New Greyhound

[Guest pippadog]

Hi

 

We have just adopted a gorgeous black boy two weeks ago from the retired greyhound trust. We have never had greyhounds before. Our last two dogs being a golden retriever (which we had from a puppy) and a springer (who was a rescue). We've always had these two dogs together. Our springer passed away in January from old age, she was nearly 14. Our golden boy had osteocarcinoma and after months of chemo was put to sleep a couple of months ago. So we have lost both our babies in the last six months. We have no children and our dogs are our childen.

 

Anyway I've always wanted a greyhound and we walk with a group of dog owners that own various breeds from great danes to greyhounds and lots of other smaller breeds. When we adopted our current greyhound we did say all we wanted was a dog that could possibly mix easier with other breeds as our social life consists of dogs coming to our house and walking with various doggy friends. The greyhound rescue suggested our boy Nifty as he had not many races and has a very gentle nature.

 

He has a lovely nature and his behaviour with other dogs has been wonderful. He's a dream to walk and allows gentle grooming and stroking. However he is extremely timid. He hides in his crate most of the time only coming out occasionally. He tends to be more receptive to me. To ask him to go into the garden we have to get his house lead to entice him to follow us into the garden. When outside we have to shut the door so that he doesn't run back in. We avoid eye contact and try to crouch as low as possible. Also we never corner him or try to threaten him in any way. We give him plenty of space. He has his crate where his bed is which he has filled with teddys lol.

 

However he seems extremely frightened of my DH. My DH is a tall man and very broad man. Whenever my DH enters the room Nifty runs back in his crate and will not come out. My DH finds this extremely distressing as all we want to do is stroke him and make a fuss of him.

 

We both appreciate that its very early days and Nifty must be very nervous. Are there any suggestions that anyone could give us that may help him. Both of us have never had a timid nervous dog before. Our last rescue was a little nervous at first, but nothing like this. I don't think we expected how nervous greyhounds are. Both of us are trying to go about our days in a very slow paced way so as not to startle or upset Nifty. We have bought a DAP diffuser, on the vets suggestion.

 

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

Laura

PS Sorry about the long post.

[JAJ2010]

Treats! Lots of yummy treats that only your dh should feed. If he's to nervous to take them from his hand he can gently toss the treat.

 

Your dh should do the feeding too ;-) it'll just take time don't get distress since the pup will pick up on that tension

[MaryJane]

Time and plenty of it. Treats will also help.

 

Your greyhound has been uprooted from the life he knew and put into a house where he doesn't know what is expected. Many greyhounds are "gentle souls" and it can take them a few months to figure out that "it's OK" and no one will hurt them.

 

It sounds like you are doing all the right things.

 

As an example, my last foster (who is now permanent) was nervous and afraid of going thru doors (much more common with greyhounds then you would expect). There was a slow improvement over time and now at 6 months, you would not know that he had a major issue with doors when he first arrived.

 

It will help if your DH does the feedings and takes the dog for walks, short ones at the beginning. Use a harness if there is a chance that the dog may get spooked. The walks help to build a bond. During the walk, move with a purpose but stop occasionally for "letting your dog "smell the roses".

 

Greyhounds sometimes take awhile to "warm" up to a person and maybe in this case, let the dog approach the person rather then trying to give too much affection when the dog is not ready for it.

 

Good luck.

[Guest PhillyPups]

Good suggestions. Short of your DH carrying hotdogs in his pockets at all times he could lie or sit on the floor and hold out treats, speaking softly to your boy, as your boy gets to know him, and realize his gentle nature. Sounds like you have an awesome boy, who in time, as he learns to trust more, will be a fabulous companion.

[krissy]

Great advice so far. I have nothing to add since I don't have a lot of experience with timid dogs. Just wanted to comment though that not all greyhounds are timid. Mine has pretty much never met a stranger. Everyone is his best friend.

