Has Your Gh Changed From Day One?

[Guest kalzanetti]

So Wyatt has been with us a week. I LOVE his demeanor and his no care attitude. He doesn't get worked up when Aspen and Zeus mess round, he doesn't show interest in our 1 cat Phin, the other cat, Aggie, never really comes out when dogs are around He just is either laying down or standing near me wanting to be petted. He is a pleasure to walk, at times gets excited when we first leave and wants to jump on me but I easily corrected.

 

I know this is a honeymoon phase, but was wondering if anyone had greys that kept their initial attitudes. I know it can only get better here on out, but I LOVE how he is, even with the kids. I love my whippets, but I wish I went the greyhound route 6 years ago when we first talked about getting a dog, but I wanted a puppy.....

 

I LOVE how his presence has changed the whippets too, Aspen is more lovey to me and the have spent A LOT more time out with the kids and my husband. I am thankful every day for him.

[GeorgeofNE]

George didn't end up who he is now until I had him for 18 months.

 

: ^ )

[rascalsmom]

All of mine have been different. Least changed, probably, were Rascal and Jack--they were good 'out of the box'. Buddy probably changed the most--he went from a grouchy, growly guy into a cuddly lap dog/love bug--but only with select people.

 

Phoebe has only been here about six weeks, hasn't changed a whole lot--more like she has just adapted to us a little more.

[2greyhoundMINI]

In the almost 5 weeks we've had Sidney and June they have both changed....

 

June has become much more relaxed, although she will never be that totally relaxed type of hound. She still is a love bug... gives kisses constantly and is jealous when Sidney is getting petted and not her.

 

Sidney is the total opposite- nothing really phases him. In the last few weeks he's become more vocal, energetic and affectionate towards us. He's still very laid back.

 

I think they are both becoming accustomed to their forever home. Sidney was never adopted before, so this is his first rodeo

June was adopted and returned shortly after (I think around the one month mark)... so I think she feels safer now that we aren't giving her back.

 

Right after dinner one night this week, I let them both out back. Sidney started coughing (ate a little too fast). June was very concerned and came over to his side and waited for him to stop and keep moving. It was so sweet to see. They have both gotten attached to each other, not just us.

 

It's been a wonderful experience

[rschultz]

It took Lexie 3 months to come out of her cage for us. 1 year to play with stuffies, and 3 years to cuddle with us. The wait was worth it

[Guest Clawsandpaws]

Personality wise, my guys stayed the same. He is fun, outgoing, and goofy! I love it. He settled in pretty quick. Within a month he was totally relaxed in the house. He was very easy for a first dog

[Sambuca]

Both of mine were insanely shy and are different dogs now. They are both still shy at times, but are functional in public now. I worked extremely hard to socialize them and help them overcome some of their issues.

[Jerilyn]

Lila has not changed too much since I got her. She was one of those easy from the beginning dogs and had no problems settling in. As she relaxed she just became more of what she always was; more snuggly, more excited about fun stuff, more stubborn about what she doesn’t want to do.

Lots of people told me to expect her to start testing the boundaries and acting out as she settled in, but that never happened.

[Guest LunaTheGreyt]

I've had Luna for almost 5 months. She started out VERY stoic and reserved about everything -- never wagged her tail, never got excited about anything really. Now she gets excited about stuff, wags her tail, plays with certain toys (Kongs only, basically), and is generally just a little cuter about everything, haha. She's slept on my bed since week 2, but recently she's started putting her head over my legs at night <3 She has always been great at meet & greets so that hasn't changed. She has also decided that she can be trained to do various tricks -- couldn't get her to do anything up until the past 2 weeks. She is still quiet in the apartment/never barks. It's really fun watching them come out of their shell.

Edited October 18, 2013 by LunaTheGreyt

[Acadianarose]

We have Payton for 2 months. He has changed quite a bit in that short time and he changes more and more each day. He is still very reserved and never wags his tail. But he seemed almost miserable at first. He would not tolerate anyone touching him at all in his bed. He was scared of most things. If I leaned over him while he was standing in front of me or made eye contact, he would jerk away.

 

Now he is so happy to see us. He runs up for hugs and stretches his face up until I lean over so he can lick my chin. He likes to be petted while lying down (only by me) and puts his head in my lap. This morning, he ran around the yard zooming all over.

 

At first, I was really worried that he might not be the right dog for us. But he gets better and better all the time. We are working hard on training and he is doing great.

[LBass]

Piper "The Perfect" was such an easy hound, right from the beginning. In the first year he did some recreational chewing and that stopped over the years. Otherwise, he just settled in and became dearer and dearer to me.

 

MoMo is such a happy, relaxed, confident girl that she too arrived, settled in and hasn't changed much since--she is still happy, relaxed and confident.

