Behavior Issues

[Guest cuddlebug117]

We recently adopted a greyhound in June, he was bounced once before. When he first came off the track he was put into a foster home that had other greyhounds and he did well there and had no issues. Then he was adopted for a little over a week, the previous adopter returned him because of separation anxiety. Apparently she would leave for most of the day (8+hours) and keep him in his kennel, he would make a huge mess inside the kennel and she would get angry. I'm not sure what she did for punishment but I do know when we first met him he had cuts on him. He went back to a different foster home with more greyhounds and she actually set it up for us to adopt him (she matched him to us). She told us of his previous home and why he was returned, we reluctantly accepted him as he was our only choice and we really wanted a greyhound. She assured us he didn't have separation anxiety that she could see.

 

We adopted him and right away noticed he had separation anxiety as he made a huge mess in his kennel the first time we had to leave him (only for a couple hours, he went to the bathroom before). We then tried again outside the kennel and he made a mess again. We've tried many times after with results of a mess and contacting the agency to get help. They suggested a calming pill, a muzzle, and music which we have used but still he has anxiety( we got the messes more under control, as we only leave for short periods of time). After attempts to help him, they suggested another greyhound, so we have been fostering a second greyhound and that has helped a little. Our S.A. greyhound still paces and hangs out by the door when we leave, but will take an occasional up to 15 minute break and lay down. He whine, howls, barks almost the whole time we are gone.

 

Meanwhile the second grey is completely calm, he is a collector but still has been more balanced. The second grey has been roaching from the start, he is good with our kids, where the 1st one has growled many times. We almost decided to adopt the 2nd greyhound that we love (we love both) SA greyhound is very sweet most of the time and has no bad habits when we are home, but my husband said no to owning 2 right now. Anyway very recently the SA greyhound has been showing very alarming signs of aggression. He has been growling at my husband when he comes in the house or even if he hears him in another room. He tried to actually attack my husband the other night and it was a bit difficult to calm him down. He has growled and barked at my kids scaring my 10year into climbing into her bed as he came towards her. We aren't sure why he is doing this. Last night my husband came out of the bathroom as we were settling down for bed (my husband had walked him into the room and then went to the bathroom) when he came out SA grey startled growling and coming towards him in a snarl.

 

I feel horrible to want to give up on a dog in exchange for a different dog, and I'm not sure it's the right choice. Should I try to work on the 1st grey? I hope this isn't confusing to understand, I just don't know what to do and if this is something that is normal in some greyhounds.

[Houndtime]

You have to do what works for you. You have children and want them to love the dog too, not be afraid of it.

 

The first dog will find a home that will be the right one for him, since it seems that yours is not. You also have to think that the dog might be happier some place else, too.

 

Good luck.

[krissy]

Doesn't sound like a good match to me. It may very well be workable, but you have to decide honestly if you're able and willing to put in the time, energy, and resources (and there is nothing wrong if the answer is no!). If you were upfront and honest with the adoption group about what you were looking for in a greyhound, I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that this dog just isn't what you wanted/needed for your household. It sounds like you have put some effort into working with this dog and he may be a bit more than you are able to work with at this point. It's okay to look for a better fit. There is likely a better fit out there for him too!

[Guest cuddlebug117]

Thanks, he's actually completely opposite of what we asked for. We asked for a female, but they thought he'd be a better match as we have kids. I guess females aren't good with kids. He is sweet and can be very loving. He is most happy when we are outside and taking walks, which we do everyday like clock work. He has learned some basic commands too. Just with the behavior he's been displaying we are a bit worried. Somethings can be worked on but I have a feeling he's going to be a lot of work. we all love him, but I don't think he feels the same way about everyone in the house. He's a little protective of me.

