New Grey Mom - Couple Of Questions!

[Guest sparky123]

Hi everyone!

 

I've been reading this forum for a couple of weeks, and now that I finally have my boy home with me I have a few questions I hope you can help with!

 

I've had my sweet grey home for a week today. He seems to have adjusted to being home so well and his tail is always wagging happily!

 

We've go on four walks a day usually and he loves greeting new people as long as they scratch his ears. Up until this morning I have had no problems with him walking at all, but this morning a man walked by and my grey growled at him. I have never seen him act this way towards a person before. I corrected him right away and we moved on, but it was really weird! Do you think this is something I should be worried about? It was still dark out this morning and he and I were the only two out, maybe he thought he was protecting me from this stranger? From what I've read greys aren't the protective type so I thought it was odd since he's always so sweet and affectionate towards everyone.

 

Also, I have a cat and have been working on cat training. I am wondering if I'm being overly cautious though. My cat is very dominate and really wants to check out who this new dog is.

 

So far we've been working with them where the dog is in his crate and we let the cat walk around the living room. We praise the dog when he looks away from the cat and give him his favorite treats. When he's eating he pays absolutely no attention to the cat at all.

 

However, the other day the cat came up to the create to give the dog a sniff and the dog freaked out a little. I think he got scared because he stood up, backed up and barked. Luckily our cat is extremely confident and wasn't phased by this and did not run away, he was just like, "what's your problem?" and walked away.

 

So far we've only been doing these cat walking around while dog is in the crate sessions for 30 minutes a day, twice a day because we don't want to stress the dog out too much. Do you think we should step it up though and leave the cat out for more time? I am looking forward to the day that we can all hang out stress free in the living room together as a big happy family!

 

Thanks so much in advance for your advice and wisdom!

 

[Feisty49]

I suspect your boy (name?) growled this morning because it was dark and he was unsure as to what/whom was on the street with him/you. Growling is considered OK because it's a warning. It's occurs before an emotion escalates into something more, such as biting. Your guy had a "right" to growl because he was: uncertain? frightened? insecure? just plain old didn't like the vibes he was getting from the stranger? It's important to respect his growling because he's telling you something's not right in his life. I assume when you walk him he's on a restricted leash length so he's not wandering 6 feet in front/beside you having free rein to go up to people. I consider that bad manners and in the case of him growling this morning, it's a way to keep your boy controlled and protected.

 

The cat: Hmmm....my girl Annie came to me cat safe, so I was told, and it turned out to be true. Within half an hour of coming home after adoption, I introduced my cat and Annie, with Annie on the leash right by my side, and the cat being able to walk around her. Annie had little to no interest once she sniffed the important parts of the cat's body. :--) I'm not an expert in this just because within an hour after bringing Annie home, both animals were sharing the living room -- Annie unleashed -- with no problem, but I do think you're being overly cautious. If it were me, I'd put my hound on a leash, keep him right next to my body and let the cat in the room. There's any way to completely determine if your guy is cat safe while he's in his crate. When your boy barked the other day, he may have felt threatened by the cat. (In my house, the cat rules and if she's laying on Annie's bed, Annie comes to me with the look that says, "Mommmmmm, get her off my bed, please.") If anything, your boy may get his nose swatted by your cat if the cat is too interested but you won't know until you try it.

 

So glad your guy is a happy, tail wagging hound. We do need a name, though, and a picture!

Edited January 5, 2015 by Feisty49

[Remolacha]

I understand about being overly cautious with the cat/grey introduction, I was paranoid with my first grey I just brought home a new dog over the weekend, so this is fresh for me. I would muzzle your grey, put him on leash, and let your cat walk around in the room. If your grey shows little or no interest in the cat (some curiosity is normal), the next "trial" you can drop the leash (but leave it attached) and see how they interact. Having a confident cat is a huge plus, and I assume you got a dog that was tested as cat "safe". It is always good to be cautious though, each cat and each new situation is different.

 

As for the growling, I agree that he was probably uncertain or frightened. A growl is a warning, and I do not correct for that. Also, while the man may have been perfectly harmless, I always trust my dog's instincts. Greyhounds as a breed are not known to be protective, but some individuals are, my Fletcher was very protective of me and his girls.

 

Sounds like things are going well! Congratulations!

[greysmom]

Muzzle, leash, let them interact. That's the only way to see. If he will look away from the cat, and/or be corrected away from the cat, then you're probably good. In the future, you may want to separate them securely when you're gone, but it really depends on the two of them. If the dog gets too fresh, the cat will whack him on the nose, and the dog will run away! Best cat training ever. Don't be overly alarmed if the dog wants to sniff the cat all over. Mine still do it to our cat and it's mostly saying hello and sniffing.

