Turning Point

[Guest NeroAmber]

How long did it take for everyone elses greys to finally click and settle down- or to put it another way- how long had you had your grey before they had a eureka moment and relaxed for good?

 

I ask because We've had Nero about 9 months now, and two weeks ago he seemed to just get it like he'd realised 'Ohhhhh, I get to STAY here!' Suddenly one night he started chattering properly, and very loudly- he's started walking with his head up, his tail is up and he WAGS it He's started coming over when I call him and has started looking for strokes! He's just a happy boy- He's started to play with me without prompting- he's started to play with Amber- it's so heartwarming to know that he's happy- it's as if he's been walking around with a dark cloud around his head and soemones come and blown it away. It sounds so silly- but it's almost like he was living in monochrome and has just discovered colour

 

So I'd love to hear about your 'Eureka' moments! How long did it take them to really get comfy? Did they decide they were home for good as soon as they walked in the door?

[JAJ2010]

It took Rainy about 4-5 months, then she blended in like a perfect angel. Sunshine.... 10-11 months until she settled in enough to be a partially functional member of society. And she still gets crazier/naughtier every day. It's been 16 months now and last night her new thing was biting toes.

[Hubcitypam]

Girl was so spooky I don't think she ever settled. Harley and Buck both walked in the door and owned the place. Buck was cockroaching about two hours after we got home from Kansas. Can't really remember with Rex but it was a few months,

[Guest Liz_in_PA]

About a year for Bonnie, who was an economic bounce. When we went to the annual picnic last month, her foster mom was surprised enough to tactlessly say, "wow, she has a personality!"

 

We laughed.

[Guest gecko_foot]

It took Tumnus about five minutes to settle in only because that's how long it took for him to investigate his new home.

 

[GeorgeofNE]

About a year and a half, believe it or not.

[OwnedBySummer]

She roached in the 1st week but I'd say it took at least another month until she was sure that this was her home. By the end of that month, she would come to me when called (even from a greyhound pack!). LOL - most of the time! She's my little lovebug and we've now had the pleasure of her company for 6 months (has it only been 6 months???). We've camped... we've walked... we visit the two Grandma's (she loves her Grandma's), complete with scary floors and elevators... done basic obedience classes (thankfully, with an instructor who understands greyhounds)... and now she's also a therapy dog. Like the cigarette advertisement used to say... YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!

[Yamaha_gurl]

She walked into our house, sniffed out her food bowl...ate for about 2 minutes, then went to the couch and laid down, then took a deep breath and put her head on the arm of the couch. That was it. She knew it was her home. Because this is so much different then most greys, I do think her trainer had taken her home...she wasn't scared of hardwood floors either.

[Guest NeroAmber]

These are such lovely stories to hear! Thanks for sharing!

[Jenbo]

It took Myka about 6 months. It's funny now when I walk her, all of my neighbors say, "Wow, look at her, she looks so happy and shiny! And she's so friendly, too, what a wonderful change!"

 

[TheFullHouse]

Some of mine walked in the door, made themselves at home and expected me to wait on them hand and foot and others took a year or longer.

[Guest sheila]

this is an old story that I've posted more than once. I've got others, but this one is still the best of the best:

 

How Kiowa Got His Groove Back

When I adopted Kiowa I was told that his former adoptive home was abusive. That he had been kept chained up under a porch where he had been attacked by other dogs. They said when they got him he was skinny and dirty and looked like someone had beat him with a cat-o-nine tails or something. Nonetheless he was a very sweet natured dog. Friendly and affectionate and sometimes playful but just the same there seemed to be a sadness about him. He would wake from sleep screaming often. When I took him for walks he just sort of plodded with his tail tucked and his head hung low.

One night after I had him for about 9 mo I had a very terrifying experience. The evening had been normal, Kiowa had had a long walk, had eaten his dinner and had tossed a stuffy around for a bit. I was in another room when I heard him yelp. When I checked on him he seemed fine, I couldn't find anything wrong, but about 20 min later he started pacing and panting and shaking. I called the vet who told me K probably had gas and to give him an antacid. I went to the store to buy some and when I came back K was laying on the floor and wouldn't get up, wouldn't even move. I called the vet back and insisted he needed to be seen NOW. The vet was in the city about 35 miles away but said he would return to his clinic as soon as he could. Now keep in mind K weighed over 80lb and I only weigh about 100 myself. I couldn't pick him up so I pulled my car around to the front porch and drug K by his legs and pulled him into the car. When I arrived at the clinic we had to wait about another 20 min for the vet to arrive. By the time the vet got there K had stopped breathing. He was alive but couldn't breathe. The vet tried injections of benedryl and epinephrine but they had no effect. Kiowa started to thrash in my arms at that point because he was suffocating. The poor guy even bit me during his panic and I didn't even notice until one of the staff noticed the blood pouring out of my hand later. The vet grabbed a scalpel and performed a tracheotomy and put a tube into K's neck and blew into it. K was then able to breath on his own a minute or so later. During his time on the table we discovered a bruised and bloody mark on his inner thigh which lead us to suspect some kind of bite, most likely from a spider. K spent the night at the vet and came home the next day.