 

The 2nd greyhound has a few issues (we actually got him right off the track from the same agency) he's been a lot of work, so far in the 3 weeks we've had him, he's learned his name, heel, wait, stay, come, and down. We've also house trained him, and have had some progress with his collecting habit and counter surfing. He's still very young though so he has almost puppy like behaviors sometimes. There are also some big issues with possessiveness towards certain treats and treasures he collects (such as a pencil or piece of wood he found in the yard).

[Bogangles]

This poor dog (your first one) has been bounced around so much from the track, to foster, adopted and they returned, and they to you (you say he has bonded with you?). H does not know where he is at IMHO. My current dog, I think, was fostered on her way to me. At the beginning she was so sad and gave me the impression that she was missing someone, or another dog, but with time she has adjusted after a lot of understanding and getting up many nights to take her out. She is happy but not to the degree I would like but this will take time. A vet has suggested that she does now have stress induced colitis based on her history to the best of my knowledge. I have had two greys before (a boy and a girl) -- the girl was much better with children than my boy but he was still very tolerant. We really don't know everything they have been through before we adopt them.

 

If the dog I have now, who has settled incredibly well since October, was uplifted again she would suffer terribly. It did take patience, love and respect of who she is. What if this was a child, would they understand what on earth was going on in their lives.

 

I do not know all the facts in your situation and I hope someone else comments on this situation.

 

Sorry if this does not come across the right way. I do not post very often!

[Guest cuddlebug117]

After a very long conversation with the director of the greyhound adoption agency, it was decided that SA grey should be returned, they want to observe the behavior as they think it's abnormal. I feel really upset about the decision, I never wanted to give up on him. There is a safety issue with the kids in my home as he's a bit unstable. I have tried all methods to help him that the agency has suggested and have had many emails, texts, and conversations about his seperation anxiety and new aggressive behavior. I just don't think as a newbie to greyhounds he was the right match for us. He truely needs someone more experienced. We will exchange and adopt the second greyhound as he is a better fit and more balanced dog. I do worry how ever how he'll be after SA grey leaves us. 2nd grey really liked to follow SA greys lead but we could tell he is a much calmer dog. I believe SA grey is a full time anxiety dog, he startles very easily and is always on high alert.

 

I do believe he'll be going back to the second foster home where he seemed to do well (I'm really not sure, it's just what we've been told).

[3greytjoys]

The 2nd greyhound has a few issues... have had some progress with his collecting habit and counter surfing. He's still very young though so he has almost puppy like behaviors sometimes. There are also some big issues with possessiveness towards certain treats and treasures he collects (such as a pencil or piece of wood he found in the yard).

Seems like he's already learning the basics well. Greyhounds begin to mature (from large puppy stage) at about age 3. Management of items in the hound's home environment is key. Similar to baby-proofing for a toddler, all rooms your hound has access to should be dog-proofed. Try to keep loose items, important mail, shoes, remotes, etc. out of hound's reach (which means a hound standing up on his hind legs). Many hounds are master paper-shredders. Careful while doing laundry, a sock is enough to cause an internal blockage in a Greyhound. Avoid leaving any food items on counters or tables to prevent counter-surfing. If childrens' rooms aren't dog-proofed, helps to keep their bedroom doors closed/baby-gate hallway leading to children's rooms, or baby-gate hound into a family room, or room where hound can still watch family activity.

 

"Trade up" preferably with high value meat treats whenever you need to distract hound from a non-dog-safe collectible treasure. Best to call dog into another room as an additional distraction to provide the treat, but if hound refuses to leave his treasure, try tossing the treat several feet away from him to encourage him to stand and walk away to investigate and the eat meat treat. Option: A special squeaky toy works for some non-food motivated dogs.

Avoid reaching down/over to grab a treasure from a resource protective dog; especially important if he's lying on his bed. Dog beds are best considered as the dog's "safe space". General safety rule: Let resting dogs lie undisturbed on their bed/s. It's safest to wait for hounds to stand up and walk to humans before petting.

 

Practice teaching "drop it" and "leave it" with non-high value items so he will be more likely to respond to your cue in an emergency (e.g. finding a dangerous chicken bone during a walk).

