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First Time Adopter


Guest debster

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Guest debster

Hello!

 

My name is Deb, and I'm adopting my first grey in a little over a month. His name is HS Cuda (I named him Talos), and he's 2.5 years old. Ever since I moved out from my parents' house, I've wanted to get a dog. But I had to wait until I had the money and the right place to even start. Six years later, and I'm super excited. I originally wanted a borzoi but didn't want to deal with a puppy, nor did I want to deal with the hair. From there, I looked into greyhounds and after my first meet and greet, I developed a mega-crush on these dogs.

 

As soon as I get him, there will be photos everywhere.

 

So, I just wanted to say hey!

 

A quick question for experienced owners:

Are there any specific things that are slightly more difficult for a greyhound to learn, in comparison to other breeds? Like, is there anything that I might need to give special attention to? (eg: I grew up with Schnauzers, and getting them to stop barking once they're excited is one heck of a task). Right now, he's in a prison being trained by the inmates there, so he should know some basic things, and know stairs. But I'm not going to assume that he's going to be perfectly mannered/obedient, especially at such a young age.

 

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You may be pleasantly surprised at how well behaved he is. Even without the prison program, Greyhounds are pretty laid back. As with any breed of dog, though, each hound is different. Some Greys like to surf counters; some don't. Some like to check out the garbage can; some don't. Some like to get on furniture, including beds; some can't be bothered. Some love their crates; some hate 'em. Some will roach a lot; others never ever roach. Some love their stuffies; others barely look at them. Some walk nicely on a leash; others are terrible.

 

My girl? She doesn't do furniture, go into garbage, counter surf, bark, roach, and very very seldom plays with her stuffies. She walks great on her leash. Comes when I call her (99% of the time). Lays down when I tell her (90% of the time). She hasn't learned how to sit and I don't care so don't push it.

 

Each one has its own personality and no Greyhound will be better than your boy. You will fall in love with him and wonder how you managed without him in your life. Good luck!

 

P.S. There are some dogs who don't do well alone while their parents are at work or school. If this is the case with Talos, you'll have to do separation training. In my opinion, that can be the most bothersome thing, but I could be wrong. Annie didn't have it and I'm always grateful when I read about others having the problem.

Edited by Feisty49
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Guest debster

*snip*

 

P.S. There are some dogs who don't do well alone while their parents are at work or school. If this is the case with Talos, you'll have to do separation training. In my opinion, that can be the most bothersome thing, but I could be wrong. Annie didn't have it and I'm always grateful when I read about others having the problem.

I believe he is being released from the program on a Thursday, and my current schedule is work (classes don't start until 3 weeks after I've had him) Mondays and Tuesdays, 9-5. So what I will do is switch with someone for after I get him so that I will not work that Monday and Tuesday (and work Thurs and Friday instead). That way, I can build up the time he's left alone. SA is probably my greatest concern. Right now, when he goes to bed, he's got kennels with the rest of his class. When he's with me, I will be the only other living creature in the house with him. So I want to work on separation training day 1. I'm going to see about getting my one laptop's webcam on him so I can spy on him when he's in the crate and know how he's really doing when I'm gone.

 

And watch, with all this worry and planning, he'll probably be bomb-proof :P

 

 

Which prison is he doing his time at? LOL

You know, I'm not sure. It's in Florida, though.

 

Bonus info for everyone: His blog says that he is a smiler, and he will grin often. I'm sure it'll be a little alarming the first time I see it, but at least I'll know XD

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Guest FreeholdHound

Welcome! Harry wasn't fostered & was off track only about 3 wks & he was still the easiest dog I'd ever owned (once he learned to go outside). Within 2 wks he was feeling at home & trusting us. Every dog is different but he'll probably surprise you.

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Welcome to GT

Jan with precious pups Emmy (Stormin J Flag) and Simon (Nitro Si) and Abbey Field.  Missing my angels: Bailey Buffetbobleclair 11/11/98-17/12/09; Ben Task Rapid Wave 5/5/02-2/11/15; Brooke Glo's Destroyer 7/09/06-21/06/16 and Katie Crazykatiebug 12/11/06 -21/08/21. My blog about grief The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

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Guest june

Congratulations on your upcoming adoption. Be sure you have your camera ready to record all those special moments! And of course share them with us :flip

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Guest SisuGrey

Welcome! We're coming up on our one year with Sisu, and although we are still dealing with some SA, in every other respect, Sisu's the best boy we could have hoped for! He's improving every day with the SA, so once we've worked through this, we'll have the perfect companion for us. We love his quirks and funny ways :) Good luck as you welcome your first Grey into your life. Can't wait to see pictures!!

