Feefee147

Yeah, they're lovely (and addictive) - I suspect I'll end up with more. I'm being restrained as we've only had my boy 6 months and he's quite a shy meek chap but if I had my way I'd have another one seven Not sure I'd ever get to ten though. Well done @racindog

Part of his racing name, he turned up with it. He was incredibly shut down and introverted - couldn't have changed it even if we wanted to :-)

"the awkward, anxious, singing, endlessly paw-wounded, baldy butted weirdo that he is" - awwwwwwww!! We got Samson just before lockdown hit so never made it to a Sighthound Sunday walk. I can't wait for them to start up again - he lights up when he (on the rare occasion he sees one) meets another grey rather than the usual aloof, non eye contact nervy shuffling. Soon hopefully..... I've found harness advice tends to be quite mixed. Mine is still cautious outside, generally more meek and ploddy than a puller. But as he's gained a bit of confidence he's had a few squirrel lunges that caught me by surprise resulting in scary backflips (him not me!) so I switched to a harness. Much easier if he does have a boisterous walk (I'm 50kg, he's 36kg!) and I don't worry about him damaging himself, or me damaging him if I have to pull him firmly away from something. Good luck with the little madam

A month really is nothing in the greyhound world. I spent at least two or so months convinced my grey hated his new life and was miserable (and felt terrible for him). I think the best advice I saw was on here - your dog now is nothing like the dog you will have in 3, 6 or 12 months. When I saw that I relaxed, stopped panicking that I wasn't giving him what he needed and just left him to come out of his aloof, shell at his own pace. Even now, the change between 3 and 6 months here has been huge (barking playfully when he wants to go for a walk, helicopter tail regularly whizzing around, learning 'find it' games, climbing onto our bed in the morning and snuggling up, excitable zoomies - some of these didn't happen for at least 5 or 6 months). I personally wouldn't introduce another dog yet. Give her more time to settle and relax. But I reckon a lot of more seasoned grey owners will have some good advice re that :-)

10th?? Wow, that's amazing! :-)

I don't really have any hints and tips - so not helpful! I'd love to start fostering dogs again if/when the time is right but at the moment our grey is still settling in so it is far too soon. But I just wanted to say I think it's absolutely superb how you are handling this - particularly in respect of your boy. So many people take a new dog in, have no regard for the dog already there and then get cross if things start to go downhill or wonder why their current dog is suddenly showing upset, destructive or strange behaviour. I've even known people eventually get rid of the older pet and keep the new one because of behaviour changes The care and thought you have put into this is lovely and I hope it all, in time, works out.

It's incredible how many times another dog owner (whilst putting their dog on lead and avoiding my grey) have said "he hates greyhounds", "she can't stand them..." or something similar. My boy is on lead and muzzled when out and about. Plus he's so shy around bigger non-sighthounds that at best he looks away meekly, at worst he drags and hides behind me. I personally think it's just because they don't give off the 'normal' dog signals, particularly ex racers that have only ever socialised with other greyhounds, and for some reason other breeds just don't understand them and their signals. That said, he could be walking around glaring and muttering obscenities for all I know :-)

Hi Rae, You poor thing! Something like that does shake you and you can’t help feeling wary and disappointed after that. My boy snapped around 5 or 6 times at me or my partner during the first few months. I think it’s just pure luck we managed to pull out of the way quickly enough. I learnt very quickly not to push him or try to move him when he was asleep or staking his claim to something (eg my bed) - I was so upset when he snapped viciously after a couple of weeks (I gently pushed his back to stop him falling off the bed). Working on ‘down’ or ‘bed’ with lots of positivity/rewards and pointing to his own bed has solved that, so now I don’t have to touch him I can just tell him and he’ll sigh, scowl, get up and move. 6 months on.... he will still growl and eventually snap if I take some tasty food away from him. But ‘leave it’ and trading up has helped wonders in emergency (stolen food he shouldn’t have) situations. It takes a while to relax and trust again after a bite or angry moment, but try not to obsess over it or let it jade your relationship with Jumper. He’s still the same lovely boy, he just needs a bit of guidance to let him know what is and isn’t acceptable. Good luck

