Great At Home Terrified Outside

[Guest citygrey]

We are new dog owners and have had our 3 year old male greyhound Che for 3 months in New York City on a busy commercial street. He is great in the apartment and has bonded with all family members and is a wonderful gentle affectionate dog who has been OK with separation. The only issue is that he gets very scared when we go outside, refuses to go on walks, and turns around to look at our door and pulls to go back home. No progress over time and even regression, have worked with trainer and even treats not that helpful. Hard to identify triggers as it is a very busy street with lots of noise, trucks, loud people on cell phones, night clubs etc. Looking for specific advice about desensitization and how long it may take.

[Guest Downtownhoundz]

I've had mine for almost 3 years and he's still afraid of going out front! No answer for you, other than just continue to be patient with him.

[brianamac]

I don't have any really good advice because we are still dealing with the same problem with our 2.5 year old male (had him for 4 months now). The only thing we have found that really helps is taking him for a walk with another dog. He refuses otherwise but seems to get over his fear almost completely when he is with our neighbours border collie. Do you have any friends or neighbours in your building whose dog you could borrow for walks or desensitization training?

[gr8kids]

I don't have any really good advise either. My girls who I've had for 3 yrs and the other over a yr, both don't really like the busy traffic areas, the noises can be scary so we avoid them as best we can. If I know we are going to be going to a busy area I will do some calming oils or rescue remedy type assistance and it does help. I think there might just be too much distraction and noises that it is overwelming. I would try walking w/another dog...

good luck.

[philospher77]

I've had to deal with this issue with my pretty Katie. She is much better than she used to be. Not perfect, but generally happy now. The two big things that I have done that seemed to help the most are putting her on drugs (which may or may not be appropriate for your dog... talk to your vet and trainer about that) and getting a second dog. It's taken me 2 and a half years to get to a place where I can be reasonably confident that she will actually go on a walk. And I still have to drive her off my street, since we have to walk past a gauntlet of barrier-reactive dogs, and she still won't do that. If your dog is not taking treats outside, then you need to either up the treat value so that he is, or else find a quieter spot to work in. Otherwise you can not effectively desensitize the dog, and may be making the situation worse, since the dog is getting to practice being stressed in that situation.

[Guest NYCgrey]

Hi from another NYC grey owner... sorry your pup is still nervous outside, but hang in there, he will come around. It took our dog a few months to get comfortable - now he is the ultimate "city slicker"... There are so many new noises and smells and sights, it can be overwhelming. A few thoughts: Try keeping the walks super short (like 10 minutes), and take the same route each time so he knows exactly where he is going. Less is more in the beginning. Try walking slowly, like you're walking with a toddler, so he has time to sniff and scope out the territory - might help him feel more secure. Try holding the leash fairly close to his neck (i.e., don't give him too much free reign). He may feel more secure if you are right next to him. Try walking him with another dog if possible. Where are you guys located? We are on the UES and would be happy to have our grey meet Che/do some walks with together if you want.

[Guest citygrey]

Thanks for these tips especially about the second dog, which we can not get but will try to find a friend in the building. We have been holding off on drugs but will probably try L-theanine ('Anxitane'). We are lucky to have a quiet church yard nearby - he likes it there but it avoids the desensitization to the street which he really needs. We are planning car trips to some parks, this may also help. Thanks for the offer to meet - we are downtown and will have to work up to getting to UES.

[racindog]

I would like to suggust that before you try drugs which could have harmful side effects why don't you try BACH flower essence therapy? It is completely safe and I have had amazing results when using it to help fearful scared dogs. Start out with some Bach Rescue Remedy- 4 drops on the tongue several times/day; maybe a few drops in his water too-that should be easy for you to find as it is very popular. Be sure and get some Minimus also but you may need to go to a health food store or order that one on line. You can purchase some good books that can guide you in using Bach flower essence therapy or find a practitioner. (Do not purchase other "brands"-they are cheap imitations for the most part.) Bach essences are cheap, totally safe, and often times extremely effective. Nothing works 100% of the time but many frightful dogs' energy problems which are causing it can be corrected with the correct flower remedy. I am a scientist, a chemist, I have observed this happen several times. It is not my imagination. Good luck with your boy. Many humans would be terrified in the streets of NYC too so its hard to fault him for it. Also sometimes it really is amazing how they get better with time-sometimes it just takes a "long" time.

