Walks And Greyhound

[Guest Barb]

We are 2nd time Greyhound owners, we lost our Maggie in 11-2013 from oseto so we are fairly familiar with Greyhound quirks. We now have a new Greyhound Rosie who was not on the track long, she is just under 2 years old, and have had her about 2 weeks. Here is my question, has anyone else seen a great reluctance to take a walk by a Greyhound? We take her out several times a day and she will go several houses down the street and just stop. When I look at her she has her head down or is looking off into space. Now up until the stop she walks very nicely, right at my left side and then stops. I call and sometimes she comes but most of the time it takes pulling on the lead and then she prances back up to me and we continue for different lengths of time and then she stops. She is not limping and she is eating and pooping just fine. I have been working with treats to get her to walk non stop without much luck. We live in Ohio and go out early in the morning so it is not heat. I saw a little of this behavior with Maggie but only when hot.

 

I honestly think she just does not want to go for a walk, only wants to go out in back, take care of business and come back into the house but that is no way to get her exercise. Anyone else see this issue???

[macoduck]

Search in the Training and Behavior subforum for "statueing" and you'll find others have experienced this. Since you've only had her for 2 weeks, unless you have to take her out on leash to potty, don't rush taking her for walks. She may need a longer time to adjust to her new life.

 

And welcome to GreyTalk!

[MaryJane]

I've seen this many times with my fosters. To simplify, they get overwhelmed with their new life (or environment) and it's too much to take for them to take in at once. Best to go slow and let them experience new "things" at their own pace.

 

Note, I've had dogs that I could only get to the end of the driveway and we would stand there for about 10 minutes and then head back in. This went on for a week or two and then we started taking more steps down the street.

[duncan41]

Welcome to GreyTalk! Yes, I have seen this behavior when litter sisters adopted us - straight off the track. In our case, I think it was a combination of walking on cement and asphalt and the May heat here in FL that was hard on their pads. Dogs straight from the track have walked on sand for the most part.

I "conditioned" their pads by starting with short walks; literally one house at a time. Day 1 was one house and back (houses here are on 60 foot lots.). Day 2, two houses. Day 3, three and so on and so on. If there was any reluctance as the number increased, I backed off one or two and then increased again. It was tedious, but by the time the cool weather arrived (those two days in January when it's actually COLD - ), we were walking about a mile and a half.

 

If Rosie is "statueing", you may have to figure out what works best for her to get her attention and release her trance.

[Guest Jesse12789]

bossman did this same exct thing. well its weird the first week i had him he was completely fibe then out of no where he would stop 50 feet from the house and turn and look at the house and freeze until i headed back... he did thi for like 4 dayys then i grabbed my other 2 dogs and as long as there with him walking he loves walks lol.. i guess he just missed his buddies lol....i say encourage with treats.

[scullysmum]

Ditto to all the above, she is probably just a bit overwhelmed at the moment. If she will take treats then use them to encourage her to venture a bit further, if she stops taking them she's probably had enough for that walk.

[Guest LauraB]

Not only does Dillard statue, but now he has a new one. He flops down on the grass, closes his eyes and takes a nap. I can't get him going with treats, gentle pulls etc. The only thing that works is to walk away, open the car door, slam it and open it again. He comes running because the car is his favorite thing on earth.

[lukasmom]

My Luka hates to walk and he thinks unless he is walking to my Jeep for a ride it is stupid. He looks so miserable I stopped walking him. My girl Peace just turned 13 and loved to walk.

Maybe some time I will have a hound that likes to walk.

[Ragsysmum]

Was she walked at the kennels she came from? We have had several hounds from various places and some of them are used to walking a set distance out and back and seem to have that fixed in their heads. Our latest boy lived over 9 years in kennels before he came here and was walked a set distance out and back and still sees this as the 'right' thing to do. When he has gone 'the distance', done his two wees and a poo, he turns back to go home again if left to his own choice. Of course I encourage him to go further and in different directions and places, which he will do and seems to enjoy but if we walk offlead he always turns round and sets off back after a certain distance still, eighteen months on.