My boy was the same. The screaming when he saw a squirrel and I wouldn't let him get it was horrendous. People genuinely must have though I was torturing him. And small dogs were a huge challenge - darting and trying to grab. Not good when trying to socialise :-) I switched to a good strong harness as the pulling and twisting was worrying, I didn't want him to damage his neck. That has helped a great deal, I have more control and can pull him quite firmly without worrying about him back flipping. I also spent a lot of time with 'leave it' training indoors - a LOT! Six months in and he's not perfect by any stretch (nor would I expect or want him to be) but we can now walk near a squirrel, small dog, other fluffy creature without him creating a huge fuss. He will still zone out, ignore treats and fixate a little but nowhere near as badly as he did. It takes time, and also takes a while to work out all the triggers and reactions. But once it all clicks it's much easier.

Ow! Thats dreadful! That poor dog.

In time I'd love to get my chap on buses and the tube. How does Doc find the escalators??

For delicate dogs they seem quite durable with bangs (luckily). We have a small home so zooming around often results in skating on the wooden floor and donking his head on furniture - poor thing. Mine didn't get excited, zoom around or tail waggle for about the first 4 weeks so you're doing really well! And brilliant regarding the stairs! You'll back in bed in now time :-)

There's hope! We cracked it and if you read the other threads you can see everyone manages it eventually. It takes a few weeks and is a gradual thing but you will get there. He just needs to get used to all the new sights and sounds at his own pace. Patient, gentle encouragement. Sternly dragging will just result in more stress and statuing. I found routine, the same walk, lots of soothing encouragement and letting my boy know I have treats worked wonders. And also (even now this works if my boy does get stressed which is rare after 4 months) if he digs his heels in I go and stand next to him, let him look around and assess for a moment and then very gently lead him forward (a good strong harness helps with that) a step or two and he picks up again. Good luck! He'll get there :-)

Ah great! Good to know you had success with the small furries issues. Thank you!

I LOVE zoomies! It's perilous sometimes with those giant bony elbows flying around but oh so cute!! Our grey zooms around like a lunatic and then still looks surprised at himself - like he's excited but doesn't quite know what to with it :-D I know you've probably tried it but have you attempted just sitting at the top of the stairs with some smelly treats and not paying him attention - so he can see you nearby, hopefully won't get upset and start chewing things, and hopefully will attempt the stairs more. You could try encouraging him up that way? Once he's done it a few times he'll be fine. And as far as the sofa goes I reckon once he's inspected it, got rid of his 'woah.....what is this strange moving surface' suspicion he'll be on it and claiming it! We couldn't get our grey on the sofa or bed for at least a week, he just had no idea what they were. No we can't get him off them! Well done - you're doing brilliantly by the sound of things.

Hahaha! I can imagine that would make anyone anxious :-D! It really is just time and patience, sadly no quick fix. Greyhounds are funny creatures, nothing like other breeds. As she gradually trusts you (which she absolutely will) she'll slowly start to be able to cope with scary situations and you'll be able to build it up. The other thing I do (whilst looking bonkers outdoors) is chat away a LOT to my grey. I find soothing chatter outdoors keeps him engaged 'with me' and stops him receding into a nervous statue. How is she getting on indoors now?

WELL DONE SKYE!!!! And you did well too! The next step will be where he gets more confident with stairs, thunders up and down them but (bless!) is a bit clumsy and often misjudges..... :-D (We still have a pillow at the bottom of ours as there is a wall and he still after 4 months occasionally misjudges *facepalm*) He's a gorgeous boy. Beautiful face. If you are on Facebook there is a UK sighthound group called sighthound Sundays - well worth a look if you aren't aware of it.

Aww. The early days are tough. Mine was the same, especially with stairs. It took me sitting up/down a couple, a gentle pull on the lead, lots of gentle calm encouragement and some *very* smelly treats placed on each step (cheese and ham work wonders) before I could even get him to step on one. I found once I’d wafted various treats under his nose I found some he reacted to and that made things much easier. He wasn’t a fan of treats when he was nervous and first arrived, despite being a food monster, but when I found cheese everything became much easier It may take an hour of coaching, gentle tugs and a lot of patience but once he’s done it a couple of times he’ll be clumsily running up and down them. Good luck!

