billie_the_grey

I really like your idea of just hanging out at a park on the far side. We used to walk at an oval, but it seems to have freaked her out somehow and she'll barely walk across it before trying to pull back to the car. Maybe if we just find a spot and chill, that'll help. It's so easy to forget that it's only been 6 weeks and things can take months. I think i just get so excited for her when she makes improvements that any steps backwards feel like we've lost all our hard work.

Hey greyhounds brains trust, My partner and I adopted a greyhound 6 weeks ago. Her name is Billie and she is the sweetest, funniest and cutest girl. But when she's outside our house, that's when her fears and struggles start. When we first got her, she walked fine for a few days (obviously was just following us in a daze). She would then start freezing on walks and the walks would get shorter and shorter until one day she wouldn't even leave the house. After lots of patience and treats, we were able to encourage her to walk down our neighbours side path to a reserve where there aren't any people or dogs. This worked for a week or so but then she started to get scared on the pebbles on the path, so she decided one day she would go back up to the street. After that, she started to get more and more confident walking around the streets near our place. Everything was going so well for about 2 weeks. She was so confident on our walks and her tail would be wagging and she would be so happy. But just a few days ago, she decided she didn't want to walk up our driveway anymore. We are now spending around half an hour just standing, or walking up the driveway (with treats) and then walking back down because she gets scared at the top. There's a few things i suspect could have caused this. 1. is her fear of other dogs. She has always been very scared of other dogs. She'll start walking backwards and get really spooked if she sees other dogs. There's a lot of dogs in our area out for walks at all hours of the day and night, and if they're not out for walks they'll be barking from behind fences. 2. she's been harassed by several dogs in the last 6 weeks. We've had 2 instances where off leash little dogs have run at us barking and look like they're about to attack. There's also been several dogs either lunge at her on lead or bark at her which spook her. 3. we take her for drives on the weekend to places further away where there are no people or dogs. I've noticed every time we leave the house for a walk she'll stop at the car and won't move for a while. Maybe she just want's to go for a car ride to other new places? (but i worry about taking her to too many different places too soon) I am now at a loss. Everything was going so well (even with a few setbacks) but this setback has felt extra overwhelming. I just stood in the kitchen and had a cry this morning because it feels like we won't ever be able to overcome this. This is particularly hard for my partner and i because we love exploring and going camping in the bush and ideally we'd be able to take her all around with us without any issues. What do i do? Is this just another speed bump that will pass with patience and time? How long are everyones experiences with overcoming freezing, fear and fear of other dogs? What are your experiences and what worked for you? At what point do i need to get a professional trainer involved? Thanks so much in advance. I can't express how thankful i am for this forum and the comfort it's given me.

😂 my partner has tried the pee in the garden trick a few times without much success but maybe it’s time for me to give it a crack too! I feel so sad about her freezing on walks now. She’s so energetic indoors and super curious and would absolutely thrive out in the world once she feels better. I’ve thought about driving her somewhere away from roads to test her walking but don’t want to put her off getting in the car if it doesn’t go well. Or should I just wait until she feels comfortable to leave our driveway?

That's a good idea. She is happy to go in the garden bed on her own accord but as soon as i try and nudge her in or put her paws on the garden, she tries to back away. The last thing I want is for her to be scared of going on the garden.

So I brought home my adopted grey a week ago. We have a concreted back courtyard with a very small garden running around the edge. When she first got home, she pee'd on the garden bed without needing to be directed. We gave her lots of praise every time she used the garden to pee. However, over the last few days she's started peeing on the concrete. I've been ignoring her every time she pees on the concrete, with the hopes that she'll go in the garden next time and I can give her praise then. I've been washing down the concrete to try get rid of the smell. I've also tried to scatter feed over the concrete once, but it's been raining recently so will wait till the next sunny day to try scatter feeding again. I can't put her on a lead and direct her to the garden because the trees are at the perfect height that make it almost impossible for a person to walk through the garden (still plenty of space for dogs to roam through). I also can't take her for walks to pee because she doesn't seem to pee on the lead (i haven't seen her do it yet), and she's also started freezing as soon as leaving the house so walks to grassy areas to practice peeing on walks is out of the question for now. Any advice is much appreciated!