Tips For Training Grey Pups

[Guest Trentsmom]

We just adopted 2- 6 week old grey pups. Our plan was to get 1 pup when they were about 8/10 weeks old, but mamma had problems and couldn't nurse, so we adopted earlier than expected. AND- we couldn't resist the cutness and ended up with two. We have two retired racers, but this is our first time with puppies I love the temperment and character of the retired dogs. Is it the training on the track that makes them such wonderful dogs or is simply the breed? If it is training, please share what we might do to shape them into the same sweet characters. Also, how old do they need to be to begin training and understanding training. Right now we just take them out to pee the moment they wake up. I have to carry them out because if they walk on their own they stop along the way and go early- in the house. Also, they wrestle and scream a lot when they play- that is okay right? Or should I stop them from biting one another? Last question, should I scold the older dogs for growling and snapping at them? I'm not sure how to teach the older dogs that the pups are okay and to be sweet to them. Sometimes it's best to let nature and instinct be, but I don't want any injuries. Any tips appreciated!!!! You all always give me good insight.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

I have had 4 greyhound puppies come through my house.

Greyhounds natuarally have a great temperment, but a lot of the manners we like with the racers has a lot to do with thier training and upbringing on the farms and tracks. Also be prepared it takes home raised greyhounds a lot of work to become anything like your racers, but they do learn so many more neat tricks and things.

 

It is never to early to start basic training with your puppies they may not catch on right away but they will remember later on. Its normal to have to carry them to the door to get them outside on time as they get older you wont have to to that anymore.

When it comes to play greyhound puppies are all teeth and all noise! let them wrestle and play fight its what they do, if the older hounds verbally correct the puppies let them as long as no one is bleeding dont worry about it they need to learn thier manners and what is and isnt appropriate as long as the puppies are only biting at each other at this point leave them alone it looks worse than it actually is .

 

At first you dont want the puppies to have the freedom of the house that your older 2 have, they will eat your house. when you cannot watch them they should be in an X-Pen or a kennel to stop any issues from happening (my youngest is 2 years old and is still kenneled when we are not home and at night) Until your older hounds have got used to the pups they should be separted from the pups when you cannot supervise them all this way accidents dont happen and no one gets hurt. Make sure you have many, many, many toys around the house to keep puppy teeth off your furniture and other items, if you catch them eating things they are not supposed to re-direct them to a more approprite object. The biggest thing to remember is do not them them do something now that you wouldnt let them do when they are full grown (jumping, play biting people etc...)just because it is cute now doesnt mean you want them doing it later these guys get big and strong very fast.

start collar and leash training early (12+ weeks), you dont need a martingale now as greyhound puppies have big heads and normal collars fit well for now and dont squeeze their necks, dont expect a lot right away but even if you just practice in the house and yard until you have them vaccinted so they can go out into public. its ok to start walking them when they are young but do not run/bike/roller blade with them too early as they have developing bones and joints and you could risk an injury, it is ok to let them run and play on their own terms in the yard because the can stop when they need to.

 

the main thing to know is a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy! let them run and play all they need, it keeps them busy and its so much fun to watch.

Enjoy your puppies and post pictures and updates often!

 

feel free to email me with any other questions anytime 3Hounds @ Hotmail.com (take out the spaces)

[Guest sillyrabbit]

Squeee! PUPPIES!

 

Pictures?

[kudzu]

Congratulations! (I think you are crazy) I cannot give any specific to Greyhound puppies. This info applies to all puppies. Start training now, rightawayquick. Puppies are little learning sponges & soooo much fun to train. Just keep in mind they have short attention spans & seem to learn best in short bursts. So you need to start now on training the basic foundation behaviors for building blocks you will use throughout their lives. I love this program for basic training geared towards a lifetime of happy learning & instilling a desire to behave appropriately in our human world: The Bood of Training Levels (original version) The is a free online training program from Sue Ailsby. You will find more of her helpful training info here: Mind to Mind In particular you may be interested in: Elimination, for an important concept to consider when potty training; Rules of Training, has a list of principles for more effective & pleasant training. (And of course you may already know all of this & have no need of it.)

