Lazy Or Bored?

[Gilly91]

Hi all,

 

I've had Trevor for around 3months now and he never plays since he came home. He sometimes occasionally took interest in a soft duck which i got him, he will leap at it, bow and then bite it for about 10 seconds before losing interest. He wont play with a ball, he wont play with a frisbee. I bought him a Kong rocker which he doesn't have any interest in aswel as the Kong chew bone (again nothing - even with tasty treats). Ive tried being silly myself, rolling around the floor with his toys and hopefully he would join in - but nope nothing again.

 

He seems content just to lie around all day. However the other day while i was at work he shredded my brand new carpet (out of boredom of anxiety, i dont know).

 

Now my question is, is he bored or is he lazy? I feel bad about not giving him enough stimulation, but if he doesn't show any interest, how am i supposed to help?

 

His typical weekday is as follows;

 

6:00am - Wakes up, and we go for a walk in the park - I tire him out by hiding from him and letting him chase me down when i tell him too

 

6:30am - Breakfast

 

7:00am - I go to work - He resorts to going back to sleep

 

12:00am - I return from work and again take him to the park

 

1:00pm - I return to work - He goes back to sleep again

 

5:00pm - I return from work, we go for a long walk down the beach for zoomies - Or playing chase with my friends dogs

 

6:30pm - Dinner time

 

 

Weekends - Full of activity, going for hikes and long walks, runs on the beach etc

 

Remainder of the night he will just want to be on the sofa next to me and will not move until its bedtime. He even starts panting when he has had enough of being next to me (but yet wont move himself away from me). He does however great me with excitement when i come home and will follow me around the house until i settle on the sofa.

 

I understand he may be little bored from being in the house while im at work but im a single homeowner who needs to work full time to earn enough bread.

 

I know greyhounds are notorious sleepers which is fine, i just feel like im doing something wrong and that my behaviour is why he is so timid. Is it still too early to see his personality properly? Could he still be a little scared and unsure of where he is? Another note, he hardly makes any noise whatsoever. Sometimes he will bark at his duck but thats about it. He wont let me know if he wants something or if he needs to go for a wee. Is this normal?

Edited December 17, 2018 by Gilly91

[GreyTzu]

Sounds like a normal greyhound to me.

[greysmom]

Yes. Everything sounds totally normal. It's only been a few months and some greyhounds can take up to a year - or even longer - to really settle into home life and begin to show their personality.

 

You're giving him plenty of exercise and stimulation. They just normally sleep a lot! Some never learn to play with toys. I've had greys that would chew a Kong all day and some who just go "meh." The panting is probably because he gets hot easily laying next to a big warm person. If he really wanted to move he would!

 

Give both yourself and your dog more time and patience. You're doing everything right. He's not going to be all outgoing and entertaining like a lab or golden - greyhounds have been bred for hundreds of years to work and hunt independently, so it takes time for them to get in the swing of living collaboratively with a person!

[BatterseaBrindl]

Yup.

Sounds perfectly normal

 

I have yet to own a greyhound that likes to play with any sort of toys.

Nigel did have a few days a couple of years ago where he LOVED the Honky Pig.

However, Nigel really enjoys his 'treat ball' every morning. The others can't be bothered with one...they just follow him around and wait for the bits of kibble to dispense.

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Omega-Paw-Tricky-Treat-Orange/dp/B0002DK26M/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545094729&sr=8-3&keywords=dog+treat+ball

[DaintyDutchess]

Have you tried any safe chewing bones for Trevor to keep him busy? I think it is still too soon to tell if he will really be into toys or not. It took me a bit to find the ones my grey really liked the most. I kept encouraging her to play with the stuffies etc. and now she picks them up on her own and goes wild tossing them around. She particularly likes the stuffed toys that are squeaky and also make a crinkle sound.

[HeyRunDog]

I agree with DaintyDutchess about stuffies with a squeak and a bit of crinkle in them. Grace isn't interested in balls, frisbees etc. as they don't have fur or squeak

[schnookums]

My girls (dearly departed) were not interested in toys even though they trashed everything of value to me. Brassieres, sunglasses, undies, and favourite hats. They came to me at 4mths old and I have been told that I didn't teach them how to play! Blue was here from 5 weeks old and my girlfriend played with him. He preferred to monster the girls.

Don't be too concerned about Trevor. I think he has ample stimulation in his life.

Just be patient with him. 12 weeks isn't that long. He will definitely become more confident in time. I think the general time frame for separation anxiety on relocation is around 3 month minimum!

You are giving him a wonderful life. Trevor is a lovely boy! Enjoy and love each other. "That's what matters".

Edited December 24, 2018 by schnookums

[cleptogrey]

[turbotaina]

Sounds normal. Maybe throw in some rewards based training to keep him mentally stimulated, but otherwise, sounds like he has adapted well to his retirement

[MyMollie]

When we first saw Mollie at the MSPCA the assistant threw a ball and Mollie ran, chased it and brought it back. Very impressive. But that was the first and last time we ever saw her "fetch". Going for a walk, wagging her tail, eating treats and flopping on her mat--yes! Interested in chasing balls-or anything for that matter-no! So your dog's actions or inaction sounds pretty normal to me.

 

 

[Plateialumitar]

Your routine sounds like just about perfect for a grey. The shredded carpet probably was a combination of boredom and anxiety, but not your fault. When we first took Zephyr home, he would be totally fine for weeks at a time, lulling us into a false sense of security, then suddenly pinch an item he'd shown no interest in and destroy it. We managed to avoid that in future by leaving him with a kong stuffed with peanut butter hidden inside a cardboard box (whatever we had to hand that day: Amazon box, old cereal box etc). That way he had to work a bit to get it out and would sometimes direct his attention onto ripping the box apart after he had eaten the peanut butter. I think ripping things up is a stress reliever for some dogs. Like yours, Zeph has never really shown any interest in toys apart from little flashes where he'll briefly interact and then lose interest. The only play I do manage with him is a sort of quick movement thing we do which I learned from him. He'd sometimes get on the sofa with me and react to any movement I made very excitedly, and I learned how to mimic what he was doing to keep it going. You sort of freeze, then suddenly move, I sometimes try to mimic the huffs he'd make while doing it too. But even that lasts like 2 mins and then nope, that's it, I'm done.

I should note that despite solving his occasional destruction, Zeph will never be safe around paper based products Books are best kept well away from him.