Making My Greyhound More Affectionate

[Guest SusanP]

Some of our hounds have never shown affection in the typical non-greyhound dog way. They may come up and stand by us waiting for tummy rubs, but that's about it. It doesn't mean they don't feel love. They are just a more reserved type of dog. Even our most affectionate hounds spend a lot of time sleeping on their beds in another room.

[Pepsi2004]

I haven't read all the posts, so this might be a repeat. There are Greys that are not demonstrative - that is their personality. Sometimes, after a while, some Greys will begin to be more affectionate, and others not. We had a gorgeous black female, Foley, for 6 years and she was like your Grey. She was like that until the end, but did always want to be with us.

[IndyandHollyluv]

Congratulations and good luck with your new boy! I've adopted four greys to date (three males and one female) and all have been distinctly different.

 

None sleep with me. Two of my boys have had intense sleep startle; one male is too darn big; and my female is not a cuddler.

 

My female is extremely sweet and such a good girl but doesn't enjoy physical attention or interaction (cuddling, kisses, etc). Just not her thing.

 

During the first year, Male hound #1 growled at me if I encroached on his "personal space" (and bit me) until he finally decided he could trust me. Then he became a momma's boy. What a journey. Had sleep startle so no cuddling.

 

Male hound #2 (adopted as a senior last year) was a complicated mess. We had many issues to work through but had a serious trust breakthrough this summer when I took him up to Pet Supplies Plus and gave him a bath. (Historically, I have taken my hounds to the groomer for a bath.). Anyway, something positive clicked in his little grey matter after that and our bond strengthened. Also has sleep startle so no cuddling.

 

Male hound #3 (also adopted as a senior last year). My personal shadow. Follows me everywhere. A total velcro dog and barnacle. Resource guards (me). Very sweet but painfully needy.

 

Anyway, I guess you never quite know what you'll get but they do blossom and grow in their own way. I agree with the other posts -- patience, patience, patience!

Edited August 29, 2011 by IndyandHollyluv

[EnzaFerrari]

Enza is not a snuggler, but she is a leaner. If she likes you, she leans her full body weight into you. There are times that so much of her weight is balanced on that if you shift, she stumbles a bit. There are times when she does snuggle but it is never with me, always with my boyfriend and always in the winter. AKA - not sure she is snuggling or trying to hog the blankets.

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

I think that is part of the beauty of the breed - that they are more independent. I really don't want a dog like a lab that wants affection all the time, or a retriever (come-on throw the stick, throw the stick-endlessly (forever)).

In my mind these are more like a working dog - but because there are not many rabbits in my house - they just need to rest up for the next one to pop his head out so they can catch it. So they do a lot of resting.

I agree with the other poster that it takes a year to finally settle in -- the changes become more subtle the longer the dog resides with you.

They display affection differently than other dogs - they stare at you endlessly, they will come up and bump you with their nose just to say hi - how are ya doing, try running away from them playing hide and seek, and their tongue will come out and they will be all smiles as they bound after you. I guess they appear more aloof rather than happy as other dogs, not a lot of wiggling or tail wagging although they will do that when we get home from work. They are always happy when they are running - that is when you can see their beauty and joy come out the most.

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

Affection doesn't always take the form of cuddling. Jayne is very rarely in the mood to cuddle, which makes it all the sweeter for me when she does climb up on the couch or bed and lays partly on me.

 

Jayne shows affection by following me, leaning for pets, rollinng over when I pass the couch so i'll pet her and mostly by playing with me. She loves to chase, playbite and wrestle with me.

 

 

[Pippin]

My Angie-girl lived with me for 4 1/2 wonderful years. The day I met her in March 2003, she licked my chin, then laid back down on her doggie bed and just watched while I met the other dogs. In March 2007, she rested her head on my shoulder in bed for 10-20 minutes. That's the ONLY time she ever "snuggled" with me, and I was perfectly fine with that. Angie had bed privileges, and preferred the bottom of the bed - maybe it was the 5 litters of pups she had that led her to prefer sleeping unemcumbered, who knows?

 

I lived in an apt when she moved in with me, and she would sleep on the tile entryway, just far enough back that I could open the door enough to come in. When I'd come in, she MIGHT open one eye and make sure it was me, then go back to sleep. Six months later, I left her with friends for 2 weeks while I went home for Mom's funeral. When I came back to get her, she was lying on a dogbed in another room of the house. When she heard my voice, she raised her head and pricked up her ears. That was it, and I almost cried from joy, because I knew it meant she really did miss me and was glad to see me.

 

By the end of our time together, she would bull her way through the pack of dogs at the dog-sitter to get to me when I came home from a business trip, but she was never what some folks would call "affectionate."

 

She was a strong-minded, independent woman, which was just what I wanted, and I loved her all the more for it.

