Guest dee Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 We have had our grey for five weeks and we first fostered him so we got him straight from the track. He is very sweet and gentle and affectionate now. We are bothered by the fact that he is so skittish. Any suggestions to help him get beyond that would be so helpful. We praise and give treats and he lives with two other dogs ....a standard poodle and a labradoodle. They seem to have settled in nicely. There was some minor growling by my alpha girl (labradoodle) but that seems to have diminished. He's getting tons of love, has a fenced backyard and i walk him without the other dogs for some one on one time. But he still has trouble coming straight to us when called. He circles around us several times and then finally approaches. He's our second experience with a greyhound. We had a greyhound several years ago that we lost to cancer so we are somewhat familiar with the breed. Thanks for reading this and any help would be great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PhillyPups Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Time and patience is the key. He is still very new to life as a pet. Moe has been with me since July and is still uncertain of a lot of things. When AnnaBanana joined me she stayed on a dog bed in the kitchen for over 6 weeks, went out to do her business and back to the bed. She is now a social happy puppy!! Time, patience and treats are the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante2zoe Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Even though Zoe was a bounce and had been in a foster home before coming to us, she spent the first week in the back of a crate. She became the brat that she is on her own time and at her own pace. When we got Goose, we knew he was very VERY shy. Now 18 months later, he loves us and is an integral part of the family, but anything out of the ordinary - shopping bag in the hall, piece of paper floating to the floor - he dashes off upstairs to his bed. We just gave him time, space and consistency. You will be amazed how different your dog will be in another month. When these shy ones take to you, it's a great feeling! Good luck and keep us posted! Quote Cindy with Miss Fancypants, Paris Bueller, Zeke, and Angus Dante (Dg's Boyd), Zoe (In a While), Brady (Devilish Effect), Goose (BG Shotgun), Maverick (BG ShoMe), Maggie (All Trades Jax), Sherman (LNB Herman Bad) and Indy (BYB whippet) forever in my heart The flame that burns the brightest, burns the fastest and leaves the biggest shadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 First, walk all your dogs together, it will help. Also, hand feed your new hound, by this I mean physically take a handful of food and give it to your hound, then the next handful, etc. I would do this for weeks until you see a change in behavior. BELIEVE me, this works. My girl Olive was terrified of me when we first got her, so I hand fed her for the first 4 weeks we had her. She is now my little shadow. She roaches and loves her daddy. She is usually within 5 feet of me whenever I am home. Obedience classes are a huge bonding experience as well. Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitycake Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Is there any possibility that he's worried about being allowed to come near you - are you "owned" by the labradoodle and he's nervous about intruding if you're hers? (Monty (grey) will want to come near us but he's dominated by the 7 lb cat and will veer off if she's around or looks at him crosseyed.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dee Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 HE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE INTIMIDATED BY THE OTHER TWO DOGS....TODAY HE SEEMS TO BE REALLY MAKING SOME BIG STRIDES!! PLAYING WITH THE SAME CHEW TOY WITH GABI (LABRADOODLE AND ALPHA) BOTH OF THEM WAGGING THEIR TAILS LIKE CRAZY AND THEN GABI LICKS MICAH'S EARS. THIS GREYHOUND HAS THE CLEANEST EARS IN TOWN! HE ALSO FOR SOME REASON TODAY IS WAGGING HIS TAIL AND COMING CLOSER TO MY HUSBAND AND COMING RIGHT UUP TO ME!!!! MAYBE WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS!!! ALL THOSE TREATS AND HUGS MIGHT BE STARTING TO PAY OFF. THANKS FOR THE HELP FROM ALL OF YOU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DoofBert Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 (edited) Yep.. sounds like progress to me... Time, patience, love, and lot's of treats........consistent schedule, too. He'll come around... He's probably just getting used to other breeds, life in house and retirement. That's quite a bit for a hound to get used to. Maybe the funky snowy weather had something to do with it too.. Jayne Edited March 14, 2010 by DoofBert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ghessentials Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I have had experience with several spooks. Time and patience is the key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 (edited) Why do you say the lab is "alpha"? What exactly is the "alpha" doing to make you think he's the leader? The reason I ask is because I see a lot where people think that one dog is being alpha, when