Newbie Member Question

[Guest Pharaohs_Dad]

A question from a new forum member & a recent grey adopter, recently I've been taking Pharaoh (my new greyhound) out for walks down the lovely country road that we live on & everything is fine then all of a sudden when we get to a point on the road he stops dead in his tracks & won't move. He almost has a look as if he is supposed to do something he was trained to do by stopping in the middle of the road. I don't want to drag him by his leash but I end up pushing him to move. He is well trained & will walk right next to me but this recent behavior is keeping me perplexed. Has anyone else had this issue with their grey? I could not find any info in any training books or on the web. Pharaoh was also a former prison program dog & has received all his meds on a regular basis.

[Guest loveagrey]

It's called statuing! Welcome to the wonderufl world of greys!!!

 

It's never happened to me, but there's been a lot of posts about that very thing. Hopefully someone with some experience will chime in. Welcome though!!!

[ahicks51]

Ah, statuing. Classic greyhound problem!

 

I've only seen it once; it was the first time we were walking one of our fosters. She just froze about a hundred yards before we were home. I think I carried her.

 

One of the suggestions I've heard is just stand with them, and count slowly to ten. Then see if they're ready to go. I'm sure others will have better ideas.

 

Welcome to GT!

[Guest jurishound]

Yep - my Lucy did it all the time, when she wanted to go in another direction. And Cuffy does it too, when he's had enough walk. Welcome to GT!

[Guest Pharaohs_Dad]

Ok, are you guys joking with me because I'm new? Why do they do that, or is it a mental problem. Thanks for the fast response guys, I can tell I'm going to enjoy it here already

[Guest DoofBert]

No seriously, the act like a statue.... stop dead in the their tracks.... perhaps they see something they don't like or they smell something they don't like. Perhaps they have had enough walkies, perhaps the 'newness' of everything might overwhelm them.

[Guest smarthound]

It has to do with their stubborn streak. If they get tired on a walk, they'll just stop. This has truly happened to many of us.

 

You will probably have to work up to long walks with Pharaoh. Dogs just off the track sometimes need to toughen up their pads. Also, don't forget they're sprinters. They're used to going for very fast, short runs. A long walk is a new experience.

 

The other condition that seems to promote statuing is cold weather, ice and snow. It's great fun to be on a walk with a 75 pound dog who decides his feet are too cold to walk.

[Trudy]

Some dogs are just weird like that.

Mine will walk to the cows come home or their legs fall off, which ever comes first.

 

But if he just stops, I'd stop with him for a few seconds, look to see if you can see anything around he may have stopped for and then all happy and chipper, say "Let's go" and start walking again.

[Guest Winterwish]

Ok, are you guys joking with me because I'm new? ...

 

[Guest Pharaohs_Dad]

Ok, I'll take your word for it It doesn't even happen after a long walk. Sometimes after 50 yards. We do live in a farm area so maybe he senses other animals & smells. I'll make sure to post some pic's of Pharaoh when I find that area on this site. Thanks again

[Guest bowiebears]

It's never happened to me for more than a few seconds, and usually it was in connection with some other animal in the area that my hound could sense (smell, see, hear?).

 

Welcome to GreyTalk!

 

--Isaac

[SAVED2]

Your Grey needs more time to settle in.

[Guest Winterwish]

My greyhound also statued some,and I did the same as Trudy. Sometimes he would relly stop,really for many minutes. I just kept things very easy going,then when I could kind of sense he'd be ready-- so it'd be a success* -- sometimes I'd happily turn toward the direction we needed to go,possibly in a slight jog,even circling him once around to get the gears going,and happily say,"come on Dream"-- carefree-like..

and other times,or most times actually,I'd just keep it at a mosey along nice and lacidaisicle pace...nice and relaxed.

 

I love hearing you live in a farm area,I bet it's as you say,--smelling things,using all those senses the way dogs do. He must be very happy!

Edited October 25, 2007 by Winterwish

[Guest VanillaBean]

Fantastic question that I have no answer too. BUT, VanillaBean does it too, so thanks for asking!!! Now I know what she is doing!

Traci

[vjgrey]

Gabe does this when he wants to walk in a different direction. We have several routes that we walk regularly, and this seems to be his way of saying "Nope, not this one today, Mom." As soon as I start on the route he wants to walk, he's fine.

[sweetdogs]

My big boy used to do it too, most memorably in the middle of the road - wouldn't go forward or back. As others have mentioned, it could be overstimulation, fatigue or just plain stubbornness. He did grow out of it but there was a bit of butt pushing before that happened. A couple of things to try would be carrying treats with you or seeing if you can get him to go back where you came for a little bit to get some momentum.

 

And no, we're not kidding - you can't make greystuff up that's any better than the truth. Welcome!

[Guest fastdog]

If my dogs are slowing down/stopped/otherwise stubborn on a walk, I will jog with them for a little bit. Most of the time it works -- they're so excited to be running, that they forget to be distracted!

