Less Than 24 Hours Away!

[Guest LewisHWilson]

I am less than 24 hours away from owning my first greyhound (and first dog at that)! I've done a lot of reading and browsing on this forum but I have one remaining question: what did you do with your hound on the first day?

 

I guess I'm asking more for stories than instructionals. Really curious as to how your pet responded to the new environment and routine.

 

Thanks!

[Jenbo]

Yay for you!

 

I was home the first couple of days but I didn't spend every waking moment with my hound. I needed her to be ok for a few hours at a time so I could go to work. For the first few weeks I'd walk her for an hour in the morning, go home at lunch, take her for another walk, then walk her right away after work.

 

The first couple of days mostly I just let her wander and sniff and come to me when she was ready. Patience, grasshopper

[robinw]

I just hung out in the house and took it slow. It might not be a bad idea to let your new dog approach you in the beginning, rather than your doing the approaching. Which is guess is what Jenbo just said

[msjpk]

Bonding is the key, and the best bonding is walks. I also took off a couple of days to do alone training and get my pups into a routine.

 

Bonding, routine, alone training, referring to this board for all your info and questions.

 

Wishing you luck and happiness and of course you must post pictures.

[OwnedBySummer]

After we chose each other at the kennel and then had a 2 1/2 hour drive home... we took a walk, had some cuddles, explorations in the back yard (she didn't do zoomies yet), treats... whatever floated our boat.

 

I don't work so there was no rush for alone training. But I soon discovered that Summer was fine on her own.

 

Good luck and yup, we'll need pics!

[Feisty49]

Hung around the house. Showed her food and water location. Showed her where my preference for her potty place (on leash). Introduced her to the cat, of whom she as afraid. Took a walk to see a bit of town. Talked to her a lot. Touched her a lot and when I realized she loved it, petted her a lot. Introduced her to her crate, which she hated. Introduced her to her bed, which she was suspicious of but liked more than the crate. Let her nap to her heart's content.

[Potomacpupsmom]

Our adoption group recommended crating at first, so we did that and it gave her a chance to observe her surroundings without being too scared. We also took her on a tour of the house and showed her where her water dish was. We both hung around the house with her and got to know each other. We did the same with our second grey and it worked out well for both of them.

[OwnedBySummer]

Almost forgot! I showed her that the sliding glass doors were actually solid, as well as the bay window in the living room (which are the only two that she can get at). Some people put painters tape or masking tape on their glass but I preferred to show it to her and touch her feet and nose to it. I do have some custom sandblasting (flowers and vines) around the sides so it's not totally clear anyway. I did put ornamental metal butterflies on the screen part of the patio doors so that she could see the screen. And that first night, she had to learn to climb the stairs because she had to get to my bedroom for sleeping.

Edited March 29, 2013 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest memadeit]

My first greyhound was stressed when we got him home. So we just chilled out. Left him be and just talked to him a good bit. Basicly bugged him for dinner time and potty breaks. Dont be surprised that the dog doesn't eat much for a few days.

[GreyhoundGirl]

I showed her where her food and water were, where her bed was, and I stuck to my regular routine. I actually went to work the next day (or the day after). I also talked to her and called her by her name often (since I changed it). I petted her during commericals. Do what feels right and let your new furbaby guide you; each dog is different.

 

Enjoy your new furbaby!

[greytpups]

Mostly, I just start a routine such as walking, eating and let them get comfortable without bothering them too much. Brooke mostly tried to lay with Ben on his pillow so I just left her to hang out with him if she was more comfortable.

 

With one grey, I would just let her/him smell and get to know their surroundings until they're comfortable, lots of walks and give them space unless they come to you for cuddling/petting. If they don't want to interact right away, don't be concerned...it's a whole new world for them to learn to navigate.

 

Have you read Kathleen Gilley's article?

[deboosh]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! We adopted our grey this past Christmas, and she is also a first dog for both of us. Talk about green, lol. We let our girl take the lead, and just let her explore, check out the yard, go for a walk in the neighbourhood and began teaching her stairs, as we have to use them to come and go. We took quite a few pictures to mark her homecoming, and just enjoyed getting acquainted. I hope you have a memorable Gotcha Day and that your new family member settles in well.

[Guest widowcali]

Reading about everybody elses "first day" I realize that my first days with Cali , and then with her sister a year later, were easy peasy. Cali had a hard time training me to recognize her auth-or-i-tie, but I finally got it, lol. She was great with the cat, just not the best at housebreaking. She also ate my greyhounds for dummies book, and a couple of early Harry Potter's. And then there was me trying to sleep in my own bed and sit on my own couch.

 

Oh the inhumanity!!! LOl

[WalterWallerson]

The first day? I pet Walter. I took pictures. I touched his paws, and then I just made sure to take him out every few hours because he was really stressed out and scared (panting constantly and pacing). Those were the biggest poops I have ever seen! I needed TWO HANDS to pick up is poops those first few days. Give your grey space at home and take your grey on long walks. Walter & I have really bonded because of long walks. Good luck to you and enjoy yourself!

