to:
- He's bored
- He wants food
- He wants a walk
- He has to pee and/or poop
- The blanket on the couch is not folded to his liking
- He knocked the blanket off the couch and he can't jump up there without it
- He's dug one of his beds into a nest and he no longer wants it that way
- Grandma cleaned out all her little trash cans so there's no paper for him to shred
- The sun is up
- The sun has gone down
As you can see, he whines frequently. The only one I react to anymore is #4, it has a different, more urgent tone.
Hahaha brilliant! I especially like 7 - fickle thing! :-)
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38 minutes ago, stevevt said:
What do you think would happen if you both took him out, but you left the walking party on your own toward the end of the walk? It might take a few tries before Samson could handle that, or maybe he'd be fine because he's already on his way back home. Then, the idea is you'd slowly do the disappearing trick earlier and earlier -- not every time, but on random occasions. The second-to-last level would be you both take him out the door but you immediately go off in another direction. Once this was comfortable, you could then move to random times where your partner took him alone -- maybe with you pretending to get ready for the walk as if you were tagging along.
We've tried this a bit. If either one of us disappears mid walk he will stop and just look around for the other one, reluctant to move on. Eg if we walk with my OH to the station, he'll go in and Samson will stand outside for ages staring in and waiting for him to come back. He's a big 37kg chap so I can't just pick him up and carry him away, and I don't want to drag him around so it takes a lot of patience and cajoling to get him to move again!
It's worth us trying it again, perhaps on a more regular basis. Thank you for the suggestion :-)
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On 10/9/2020 at 12:11 PM, Kathy02 said:
We were told by our adoption agency to keep our dog crated for most of the day for the first week or so, and to feed meals exclusively in the crate, to establish the crate as a good and safe space. They also suggested that we keep the crate in an area where we spent more time at first, so that the dog would be able to be near us even while she was in the crate in the first couple of weeks. We have since moved it (maybe a month into adoption) to an area that's more out of the way.
Are you putting her in that room/in the crate only when you leave her (either leaving the house or at bedtime)? Then she might be associating that room with your absence, which is probably why she's resisting going in. It might be useful to have her spend some time in there while you're still around, so that you're not creating that association. Same goes for playing music or leaving the TV on.
Blimey! I've never heard that (keeping the dog crated for most of the day for the first week or so) from a rescue place before! Seems a very bizarre thing to do.
They take a long time to adjust to their new surroundings and bond with new people. Wouldn't it be better to let them go where they want, hide away in a quiet space if they need a breather and also let them have the freedom to approach you if/when they start to feel confident and wish to interact?
Ours has free roam of the whole place and can sleep/interact/play whenever he wants. Initially when we were brushing up on his toilet training and counter surfing issues we did restrict where he could go a little (eg no kitchen and bedroom unless we were in there) but we certainly never kept him shut in a crate. Especially not all day!
I think if you're only using a crate with the door closed for bedtime and alone time they are, of course, going to very quickly associate that with being left alone and resist going in there!
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On 10/8/2020 at 8:45 PM, HazeyJ said:
Hi Racindog,
Thanks for your comment, although I admit it made me very nervous! I've thought about it but I think Jack really acts out of fear more than dominance. He's a nervous boy and this is his reaction to being overwhelmed. He responds to training quite well even though it's only been a week and in general I think he respects me. In this specific instance, I think I was in his space and I was trying to be firm but it probably came out quite frustrated. I think I just agitated him and then when I leaned over him he couldn't handle it. I will keep an eye on it.
A week - ahh, you're in the early days. It's tough but don't let any of it get to you (easier said than done), especially if he gets snappy or cranky.
I found with my nervous grey that touching him, trying to move him or pushing him from something was a HUGE no-no. He wasn't used to being handled and would panic, react and sometimes snap. It took weeks, possibly months, before I could touch him easily in any situation and truly trust him/and him me.
'Leave it' training mentioned above is definitely the way to go. That way you can tell him something he is doing is wrong without having to invade his space if necessary.