 

As far as the growling, I don't think there's anything to be worried about. Darkness, wrong vibe, anxiety - all perfectly normal and natural. If he does it more often with other people, see if there's a common denominator - beards, hats, certain sounds or smells - are all things some greyhounds have issues with at times. Otherwise, small tug and a treat to keep walking and move on.

[Guest normaandburrell]

Both my greys have been more skittish when I walk them at night. Welcome to Greytalk, and yes, pictures and a name, please!

[Guest sparky123]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

Here's a pic of Duke:

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2iw9dlu&s=8#.VKraTEJdUt0

 

Feisty49, he is on a short leash and after the growling I told him a firm no and then we just walked in the other direction. I see now that I shouldn't have corrected him. Thanks for the info!!

 

Duke was deemed cat safe from his rescue group. Apparently the cat there swatted him on the face and after that Duke was scared of the cat.

 

We have also done the muzzle + leash combo (in addition to the crate) with the cat and at times he seems oblivious to the cat (like when he's eating a treat), but when he's not eating a treat he watches the cat move around unless we break his gaze by saying no pretty loudly a couple times in a row. His ears are usually perked up halfway or all the way, but he doesn't growl/bark/salivate or anything like that.

 

I'll do the muzzle + leash combo again today. Thanks all!

Edited January 5, 2015 by sparky123

[bradymom]

With Brady I used baby-gates about 6 inches off the ground in the kitchen so that the cat could visit but also had a means to escape if necessary. I did this while I was at work.

 

Duke is gorgeous, congratulations and welcome to grey talk.

[dostacos]

we had three cats when we got Queen, called cat safe { I watched her ignore the cat they use for testing} and She did the "greet in the usual manner} but never had a real interest. She and my youngest cat slept on my bed with me {DW sleeps in another bedroom as I wake her too often AND she sleeps with the oldest cat}

 

After Queen went to the Bridge, we adopted Conrad also came cat friendly and he too, just lives and lets live. Our boy cat died, but before he did he would wait until Conrad left his bed for the bedroom and he would roll all over his bed, he would do the same thing in the bedroom when Conrad was not in it....Conrad will NOT get up on the bed so he stays in a dog bed on the floor until time for bed when I am in the bedroom.

 

I would say let'em mingle and ANY time my dog barks, I take it as a warning they are sensing something I did not recognize as needing a warning

 

Finally, welcome put your feet up and stay awhile

[greytpups]

Growling is a way dogs tell you I'm uncomfortable, scared, anxious, etc. and should not be told "no", rather you need to change the situation. In this case I would have either changed direction, gave him a wide berth or something similar, just as long as you are aware that he's telling you, "I'm uncomfortable, do something".

 

Growling is a dogs' way of communicating, and shouldn't be thought of as a negative behaviour, but simply a communication tool. If you punish/stop a dog from growling, they may bite instead and not give a warning, because you have taught him growling is bad and I will be punished so I will bite.

 

Read this article http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/311247-for-the-new-adopter-by-dennis-mckeon/?hl=%2Bdennis+%2Bmckeon by Dennis McKeon and you may get some insight about your new greyhound. He needs time to adjust to a whole new world.

 

Good Luck

[Feisty49]

Duke is gorgeous!

[Guest goofydog]

What a good looking fellow he is. Welcome to the Board.

[Guest DogNewbie]

Welcome! Duke is very handsome!

[MattB]

Hi, I had been reacting the same way to my dog growling 'no!' before reading advice on this forum. I've just been bought a book called The other end of the leash and it's got a bit in it about trying to overcome a dog's negative reaction to men which I found interesting. This may be jumping the gun though as it might be a one off. I think it's interesting how dogs react to different people. I've got a very shy girl and some people she wants to sniff, others she'd rather hide behind me when they walk past.

[MattB]

Out of interest, did you react to the man your grey growled at? I'd posted on here about growling and, although ours was at other dogs, I've seen a huge difference when I followed some advice on remaining calm myself.

[Dawnnziggy]

We have an overly enthusiastic greeter. He loves everyone and thinks everyone loves him! The one day he would not go anywhere near a man who wanted to talk with me about greyhounds. I did not linger! He likes and trusts everyone and when he let me know that this man was not a good person, I was on my way.

 

We also had a female who hated men at first. She would duck away from them. I think she may have been beaten at the track. She could be a bit of a bi?*h. She was our alpha dog even though she only weighed 46 lbs. and the boys were 78 lbs. and 82 lbs.

 

I guess I just wanted to say that maybe he was trying to tell you something about that man.