Honeymoon Stage? Too Good To Be True?

[Guest roweboy]

Bear with me for a moment - there is a question in here!!

 

We adopted a 2 year old male greyhound 1.5 weeks ago. He's a big, gorgeous guy. This is very new territory for us even though we've had dogs forever, although all small ones. I work from home and biz is slow right now so I've been home with the new boy almost all the time. He looks to me (eye to eye) for approval on everything. Leans against my left leg & I hold out my left hand and he comes around to my left side and I hold his collar as we walk around the house. He waits for our approval to eat the food we put in his dish.

 

House training has been a breeze - no accidents, no attempts to mark. He even found two places in the yard to poop - far away from the house, and a slight corrective "uh uh" keeps from peeing on the new trees. He gets restless and walks to the door when he needs to go out. He seems to stay in his crate without a problem when I'm out. I make sure he's been outside and had a bit of play in the yard, tell him to "kennel up', give him a treat and leave the radio or tv on. No problem - no whining or barking. He walks beautifully on lead (he was in a prison training program for 5 weeks before we got him). He is learning to be around the kitties - 2 out of 4 are good but the other 2 hide. We'll get there. He sleeps in his crate in our room at night. He knows what I mean when I tell him to "go to your place" (his bed in the fam room) when I'm cooking in the kitchen. He doesn't chew on anything or get wild in the house. He's incredibly sweet, seems very content, loves visitors...

 

The big question: Is this a honeymoon period and will it change? I've never had such a gentle, dare I say near-perfect dog. Is this just him? The breed? Will negative things emerge as he becomes more comfortable? It's like this is almost too good to be true. Is it?

[Jenbo]

Sounds like the perfect dog. But yes, they do change a little bit over time, he might become more excitable as he gets more comfy or maybe he'll decide to run around the house when you get home to show you how happy he is. It takes a little time for their entire personalities to show but some arrive and settle in like they've always been there.

[winnie]

The big question: Is this a honeymoon period and will it change? I've never had such a gentle, dare I say near-perfect dog. Is this just him? The breed? Will negative things emerge as he becomes more comfortable? It's like this is almost too good to be true. Is it?

 

Our first greyhound Celeste was extremely easy from Day 1. She was recently retired and right off the track too - never fostered. Everyone loves Celeste. DH and I joke that our group gave us a super easy one to rope us in. Our others have had a few more challenges, but nothing major.

 

We hit the jackpot with our first galgo Beatrix too.

[RedHead]

My guy was similar. Other than a few of the common things like stairs, floors, etc. I had virtually no problems right from the start. Everyone told me to "wait until the honeymoon" wore off but it never did! He only got better and more personable I was consistent about rules right from the get go, plus I was at home for the first month which probably helped.

Edited March 6, 2014 by RedHead

[Hubcitypam]

Depends on the dog. Some test boundries as they settle in and some are never a problem from day one. Congrats on you new guy!

[ramonaghan]

That was our experience with Sweep. We're more than a year in now, and she's never given us any trouble. Sometimes you just luck out!*

 

*and that's how they hook you.

[Houndtime]

Especially since he came out of prison program, pretty much should be what you've gotten. He may test some boundries, but he sounds wonderful. Our little Idol came off of the track and never had an accident in the house or tried out anything on us. She followed the boys and did whatever they did. Good luck. Enjoy your boy!!

[GreytNut]

Sounds like you got a really easy first dog. FWIW most of the greyhounds I've had have been very easy to housetrain and quick to learn the rules. A couple of them presented unique challenges, such as extreme shyness or separation anxiety, but nothing that I didn't learn to handle. They have all been much mellower and easy to work with than other breeds of dog I have had. Your hound may change some as he becomes more comfortable in his new home and his personality blossoms, but I doubt you'll experience a rock-your-world behavioral change.

 

Congrats!

[greysmom]

Congratulations! You are the proud owner of "The Perfect Greyhound!"

 

They are more common than not. Even here on Greytalk, there's only a small percentage of people who post in Training & Behavior. Greyhounds are really surprisingly easy.

[DesiRayMom]

I've had Desi for 4 years......he's been the perfect hound every single day.

I've thought to myself that I'd never be able to adopt another, because I'd never find another as perfect.......

but it sure sounds like they're actually pretty common, huh?

 

Congratulations, and enjoy!

[juliemac]

didn't you wonder why we're all somewhat obsessed by our greyhounds???

[galgrey]

Depends on the dog. Some test boundries as they settle in and some are never a problem from day one. Congrats on you new guy!

I've had two come in straight off the track and were almost perfect and I've had two that were challenging for various reasons. Keep the routine you've got going that seems to be working really well and he'll probably be fine. Some of them are just easy like that.

And congrats on your new boy! Post picture when you can!

[Feisty49]

Sounds like my Annie. My Greyhound friends tell me I'm lucky. About the only thing Annie did to try limits was at the very beginning when she either wanted to pull on the leash while walking or planted herself, refusing to move. Those two things were easy fixes and truly, she is a perfect dog. No barking. No garbage diving. No counter cruising. No furniture sleeping. No chewing on things she shouldn't. She's even becoming more and more affectionate as time goes by (I adopted her over 2-1/2 years ago). Oh, and she likes being an only dog. The few times I've fostered, she totally ignored the other Greyhound in the house.

 

I think if your boy were going to push some buttons, he would have started already. Congrats!

[BatterseaBrindl]

Our Nixon came to us like that, too and nearly 4 years later, he's still the best dog ever!

 

Ruby came to us already labelled with SA from a previous owner, but got over that within the first 4 months. She's fine on her own for short periods. We've never heard her bark !

