Major Fear Issues With Other People

[Guest EricaHeartsBumb]

Hello to all!

 

I recently got my second greyhound, Lily (2 months after my first passed) about two months ago, so I know a thing or two about them, especially in the department of strange and unusual habits and behaviors. Let me first say that she is the sweetest, loveliest, kindest dog ever. She is only two, never raced, and has house trained and adjusted pretty quickly. She sleeps in bed with me and has never exhibited any sleep aggression or fear of closeness like my first.

 

However, she is seemingly petrified of other people. She has always been a bit nervous when i take her to the dogrun; she won't go to another person if beckoned and she doesn't look to socialize with the other dogs much. She also "plays the wall" a bit and run backs and forth from the gate to where she does her business and overall likes to get back inside quickly. I do live in Manhattan so i know the sights/sounds can be overwhelming, so I didn't see this as a huge thing, more of a with time thing.

 

So last week I on vacation for 6 days and had my friend stay with Lily at my house. My friend told me that Lily was so terrified for the whole time that she held her bladder for almost 48 hours, wouldn't let her approach and would growl and snap when she tried to put the leash on. She would sleep on the bed with her (she would growl if she tried to put her in her crate) but in a ball as far away as possible. For the whole week. Now I know she is new and she hadn't met my friend before (my mistake) but such an extreme degree of unrelenting fear really concerns me. She also growled at my mom when i introduced her. Apparently I am the only person she doesn't behave this way towards. I have never heard her growl and she is completely compliant when i leash her or put her in the crate. But a scaredy cat around anyone else. And the growling snapping is particularly upsetting. When i met her in the kennel, she was friendly and outgoing and didn't seem to have these kind of fear issues.

 

So, how the hell do i socialize her??? Please help.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Henry was afraid of everyone when I first brought him home too. Everytime someone approached us, he would hide behind me, and he did not want to be touched by anyone but me. I figured I would let him get used to his new home and family first before anything, and just give him time. I never pushed the issue and I asked people to please let Henry do the approaching. One day, I was talking to a lady, and Henry came out from behind me, sniffed the lady's hand, and slowly approached for petting. She was already aware that Henry had some fear issues, so she was very gentle and was wonderful. From that day on, Henry has always been eager to approach people for petting. In fact, if people ignore us on our walk, his feelings get hurt! I think he just needed time to feel secure in his new family before being open to anyone outside of our home. That maybe all that your Lily needs.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

I would contact the group you adopted her from and explain the situation. I would also be sure to get a full blood panel workup with a greyhound vet (not just any vet, because of greyhounds unique blood values). First rule out thyroid issues as well as other medical issues, then work the behavioral if it is. If the checkup is aok, then your group should be able to help guide you on the appropriate desnesitization and bonding techniques to use to help ease her over her fear of strangers. Good luck.

 

Chad

[RobinM]

Hey Erica- I am sorry to hear you are having some issues with Lily. She needs desensitizing. But first, as mentioned above- a full lab work done and thryoid (full panel) Let them send the results to MSU for testing.

 

In the meantime, I would start taking her to petco/petsmart, etc to start socializing her with other people.

 

Did she eat while you were away?

[CaliforniaGreys]

Lenny is very afraid of people, I was told it was just men, however he's afraid of everyone.

What has worked best for him has been having people come over, have them sit down right away and not even look at Lenny.

 

Having the other dogs have obviously helped because seeing them get all the attention usually wins Lenny over, but still totally on his terms.

 

I don't know if you've already tried this but have a friend come over, come in, sit down and ignore her. Don't make eye contact with her or try to coax her over.

Let her do it on her terms.

 

This works with Lenny. Took a few times and patience but it worked.

 

Good luck

[Guest eaglflyt]

Our daughter and I both found this book to be extremely helpful: HERE.

[Guest 2greygirls]

Would she do well with a greyhound buddy in out door situations, maybe having another hound with her, showing her there is nothing to fear would help her acclimate. Could you arrange a grey play date with someone from your adoption group? She may be more confident with another grey around too. I have found that some greyhounds really don't like the free for all antics at dog parks, they don't trust the other dogs to play by grey rules. I would also suggest that you have any new person give her her favorite treat when they come over- as the poster before me said, don't offer it right away, see if she approaches first, then reward. Perhaps plant a couple people on your walk , who have a treat, something so that she starts thinking meeting new people might be fun and tasty?

[Guest EricaHeartsBumb]

Thanks for all the good advice; I plan to take it all.

Robin- she did eat when I was away, no fasting, only in the bathroom department initially!

Edited February 12, 2010 by EricaHeartsBumb