it is actually poor behavior such as inapropriate resource guarding. There is a difference between a dog being "alpha" and a dog being a bully. If you have a particularly shy hound and a bully in the same house, you will have a spiraling problem. Personally I dont allow any of my hounds to be alpha, my wife and myself are the BOSS, nobody and nothing else in our house is. I will allow some grumbling from the hounds, but I limit it to a 2 second growl, or even shorter amount of time if I see a "stare" or "alpha" stance. I believe that a calm household begins with effective leadership. If you allow one of the hounds to be the leader, you are effectively usurping your own position. I dont mean that you rule with an iron fist, but what I do mean is that there is no grumbling for the treat, or toy, or sofa spot. If one hound is in the bed, then that hound gets the bed. I have 1 male and 3 females in my house along with two cats, One of my current females is a foster. I dont have many problems. The few growls I have heard are short lived. I know that others allow their hounds to work things out, while I do allow this to a certain degree (such as when we have a new foster that may try to push around someone in the house), I usually step in to keep everyone in order. What I do not stop is correction. If one hound is playing too rough for another, I will allow them to correct each other. If one hound steps on another, I do allow the correction. There are times when you allow the hound to correct, but there are limits. Chad Edited March 15, 2010 by Greyt_dog_lover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cogito Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Give it time When I first brought my 'shydog' home, she was the 'drive-by' girl. She would litterally trot past me 20 times at a pop, going from the room to the right of the one I was in to the same on the left and back (lather, rinse, repeat...). It told me she was nervous, but REALLY interested in connecting. Now, she's the only dog I ever had who moves around the house and on walks w/ me at a heel (untaught...she just prefers to be as close as possible to me whereever I am). If you let your pup set the timetable, I think you'll find the nervousness won't be an issue in 6 mos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluefawn Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Congratulations on your new family member! He is dealing with a lot of new stuff at one time - new home, new food, new companions, new people to bond with, new routine - it will take time, but he will come around just fine. He has to figure out where his place is in the pack, and settle into it. Penny was very skittish, but then she had some bad injuries. She is fine now, except still afraid of plastic bags. There is a chance that he will always have a fear of something, but it's probably slim in his case. Once he knows that you are the pack leader, that will really help his confidence level. Good luck, and keep us posted! And, we would love some pics please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dee Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 thanks for all the support and i know you're right and that in a few months we will see a different dog. my first greyhound took a while to let us see his real personality! it was worth the wait then and i know it will be worth the wait with micah. he's starting to lick me and gets really, really excited when i come home. he definitely has our hears! so....thanks again for all the suggestions and support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1229 Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Don't worry about it, a few weeks is nothing to be concerned about. I'm fostering an ultra-spook right night. I've had her almost 5 months and it's just been about a week the I can actually walk up to her is she is standing up. But she has turned into a love bug when I am sitting or laying down. Just give you "child" a little time and he will get more and more comfortable. Greg Quote Isis, Always in my Heart Bijou, My Sweetest Angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TeddysMom Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Spice has been here since Dec. and she still gets frightened at some things. She doesn't like loud noises or the sound of plastic bags. She will head to my bedroom, her safe spot, until the noise is over. She was really scared of DH for a couple of months but has now learned that Daddy always has cookies for her so she will approach him and even nose him to get love and cookies. In the beginning, I wondered if she would ever venture out of the bedroom but I never push her and she is starting to spend a lot more time out with us now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lat41065 Posted March 20, 2010 Share Posted March 20, 2010 One of my boys took weeks before I could look at him and now admittedly years later you see not a shred of his intial spookiness. Time is your cure and one day the switch will flip and he will be comfortable and understand all of this new stuff ! Its crazy how differrent yet similar they all are. Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.