Karolintschka

Thank you very much for your reply and for telling me this! I was moving too fast and took her only safe space away from her...it´s my fault for not considering that she might not feel secure enough with me and in her new environment. I just wanted to take her for nice walks and spend some time with her but that´s not possible I guess. I´ll have to take her out on a leash right after she finishes eating and hopefully that will prevent her from doing her business in the crate. I´ll try to establish a fitting routine for all of us but it would have been nice to walk both dogs together and not leave her crated at home while I walk my Pinscher...I´ll have to accept that she´s not ready to do that yet. Maybe she´ll adjust a bit better this way and without me pushing her to her limits. I´ll see how it goes from there...

Alright, I think I get what you mean and it seems like I´m the problem not her...I guess I´m moving too fast and try to get her to do things she doesn´t want to do. I´ll try out the things you told me and it might make a difference. She´ll spend 24/7 in the crate but I think I have to accept the fact that there won´t be any walks or other interactions with her until she´s ready for it. I wanted the crate to be her safe space and I took it from her...I feel super bad right now because I never saw it that way and I was very egoistic. I just wanted to be able to communicate with her normally but I get that my way of doing it isn´t right for her...I´ll try to get her into a fitting routine and try to take her out to potty on a leash after her meals and I hope I´m fast enough to do that. I´ll still close the crate while I´m at work because it´s safer for her and I won´t be too worried. Thank you very much for your reply and opening my eyes in this matter!

Hello you guys I once more need your honest opinion and maybe someone experienced this type of problem with their Greyhound as well Faye has been with us for a month now (whew, time really flies) and overall she´s a wonderful and easygoing girl, very calm and still anixous or scared at times but nothing like in the beginning - it´s already so much better and I can see her change everyday. She sleeps through the night and also got a hang of our daily routine or rather what´s left of it because of the pandemic She lies or sleeps in her crate all day...and this is where the not so fun part starts: she won´t come out of the crate unless I close it right behind her so she can´t go back in...which doesn´t work well for either of us because unfortunately she now knows that I might close the door so she becomes more and more hesitant to leave the crate and if I´m lucky enough for her to walk out completely chances are that she turns around right away - and there we go again...I tried to lure her out with treats or let my other dog walk by because normally that´s a sign for Faye that they are getting food or we are going for a walk etc. but there´s just NO reaction at all anymore... She´ll only come out when I prepare their food (I can´t prepare dog food everytime I need her to come out) but also very hesitant and she´ll even go back in the crate while she´s eating - it´s just IN - OUT - IN - OUT all the time if I´m not fast enough to close the door, which makes all of us nervous. And don´t even let me get started on going for walks...it´s not possible to put her harness on and simply go out, we play a literal "game" of how to get her out of the crate long enough for me to close the door from that point on it´s alright for her, she´ll let me put on the leash, coat or whatever needed and we just leave for our walk... BUT there´s another much bigger problem that comes with her crate obsession...she won´t even leave it to go potty in the garden anymore but she´ll rather pee INSIDE her crate than come out!!! I don´t get it at all...she´d always come out of the crate and I´d open the back door for her to go outside in the morning or whenever she had to do her business - never a problem until a few days ago and I can´t figure out what happened because I was always out with her or both dogs, so there were never any noises etc. that scared her...yes there are people walking by and my neighbours talk to each other sometimes but most of the time it´s pretty peaceful and it never concerned her before. So I´m getting pretty frustrated at the situation right now because she does it more and more often and I have to wash EVERYTHING which takes time and she doesn´t pee a little bit but a freaking LAKE So originally I got the crate because I was thinking it would help her adjust and give her a safe space...as well as contain her while I´m out for work because I don´t want to leave her alone with my small dog yet and I´m afraid that she´d start peeing everywhere while I´m gone or start some trouble. I don´t know her well enough yet and I don´t want my flat ruined when I come back! But if I don´t find a way for her to come out of the crate when I need her to, I´m thinking about getting rid of the crate and I had to force her out of the crate for the first time today because she peed in it right before my eyes rather than coming out, so I dragged her out in the garden but I opened the door and calmly told her "outside" before I released her and as she finished peeing in the yard I praised her a lot and let her back in...but I feel so horrible about it as I really don´t want to make her leave the crate by force but I couldn´t just stand there and watch her pee! I had to clean behind the crate the day before yesterday and when I pushed it away to gain access to the dirty area Faye wouldn´t come out of the corner the crate normally stands in but she tried to lay down there instead and I had to push and lure her out of there. So maybe a dog bed would be the easier option but I´m afraid she´d close herself up even more... I just can´t keep washing all of her blankets nearly every day and the smell of urine makes me naseous, I feel like it reeks of it everywhere I could get rid of the crate and replace it with a large dog bed, muzzle her or put my small dog away in another room... Has anyone experienced something similar or knows how to cope with this? Should I give her more time and see if she comes out on her own? I´m just so overwhelmed right now...

