Sounds That Greyhounds Make

[Guest mimikay]

I've been a greyhound mommy for 3 months now. I don't know what to make of all the different noises my Raina makes, especially the shrill yelping. She's always been excited to go out for her walks. Just this week, it seems she won't get out of her bed to go on the walks. When we try to put her collar on her, or she even sees the collar, she starts to yelp really loud. This morning when we tried to put her collar on her before going out, she was yelping loudly and even urinated a little. I could tell she was scared because her tail was curled in beneath her legs. I checked her feet and nothing seemed to be wrong with them. Raina just turned 3 yrs last month. If anyone has any advice please share!

[christinepi]

I've heard that corns can give dogs great pain in their toe pads while being incredibly hard to find. I'm just wildly guessing.

[TheFullHouse]

Do you live somewhere where the weather has changed and it's cold, snowy or raining outside? Some hound hate the cold and especially the rain and if the dog is originally from a warmer climate where there is no snow, snow can freak some out.

[greysmom]

One of mine will actually refuse to go outside (if I let him!) when it's raining. Living in Oregon, this is a problem.

 

Sounds like she is settling in and has decided she doesn't want/need to go out on walks. Does she need to be walked for pottying and/or exercise? Have there been any other behavioral changes recently? Has the weather become more cold/wet/windy and does she exhibit reluctance to go out in that weather? Did something happen on one of your walks - however minor you thought it - that she could have thought was scary? She is definitely protesting, it just remains to be discovered what the cause is.

 

Use a happy voice when getting her collar and leash. Praise praise praise AND if she'll take treats, use them to help her associate the collar with a good yummy thing. Consider having her wear her collar more often so that it's not *just* for walks. Make sure the collar fits properly and that it's not rubbing or chaffing her anywhere. She should be wearing an adjustable martigale collar with two fingers of space.

 

Corns could indeed make her reluctant to walk (along with several other ailments). They are very painful and very hard to find if you don't know what you're looking for. If her crying continues she may need a vet visit.

[Guest mimikay]

What should I be looking for in regards to corns?

 

I live in southern cali. So no snow here. It's been gloomy lately but not really raining much.

[Guest mimikay]

We live in a townhome with no yard so we take her out 4 times a day on a schedule. When it first rained she was scared but eventually got over it. She doesn't like the rain and wind but we never had this much of a problem getting her to go out ever.

 

The only thing that's changed is that for the past two weeks we've been training her to wear thera paw shoes. She is clearly not happy with them on but I thought she was getting used to them. At first she wouldn't move at all with them on. Then she reluctantly began to walk. She's not her usual bounce happy self when she has the boots on but she still does her business with them on. I only put the shoes on when we take her to relieve herself on the grass. I've checked her paws right after to make sure nothing was cutting or rubbing her. I wonder if she's started to associate putting her collar on with having to go out with the shoes on. Do I just keep at it with the shoe training? Our carpet is white in our house.

 

What should healthy paw pads look like? She's an ex racer but was retired at 2 1/2 yrs old. I didn't see any record of injury in her records.

 

Thanks formally the advice.

[3greytjoys]

We live in a townhome with no yard so we take her out 4 times a day on a schedule. When it first rained she was scared but eventually got over it. She doesn't like the rain and wind but we never had this much of a problem getting her to go out ever.

 

The only thing that's changed is that for the past two weeks we've been training her to wear thera paw shoes. She is clearly not happy with them on but I thought she was getting used to them. At first she wouldn't move at all with them on. Then she reluctantly began to walk. She's not her usual bounce happy self when she has the boots on but she still does her business with them on. I only put the shoes on when we take her to relieve herself on the grass. I've checked her paws right after to make sure nothing was cutting or rubbing her. I wonder if she's started to associate putting her collar on with having to go out with the shoes on. Do I just keep at it with the shoe training? Our carpet is white in our house.

 

What should healthy paw pads look like? She's an ex racer but was retired at 2 1/2 yrs old. I didn't see any record of injury in her records.

 

Thanks formally the advice.

