Guest mainegrey Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hi, we are new here, and we absolutely fell in love with this forum. By "we" I mean myself and Mr Man, a gorgeous black 3 year old grey. We've had him since September, and except a few tiny things he has been perfect. He is a VERY curious boy, a kind of "Let me see what's inside of that roaring delivery truck!" (he would have jumped in it if he could) The only thing he is insanely afraid of is big furry white/yellow any light color dogs. Last week he almost lost it when a ginormous husky appeared on the horizon during the walk. At least, this is somewhat understandable and consistent. Other than that he loves taking long walks in the wood (we live right next to the national park and there's a nice 2 mile trail where people take their dogs) Recently his behavior during walks has been rather strange. Now that all the leaves are on the ground and you can see a mile ahead through the bare trees, my sighthound turned into a bloodhound. He pokes his nose through piles of leaves and smells....whatever there's out there. He has never done too much smelling before. I have to make him heel so we can actually walk. A few days ago after smelling something in the leaves, his tail went to his belly button, he freaked out and pulled me in the direction of the house. It was like.. OMG, let's go or we will die!! look in his eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have but we went home. Next day in a different spot same thing happened again. By pulling and coaxing him, we moved past the scary spot. A little bit later on a very clear stretch of the path he froze, his tail went under the belly, he started walking backwards, while staring into the distance. He was SO scared!! The thing is the was nothing out there, not a noise, not a squirrel, nothing! Mr Man was petrified. That's where one being to think if dogs can see ghosts. Yesterday he smelled something again on a different and got scared, but after petting and gentle pulling he overcame it. Can there be coyotes leaving angry messages? I am at loss, our walks are not enjoyable any more. All suggestions are appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 It most likely is a wild animal. I don't believe he'd be frightened by a coyote--my boy scared the fuzz right off one that made the mistake of coming near us! Could there be bears in your woods? Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamaha_gurl Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Can you take a different route on your walk? Quote Greyhound Collars : www.collartown.ca Maggie (the human servant), with Miss Bella, racing name "A Star Blackieto" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mainegrey Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We did try a different route, and he smelled something in the leaves again and wanted to walk away from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I would put some tiny treats in my pocket and coax him to continue on with the treats. He may respond and then again he may not. I would try to divert his attention to you and continue walking. Then again, if you're in the woods, there may be something to be afraid of. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggersmom Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I agree with treats and the more enticing the better. Our trainer had little cubes of cheese and then recommended hot dogs pieces. I microwaved them quickly with a bit of smelly garlic powder. They turned hard but the girls loved them. Try and teach the look at me when he starts showing the signs of being afraid. Also maybe try do a quick turn around go the other direction treat and turn around again and treat. Keep treating while you go by the spot and keep saying look at me. You want the focus to be off whatever is there and on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I would put some tiny treats in my pocket and coax him to continue on with the treats. He may respond and then again he may not. I would try to divert his attention to you and continue walking. Then again, if you're in the woods, there may be something to be afraid of. Yep-that's what I think too. He might be onto something that really is dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mainegrey Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Thanks for your advice, we will see if the treats are going to change anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4dogscrazy Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Mine did see a coyote outside our fence once. Two of them pretty much crapped their pants and refused to go outside after dark for a week. I had to carry one of them out to get business done. There ARE scary things out there! But yes, I would go with trying the distratction of treats and keeping him at heel position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfish Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 If he freaks out after smelling something, then chances are it's a wild animal. Other dogs can certainly leave messages in their urine - messages composed of pheromones. They tell another dog what their social or hormonal status was, whether they were scared, angry, looking for a mate etc. It's not rocket science to assume a coyote will do so too. The interesting thing to me is that he's afraid of large, light-coloured, 'fluffy' dogs. You mentioned he was scared of a husky, which look somewhat like a coyote in terms of colour, facial type, upright ears etc., which makes me wonder if he's had a bad scare from one at some point in the past. If you have a big, high status coyote out there who is marking his territory with a 'do not cross this line' scent for other coyotes, and who has a whole truckload of aggressive male sexual hormone in his urine AND your Mr Man has had some kind of scare from one in the past, it would be entirely sane and normal for him to behave exactly as he is doing. The treats would be the thing to try, as the others have suggested, but you might also consider walking somewhere else! Quote The plural of anecdote is not dataBrambleberry Greyhounds My Etsy Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I too walk woods, but it's my 11 acres. Annie Bella loves to snuffle among the leaves, making clearing-nose noises and being very intense about it, shoving her nose deep into the leaves and dirt. Nothing scares her, though, and I know we have fox, coyote and no doubt a bear has crossed somewhere along the way. I wish she were afraid. When she smells something interesting, she pulls to continue rather than go home. I think if you use treats and act normal by not slowing down/pausing (at least trying) when he wants to and continuing on the walk, he'll get over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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