First Time Adopter

[Yamaha_gurl]

What a gorgeous doggie! Welcome to greyhound ownership, it's wonderful!

[Greydawg]

Congratulations on bringing your new boy home! He is a very handsome lad... Love his formal tuxedo markings!

 

I have learned how valuable "pack walks" are to bonding. (You and Talos being the new pack, that is.) During the cooler parts of the day, you may want to take him on 20-30 minute walks or so, side-by-side, and just "be." For me, these routine daily walks with my dogs have become the most treasured parts of my day.

 

Best wishes to you and Talos as you learn from and adjust to each other!

 

[Guest Annie_Bon_Annie]

Congrats!! I know you are so excited about your upcoming new arrival. I've owned Greys for years. One major thing to teach your new pet is to stay away from exterior doors. They are fast as quick silver and will be out before you can blink your eye. My first pup was Annie whom I rescued from and abusive household. I didn't have to say "No!" more than once and she wouldn't approach the front door without permission. My second girl came directly from a 'kill box' and she took a lot of training. I know your new best friend will know what 'no' means by the time you meet, but keep a close eye on where the pup is when you ever open the door. The word 'stay' also helps. You need to look at the pup when you say it though. He/she will probably know that word as well. If you forget this once, you'll never forget it again, especially when you see the pup's bum going down the block -- and no you can't catch him either, but run like the devil anyway. If he looks at you, yell his name and run (slowly) the other way. Sounds stupid but these pooches chase (LOL) and they will chase after you too. It's their game. Ebony would chase after me so I could catch her. ALWAYS keep a collar on him/her, it's a nice handle if the leash isn't there with you. I always give my dogs Frosty Paws and I make a big deal about it when I do. This helps with the excitement of anticipation and gets immediate responses. Scream out to the pup the trigger word that gets them excited about the treat, it usually helps.

If you have sliding glass doors where you live, put up some decorative stickies at their eye height. They really don't understand the concept of glass, only that it hurts the nose when they hit it.

Hint: Frosty Paws are expensive so I get frozen yogurt and put it little cups. When I had 4 dogs, Frosty Paws was simply out of the question and yogurt or frozen yogurt is a lot cheaper. Keep your eye on the board and you'll become an expert in no time at all. Everyone here is ever so helpful and want to assist others as much as they can.

Best of luck with your new buddy and give the love they so sorely need, as much as possible. You will have that friend for life! PS---keep plants that are poisonous way out of reach of the pup's mouth. They like to taste new things and it may be the pup's undoing if he/she gets to curious. Electrical cords are not chew toys, they need to know this.

My best to you!

I forgot to add this, When you feed your pup, take him out right after he's done, to where you decide to make his potty and praise him/her when he gives you his 'package'

[Guest debster]

Thank you everyone for your warm welcome and advice! I'm very careful with the cords on the floor. Thankfully, he hasn't had any interest in them. He corrects well, so if I see any interest toward them, I'll give him the voice of God. It stopped him from pooping on the floor on day 2 and got him so puckered up that he had a false start when we went outside to do it because he was afraid I'd yell again

 

He's now got a tag collar and a 2 inch martingale that he wears. I'm super careful with the doors too; apparently, some extended family got a grey in the 90s and the kids left the door open for the dog to run out. The dog was constantly loose. This is a dog that was trained to run when a door opens! Why would anyone not pay attention?

 

I also wanted to share that on day 3 (yesterday) I got this for about a minute:

 

 

I am head over heels for this dog already. He's slowly learning to not cry at night and is learning that when I leave the room, I'll come right back and he doesn't have to follow. And he's so sweet and affectionate and *so* proud of his down command.