Tripp Is Here!

[Guest stacy6344]

Well we picked Tripp up last night! He was a very good boy for the two hour ride home. Slept most of the way. When we got home we did introductions to my IG and my Chiweenie and that went well. My IG kinda scared him I think because he's hyper! But they settled in fine. He slept all night in his crate (that's where he slept at his foster mom's so I didn't want to change it up yet). We got up this morning and went potty and...THERE WERE THE CATS!!!

 

He did GREAT!!!! They were scampering all about. Running past us. His ears would go up, but that was about it. I would say NO KITTIE and he was like "ok" and off we went. I know this is just the first step, but it was a good one in my eyes. We were on a leash and muzzled and it will stay that way for a while.

 

He is such a snuggler!!! Loves to hug and kiss. Tries to get on the bed, but it's too high and he hasn't figured out a way yet...which my husband is fine with!! :lol

 

So everyone keep your fingers crossed for the rest of the weekend...if it goes well with the kitties then he is just going to stay. And he will be home. Going to run some errands for a bit this morning and see how he does in his crate while I'm gone. Got a in the freezer with peanut butter for when I leave.

 

As soon as I figure out how to put pictures of here with my Mac I will post pics.

 

Hoping for the best!!!

[tuff]

Congratulations. I am so happy it is going well. Can't wait to see pics! Aren't greyhounds just so special

[dante2zoe]

Great to hear! Keep up the good work, Tripp!

[GeorgeofNE]

Try and avoid the temptation to smoother him with hugs and kisses until he's settled in.

 

And remember--many Greyhounds are not used to being disturbed when they're asleep, so always, always, always make sure you know he's awake before you get near his face! I learned this the hard way, not ever having had a Greyhound before.

 

[kudzu]

Congratulations! That's a wonderful start. I do have a suggestion to help you solidify the idea that kitties are good & good things come to dogs who ignore them. Get some yummy food item that can be cut into slivers or skinny sticks so you can more easily slide them through his muzzle to reward him whenever the cats are around & he isn't chasing them. Call his name & give him a treat. This will soon condition him to turn to you when he hears his name. At first though, you might have to work to get attention & fumble for the delivery. Don't worry. He'll catch on quickly. Do this both inside your house & outside.

 

Initially I would be rewarding him just for not tugging on leash to get to the cats. I wouldn't be calling his name at that point but simply slipping a treat into his muzzle. However, if he does tug, pull or lean on the leash like his is interested in approaching them then I would simply hold tight, stand my ground to prevent him from doing so. At that point I would try to redirect his attention to me. If necessary I would shorten up on the leash, not by pulling him to me but by working myself closer to him & getting in front of him to block his vision. As time goes on & at Tripp's own pace you will shift to rewarding only when the kitties are closer & he isn't trying to initiate contact. Or when the kitties are moving & he isn't strongly following their movement. Or when your other dogs are playing with the kitties & Tripp doesn't attempt to participate. You would reward all of these in the beginning. Then slowly eliminate the rewards starting with what is easiest for Tripp to ignore. This is a combo of positive reinforcement training & conditioned response. He becomes conditioned to turn his attention away from the cats to the treat & you. He also becomes conditioned to feel good about having the cats around & to find ignoring them to be rewarding. Later as you are phasing out rewards he learns that working to ignore the difficult to ignore bring a reward, the positive reinforcement part. So some of this becomes automatic as he is also learning to work & figure out what he can do to get a reward. (many apologies is I am overstating the obvious, as you quite likely already know all this)

 

The idea is for him to like having the cats around without attempting interaction. However, you do not want him to think interaction is a bad thing. You want him to enjoy it if the cats come over to him, rub against him, even sleep on him if he is out sunbathing. You just don't want him to initiate the interaction. Don't do what I did with one of my dogs which was to "wait until she was doing something good" to reward her. I still have to wonder what the heck I was waiting for. She was already being good just by laying still when the cat was in the room. I should have been rewarding her for that. I guess I was waiting for something more overwhelming like the cat running across the room. But that is too much to ask in the beginning.

 

Also, don't be surprised if one day soon he becomes more interested in the cats. My Greyhounds have all been intensely curious. As some of that curiosity was satisfied, some things will no longer be distracting. That leaves time to exercise their curiosity about the remaining things. Like the lawn chair, that thing flapping on the side of the house, the smaller dogs running around could all become old hat but those cats... they are still really interesting & unusual creatures that he now has more time to ponder. Or they may become old hat to. Just stay on your guard, that's all.

 

Good luck. It sounds like even if he does become more interested in them you've got a dog you can work with. Permission to fall in love with him in granted.

 

Try and avoid the temptation to smoother him with hugs and kisses until he's settled in.

 

And remember--many Greyhounds are not used to being disturbed when they're asleep, so always, always, always make sure you know he's awake before you get near his face! I learned this the hard way, not ever having had a Greyhound before.

