Statueing - Major Vent

[Guest Jubilee251]

This is a huge rant and I'm mostly just venting. I'll get over it, and tomorrow is a new day, but for now, I'm just at the height of my frustration.

 

We've had Molly for 3 weeks, and sometimes she's ok on walks and sometimes she just FREEZES. Not because she's scared, not because we're taking her on a new route, just because she gets distracted and stubborn and what not. We left to go to the dog park this morning (just a few blocks from our house) at 8:20 and FINALLY came home at 10:00 AM. I've read stuff in the archives, and we've tried most of them - food, going in a circle, quick jerks on the leash, etc. Nothing works when she seriously freezes. I brought some cheese today and she will extend her neck to try it get it, but won't move.

 

I wish I could be more patient and just stand with her for 10 minutes every time she stops, but it is incredibly frustrating and discouraging when we're still half a mile from home and I have to leave for work in 5 minutes. I know we're lucky and this is her only real issue (besides cat-training), but when you're in the middle of it, it's just hard to see the big picture and all I can think about is how she needs to MOVE HER BUTT. NOW!

 

Ugh, rant over. I think we'll just stick with walks around the block for the next few days or so.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Did you adopt through Greyhounds Only? If you did, call 847-421-9828 and explain to them the situation, that is what the number is for. There are other things that you may try. One question, do you have a jacket on your girl? Try walking her without the jacket. Some hounds dont like the jacket. Does she seem to be scared of something, like the vehicles racing by, or are you near the "L" (screeching train tracks). There may be other issues here that you arent aware of that are causing the issue. If any of these are the case, your method to fix the issue will be different. Heck some hounds are afraid of a pile of snow that wasnt there the day before. You may think she is being stubborn, but chances are it is an environmental issue, not behavioral.

 

Chad

Edited February 4, 2010 by Greyt_dog_lover

[JAJ2010]

What happens when you do a 1-2 second pull on the leash to get her unglued then immediately give slack as she moves. If I don't have time for Sunshine's freezes I just do that she it snaps her back to me. Not a sharp tug to hurt her neck just just a steady pull to get all 4 feet moved than an instant release so she realizes that's what I wanted. Also never face her when trying to get her to walk forward.

[Guest jeffexpress]

Oh man that really, really sucks. I completely understand what you're saying. I got caught in the middle of Division street once when TB decided to statue. That was so frustrating, but now I laugh about it. You & Molly will get through it eventually. Good luck

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Did I do your adoption? Do you live in the Hyde Park neighborhood? If you do, I was the adoption rep for your hound. I would suggest a harness, that way you will be moving her body, not just trying to move her neck. Personally what I do is to pull for about 2-3 seconds, if this doesnt work, I move to the rear of the hound and use my thigh/knee to push gently at the rump of the hound to get him/her moving. I know it is frustrating, but realize that your hound will pick up on your "vibe" and may be shutting down if you get frustrated. Another thing to try is to not allow her to stop and sniff things (if this is the way you walk now). Keep a very short hold on the leash (1') and keep her head up and walking. This may help with the balking.

 

Chad

[Guest Jubilee251]

Chad - we did adopt through GO. I'm going to email her foster family today, and I'm also going to help out at a Meet 'n' Greet on Sunday so I'll talk to some people there about it. The jacket doesn't seem to bother her - she goes potty in it fine, plays it in, sometimes walks ok in it. You're right that it could be some environmental issue - her body language doesn't seem to show fear, just distraction and curiosity, but I might be misreading. (Laura and Denise did my adoption, and I live in the South Loop area)

 

I apologized to Molly for being stern with her, and I know we'll keep working on it, I just needed a quick vent. Like I said, she is almost the perfect dog otherwise, but when I've been standing in 20 degree weather for 15 minutes, and 3 light changes have passed, all I can think about is "Serenity now!"

 

The 1-2 second pulls don't really help - she will turn her head to me so there is slack, and then just stand there. So basically she will be looking ahead in the direction we want to move, but won't walk. I stand next to her (not facing her). When she does start moving again, I give her lots of praise and neck-rubs and pats on the back/side. When I try to walk her in a circle, she will make the circle and then statue again at the exact same spot she did before! Tricky dog.