I also have a very firm "no" used sparingly (he hates stern voices) kept for extreme situations (eg grabbing something he shouldn't have...etc) which comes out if he doesn't listen. On the rare occasion that leave it doesn't work - he knows that "NO!" means business and will jump in surprise and wander off nonchalantly with a "what?? I wasn't doing anything" face :-)
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Excitement!
Took me a while to figure it out as he's usually a very quiet boy but.... once he knows a walk or dinner are coming he'll whine. If he sees a squirrel and can't get to it he'll whine the place down.
And, embarrassingly, if we spot another greyhound whilst out walking he'll speed up to catch up and greet it, whining the whole way :-)
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Haha yes! Mine too, but it took a while. He doesn't do it a great deal, he's too lazy for that and would rather be lying down :-)
I read somewhere that if you have an ex racer their bottom and back muscles start to relax and so they can physically sit, whereas before when newly retired they couldn't. But I don't know how true that is.
It's a bizarre sight, isn't it!
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On 10/13/2020 at 10:32 AM, Ellen said:
Hi,
I have been training Ally "leave it " with some success ( now and again)
He appears to have quite a high prey drive esp. squirrels and certain small dogs so it's trying to distract him when he spots one, can't use food treats when out as he's muzzled.
Reading some passed posts people recommend "watch me" signal, is there much difference or benefit ?
It's hard to reinforce the good behaviour without a tasty treat.
We use a standard cage type muzzle -
I've found it took a bit of practice but actually its very easy to get a small treat in the gaps - although it did take a week of us both constantly rummaging around on the floor trying to pick up a treat before I mastered it :-)
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Exactly what everyone else said! It just takes time.
We did considerable 'leave it' training and that seems to work in a variety of situations (squirrel, dog leaping about in his face....etc). I also keep mine on lead and muzzled. I know a lot of people aren't a fan of muzzles - and I agree that in some situations its not always good - but I have found that a) I can relax (and therefore not tense up and impact him) knowing that if he does snap for any reason he can't do any damage and b) when people see a muzzled dog they tend to be more sensible, call their dogs in and ask first if they can approach which usefully gives the chance to introduce the dogs gradually, briefly and calmly.
My boy is absolutely ecstatic if he sees another sighthound, confident and very social. With any other breed he ranges from excited to terrified/slowly backing up behind me. We took a step back, avoided all dogs and walked around the field peripheries for a while, gradually closing the gap over a period of at least a month - that helped too.
If yours is still reacting you could try taking a step back and keeping a bit of distance, and then build it up again slowly.
Feisty Fido is a must read! And i'm sure in time your boy will start to be a bit easier. Meanwhile enjoy the arm workout :-)
Good luck!
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Ok. So we're 8 months in with our lovely boy. He's doing brilliantly, relaxed and playful now. Nothing like the terrified, introverted creature that first turned up.
My partner and I both take him out daily and he's a happy lad - confident, cheery and will walk for as long as we want, wherever we want. He's still a little nervous with loud noises, other dogs, kids and raucous groups but overall a lot happier when out and about.
I walk him alone every day also - not quite so confident, leans in a lot if people or dogs approach him head on, and is reluctant to walk in busy areas. He's clearly most comfortable when his whole 'pack' are with him. He Is more content with a short 15 minute toilet trip, sniff and wander before heading back but it's a nice and easy, no major problems.
However - he will NOT go out with just my partner. He'll get excited at the mention of a walk, but the second he realises I'm not going too he'll dash over and stand in front of me with this lovely big eyes looking at me pleadingly, and statue when it's time to go.
I work from home and he's very clingy with me (I'm working on that, leaving him each day for increasing increments of time...etc) and is generally sprawled out nearby. My partner is either out for the day or working in the makeshift office/2nd bedroom. He's a hoarder so Samson can't really get in there, which I suspect is why they aren't as close. But if we're all out for a walk and my OH nips into a shop Samson will wait in the doorway watching and refuse to budge until he reappears. When my OH comes home he's (Samson!) excited, tail waggles and throws his toys around. So clearly they have bonded. I am the main source of training, play and interaction so that's probably why we've bonded more. But everything I see between Samson and my OH is fun, relaxed and playful. Nothing worrying to imply that Samson is wary or untrusting of him.