 

Ditto!! And remember that not touching him or getting in his face until he is awake applies to your other dogs as well. If they disturb him while he is sleeping its possible he will growl or snap at them so work to train them to leave him alone when he is on his bed. In time the dogs will all work things out but you want everyone to have a good start with a firm grounding on respecting each others space & feeling safe with each other. All that snugly stuff comes later. At least I hope it comes later. Pics of Iggies & biggies snuggling are some of the cutest!

[Guest stacy6344]

Thank you all for the advice! He is my first Grey so I need all the advice I can get.

 

We just went out walking again and saw kitties and he was fine...just kind of puts his ears up, but doesn't tug on the leash or act like he really even wants to get close to them. I didn't take treats out with me, but I will from now on for sure and reward him whenever he's not paying attention to the kittie.

 

I've heard about the sleeping thing. If he's sleeping on the floor and I have to get up I make sure to not step close to him. And I always say his name and make him open his eyes before I touch him. And I never put my face down to any of my dogs...I usually let them come to me for kisses. But it is SO hard not to kiss his little (well big really) nose off!!!! He's adorable!!! :blush

 

So I'm running some errands today and we will see how he does in his crate. He has his belly band on in the house when he's loose. He did try to hike last night, but I said NO and scolded him and he looked pitiful. I'm sure it was just being a boy and being in a new place. His foster mom said he did't lift his leg in their house and she has four other Grey's and IG and five cats!!

[Guest greysmitten]

Sounds like he's off to a good start - best of luck. I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of you around here in the months to come

[Guest leemc]

Congratulations!! I cant wait to see pictures!!

 

I agree with the others about giving him space especially when he is sleeping or laying down. We also learned the hard way. When we first adopted our Gracie my daughter (11 yrs old at the time) decided to go to Gracie and put a blanket on her while she slept. She must have scared her because Gracie snapped at her face. Thank God there was no real injury. But it was a warning. Since then my dear Gracie has gone to the rainbow bridge and we have Ruby & Cody but the same rules exist ...... dont bother any dog while they are laying on their bed.

 

Best of luck to you but it sounds like things will be "GREYT'

[Remolacha]

Sounds like things are going well! Great You have gotten excellent advice, I don't have anything to add except that some greys sleep with their eyes open Yes, it looks weird so until you know him better, don't assume eyes open= awake

[BatterseaBrindl]

Sounds like he's well on the way to being called 'cat safe'.

 

Probably a 'plus' for him, is the fact that your cats are already used to having dogs living in the house with them.

This, combined with the fact that he had cats in his Foster Home, is going to hel a lot.

 

 

We'll look for more updates as the weekend goes on.....

[EllenEveBaz]

Good going, Tripp!

[Jackandgrey]

Oh this sounds very positive! Good boy Tripp!

[Guest stacy6344]

Ok...so I ran some errands and I was gone about four 1/2 hours. I crated Tripp...nice soft eggshell pad, three blankies...stuffies. So I get home and stand outside for a minute and all is quiet...good sign. I open the door and it looked like it had SNOWED in Tripp's crate!!

He didn't tear up the blankies or the toys, but that nice soft eggshell pad is history!!!! So I take him out to potty and try to explain to him that now he is going to have to stay in the crate with no soft pad thingy. He just stared at me. So I came in and proceeded to clean up the shreds of eggshell pad and clean out the blankies. On the up side...I didn't feel or smell any pee pee so that's a good thing. I did notice last night when we picked him up that his foster mom had only a sheepskin pad in his crate...maybe I know why now!

 

I will continue to crate him...especially for now. Number one, I don't trust him and number two, my dad will be letting him out for pee breaks and I don't want to take a chance on him getting out the front door when dad comes in.

 

Any suggestions?

[Hawthorn]

He sounds like he's doing amazingly well overall.

 

You don't need to "scold" him for attempting to hike his leg in the house. A low-key "no" and then leading him calmly outside will suffice. Most greyhounds are extremely sensitive and Tripp sounds like he's a very good boy who just doesn't quite understand all the rules yet.

 

I don't crate so I can't offer any suggestions there, though for me four hours is a very long time to leave him on his first day in a new home. I no longer have to leave my dogs unattended, but when I did I used to start with five minutes and build up very gradually so as not to cause any anxiety.

[Guest stacy6344]

I didn't scold him too badly...and we did go right outside. And yes, he is doing very well overall.

 

I will have to crate him when I go back to work and I thought that I would crate him today when I went grocery shopping...which turned into a much longer outing than I had anticipated. But yes, four hours was probably too long on his first day. But Monday when I return to work he will be crated from when I leave at 7:30 till my dad lets them out at noon and then I get home at 5:30. I may try and take a 1/2 day off Monday and Tuesday just to try and lessen the alone time all at once. I wish that I didn't have to leave them unattended, but unfortunately that isn't an option and right now crating seems to be the safest alternative for everyone.