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Guest Scouts_mom

There is one behavior that racing greys can have that other dogs do not: sleep aggression. Basically it is a dog responding with a snap or growl when it is touched while sleeping. This is simply because greys have never been touched while sleeping--they are used to having their own crate to sleep in and having plenty of warning when someone is approaching. When they are touched while asleep, their subconscious takes over and they react as if it was a saber-tooth tiger attacking them. If you are lucky the reaction will be a growl. If you are unlucky, you might get a bite.

 

If your dog does have this behavior, the solution is simple: Never touch your dog without warning when he is asleep (and remember they can sleep with their eyes open). Teach this to everyone in the household. Then work on desensitizing your dog. Someone on this site once suggested throwing socks at your dog when he is asleep. I've just made sure to give a new dog plenty of warning before I pet him. Of course they may have already dealt with this in the prison program.

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Welcome to GreyTalk! How exciting that Talos will be home soon! Great name too.

 

My guess is that he will be a wonderful Greyhound. Not all hounds are candidates to graduate from a prison program. Wow, how fun that your first hound is a smiler! :) One our girls awakens each morning with the cutest toothy grin, excited about life. It's a bright way to begin our day.

 

Greyhounds are the easiest breed I've ever had. You might ask your group if they hold Greyhound only play dates, or group walks. They enjoy seeing other Greys periodically after retirement. Many hounds learn things quickly. My general suggestion is to think about training in ways he does things naturally. In other words, catch him doing something right, put a word to it, and reward with treats. Alone training in very short sessions gradually extending time will be helpful too. Above all have fun with your new boy once he arrives! :)

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Guest debster

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome! I love friendly forums :)

 

There is one behavior that racing greys can have that other dogs do not: sleep aggression.

 

Yes, I'll definitely keep an eye out for this. The throwing a sock thing is great; that way, nobody's bitten but I'll know if he's got an issue with sleep aggression.

 

 

 

My guess is that he will be a wonderful Greyhound. Not all hounds are candidates to graduate from a prison program. Wow, how fun that your first hound is a smiler! :) One our girls awakens each morning with the cutest toothy grin, excited about life. It's a bright way to begin our day.

 

 

I didn't figure that being put into a prison program made him more special, besides the training? I'll admit that I was attracted to the program because I'm a renter and I wanted to minimize initial mess/stress/anxiety for the both of us. Not just that, but it's great for the inmates that maybe wouldn't have something positive to do otherwise. And there's something about the love of an animal that is so pure; I think everyone needs to experience it.

 

I'm looking forward to doing group type things so he can run around and socialize. I'm such an introvert that it'll probably get both of us out or our shells.

 

Also, I forgot to mention: After reading that black dogs aren't adopted as often as other colors, I specifically asked for a black one because that made me so sad. I personally love black dogs: they're so beautiful and extra shiny. :D

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Welcome from Gainesville, FL!! :welcome2

Our first hound also raced at Derby Lane, and he's a smiler too! :)

Can't wait to "meet" your new baby.

Rita, mom to Dakota (Dakotas Dream) & Wish (Kiowa Wish Wish) and my angels

Toby (Sol Marcus) and Robin (Greys Robin Hood)

Forever missing our beloved Robin and Toby

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Anatole France

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Congrats!

 

And a big THANK YOU for being realistic about your soon-to-be dog. I think a lot of first-time adopters see greyhounds at meet and greets or greyhound events, and all the dogs are just standing or laying around acting perfectly behaved. When they finally bring one home, they're shocked to find out the dog has some issues and quicks. Just like any other dog, most of them don't start out perfect. Many people will tell you that the greyhound you bring home will not be the same dog six months later. The most common threads I see here on GT in the Training and Behavioral section are separation anxiety, sleep aggression, resource guarding, and general fear/anxiety issues with non-familiar things. Not saying that you dog will have any of these (the prison program is great), but it's probably good to brush up on them ahead of time just in case.

 

Another big thing, unrelated to training, is food. Don't buy too much into all the expensive dog food hype. I see a lot of new adopters wanting the very best for their new dog, which includes high-end, grain-free, wholistic, organic dog food. If you look in the Food and Dietary section, you'll see that A LOT of the time, it just doesn't work with greyhounds. A great deal of them have sensitive stomachs and do better on non-fancy kibbles. We tried five different "quality" foods with our dogs before switching to IAMS, and that was the best decision we ever made. My advice is to start feeding your dog whatever he's eating in the prison program. If you feel you have to switch, do it slowly with a food that's not too rich. It will help with house-breaking and training in general if your dog is feeling well and doesn't have diarrhea all the time.

