Help!

[seeh2o]

Carl was like this for a long long time, I thought he was miserable here. 3 years later, he is still evolving. He now likes (loves) to be petted and will seek it out, plays with his toys (nylabones) when he is happy - which is becoming more and more frequent. Your boy is still acclimating and learning how to be just a retired dog, he'll come out the other end. It's really cool to watch their personalities come out and blossom, like watching a flower bud form and open.

[Guest Jubilee251]

Like everyone else said, give him some time. And I'll add that it doesn't hurt if you get a second, to help them come out of their shell.

 

Just wait about 6-9 months. And then one day, you'll be standing in the yard, yelling at your boy to stop eating poop for the BILLIONTH TIME while he stares at you, wagging his tail defiantly and sprinting laps, picking up poop in his mouth the whole time...then you'll wish he was quiet and aloof again!

[Guest cwholsin]

Like everyone else said, give him some time. And I'll add that it doesn't hurt if you get a second, to help them come out of their shell.

 

Just wait about 6-9 months. And then one day, you'll be standing in the yard, yelling at your boy to stop eating poop for the BILLIONTH TIME while he stares at you, wagging his tail defiantly and sprinting laps, picking up poop in his mouth the whole time...then you'll wish he was quiet and aloof again!

 

 

LOL!!!!!

[RobinM]

Although Ollie is # 5 for our pack, and even though there are 4 others here to learn from... Ollie has just recently started coming into himself. Next month will be one year.

 

It's worth the wait. Trust us! let him be and he will progress at his pace.

[cleptogrey]

i had experience w/ salukis and akc greyhounds and whippets before i adopted emily. being a track dog she was just different, she hung out in her crate and never responded to anything (i too was starting to think that there was something wrong with her)until......clicker training

 

she needed a job! once she realized that there was yummie food/treats(which she wasn't interested in treats prior to training) she was ready, willing and able and a fantastic creature blossomed. she became a therapy dog and got her c.g.c within a month of starting classes. emily also did lots of m&gs and a model and started some agility. at regular obedience classes she had the fastest sit or down in town. it was just a matter of connecting...

 

some people love training, others are bored stiff...the same with dogs. my newest girl shuts down in class. maybe give clicker a try in a month or so. also, do take him EVERYWHERE for stimulation and keep him busy with good marrow bones and other intersting things.

 

we have our new girl, annie, for 8 months and she is just starting to jump into our car and get friendly and become secure w/ strangers. our other pup is an extrovert who yodells at everyone who might just resemble a family memeber or friend. they are all different and all blossom at their own rate.

Edited October 3, 2010 by cleptogrey

[cleptogrey]

take a peek at this fun video, it sez it all!

 

this is one of my favorties

[Guest cwholsin]

I'm also very interested in getting Hermes certified to be a therapy dog! He's got the perfect temperament for it. He's friendly with everybody (sometimes greeting with more tail wagging and attention than he greets us!). He's shown absolutely no aggression since we've had him. No space aggression, food aggression, toy aggression, sleep aggression, dog/cat aggression, etc.!

 

He lets anyone come up to pet him from very small children to adults of all sizes, colors, and genders

 

We've been taking him everywhere we're allowed, and taking him to the park to play so as to socialize him with as many other dogs as we can. Apart from his reticence, he doesn't seem to have any of the typical retired greyhound hangups!

 

I think giving dogs a 'job' is a great idea and very fulfilling for the dog (provided the job is appropriate to the dog's personality and interests).

 

It's a lot of fun to hear about all of your greyhounds and their hijinks

[Guest buttonwillow]

Today Josie and I chased each other around the dog park (we go early before other dogs get there) and had a great time. It's the first time she's felt comfortable enough to play chase with me. She ran around like a wild dog with a huge smile on her face. Having a greyhound is such a blast.

[Guest cwholsin]

Today Josie and I chased each other around the dog park (we go early before other dogs get there) and had a great time. It's the first time she's felt comfortable enough to play chase with me. She ran around like a wild dog with a huge smile on her face. Having a greyhound is such a blast.

 

 

That's wonderful!! Hermes is starting to pay attention to us at the dog park (normally he ignores us and follows the other dogs and their owners around). Last time we went out, he ACTUALLY left playing with the other dogs to come trot over to where I was sitting (presumably to check up on me) he was almost there when another smell or something caught his attention and he was zooming off elsewhere lol. It's the thought that counts, right?

 

Sometimes when the park's not very busy we'll be able to call him back and forth between us with the help of a couple boxes of kibble I've loved seeing him run since the first day we got him. It makes him so happy!

[Guest IrskasMom]

A Friend of mine adopted a Greyhound about a Year ago and just now she can honestly say, that they bonded and he is hers. It took him a Year to totaly commin out of his Shell to be her Dog.