 

Those pups are very young though. Poor mom & poor pups. If you haven't raised pups, especially two at a time (I think you are crazy) you will really have your work cut out for you. I think raising sibs will have its benefits but there can also be some pitfalls. Do you have a socialization & exposure plan? For your two I believe at least a good amount of it should be done individually to ensure they do not become too dependent on each other. Am thinking of my sister's two Bostons from the same litter who are majorly stressed when separated. Just remember they grow up fast (not nearly fast enough) so take lots of pictures & remember all the fun. Also, remember to touch up the script a bit on the not so fun parts so you will at least have funny stories about those. "Oh, it was so funny. We just laughed & laughed about that event." (three years later when the pain wore off)

 

Please, post updates with lots of pics. I hope you have a wonderful summer playing with your pups. (but still think you're crazy)

[Guest Trentsmom]

Squeee! PUPPIES!

 

Pictures?

lol- taking lots of pics, will figure out how to get the posted soon!!

 

I have had 4 greyhound puppies come through my house.

Greyhounds natuarally have a great temperment, but a lot of the manners we like with the racers has a lot to do with thier training and upbringing on the farms and tracks. Also be prepared it takes home raised greyhounds a lot of work to become anything like your racers, but they do learn so many more neat tricks and things.

 

It is never to early to start basic training with your puppies they may not catch on right away but they will remember later on. Its normal to have to carry them to the door to get them outside on time as they get older you wont have to to that anymore.

When it comes to play greyhound puppies are all teeth and all noise! let them wrestle and play fight its what they do, if the older hounds verbally correct the puppies let them as long as no one is bleeding dont worry about it they need to learn thier manners and what is and isnt appropriate as long as the puppies are only biting at each other at this point leave them alone it looks worse than it actually is .

 

At first you dont want the puppies to have the freedom of the house that your older 2 have, they will eat your house. when you cannot watch them they should be in an X-Pen or a kennel to stop any issues from happening (my youngest is 2 years old and is still kenneled when we are not home and at night) Until your older hounds have got used to the pups they should be separted from the pups when you cannot supervise them all this way accidents dont happen and no one gets hurt. Make sure you have many, many, many toys around the house to keep puppy teeth off your furniture and other items, if you catch them eating things they are not supposed to re-direct them to a more approprite object. The biggest thing to remember is do not them them do something now that you wouldnt let them do when they are full grown (jumping, play biting people etc...)just because it is cute now doesnt mean you want them doing it later these guys get big and strong very fast.

start collar and leash training early (12+ weeks), you dont need a martingale now as greyhound puppies have big heads and normal collars fit well for now and dont squeeze their necks, dont expect a lot right away but even if you just practice in the house and yard until you have them vaccinted so they can go out into public. its ok to start walking them when they are young but do not run/bike/roller blade with them too early as they have developing bones and joints and you could risk an injury, it is ok to let them run and play on their own terms in the yard because the can stop when they need to.

 

the main thing to know is a tired puppy is a well behaved puppy! let them run and play all they need, it keeps them busy and its so much fun to watch.

Enjoy your puppies and post pictures and updates often!

 

feel free to email me with any other questions anytime 3Hounds @ Hotmail.com (take out the spaces)

Thank you so much for all of the great insight!!!

[cleptogrey]

i adopted felix at 7 weeks. by 8 weeks he was out of the 48"x pen- up and over. when he had all of his basic shots we started puppy class and continued, sometimes repeating a class and did around 64+ weeks of FUN FUN FUN training. this included agility which he couldn't do until he was close to 2. i start leash training as soon as a collar is put on. be it 2 or 3 minutes of training and praise, we start w/ lots of love, positive reinforcement and treats. felix caught his first bird around 11 weeks, it was really a lot of fun watching those running legs develop. everyday you will see lots of growth in coordination and massive joints sprout legs in no time what so ever. also, those long noses take forever to grow...bodies, legs, heads do not match for quite some time.

 

toys, good things to chew on- marrow bones w/o marrow, hoofs frozen w/ baby food meat are really necessary. you need to teach them what to chew on.

 

as to the older dogs, the pups do not have any sense what so ever. both felix and my friend's male achillies(that she got as a pup) learned the hard way not to bother the sleeping older girls. they both survived even though it was pretty scarey. i used a muzzle on my older dog since i needed to protect felix. their brains take a looooong time to catch up.