I have grilled my partner (probably quite harshly!) on if something has happened whilst out. I'll be honest - I'm the patient, sensitive and calm one, he's definitely an impatient sort who would get frustrated with a statuing dog. But he swears he has been nothing but gentle and encouraging. I've sent him out with tasty, smelly treats and a list of dos and don'ts (don't drag him, wait patiently and let him take a moment to look around and assess if he's nervous, maintain a cheery voice..etc) but nothing is working.
I don't know if the problem is walking with him or walking without me. I've tried not being around when it's their walk time, to see if that helps, but he just dashes around to find me and tries to herd me out also.
I'm pregnant (another thing to worry about - Samson is terrified of kids. But I'll fret about that later!) and there will eventually be times when I possibly can't walk him. So I really need to try and sort this out now - I'm sure it will take some time to resolve.
Does anyone have any ideas?? Anything at all? I'm genuinely all out of suggestions and I hate the idea of Samson either going without a walk or going out and being upset/nervous :-(
Thank you!
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21 hours ago, Ellen said:
Only 4 weeks in, but although it's a bit of 3 steps forward, 2 steps back definite improvements, and I take encouragement from previous posts reminding us that the dog I have now is not the dog he can be in 3 to 6 months.
What I've learned
- Don't take a dog with a high prey drive a stroll through the local botanical gardens- semi-tame squirrels everywhere- not relaxing !
- Never leave food unattended on the kitchen counter and turn your back.
- Invest in good quality poo bags( Found the corn starch based ones are deep and strong ). Know where the bins are situated on our usual routes and wear long sleeves- seems to delight in doing his business in the biggest patch of nettles he can find'
- Muzzles are great. On the whole other dog owners see you coming and get their own dogs leashed tout de suit .
- Found out that even an 84 lb dog can sleep in the smallest place. I was determined Ally would sleep in the kitchen, as we have very limited floor space in the bedroom. After 4 sleepless nights, on both sides, got a piece of foam cut to size(about 1/2 the size of his kitchen bed) Much happier young man and sleeps to about 8:30 am.
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Found out a black dog with a ripped dew claw does not go well with a cream couch
, on the plus side found that a lightly applied cohesive bandage stays on well although he looks like reject from the 80's with a leg warmer on.
- Relax, relax, relax
Here's to finding out what the next month brings.
"he looks like reject from the 80's with a leg warmer on" ......hahahahaha brilliant!
They're definitely not easy dogs to start with. But so worth it. And it's so true - the dog I have now (8 months) is so different to how he was at 1 month/3months/6 months. I could kiss whoever on here gave me that bit of wisdom in the early days!
Deep breaths and enjoy!
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On 9/14/2020 at 8:23 PM, Boogerbear said:
How did you end up teaching your dog to not jump on the bed when you’re sleeping in it? I haven’t tried doing commands related to furniture as he just currently is not allowed in the bedroom and uses his dog bed during the day.
We just told him “off - bed time” and jiggled the duvet (he doesn’t like the ‘ground’ moving so jumps off), and when he obliged praised him.
He seems to understand that bedtime = his own bed. He also gets off when told to at any point during the day (eg changing the bedding etc so that helps 😁)
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It's terrifying when it happens. We (grey rookies) did disturb him a couple of times in the early days accidentally (leant over him, tried to move him as was falling off the bed..etc) and nearly lost our noses or fingers as a result. We learnt quickly :-)
Our grey sleeps in our room on a separate sofa. He's allowed on the bed during the day but come "bed time" is not allowed to sleep with us. I was worried I would send mixed signals and he wouldn't be able to get the difference but he actually did pick it up quickly.