[Guest Fluffy]

I asked almost exactly this question after I adopted Badger in April. He was spooked by everything, didn't want to come out of his crate to socialize, and as far as I could tell, didn't care that I was alive.

 

Six (is it six? seems like so much longer!) months later, I have an outgoing goofball of a boy who follows me around like a shadow, comes when called (mostly), and really seems to like me quite a lot (especially if he thinks I have food...)! Everyone we meet remarks on how people-oriented and sweet he is (except for that one time he tried to mount another boy greyhound. But we don't talk about that ). It didn't happen all at once, but every month or two I'd notice that something he hadn't done before, suddenly he was willing to do. It took me a week to coax him out of his crate for something other than a meal, two months to convince him that the kitchen floor wasn't made of lava, four to get him to let loose and run at the dog park, and so forth. Just recently, he's started to be willing to snuggle with me, which is new, and I'm loving it!

 

Be patient with Hermes, and realize that the bits of progress you've seen? Those are awesome. Those are him unfolding, slowly, and showing you what he really is as he comes to trust you. It doesn't have to happen all in a month, or two, or six. Or a year. Because you'll have years with him, and when you look back, those first few unsure months will seem so silly and you'll wonder why you ever felt so worried about things when he really was making constant progress.

 

Side note: awesome name, "Hermes". A fleet-of-foot name for a fleet-of-foot dog!

[OwnedBySummer]

Well written, Fluffy!

[Guest greytlady93]

This has been a greyt thread to follow. It's full of good stories that are funny, loving and full of information.

 

Also, I happen to agree with everyone!

 

At 6 mos (give or take), at 12 mos, and again around 18 mos there is something that you will see or feel. If you are lucky and watch for it, your pup may look deep into your eyes and you will know without any doubt that they are happy and YOU are their forever home...

 

Best wishes

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer told me just this week that I am her GODDESS! Boy, it feels goooood!

[fourofem]

I think they all have their own schedules. Stella, my first, is the only one that wanted attention from the get go. Lizzie, Lewis, Hitchie, House and Kevin all took their time. I've had Kevin for 10 months and he's just coming around. Give it time...when it happens, it will be awesome!!!

 

 

[Guest cwholsin]

Awwww!!

 

Even since we started this post, he's come out of his shell more. He's not so sensitive to everything anymore. He used to go upstairs and hide in our/his room when we'd raise our voices at the cats when they're on the opposite side of the room from him!

 

He's been paying more attention to us and I've even had some tail wags from him sometimes! Yay!

 

It's almost like he realized we were wondering what we were doing wrong and relaxed for us lol.

 

His housetraining is slowly coming along. More often than not, he'll go to the door when he needs to go outside. Occasionally he'll respond intentionally to the question "Outside?" by walking to the back door and looking back at me.

 

I feel like all three of us are communicating much better now!

 

I asked almost exactly this question after I adopted Badger in April. He was spooked by everything, didn't want to come out of his crate to socialize, and as far as I could tell, didn't care that I was alive.

 

Six (is it six? seems like so much longer!) months later, I have an outgoing goofball of a boy who follows me around like a shadow, comes when called (mostly), and really seems to like me quite a lot (especially if he thinks I have food...)! Everyone we meet remarks on how people-oriented and sweet he is (except for that one time he tried to mount another boy greyhound. But we don't talk about that ). It didn't happen all at once, but every month or two I'd notice that something he hadn't done before, suddenly he was willing to do. It took me a week to coax him out of his crate for something other than a meal, two months to convince him that the kitchen floor wasn't made of lava, four to get him to let loose and run at the dog park, and so forth. Just recently, he's started to be willing to snuggle with me, which is new, and I'm loving it!

 

Be patient with Hermes, and realize that the bits of progress you've seen? Those are awesome. Those are him unfolding, slowly, and showing you what he really is as he comes to trust you. It doesn't have to happen all in a month, or two, or six. Or a year. Because you'll have years with him, and when you look back, those first few unsure months will seem so silly and you'll wonder why you ever felt so worried about things when he really was making constant progress.

 

Side note: awesome name, "Hermes". A fleet-of-foot name for a fleet-of-foot dog!

 

Thank you! We've gotten a lot of positive feedback about our choice of name. He's one of the big guys with long long legs. I'll post pictures once I figure out how

[Guest Brindled_Greys]

When we adopted Thriller at 3 1/2, the lady who brought him was amazed he would chase a ball! (Mabel never got into that!) However, he didn't come to us for affection or attention at all. By the end of his life at 14, Thriller would whine if I wasn't in the room, and would actively seek me out in the house if I was gone from the room too long. He would place his head in my hand for attention. As with all good relationships, they come with time, and when he knows he's there to stay!