 

Hope this other hound works well for your family. If he appears affected by the first hound's departure, perhaps your group offers Greyhound group walks or Greyhounds only play dates (where all dogs are safely muzzled) in a fenced enclosure.

[NeylasMom]

Having heard only your description of things I think this group did you a disservice placing this dog in your home. I'm very sorry you find yourself in this situation, but I think you're making the right decision.

 

The resource guarding behavior with the new dog is somewhat concerning given the kids, but that is something you can work on through reward based training. 3greytjoys gave a lot of good info to get you started there.

Edited August 21, 2016 by NeylasMom

[Guest cuddlebug117]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I do really appreciate it. There was a lot to consider and many tears were shed going through the decision. SA grey will be with us until Friday so it's going to be a tough week having him here and knowing Friday will be his last day with us. He's been acting very strange I have noticed since the first aggressive episode almost like he's feeling a bit depressed and he is more withdrawn. He was a Velcro type dog, he'd never leave my side. He still shows a lot of excitement for his walks and any time we spend outdoors. I'm not sure if this is a behavior we brought on to him, if maybe we stressed him out. With all the work to try to help his separation anxiety (a needed thing as we can't always be home, we must run errands and go shopping). The kids, my husband's crazy work schedule. Also second grey, though he has no issues with him. I don't think he is sick we've worked so hard to get him healthy. When we got him he was underweight and we've worked hard to get him to not show so much bones (he was very bony). He also came with visible worms that we had to manage and get under control. He's been an expensive boy.

 

Second Grey came with ear issues (I believe ear mites). The agency seemed a bit annoyed that I keep finding concerns and assured me his ears were checked and cleaned with his initial vet check up and neutering. I've bought the eardrops to get rid of ear mites and have cleaned his ears many times before coming to the conclusion (after the gunk kept coming back) that it was not just left over gunk from his last ear cleaning at the vet. I will work on the training of Grey#2 and really take the advice on the possessiveness and how to handle that. Most things he's very good about letting go of and dropping, he even understands leave it and no. It's just some things(wooden) he has trouble leaving, we'll have to find a good toy to substitute. Then there is bones that get him a bit possessive, I think it's very trainable though and I train my kids to leave him when he has anything and to never take anything from him. We do gate the house (probably until he fully understands the leave it command). He did recently discover he can jump onto the bed, so stopping him from doing that is something we are trying to figure out.

Edited August 21, 2016 by cuddlebug117

[NeylasMom]

He could certainly have a medical issue. Medical issues can cause behavioral issues like SA and aggression. Its also possible that the continual stress from the SA is causing him to respond unfavorably to things that wouldn't otherwise normally bother him. Its also possible there is something off with his brain chemistry that requires medication to address. I hope your group will have him evaluated thoroughly and get him the help he needs.

[GeorgeofNE]

The "agency" should have had the dog checked out by a vet before you got him; and honestly all new dog owners should take their dogs straight to the vet even if the group says they did. You want, if nothing else, your vet to meet the new dog when he's healthy!

 

If your dog truly has mites, he needs medication; OTC preparations aren't going to do it, and you can actually do more harm then good mucking around in a dogs ears.

[Guest katie_dog]

I thought it was interesting the rescue said to not get a female because they are not good with kids or as good with kids. I actually wanted a female. I preferred a smaller sized greyhound for myself because I would have an easier time physically managing the dog but I also thought my youngest son, who is 7, would be less intimidated by a female dog because they are smaller too. We looked at a male dog and he was nice, but a little too playful for my son. The female dog we chose was more timid and that worked better for my son. She has worked out well for us so far. She is a quiet dog and she gets along well with the family. She does have a little SA, but I manage it. I keep her in her crate when we leave. She never likes it when we leave, but she lays down nicely in her crate and calms down after a short while. She has blankets, a few toys, a bone, and some water in her crate so she is comfortable. I don't have to crate her every day or anything. It is more occasional and for a few hours. Longest we've done so far is 5.5 hours. I have tried leaving her out of her crate but she will just hang out by the door the whole time waiting for us to come back and the door is in a room that I don't want her to be in unsupervised. Baby gates don't work when I'm not home. She knows how to get out of them.