[Guest KsFrets]

Our girl Maggie hid behind the couch in her foster home when we went to pick her up. You would’t know she was ever shy now (4 years later). We’ve fostered several very shy greyhounds. Our last took 2 months to warm up to me... even eye contact would send her running for her crate. But she could’t resist me sitting on the floor with strips of cheese. She’s doing great now in her forever home. Time and patience.

[Guest HoundWorks]

Having experience with a timid hound the food suggestion is great but even moreso I would suggest that your DH ignore the presence of your grey for a little while and let your grey get used his new home. My instinct is to always coo over my new dog but sometimes a nervous hound becomes more afraid just from unwanted attention. I've found that if you toss treats as you walk by or have something tasty while you are sitting watching some tv your grey will become curious and come to investigate.

 

Having your DH do the feeding is a great suggestion.

Edited July 8, 2012 by HoundWorks

[tuff]

My Jujube was very scared of my husband when we brought her home. If he moved quickly or if she even thought he was going to approach her she ran. Once she got so panicky she went up and over the back of the couch.

 

It has taken a long time (1 1/2 years), for her to feel comfortable with him. She will greet him at the door with tail wagging and if he bends down and turns his face away she will give him a kiss.

 

I would tell your DH to not initiate petting. Let her come to him in her own time. The idea of carrying treats in his pocket and tossing them to her is a good one. Don't make eye contact, just toss the treat. The next step would be holding the treat out in his hand with his back to her. This was the biggest thing for my DH, the first time JuJu approached him to take a treat. But for the longest time he had to hold the treat behind him and look the other way. She will finally take treats with eye contact now

 

Hopefully Nifty won't take that long to feel comfortable with your husband, but just have him take it slow.

 

Go for lots of walks with Nifty too, and have your husband hold the leash. At least for us, my DH seemed less threatening on a walk, probably because she had so much more to distract her.

 

We would love to see some pictures of Nifty. That is a very cute name.

 

[Guest Dragon]

Hand feeding meals and training sessions really helped us bond with our dogs in the beginning.

[christinepi]

I read on this forum some time back that fearful dogs can pick up (negatively) on the "walking on egg shells" around them and feed off it. It sounded like the best thing for the most part act normally and relaxed and to just ignore the dog for the time being.

 

Another thing: don't take it personally!!

 

And yes: not all greys are nervous--my grey loves any and all strangers and made himself at home the moment he crossed our threshold.

[greg1229]

A suggestion from the Magic Foster House...

 

A few weeks ago Nifty came to a new place that is a new world to him. Besides all the new sights and smells that are odd, there is giant the towers over him with his claws out stretched. I'd probably freak out too.. I would suggest that your hubby help out with the feeding and get down on Nifty's level. When in the same room, can hubby sit on the floor? Have him ignore Nifty with his back to him. Let Nifty come to him on his own accord. Don't make any quick moves. Everything is new. I have fostered "shy" and "spooked" hounds. I try to see things from their perspective. I would often just lay on the floor, ignoring them. Laying on the floor they would be the giant and I the small thing.

 

It may take some time and patience.

[mychip1]

First, welcome, and congratulations. The other advice is tremendous..... But I just want to add that some of them take a bit of time to come around, and to just be patient. He will come looking for love as he gets more comfy. There have been others in the same position who have posted here and come back several weeks and months later to comment on how far their hound has come. Best wishes. Remember, these timid guys often end up being the most loving and sweet hounds in the end!

[Brandiandwe]

One of ours was a funny combination of desperate for affection and terrified. So it was hard to remember that she was scared. We had problems with submissive urination, particularly if my husband raised his voice (which he does, both happy and otherwise). It's taken a while but now she's happy and cheerful and much more confident. Time.

[BatterseaBrindl]

A suggestion from the Magic Foster House...

