Hey,
we have adopted an ex-racing greyhound from Ireland, he is 1.5 years old
When he arrived he was the opposite of most of the things you read like timid or shy.
From day one he has been very social and curious towards other people and animals but nonetheless we followed the adoption groups recommendation to spend a lot of time with him and slowly introduce him to new things in the surroundings.
We live in a busy street, in a busy city and he's not used to the sounds and distractions of the city but he doesn't seem to mind.
For the first 1.5 weeks he's been good on the leash (pulling a bit but we were able to teach him to stop) and somewhat good around the house (chewing things but we're able to redirect him to a toy), I work from home so I can always have an eye on him. He's never growled or barked at us during that time
Two days ago, when we were about to go to sleep, he started acting up, barking and trying to nibble my hand and leg, we were told that he might just be under-exercised and that it can be common for greyhounds to communicate this way. We went to the dog park at night to let him run around and then he quieted down
Yesterday-night we came back from a really long walk because I thought it would be good to exercise him but afterwards he barked again this time at my girlfriend, we assume because she was laying on "his" spot on our bed. We moved away and he laid down and fell asleep.
He slept in bed with us at first and we realize this might have been a mistake, so we got him a crate and a bed and are trying to crate train him.
He has tried to countersurf from the start (and we have been trying to stop this), but the last days he has been countersurfing like crazy. Today my girlfriend stood in front of the counter to block him and he started barking at her. When he counter surfs he also cries a lot (it sounds like he's really anxious). He gets the recommended amount of food from our adoption group and he gets 2 Kongs per day filled with Kibble and wet food, always at the same time of the day. Breakfast and dinner are also on schedule.
He also started freezing on walks but we think it's not because he is scared more because he wants to walk into another direction than us, especially if there are food smells in that direction. We want to make sure that he get's enough exercise, but now he has started to refuse to walk, he freezes, and only wants to go back to the apartment. A treat can encourage him to walk for a while but we're scared to give him too many
He's had diarrhea now for a couple of days and we started treating with medication and got special vet gastrointestinal food.
Our question is, is it normal for an adopted dog to change it's behaviour so suddenly (in a negative way) after 1.5 weeks, when he was acting good and making progress beforehand? Could it be diarrhea that makes a dog suddenly act aggressive, and anxious for food? Could this behaviour point to a larger health problem? Or have we done something completely wrong in his training?