Yes she´s absolutely fine with it but she doesn´t really care if I exist at all I thinkI´ve heard from many people that their Greys are like their shadows as they follow them around everywhere...the only thing I´m useful for Faye right now are food, water, treats, walks and some pets every now and then I had another female Grey called Light for a very short period of time until she´d move into her forever home (only one week or so) and she DID follow me everywhere - even to the toilet and I had no privacy at all It´s just Faye´s character I guess...she´s never had any sort of positive human attention in her life, so she simply doesn´t need it...yet. I don´t care as long as she´s happy Funny thing is, she also doesn´t care if I go out at the back door into the garden and through the gate...it really seems to be just the front door that makes her anxious But I´ll try the music thing and see how it goes - can´t ask my mum to come over forever I guess No they are just super quick to combine things and link actions, so your Grace knows excactly the school children are a sign for you to come back home soon - such a good girl!

That´s good to hear!Faye could´ve stolen so much food already if she wanted to (I can be quite forgetful sometimes) but it never happend...she´s so nervous and even runs back to her crate so many times during her meal... I´ve never experienced this behavior before because all dogs I know are super food motivated. She likes food and treats but not enough to be motivated to do anything for them... The dogs are sometimes allowed to lick a bit of joghurt or peanut butter off a spoon when I fill their Kongs but I never feed them leftovers or things like that as it might result in them pestering me while I eat and I definitely don´t want that! I know that it´s not mandatory to crate her while I leave but because of Yuna I want to do it for the first few months at least. I want them both to be safe while I´m gone and even though I do trust Faye to a certain extend I do not trust her a 100% yet... She loves her crate it´s her favorite spot to sleep and she doesn´t really like any of the other dog beds I´ve prepared for her so she spends most of the time in the crate. She sleeps in it during the night without any problems so I don´t think she´ll start to associate it with bad things. The crate is not the problem, but me leaving the flat through the entrance door. She doesn´t care about me leaving the room or closing doors behind me...I always close the bedroom door at night while she sleeps in the living room and she´s absolutely fine with it. I´ve had my mom come over to be with them while I´m at work for the last few weeks and she doesn´t bother at all when I leave... She does have Yuna´s company but that doesn´t help much. I try to give her frozen Kongs BUT she won´t eat it until I´m back...she only licks at it for 2-3 minutes then it´s not interesting enough anymore - so the whining and rumbling around starts...I don´t give her any attention before I go or right when I come home. I might try leaving on the TV with some calm music or a nice documentary film...maybe the silcence is the problem

