Odine Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Hi, we are inexperienced at owning 2 greyhounds! We added our second a few days ago and I'm wondering how to tell if things are going well. We have them muzzled as we were advised to for the first week. They had a stand up fight when they were near one of the beds on day one, a few growls and grumbles if in close proximity sometimes and overnight they have around 1 minute of loud growling and barking out of the whole night. My main concern is our original girl has kept herself to herself on our bed the last couple of days and when I put her dinner down tonight she wouldn't come into the kitchen until I had put new girl in the conservatory, she is also hesitant entering any room new girl is in. I know it is early days and it will take time for them to get used to each other - but I really don't want our original dog keeping herself upstairs all day on her own or being unhappy! How can I tell if things are looking good or if we are just making our older dog unhappy! A number of people have said they had no issues from day one and our situation doesn't seem to be going like that! Thank you in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Did you have your older girl meet the new one before you adopted? Standard thinking is that two girls together are probably the most volatile pairing, though that will obviously vary greatly with individual dogs. Your new girl just may not be the right fit personality-wise for your home. There is also the (slim) possibility that your original dog is one that needs to be an only dog. It happens rarely with greyhounds because of their upbringing and racing careers, but there are those dogs that are happier being the only dog in the house. But it is also *very* early days yet, and your two girls may figure out how to work things out between them amicably. For the time being, don't force them to interact, and let your older dog be wherever she's most comfortable. If it's not an issue, keep them separated for mealtimes as everyone will be happier. One thing you should definitely do is take them for walks together. Preferrably each with their own human, but any way you can will be helpful. Keep them muzzled in the house and watch them *extremely* carefully as long as there's tension between them. If you don't see significant thawing in two-three weeks, and you are still having daily/nightly scuffles and snarking, you may need to rethink this adoption and return the newer girl so she can have a chance at a forever home where she's not on edge all the time and your older girl can have her home back. If you'd still like to add another greyhound to your family, give it a few months and then try a nice relaxed big boy. And bring your older female to meet him first. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odine Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Thank you! We did have them meet before bringing new girl home, we walked them together several days in a row so they could get used to each other. Since having them we've made sure to give them 4 walks together a day, some short some longer. There has only been the one fight on day one, the other growls have been if they've both tried to squeeze through a doorway together or 1 has gone near the other when on a bed. We recorded them last night and it was literally one minute of growling and barking about 2 hours after they'd been put to bed then nothing for the rest of the night (I have no idea what started that) . Son got up early for work and let them out and when we got up they were on a sofa each. They both wait at the door with waggy tails when we get home, have been in the garden not on a lead wandered up and downstairs mostly without issue. They will lie in the same room on beds etc I'm just watching our original girl closely as she loves playing with toys and wandering the house following us but hasn't really left our bed or been able to play with her toys with the muzzle on and has been a bit hesitant of going in the same room as new girl at times! It is very early days and I'm hoping they will figure things out I just wondered how long we should ideally give it - so thank you for your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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