Space Aggression

[Guest Firedancer]

Hi all greyhound lovers,

We recently rescued a retired racer- 4 months ago. Her name was Nitro Firedancer. We call her Dancer. She is very sweet most of the time and has adapted well to our home. We are having some issues with space aggression, however. She will sometimes growl or bark at my daughter (9 years old) if my daughter tries to pet her while she is laying on her dog bed. This all started when we allowed her to be on the couch. We have addressed the issue by not allowing her on any furniture for now and telling her "no" when she growls. We also began attending obedience classes at petco. While we were there, she was lying in her bed- another dog looked at her and she growled at the other dog. I immediately pulled her up and said 'no!' She also will not be friendly to other dogs if they try to greet on walks. She freezes and barks and growls at them. Now, if we are walking by other dogs she will ignore them completely, even if the other dog is going nuts. But, if we try and stop she goes into freeze mode and barks and growls. I am so afraid she is going to bite my daughter or another dog. We tried muzzling her while greeting another dog and she pinned the dog to the ground. Thank goodness the other dog was fine. We are also having issues with her penguin on her dog beds and crate about once per week. She is very obedient and calm and otherwise wonderful. We have totally fallen in love with her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Dena

 

I meant ' peeing' on her dog bed.

[Time4ANap]

Don't take this the wrong way, it is not meant to be harsh, but rather something you should have been taught before adoption. This is the standard response every time this comes up, and it comes up often.

 

Your daughter has no business on or near the dog's bed. She needs to be taught that the dog is off limits if laying on the bed, and that the dog's bed and crate is off limits 24/7. Otherwise, you are risking a major bite.

 

Your hound has had it's own personal space in the form of a house or crate since it was 18 months old. Most likely, the hound was asleep even if it's eye were open. The hound's personal space is now the bed and maybe a crate if you are using one. Both are areas where the hound should not be disturbed. Your dog is not used to being touched or approached when asleep, and the growl was simply a warning that your daughter was invading the hound's space. Be glad that dog gave a warning growl.

 

We have the sweetest greyhound in the world here, but he has bitten twice when touched while sleeping. Both times it was the human;s fault for startling him (I know, i was one of the recipients of those teeth). He still gives me a little growl in the middle of the night if I walk by his bed and startle him from a sound sleep.

 

Your hound is still settling in and learning the rules, so it's a good time to start with NLIF (nothing in life is free) training. Search the site or Google it.

 

We have a "no petting unless the dog is standing" rule. it might be wise to use that policy to teach your daughter.

 

Others will chime in here regarding the other issues you listed, but this is the one I live with every day, and should have been explained in depth to you before the adoption. I have successfully adopted to homes with 2 and 3 year olds for our group, so the situation is very workable. It just requires some training on the part of everyone, as well as any house guests or other kids who come over to play.

 

Welcome to GT. Don't let this overwhelm you. it's part of life with a Retired Racer.

[Guest DeniseL]

Hi there and congrats on your new addition! You have come to the right place for questions. I had many when I first brought my greyhounds home This forum was a valuable resource, and it still is. There are many here that are much, much, more experienced than I. However, I can relate to the space aggression. We had a similar issue with Miami when he first came home. We made a rule never to pet him when he was laying down, on or off his bed. He just didn't trust us early on and was very uncomfortable with us near him, especially when he was laying down. Miami growled to communicate that uneasiness with us. At first, we would try to correct it, as I was not used to having a dog growl at me for anything. Later I learned that he was only communicating and that if I prevented him from growling, he could possibly use more persuasive measures to make his point. Then, when he would growl, I would realize he was just uncomfortable, or more likely in Miami's case, just very scared, and I would back of and give him space. That went for any situation, not just on his bed. Needless to say, we had quite a few bumps in the road early on, but things tend to work themselves out over time.

 

It has taken Miami a very long time to settle in to home life. 4 months was still the very beginning for him. Just be patient and listen to the good advice you will be given. It sounds like Dancer is on her way to becoming a wonderful addition to your family as long as you understand that she comes from a very different world and could have an extended adjustment period.

 

Patience. Patience. Patience. And baby steps.

[a_daerr]

No furniture privileges... Don't discipline the dog for growling. Gradually, you can desensitize the space guarding by spending more time near her while she's on her bed. Start as far away as you can without getting a reaction. Toss treats in her direction. No direct eye contact. If she is okay with that, move a little bit closer the next time. Do this a few minutes each day and gradually work up to letting her take treats out of your hand, petting her, gently nudging her. Anytime she responds appropriately, give her treats and praise. If she snaps or growls, end the training session and try again the next day. The idea is that she learn that a human's presence in her space is positive, not threatening.

 

Don't do too much too fast- teaching a grey how to share space is a process, as they have never had to share with any other human or dog in the past. Understand that her growling is most likely a result of fear and/or lack of confidence (i.e. not challenging or alpha behavior). The more you develop training strategies to eliminate the fear, you'll also eliminate the growling. For safety reasons, make it a rule for the kids to only pet the dog when she's standing. The book 'Dogproofing Your Child' is a really good resource also.

 

I'm not a huge fan of PetSmart/Petco training, as their trainers generally do not have professional dog training certification, but any type of positive reinforcement training is helpful.

[KickReturn]

We never scold for growling. My view is I want our boy to be able to express himself if he is unhappy with us.

 

Being able to pet your grey on its bed is not a necessity. Don't assume that your Grey will ever be comfortable being touched on its bed. My Hester would never dream of harming a human but I don't even stand over him when he is on his bed out of respect. When i do approach I come in very low at the end with the head. If he reaches out with his paw or roaches than its petting time. Otherwise I move on.

 

Ditto on the comments above about your child and the dog. Be super careful. It can go well 100 times and then the dog could be accidentally started and you may have a real disaster on your hands. 4 month is not a long time.

Edited March 17, 2013 by KickReturn

[Guest Firedancer]

I appreciate all of the replys. She was not asleep when my daughter approached her. I know greyhounds can sleep with eyes open and she was clearly awake with her head up. I have read all about space and sleep aggression regarding greys and how they have never been touched while sleeping and that the only thing they owned in the kennel was their bed or crate. We've slowly been introducing her to being touched while in her bed and she has responded well to me petting her. Her big problem is with my daughter. I'm thinking it must be an issue with respect. Dancer even jumped in my daughter's bed once and barked at her when my daughter sat on her own bed. I see this as a challenge and dominance seeking behavior on the dog's end. Since we stopped furniture privilege this behavior ceased. Like I said earlier all of this started when we allowed her in the couch. I know that was a mistake. I've started having my daughter feed her in the evenings and participate in the walks. Any other advice?

 

Anyone have advice on socializing her with other dogs and the peeing in the crate and in her bed?

[a_daerr]

I wouldn't assume dominance/challenging behavior. One of my guys is just really uncomfortable around kids, and as someone who doesn't have children, I can see why. They're loud, they make sudden movements. There might be something about your daughter that makes Dancer uncomfortable. It could've just been one incident that freaked her out, and now she's acting defensive. I would do a lot of positive reinforcement training that centers on your daughter. Let her be the giver of all things good. Until Dancer starts feeling less anxious around kids, don't correct the growling. Aggression only begets aggression.

 

As for socializing with other dogs, it's just a matter of time and exposure. I'd continue with the training classes and reward her for sharing space with other dogs.

[Guest Jesse12789]

anu update on this matter?