Greyhound refusing to walk

[Aelfa]

Hi one and all. 

We are adopting today. Our boy has been with us two weeks and at the beginning he was doing great on walks and now he refuses to leave the house. We have tried our three exits. He is extremely fearful. We have a court yard which is adjacent to the road so he can hear the noises of the cars etc but on walk he put the breaks on immediately. 

I am trying distractions, food reward if he makes one step....anything else I should try? I have read people have had the same issues but I don't know if they cracked it in the end. We will not be returning him but at the same time we want him to be relaxed and happy. Otherwise there is very little sign of stress. He has a few bold patches where he has scratched but nothing that tells me he is constantly stressed. He eats sleeps poops and plays well.  

 

Thank you. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Aelfa
Forgot to write thank you

[mansbestfriend]

 Hi. I didn't read all of the thread/link below but there should be some good pointers in there, both practical and behavioural. Sometimes greys want to cooperate less, the harder you try  .   Maybe start with shorter walks, a quiet park and/or at a quiet time of day, calm consistent routines, no pressure etc. etc. Some greys fall straight into their brand new role/routines/home/family/situation. Some need time before they want to venture out into their big bad new world. Best wishes and stay safe.

 

 

[Feefee147]

11 hours ago, Aelfa said:

Hi one and all. 

We are adopting today. Our boy has been with us two weeks and at the beginning he was doing great on walks and now he refuses to leave the house. We have tried our three exits. He is extremely fearful. We have a court yard which is adjacent to the road so he can hear the noises of the cars etc but on walk he put the breaks on immediately. 

I am trying distractions, food reward if he makes one step....anything else I should try? I have read people have had the same issues but I don't know if they cracked it in the end. We will not be returning him but at the same time we want him to be relaxed and happy. Otherwise there is very little sign of stress. He has a few bold patches where he has scratched but nothing that tells me he is constantly stressed. He eats sleeps poops and plays well.  

 

Thank you. 

There's hope! We cracked it and if you read the other threads you can see everyone manages it eventually. 

It takes a few weeks and is a gradual thing but you will get there. He just needs to get used to all the new sights and sounds at his own pace. 

Patient, gentle encouragement. Sternly dragging will just result in more stress and statuing. I found routine, the same walk, lots of soothing encouragement and letting my boy know I have treats  worked wonders. And also (even now this works if my boy does get stressed which is rare after 4 months) if he digs his heels in I go and stand next to him, let him look around and assess for a moment and then very gently lead him forward (a good strong harness helps with that) a step or two and he picks up again. 

Good luck! He'll get there :-)