Cranky Girl! Please Help!

[Guest ShannyTizzle]

Hi everyone! Need some advice again, you have never steered me wrong.

 

I have had Gardenia (3 yr old retired racer, mild-mannered) for almost a year now. I am now looking to adopt another one (for her, as a playmate), but we are having some issues. When she first showed up at my door last September, she came with another greyhound (the adoptees wanted to see which one took to me better) and she was fine with that other dog. She seemed to enjoy the company of this dog and was even "sad" when they left (she was hanging out by the front door for hours). However, I have noticed that now she really does not like being around other dogs. I have not been able to get her to play with other dogs, as she just wants to pounce, chase (lol), or be "cranky" (as we like to call it) around other dogs. I generally keep her away from other dogs and avoid the dog park when other dogs are there. She shows her teeth, barks, gets snappy, and generally just does not like when other dogs approach her, but she never bites (I pull her away because I am scared of this happening although she has never done it, even when given the chance). Is there an explanation for this behavior? Do you believe she will ever get over this if we get another greyhound? She was obviously okay at a certain point with other greyhounds. I am wondering if anyone else had this problem and how they got over it. Does it just take some time/conditioning? Me and my fiancé are willing to put in the work to get the dogs to get along, but I want to know how to get to that point. Also, when taking her out for a walk, she always seems VERY interested in other dogs. She never barks or snarls, just looks and wags her tail. However, when they approach her, especially in a quick manner (mostly when THEY are off the leash), she starts to show her teeth and snarl. We took her for a long walk the other day and we came across an unleashed dog. The dog did not approach Gardenia (as most tend to do) and after a while she actually ended up approaching the other dog with NO issues. Is this just a territory or insecurity thing? I am really hoping this is something that can be overcome as we really want her to have fun with another dog. It's not just for us, it's mainly for her to have a companion. Thank you in advance for all your comments and suggestions.

[greysmom]

Couple things.

 

Number one - Greyhounds are most always fine around other greyhounds. They are raised around other greyhounds, spend longer with their littermates and mother, their formative years are spent around other grreyhounds, they are kept in gender groups of greyhounds during training and racing. They know greyhounds and understand greyhound behavior - which is usually much more polite than your general dog-park non-greyhound. So I would not have any worries if you want to adopt again, as long as it's a greyhound. Many greys don't even recognize other breeds as "dogs" because they've never been around or been exposed to any other kind of dog.

 

Which leads to number two - Your average dog is taken away from their mother and siblings at 8 weeks old and adopted out. They don't learn how to be a dog by being around other dogs. They play differently than greyhounds. They speak a different language both physically and body-language-wise - one greyhounds don't automatically understand and/or appreciate. They don't get taught the proper way to say Hello, and end up running up and being rude (from a greyhound's perspective). And, being a proper sort of dog, a greyhound will try and teach the rude one how to behave, which looks a lot like being "cranky" to us humans.

 

And, a number three - Since your dog seems to have adjusted fine to being an only-dog, make sure you think clearly about the reason you want to adopt again. I'm not trying to discourage you, but you may or may not end up with the kind of relationship you expect. Even if you let your current dog help in picking out the new one, and you find one that's compatible and a good fit, they may or may not ever play together or have any sort of overtly friendly relationship. They will most likely get along fine, just think about if YOU want another greyhound, and not just for her.

 

Greyhounds are great dogs and it's natural to want to have another. We even have a name for that - "chipping" - because, like potato chips, you can't have just one greyhound! And having two greys, or more, has it's own benefits. So, as long as you can afford the added expense and the added responsibility, there isn't a reason not to!

[JJNg]

One question...has she come across any other greyhounds since you've adopted her, and how did she react? As greysmom mentioned, most greyhounds are fine with other greyhounds, even if they don't appreciate the attentions of other dogs. When they meet other greyhounds in public, it's often like seeing a long lost friend. However, there are some greyhounds who adjust to being an only dog and prefer to keep it that way. If you're not sure about another greyhound, maybe consider fostering for your local group and see how it goes first? Or at least talk to your group about your concerns and schedule a meeting before deciding whether to adopt or not.

[GeorgeofNE]

If you have a vision of two greyhounds romping around and playing tug of war, you may be sorely disappointed.

 

You already got great advice from Greysmom and JJNg on what's going on with your current dog, and why, but I would suggest you NOT get another dog for her to "have a playmate." If YOU want another dog, great. Get one. They may play, or they may never play. More likely they do some running in the yard, if you have one, and that's probably it. They may well enjoy the companionship of another dog, but you were pretty specific in mentioning a "playmate."

[Guest ShannyTizzle]

Thank you all for your responses!

 

@greysmom and @JJNg you definitely gave us a lot of information to as why Gardenia might be displaying these behaviors. She has never been around another greyhound since she left her adoption friend on the day I got her. That's why I am pretty confident she is okay around other greyhounds. We never have the opportunity to get her around other greyhounds (they're kind of scarce in my area, I have NEVER run into another one). She was around some whippets the other day (2 of them versus one of her) and she did not have fun with that. I feel like Gardenia is very particular and will want only a greyhound, if anything. We definitely do plan on asking the adoption agency to bring a dog to our home just to test it out for a while. I can definitely understand the "chipping" thing; we are definitely motivated by our own wants to have another dog, but we ultimately do want Gardenia to have a companion.

