New Nervous Adopted Grey

[Bogangles]

We have adopted a new beautiful red grey -- 4 years old. We have had her since October and even though she was very quiet seemed to be making a lot progress, gaining more confidence and settling in. Her appetite has not been great which we think was being in a strange place. Her crate was her safe place but has the run of our home.

 

Just recently she seems to be regressing and afraid of noises that did not seem to bother her before (the dishwasher for instance and anything that makes a noise like a timer). She is good with other dogs on walks but a bit distant if they want to play.

 

Would just like to ask how others have handled this type of nervousness and how best to handle it. Our other two greys were much more active and interested, this one seems sad (as if she is missing someone/something) and getting more nervous. Feel so sorry for her as this should be the best time of her life.

 

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you

[dken105]

Just takes time. Our most recent adopted greyhound was frightened of many things in our home. Even though we had another greyhound who was very calm, it took BeBe several months before she would come into the living room. The flashing of the TV screen scared her so much, more so than the noise. We coaxed her with treats and soft voices for several months before she would come into the living room and lay on a pillow with her sister. Fast forward today 3 years later. She is so lovable and is our Velcro dog. She still has some issues with noises and flying objects above her like flags and hanging signs, but now trusts us to help her cope with the unknown. She is getting braver everyday. Just be patient.

[JohnF]

Peggy regressed like that for a while, but reinforcing that we understood the nuances of dog body language (Calming Signals and why they were being used), going to new places to encourage trust and bonding, and especially not looming over her to cuddle or sitting in the room so as to be like a door guard, helped get her out of it.

[greysmom]

Time and patience.

 

She is probably getting settled in in waves of comfortable-ness. So overwhelmed in the beginning, then she got a little better, and *other* things overwhelmed her. She gets used to a certain new thing/person/dog/walk/whatever, and then notices something *else* that makes her anxious.

 

Be calm and supportive for her. Treats, if she will take them, will help. As will just being with her. As John said, don't sit so it looks like you're keeping her in the room, but do keep her company as she will tolerate. If she likes her crate, you might try feeding her in there if you don't already. Don't force her into interactions she's not ready to have. Also don't be surprised if she starts showing some separation anxiety as she becomes more comfortable and settled.

[XTRAWLD]

Walks. Walk walk walk. Walks do amazing things for dogs. They help bond with the owner, they get to explore the sights and smells of the neighbourhood, they do their duty and they check all the local pee mail, they get stimulation and hopefully get tired physically and mentally because they are no longer bored.

 

Long walks and exposure to different things have helped Ryder. He's intensely fearful when I open the freezer, of my Tassimo machine, my old Italian espresso machine, roofers and now any kind of truck - idling diesel pick up to a big loud scary garbage truck. We just keep trudging on, because some things we just can't control like when a big scary truck is going to come around the corner or when for just once I want to have a cappuccino in the morning or like you, when the loud scary dishwasher starts running because you need clean dishes for the next day.

Edited December 13, 2015 by XTRAWLD

[Bogangles]

Thanks everyone for your responses -- it was encouraging to get your input. I should practice what I preach: time and patience (thanks greysmom). Over the last few days she has come along and settling in more. We go for many walks, socialize with other dogs and she has a greyhound pal she runs with occasionally which is really good therapy.

 

I think we are on the right track now!

[SPDoggie]

Just another voice to say time and patience... our Kingsley took 6 months to a year to become more-and-more comfortable at home. He never was a great outdoor guy, hence our getting a second to help build his pack!

[Guest xengab]

I've had my big boy for nearly 5 months. He is really coming into his own now. Took him 3 months before he'd eat like a dog Now he just wolfs it down and goes on his merry way.

 

He has times of being confident, then times of being scared. We just stay consistent of what we expect of him and he shakes it off pretty quick and figures things are still great. He is suffering a little with seperation anxiety as our kitty died 3 weeks ago and he misses her still. So we keep to routine, and he deals well with it.

 

So I'd say walks and a good set routine helped us.

[Guest Trace]

Adopted my NERVOUS/ANXIOUS grey last month, and the one answer I can give you is just like everybody else's : TIME.

 

When people told me time I said no way there has to be another way- but it's as simple as that. Everyday my grey comes more and more social, don't worry! It all takes time!!

[MattB]

We picked up the scaredest dog I'd ever seen just over a year ago and it took a long time, we're still making progress so I'd echo what everyone said about time as much of this, I feel, has been down to Daisy learning to trust. Some things that seemed to help in our situation:

 

Plus one for the walks - Daisy always liked walking and, while she wouldn't let me stroke her in the house she was happy for me to occasionally stroke her out on a walk. Also encountering different people, different noises seemed to get gradually easier (at the start if a car was parked in an unusual place we had difficulty walking past it.)

 

After sleeping downstairs for a few weeks I carried Daisy upstairs one evening and she seemed to prefer sleeping with us and this seemed to be a turning point in her confidence growing (she learned stairs quite quickly after that).

 

We had a behaviourist at our house, for the other hound who is/was leash reactive. Daisy used to shake violently when someone came to the house so me or my gf would sit next to her and hug her/stroke her/give her treats. In our minds we were reassuring her that everything was ok and we thought that we were reinforcing the idea that people visited and nice things happened. The behaviourist said 'please leave her alone, you're rewarding nervous behaviour', I don't know if this was correct but we left her alone and she stopped shaking and seemed to relax. It didn't feel like it was a nice thing to do intuitively but we've stopped the constant reassuring (in a human way) to giving her exposure to the situation and letting her decide e.g. whether she'll stay in the room or go elsewhere. She'll sometimes disappear upstairs for a while but will often come down and sit with visitors after they've been in the house for a while but in her own time - if that makes sense!?

[Bogangles]

Thanks, again for your input and your stories about your greyhounds. She has come along way and gaining confidence. She looks like she is definitely "at home" now. She is pretty much a perfect dog (always was really!). She is still spooked by the dishwasher for some reason but I'm sure she will get used to it.

 

She is great with other dogs and loves her runs with her greyhound friend. It's great to see them running and how happy they are (in a safe place by the way).

 

The main and only real issue now is to find food she will eat. We have been through many kibble choices, frozen dinners and some raw but she looses interest on all of these eventually. (Perhaps this belongs as a new thread?) We have tried all the tricks -- plus sardines, eggs, yogurt, chicken broth -- you name it. Anyway perhaps it will continue to be trial and error still unless someone has a magic idea. I have read many threads about trying to get their dog to eat and have tried many of the ideas posted.

 

Anyway, she is sweet, pretty and adorable. I am very lucky.