 

crate training is the answer, zoomies every time they wake up, exercise them before a walk or training, have a kiddie pool, teach fetch, love them to death and always have some rice on hand. i started long walks as soon as his shots were up to date. i can remember a friend carrying felix since he used to poop out, he would catch a 2nd wind and then join the other greys.

 

it was lots of fun, brain function ceases to exist for a while. i think it was about the same as my saluki pups, somewhere between 7 and 11 months the bright, cleaver pup who excelled at everything goes blank. but everything you put in returns after their first birthday.

 

as to neutering- the females should be spay before their first heat, as close to 6 months as possible. w/ the males wait as long as you can for bone development. i was going to shoot myself when he was 9 months old. i donated his crown jewels to the rescue group's vet- man does she have a collection !!

 

i will say bringing up a greyhound pup was soooo much easier than a saluki. maybe it's experience, maybe it's the nature of each breed. but have fun w/ your puppies. vinegar and water will be your best friend for clean-ups.

Edited June 19, 2011 by cleptogrey

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

 

 

as to neutering- the females should be spay before their first heat, as close to 6 months as possible. w/ the males wait as long as you can for bone development.

 

\

 

I would STRONGLY suggest waiting as long as you can to have the Pups fixed male or female they need time for their bones and joints to mature fully. Greyhounds dont normally go into heat until after a year old (the odd one does before) and normally only go into heat once a year. We did not get our youngest Pup Chili spayed until she was over 2 years old, she only went into heat 2 times and the first heat was pretty short and easy and the second she was great at keeping her self clean. We were very careful when she went into the yard and was never alone out there when she was in heat (incase something found his way in to my yard to visit), its not hard to keep them intact for a short time if you are willing to keep a strict eye on everything when they are in heat or near other unfixed dogs (belly bands and female diapers are great).

 

It doesnt matter male or female they need time to develop and fill in, but you also have to listen to the guide lines put forth by your adoption group. If you are really unsure contact The vet below, he deals with greyhounds racing and retired for a living and knows his stuff.

 

Kent Law, DVM

THE VETERINARY CLINIC

1201 N. Van Buren

Abilene, KS 67410

785-263-3221

[cleptogrey]

our group's vet recommended the female spaying before their first heat since, since reports have claimed it reduces incidents of cancer.yes, bone growth is very very slow and i fully intended on waiting until felix was at least 2. well, dealing w/ raging hormones and training and still really wanting to wait but living w/ a sex crazed dog was very difficult. even my trusty friend/trainer with many, many years of experience said, "put that boy out of his misery, you are not going to breed him."

 

each owner is different and each dog is differernt. i do agree whole heartily that the longer you can wait, the better. i never neutered my male salukis, they never displayed that type of craziness. my scottie was neutered at 9 months- the horney bugger was no longer a pet and willie wonka, my welsh terrier, went thru a crazy episode at 6.5 years and started marking(w/ urine and anal glands) walls, furniture and was totally out of control. we looked for a tumor which could cause the hormonal upset, tried hormones, sedatives, you name it- he was neuterd at 6.5 years.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Oh boy. In a private home (versus a kennel setting) there's no such thing as a sex crazed greyhound - male or female. Other than a heat cycle that makes them ovely amorous, if you don't have a houseful of intact hounds, an intact bitch is no trouble beyond a bit of clean up. Intact male greyhounds are only slightly more increased in their drive than a male greyhound neutered after tracing sexual maturity.

 

If you have off gendered intact animals, you'll have to keep them separated, but that's a good idea with adolescent puppies anyway.

 

Neutering a male greyhound prior to 54 weeks causes excess long bone growth and gives a weaker skeletal structure and poor muscling. Neutering at any age greatly increases risks associated with prostate cancer. Female hounds can suffer from spay incontinence and other adverse health consequences.

 

Spaying/neutering is popular for two reasons: 1) people believe the myth that spay/neuter affects pet overpopulation (it doesn't and hasn't) and 2) people are inherently lazy and will pick convenience over the health of their dog.

 

It will be a rare, rare greyhound bitch that will go into heat before 12 months. Many not until 18 months or 2 years. Yes, removing those reproductive parts in a female means no reproductive cancers, but it does adversely affect health and longevity.

 

To the OP - I got your message and I'm looking for the very good article I had on play games for training and bite inhibition. My phone is my only Internet access until adter the weekend. I'll look again then for you.

 

And congrats. Puppies are a lot of work and a lit of fun!