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Congratulations on getting your new fur face! When we got Sir Elton, I crated him - he hated it. So I fenced him in the master bath. He ate the molding! Once I let him free, he was the best doggie. We did a lot of walking and bonding the first few days. 9 years later at age 14, he's still my heart dog. I must say tho, his 'sister' Mindy who is 8 is our girl heart dog. I love having one of each gender.

 

Walter - tell your dad and mom we put a paper under our kids' behinds when the squat and commit. It helps a lot!!!

[Guest LewisHWilson]

Thanks for all the input!

 

After a 45 min drive home he's finally here!

 

First two hours:

 

-he learned where his crate was and he took a 10 minute nap in it

-he discovered his toy and tossed it around

-the remainder of the time has consisted of sniffing and pacing around

 

My only concern is that he is panting with his tongue out frantically...not the usual pant but really like 3 pants per second. I'm assuming he's excited/nervous/overwhelmed?

[BatterseaBrindl]

Thanks for all the input!

 

After a 45 min drive home he's finally here!

 

First two hours:

 

-he learned where his crate was and he took a 10 minute nap in it

-he discovered his toy and tossed it around

-the remainder of the time has consisted of sniffing and pacing around

 

My only concern is that he is panting with his tongue out frantically...not the usual pant but really like 3 pants per second. I'm assuming he's excited/nervous/overwhelmed?

 

Congrats!

Whats your new boys' name???

 

Yes...the opanting will be caused by stress.

 

Just leave him alone...let him come to you.

Sniffing is normal!

 

Do you have a fenced yard?

He'll need to be let outside to potty on a pretty regular schedule..this is waht he's used to.

 

Make sure his crate door is open so he can come and go if he chooses.

Nixon would not eat unless he was in the crate ...with the door shut... for well over a week.After that he never went in it again. No crate for either Ruby or Nigel at all....but all dogs are different.

 

Keep us updated!!!!

 

And post a picture!!!

[Guest psdirector]

We have only had our boys for three weeks today. Our boys came to us mid-afternoon on a Friday. I rushed home from work early and my DH did the same. When they arrived, the adoption coordinator suggested that we walk around the block first. We were all so nervous! We baby-gated them off in the kitchen/ family room area with us. We had their crates and everything else (we thought) ready.

 

Hutch and Tibbs were in a prison program for two months before coming to us. There were letters from their prison "moms" in the information folders we received and we read those (they made me cry!) and looked over the pups' other information. We took pictures and kept looking at them in awe. Tibbs wouldn't eat and he generally seemed depressed. Hutch ate a bit and panted a lot. We took them out in the yard on their leashes (we got a new fence a week ago) - both peed, Hutch pooped, Tibbs didn't. They seemed to get what their beds were for and at bedtime, they climbed the stairs and settled right into their beds.

 

After three weeks we see new aspects of their personalities each day. It's hard to equate those sad, puckered faces with the smiling, nuzzling, yard-zooming boys we have now!

 

Be patient, take a ton of pictures, take notes/ keep a diary, and enjoy every second.

[seeh2o]

I walked Carl, and 2 years later Doodles, through the house with the leash on (very slack), naturally he marked a chair. I gently corrected. Made sure to take several days off so I could be around. Just let them explore at their own pace. Carl explored a lot, Doodles hid - a lot. She wouldn't make eye contact and didn't want to eat in the same room as the others, so I fed her in the bathroom and didn't force eye contact.

 

4 years later, she is my BIG personality at home, shy girl outside. Carl is Mr. Mellow (except for some remains of SA).

[Guest memadeit]

Thanks for all the input!

 

After a 45 min drive home he's finally here!

 

First two hours:

 

-he learned where his crate was and he took a 10 minute nap in it

-he discovered his toy and tossed it around

-the remainder of the time has consisted of sniffing and pacing around

 

My only concern is that he is panting with his tongue out frantically...not the usual pant but really like 3 pants per second. I'm assuming he's excited/nervous/overwhelmed?

 

Panting is just him being stressed out.

[Guest LewisHWilson]

His name is Rocket :-)

 

I'll have to wait to get to a real computer to post pictures, but I definitely will.

 

He's not panting like a maniac anymore. I took him on his first walk and he wanted to mark anything standing taller than 2 feet!

 

He's sleeping now (big surprise). I'll wait until tomorrow to start leaving him alone (30 seconds here, 3 min there, and so on).

 

I don't have a fenced yard so I'll start working in a regular feeding/walking schedule tomorrow. Baby steps :-)

[Guest memadeit]

Dont be surprised if he doesn't want to sleep alone in a room tonight.

[Guest june]

Here is wishing you happy first night snuggles . . . if either of you is up to it!

[Guest LewisHWilson]

First night went ok. I put the crate in my room and he slept the whole night.

 

Now...when I got up this morning he was a BIG ball of energy. I took him for a 30 min walk when he calmed down a bit and he pulled a lot of the way. Not to mention, he made a duty of epic proportions!

 

He does pant for the first 10 minutes after coming in from the walk. Then he walks over to a window and starts whimpering. After other 10 minutes and a little water it's nap time again.

[TheFullHouse]

Sounds like things are going well.