The vet warned me that since he had been deprived of oxygen he may have brain damage and may have lost any/all training he had. Told me he might not even be housebroken anymore, or remember me. That wasn't the case thankfully. The next few weeks were hard on K. He was lethargic and seemed more hung down and brung down than ever. He wouldn't even go on walks at all, out for a pee break and he would want to go right back in the house. Until one amazing moment that I will never forget. I still choke up when I remember that moment. I had him out for his leashed pee break and he was plodding along when he suddenly stopped, lifted his head up and looked over his shoulder at me for a long moment like he was studying me. He sniffed the air and then looked back at me again and then........he jumped straight up into the air and then started bucking like a rodeo bronc. Spinning in circles and kicking up his heels. I was freaking out! When he was done his tail was wagging, his head was up and his ears were perked and he wanted to go for a walk. He even walked differently now. He kept his head and tail high and his ears perked. Best of all the 'plod' was gone and ever since then Kiowa walks with a prance to his step and joy in his eyes. I told the vet I think he may have fixed him too good! LOL

Seems the vet was 1/2 right. Kiowa did forget some things. He forgot to be sad. When he slept and dreamt he no longer woke up screaming, rather his tail would wag and he would sort of chuff and huff.

Kiowa is well into his 13th yr now and he's slowing down. He isn't running laps but does a leisurely lope around the yard. He takes the steps at a slower more methodical pace and is no longer able to jump up on my bed or into the truck without help. He now requires a 2 AM potty break and wears a diaper if I am gone for more than 4 hours but I don't mind. He still has joy in his eyes and a wag in his tail

 

Kiowa was called home in June of 2008. RIP dear Kiowa. I miss you every day.

[Yamaha_gurl]

Shelia...in tears here

[OwnedBySummer]

Me, too. What a wonderful story!

[Guest cwholsin]

With Hermes I don't know that we'll get a Eureka 'moment'. We've had him for about 2 and a half months and he comes when we call, asks for attention and is just starting to chatter. We still don't have much playing from him other than chewing stuffies and bouncing a little bit at meals, but I'm sure he will continue to open up! He got used to the physical realities of the house very quickly, but the emotional relaxing is slower in coming.

 

It's great fun seeing the typical greyhound behaviors slowly come out in him. We've experienced his first roach, his first chatter, and his first playbows to us. I can't wait for him to settle in for good so we see what kind of crazy antics he comes up with!

[Guest NeroAmber]

Oh Sheila- what a moving story, thanks for telling it again. that line 'he forgot to be sad' is beautiful

 

 

 

I love seeing all of Nero and Ambers 'firsts'- first roach, first chatter, first time they didn't gulp-gulp-gulp down their food at 100mph! the first time Nero played with his stuffies!... it really has been wonderful, and I look forward to seeing all the other 'firsts' to come!

[Guest greydreams]

You guys made me cry. *snif*

[Guest Vers]

Love reading all of these, and Sheila, your writing of the experience you and Kiowa had will always bring tears to my eyes.

 

Simba acted like he was home from the first day he was home -- the adoption coordinator came by the day after and commented on how he looked so relaxed, it was like he'd always lived here. That was just an act, Simba being a gentleman, and his savoir-faire. He really was good from day one in so many ways... but it took him six months to be comfortable getting up on the couch, well over a year to climb into my bed (where he sleeps every night now), and he chattered for the first time just over a week ago. So at more than eighteen months in, I'm still seeing positive changes and eureka moments (love your term), and this has been with a confident grey. I've a hunch he still has a few happy-to-be-home tricks up his sleeve, so for those of you reading who think your hounds are settled and static at a few months or a years in (I am looking at you, Hermes!), be open to what more time, love and patience will bring

 

Stella does very, very well at less than a year here, but she's going to take a little longer I need to take them for an after-dinner walk now so will stop here.

[Guest zombrie]

Sheila, what a wonderful story. I just love those happy endings

 

The second Mira walked into our house it was like she owned the place. She knew she was home for good right away

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

That story about Kiowa was so sweet!