 

@GeorgeofNE I appreciate your comment! But I definitely don't have a vision of that . What I have a vision of is her having a companion, with occasional playing, if they decide to do that. If the dog is anything like our Gardenia it will be a little bit of running at the dog park with each other and then sleeping the rest of the day together haha

 

I am going to voice these concerns to our adoption agency, but I feel confident enough to go forward with the adoption as long as she gets to meet and greet with this dog to see how she reacts. I guess my next question for anyone of you (even though I believe what you are saying about it being like them running into an old best friend) is if your dog EVER got "cranky" when you brought a NEW adoption into the house, and what you did to help this out? Thank you for taking the time to respond. We appreciate it.

[Fruitycake]

I agree that she isn't being 'cranky' so much as she's telling the oncoming or belligerently friendly dog to mind its manners because she doesn't like rudeness or in-her-faceness. A well dog-socialized dog when given an opportunity to greet other dogs will do it obliquely, by swinging out and approaching from an angle instead of head-on. Humans, and dogs trained and socialized to a human perspective, approach face-on, and that is a lot more like a frontal and maybe aggressive assault. Good reason for a dog-socialized dog to warn someone off from that sort of approach!

 

I highly suggest following through with visiting meet-and-greets with other greys as you are able, and watch her approach and interaction with other greys to get an idea of her comfort level with them. And realize that she may be great with company and yet never playful, or thrilled with a playmate and BFF, all the way to the other end of the spectrum and super disgusted and actually grumpy at sharing her space/toys/beds/people with an 'intruder' to her house.

 

Good luck!

[greysmom]

We've had nine greyhounds since 2004, most of them were foster failures, so the resident dogs didn't meet the new ones until the new ones showed up at our house. And still, everyone gets/got along just fine.

 

Yes, there is some managing that needs to go on until everyone works out a new living arrangement - muzzles, monitoring, etc. It's only natural to want to protect your space and your toys and food from an interloper. But as long as you anticipate trouble - whether or not trouble occurs - you should be fine.

 

FWIW, there *are* greyhounds who really prefer to be only dogs. They are few and far between, in my experience. Most appreciate a companion, even if they don't seem to pay much attention to them.

[NeedlenoseJake]

We have a cranky boy too. He is better with other greyhounds than other dogs in general (and DO NOT try to get up in his face!), but even other greyhounds he won't really play with. He's fine being an only dog, and we're fine with it for now. At some point we will probably want another (we tried with a foster, but she DID want to play with him and he wasn't having it), but for now we're good. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Guest Amber]

Sounds like she would do fine with a greyhound friend, maybe a male laid back or middle of the road type. Not a pushy, boisterous one that pushes her buttons but not a shy wimp either.

 

You could always introduce them slowly in the house through a childgate and muzzle *both* dogs for initial intros first few days and playing/running together in the yard for the short or long term, depending how nice they play together.

 

Think they would soon getting used to one another and get on fine.

 

you can remove all treats and toys from lying around at first in case that's a flash point.

 

The only thing i would say is that if you have to walk your dogs alone and Gardenia can be a bit snarky with other dogs, you really don't want two like that. So make sure the new dog is very tolerant of other dogs and breeds. Single handedly walking 2 greys in an environment where loose dogs run over is manageable if 1 is non reactive but if both react , much more difficult. Also sometimes the original dog gets protective of their f.riend and other dogs approaching in a less than polite manner can make them more reactive than as a single dog.

 

if you have 2 people to walk the dogs, that's a lot easier.

[Guest ms3569]

I have a 3 year old male. We adopted him about 6 months ago. He has an issue with growling whenever he is with other dogs greyhounds or labs. He never shows his teeth or snaps. Of the 3 labs he interacts with(walking and playing) one a 4 year old female he never growls at any more. She has very good manners and is never in his face. The other 2 are young and are always in his face. He has no problem with them playing with his toys or being on his bed. He will also growl at greyhounds if they get to close to his face. He's more tolerant of them than the labs. I would also like a second but will give it much thought before doing so. The growling bothers me because I'm afraid it will escalate if I'm not there to diffuse the situation. Good luck with your decision.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Why do we humans get so worked up when our greyhound growls? Its because we have all be taught that growling = aggression. they are not mutually exclusive. A dog growls to DIFFUSE aggression and not initiate aggression. If your greyhound growls at another dog when it is being approached face to face, its the OTHER dogs fault for approaching in that manner. Typically a growl is all it takes. Sometimes dogs are dumb, like us humans, and they dont get it. They push a little further, then a greyhound will do the "air snap". While this seems like your dog is attacking the other dog, it is not. It is the next step of warning the other dog. Similar to a "shot across the bow of a ship". This will nearly always work, if not, then you will have a fight. It is extremely rare that a greyhound needs to resort to an air snap. One thing to remember, your hound is not "cranky', your hound is correcting rude behavior in another dog. If you take the ability of the greyhound to communicate its displeasure away, but force it to continue to be in uncomfortable positions (face to face meetings) then you are setting your hound up for failure.

[greytpups]

Chad is right about growling is just a way of communicating. We have 3 greyhounds and each one tolerates behaviour of other dogs differently.

 

Brooke is the most tolerant, so when she growls I know the dog's behaviour is really really obnoxious and I may mention this to the owner, depending on the situation. Ben will tolerate a lot but not a dog who lunges at him or tries to mount him. Ben will growl so I rarely have to step in. Katie is the least tolerant of bad dog behaviour and since I know this, I will allow dogs to sniff her if they greet her on her side, but I will step in between her and a badly behaved dog so the dog can't get near her.

 

Without knowing all the details, your greyhound may be less tolerant of badly behaved dogs and is letting them know, rather than being cranky. She did fine with the last situation you mentioned. I suggest you read a good book about dog social behaviour and see if you can recognize the signs to see which dog is causing the issues you describe.