Socialization For A Spook

[Guest gsscooter]

For starters, I'm really thrilled to have found this wonderful resource and very pleased to meet all of you.

 

In mid-July my wife and I adopted a 4-and-a-half year old retired racer, whose name is now Alfie. Since that time, he has really made a lot of progress inside the home in terms of confidence and feeling completely safe and even showing affection. When walking outside, he does tend to pull a little but that is something that we're working on. The bigger issue, though, is his reaction to other dogs in the neighborhood that we may encounter during our walks. If we get within a certain distance of the other dog, Alfie will act like he wants to bolt - usually to the side or behind me. His tail goes between his legs and then his next bathroom break shows evidence of his nerves.

 

When we took him to a meet and greet, he was absolutely fine with the other greyhounds that were there, which would make sense since he spent 4 years in the company of other greys. We do have a positive reinforcement trainer coming in a couple of weeks to help out with basic commands and possibly offer some socialization ideas. In the meantime, I was just curious if anyone had any advice.

 

Thanks.

[Jackandgrey]

Congratulations and welcome! Your Alfie doesn't sound like a spook though. It is not unusual for a hound to have negative reactions to dogs other than a another greyhound. If he is at all food motivated, and this is the abbreviated version , you might try taking him somewhere where you can be sure of seeing other dogs. But not get close enough for him to react fearfully. Then as he looks at the other dog/s, give him a fabulous treat. This will encourage him to believe seeing other dogs is a very good thing. Then you gradually get closer and repeat. This works really well in conjunction with clicker training.

Good luck!!

[Guest Olivia0208]

.....AND make sure he's wearing a harness since they're very quick and can back out of just the collar. Congrats! He'll be fine: Edited September 10, 2010 by Olivia0208

[Guest gsscooter]

Thank you very much for the advice! I'll definitely give the treats a try.

 

There is one other behavior I neglected to mention (if I should start a new thread on this, let me know). As of a couple of days ago, he suddenly stops during his walk and shuts down without wanting to move another inch. I've no idea why he's doing this, especially since there is no one (or dog) else around when he does this. I try walking in another direction or tug on the collar a little to snap him out of it and that seems to work, but was wondering if anyone had any other ideas about this.

 

Thanks once again.

[greysmom]

Both are common greyhound traits. Time and patience and the judicious use of treats will help. Use treats as both lure on walks and a reward for calm behavior around other breeds.

 

Welcome!