[Guest greysmitten]

For us, I found that bonding through ordinary walks was so helpful in the beginning. Even if we weren't trekking or going to be out that long, I would leash Azi up and have her follow me. Even now, if I'm hanging out in the front yard or chasing the babe down the sidewalk, I like to have Azi with me. She is usually quite happy to tag along and be included. I've concluded that she has a very strong sense of pack and just likes to be in close proximity. Now that she's lived with us for a while, she is comfortable relaxing in other rooms or even other floors.

 

So, personally, the ordinary walk fostered trust between dog and human. At least I feel it has. But then again, everyone who meets Azi finds her to be very affectionate. She's hilariously sucky When we go to the dog park, she seeks out human legs to lean on and truly seems to bask in the affection of human hands.

[philospher77]

Just some follow-on advice to echo what many others have said.

 

I got Trinkett when she was 6. She'd raced until 5, and then had a litter of pups. So she had spent a large part of her life living in a crate. She never got be a jumpy/licky/cuddly dog, but she did eventually bond with me. I'll admit, for the first 6 months we were more like roommates then pet and owner. I finally brought in a trainer to give me some advice, and that seemed to help. Once I started actually working with her and asking her to do things, she started wanting to be with me more. She was a very sweet and patient dog, always liked people, just really calm and mellow. If I could do things over again, I'd see if I could find the kind of class I did for my second girl... obedience wrapped up in games. Lots of positive training, with things like the "cheese puff relay" (you walk the dog on a leash to a bowl of cheese puffs, scoop some out on a spoon, and walk the dog back to the starting line... lets you practice loose leash walking and sit/down/stay/whatever you use to keep the dog calm while getting the cheese puffs) and other games to play with your dog.

 

Painfully shy Katie is a project, and one of the hardest things I had to do with her when I first got her was learn to use "benign neglect"... totally ignoring her except for feeding and potty breaks. Just looking at her was enough to make her go hide in a corner. She has blossomed into a very affectionate dog with me in the house (outside is still a bit scary for her), which I attribute largely to clicker training and hand feeding. She has, for the last year, gotten every bit of her meals from me, generally by performing all of the tricks that she knows, which she learned in the clicker sessions, which involve food. Food and play is very intertwined with her. The other thing that I did was teach her an "initiator signal". Once she learned the Touch command, I used that to determine whether she wanted to be affectionate or not. She's never had issues with me being around her bed, so I will walk over, sit down, ask her if she wants scritchles, and hold out my hand. If she touches the hand, or does an obvious solicitation like rolling over so I can scratch her belly, she gets scritchles. If she doesn't (and I admit, this can be a hard thing to do since I am normally seeking her out when _I_ am feeling affectionate), I will sit by her and talk to her and NOT PET her. I may ask again in a bit, and often she will do touch then. It seems to make her feel better if she can decide that she does or doesn't get petted.

 

I will say too that it may take 6 months or more to see your dog's true personality. Patience is a great virtue with these dogs.

 

Rebecca

[Gryffenne]

Frankly, I've always hated the jumping/licking/climbing on you doggie affection displays. Even before I ever read the article, "He Just Wants to Say, 'Hi!'", I felt it was an untrained/unsocialized behavior. Maybe that is why greyhounds appealed to me so quickly. My roomie's young husky has this habit of showing affection (or a cry for attention since she is an attention wh***) by licking your pants, arm or hand -whatever she can reach. Bugs the heck out of me. She's slowly learning to not use that to get my attention.

 

I prefer Sammi's way of keeping tabs on me without being on me. She is either on the dogbed next to my desk, the loveseat, the chair or the couch. But if I leave the room, I swear she counts to 10, and then follows me. She comes up to me for lovings- petting, scritches, kisses, hugs, to play, etc... and then back to what she was doing. She doesn't lick me to get my attention, tho she sometimes pokes her nose under my hand if I am not paying attention. Standing by her, she's a leaner. If I am on the couch or in bed, she's a snuggler. Sometimes she actually snuggles her body up with me, but most times, as long as she is touching part of me she is fine.

 

Btw, I love messing with her in bed. She will get up on the bed, locate where I am under the covers and then lay down. Soon she sighs and nonchalantly stretches until her foot, nose or tail is resting next to or on my leg. I wait a moment and then I sigh and stretch moving the body part just out of contact. A few seconds later -when she can't take it anymore- she will sigh and stretch again until she makes contact. After a few rounds of this, I hear a groany noise. Looking up, I see that I am receiving The Stink Eye of Doom for my teasings. So I move my foot back, she flops her nose, tail or paw back over it and we go to sleep.

[jamngrey]

Sounds pretty normal. You can't "make" a dog more affectionate...they are who they are. Most are quite content to be near you. There are quite a few though who would crawl inside you if they could You may find your boy comes out of his shell more over time.

 

yep ditto. I have grey who loves to be by me and one who (had since she was 22 monts old and is now 10) and she prefers to hang in the bedroom and rarely need me for anything Except food

[Guest maidmarcia]

I don't have much to say with experience because I've only had my boy Licorice since March However, I agree that it depends on the dog. Licorice has been so friendly and cuddly from pretty much the second week. He sometimes crawls into my bed during the early morning hours for a cuddle and he tries to wrap his legs around me...which kinda hurts sometimes because his claws feel sharp. He's never had sleep startle either which is great.

