What to expect with a 2 year old?

[smt]

We are fostering, and very seriously considering adopting this little girl.  As I have read through the forums, I pick up on a subtext that 2 year olds are  . . . something?!?  What is your experience with adopting a 2 year old who raced, but only briefly?  I want the good, the bad and the ugly . . . And just to be transparent, this is a somewhat tongue in cheek question.  And yet, I am still curious.

[LaFlaca]

We adopted Jenny in July of this year. She'll be two on November 24th and the youngest Greyhound we've had. Our first, Wendy, was already two when we adopted her. Our Lola was 4 when she came home. Wendy raced a bit, Lola not at all, and Jenny a bit. To be honest, I don't she a huge difference as far as behavior.  Wendy was the poster dog for Greyhound adoption; a Mary Poppins, if you will - practically perfect in every way.  Lola, the oldest of the bunch, was the most challenging; hard to house break and with severe separation anxiety. Jenny, the youngest, has been challenging to house break and had mild separation anxiety. All three girls were about equally energetic, happy, sweet and goofy. Jenny has been a bit destructive, chewing on the edge of furniture, eating one panel of the vertical blinds and stealing my glasses (I keep them out of reach now!) but has since adjusted well.

I really think that each dog is a world unto itself, each with his/her own temperament and personality.  Hope your pup is a good match!

 

[smt]

The name "Wendy" must construe a gift of ease.  We met another couple when we picked up Bette who adopted their Wendy a couple of weeks ago.  She is two, and they said she had been pretty much a perfect little angel since they brought her home.  

[greysmom]

The thing to remember with these young retired-from-the-training-track dogs is that they are really still puppies.  Large breed dogs (including greyhounds) take longer to mature than their smaller cousin breeds, and I would argue that "working dogs" just have a slower clock when it comes to becoming adults.  Physically, they may be very strong and buff from doing their job, but mentally and emotionally they are still living the puppy life.

Their impulse control is small-to-nonexistant.  Their ability to focus - especially for training flunkees - is low.  A dog who is a successful racer will have a good ability to focus on the task at hand, which is one reason they are successful!  If you can engage their brains for short training sessions it helps them immensely.  They have an abundance of energy and only two switches - on and off!  Our young dogs have tended to cycle through play-play-play-sleeeeeeeeeep-repeat endlessly throughout the days.  Having a tolerant playmate of the dog variety is a BIG help.  It also helps to expose them to as many new people and dogs and situations as they can reasonably handle at this time.  Socialization is extremely important - but you don't want to flood them past where they can accept and use it.

Every dog is an individual and they they will reach their maturity in their own time, but generally greyhounds will be "puppies" until 3 1/2 or 4 years old.  Sometimes spaying/neutering will help and sometimes it won't.  An outgoing dog will generally be helped by formal training classes, while a shy dog may shut down too much.  Sometimes it's just a matter of trial and error to see what your particular dog can deal with on a daily basis.

Good luck!

[zimsmom]

Adopted by 1st Zim at 22 months.  All I can say is batten down the hatches!!!  She was a crazy fool dog.     Never again this young for me.  I'll take the seniors.  Don't get me wrong I loved her to pieces & had a good 10 years with her but she was a challenge.  

Edited November 21, 2019 by zimsmom

[LaFlaca]

5 hours ago, smt said:

The name "Wendy" must construe a gift of ease.  We met another couple when we picked up Bette who adopted their Wendy a couple of weeks ago.  She is two, and they said she had been pretty much a perfect little angel since they brought her home.  

Oddly, her adoption kennel name had been ‘Crazy Wendy’!  She was a little firecracker ( 48 lbs. racing weight) but never gave us a moment’s trouble. 

[Hubcitypam]

Expect to have the busiest microwave and top of th fridge in town.  Those are two safe places....tho I did have one that could clear the top of the fridge.

 

[BatterseaBrindl]

Batten down the hatches ....you`re in for a ride 

We adopted `Kibo, a 2.5 yr old GalgoéGreyhound, at the end of July. 

He had been rescued from the streets of Cordoba, Spain in April and was rehabbed at 112Carlota until he came to be fostered here in Canada in early June.   He has settled nicely into our routine here with 11 yr old Nigel and 6 yr old Sid.   

But... he is a little pistol. 

Stuffies are flying everywhere.  He flies up and down the stairs and leaps from dog bed to dog bed. 

The other two hounds were a bit annoyed at first, but that has all settled.  Nigel rules the roost here and he has taught Kibo a lot about personal space and now they even snuggle up together on the futon! 