 

 

Sounds like your pup may be in pain, or fearing pain on walks. Like you mentioned, she probably is associating the collar with the booties. I would forget the boots until you discover the cause of the problem. (I've had a few boot soreness issues with short- term use on my hounds, even from wonderful Therapaws.) Any boot can cause soreness that you may not see under fur (until it's rubbed raw), including near the strap area. Later, a padded wrap or sock might help but I wouldn't push her into boots now. It could make things worse, and it's important for her to enjoy going outside, especially in your townhome situation.

 

How long are your walks? When walking on hard sidewalks or roads, newly retired racers do better beginning with very short walks (5-10 minutes), very gradually building up to longer walks (30 minutes or more) over several weeks/months. Their paws are very soft and need to build toughness very slowly as they adjust to city life (like a child going barefoot in early spring). Their soft paws can wear down very easily at first. If the paws get too raw, it becomes very painful and takes a long time to heal. Is she walking tender-footed inside the house?

 

Re: Your white carpets: It only takes seconds to wipe paws with a damp paper towel (or rinse paws with a water bottle), then dry with a towel (or paper towel) before entering the house. Cheap runner rugs (or thick, clear plastic runners - sometimes seen in model homes) covering your indoor high traffic areas would help keep your carpet clean. Most home improvement stores carry runner rugs, rolls of runner carpet, or washable carpet squares. A cheap rug grip helps keeps it in place. The clear plastic textured runners are available with a sticky back. (We take a long white rubberized tarp ($15.00 Home Depot) up to the mountains when visiting a friend's house with all our hounds.)

 

Please keep us posted... there are many other possibilities for a cause, and other solutions. The adoption representative who did your home visit may have an idea. A vet check may be in order if you can't figure out what could be wrong. She's definitely trying her best to communicate something to you.

 

Just in case... Here are pictures of Greyhound Corns: http://grassmereanim...l.com/corns.htm

Edited December 16, 2010 by 3greytjoys

[TheFullHouse]

It may be the boots. A lot of dogs don't like to wear them and if she's just wearing them to keep her feet clean so as not to track in anything on the carpet, I'd set a squirt bottle and paper towels outside your door and when you come back in, a little squirt and drying with a towel will clean the feet off. As someone else said, an area rug inside the door will also help to keep your carpets clean.

[Trihounds]

It is amazing how fast they can associate certain things so my bet is that she connects the collar to the walks to the shoes. Is there a specific reason you are asking her to wear shoes? White carpet? If so, you either keep trying for another bit, treat her when she gets them on so as to desensitize her to the negative feeling of wearing the shoes, OR, you give up on the shoes. It's a personal decision and I am not judging, but I have not heard of dogs wearing shoes unless for medical or climate reasons (like cold or living in a mud pit). You may have to choose the lesser of two evils. Good luck -

[Guest mimikay]

We live in a townhome with no yard so we take her out 4 times a day on a schedule. When it first rained she was scared but eventually got over it. She doesn't like the rain and wind but we never had this much of a problem getting her to go out ever.

 

The only thing that's changed is that for the past two weeks we've been training her to wear thera paw shoes. She is clearly not happy with them on but I thought she was getting used to them. At first she wouldn't move at all with them on. Then she reluctantly began to walk. She's not her usual bounce happy self when she has the boots on but she still does her business with them on. I only put the shoes on when we take her to relieve herself on the grass. I've checked her paws right after to make sure nothing was cutting or rubbing her. I wonder if she's started to associate putting her collar on with having to go out with the shoes on. Do I just keep at it with the shoe training? Our carpet is white in our house.

 

What should healthy paw pads look like? She's an ex racer but was retired at 2 1/2 yrs old. I didn't see any record of injury in her records.

 

Thanks formally the advice.

 

 

Sounds like your pup may be in pain, or fearing pain on walks. Like you mentioned, she probably is associating the collar with the booties. I would forget the boots until you discover the cause of the problem. (I've had a few boot soreness issues with short- term use on my hounds, even from wonderful Therapaws.) Any boot can cause soreness that you may not see under fur (until it's rubbed raw), including near the strap area. Later, a padded wrap or sock might help but I wouldn't push her into boots now. It could make things worse, and it's important for her to enjoy going outside, especially in your townhome situation.