[Guest cuddlebug117]

The agency I got the dogs from hasn't really been as helpful as I hoped. They didn't believe 2nd greys ears had mites (since he had them checked at the vet), and since he's not really ours yet we can't take him to the vet unless they give us the ok. They told me to work with the over the counter products. We can't take him to the vet as he's still technically a foster until Friday when we adopt. His ears are starting to look a little better though but the mite treatment can take a few days (says the package directions). We still have SA grey and everyday he's here is heartbreaking. He's been incredibly sweet and well behaved, so I keep trying to convince my husband to let us keep him and just have a trainer come and evaluate him. I think he is just a bit nervous sometimes. We actually had a very successful away trip where we recorded and found SA grey laying down from the start which is something that has never happened. He was an entirely different dog. So he's really trying and maybe we were just hoping for quicker improvement. I do believe it is because of the second hound.

 

Katie_dog we have tried crating before we leave with horrible results, literally poo everywhere, inside the kennel, outside the kennel, on the walls, all over SA grey, a terrible mess. We even had him outside before we left and he went potty before we left. Anyway so now we only leave him out of the kennel with a muzzle and music and other grey along with him in a muzzle. Before we took in 2nd grey as a foster to help SA Grey, SA grey would poo in the house and pee everywhere( we let him out to relieve himself every time we leave so not sure why he'd still go). He also gnawed on the door handle(we were dummies and didn't put the muzzle on that time). Anyway he's done a lot better and hasn't had any accidents in the house since we've had 2nd grey.

[NeylasMom]

If he really needs to set a vet and you're going to adopt him and end up paying for it anyway, why not just take him? Or just tell them if the cost is the issue you're happy to pay for it to get their approval.

 

Frankly, my opinion of this group drops with every post though I realize I am only hearing things from your perspective.

[Guest cuddlebug117]

I agree, I am just going to go ahead and set up an appointment. It's better to be safe. Plus add worm issues to the mix, I think it's best to get a second check up anyway. We're pretty new to dog ownership in general. While we've both had dogs in the past it's been a very long time for both my husband and myself, so it's been a little bit of getting into the whole routine with kids in the mix. I think I have my husband on board with keeping both of them, we'll have a trainer come and help us out a bit. He still worries a bit because they can get expensive and he wants to still be able to do things like camping and road trips. I'm sure it's possible with some time. I think with the way SA grey has been behavior wise these past few days (with the exception or barking in the morning or at night) Do some greys have issues with the dark? We have noticed some fears he seems to have, afraid of the vacuum (though this is new, as I've vacuumed many time and only the last few times he's become scared and runs around frantically), a music stand and the sound of my daughters guitar.

 

2nd grey we've been working on his thing with shoes (he loves shoes but with kids keeping shoes away has been a little bit of a challenge) fortunately we have a muzzle and that helps. He also discovered he can jump onto our bed (something we really do not want). He's a nester and a collector, very playful, and puppy like. I think he'll train easily on some things. He knows lay down, come, heel, wait, stay, and no (well most of the time). The other one won't do a laydown (he just stays super stiff) he'll come, stay, wait, heel, and no is never a problem for him. I have tried a few different techniques to get him to laydown (the agency suggested just treating him while he's laying down to start him off), I also tried the technique to lure him under my leg with a treat to make him go into a lay down but he just stays super stiff and won't lay down (I've never seen him in sphinx pose). What types of other commands can greyhounds master?

[Guest xengab]

Hi, you mentioned about taking the 2nd grey in for ear mites. I'd like to suggest you ask the vet if they do a first visit for rescue/adopted dogs for free. Lots of places are doing this now so all you'd be paying for would be the mite ear medication and testing for them.