Oh you´re welcome!It all went so smoothly and I was actually quite surprised about that because I worried so much beforehand but both dogs just seemed to tolerate each other, no more and luckily no less either. Awww poor old Kali (I love that name btw)I know how you feel...I wish for them to grow closer too but I´m afraid that won´t happen anytime soon or maybe not at allI hope that Kali and Cleo will become friends in the future - sometimes it just takes a lot of time for the dogs to adjust to each other...at least I keep reading that often. Well where should I start...she´s a handful to say the least but not because of any bad behavior or something like that. She´s just sooo nervous and scared of nearly everything...it already got so much better than during the first week but it´s still so hard for her. She´s a super lovely girl but has no self-confidence at all...I do my best to make it easier for her but sometimes it´s a bit frustrating too to be honest. She has absolutely no prey drive (or at least it didn´t show yet) and she doesn´t care about Yuna´s movements at all no matter if she jumps, moves around her, runs or whatever - which makes me happy because at least that´s nothing to worry about! We´re making progress I think and she get´s a bit better everyday but she´s so different from all the dogs I know. I´m almost certain thst something bad must have happened to her back in Ireland before she was given to the adoption agency...she´s extremely afraid of men and fast movements, especially hands... I can touch her all over her body now and also pet her, which she seems to like a lot - that´s great because no one else is allowed to even come near her except for my little sister. She´ll need lot´s of time to accept and understand that she´s home now and won´t have to leave us again. I already adore her so much even though it´s not easy all the time but she´s definitely worth it! We´re working on her self-confidence right now and to get her desentisized to cars and outdoor things. She´s great with doing her business outside and super well behaved at night, there´s no such thing as whining or barking. She´s not once tried to steal food but maybe that´s going to show later. I feel like separation anxiety is going to be a big problem for us because when I leave that´s the only time she starts whining and wanting to get out of her crate...so I ordered a book by Patricia McConell and hopefully it´s going to work Wow that was a super long text I´m really sorry...

So yesterday was finally the big introduction day for us as I came home pretty late on saturday and I didn’t want to stress Faye out even more🙈 I was so worried and nervous because I had to introduce them in my tiny garden...walks are definitely no option for Faye yet as she is the most nervous, scared and skittish dog I’ve ever met. She is scared of nearly every sound etc. inside as well as outside but it’s just like the adoption group described her to be for the first few weeks. It’s a bit exhausting but I hope she’ll settle in soon though☺️. But now to the introduction part: It was really alright and I‘m honestly very proud of Faye as she did very well with Yuna. She wasn’t really interested in my little one, just sniffed at her a few times and then she finally PEED (because she held it in for sooo long I thought her bladder would burst😅)! So she doesn’t seem to care about Yuna very much...yet🙈which is great of course and Yuna simply ignores her too🤷🏻‍♀️Faye sleeps in her crate most of the time and Yuna does the same on the couch...so till now it all looks pretty positive and there’s not much interaction between them but I‘ll see how it goes when Faye comes out of her shell a bit more😄. I‘ll definitely keep you guys posted on their progress!

Oh, what a cute coincidence! So they are distantly related to each other🥰I’m just thinking, that most Greys are in some way related because I read the same names over and over again in the pedigrees of different dogs😅

Oh, thank you so much! It’s great to be able to read all the information about her!😍

Alright, that’s good to know because I think my pinscher won’t interact with my Grey at first either. She can be a bit wary of larger dogs as we’ve had a few questionable incidents with large dogs while being at dog parks (that’s one of the reasons I won’t go to dog parks anymore unless it’s with dogs I know)🙈 Wow, your poodle is 13 years old? That’s amazing! I really hope that you have some time left to enjoy with him/her as no matter how long they stay with us it’s clearly never enough♥️ I can imagine that Cleo could become Alpha pretty quickly but as long as your poodle is fine with it it’s not a problem☺️. Yes, my pinscher is 4 years old and very energetic (typical for the breed but still it can be a challenge sometimes) even though she’s much calmer already and a lot wiser too😄 I don’t know if I should let them play together at all as my pinscher‘s favorite game to play is chase and she plays it with her dog friends all the time but they are Golden Retrievers, Schnauzers and Collies...not Greyhounds (I don’t think she could win that one😂) but I’m very curious to see if and how they’ll interact with each other... No, I think your dogs won’t become best friends after all but you meant well and they tolerate each other which is great too😊 Yes, I’ll keep the Grey muzzled at all times for at least 3 weeks, unless she’s in her crate or they are in different rooms. Thanks and I’ll definitely keep you updated on them!