Edited February 4, 2010 by Jubilee251

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

I totally understand your frustration. Bang went through a phase of that about the same time, after we had her for a few weeks. The best solution for us was to get behind her and nudge her backside to literally force her to move again. Once she was moving, it would help to keep an extra tasty treat in my hand, waving it in front of her nose every now and then to get her attention. Another good way to get her attention was to pretend to eat her treat. The look on her face was priceless.

 

The statue phase passed, for the most part. She still gets balky every now and again, but as soon as I get behind her she starts walking again.

 

Good luck! This too, shall pass!

 

--Gina

[Guest KennelMom]

I can promise you that the folks at the track didn't have this problem...

 

The above post has some good suggestions, though I don't use harnesses unless it's medically necessary. I think you have less control over the most important part of the dog - the head with all the sharp pointy things in it. Basically, keep her mind moving forward as much as possible. Greyhounds are fantastic mirrors - if you are stressed or anxious, it will travel right down that leash.

[FiveRoooooers]

There are excellent suggestions in this post. Something for sure is bothering Molly. If you go the harness route, those from 2HoundsDesign are *excellent* and you can attach the training leash to both the martingale connection on the harness, and clip the other end to Molly's martingale collar, so you have control of both her head/neck and her body. If she is stopping in exactly the same spot every time, that spot warrants a major sleuthing to try and figure out what is so "scary"

[Guest Jubilee251]

If something is scaring her, whether it be a bus or a bridge or whatever, how should we handle that?

 

It might be a mix of both fear and distraction. There are times when she pulls in another direction because she sees people going that way - it's when I try to pull her attention back in the direction we're going that she will just freeze. It's like she is saying, "Oh, I don't want to go THAT way." I thought she might be tired too, but then I took her to a grassy area for potty and she started doing zoomies.

 

I will definitely try to be more positive and patient going forward. Admittedly, it does get the better of me sometimes after two blocks of praising in a high voice, stopping for 5 minutes, praising, stopping for 5 minutes...etc.

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

This may sound weird, but two things were occasionally - not always - effective when Bang went through her Rodin period:

 

1- Gentle chastisement, as in "uh-uh" like when she is nosing at our dinner plates. She seemed to get the idea that stopping in the middle of Kimble Ave was not desired behavior.

2- Turning around and walking her in a full 360 degree circle often seemed to clear the vapor lock in her brain.

 

She is basically over it; if she balks a gentle leash tug and a verbal "come, Bang" generally suffice.

 

I am wary of using treats to induce the cessation of undesired behavior (as opposed to rewarding good acts) because a lot of dogs are smart enough to use the behavior to get more yummy treats.

 

~D~

[Guest grey_dreams]

There are a lot of things in a busy urban environment that can provoke freezing. They are things you don't even notice. Flags and flags flapping in the wind, garbage cans near the sidewalk, plastic bags blowing in the wind, other people and especially people wearing hats or glasses, dry leaves rustling or blowing around, any kind of bay windows or overhangs on a building that you have to walk under, any businesses you pass that have automatic doors, just to name a few. Next time she freezes, watch to see what she is staring at. That will be the thing she is afraid of or concerned about. The best way to deal with it now is to step in between her and the thing she fears and then cross to the other side of the street. When Zuki first came here to Amsterdam he had very serious bouts of freezing. Sometimes we crossed the street multiple times for each block. He got used to things after more time and so will she. Just work gently with her now in the beginning. Good luck!

[Guest pennmorgan]

This was also the *only* problem we had with Olivia, and we had it from about 1 week in to about 3 weeks. The following solution worked perfectly for me. When she froze, I would turn and face the direction I wanted to go, silently count to ten, and then give a FIRM yank (like a quick snap, not an extended drag) and say "OK, let's go!" in a sing-songy voice. The yank had to be firm enough to startle her. She was wearing a harness at the time, not a martingale, though we've subsequently switched.

 

We had tried a number of other solutions and this one worked perfectly. I'm not a big fan of the coaxing and trying to trick the dog into going--I think this is one case where you need to assert your authority. It took three tugs on one walk and one tug on the next and that was it--she has not frozen once since then. Honestly, I think she was sort of "testing" us and saying "I'm in charge here, and I don't want to go that way," and this maneuver reinforced to her that WE are the ones in charge. Now she's the best walker and loves going on her thrice-daily walks.