[bradymom]

Not only does Dillard statue, but now he has a new one. He flops down on the grass, closes his eyes and takes a nap. I can't get him going with treats, gentle pulls etc. The only thing that works is to walk away, open the car door, slam it and open it again. He comes running because the car is his favorite thing on earth.

LauraB

The handsome boy Brady (9 yr. old) does the same thing. We have a fenced in (small) backyard now but sometimes he does not want to poop in his yard, the first 5 years (house with no yard) lease walked to potty.

 

Brady picks yards with shade trees and just lays down. I have started carrying a collapsible water dish and water bottle, so he has a drink, sometimes he rolls over on his side and one day I was sure he was going to roach, car came by and nixed the idea. On the days when I work, I find that he really does not drink much while i am gone, and he has always panted but as he gotten older, it seems to have gotten heavier, water for me has become a necessity.

 

Some days he does multiple flops, in multiple yards and our home is the next yard, this is the first summer he has done this, so I think for Brady, it's age and heat and humidity and maybe just enjoying being outside with more stimulation then his yard. His favorite spot is 2 houses away with a small rise and he loves just watching over the neighborhood. Also there are quite a few bunnies in the neighborhood. 3 out of 4 times he does not even see them or pay attention to them and they have been really close to us but the 4th time he saw it 2 yards away and was all in with his attention. That bunny he saw before I did and it was his reaction that got my attention first. He enjoys watching ???- the leaves blow; the neighbor mowing his lawn and the grass grow.. One day it was not even hot when he did the flop, it was mid-morning and there was a great breeze and he closed his eyes as if to take a nap.

 

I told a friend who has 2 greys that I feel like we are living the fairy tale of Goldilocks and the 3 bears, going from yard to yard, looking for that favorite spot of grass. The odd thing is, Brady has never done this in his own front yard, maybe one day....

 

None of my neighbors have complained about his lounging in their yards but a few have come running to see if he is okay and I really feel bad when we get that reaction. Brady pops up all ready for some petting and I tell them that he has decided to take a break and I am waiting him out. On those days we were just going around the block-- it was a big block but I know if I don't walk him after a couple of turns in the backyard and he has not pooped then we need to walk.

 

All of this makes me laugh and smile about my goofy boy, unless we are on a tight schedule... then it's no so fun. He has learned the "up command" and is 85% reliable and then to get him moving again. I have to walk him in tight circles. Pulling on the lead does not work with Brady, so then I repeat the tight circle walk.

 

Debbie & Brady

[Guest Barb]

I want to thank everyone for the advise on walking of all things. It is getting better here, however I am using a pinch collar at a trainer's advise. As long as she had it on I no longer have the total dead stops with all 4 paws dug in. I have also taught her to come on command(kinda of) with the collar and treats so while not perfect I am fairly satisfied. She still tries to stop a lot but it is easy to get her back on track. She has been with us about 5 weeks now and she has started spending lots of time in her kennel. That is where she naps. Strangely she wanted nothing to do with either of the two beds we offered. She does sleep in our room on the one bed she seems to like and except for getting up between 5 and 6 each morning, sleeping has been no problem. It just seems weird that she prefers the kennel to being with us, we can not even entice her onto the couch, Oh well I guess they are all different.

 

For any of you with "flopping" issues, other first Grey was so bad at that. If the temp was over 50 she thought it way to hot to be outside. I too have sat in a strangers frong yard while Maggie had her recovery time. I always figured she was "playing" me because soon as something interesting came along she was up and ready to go.

 

Again, thanks everyone for the feedback.

[silverfish]

Barb - Please, please PLEASE do not use a pinch collar with a greyhound!! I can't say this strongly enough. If a trainer told you to do this, get another trainer, ASAP.

 

Greyhound necks are delicate, and greyhound skin is thin and tears really, really easily. They bruise easily too. What's more, if you hurt him (which it will, I promise you, whatever the trainer said) it can cause all kinds of behavioural issues which can take a very long time to resolve. These are sensitive dogs. What's more, it will mask the real issue; there is a reason he is doing this. It may be that he's new and overwhelmed with his new world and that being so, being forced along with a very negative and painful training 'tool' is simply not going to help - it's going to make things a lot worse. Oh, it may appear to help at first, but that's the trouble with these darned things.