 

How long are your walks? When walking on hard sidewalks or roads, newly retired racers do better beginning with very short walks (5-10 minutes), very gradually building up to longer walks (30 minutes or more) over several weeks/months. Their paws are very soft and need to build toughness very slowly as they adjust to city life (like a child going barefoot in early spring). Their soft paws can wear down very easily at first. If the paws get too raw, it becomes very painful and takes a long time to heal. Is she walking tender-footed inside the house?

 

Re: Your white carpets: It only takes seconds to wipe paws with a damp paper towel (or rinse paws with a water bottle), then dry with a towel (or paper towel) before entering the house. Cheap runner rugs (or thick, clear plastic runners - sometimes seen in model homes) covering your indoor high traffic areas would help keep your carpet clean. Most home improvement stores carry runner rugs, rolls of runner carpet, or washable carpet squares. A cheap rug grip helps keeps it in place. The clear plastic textured runners are available with a sticky back. (We take a long white rubberized tarp ($15.00 Home Depot) up to the mountains when visiting a friend's house with all our hounds.)

 

Please keep us posted... there are many other possibilities for a cause, and other solutions. The adoption representative who did your home visit may have an idea. A vet check may be in order if you can't figure out what could be wrong. She's definitely trying her best to communicate something to you.

 

Just in case... Here are pictures of Greyhound Corns: http://grassmereanim...l.com/corns.htm

[Guest mimikay]

So today I decided to stop the boot for now. I just want her to be happy again. This morning, when my hubby tried to get her in the car to take her to her usual park, she ran around the garage yelping. The booties were no where in sight. He finally got her in and they went for the walk.

 

Upon his return, hubby says she was her perfectly happy, bouncy self again without the boots. He cleaned her paws right when she got in the house. She went to the kitchen to eat her breakfast and only ate half. Then, instead of returning to her bed to lounge, which she usually does after eating, she went back downstairs to sit by the garage door. I don't have a true 2-story home. The 1st floor is only an entry for the front door and garage. So she went downstairs and was in statue mode for about 10 minutes backed up to a corner as if she was terrified of something. I tried to get her to come back up but not even treats worked. If I or my hubby started to go down the stairs to be with her, she started yelping again as if she was terrified of both of us. She even peed a little again from being so scared. We decided to just let her be. After 10 minutes of statue mode in the corner, I heard her lay down. She stayed down there until I left the house - a good 3 hours later. When I went downstairs to go out the garage door, she greeted me normally and let me pet her as if nothing had been wrong! I have no idea. It was raining last night and she does always act strange whenever it rains. But I thought she had gotten over her fear of the rain.

[Guest Giselle]

#1: Can you get her in for a general check-up? Is her eyesight okay? Before doing behavioral modification, you have to check the general health of the dog to make sure you aren't trying to train something that really can't be fixed.

 

#2: The urgent avoidance of you and your husband is really odd, and it won't get better until you change your training. If she is totally healthy, this is my theory: Not only has she associated the collar+leash with walks, she has associated you and your husband with the unpleasantness of the booties. If you keep forcing an unpleasant condition to an animal, the animal can respond in two ways: ignore it or get worse. It sounds like your pup definitely took a turn for the worse and has generalized the negativity of the booties with 1) the collar+leash and 2) the process of you/your hubby chasing her down to leash her up. The more you chase her down, the worse she's going to act whenever you approach her. That's why she hid from you for 3 hours.

 

Basically, you have to recondition her so that putting on her collar+leash is a FUN activity again! It's a basic counter-conditioning and desensitization technique. Counter-conditioning means that you teach her that the scary object (the collar) is actually really fun and something to enjoy. Desensitization means that you start from where she initially tolerates the object (say, 10 feet away) and gradually move closer without inciting a fearful reaction. This is a great counterconditioning video from Dr. Yin:

http://drsophiayin.com/videos/CCaDogtoBlowinginFace.mp4

Note: She says in the video that she's blowing hard enough to make the dog growl ONLY for the purposes of the video. Ideally, you do not want any fearful or aggressive reaction to the trigger. You want to work just below that "threshold". Good luck!