[greysmom]

Use the Knee Trick. Once she gets the idea that you're not going to *let* her stop for 15 minutes, the statueing should get better. Yes, she might be anxious about something that's causing her to freeze, but she needs to learn to follow your direction and trust you as her "pack leader."

 

Be away of what her triggers are. Does she stop in the same place all the time? Try and get her attention with a SUPER DUPER yummy treat (very smelly is better!) before you reach that point and encourage her to keep moving. She's probably giving you other clues when she's about to freeze so be mindful of the state of her body language and demeanor.

 

Don't feel that by NOT going forward it's a failure. Instead of a circle, try immediately turning and walking the other way or on a tangent to the original way you were walking. You may end up walking back and forth for 10 feet, but don't end the walk until *you* want to end it. Each time you change directions, see if you can go a bit farther than the last time.

 

Be happy and upbeat, and use a fun voice when encouraging her. If you're frustrated, she'll pick up on it, and likely think she's done something wrong - only it won't be the same thing you're thinking of!

[Guest Harry702]

There are a lot of things in a busy urban environment that can provoke freezing. They are things you don't even notice. Flags and flags flapping in the wind, garbage cans near the sidewalk, plastic bags blowing in the wind, other people and especially people wearing hats or glasses, dry leaves rustling or blowing around, any kind of bay windows or overhangs on a building that you have to walk under, any businesses you pass that have automatic doors, just to name a few. Next time she freezes, watch to see what she is staring at. That will be the thing she is afraid of or concerned about. The best way to deal with it now is to step in between her and the thing she fears and then cross to the other side of the street. When Zuki first came here to Amsterdam he had very serious bouts of freezing. Sometimes we crossed the street multiple times for each block. He got used to things after more time and so will she. Just work gently with her now in the beginning. Good luck!

 

:

 

We've dealt with statuing from just about every hound we've had in the house (this includes Harry, but also a handful of fosters). A large part of it is the newness of the situation. Think about it. If you grew up in the 'burbs or in a rural area, try to remember the first time you went to a big city. I can tell you that after a childhood in rural Maine, my first "big city" experience was pretty overwhelming. The dogs are dealing with that same overwhelming (and yes, scary) sense of "what the heck...??" And in our experience, it doesn't matter if the dog is confident and outgoing or shy and reserved... they all go through it to some extent. The way we deal with it is to move quickly on walks if we discover a predisposition to a lot of statuing. If a loud noise causes the dog to perk her ears up like she's about to statue... we pick up the pace and say "oh! no big deal!" in a cheery voice and keep moving. When a dog does statue, I count to 3 and try to move forward. If the dog doesn't budge, I use the body block method to stand in front of the dog's gaze and slowly and methodically step forward until the dog is forced to move out of my space ( I don't touch the dog, or wave my hands, or anything like that... just casually, but firmly, step forward into the dog's space). This usually snaps them out of it. It does help to try to figure out what causes the behavior, but as the poster above mentioned, it is so challenging to do that in an urban environment where there are SO many possible triggers. Sometimes you can figure it out, many times you can't.

 

Overall, it will get better with time (I know that's not what you want to hear when it's 15 degrees out and your walks are doubling in time but not in distance). Harry will still do this from time to time, but it's rare now.

[Guest MyBoys]

I agree with trying a harness, it is much easier to get them moving when they are wearing a harness, I also found that out the hard way

[Guest bigbrindlebunny]

 

When a dog does statue, I count to 3 and try to move forward. If the dog doesn't budge, I use the body block method to stand in front of the dog's gaze and slowly and methodically step forward until the dog is forced to move out of my space ( I don't touch the dog, or wave my hands, or anything like that... just casually, but firmly, step forward into the dog's space). This usually snaps them out of it.

 

VERY cool idea, I'll have to try that! Thanks for posting!

[Guest Jubilee251]

We've tried blocking the gaze with our bodies, and unless we're doing it wrong, it doesn't work. Instead of walking FORWARD, she'll walk BACKWARDS to try to get her head around my body.

