Trouble Adjusting

[Guest RonsMom]

I am desperate for help! We're having some pretty serious problems with our dog, and I thought you guys might have some advice. We've had him for almost 4 months now, and he's just not really responding to us. He has to follow us from room to room, but he's not at all affectionate. He never really seeks attention, other than some tail wagging when I get home from work, and when I feed him. He's still having accidents in the house, and he's still terrified of everything. When we take him on walks, he's constantly trying to turn from where we're walking and run back towards home. He cowers away from people who want to pet him, and other dogs, even greyhounds. I feel like he was abused to the point where he may not ever really be able to function normally. We're kind of at our wits end. Does this sound normal? Any advice would be great.

 

Thanks

[GeorgeofNE]

First of all, please do not assume this behavior results from abuse. It most likely does NOT. There are many Greyhounds (and dogs of all breeds) who are, for whatever reason, just fearful animals--often referred to on Greytalk as "spooks."

 

My primary suggestion, beyond the above, is that you contact the group you adopted the dog from for support.

 

My dog had a really tough adjustment period too, and my group was invaluable.

 

Having not owned a spook myself, I can't say too much about that, but you should know, in terms of Greyhound time, four months is not long at all. The aloof behavior--totally normal. The following you around--totally normal. The not playing--totally normal. And all of those things may change as time goes by!

 

As to the accidents, has he been to the vet?

[Guest RonsMom]

First of all, please do not assume this behavior results from abuse. It most likely does NOT. There are many Greyhounds (and dogs of all breeds) who are, for whatever reason, just fearful animals--often referred to on Greytalk as "spooks."

 

My primary suggestion, beyond the above, is that you contact the group you adopted the dog from for support.

 

My dog had a really tough adjustment period too, and my group was invaluable.

 

Having not owned a spook myself, I can't say too much about that, but you should know, in terms of Greyhound time, four months is not long at all. The aloof behavior--totally normal. The following you around--totally normal. The not playing--totally normal. And all of those things may change as time goes by!

 

As to the accidents, has he been to the vet?

 

You are right, we don't know for certain that he was abused. He exhibits many symptoms, but of course we cannot be sure.

 

We are contacting the adoption agency, I just wanted to see if other grey owners could offer any advice. He seems unhappy, which of course makes us sad.

 

He does have worms, we found out. He's been to the vet many times already. He was treated for them before we got him, but apparently it didn't stick. We're going to get him on meds for it immediately.

 

Thanks for the response.

[TheFullHouse]

Hounds who tend to be a little spooky take a little longer to adjust. Four months, as Susan said, is a very small amount of time. He's going to have to learn to live in your home. His life has been turned upside down. The world he's lived in is totally different so EVERYTHING is new and scary to him. It would be like someone picking you up and putting you on Mars. You would have no idea what to do or what is expected of you. Give him time, be patient, don't push him. If he doesn't want people touching him, don't let them until he's ready. He will adjust on his own time. He's obviously bonding to you if he's following you around and happy to see you come home. Be patient with him, baby steps and for sure contact your group for some guidance.

[nessa]

hang in there. 4 months is not that long. I used to take our girl in the car to a place to walk cause she would not go beyond the bottom of the driveway if walking on the leash from our property. Then we would get there and she would not get out of the car. People would ask if everything was OK. And this was on quiet deserted streets, no kids making noise, no trucks, forget school buses going by.... She just kept getting braver and braver and over the last 8 years have gone on a zillion walks with her !! I think to this day she does not really come to us for a ton of attention or love but I know she loves us and is happy to see us when we get home, or snuggle with her ( i have to go to her for those snuggles).

Patience and love, safe situations and time and then more time. Our girl bucked away from people trying to pet her and still does to some extent and I just tell them she is shy and go pet the more outgoing grey we have.

I could not love her more and i know she is a scardy- cat to most things and new situations, a shy dog. A good sign if she follows you around and wags her tail at any time - right. time and then more time and love and patience !!

Not sure about the peeing in the house?

[Guest greytbookert]

Our Eric was pretty fearful when he came to our house. Anytime anyone would come over, he would bolt into an empty room and not come out until company left. Now he greets everyone who comes into the house and leans on them and begs for attention. When he first came home, walking him was horrible. He was terrified of everything and everyone.

 

Some hounds need time to adjust to home life. This is a very new experience for them.

 

I hope your boy is feeling better soon!

[mychip1]

Don't take the reserved behavior as not loving you. I agree - the fact that he follows you room to room is a sign of love - and that he sees you as his security.

 

My Jack took a long time to come out of his shell. In fact, the first few nights I couldn't get him to come out of my kitchen - he basically was "crating" himself there. Once he got to trust me, he actually was my shadow in the house - that's why I say that it is a sign of love and trust when they spend time with you. Slow but sure he got more brave. On walks he was timid - but then grew to walk with his tail up and proud.