[Guest NYCgrey]

Best of luck, and feel free to reach out if you have any more "city" issues - we've been through them all! FYI, there is a great grey resource in NYC - go to meetup.com and search for NYC greyhounds. You can find people with greys from all over the city (uptown, downtown, Brooklyn, etc) who get together about once a month so the hounds/humans can socialize.

[cleptogrey]

i have a long-long time friend w/ borzois in lower manhattan. friends of her's had a borzoi (not their first) who just couldn't adjust to city life. no matter what they tried.when they contacted the breeder after extensive work w/ the dog and brought her back- she ran to her mama and was as happy as can be. the city just wasn't the place for this dog. it can happen.when my friend bought her current borzoi from that breeder she went for the most outgoing pup- her dog rules the streets! same breeder, completely different tempermemnt- so it's not you, it's temperment.

 

try the nyc meetup and see what happens. maybe work w/ a trainer, behavior mod etc, but each dog has their own temperment and some need less ruckus in their environment. i live just outside the city and when i take my pups to the 25th st flea market and hoof it- no change in their behavior what so ever. i occassionally stay on the upper west side house sitting and they LOVE the city. walk along broadway as if they own it. my first female grey went into the city within one month of adopting her- she immediatly peed in the gutter- go know some dogs can do it all.

 

contact your adoption rep and freely communicate. it's in your dog's best interest.

best of luck

[cleptogrey]

btw, what street area do you live in/on?

[carronstar]

Another NYC person here. Also uptown, UWS. Happy to walk in Central Park with you and your pup. I can think of a couple of others as well. There are 4 greys in my neighborhood, all do well with city noises. It will happen.

 

While two of my three have never had issues with the noise, my second girl Morgaine had a hard time at first. Good/Bad thing on her first night in NYC was that while we were in the park across the street, 4 fire trucks went blaring down the street, she turned and did her best to get home... one walk and she already knew how to get back there. It took my friend and I a few minutes of 4 handed petting and joking with her to calm her but it got that "scary noise" thing out of her system early. It is a lot for them to process after coming from tracks and suburban areas but they can do it.

[greytpups]

Both Bailey and Brooke have been or are terrified of situations like this. (Bailey is deceased now but we had to do the same thing for both of them) and our neighbourhood isn't near as busy. We had to gradually desensitize them to the noise and hustle and bustle of people. We took them with us to places like the farmers market nearby on less busy days and just walked with them, no shopping, just walking and if their fear escalated too much, we'd leave. But gradually they got used to it, not 100%, but still a huge improvement.

 

I find when we are doing touristy things, Brooke still hides behind me and I ask people to leave her alone so as to not heighten her fear. But she's improved a lot. I do this when walking Iker too.

[SPDoggie]

our grey was/is fearful in our quiet neighborhood, so would definitely just stand there and look for home in the city!

 

I agree as well with the "walk buddy"... he may gain confidence by being with other hounds and following them.

 

It also took our guy more than a year to come into his own, though in some ways/at some times, he is still scared of the world after 7 years with us.

[Guest citygrey]

btw, what street area do you live in/on?

Hi, We're on 26th St just west of Broadway

[greyhoundgang]

Good ideas here.

Please contact your group for help also. They should have profiled your dog, and determined whether he could handle a city environment. Not many greyhounds can, and not all greyhounds can be only dogs either. though you didn't mention if there was any separation anxiety. If he had a bad experience the first time out, he'll remember that, and you'll need to overcome those fears with trust, consistency and firmness. He doesn't see going outside as a good thing, but as something to be feared.

 

If you can foster another dog, a very confident out-going dog, even for just a weekend (no committment with that) this will help your guy with his fears. Definitely contact the people who live in the city with greyhounds and are offering to help.

 

Baby steps, lots of encouragement. Keep treats on you at all times, and use praise and treats liberally for every little positive step when outside.

 

I do not recommend drugs. There are LOTS of natural ways to help your hound. Bach flower remedies are one of them. Azmira products are good also.