He is super smart, but does have an extremely high prey drive. 

The flirt pole is a favourite thing and he does tire out quickly after a short chase in the yard.

He has not jumped onto the counter since his first week here, but we do have to muzzle him if we are not in the house.  (Yes... We muzzle all of them)

Oh yes... the top of the fridge and microwave and inside drawers and cupboards are safe spaces!    

You will learn to shut your bathroom door!  

Now, it does sound like I am complaining, but we absolutely lovelovelove this spicy little fellow and wouldn`t change a thing! 

There isn`t a day that he doesn`t make us laugh 

 

 

 

 

[phall]

My boy, Star, came home to me at 18 months old. He fooled us right from the start - when we met him at the adoption kennel he was very calm and walked well on leash.  He was a big boy too.  I remember saying to my husband, "Wow - I can't believe how sweet and easy going this dog is at such a young age!".  Well, once he got home with us he was still sweet but he only had two speeds - run and stop.  I used to say his mantra was, "Why walk when you can run?".  He'd run from room to room, he'd run up and down stairs, he'd run when I called him, he loved to run in the yard. Stuffies went everywhere.  He jumped up and down at my side when we went out to the yard. He even ended up lying on top of our dining room table.  But, he was a wonderful dog.  He amazed me when, even at that age, he was wonderful with small kids.  Even from the beginning he would be very calm with small kids. He'd be quiet around them - no jumping or running and often lick their faces.

Each dog is definitely an individual and it's so much fun watching them settle in.  Good luck and have fun!

[smt]

I love all of these replies.  So far, and it has only been one week that we have had our 2 year old foster girl, she has been pretty chill.  She actually does not seem to know how to play with toys. We have tried to engage her with them, but so far, not much interest from her.  And as for running, even though we hav a very large fenced yard, she has not ran hardly at all.  She seems pretty calm, and she came in seeming pretty confident.  We are trying to re-enforce this by not allowing her to be in every room with us every minute of the day.  We never leave her behind a closed door (we use baby gates to confine her the living room, for instance, if we are in the bedroom), and she will do a little whining, but will generally go back to her dog bed and lay down.  She does try to counter surf some, but we correct her immediately.  She is super affectionate and cuddly, and I can tell she wants to get on the sofa and our bed, but until we make a decision to keep her, we are keeping her off the furniture.  The biggest factor in the decision to keep her will come down to whether or not she can be happy as an only dog.  She has to be crated for a few hours each day when we are at work, and she does some barking, but so far no destruction or soiling, and the barking in intermittent.  She will settle, then start up with the barking for a little while, then settle for a while, the bark for a short while.  So, we are monitoring this and keeping our fingers crossed that this is (and will remain) normal adjustment behavior.

We are really smitten with her, and if she tunes up with puppy energy, we are cool with that. We would actually like to see a little more playfulness to match her sweetness and affection.  All in good time, I am guessing . . . 

[smt]

On 11/21/2019 at 7:32 PM, BatterseaBrindl said:

 

He has not jumped onto the counter since his first week here, but we do have to muzzle him if we are not in the house.  (Yes... We muzzle all of them)

 

 

 

 

We are considering using the muzzle when we attempt the transition from crate to free range.  It will probably be awhile before we do this, but I am thinking in advance to when that time comes.  We have some rather nice mid century furniture that we would prefer to not get chewed up by a young GH.  How do they do with being muzzled all day long? If we muzzle her when she is alone, it would range from 6 hours (1 day a week) to between 3-5 hours the remainder of the work week days.

[JaimeL]

My first grey was a 18 month old, never raced. Besides not wanting to have any thing to do with a crate he was really quite easy. He is 11.5 years old now and is my gem. We spent a lot of time in his early years at a dog park. We went very early when it was quiet and he ran like the wind. So, they are individuals with there own style. 

[DaveS]

Our Hailey is a 2.5 yo female who only raced 6 times.  We've had her for six months and she's still a puppy.  She's destroyed two pairs of my Crocs, two pairs of boat shoes, several pairs of my wife's shoes, one dog bed (filled the room with foam pieces), numerous small articles like toys, and at last count, six TV/Cable remote controllers.  Yes, six.  But she's sweet and gentle and has recently been certified as a therapy dog.  So there's hope.

Be prepared for puppy experiences.

[mychip1]

I got Dustin at two - and he had run three schooling races.  At the same time, I got JJ who was three and raced a lot.  Dustin was as quiet as a mouse - and JJ was a ball of life....so I think it's just the hound....and for full disclosure, I am in proceedings for adopting a lightly raced two year old right now!!!