 

Spirit came to me as a dog who had probably not been well socialized as a puppy. He got lots of positive TLC at the racing kennel and had learned how great people could be by the time I met him. He was hungry for love and attention but his first reaction to new people and new situations was still to be frightened. On his first vet visit all was well until we left the exam room to find a tall man with a booming deep voice talking in the waiting room--Spirit panicked, tried to retreat and almost pulled out of his collar (harness ordered and used since then!) It took a while for him to relax. It was so much fun over the first year to see him learn to love and trust and learn to play. The first time he grabbed a toy and tossed it, I cried. He is still suspicious of strangers but he is getting better and better about that after 4 years with me. He is now a huge flirt, and very vocal and demanding when he is trying to get attention. He will always prefer familiar people but he doesn't panic as he used to. One of my fondest moments was seeing him stand up and put his feet on the top of the fence so my neighbor's SIL, a largish man with a deep voice, could pet him. That nice man had apparently spent time winning Spirit over and I got to see the results. Anyway, Spirit's blossoming continues and is a delight.

[macoduck]

Our first greyhound Gracie, age 2, was the worst. Extreme SA and us with no clue on how to deal with it in our pre-GT days. It took 6 months to like her. Only then could we even think we might one day love her. Yes, she was really that bad. All the other seniors were exactly the same dog from day one.

[DesiRayMom]

Desi found the couch within 2 minutes of walking in my home. 5 min. later he'd flipped into roach mode....and that's pretty much where he's been ever since.

[Nichole]

I always tell people you will see a difference in one month, three months, six months, a year and the biggest in the two year. It is also important not to lay off in the training or get lazy in the first year. I've found my males to have the "whatever" attitude between the one and two year, but my females come into their great goofy personality at the two year point. Every dog is different!

[Riverhound]

Desi found the couch within 2 minutes of walking in my home. 5 min. later he'd flipped into roach mode....and that's pretty much where he's been ever since.

 

That exactly how it went with Joe. I did have to teach him not to get grumbly when I take stuff away, but it was a ten minute lesson. He's learned a lot, and so have we, but his general attitude has stayed the same.

 

Brees, on the other hand, totally tricked us. She was passive and a little shy at the kennel, but walked into the house, saw the stuffies and didn't stop playing for about three hours. Then she fell over, exhausted. I had to play stuffy toss every morning for a loooooong time before I was "allowed" to drink coffee. She was shy with strangers for the first year, but has pretty much gotten over it and learned that people pet her. She's still nuts with toys, but she's turning into a real greyhound. She's learning to love sleep, and doesn't want to get up in the morning until she thinks some people food or a walk will be coming. Brees was a good dog when we got her, and she gets better every day.

[2greyhoundMINI]

Ok, what is "roach" mode please!

[RedHead]

We had a few minor issues, but Teague also came to me pretty much perfect. A lot of grey people told me to wait for the honeymoon period to wear off....but it didn't. He never showed any bad behaviours, but I also do a lot of preventative training. The only way he has changed has been for the better. He is much more social, and craves attention more than he used to.

[Riverhound]

"Roach mode" -- Joe's first day home.

 

 

And see this thread about Monty. He was a professional.

[2greyhoundMINI]

Ah! No roaching yet, but I think June is getting close.

She likes to hang half off her bed now...

Edited October 19, 2013 by 2greyhoundMINI

[Riverhound]

Ah! No reaching yet, but I think June is getting close.

She likes to hang half off her bed now..

 

 

Ahhhhh. "Bed Fail" is another important greyhound skill!

[ILoveJulep]

I've had Julep a year and a half and while she has come out of her shell a bit, her personality hasn't changed too much, she is still my sweet,shy, timid girl who is uncertain around anything new.

[Guest knowimagination]

We are coming up on our girl Rush's third gotcha day (december will be 3 year) and it is amazing how much she has changed in that time. She was 4 when we adopted her and she was quiet and would sometimes want pets, but pretty much kept to herself.

 

We were fine with her getting on the couch, but she would just lay on the carpet or her dog bed. She had no interest at all and a few times we would pick her up and put her on the couch and she would immediately jump down. Eventually we would find her laying on the couch but if we sat on the couch she would jump down as soon as we sat down.

 

Fast forward to now where we will have several people sitting on the couch and about a foot of space between myself and the arm of the couch and she will now walk up and eye the spot, ill say dog you're never going to... but then I am interrupted by her jumping up curling around and plopping down in a space so small I wonder how she fits.

 

It has been a joy to watch her develop and trust us and open up to us over the years.

[Guest chickenpotpie]

Lucky hasn't changed, but I will say she's blossomed! She picked us, so I think that made the difference. She can be VERY vocal if she dosent agree with something She also knows that maw-maws word is law so suck it up! Lucky still shows no interest in getting on furniture, though she does prefer to be around us often. So I've given up the couch and got some cushions for the floor so we can hang out and watch tv.

[a_daerr]

Henry has been home for close to three years, and believe it or not, his personality is STILL evolving. When we first got him, he was majorly fear aggressive. Very shy, froze and statued all the time, freaked out by loud noises, hated children and men, hand shy. He had pretty much every problem in the book. Our trainer thought he would always be spooky.

 

Fast forward about a year, and he was almost totally over his fear issues. Bombproof. Friendly and happy out in public, even earned his therapy dog certificate. Still very polite and well-mannered... Then his personality got way more outgoing with the addition of our puppy. He went into 'big brother mode' and totally exuded confidence. He went through another huge personality change when we got his seizures under controlled and started meds. Way more affectionate and snuggly. He also became ten times more playful, energetic, vocal, and spunky. I think we have only begun to see his 'true' personality.

 

They really do surprise you. My guy is a 100% different dog than the one I started with.