Just... hahahahahaha!! That made me smile D;

The training school near me (North London) says no muzzled dogs which I thought was a bit unfair. I'll see what else is available.

A fellow Londoner :-) I've had a look around at classes - gawd knows when they will start up again. I assumed I wouldn't be allowed to take along a muzzled, prey-driven greyhound to dog glasses so it's great to know I can! Can you recommend any in particular? I'll scour the London options. THANK YOU!!

So we're four months in now with Samson. He's brilliant, an absolutely lovely boy. Indoors he has turned into a gentle, sweet giant with a bit of an affectionate, playful nature (amidst all the snoozing). He's also surprisingly (after a lot of blank stares) doing quite well with training - down, wait, up, sit...etc are cheerily done for a treat. And the excitement when a squeaky ball comes out - the smile and waggling ears melt my heart. I know it's only been four months so I can't wait to see how he changes over the next four. However outside he is turning into a tricky chap. He's much more confident and really happy to go out for walks. Still a bit nervous here and there, particularly with big dogs and noise, but overall he's doing really well. Now he's more relaxed a high chase/prey drive is rapidly coming out. If he sees a squirrel and can't get it he goes from meek gentle giant to screaming diva (if I heard those noises in a park I'd assume a dog was being tortured!) but it is manageable so far - we're doing 'leave-it' training and working on getting his focus back when he has zoned out. As long as I make sure I have a good grip on his lead he can't get anywhere. He will dig his heels in at any 'prey' (squirrel/cat/fox/some birds) and refuse to budge which, again, we're working on. BUT the one thing I am genuinely concerned about is his behaviour with small dogs. He has stopped being nervous and started getting that look (stiff, ears up, darting towards). A week or so ago a small dog ran up and he very quickly turned and nose butted it. Yesterday a small puppy came running over. The reaction was not playful, but snappy and very quick. No warning at all, just lunge. We muzzle him, and have been contemplating if he actually needs it or not. I do worry that muzzling him has a detrimental impact on his confidence around the bigger dogs. But i'm very glad we continued with it - yesterday would have had a very nasty outcome. I don't want to avoid parks but also cannot control dogs running over. I also want to make sure our walks are relaxed and that I don't start worrying and giving off the wrong signals. I know this is a regular topic and I've read countless articles and suggestions in training manuals - does anyone have any suggestions on this that they have tried and tested?

... and cheese! Good smelly cheese wafted under my chap's nose will usually draw his attention to me and get him doing what is needed. He's a stubborn lad but he would probably clean the flat, do some ironing and sew my buttons on for cheese ;-)

Ahhh. I feel your frustration. I live about 50 seconds from a small green park. When we got our grey 4 months ago it took me 10 to 15 minutes from front door to entering the park! It's slow progress, don't expect miracles instantly. I found that trying to drag him along or being stern with him was absolutely not the way to go - he just statued and panicked more. And if anyone was walking towards us, it was particularly noisy, kids were screaming or there were other dogs nearby it took even longer. I found gentle, calm coaxing was the way to go. And everything people say about about retired racers is true - it really is as though they have been chucked onto an alien planet with no clue. We built it up slowly, eventually he started trusting me and after a little while he even started taking treats from me outside. If you stick to a routine and do the same walk each day she WILL get used to it and you'll see tiny improvements. I also found once we'd formed some semblance of a bond that if he stopped and wouldn't move I would go and stand next to him, facing the way I wanted to move, chatted to him gently and he would take small steps with me. If he is nervous he will stick to my side. Now, 4 months later, he's a little devil outside - confident, prowling for small fluffies to stalk and comfortable enough to push all the boundaries! Personally I absolutely wouldn't encourage her to go to the toilet inside - you'll be setting an unwanted trend there. Good luck and believe everyone when they say it DOES get better, it just takes ex-racers a bit longer than you'd think to adjust.

Ours was (and still is sometimes) the same. And when these big chaps dig their heels in it can be impossible to move them ;-) I thought at first it was stubborn behaviour but quickly realised form his stance he was just nervous, a bit lazy and had really sore feet. As Time4ANap says above - could be a foot issue? The fact he's fine for a bit and then stops... Have you had a look at his pads and between his toes?