 

Nigel also came to us with some SA and barking issues from a previous home. He still frets if left alone for more than a few minutes, and he barks up a storm if he thinks we're late getting his supper, but overall he's just a really good dog, too. Very eager to please!

 

We've had multiple large breed dogs (Dobes x 3, GSDx, Springer, PointerX) and the Greyhounds are by far the most relaxed and laid-back dogs ever.

[Guest Doggone]

My Autumn is another "easy-peasy" greyhound, and has been since she came to me (over a year ago). A couple of "uh uhs" are the sum total of corrections she's needed. Like Annie, she too has become more affectionate and seems to prefer being an only dog.

Shes my first greyhound, although I've had other dogs. I can't imagine having any other breed now........I'm that spoiled!

[Guest rarmstrong]

Congrats! No real advice, since I've had my guy just a few days shy of 3 weeks. I'm wondering the same thing.

 

No real issues (other than my own wild imagination running away with me). Seems way too good to be true. Or greyhounds are as amazing as I thought they would be.

Edited March 7, 2014 by rarmstrong

[sobesmom]

Congrats on your new greyhound! Sounds like you're off to a wonderful start. I'm a strong believer in "the honeymoon syndrome". Something will crop up - but it doesn't have to be a problem. A week and a half is not enough time to not expect something to deal with. Be vigilant for the next month - and nip any issues in the bud. My first greyhound, Sobe, was PERFECT for a month - then we had a LOT of stuff to deal with. I'm sure you won't have that much to deal with since he came from a program. But there probably WILL be some changes in a few weeks. Just roll through it. Maintain routine, deal with stuff as it comes up.

 

The fact that you're aware that things might change - is a really good thing. You'll be ready for it, and not panic if/when your "perfect" dog develops a quirk. If/when that happens - we're here for you. We've all been there - done that.

 

Congrats again!

[scullysmum]

I think the expression "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" springs to mind

 

Relax and enjoy your new hound and be sure to come back here regularly (with pics) to show us how perfect he is.

[greytpups]

You may question this honeymoon phase, but it's not unusual to have the perfect greyhound. People post more about issues when they need help than those of us with perfect greyhounds, so you may think perfection is an anomaly rather than the norm.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of greyhounds! this best part, in my opinion, is the bond with them, something I have never experienced quite as much with other breeds (and I grew up with dogs, mostly mutts who were very sweet dogs) as I have with a greyhound...or two...wait, we're up to three now

Edited March 7, 2014 by greytpups

[FiveRoooooers]

Pretty much, you get the behavior you expect. As long as you are aware that the other shoe *could* drop, you're ok. Meanwhile, keep positive, lead by example and enjoy. Two of my now-gone campers arrived as the perfect dogs and that was the shoe that fit, they stayed that way. Welcome!!

[Guest roweboy]

Thank you to everyone for your kind responses. I'd love to post pictures, but not sure how on this site. Any tips??

 

Even if CJ comes up with some "other-shoe-dropping" behaviors, he'd have a long way to go before he'd reach the level of difficulty we've experienced with several past pets. Maybe we just got lucky, but I was not anxious to have another dog just yet and now I'm very happy we made this choice ( actually, CJ chose us).

 

I'm happy to be a part of this community!

[winnie]

 

We hit the jackpot with our first galgo Beatrix too.

 

Apparently I jinxed myself. This is what we came home to yesterday courtesy of Beatrix who we adopted on 10/17/13. Eh, no biggie in the grand scheme of things.

 

Edited March 7, 2014 by winnie

[greysmom]

Thank you to everyone for your kind responses. I'd love to post pictures, but not sure how on this site. Any tips??

 

Even if CJ comes up with some "other-shoe-dropping" behaviors, he'd have a long way to go before he'd reach the level of difficulty we've experienced with several past pets. Maybe we just got lucky, but I was not anxious to have another dog just yet and now I'm very happy we made this choice ( actually, CJ chose us).

 

I'm happy to be a part of this community!

 

There is a pinned thread on posting pics on the top of the Cute and Funny section, but briefly:

>your photos need to be uploaded to a photo-hosting site like Photobucket, Instagram, smugmug, etc. You can also create a gallery here on GT for this purpose.

>at the hosting site, click on the box that says something like "IMG Code" or "Post in a forum" and copy the code

>back here on GT, paste the code into a reply box and click on post

[jetcitywoman]

Nobody's mentioned this, so I will: this is the reason we call them "potato chip dogs". I.e. like the Lay's potato chip commercial says, you can't have just one. Which really is just a joke that means these hounds can be so mindblowingly easy and wonderful that they convince you to get another one.... and sometimes one more.... and another.... etc.

 

There are some strong people here who only have two. (Me only because DH enforces the rules and threatens to divorce me if I bring home more dogs! LOL! I would totally have a house full if not for him.)

 

And yes... it's really easy to get a perfect dog. When we adopted Capri, she was perfect and we were afraid she'd ruined us for any other dogs. A year later we adopted Ajax and.... darn it all but he's perfect also! They are night and day different, but both perfect in their own rights. (And yes... I could be blinded by love...)

[Guest sireltonsmom]

Congrats on CJ. The good part of this is he gets positive reinforcement for his good behavior. If he behaves otherwise, he won't get the 'oh wow' response - at least not the positive way. We have a fairly new prison trained boy who just turned 3. I highly recommend you keep up the commands with him so he's constantly rewarded for being the best boy. Beau does really well when I go thru the commands every few days and we live by the commands on walks or if I want him to be still. He's a funny boy - we call him kleptoBeau as he steals stuff and brings it to the living room to snuggle with. Mindy is our Diva and each provide us with hours of fun and smiles every day. We all are pretty obsessed with greyhounds - they are amazing. Enjoy CJ!