He does, when he has woken up and is doing his adorable "I'm hungry feeeeeed me" staring, nudging and grovelling, get on the bed in the morning. But only when we've called him up.
I also would love to take mine camping and think it probably is a case of having separate compartments as MerseyGrey has suggested. Let us know how you get on!
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On 9/4/2020 at 10:57 AM, lulah62 said:
Hi Feefee147,
I was just wondering how you were getting on with the small furries issue?
Our foster girl is starting to show errr interest in small dogs - she's not food orientated, so we are struggling with "leave it" training too (as nothing we have to offer is as fun as little squirmy dog)We’re now seven months in with Samson and he’s actually doing really well. He went from foster to adoptee 😁
I bought a good harness so I can get a strong hold on him if necessary without hurting him and still do leave it training with him daily, just to reinforce what it means.
I backed away from all dogs (mainly because he was very nervous with bigger dogs but also because I wanted to see smaller dogs from a safe distance and work on that) and gradually walked him nearer and nearer over a long period of time.
He’s still on lead and muzzled, prey drive still *very* strong, but he doesn’t fight and howl to get to small fluffies and understands that “leave it” means back away and walk on rather than lunge, snap and try to get them.
He rarely takes a treat outdoors if he is fixating on something, but the repeated indoor leave it training has gradually stuck in his brain somewhere and even if he is too excited to want a reward, he will still begrudgingly oblige. Now if a small off lead dog comes bounding over it’s much less stressful 😁
It’s worth persevering with leave it training. It’s also worth trying all sorts of different treats (cheese, ham, good smelling food) in the hope something will engage her?
Let us know how you get on 👍🏻
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8 hours ago, HeyRunDog said:
How do you react when you see another dog? Do you tighten her lead, change pace or stop? That givers her the signal that something is wrong and she needs to protect you. Carry on walking with a slack lead but when, and only when, she starts to show interest in the other dog give a quick tug on the lead and the command NO and keep walking. You can also try the "look at me" technique.
I read that on here quite a bit and realised i was tightening the grip. It’s hard not to, but since leaving a tiny bit of slack I’ve found it much better. Great advice!
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22 hours ago, martymum said:
Hi there,
I adopted my greyhound three months ago (where does the time ago!) and she's had a bit of a rough time settling in. I was advertised by the rescue she was absolutely fine with other dogs and had lived with another greyhound previously - she's 7 and was in a home for 2 years before she was rehomed apparently due to family circumstances. But I have found she is very unsure around other dogs, less so sighthounds but still will bark at them if they get too close. I walk her on lead at all times with a muzzle, because on a few occasions at first she did lunge for other dogs so this seems much safer and she is perfectly happy with the muzzle on. Unfortunately I live in an area with a lot of dogs so she's going to have to learn to get used to it! Does anyone have any tips for a grey who struggles with other dogs on how to help alter that behaviour? I appreciate it might improve over time but anything I can do to help her would be great.
Your poor girl! That’s a lot of upheaval for her to cope with.
Our boy was rehomed and instantly attacked by another grey. So he was removed and brought to us with stitches all over his face.
He was terrified of other dogs - initially freezing and then, once he was more relaxed with me, leaning in or hiding behind me.I found ‘leave it’ training at home has helped (if he is anxious or fixating I can now say “leave it”, walk on calmly and off we go). I also found gradually decreasing the distance between him and other dogs was helpful - so we started off at a fair distance just cheerily walking along, no fuss no bother. And gradually over 6 months we’ve got closer. We can now walk past other dogs, even grumpy shouty ones, and occasionally say hello and have a sniff, without any fuss. Initially he just couldn’t cope being near any other dogs so we took a big step back and worked from there.
It’s a slow road but I’m sure with all the helpful tips you’ll get there.
😁
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On 8/28/2020 at 4:47 PM, MerseyGrey said:
Our girls (GSDs) used to pee when they were excited - basically when my mum came home from work, because she was the one they loved the most! Not sure if it’s a submission thing in that case though. I haven’t known Buddy to do this, but then he doesn’t get that excited about his walks.