 

What's the Knee Trick?

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Knee trick - What I explained about using your knee or thigh to push the rump of the hound. At least that is "my" knee trick.

[Guest FatCatSkinnyDog]

Rajah used to be bad with statuing. I would get right up to him and then get down to eye level. Once I was in front of him I would tell him it was ok and we were going to just keep going. I think that focusing on me, instead of whatever freaked him out, helped. Now if he statues I can just tell him to "come on!' and he does

 

Good luck!!

[Guest Harry702]

We've tried blocking the gaze with our bodies, and unless we're doing it wrong, it doesn't work. Instead of walking FORWARD, she'll walk BACKWARDS to try to get her head around my body.

 

What's the Knee Trick?

 

Have you tried walking forward towards her? Not quickly, or with any embellishments, but just plain walk forward into her space? Dogs are very space sensitive, and this "stepping into their space" sends a strong "move" message.

 

No... just blocking her view isn't going to work.

[Guest sheila]

I can promise you that the folks at the track didn't have this problem...

 

 

 

 

This was also the *only* problem we had with Olivia, and we had it from about 1 week in to about 3 weeks. The following solution worked perfectly for me. When she froze, I would turn and face the direction I wanted to go, silently count to ten, and then give a FIRM yank (like a quick snap, not an extended drag) and say "OK, let's go!" in a sing-songy voice. The yank had to be firm enough to startle her. She was wearing a harness at the time, not a martingale, though we've subsequently switched.

 

We had tried a number of other solutions and this one worked perfectly. I'm not a big fan of the coaxing and trying to trick the dog into going--I think this is one case where you need to assert your authority. It took three tugs on one walk and one tug on the next and that was it--she has not frozen once since then. Honestly, I think she was sort of "testing" us and saying "I'm in charge here, and I don't want to go that way," and this maneuver reinforced to her that WE are the ones in charge. Now she's the best walker and loves going on her thrice-daily walks.

 

 

Yep and yep

 

I understand my dogs might have an occasional moment where they want to sniff around or just stand there for a bit and take in the scenery. However when it's time to move I don't tolerate balking. I begin with a (think Progressive insurance commercial) 'And we're walking!' and if that doesn't work a very firm (but not violent) yank on the leash or a little slap on the tush and away we go.

[Guest Jubilee251]

I will try walking toward her into her space. I've tried the tug, but maybe I'm not tugging hard enough or fast enough to really startle her and get her attention, or maybe I just need to keep tugging until she moves. I've tried "Let's go!" and other variations in a chipper voice...that definitely does not work yet!

 

I was also recommended one of those "gentle leader" collars by a friend whose dog is part greyhound. Not sure if they would good or advisable...

Edited February 4, 2010 by Jubilee251

[Guest grey_dreams]

I will try walking toward her into her space. I've tried the tug, but maybe I'm not tugging hard enough or fast enough to really startle her and get her attention, or maybe I just need to keep tugging until she moves. I've tried "Let's go!" and other variations in a chipper voice...that definitely does not work yet!

 

I was also recommended one of those "gentle leader" collars by a friend whose dog is part greyhound. Not sure if they would good or advisable...

 

Don't pull her by the collar. Not for this.

Don't use a gentle leader collar. Not for this.

 

She is new to you and new to your city. You need to work with her in a way so that she learns that you will keep her safe and protected when she's having to deal with these scary new things. You need to earn her trust to be with you on the street. You will not earn her trust by dragging her past the thing she fears. Nor will you earn her trust with a gentle leader collar.

 

Good luck to you and your girl.

[RobinM]

but realize that your hound will pick up on your "vibe" and may be shutting down if you get frustrated. Another thing to try is to not allow her to stop and sniff things (if this is the way you walk now). Keep a very short hold on the leash (1') and keep her head up and walking. This may help with the balking.

 

Chad

 

 

Yup.

 

And by keeping the walk to a fast paced walk in the middle of the street where she is not going to stop and smell- it will tire her out more. (make sure you do this only after she pees and poops!)

 

 

I have 2 hounds that statue from time to time and it seems as if they really do it a lot when you have someplace you have to be. Which confirms with what Chad said- they feel the frustration and simply shut down.