 

I have three very different dogs here, Tempe, my first didn't bark for the first 3 or 4 months that I had her. I really thought she had no voice. Now she yaps all the time at the neighbor dog or if the lab starts barking. She's still a nervous dog sometimes, and on anti-anxiety meds for SA, but I think she is settled. She plays, runs and comes to me for affection, so she seems comfortable. Piper, my second, is a shy girl who opens up more every day, but also develops "learned" nervous behaviors at the same time. For instance, she was not afraid of thunder when I got her, but over the last two years it keeps getting worse each time. I've had roofers here for a couple weeks, now she won't go outside at night? ! (Odd, they were never here at night of course!) This is going to be a problem since we live in Central PA and it now gets dark at 6 pm. But she is much more affectionate and in tune with us than she was in the beginning. And she'll get over it I'm sure. Jesse, our third and only boy, walked in and peed on my closet door, roached and ate like a pig, licked me on the arm and went to sleep

[Brindles]

I got Dazzle straight off the track and he knew he was home from day one. It's pretty impressive how well he adapted.

 

Echo had been in a home for two years before she came to me. She seemed to think she wasn't allowed to have any fun... that is, until she found out what she could do in a baseball field. Once she started running again, she really opened up. It took her about a month.

[greysmom]

My Angel Libby and Dude were our first two greys and they were both comfortable from day one. Libby was a bounce, as was barely two-year-old Dude, though he only lived in his first home several weeks. Dude walked through our door and went and layed on the couch and fell asleep. He's been there ever since! With short breaks for breakfast and dinner, and the daily zoomie session. He has recently started being a major stuffy de-stuffer, so I guess his personality might still be changing after 5 years!

 

Copper came from the Juarez track rescue, and we got him only ten days or so after he'd left Mexico. He's a pretty easy-going guy anyway, but he settled in fine. Of all our five greys we've had, his personality has been the most stable. He is who he is who he is! His biggest settling in phase was learning English. He really only knew Spanish words when we got him. That week, our neighbors had a new roof put on, and the roofers were mostly latino. He would goout in the yard and just stare up at them while they were talking and working. He also loved the Mexican radio station that was playing. I still talk to him in my limited Spanish when I can. He seems to still understand it.

 

Cash, my spook, was a mess when we got her. She continued to be a mess for months. Even after putting her on anxiety meds, it was only after we got Toni last year that she really started to blossom. She's had so many of those eureka moments this last year my heart just overflows for her! The first time she played with me, the first time she asked for attention, the first time she came to me in the yard when I called her, the first time she came inside on her own - so many things I take for granted with the others.

 

Toni, who's been here since Feb 09, had a hard row before we got her. She was emaciated and had horrible pressure sores down to the bone, but she was sweet as a sugar cube even when she could barely stand! She seemed to settle in fine but we have enjoyed watching her personality really emerge. She's goofy and smart and vocal and whiney and sweet and affectionate. And even with all that happened to her she is soooooo outgoing and simply loves people - any people and all people. She is the ultimate meet-and-greet dog.

[JohnF]

With my initially spooky Peggy the Eureka Moment wasn't so much a moment as as steady realization that we really were singing from the same hymn sheet. I'd been exasperated with her irrational fears over an elderly member of the family who she was initially kind of OK with and so I called in a behaviourist who quickly identified that the dog was sending out Calming Signals that simply were not being responded to. Problem solved within 3 months of that penny dropping. She got beyond just being OK with me to waggy tails and older 'puppy' naughtiness, and now will happily feed from a plate that the elder family member might hold for her and lets him pet her too.

 

My last dog, Angel, was happy with us even before she came home (ear licks and doggy kisses even in the car on the way back) and took just 5 minutes to explore the house and back yard before coming back in with waggy tail and sitting on her bed. She turned out to be an amazing heart dog.

 

With my two Borzois there was no turning point necessary for the first one as I raised her from a pup. The second one I took on from a breeder because she'd recently suffered a broken leg at 15 months and I guess the breeder didn't think that was a good sign to breed from. She had been used to a lot of mollycoddling with that broken leg and took to us instantly. It also helped that we still had our friendly old Great Dane to welcome her.

Edited November 3, 2010 by JohnF

[Guest oldNELLIE]

I can break down Nellie's time with us like this.

 

After 6 months we realized she settled in enough so that maybe someday she would be happy in our home.

 

After a year she was comfortable and seemed happy.

 

After 2 years we can see that she is 100% the dog she is going to be. She is playful, trusting, happy, and comfortable. It wasn't so much a specific moment, but I remember looking at her and trying to think back to when it was hard. I couldn't really remember

[Guest longdoglady]

It took Anna three months then she carried all her stuffies, one by one, from her "safe" bed under the stairs and placed them on the bed in the living room Her personality and confidence unfurled from that moment and three years on she is still surprising me.