 

Edited so that folks wouldn't continue to mistake my smartphone's auto word correct run amok for my being elitist and using terms the average GT folks can't understand and to politely request that if you don't understand something someone writes here, do the polite thing and just ask what they mean rather than imputing a particular motivation and taking offense.

 

My only intent was to offer help to the OP. Sometimes the phone is overly helpful.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Swifthounds

[Guest Swifthounds]

One of the best advantages is having adult greyhounds in the house, especially if they're patient but enforce the rules. Dodd can teach pups things much faster than we can.

 

It doesn't have to be a female hound, either. I had help two males raising Vixen and then she has been a great help raising those who came after her.

[Guest sheila]

 

 

If you have off tendered intact animals, you'll have to keep them separated, but that's a good idea with adolescent puppies anyway.

 

Briefing a male greyhound prior to 54 weeks causes excess long bone growth and gives a weaker skeletal structure and poor muscling. Neutering at any age greatly increases risks associated with prostate cancer. Female hounds can suffer from spay incontinence and other adverse health consequences.

 

Spaying/neutering is popular for two reasons: 1) people believe the myth that spay/neuter affects pet overpopulation (it doesn't and hasn't) and 2) people are inherently lazy and will pick convenience over the health of their dog.

 

 

 

I have really tried to stay off the bandwagon of folks who jump on you, but this even got to me. 'off tendered' and 'briefing'? Really? Most of us who come here are lowly pet owners and these terms mean nothing to us. Posts like this get skipped over because they are not understood most of the time. GT is not an animal welfare seminar, we are ordinary every day folks who are not stupid, but just unfamiliar with terms like this and don't know what to do with them. I'm starting to understand why some get annoyed with your posting style. JMO

 

I am intrigued by the last sentence though. I'd like to know why spay/neuter programs don't work. I once read an article about how capture/spay/release efforts on feral cat populations weren't working and actually created more ferals. Again though, I would have to have this info delivered in a plain language that I could easily understand because I AM quite lazy.

[Guest DoofBert]

We brought Tania home at 10 weeks. Agree with keeping the pupies in confined space .....and then gradually allow more freedom as house breaking success continues.

 

SPay/ neuter.... we had Tania spayed at 11 months. No signs of any heat cycles, but we wanted to wait till her long bones were well developed. She doesn't have a lanky look. (We also were quite wary as we had a male hound that was a mon-orchid... his one testicle was never removed.. While the chances of it being being viable were slim to none, we didn't want to risk a litter of black greyhounds! -- Our vet did have one client with a monorchid who sired a litter!)

 

Training, Training, Training ... obediance, puppy kindergartern, socialitzation. Hard work , but will pay off int he long run.

 

A good puppy is a tired puppy...... lots of playtime in a fenced area. Toys, that make them think (kongs filled with treats/food, hide and seek games, recall games etc)

 

Positive motivation training worked bext at first.. Then we added free shape training as Tania got very bored with the repetitive nature of traditional obediance training.

 

Good luck..... and BTW -- the shark teeth will eventually go away -- Tania lost hers at 6 mos!

Edited June 19, 2011 by DoofBert

[kudzu]

My female Staghound was spayed at 15 mos & my vet would have preferred later.

[Guest TexasGreytMom]

Congrats on your new babies! Can't wait to see pics!

 

Our pup (non-grey mixed) is almost 6 months old and we're just now feeling as if she finally has a clue when it comes to housebreaking. LOL! I thought we'd never reach this point where we weren't constantly letting her out to do her business. We crated her in our bedroom at night, and only had to get up a few nights to let her out. Fortunately, she slept thru the night really well.

 

We brought her home when she was 2-1/2 months old, as I recall, and we just let her out every hour, if not more often. It was trial and error learning her signals, because she squeaks (not quite a whine) and unfortunately, she uses that same squeak to communicate when she's bored, or wants attention.

 

Our grey girls were not amused with her at first and sometimes I think they still long for their quiet days. But, everyone has settled in nicely and they're typical siblings.

 

Congrats again on the new additions to your family!

Edited June 20, 2011 by TexasGreytMom

[Guest WhiteWave]

Congrats on the puppies! I got my first puppy too. He was 7 weeks old and now 11 weeks. So far he has been a great puppy. I would take another in a minute! I'm really enjoying him.