It kinda sucks because I think many people have the pre-existing notion that all dogs will be affectionate and kissy, but I had a husky for 10 years who never gave me a kiss unless there was food on me somehow. Licorice, however, kisses and licks me all the times. I don't expect it but it's cute and I like it:)

Good luck!

[Gryffenne]

He sometimes crawls into my bed during the early morning hours for a cuddle and he tries to wrap his legs around me...which kinda hurts sometimes because his claws feel sharp.

Try waking up between a greyhound (who has their body smashed up to yours, their legs over you and one paw on your face with a talon up your nose) AND a 10 yr old child on the other side (with their foot in your kidney) You are the only one under the covers, the child is under the comforter, but not the top sheet and the grey is on top of everything, effectively straightjacketing you in bed. and you still love them so much you don't dare move and disturb the "moment"... nostril and kidney aside There will be time when they wake up to trim her nails and check to see if his shoes still fit those huge feet that you now have imprints of on you.

[Guest maidmarcia]

That's a really good way of putting it... those moments are so worth it. My favourite parts of the day are when I wake up with my boyfriend, Licorice and my cat all squished onto our bed. My cat also has extremely sharp claws because he won't let me touch them... I still need to figure out a way to get him to let me trim his nails... If anyone has any ideas with regards to cats....

[Guest Swifthounds]

My cat also has extremely sharp claws because he won't let me touch them... I still need to figure out a way to get him to let me trim his nails... If anyone has any ideas with regards to cats....

 

Get tasty treats (something he gets for nothing else) and start by just handling him daily and touching each if the paws. Work up to being able to press a bit so the claws extend and then eventually introduce the clippers. It takes time, but I've never had a cat whose nails I couldn't trim, including some adult rescues who were not wild about the idea. The key is to act like it's no big deal until it isn't.

 

Hijack over.

[Guest bonniesbullet]

That's a really good way of putting it... those moments are so worth it. My favourite parts of the day are when I wake up with my boyfriend, Licorice and my cat all squished onto our bed. My cat also has extremely sharp claws because he won't let me touch them... I still need to figure out a way to get him to let me trim his nails... If anyone has any ideas with regards to cats....

 

For the cat's nails---another suggestion is to cover the cat's face/front end with a towel and work from the back.. It actually will calm them a bit and then you can try to clip the nails. Both my cats are great at having their front nails clipped, but I needed to get at those pesky back ones and they were fighting me tooth and nail. I tried this and it worked great! Good luck!

[XTRAWLD]

I also find that with age comes affection. Our Kasey would always be close and want to be "in the know" but I find over the past year he's changed to be more "cuddly" for lack of a better statement and I just think it came with time. We've had him 6 years now.

[Guest maidmarcia]

That's a really good way of putting it... those moments are so worth it. My favourite parts of the day are when I wake up with my boyfriend, Licorice and my cat all squished onto our bed. My cat also has extremely sharp claws because he won't let me touch them... I still need to figure out a way to get him to let me trim his nails... If anyone has any ideas with regards to cats....

 

For the cat's nails---another suggestion is to cover the cat's face/front end with a towel and work from the back.. It actually will calm them a bit and then you can try to clip the nails. Both my cats are great at having their front nails clipped, but I needed to get at those pesky back ones and they were fighting me tooth and nail. I tried this and it worked great! Good luck!

 

We tried the good ole blanket/towel on upper body trick... He got really really mad, wriggled out and bit/clawed us. It was awful. He almost needs to be sedated to get his nails done.

[Guest IrskasMom]

Questions like this seem to pop up quite a bit on here lately. Maybe adoption folks should make a note of this and prepare adopters and/or potential adopters. I'm not saying all adoption folks don't do this, just pointing out it may be an area where more discussion is needed, especially since not everyone is a member of GT whereby they can get greyt advice..

 

 

From a new GH owner - almost a week now! - I tend to smother our 4 year old girl a bit with praise and general rubbing, stroking, patting softly on the flanks and any other kind of handling that she signals is okay. Along with lots of happy praises. Does she beg for more? No, not really. Does she like it? Definitely and is bonding unusually fast to us. She doesn't jump in our laps, sleep in bed with us or nudge for petting yet. She will come right up to anyone in the family to accept whatever handling they give and seems to enjoy it. We're going as fast as she accepts while totally respecting her privacy needs for potty time and especially during meals right now. She is excited with the food bowl getting filled and tail wags for it. But set it down and she goes into spook mode and becomes nervous, jumpy and wary of any intrusion closer than 6 feet. The family is aware and respects this space and time. Hand to mouth treats are taken super gently after the first few times of her sniffing and taking it off the floor. These are some of our accelerated blossoming girl experiences. We're not forcing anything, but not holding back our affections. And we understand she isn't Lassie or some other Holly-wonder-dog with human emotions and abilities. Every hound will be different and we just seemed to get a very fortunate first GH start.

 

Well said