Hello there!😊👋🏻 I actually am on the same page as you right now...I’m going to get my first Grey this saturday, she’s a 18 month old brindle girl which is described as shy and a bit nervous at first but very lovely. I already have a 4 year old female miniature pinscher at home and I’m pretty nervous about their first meeting even though the Grey is cat friendly and lived in a house with a Jack Russell terrier, other Greys and another large hunting type dog. I was thinking of going for a short walk in a neutral area with them muzzled/leashed before bringing both dogs into my home. So how did you introduce your dogs and did it go well between them?🙈☺️

Firstly hello and welcome!☺️👋🏻 So I personally don’t have my Greyhound with me yet, I’m going to get her this saturday and of course I’m also really happy/nervous/anxious/excited about it because she’s my first Grey. But I can tell you that the first couple of weeks or even moths with a new dog can be very stressful and nerve-racking! And that’s completely normal! I do also have a now 4 year old miniature pinscher and I can ensure you that when I got her as a puppy at 8 weeks old I definitely had a super hard time for the first 3-4 weeks and I had multiple breakdowns...I cried, couldn’t sleep or eat properly for days, even wanted to give my puppy back to the breeder and at the same time I was thinking of myself as an utterly failure for feeling this way about my little puppy that brought me so much happiness as well. But I just imagined having a puppy as so wonderful, amazing and easy - as it was described in all the books I read before I got her and I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t like that at all...I really truly hated it. Now, when I think about these horrible first weeks with my puppy I smile and look at her lying next to me sleeping peacefully but back then I couldn’t imagine it getting any better. But it DOES get better I promise! Your Grey is a new addition to the family and in many ways he’s still just like a puppy too even though he’s an adult dog. Getting a dog changes your life in so many different ways and not all of them are great at first...you have to take so many new things into account and get used to having the dog around you at all times - it can be unbelievably overwhelming, just as you described! I can only promise you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I know it’s not always easy and there will be hard times for all of you but give yourself and your Grey some more time to adjust to the new life. He will pay back your patience with so much love and laughter🥰 If it really doesn’t get better in a few weeks and you still feel too overwhelmed then talk about it with your adoption group and ask them for help☺️ Don’t be so hard on yourself because things like that happen and it will surely get better soon! Good luck and all the best with your new Grey!🍀😊

Hello and thank you so much for your advice!☺️Yes, I was thinking of doing it this way because to me it feels more like introducing two dogs to each other because I really want my Grey to recognize my little one as a dog from the start but if it doesn’t work out then of course I’ll try the cat method🙈I know that I can’t be too nervous or anxious about it because they’ll know but I just really want them to be on good terms😅 Oh yes, I already have a name for her - it’s Faye because to me she looks as fragile and delicate as a fairy🧚🏻‍♀️😊even though she actually ain’t that small at all with her 68 cm but right now her name is Lolly and I’m not really a fan of it😅 Her racing name was Patchwork Queen but I can’t find any racing records of her...she’s only 18 months old yet, so I guess she was never raced professionally😄

That’s alright too of course! Thank you for your kind words, I’m happy to be a part of this great community😁 Really? Oh wow, that sounds so cool! I’m so glad you liked your semester abroad in Salzburg and have lot’s of good memories of Austria, it’s very beautiful here indeed!😊🏔🇦🇹

Thank you so much for telling me this, I truly appreciate it! Honestly I’m also really nervous about the first meeting but I know that I can’t be too nervous around the dogs as they can sense it and it could turn out bad...does your poodle interact with Cleo at all or is she just ignoring her? I think my pinscher will be pretty confused and/or peeved when she realizes that „big thing“ will stay with us forever and isn’t just visiting for a few weeks😅 But anyway it’s great to hear that everything went well between them and it makes me more confident about the three of us living together😁 Maybe your poodle needs to adapt to her for some more time and will become more confident around her😄I know that big dogs can be pretty scary and intimidating for our little ones at first🙈