 

Edited to add: The reason that she greeted you normally when you came back was because you weren't approaching her directly, like chasing her down. When a dog gets the choice to perform a behavior (vs. being FORCED to do things), the dog performs much more happily and offers behaviors on their own. That's the secret to successful training

Edited December 17, 2010 by Giselle

[Guest mimikay]

Yes I made a vet appt for this Mon. So, I watched the video. Thing is, we've tried giving her treats right when she starts to yelp bec. she knows were going to take her out. she didn't want her fav treats so we brang out the ultimate treat, peanut butter. she wouldn't have it either.

 

what do we do In the meantime before her vet appt.? we've always taken her out on a schedule . if she doesn't want to go, do we just let her be? I don't want her to have an accident inthe house, although it seems she can hold it forever.

We know she's stressed rt now so we are pretty much leaving her be unless she comes to us. I am so stressed by this! she's been perfect until now. last night when hubby was trying to get her to go out, she yelped, started growling, raising her lips n barking. we tried all the treats. he finally left her alone . then we see her go out to the garage on her own. when he followed her she was yelling again. he had Chase her around the garage. when he was about to give up, he opened the trunk door ( we always drive to her fav park ) and she came right to him, let him pick her up and out her in the car! we are baffled.

[jetcitywoman]

I'm going to hazard a guess here based on that last description. If you are chasing her around, that's extremely confrontational for a dog and she's going to run away from you. It's better to approach a fearful dog indirectly. Approach near her, but not facing her. No eye contact. Maybe hunker down so you don't look as big. Wait until she gets curious and approaches you. Then give her a treat to teach her that coming to you is a fun thing.

 

If you haven't already, please read Patricia McConnell's books, specifically "The Other End of the Leash". It will help you see things from your dog's point of view and help you break through this.

[silverfish]

I agree with what others have said about confrontation, and also the recommendation to read Patricia McConnell.

 

Just one question - what makes you think it's her feet that hurt, or the walk that she's frightened of? Could it be as simple as, maybe, someone caught her ear or poked her in the eye or something when putting her collar on one day? They don't necessarily make a big deal at the time, but it'll put her off for the future, for sure. They can be super sensitive about their ears, and if the martingale is adjusted up tight and she has a slightly narrower neck/larger skull base than normal it could really catch her either in the base of the ears, or under the throat - another sensitive spot. IF she has some fear of the collar, that will really mess up her thinking since she really wants to go out, but she's nervous at the same time.

 

It's amazing what will put them off and make them scared of something. In the summer, Sid and I were getting static shocks each time I went to put his collar on after a car ride. After only two or three little shocks, Sid started to tremble violently as soon as I got the car door open and would retreat to the back of the cargo space away from me. Took a while of de-conditioning to get him past that one.

 

It is possible that she associates the collar with the boots, but with such an extreme reaction, I'd guess that there is/was pain involved somewhere. A healthy three-year old with no previous issues would have to be badly rattled to actually urinate in fear.

[Guest Giselle]

I'm going to hazard a guess here based on that last description. If you are chasing her around, that's extremely confrontational for a dog and she's going to run away from you. It's better to approach a fearful dog indirectly. Approach near her, but not facing her. No eye contact. Maybe hunker down so you don't look as big. Wait until she gets curious and approaches you. Then give her a treat to teach her that coming to you is a fun thing.

 

If you haven't already, please read Patricia McConnell's books, specifically "The Other End of the Leash". It will help you see things from your dog's point of view and help you break through this.

Exactly. This comment in addition to regular, consistent counter-conditioning and desensitization is probably what you need to do for your very fearful pup. When you give her treats and she refuses, it's because you're WAY past her comfort zone (aka "the threshold") already. You can't give her treats when you already have the collar on her after a big ol' chasing-fiasco. She's stressed already. No treat can get rid of that. What you need to do is sit down, not facing directly, and toss her a couple treats while you just hold the collar in your lap. You want her to eventually approach you and take the treat from your hand as you hold the collar. Again, you will not face her directly for any of this. Then, if she's taking to this well, you can face her and give her treats as you hold the collar. Over time, you can touch the collar to her neck while treating her. Then, you can slip it over her head. If you can do this efficiently, it shouldn't take much longer than a few days (if that). Is this your first dog? Better yet, is this your first fearful dog? If so, I highly recommend hiring a professional behaviorist who uses positive reinforcement to help you with this.