 

[SPDoggie]

This is VERY common (hence we even have the term, "statueing" for it!)

 

Our Kingsley was a great statue-er, and his is definitely fear-based. Could Pharaoh be hearing something and that makes him concerned? My guy was freaked by everything and anything.

 

Some times just pausing and then putting on your happy, "let's go" voice will bring them back. Sometimes, you resort to picking them up. We found pushing rather than pulling was more successful. But even after 2 and a half years Kingsley will still stop at some things, and we just stand for a moment, and then I give him a pat on his side and start walking while saying, "ok, here we go" and he normally will follow. On windy days, I know it is just not worth it to even try to go for a walk, he will freeze too much!

 

Pocket some yummy treats to give to him once he responds to moving again, in hopes of his gaining confidence that the world is not too scary, and you will be there to protect him.

[patricia]

My Flash used to do that ALL the time and once in an intersection and thank goodness not a busy one. The man in his car waiting for us got out of his car and said let me help you and together we lifted him to the side walk...I really did not know what I was going to do because he would not budge. He doesn't do that any more~it was just his first few weeks home.

[greytpups]

My girl Bailey statures a lot...she did it constantly when we first got her and another grey owner came over once a week so we could go for a walk with another pup.

 

Thank goodness the heaviest she has reached is about 64.5 pounds because I had to carry her a lot. Here's was strictly fear based. Now she does it and I just have to coax her and tug her leash quickly to get her going. When she does walk well, I give her a treat but never while she's statuing.

 

How long have you had him. Bailey was OK for the first 3 days because she was shell-shocked but once the shock wore off, this became a huge problem.

 

Try not to fuss too much so he doesn't see it as reinforcement of his behviour but make sure you are the leader. For example, if you decide to turn around bring him around in a circle so he thinks he following you even though you end up going in the direction he probably wants to go.

 

I really had to learn how to give gentle tugs with purpose and sometimes two or three in a row but after 3 years she's a lot better. Perhaps you can walk with a friend who has a dog, even if it is a different breed. This helped us.

[Guest Pat2003]

Welcome to GT. The trick is to get their feet moving and their mind off of whatever real or imagined makes them stop dead in their tracks. I have had great success in as soon as they statue I put my leg against their shoulder and do a couple tight circles all the while saying in a "happy voice" their name and "lets go". If you move fast enough they have to start moving their feet and after a couple tight circles then move in the direction you want to go. You may have to repeat the tight circles a couple of times before he moves ahead in a steady manner. You may have this problem for a couple weeks, but once he settles in and knows the routine it will probably end. This method also works great for getting a bulky horse to move (except in that case you use the reins and your legs).

 

Before you do this MAKE SURE that there isn't a snake or some such dangerous critter lurking in the vicinity.

 

[ShantisMom]

Shanti did it to me. People use to laugh at me, they told me they know why she retired. HA! She would do this after a about 1/2 a block. The mile and a half around the park was torturous!!!!

 

She is a little better now. Now if she is done, she just drops to the ground and lays down. Forget standing...to much effort!

 

Welcome to GT and the wonderful world of greyhounds!!!

[Neighsayer]

Welcome! I was going to use the horse example but someone beat me to it! The idea is to get those feet moving and don't stop. Just continue your walk without making a fuss. Good luck!

[Guest Ladyluther]

Oh I can feel your pain..My Luther who is now past 14 still does this and I am afraid that in the early days, I must have been an "enabler". Luther would come to a dead stop any where he da-n well pleased, ears up, eyes ahead, so naturally I thought he saw something impt...So, I would stop with him, and say "Luther, what's going on?"...that would only encourage him..He'd stop and look behind, I did the same!..all bad ideas.

 

So now I am paying the price and trying to correct this behavior..I carry special walkies only treats, and because of his age, I have slowed down too - we both stop now and then to smell the roses!

[Cynthia]

So, I would stop with him, and say "Luther, what's going on?"...that would only encourage him..He'd stop and look behind, I did the same!..all bad ideas.

 

That cracked me up

 

It does seem to happen more with newer dogs. They're learning about the environment, and for the first few weeks or months everything is exciting. When they lose the 'high' they may start to become a little fearful, or something we don't notice may have frightened them on a previous walk. Yes, there are other reasons, but I tend to think it's mostly fear based in the recently retired dogs. So be a positive leader and as others have said, don't coddle or encourage the fear by soothing him.

 

Several good ideas above, crossing the street and heading in another direction can work too. As does throwing treats ahead just to get his mind on something else. Katie started freezing 6 months post retirement. For 3 or 4 days we walked up and down the driveway because that's what she would do and exercise is about exercise not scenery. Then a foster dog with an attitude brought her confidence back and she's been fearless ever since. Another dog can help. Perhaps there's someone else in your area that you could walk with ocassionally?

Edited October 26, 2007 by Cynthia