 

Greyhounds are very eager to please, and try hard to be adaptable. If he's baulking and lying down on walks, there is a reason he's doing it! Far better to work on that than take a short cut like this which will end up putting a huge roadblock in the way of your developing relationship with him.

[Batmom]

I too would strongly object to the use of a pinch collar. If the dog is lying down, she's tired, ill, or overwhelmed. Making her move through pain doesn't make sense in any of those circumstances. Add to that, a pinch collar can easily damage a sighthound neck -- they don't have the thick skin and layer of fat that a lab or mastiff would have on the neck.

 

There is a whole discussion about that type of collar here: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/308128-pinch-collars/

[3greytjoys]

I completely agree with others. Please stop using a pinch collar on a Greyhound. Please consider going back to a soft martingale collar (or a harness).

 

Newly retired Greyhounds are often hesitant to take walks for many reasons. Some important reasons have already been discussed in this thread. Additionally, some new hounds may have minor racing injuries that could still be sore/painful. New Greyhounds arrive into retirement with very soft paw pads. Our new adopters are encouraged to limit walks during the first couple of months or longer. This is to allow time for new hounds to adjust to a strange new environment, sights and sounds of a home/neighborhood after suddenly being removed from the only life they've ever known of kennel/track life.

Also, to slowly build-up their paw pad toughness to be able to endure longer walks. Pads are so soft when they retire that they can be worn down to a painful level quickly. First few days might be a 2 or 3 minute walk. If hound is emotionally comfortable, and ready to walk further, the next several days might be 6 minutes, then very, very gradually working up to 30 minutes+. Paw pads should be checked frequently to ensure they aren't wearing down too much. Some hounds have nearly invisible corns which make walking extremely painful.

 

Please do seriously consider silverfish and Batmom's previous posts. I posted more information about the medical dangers of pinch collars on page 2 of the link in Batmom's previous post. I understand that many dog trainers still don't realize the dangers of metal pinch collars, especially on the sensitive Greyhound breed. Positive, reward-based teaching methods work well for Greyhounds.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Molly will walk forever, Mason's limit is a mile and he's done. While none of mine have resorted to "statueing" I have had one lay down in the grass and rest (yes, people stopped to see if he was ok) and Mason, all 93 lbs of him, has stopped, planted his feet and turned around. When he's done, he's really done. It's Greyhound Stubborn Syndrome and there's really no stopping it. It's why we love 'em.

[Guest june]

Please consider consulting another trainer or talk to your adoption group.

I have no doubt you love your pup and would not do anything that would intentionally hurt her.

Pinch collars (may) have a place, but unfortunately a greyhound's neck is not it.

[Guest Funkypaws]

I'm learning that this is just normal greyhound behaviour. My Snoop is only 4 months old, she's never been near a track or had any racing training, and she does this too. She's just a puppy, so everything on a walk is either SUPER EXCITING or QUITE SCARY ACTUALLY! When she goes into "statue" mode, sometimes I wait a minute or so & make encouraging noises, then a gentle nudge with my leg & we can continue. (Treats don't work at this stage, and she's a highly food motivated puppy!) But I know that if she starts to tremble, then we need to head for home for a while. She's getting better as time goes on. There's just so much that's new to her, and it's my belief that gentle encouragement & watching out for when she really is getting overwhelmed & not forcing her will do more for her confidence in the long run.

[Guest greyhound_in_LA]

Fire that trainer. What an ass, I'm sorry. Dogs do not need that kind of harsh reinforcement.

 

I've experienced the statue phenomenon, and I either have treats to deal with it or side nudges. I never pull on the collar or try to drag forward; that's just counterproductive and not a good bonding experience at all. If you must move your hound, you can try the circle-around using the collar, which may reset the dog's mental state, or a side nudge, not pushing. Sometimes there is no moving, and you go back; it's just the way it is with our new pups.