 

Susan is right - go talk to your group....and has he begins to come out of his shell - maybe you could get him to meet up with other greys to gain confidence slowly.

 

One word of advice if he's spooky....My Dustin was a bit of a spook when I got him and slipped out of a martingale collar once. Thankfully he ran home - but I get knots in my stomach when I think about what could have happened. Now I walk him with a martingale collar AND harness with a dual clipped leash - so if he slips one, the other is in place.

 

Good luck - and don't give up on your boy!

Edited May 25, 2011 by mychip1

[greyhead]

Our Shane wasn't a total spook, but he was an anxious dog when he came to us. I found it helpful to think of him as an anxious person, because the ramifications are about the same.

For instance, they do better in familiar situations where they know what to expect. Ambiguous situations bring out the anxiety. If you can thnk like your dog, you will anticipate what will be ambiguous and scary situations to him, and you can guide him through them. At such times it's helpful for them to have a more confident dog to look to for guidance, just as children watch older children and adults for cues on how to behave. In any case, it helps if you are consistently calm and understanding. (We figured out pretty quickly that he had negative feelings about anything stick-like.)

 

Another thing about anxiety is that it slows down the learning process. This can make them appear to be much less bright than they really are. They can learn as much as any other dog, but it takes longer. This includes housebreaking. Shane has taken years to learn how to give us the message that he needs to go out, unless it's urgent. One thing he did NOT learn from his older brother Spencer was how to walk over to the door! Maybe your group can help you figure that one out, cuz I never did. But somehow he got to where he could get us to ask him if he needs to go out, so we don't have accidents in the house.

 

Try to avoid situations that scare him until he trusts you enough that you can expose him briefly to scary things, then provide him with a reasonably quick retreat. Btw, 4th of July is not that far off. If there are lots of fireworks around you, you might want to figure out how to take him somewhere else for the day/night. Or some try the medicinal approach to achieving calm; but if you're going this route, you should test him on the medicine ahead of time to make sure that he doesn't react to it by becoming even less relaxed! (Again, something to explore with your group perhaps and your vet.)

 

Once these guys get the hang of things, they are so grateful and such a pleasure. Shane turned into a big ol' lovebug! I'm sure others have good suggestions for you too, and we just wish you the very best!

[Guest KennelMom]

I doubt he was abused, he's just had everything he's known taken away from him and may as well have been dumped in the middle of Mars. The average pet life is very, very different from life at the track. Greyhounds tend to be creatures of habit anyway, which adds another layer of stress to a dog.

 

He's following you from room to room and wagging his tail when good things happen. I'm not really sure what else you were expecting your dog to give you in terms of "affection." I'd say that's pretty typical greyhound behavior.

 

Does someone have the Kathleen Gilley article handy? I can never find it when I need it...It'd be a great read for this poster.

 

Mostly, just give the dog time. Introduce him to the "big, bad, new world" out there slowly (too many folks toss the dog into too many situations, too quickly and it freaks them out). Have patience and understanding. He has no idea where his greyhound buddies went, where his crate/home went or where his trainer went.

 

If I dropped you in the middle of the plains of Africa or the Antarctic, it might take you a little while to get in the groove of your new life. Try to think of things from your dog's perspective. 4 months is not a lot of time when so much has changed for them.

Edited May 25, 2011 by KennelMom

[Tallgreydogmom]

He is not a social butterfly like some of the greyhounds are. He probably leans toward the spook side. In that case he is doing wonderful to follow you around in just 4 months.

 

It doesn't sound like this greyhound has the personality you were looking for. It is nothing against you or your adoption group but you may want to discuss changing him out for a different greyhound. The first greyhound is not always the right match. Someone out there is looking for a shyer greyhound, and there is a social butterfly greyhound out there looking for you.

[dmdsmoxie]

.

 

Does someone have the Kathleen Gilley article handy? I can never find it when I need it...It'd be a great read for this poster.

 

 

Here you go.

 

Dick

[greyhead]

http://gracanada.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=newbie&action=print&thread=4637

 

I think this is the Kathleen Gilley article that Kennelmom was referring to. You might also enjoy nosing around this site: http://greytarticles.wordpress.com

[EnzaFerrari]

Three years ago today I picked up my Enza and spent the first few months wondering just what in the world I had gotten myself into. She wasn't very affectionate, she just sort of stared at me, and wouldn't budge no matter where in the house I was. We'd walk outside and she'd either refuse to move or ignore every other person.

