Guest HoundWorks Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I definitely agree with the suggestion to try them on easy stairs first. When I got my whippet Dexter he had never encountered stairs and my apartment had open stairs. It was terrifying for him since he could see through the backside. Once I relaxed and stoped making such a big deal about it he figured them out just fine! Now we are about to adopt a Grey and although I'm in a townhouse now my first flight are steep wooden stairs so I might be looking for an easier place to practice as well! Good luck with all the training. Two new Greys sound fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krissyfissy Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Lol poof! Would have loved to have seen that! Hey if it helps the pups, who cares what anyone else thinks, right? Now I have another question. We noticed a yellowish discharge on Wally's nether region. Hadn't seen if before, but we noticed it right after a potty break. It had an odor. Anyone else have that happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Completely normal. Use a warm washcloth to clean off the area. If you notice it more than once a week or so, you may need to have him checked for UTI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jbbuzby Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 -Stairs take varying amounts of time and every pup is different. There is some good information about stairs here on the transition to home page: http://greytexpectations.org/ -As for dominance, it also depends on the dog and the personalities involved. For my two, unless you know what to look for, it's easy to overlook who is actually dominant as they are both pretty subtle in their understandings of the pack structure. You might never see a real obvious indicator if they are both low key; otherwise, I think you'll know within a month or so. -I would go bonkers if I tried to do all my training with both dogs! I regularly would crate a dog, work with them on a new behavior, and then switch out. This is especially true if you're doing any kind of clicker training; could you imagine trying to divy out the treats appropriately at the right time? For other things, having two is useful, but I had my male a year before I got my female. In his case, he was able to teach her through example for many behaviors. As you work with them individually, identify their strengths and then you can try having them together to help strengthen that aspect in the other hound. But no...don't feel bad about crating one dog while working with the other! -I don't really play with them at the same time. We have toys out, and I might get them interested in the toy box, but then they kinda play on their own, especially indoors. Outdoors I play with them one at a time. I'll "play-bow" to get the one moving, or bring a fun toy to throw and have them go at it. Then I switch out dogs. It seemed strange at first, but now they totally understand the concept of taking turns. I find if they are out without me, they keep more to themselves than pay attention to me. This might not be the case for everyone, but my pair is fairly well bonded compared to other dogs I've seen. -If you can, sure. As I said, I play with mine and train mine separately, but we got a second hound for my first because of his separation anxiety, so when left alone they are never apart, and I can't take her somewhere without him or having someone else home with him. But, I have practiced intentionally on separating them to know that my female does not have the same problem; she has been left a few times now without him, and she is totally content and will sleep soundly while we are out. This is worth knowing to me, anyway. Good luck! Enjoy your new hounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badderh Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 STAIRS! They were horrible for me when I first got Rocky! He was mainly scared of them because they had open backs and he could see the ground ( and slipped once or twice because they were wet ) but we got him through it by just giving him LOTS of praise whenever he made the slightest improvement on going up the stairs. Also we would make him go slow at first to prevent him from slipping again. We even took him to a couple parks with stairs that were smaller than ours so that he learn on a smaller scale first. On and off for about 3 weeks we had to carry him up the stairs to our apartment, it was annoying but once he got used to them he became a pro in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krissyfissy Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Things are going great at the moment. I finally got both started on the deck stairs in the back. They both made it up after a little coaxing, we will practice on those after every walk and piddle time. Maybe they will be ready to tackle the upstairs soon. Thanks @Greytdoglover. That was one of the worries we had. We will keep a close eye on it. Getting ready to post some pics of the boys. Wonder if we can post zoomies vids, or if the file would be too large for the forum. They are just so fun to watch! The boys love to chase each other, and sometimes they do butt muzzles, to me it looks like they are playing with each other (there are growls, but it doesn't look viscious). Is that what yours do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krissyfissy Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Update: Brady is working stairs like a pro, both up and down. Wally will not go near them, and he does not like us to touch or grab his paws at all when he is standing. Hubby has had to carry him downstairs into the tub for baths. What a sight to see! All 88 pounds of him. But we are still working with him. He seems to be extremely motivated by food and treats. We'll play to his strengths Just out of curiosity, do greyhounds sit? I've seen Wally sit about a minute before he lays down. It's quite funny to see because he's so tall I don't see many photos of them sitting, so I was just wondering... Hope everyone is doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Sounds like things are going well. My Greys beat each other with their muzzles while growling and running in the yard. All in good fun. You can tell by the body language (tense, hair up, etc) if it's getting too rough or out of hand. You can link photos and videos to a site like Photobucket. Some Greyhounds sit naturally, some do not. But they can be taught! I have used to "fold the legs" method to teach sit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krissyfissy Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks so much Lindsay! I really appreciate the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 We call it "muzzle jousting" around here. My puppy learned sit in about 5 minutes, but it's harder to teach adults. It's not a way that they usually fold. If they do sit, it's usually off to one side on one haunch, or - very elegant! - with their back feet sticking up in the air! It's often easier to start from a laying down position than from a standing one. Lots of info about teaching sit if you do a search. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Krissyfissy Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Well, it has been nearly a month since we got the boys. Wally will still not attempt stairs, while Brady is enjoying his freedom in the backyard and upstairs zooming up and down stairs. Poor Wally is just stuck on the deck. We have tried everything and I'm afraid that now in our attempts at getting him to use the stairs have made him terrified of them. He gets near them and shakes. We haven't yelled or been frustrated, we have tried treats and toys, leash and muzzles while moving his feet. He gets very angry when we try to force his feet and would definitely lash out in warning. Our last attempt is going to be to pick him up and to put him in the middle of a stairwell so he will have no choice to go up or down. Then shower him with praise and treats if he doesn't give up and go limp... Tonight at our area Petco, they have a "meet the trainer" so we will plan to head up there and possibly sign up for classes. Also, the boys have been sleeping out of their crates for a week now, and have been very good. They have to stay on the 1st level since Wally doesn't do stairs and suffers from a bit of SA. But this morning we woke up and Brady had a 2-3" gash on the inside front right leg. It is perfectly straight, not sure where in the world he cut it. And we are not sure if Wally had anything to do with it or not, but we didn't hear anything strange last night. So we have a appt today to see what the damage is. But other than that, everything is great! Their personalities are definitely coming out more and more everyday. Brady is just so sweet and wants to be petted 24-7 and Wally is a big doofy goofball. We are enjoying them so much. We look forward to Wally climbing stairs so they can sleep near us at night. Hope everyone else is doing well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.