New Grey Afraid Of Other Dogs?

[Guest Ummon]

Hi everyone, Just got Ace on Wed off the track.

 

Very gentle guy, and has made the transition better than I ever imagined. Anyway, I was walking him today and he saw another person walking a little bulldog about half his size. As the owner and I were talking from across the road the bulldog barked at him. He freaked, tried to bolt the opposite direction and when I finally got him under control just whined. Is this common with grey's? I was going to bring him to the dog park Sunday but now I am thinking otherwise.

[Time4ANap]

You will find that a majority of owners will tell you to stay away from dog parks. Everyone seems to have various reasons, but some people take their greys to dog parks and do just fine with close supervision. One of the main reasons people avoid them is the thin skin that greys have, if there is an altercation with another dog, even playing, serious injuries can occur. You will also find that many people do not supervise their dogs at dog parks - and chaos is usually the end result.

 

Your dog is way too new to thrust into a dog park. He has most likely never seen another type of dog other than a greyhound - and he probably doesn't know why that thing is barking at him. Rocket has been with us for several years, and still whines when other dogs bark at him - he just doesn't get it and can't figure out why they are barking.

 

If you watch him on your walks, everything is new to him - birds, cars, cats, dogs, trucks, airplanes etc....he needs some time to settle into a routine. Noises may startle him - thing's he's never heard before like car horns, braking noises, dogs barking, sudden noises like bikes whizzing by, motorcycles etc. Let him get used to his new world before he has to deal with too many things he isn't sure of.

 

He will do fine, but since he is so new, he needs to get settled, and you need some time to learn how he will react in various situations. As you found out, you need to keep a "death grip" on the leash at all times - I still do after several years, and every once in a while, something totally stupid will startle Rocket and cause the same reaction you had. Give him a little time - and he will probably make friends with some of the dogs he sees on his walks if they are well behaved - but he needs time to adjust.

 

Edited to add - Congratulations on your boy! When you have time, make sure to post some pictures and introduce him.

Edited July 30, 2011 by Time4ANap

[Guest Ummon]

Thanks for your input. The dog parks around here aren't too bad. I'm in the country, at most one or two dogs might be in there at any one time plus they have a separate area for the smaller ones. I just wanted a place where he could run a bit. I think I'll wait until my wife's mother visits us with the little rat dog she has. Hey if Ace eats it, its a plus and if he doesn't and can get along with it, well that's a plus too

[Time4ANap]

Thanks for your input. The dog parks around here aren't too bad. I'm in the country, at most one or two dogs might be in there at any one time plus they have a separate area for the smaller ones. I just wanted a place where he could run a bit. I think I'll wait until my wife's mother visits us with the little rat dog she has. Hey if Ace eats it, its a plus and if he doesn't and can get along with it, well that's a plus too

 

Nothing like an afternoon snack....

 

Actually, the dogs that Rocket has the most problem with are any type of little white dog, of which there seem to be hundreds in the neighborhood. They are all yappy and that seems to distress him. Poor guy will be wagging his tail beacuse he wants to play, and whining at the same time because they stress him so much.

 

We have some freinds with 2 little white dogs, and when they come over they do not bark, and actually like to cuddle up with Rocket. He gets so nervous that he starts shedding. I would love to know if something happened with a little white dog when he was fostered......because he sure does get nervous around them.

 

You may have to become the bad guy at the dog park if the owners don't pay attention to the Large Dog / Small Dog areas. a lot of the problems seem to be brought on by owners not following the rules, or not paying attention to what their dog is doing.

 

One of my favorite things when we adopted Rocket was watching how intrigued he was with everything that was new. He would watch birds fly for long periods of time, and loved to go out by the main road and watch big trucks - don't know why - but he loves trucks.....

 

Enjoy your pup!

[GeorgeofNE]

You already got great advice, but I'm also going to remind you that there is NO CHANCE that a dog you just got is going to come when you call it when it's off leash in a dog park, and you have a very slim chance of catching it if he doesn't want to be caught.

 

As to the fearful reaction; imagine if you will that you have spent your entire life surrounded by beings that look just like you, plus these other weird creatures that take care of your every need. Suddenly, your friends (both four and two legged) are GONE, everything in your life is different, and there are animals you could never have even imagined existed HOLLERING at you!