 

In the meantime, please don't chase her! Let her come to you. Her urinating and her yelping are all telling you "Stop chasing me!". Chasing her will only make this bad situation worse, and it won't be long until she feels forced to bite. So, to prevent that, vet check + train! Good luck!

[Guest Giselle]

Oh, I know you must be wondering what in the world you should do about letting her out, too. For now, I would suggest working on training her to enjoy being near you w/ the collar. If you can get it on her without a fuss, fantastic! If not, I would say that going out is a lesser concern than her fear of you. If she has to go, she'll let you know. To avoid the collar-chasing-routine, do you have a harness or different type of collar/leash to use? If you have one, use it for now. Do whatever you can to avoid the old chase-routine.

[3greytjoys]

If you haven't had a chance yet, please do contact your adoption coordinator/s ASAP to let them know about your girl. My guess is that they would be an excellent local support, and they should know about her new behavior.

 

I understand how stressful this must be for you. Please try to relax. Greyhounds are very sensitive and they pick up on our stress. It compounds problems. Virtually everything to do with a Greyhound should be gentle and positive. Please do try a harness for her (maybe your adoption group would loan you one to try for a couple of days?). If she has an accident in the house, please don't punish her for it. She is already in fear or pain so that would only make things worse right now.

 

In addition to the previous posts re: letting her approach you, or approaching her from the side/back, not looking at her directly in the eye, etc.

Pet her shoulder/side vs. her head, until she feels more comfortable.

While in a low position, turn the front of your body away from her, and don't bend over her. Dogs consider bending over them a threatening position.

Try thinking in terms of slow movements, and being very, very gentle with her.

Calm and quiet voices will help her feel more secure. (Dogs have super keen hearing.)

Rebuilding trust is very important now.

 

Please tell your adoption coordinator and your vet if there is anything else you can think of that happened around the time her behavior started changing. Besides her physical exam, please take a look around outside to make sure there is nothing hurting her (sharp rocks/gravel, loud machinery, etc.). Be careful walking her through parking lots - avoid auto fluids that drip from cars (chemical burns/toxins). I agree about not pushing her to walk if she doesn't want to now. Hopefully, with a harness, she will allow you to just take her outside to go potty for now. Please call your adoption group ASAP. Let us know how she progresses, or if you need more suggestions. Good luck...

[JohnF]

There may be something physical causing this, so as others said it's best to ask the vet. Though my last one would scream if anyone touched her ear the 'wrong' way and the ear was actually fine.

In the meantime try commnicating with her using Calming Signals (short article in the link).

http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1

Good luck.

[Guest mimikay]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Bloodwork was all fine. Thyroid seemed a little low. Vet said we would monitor it and see if the behavior training would improve the situation. She is getting over get fear of us. Only gets scared once in a while now. Vet says if her anxiety does not improve we can try a short course of low dose xanax. Raina is doing a whole but better though so we'll try to see how she does without it.

[Guest Giselle]

FYI, most vets know little to nothing about animal behavior and behavioral management.

 

Please, please, please do not use medication until you have exhausted all your resources. In other words, please do whatever you can through training, with a professional animal behaviorist who uses positive reinforcement, before you even consider medication.

 

I have used medications for my dog for behavioral therapy, but it was used as a LAST RESORT and in conjunction with training. In the end, it is not the medication that "works". It is the training!

[rschultz]

lexie hates boots. i use those baby wipes unscented .

 

lexie was also afraid of a leash..we just did lot of praising. our dog doesn't like walks at all but she doesn't cry.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Glad things are geting better. Hopefully that improvement continues and your poor gal loses her fear of you guys.

 

For keeping pawprints off carpet, I keep a washcloth on a hook by the door for feet wiping. If it's particularly nasty out, I'll keep a small bucket of water nearby too to dip feet in for a more thorough cleaning. I have taught my girl to wait upon entering the door until I'm finished cleaning up her feet. She's even gotten to the point where she'll lift her front paws when I touch them.

[Guest houndog990]

i had a grey that had a limp. the DVM thought it might be shoulder or foot. after 8 x-rays we found it was a fracture in C 3-4 disc in his neck. (from a roll on the track?)

i would suggest a harness instead of a collar. and as fars as the carpet...rip it up and install hardwood floors

my $.02

peace,

amy

Edited December 21, 2010 by houndog990