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback...keep it coming! I need all the help I can get!

[greymatters]

Maybe he was just having fun . In other words, the shredded eggshell (foam, I assume) pad doesn't necessarily mean he was unduly anxious in the crate...he could have just started nesting or chewing a bit on nearby stuff and noticed how easily it came apart, and voila! A fun game to occupy his time .

 

Our Merlin likes to nest (dig at his bedding/blankets), so all his beds have nice sturdy covers on them. He hasn't damaged any of them through the covers, but I can guarantee that uncovered foam would be toast around here!

 

Others may chime in re crate anxiety, but fwiw Merlin was crated whenever we weren't home (i.e., for all or part of the workday) for several months. He liked his crate just fine - still does, in fact. We actually kept it for longer than we'd originally planned because he would fuss and cry if we left the house and *didn't* crate him. If we crated him with his toys and kong, he would settle down without a peep. If Tripp is not agitated when you leave and isn't really being destructive, or hurting himself trying to escape, then he'll probably do fine in his crate! It's great that he'll be getting a mid-day potty break.

 

Congrats on your (hopefully) new boy - fingers crossed that he continues to do well with his kitty testing.

[Guest stacy6344]

That might be what happened...maybe he just got it loose and then it was game on! :eek

 

I just went next door to my dad's for about 45 minutes and put him in his crate with his Kong. When I came back and stood outside listening he was whining and whining. I'm such a nervous Nellie! I've read about these dogs that have bent bars and broken teeth trying to get out of crates! I wouldn't say he loves his, but he hasn't gone to that extreme. I have to work...obviously...and I'm not comfortable leaving him out yet. So should I just put Kongs in there with blankets and let him whine himself to sleep?

[Guest shanesmom]

Congratulations! He sounds like a wonderful boy. I am always nervous leaving a new greyhound home alone for the first few times. I had 2 with severe separation anxiety when they were first left alone and what worked best for both of them was to really tire them out before I left. I tired dog is a good dog. I would get up really early especially in the beginning and take a long walk with them letting them tire out not just from the walking but sniffing all the new smells around them.

[Guest stacy6344]

I will try that! We have went on a couple of walks this afternoon, but not long ones. Other than the crate thing he's been such a good boy!! And he's so handsome. Loves attention.

 

I will try the long walk in the mornings before work. I'm nervous anyway and I just don't want him to hurt himself or something while I'm at work. My IG loves his crate. He has a little house in there! :blush All of his stuffies and blankies. He doesn't mind it at all. And foster mom said Tripp did fine when she crated him. But she only had a sheepskin thing in there.

[Guest Iceman41]

I am a emac I use graphic converter

[Guest stacy6344]

I am a emac I use graphic converter

I'm not very computer literate...what is that?

[Guest leemc]

Sounds ggod so far. I dont have nearly as much experience as those above but the same thing happened to me with Ruby when we first got her. I had an old comforter in the grate and when I came home it was shredded. I went onto ebay and ordered a sheepskin pad and used that.... it was never ripped!

 

I kept Ruby in the crate for the first about 4 months when I wasnt home. I was just afraid for her safety if she would get into something she shouldnt when I wasnt home. She did perfectly fine. Now she is allowed to roam the house with our black lab mix. We got Cody at the end of September. He definetly needs to be crated. He is 2 years old and into EVERYTHING!!!! My only thought is that maybe today your Dad can come over and practice putting he into his crate. Both Ruby and Cody were abit resistant getting in with anyone but me. Ruby was alittle better but Cody wont go in for my daughter unless she tosses a treat into the crate first. Also make sure your Dad knows how the martingale collar works because if he doesnt hold the right part of it he make back out of it. Good Luck

[Guest june]

Trip sounds like a wonderful boy.

 

I have a couple of girls who like to nest. I've found if I put some pieces of old comforters (I cut old comforters in quarters and hem to keep from unraveling) on top of the bed they are happy moving the comforters around and don't destroy the beds.

 

You are off to a greyt start

[Guest stacy6344]

He really is a good boy.

 

This is a bit weird though...yesterday morning he pooped on the leash fine. I haven't gotten him to poop on the leash since then!! This morning he kind of did dancey circles and acted like he wanted to but he wouldn't. He's eaten so I know he has to go! I guess I could let him off the leash in the fenced yard with his muzzle on. I'm just a bit scared to do that since that's where the kitty "incident" happened last time. Thoughts?

 

I feel like a new mom with a new baby!

[greymatters]

Re the pooping on leash - are you walking him or is it more like wandering around waiting for him to go? I ask because our boy is one who seems to need to be moving in order to, um, get things moving. He will pee in our small yard but absolutely will not poop there (on leash or off), and requires a walk around the block to do so.

 

Maybe if you walk Tripp somewhat briskly around the area where you want him to poop, it will help him to go. When he does go, praise lavishly so he knows that he's done what you wanted!! He'll get the idea .