 

We (people) tend to imagine that a dog is a dog to another dog, but since many (if not most?)racing hounds have NEVER seen any other kind of dog, to them a dog is tall, skinny, with a long tail and a pointy nose. It's not a squatty, short legged, smush faced, cork screw tail blob! You'd be freaked out too!

 

Most hounds adapt quite nicely to the other breeds, but some do not. I have one of those!

 

I've had George for four years, and thus far the only two dogs that aren't greyhounds he's managed to get along with were my parents dogs, but that took six hours wearing his muzzle while in THEIR house (I think a dog can tell when another animal is the resident, and most of them respect that). Once he got over the growling at them, he was fine, but it did take six hours. Sadly, they've both passed away now, so he's back to greyhounds only.

 

Lucky us--someone in my complex adopted a young brindle Greyhound, so now we have a neighbor we can socialize with. His reaction is different than your dogs--my dog wants to leap on them and bite them--sort of a "taste first, ask questions later" thing. It's manageable though--I just keep my distance from other dogs and carry on.

 

And as to letting your boy run. You might be surprised, as I was, how little interest some of them show in running. I managed to find a fully fenced park once, and had it all to myself. All my dog wanted to do was sniff the fence and pee everywhere. I did get him to run, briefly, by running across the field like a wild thing (he chased me), but he showed so little interest that after two visits I gave it up.

Edited July 30, 2011 by GeorgeofNE

[christinepi]

 

And as to letting your boy run. You might be surprised, as I was, how little interest some of them show in running. I managed to find a fully fenced park once, and had it all to myself. All my dog wanted to do was sniff the fence and pee everywhere. I did get him to run, briefly, by running across the field like a wild thing (he chased me), but he showed so little interest that after two visits I gave it up.

 

Ditto, ditto, ditto. Fenced in areas trigger nothing in Tracker. He'll stand around, bored, ready to leave, after he sniffed and peed everywhere. So I don't go anymore. The only thing that will make his eyes pop out of their sockets and him chomp at the bit is the beach. As soon as we set foot on the sand he's DYING to run. And I can't let him go... it's awful depriving him of satisfying his desire, so we hardly go there, either... but he certainly seems very happy otherwise.

 

As for the bulldog, I totally agree with what's been written so far.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

I'll second everything that's been said already, but with emphasis on the fact that Ace is fresh off the track. There may be some pups who are "bomb-proof", but I think it takes a whole lot more of them some time to adjust and get used to their surroundings. Even my boy, Mirage, who'd been fostered before I adopted him......one of his first walks he saw a squirrel run across the street in front of him, he took off, and I thought he was going to take Piaget and I down the street after him - I was holding on for dear life! Same thing happened the first time we had a loud motorcycle go past us - you'd have thought someone had shot him You'll be surprised by the things that will bother or scare them, but as Time4ANap, said, everything is new to straight off the track pups.

 

 

I'm not a dog park fan, but you really want to give Ace a little time and see how he does with other breeds. I also have a breed snob - Mirage does well with other greyhounds, but doesn't do well with other dogs. He'll be with me for 3 years next month, and I've come to accept that, like George, we just have to keep our distance. It's not ideal, but you learn to manage it.

 

Congrats on your new boy - I hope the transition continues to go well for you

[Sundrop]

We adopted our girl a little over a year ago and she was terrified of other dogs (not our other grey). We walk them twice a day, and we've taken great care to keep her away from other dogs unless we know the owner and the dog, and we deem them "safe" and gentle enough for her. Even then, we were just letting them walk by us, getting her used to it slowly. We have a couple good friends in the neighborhood with great dogs, so we'll stop in to say hi and make sure that she interacted with the dog, sometimes letting them loose in the fenced in yard. Once she started being less scared of all dogs in the neighborhood, we graduated to doggie daycare. She hated it the first few times and would avoid almost all the dogs, but she wasn't running terrified and we asked that they call us to pick her up if she got spooked. She never did.

 

Three weeks ago we took a week-long vacation and she stayed at the doggie daycare boarding facility and guess what? They said she was PLAYING with other dogs! I almost fainted with happiness. She never runs up to dogs we see on our walks, which we like, but she doesn't try to run away anymore and she's finally enjoying the company of other dogs. We took it very very slowly, watched her carefully and didn't stress her out (which would only create more issues, in the end). We adopted her in June 2010 and she just turned 4 yesterday. She's just super sensitive and a bit timid - and we have to respect that. Don't push your new pup, make sure you create a safe enviornment when you introduce other dogs and don't try to push him. If he has enough positive experiences with other dogs, he'll come around - it just might take a little longer. He's just been thrust into an entirely new world -- think of how crazy and scarey that is for him!