 

SA grey would do best in a home with retired couple who can work with his issues and do all the training needed because EVERYONE in the house has to do the same things to fix those issues. Truthfully it seems like the group gave you SA greyhound because it was their only one instead of waiting for the right one t show up.

 

Greyhound CAN learn ANY commands who other dogs can do. Heck mine just did his intermediate class and did best in recall..LOL

 

Plus give the grey some time to settle in, it can take months.

[Guest cuddlebug117]

Thanks xengab, I'll ask around and see about the first visit being free for adopted dogs. I do know that some have discounts from what I've found out so far. We don't have a problem paying if we need to, it was just frusterating because we told the agency about his ears being dirty and him possibly having earmites before we decided to adopt. They had told us anything he needs in foster they'll pay for, but they have to give okay and they told me after I realized the cleanser wasn't working to try to over the counter treatment, it does seem to be helping, but a vet check up would be best.

 

As far as SA greyhound, I have to talk it over a bit with my husband and again with the adoption agency (they had said they'd like him back for observation) I don't think they would have any right to take him from us if we were to decide to just keep him and adopt the other grey as well (which is something we are leaning towards). I really worry about SA grey's well being, he's my shadow dog and has already lived in 4 places beyond the race track ours being the 4th place. He's made so much progress I'd hate to set him back. We do feel like he was pushed on us from the start though, he was not what we asked for but seemed to be the only fit for us at the time. He needed a place where someone would spend most of the day with him and that is me a SAHM, unfortunately I do have to do errands so he can't be under constant watch. He's doing a lot better and has hit a milestone, so maybe it can really work with him so long as we have them both together.

 

The agency really goes through dogs quickly, they seem to be adopted as soon as they come in. Females always go first, we had even asked for our foster to be female, but instead got a male because they are better with children. Though I have seen many families with females and children so yeah.... don't get me wrong there are some very nice people in the agency's group, I just don't think we've had the best of luck. We do love both boys though, most of the time they are wonderful dogs, sweet loving, they even cuddle a bit. Of course there are the issues we are working on but more time seems to be the best thing for them.

[Guest xengab]

Every dog will have issues though. Just depends on if you have time/money to deal with them. I do think seeing a trainer with your SA boy might help. One thing I've found helps is routine. Stick with it and things get easier.

[Guest cuddlebug117]

Sadly we won't be keeping SA grey after all. He bit my son yesterday, thankfully it wasn't that bad and was just because my son walked past him when he was sleeping (yes I know they have sleep aggression) and startled him and he lurched upwards at his face. SA grey prefers to sleep right in the middle of walkways so sometimes going past him can be a challenge for the kids who don't always remember to call out his name or clap to let him know they're passing. If I didn't have kids I would work with him but with my own children and kids that frequently come over, I just can't have him here. He gets spooked to easily and his reaction is more fight then flight. So today we will be releasing him back to the agency and finalizing our adoption of our foster grey. I think this second grey is a much better match, much more relaxed and friendly. When anyone approaches him he has the silliest tail wag and loves giving kisses (something I know greyhounds don't do so much). A bittersweet day but I am assured that SA grey will be placed in a more appropriate home.

 

Oh and took 2nd grey to vet and they were ear mites as I thought, they gave me some eardrops that should clear it. He is otherwise very healthy.

[Guest cuddlebug117]

Xengab that is a great that your grey does so well in recall, the grey we are adopting today is a quick learner and I hope that I can get him to excel in recall. He's still getting used to his name but does come when I say come, if I call his name, there's a 50% chance he'll actually come. Lay down he's been great at. He's learning a sit too (he naturally sits on his own so it's not too hard to get him to sit). I have had a few issues with him racing to eat his food but I think he's competing with SA grey who won't be with us after today so that may change. We have a trainer coming to our house this weekend so we'll get some good tips on correcting any issues we have.

 

Thank you all who responded to this post.