 

A few weeks ago Nifty came to a new place that is a new world to him. Besides all the new sights and smells that are odd, there is giant the towers over him with his claws out stretched. I'd probably freak out too.. I would suggest that your hubby help out with the feeding and get down on Nifty's level. When in the same room, can hubby sit on the floor? Have him ignore Nifty with his back to him. Let Nifty come to him on his own accord. Don't make any quick moves. Everything is new. I have fostered "shy" and "spooked" hounds. I try to see things from their perspective. I would often just lay on the floor, ignoring them. Laying on the floor they would be the giant and I the small thing.

 

It may take some time and patience.

 

 

Time is your - and your DH - friend.

Just be patient and you will have a wonderful friend!

[Guest Vers]

You came to the right place; welcome and congratulations on your new hound!

 

Time and patience will work wonders. As much as possible, as others have said above, have your husband be the bringer of good things -- walks, dinner, treats. Keep calm, low and slow/gentle around Nifty. He will come around and want more -- just go slow and let him set the pace. Most greyhounds aren't shy but they go through a big transition when settling into home life. My Stella came home fearful and shy -- she's mostly blind -- but you would never now it now if you met her. She is the social butterfly of the neighborhood. Nifty will get there with time and your kindness.

[Guest pippadog]

Hi all

 

Thanks for all your kind replies. I agree, I think time and gentleness will be the greatest asset to all of us me, DH and especially Nifty. I'll keep you posted.

 

Laura

[JohnF]

Congrats on getting your first Greyhound!

Just to let you know, Peggy, my current one was timid and almost spooky to begin with and developed a fear of an elderly family member.

A behaviourist who told me about Turid Rugass's 'Calming Signals' helped enormously. Apparently poor Peggy had been frantically signalling to us in 'dog language' and nobody was actually getting it. When she looks at you scared, lick towards your nose, give a freindly yawn and look away.

Also if the problem person is in a room where the dog needs to be, always ensure there is a clear exist available without having to go directly past that person.

See the link here and also if you go to my profile and follow it to Peggys photo gallery on Pbase there is a description of how it all went.

http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

As Dragon has said, "HAND FEED" meals by hubby.

 

One of my females was the exact way, in fact she was much worse. If I looked at her, she would run and hide. If I was in the same room as her when she was in her crate, she just made herself part of the back of the crate and shook and cried.

 

Now, I can pick her up when she is sleeping and she will just open one eye to see who it is. She looks for me whenever I am home. If my wife and I go out and I walk away from the group, my girl will look for me and whine until I return. All this from a dog that was TERRIFIED of me. What did I do? everything.

 

My wife did nothing with my girl Olive until she was ok with me. This entailed me doing all of Olive's walks, feedings, treats, training, etc. Of course my wife would pet Olive if she walked up to her, but otherwise I was the one that gave Olive everything.

 

First was to hand-feed every single meal. Olive was so terrified of me that I had to sit on the floor with my legs crossed, and hold a handfull of kibble behind my back and not move. This was very difficult as when she finished one handfull, I had to move to get another. This lasted for a few weeks before I could move my hand to my side for Olive to eat from it. It took another few weeks before I could put my hand in my lap and have Olive actually approach me from the front. Luckily for me we had another greyhound in the house and Olive would usually stay by him and follow him outside and back inside, but believe me, teaching a greyhound that is terrified of you how to walk up and down stairs is no fun, but it actually helped our bond. I believe that there is no better way to establish a strong bond with a dog than hand-feeding meals. You have to feed every meal this way for a month or two for it to really work, but it is the foundation that builds all other trust between hound and human.

 

Once the hound will freely eat from your hubby's hands then move to obedience classes with hubby and hound, all the while I would say have hubby walk your hound around the yard on the leash, dont let the hound run freely around the yard. Walking also is a strong bonding experience for hound and human.

 

Others will say, let things happen on the hounds' timetable, while I can see how this will be easier on the hound, the problem that I see is this:

 

Do you want your hound to constantly live in fear of someone in its household? What kind of life is that? I think that you need to actively work to establish a strong trust based relationship so that the fear is extenguished as quickly as possible for the hound's sake.

 

Chad

Edited July 9, 2012 by Greyt_dog_lover