(I think I would be the same as you as I love to see him get excited about something!)
It is lovely to see the excitement, especially as it’s all still quite new for him and he’s quite a meek, quiet chap most of the time.
GSDs - how lovely!
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On 8/29/2020 at 1:58 AM, greysmom said:
It's a really normal reaction, especially in younger dogs. They just don't have the control of a more mature adult. They just get SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! and then they can't calm down and a little pee dribbles out!
Definitely try and delay the beginning of the excitement phase of going outside. Just be aware, he will likely catch on really quickly!!! I give my girl a command to help her calm herself. In those times when I know she's going to freak out I try and nip it in the bud by having her lay on her bed and getting some quiet attention. Then she get a small treat as a reward for being calm. You can also redirect your dog to a longer chew treat or a toy to play with *before* he gets over excited.
It's sure cute, but you need to help him learn the tools to grow up into well mannered member of the family!
He’s five, just turning into a super excitable chap 😁
I’m being sensible and getting ready first before the walk word is mentioned, and it has helped. No little accidents.
So I’m confident it was me causing the problem rather than a urine/bladder issue.
Lesson learned 😁
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Yeah. I figured it was my fault for being a big kid and watching the excitement 🙈😁
i’ve just never known an adult dog dribble wee when excited before. Poor sod. I’ll take him straight out in future and keep an eye out to see if it happens at other times.
Thank you 🥴
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Our lovely boy is doing really well. He's come out of this shell a lot, relaxed and is starting to get very excited for various things - dinner, playtime, walks..etc.
However, over the last week or so I've noticed that when he is doing a pre walk zoomie he is peeing a little.
It's my fault - I love that he gets excited when I say 'walk' and enjoy watching him get up, leap around, bark excitedly...etc. However, I then go to the toilet and get ready and I think I'm giving him too much time to whip himself up into a frenzy! When I go to the toilet he zooms around on the bed and twice I've noticed a wet patch around the size of my palm.
It's obviously not a full on urination (he's a big boy and when he goes he REALLY goes) so I'm not sure if it's normal for a dog to pee a little when overexcited (I think being excited is still a bit new and alien to him) or if I need to get him checked out.
He's not struggling to urinate, licking his bits excessively or anything else to imply there may be a problem.
Any ideas or thoughts gratefully received!
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On 8/7/2020 at 9:31 PM, RalphyGrey said:
Hi Everyone,
I am looking for some advice. We have had our greyhound 2 months now and he seems to be getting progressively worse with walking and anxiety.
When we take him round the block he often freezes and will refuse to walk in either direction and it is so hard to get him to walk again to get home. Seems like people, dogs, the sound of talking, cars, cats, you name it and he is scared of it. He is getting worse by the day. We use lots of treats and encouragement but nothing seems to work. Places where he use to enjoy and walk fine he now doesn’t like. He has not had any bad experiences as far as we are aware.
We have had an animal behaviourist in and nothing has worked.
Our whole family is really stressed with this as we have to walk him in order to get him to go to the toilet.
Any advise would be warmly welcomed!
Aw bless him. Poor thing. He's obviously struggling outdoors.
Another thing to consider - have you tried all going out together, the whole 'pack' taking him out?
Oddly, I've found (and a few other greyhound people have said the same thing to me) that my boy is much happier and far more relaxed when both my partner and I take him out, rather than just one of us. So we used that to build up his confidence and get him used to routes, sounds..etc. He still statues and startles a bit with just one of us but is gradually improving.
Good luck! Freezing greyhounds are not easy!
.I'm almost wishing my life away as I can't wait to see the improvements over the next few months
, on the plus side found that a lightly applied cohesive bandage stays on well although he looks like reject from the 80's with a leg warmer on.
what we've learned so far
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
84lb - wow! He's even bigger than mine!!
Still - plenty of limbs to cuddle (if he ever decides he likes cuddles)