 

Slowly, carefully, she began to warm up. I took yummy things on walks with me and she'd take a few more steps just to get the treat. She began to recognize familiar people in the neighborhood and started to enjoy being petted. She began to follow me around.

 

It sounds like your pup is slowly coming out his shell - at 6 months, Enza was not the dog I brought home. In a year, she wasn't really the dog at 6 months. At three years, she is freaking maniac who only rolls on her back for men, will rip my arm out of the socket if it means she can get to her favorite neighbor a few seconds quicker, loves kids, and I simply cannot imagine my life without her.

 

You will get there - you are getting there - and one day - it will just...be.

[LBass]

I'll echo the advice to take heart. My middle hound, Spirit, came to me after being found too shy and scared to be a good racing candidate. I've had him for almost 3 years now and he has blossomed beautifully. I've also had to learn to "read" him since he is not affectionate in the same way that my other two hounds are. With Spirit there is no kissing and no tail wagging; he is more subtle than my other hounds in the ways he shows his affection--wanting to be where I am, always meeting me at the door, the contented eye squint when I'm petting him. Learn to accept and treasure those subtle signs of affection and give your boy time. Four months is really not a long adjustment period.

 

Spirit is not universally delighted to meet everybody and I have had to learn to respect that. If he is not happy being petting or approached by someone I intervene and explain that he is my shy boy and I don't push him to accept attention he is uncomfortable with. My other hounds will gladly absorb all the attention from strangers that Spirit doesn't want.

 

Re: the accidents in the house...talk with your adoption group about house training techniques. You can also find loads ob posts here on GT about the tether method and other ways to approach house training. In the absence of a medical issue, accidents in the house with a fairly new dog is most likely that they just don't yet fully understand the concept.

 

Try to relax. Watching them blossom is an absolute delight and it can go on for years! Spirit rarely plays so when I see him grab a toy or prance around asking for a romp it feels like a moment to treasure. He has become completely shameless when it comes to demanding petting. He is the boy who starts agitating when meal time is here and I'm not up and doing about. He vociferously disapproves of my use of the snooze alarm. Several weeks ago I saw him sprint across the backyard and peaked out to see what had caught his attention. I found him standing up on the fence to be petted by my neighbor's large son-in-law. My Spirit, who has always been leery of men--the larger and louder the more terrifying--has come so far.

 

--Lucy

[rallyp]

Just adding to all the good input so far, particularly the examples of how this is a whole new (and probably scary) world for him, one way to help him learn about his new world is routine routine routine. As he slowly starts to figure out how things work, he'll get more confident. And the more confident he gets, the more he'll be able to relax and let his true personality shine through. Another big positive thing you can do is to do training exercises with him (teach him basic stuff like sit, stay, lie down, etc.). Positive reinforcement methods like clicker training are great for this. It'll give him a way to bond and communicate with you, and ultimately help him gain confidence and trust with you in particular.

[Guest RaznNik]

Hi there, my second Nik sounds a little like Ron. I only crated him for a week or so (same as Raz), however Nik was peeing in the house and he had been out, long walks - seemed to be no reason. He did statue on walks, and in the house he stuck to me like glue (still does). I had to go back to crate training 101, and after a few months, gave him more and more time out of the crate. Eventually he got the house training down pat. I really think access to the whole house was very over whelming to him and he was not secure. Although he did not want to go into his crate, it really helped both of us. I still keep him babygated in my bedroom as he feels better in close quarters when I am not with him.

You will receive lots of help here and this is just my experience with one lovable hound!

[Guest dee]

My Micah was shy and spooky when we first got him. He came to us straight from the track. There had been no fostering period to teach ohm what stairs, sliding doors, rooms with slitchy wooden floors, etc. Were all about. He looked so sad all the time. We just kept encouraging ohm gently and gave him tons of gentle love. We've had him for 16 months and the dog that came to live with us isn't anywhere to be seen!!!! His eyes are happy and he responds to us....it's still a work in progress. It would help you a lot if you haven't already read any of the books that your adoption group recommends about greyhound adoption and the world that our dogs lived in before retiring. They are worth all your efforts!! Good luck.

[Batmom]

He's still having accidents in the house,

 

How often is he taken out? Does he need to be leash-walked for potty, or does he have a fenced yard?

[Guest june]

My Jazzy wasn't a spook, but very shy when I got her. I've had her 7 years now. She gets excited when I come home, but rarely wags her tail. But! She will be laying across the room and I look up and her eyes are always on me with love shinning out of them. Give your boy time and watch for the quieter ways your boy may show his love. Following you from room to room is a huge step! Hang in there I have a feeling you may have a real winner

june

[dmdsmoxie]

To newbee,

 

I can't answer your PM as you don't have 50 posts yet, so you are welcome.

 

Dick