 

Congrats on your new boy, BTW!

[Guest TBSFlame]

What if you were taken from your safe home and put on a different planet. That is what your hound is experiencing. Please, don't rush this transition. The number one mistake a new adopter makes is expecting too much too soon. Some hounds will walk right in and flip upside down and with others it takes a long time. Most is somewhere inbetween. I would not take the dog to a dog park until the bond has developed. That may take as long as a year. Let the dog come to you on his/her terms and take as much time as needed.

[lukasmom]

Retired racing greyhounds have never seen other breeds of dogs until they are retired. I have had my girl for over a year and a half and I still don't think she acknowledges my fox terrier as a dog! This new world is a lot to take in and some adjust as if they were born to be in a home on a couch and others seem to need a lot more time to take it all in. Let your hound set the pace.

My big issue with dog parks is that most owners (non-grey) aren't paying attention to their dogs and are too far away to react fast enough if something happens. Greyhound skin is so thin, a playful nip can end up as a trip to the vet. Better to socialize greys one on one with other breeds. Every once in a while you will find a grey who is a breed snob, loves all greys but doesn't like any other dogs.

[Guest kydie]

My grey does O.K. with well mannered dogs,, if they start to get yappy,, he walks the other way,, if they are well behaived he is fine with them,, dog parks?,, no way... no how,,, I worry others do not care for their dogs,, as far as,, fleas,, ticks,,, worms,, vaccines,,, so we would never go,, even if there was one here in nowherevill ,, I don't let my pups around other dogs anywhere,, if I don't know the owners,, just me

[Guest krystolla]

I was lucky, other dogs are the only thing Hack WASN'T afraid of.

 

IMHO, greyhounds have been around other greyhounds for a long time growing up and I think "speak" a slightly different version of dog language than what the average house pet does. Most people don't socialize their dogs very well with other dogs, and so those dogs don't learn all the various nuances of "hi, how are you, I'm not dangerous". Many go right from seeing another dog to loud, obnoxious behavior. Like growing up in the British royal family's layers of protocol and visiting a country where everyone hugs, yells and casually insults each other.

 

So, it takes a while to acclimate.

 

I waited a bit over a year before taking Hack to the dog park (and waited until I could go when there wasn't likely to be too many other people there). I was worried I wouldn't be able to catch him, which I can't. We go home when he's tired. I love seeing him really open up and run, though compared to what he looked like in videos of him racing he's just loping now. But really he does a few loops and then is ready to go home -- I think I enjoy him running more than he does. Also I like hearing other people gasp when he turns on the afterburners. (that makes me, what a dog-park mom? Like a soccer mom without the soccer?)

 

I think if I'd taken him when we'd first got him it would have been too much stimulation -- scary other cars, scary other people, oh-my-god-tiny-human-children, the-frisbee-is-going-to-eat-me . . . There is lots of time for new adventures once the neighborhood isn't an adventure any more.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

I would suggest letting him settle in and give you two time to build a bond before you let him off at the dog park. this home life is so new to him and he has so much to learn just give him time to get to know his big new world and hos new family.

So many people believe that greyhound have NEVER seen other breeds of dogs, EVERY greyhound farm i have ever been to has had other breeds of dogs on the farm the dogs are there but the greys dont interact with them much as they are there to get rid of vermon and keep the place safe or are house pets. many greyhounds are breed snobs and just dont care for other breeeds of dogs and their strange manners and actions.

 

examples of a few Greyhound farms with other breeds of dogs:

 

Tony mills (owns soprano drive) has Iggys, a doxie and a black lab

Signature farms (Boards CT buckwild,Flupascrackerbox) has blue heelers

Flying eagles has a big hairy dog (lab/shepard cross?)

[DocsDoctor]

As others have said, he's unlikely to be familiar with other breeds of dog. Just to add that something I found really helpful was a good mixed-breed obedience class, where Doc and I could meet lots of 'strange-looking dogs' under controlled conditions. Good fun, and it increased my confidence as well to learn about doggy body language. If you want to do this I'd wait a month or so, for him to start to settle in and bond with you. Then find a trainer who uses positive rewards only - it's helpful if they understand retired greyhounds and their special little ways (e.g. not liking to sit!) too.