Walking problem

[Dee]

Hi can any one help me please I have a beautiful boy whose name is Blue we have had him just over 18 months the trouble is he won't get up for a walk . When I take him first thing in the morning he is waiting at the bottom of the stairs and can barely wait to get out , any walk after that he does not want to go I can call, beg I even go out the door myself and leave him but he will come to the door when I open it he runs back to his bed until , I have tried to put his collar on when he lays there but he growled at me so won't try that again it used to be if my husband told him to get up he would but now that doesn,t work , now I am worried that he will get kidney or bladder problems , he is not motivated by food so can't bribe him he is ok once he gets going but it is getting him through the door , any advice !

[HeyRunDog]

I wonder if you are trying to hard and for some reason it's making him uneasy. Can you try taking him out of a different door or go later in the evening?

Grace used to do the same thing but not nearly to the same extent. I took her out of the front door for a couple of times before reverting to going out of the usual back door. I now throw her a treat on to the floor but out of reach so she has to get up then I put her lead on and she'll then go for her second walk quite happily.

[Dee]

Thank you run dog for your help we only have one door so no other option and he is not interested by treats I think I could put a cooked chicken by the door and he wouldn't shift he has many strange ways I was told when we adopted him to feed him at breakfast and before 4pm but since we got him he doesn't really eat until late at night ,the only other bit of getting out of the door is when I take him out in the yard at 10.30pm for his last wee then he almost knocks me off my feet to get out. We live in a seaside town and it has taken him a long time to get used to the traffic and he still hates the cars that youngsters drive that pop and bang he has some adorable ways with him and we love him to bits and wouldn't be without him but this problem is a shame .

[DocsDoctor]

He does sound like one of life's worriers, bless him! I think the trying too hard thing may be part of it by now, dogs are very quick to pick up on our worries.

Two more suggestions for you:

1) There may be something about the doorway itself that scares him - could he have slipped in the  past on the doormat? Caught sight of his own reflection, and thought it was another dog? Been dazzled by a bright light?  Can you try taking a look at his exit route through his eyes, as it were, and see if there are any physical adjustments - even temporary ones - you could make to help.

2) Does he have any local dog friends?  Could you recruit one to help, by coming in and out through the door a few times and then maybe dogs + humans going for a nice walk together, to show him that the door is not scary and Good Things are waiting outside? If he doesn't have any local dog friends yet, could you ask the rescue he came from if they/ another local greyhound adopter could help out with this?

[FuzzyHounds]

It sounds like he's scared of the noises outside?  I have one like that--but as with yours, she resists getting up off her bed to come outside but once she's at the door she's fine.  We've used various "tricks" to get her to the door without forcing her.   Sometimes we open the garage door so she thinks we're going in the car (which she loves),  sometimes we take her sister out and just wait outside until Potter comes to the door, we've taken her out different doors, sometimes now (she's getting a lot better) food even works--it didn't before. More info about what he does would help us give better advice.  Do you walk him, or does he just go out into the yard?  What times of day will he willingly go out? You said morning, and then 10:30 at night? Maybe he knows these are times when it's quiet outside.  How does he feel about going in the car?   Have you done any obedience training with him? Hopefully a little more info will lead to some more good ideas!

[Dee]

Thank you Docs & Fuzzy for your advice I take Blue out at 6am and he will go out in the yard a couple of times during the day I would like to take him around lunchtime but he won't have it nor at teatime . We struggled to get him in the car for a long time but he is good at it now and we take him round the local woods and occasionally to a fenced in field when we let him off lead muzzled of course. Before we got him i always said when we got a dog it would be a greyhound as they are so layed back I didn't realise just how much , he does have a greyhound buddy that we occasionally go out with and he is good with other dogs. He does not do any of his business in the house maybe it is just me thinking he needs to go more often , this my first greyhound I have had other dogs but they seem different , he is not keen on me brushing his teeth either and we have just paid out £600 for him to have seven teeth extracted he basically just eats the toothpaste we haven't had obedience classes with him to be honest we couldn't really afford them hence asking you guys he is pretty good at commands except for up or walkies.

[JohnF]

Peggy didn't want to go outside easily when we first had her either, so I left the collar on. Going out was like: Open door to already checked secure garden, attach lead, then a gentle tug  and in a manically happy voice ... "Come on Peggy go and see!"  I never got a growl over it though and even if it had, I'd have taken a high-value training treat (the recall ones - frankfurter) outside and thrown it where she could see so that I got my own way (trading-up).

[FuzzyHounds]

If he's going out several times a day and isn't having potty accidents in the house, maybe he doesn't need to go out any more often. I know that once I went back to work after the summer (I'm a teacher and my husband works from home) my girls stopped going out in the middle of the day.  I take them out at 6 am and my husband is home all day but he says they never want to go out...they wait until I get home, even if it's not until 5:00.  So if he's happily going out some times, and not having accidents, I'd say don't worry about him. He sounds like a good boy!

[HeyRunDog]

3 hours ago, FuzzyHounds said:

If he's going out several times a day and isn't having potty accidents in the house, maybe he doesn't need to go out any more often

Grace only goes twice a day, once at 6:30 on the morning walk and again at 6 pm on the second walk. Occasionally she has let me know very subtly she needs to go in between but very rarely.

14 hours ago, FuzzyHounds said:

It sounds like he's scared of the noises outside

If there are noisy children visiting one of the neighbours Grace won't go out although she is slowly getting used it, but I can vacuum around her and she doesn't bat an eyelid, or she would if she woke up long enough not to do so.

I've had Grace for 15 months and she still is developing and getting used to her "new" world. Accept Blue as a quirky greyhound and not as a dog.

[Dee]

I would like to thank you all for your help with my Blue I have decided that I am probably putting pressure on myself and need to chill out a bit , all your advice is good and as he is a happy boy I will let him carry on and not force him but I must admit I like taking him out to show off as people always stops and remark on him just a proud mum I guess, again thanks to you all x

[smt]

6 hours ago, Dee said:

but I must admit I like taking him out to show off as people always stops and remark on him just a proud mum I guess, again thanks to you all x

I get that.  It is always so heartwarming when others make over our dogs.  Some may call it shallow or egotistical; I see it no differently than when new parents show off their baby, or patents of older kids do something that cause us to beam with pride.