New Ex-Racer, 'alpha' Behavior W/dogs

[Guest RavenDay]

Hello!

 

We have only had our new girl all of one week (we brought her home on May 21st), and I'd like to start off by saying that she's wonderful & I know everything we're seeing is manageable. She is our first grey though, and I wanted to get some feedback from those who have more experience with ex-racers.

 

Our Alice will be 3 on June 7th, so she didn't do too much racing, only 38 races- and she happily gets along well with our 17lb West highland terrier who is 16 years old.

 

I've been taking Alice out for her daily walks with me, and she is very well mannered- heeling beautifully on my left side. But whenever another dog her size comes up, she immediately growls at them and even give them an opened mouthed snarl in their direction. She will happily approach these dogs, but the moment that they try to sniff her (while she's sniffing them) she starts growling again. Yesterday my rescue group rep even told me that apparently she was the Queen of the turnout pen while at the Kennel- ordering everyone else around and harassing the other greys if they stepped out of line. (we didn't know anything about that at the time of her adoption).

 

Obviously I know everything is new, and that it will take time for her to get comfortable in our home (although she's been very affectionate with us, and is learning new commands quickly from me).

 

My main question is this- is it possible to get her to not be such a B**** with other dogs her size, and if so, how would you approach this? Currently I've been keeping her away from other dogs, and watching how she interacts with Nikki, our much smaller westie.

 

Thanks in advance for any guidance, I really appreciate it.

~Liz

Edited May 28, 2017 by RavenDay

[macoduck]

Avoid interaction with other dogs when you are walking her. Keep the leash short so she is by your side. Have some treats with you and do "watch me" to distract her from the other dogs.

 

If you are walking her along with your Westie and Alice gets wrung up about a dog she sees, she may nip the Westie in misguided aggression.

 

Do not muzzle her when out walking. If you are unsure of her interaction with Nikki, muzzle her when they will be alone.

 

Everything is so very new to her, including other dog breeds.

Edited May 28, 2017 by macoduck

[greysmom]

First off, everything is very normal for a new greyhound. And as you said, manageable.

 

She's not being dominant so much and exhibiting some anxiety and fearful behavior when encountering new and strange dogs. "Dominance" and "alpha" behavior has been pretty thoroughly debunked. Greyhounds have never seen other breeds of dogs, so often they don't recognize them as dogs just like themselves. Most other dogs also don't speak and behave with proper dog behavior, and when they get too bold or don't react properly, greyhounds try and correct them.

 

Use Ducky's suggestions above about being vigilant in watching out for approaching dogs, and using distraction techniques to keep her attention on you and away from them. You can search here for threads on leash reactivity, and meeting other dogs for more ideas.

 

If she's been fine with your Westie previously, she will probably be fine with her going forward. It's something about being out and on-leash that makes meeting new dogs particularly stressful.

 

This book may be helpful as well: The Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell

https://smile.amazon.com/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Reactive-Dog-ebook/dp/B001DA99CG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1495992873&sr=8-8&keywords=patricia+mcconnell

[Guest RavenDay]

Thank you both for your responses!

Avoid interaction with other dogs when you are walking her. Keep the leash short so she is by your side. Have some treats with you and do "watch me" to distract her from the other dogs.

 

If you are walking her along with your Westie and Alice gets wrung up about a dog she sees, she may nip the Westie in misguided aggression.

 

Do not muzzle her when out walking. If you are unsure of her interaction with Nikki, muzzle her when they will be alone.

 

Everything is so very new to her, including other dog breeds.

 

First off, everything is very normal for a new greyhound. And as you said, manageable.

 

She's not being dominant so much and exhibiting some anxiety and fearful behavior when encountering new and strange dogs. "Dominance" and "alpha" behavior has been pretty thoroughly debunked. Greyhounds have never seen other breeds of dogs, so often they don't recognize them as dogs just like themselves. Most other dogs also don't speak and behave with proper dog behavior, and when they get too bold or don't react properly, greyhounds try and correct them.

 

Use Ducky's suggestions above about being vigilant in watching out for approaching dogs, and using distraction techniques to keep her attention on you and away from them. You can search here for threads on leash reactivity, and meeting other dogs for more ideas.

 

If she's been fine with your Westie previously, she will probably be fine with her going forward. It's something about being out and on-leash that makes meeting new dogs particularly stressful.

 

This book may be helpful as well: The Feisty Fido by Patricia McConnell

https://smile.amazon.com/Feisty-Fido-Help-Leash-Reactive-Dog-ebook/dp/B001DA99CG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1495992873&sr=8-8&keywords=patricia+mcconnell

-While walking we're only using a 2.5' training lead, so definitely keeping it short and she's heeling with it very well. -

-We never walk with the westie, since she has severe hip dysplasia in her old age.

-She shows no aggression/reaction to dogs until they are near, say within 3ft. During walks there's no problem with her and aggression. She looks to me, and we ignore/avoid the dogs. The problem is when our neighbors have their dogs loose, they come up waaay too close and enter her 'bubble'. I don't blame her for telling them off, and when they leave, she goes back to normal.

 

Another time, a friend of ours was walking their large golden-doodle, who was quiet and respectful- and stayed close to his owner. Alice, my grey, acted calm and wanted to give him a sniff, so I allowed it. She was wagging her tail in greeting, but the moment that the other dog tried to sniff her rear end, she started to growl. I then redirected her, and made her walk away.

 

Upon chatting with my rescue group, apparently she was very bossy with other greys, and even growls at them as well, and while I agree the whole 'alpha' thing has been debunked, I don't know how else to describe her mannerisms/actions. Honestly, I wasn't ever worried until after they told me she was bossy in the kennels too. Ideally I'd like to end the growling every time she meets a new dog. I suppose I'm just curious about how you would react specifically to her growling at another dog that was being calm and quiet. Should I tell her 'no'? Ignore it? Never allow her near other dogs? I really enjoy taking my dogs out in public, and I know she may not be ready for that for a while, but I would be pretty disappointed if she's always going to be grumpy to anyone else who tries to ever approach her.

 

Also the only time the muzzle is on her is while we're away from the house and she's left out. She's still a counter-surfer, and it's mostly on her to lessen her ability for maximum destruction.

 

Thanks again for your responses; I'll do some reading up on how to introduce her to other dogs for sure.

[Brandiandwe]

I've got a very bossy bitch as well. She has remained bossy with everyone. Generally I just let her get on with it. Sniffing is on her terms and that's it. She also regularly growls and tells off pack members. She's never inappropriate, just a queen bee. The only other bitch she's ever bonded immediately with (other than Brandi her pack mate) was another top bitch who was a mixed breed. Both jumped into play bows and spent the whole walk we were on pressed side by side. I'd just keep on going with her but accept that she may retain her standoffishness.

[greysmom]

And remember, by dog standards, she's not doing anything wrong. Growling is just communication for canines. It's humans that have assigned aggressive connotations to it.

 

You are also not doing anything wrong. Just keep being vigilant during meetings. Likely, if she was off leash, these greetings wouldn't be an issue. Take a look at the book linked above for help.

[GeorgeofNE]

I'm only on my second greyhound, but neither of them has cared for dogs of breeds other than greyhounds. I don't want a strange dog in my dog's face to begin with (you never know), so it's not an issue for me. I just keep walking and tell folks, "He's not friendly."