 

Good luck! :)

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Guest debster

Yeah, my biggest concern is SA, most notably poo-splosions because that's just no fun for either party involved. His blog says he's very friendly, loves people, and has a bit of an issue with jumping up (they're working on that with him, but I know how to deal with it if he does it when he comes home). So I am a bit prepared that this strong people-oriented personality could translate to SA very easily. I'm going to start out by doing the frozen Kong thing, and by giving him his meals in the crate. Hopefully that will give him positive associations with the crate right from the beginning. I'm also very fortunate to have a boss that works in animal rescue, so she will understand if I have to leave and come back during the middle of a shift (and thankfully I'm 10 minutes away from work). I'm also planning on spying on him with skype :ph34r

 

I think if he can control his excitement and greet people politely, then he'd be a good potential therapy dog. Of course, that's more for another time when I'm sure he's comfortable.

 

The food thing is good to know. I've seen a lot of threads about the Iams green bag being the solution for many greys and I think I may start with a small bag of that. I know it's quite a bit more binding than grain-free foods, so maybe that'll help with initial poo troubles. My parents have a mini-schnauzer with very flaky skin, and switching her food to the more expensive stuff has helped, but I would rather know he's on the wrong food by having flaky skin simply because it's easier to handle. But in the beginning, I'll be armed with pumpkin puree, rice, and probiotics.

 

Edited to add: Is the Iams green bag the large breed one, or the mini-chunks? I would assume large breed, but I wanted to check...

 

Watch, I'll be super prepared and he'll have no issues at all. That's how it goes, isn't it? :lol

Edited by debster
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Sounds like you've done your homework and are more than prepared. :)

 

For the IAMs, we feed the large breed formula just because the pieces are bigger. I feel like they have to work a little harder to chew, which has benefits on the dental aspect, and they don't speed-eat and choke on it. It's just a personal preference, though... some people here do the mini chunks. I also mix in a skin and coat supplement called Missing Link, which has been phenomenal for my guys. They didn't really have any coat issues to begin with, but I bought it after my Henry got a bacterial infection and lost some hair on his legs. What a difference!

 

Also, I think it's great that you're already considering obedience and therapy dog training! Henry is certified by TDI, and we are slated to start a hospice program at the end of the month. My other grey, Truman, has his CGC and is also working on a TDI. It's very rewarding work if the dog has the right personality for it. Good for you!

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  • 1 month later...
Guest debster

I now have photos of my boy! Just took him home last night. I'll take much better quality ones when he's not so anxious.

 

This is HS Cuda, aka Talos.

 

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Like most new guys, he's not perfect. We've had 2 poo incidents in the house... one where I missed it and I claim the blame, and another where he went to squat and I gave him the "Voice of God" so hard he was hesitant to let it out in the yard. The rescue group also says that from his prison program, the inmates said he had a touchy tummy with the heat. Not a problem for me, as I'm quite indoorsy. He did burp up some water though, so I'll watch him with that.

 

As far as anxiety, occasional pacing and whining, then settling down to take a nap or grab his Cuz (which he adores). It took me the first night to chill, because when he was hurting, I let it effect me and upset me as well. I'm working on disabling both of our anxiety. So I'm just invalidating his by just being chill and he's taking the hint. He likes tv and radio and all so that should help him relax some.

 

I've already started alone training and he seems to be ok so far. As mentioned in another thread that I put in the behavior subsection, he understands stairs but is very intimidated of mine. He hasn't gone up them yet. I'm trying to gauge when it will be ok to just crate him downstairs and sleep in my bed upstairs. I understand that the stairs thing is possibly a matter of trusting me to show him up them.

 

So, thank you everyone for your warm welcome, and already, your amazing advice :)

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He is gorgeous (beautiful coat, especially) and I love his expressive ears! I am sure you'll have a shot of him smiling in no time. :) Congrats!

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Rachel with littermates Doolin and Willa, boss cat Tootie, and feline squatters Crumpet and Fezziwig.
Missing gentlemen kitties MudHenry, and Richard and our beautiful, feisty, silly
 Sweep:heart

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Guest goofydog

Talos, you are one handsome dude! I love the shiny black coats and wonky ears are a plus :P Welcome to you new home and let the games begin as you learn about life with your new Momma.

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