 

Greyhound Gang has lots of good info. Greyhound Guide - an excellent resource for greyhound adopters. Medical and Behavioral info. Booklets to help you and hounds. They are now available for Kindle too.

[cleptogrey]

the next time we go to the "garage"- just around the corner we should meet up.are your street is a lot of commercial traffic, what times are you walking your pup? the reason i ask is there are definate lulls in traffic and deliveries. also, if you can scoot west it's pretty calm, i'm thinking of both 24,5,6th streets west of 7th ave.near the municipal housing the streets are pretty open. it's not that crazy on the side streets. it's the avenues that get really chaotic.

 

we can meet and take the dogs out for a walk together i would love to see exactly what's going on.

 

i also know a couple of excellent trainers in the city.http://www.panix.com/~pmunves/aboutsitt.htm is the trainer peg munves, very very gentle, very knowlegable and excellent. if you decide to contact her,( i'm sure she remembers my name), you can use it as a referral. she did my first grey's(emily) therapy dog eval and she knows felix from portchester obedience club.

 

since you can't pm me i'll give you my email address.

 

contact me, williesmydog@aol.com

andrea guttman

Edited October 27, 2012 by cleptogrey

[robinw]

My galgo is the same way; great indie, terrified outside. I walk him with my greyhound, but that doesn't seem to help. First thing I recommend is a really good harness, like the Spook Harness by Majestic Collars. Then lots of repetition and walks around the same route and walk him with as many dogs as possible. People recommend high value treats, but Iker is too afraid to take them.

[Greydawg]

Sarasota is not NYC, but we can have noisy "scary" traffic, fireworks, and thunder here that can make Alex pretty anxious. Our other dog, Heisman, is pretty bombproof and unaffected.

 

In our case, we discovered that when we find ourselves in these kind of situations, Alex works through it pretty well as long as my husband is next to him. With just me, Alex can be a bag of nerves. (This crushes me, BTW.) I am not sure why, except that hubby doesn't baby him like I tend to do. He just doesn't really allow Alex's anxiety to heighten. It's a "come on!" and a tug of the leash. Alex falls in right next to him and he's fine. I have tried to mimmick his behavior with Alex, not baby him, be forceful/authoritative and I have mediocre results at best. It is frustrating and I can relate to what you are going through. When you figure it out, please let us know what you did. Good luck!

 

 

 

[galgrey]

I've not read all the responses, but I had the same problem with my first galgo, Irys. Like your dog, she was great inside, but was afraid outside. I tried motivating her with treats, but she was too scared to eat them outside. What helped her the most was walking next to a confident dog(s). I had a retired racer, Keno, at the time, but my weimaraner, Hannah, was completely bombproof and was the perfect source of comfort and confidence for Irys. I'd walk Keno on one side and Hannah and Irys on the other. Hannah seemed to just absorb Irys' fears.

 

A couple of years ago, a friend adopted a very shy female greyhound, Izzy, who was really scared on walks. I took my super confident girl, Princess over to her neighborhood and walked with her several times and it made a big difference. Seeing Princess take everything in stride and greet everyone with a wagging tail really allayed her fears. We also paired them together at Meet & Greets. At first Izzy was afraid of everyone and would pull away if anyone approached her, but she watched Princess bask in the attention and now is a great greyhound ambassador.

 

Hope you can find someone with a confident dog to walk with.

Edited October 27, 2012 by galgrey

[Guest shanesmom]

It took Ace a few months at least to just start getting comfortable outside. I don't live in the city but there is a turnpike running behind my condo and it freaked him out to hear it but not be able to see it. Plus we live in a condo and there is always something going on like landscapers working or kids who terrify him. He's been with us a little over a year now and I almost forgot that he used to be so afraid that he would freeze on walks and duck as if the sky was falling. He has absolutely no fear out on walks now but it did take time and he does get nervous in new situations though not as bad. Stay confident and he will be too. They are very sensitive and can feel if you are nervous about it.

[cleptogrey]

oy- citygrey and his owner are located in a blacked out area of manhattan! i suppose a lot of bonding is going on right now. i hope they weathered the storm o.k.