Strange hound behavior?

[PabloDH]

Hi all. It's been awhile since I've posted here. When I first got my hound Pablo, you were all so helpful and I can't thank you enough. 

So here's the deal. We are approaching two years with Pablo. Overall, in terms of behavior, he is great. We've had a few pee accidents here and there at night, but they have been mostly my fault for not taking him on longer walks to empty out completely before bedtime. He is extremely low maintenance. However, he is the most un-dog dog I have ever come across. He stays in his crate all day and all night despite the door being open 24/7 and having another bed in the living room , and he has no interest in toys or being near us unless we are giving him food or taking him for walks. We all sleep upstairs and he willingly stays downstairs all the time. Going out for walks is literally the only time I see him with some emotion--pure excitement and happiness. Previously, I have seen Pablo be somewhat interested in toys and then just stop. Same with being out of his crate and coming upstairs to wake us up. But now it has all stopped for many months now. Just to add one more thing: We moved to another state about a year ago and I just had a baby about 9 months ago which may be contributing to this. Is this normal? I feel like greyhounds are supposed to have some personality, but I think I may have gotten the most boring (and maybe still in his shell?) dog ever. I feel like something is wrong and I'm hoping that there is something I can do to help him. However, if this is fairly normal and this is just the way Pablo is, then that's ok too. Not going to push anything on him. 

[MerseyGrey]

Did the change in his behaviour correspond with the arrival of the baby/house move? How old is Pablo?

Im not an experienced owner - we are on our first boy and have also had him for two years - but our boy seems to be an anomaly in that he has never got on the sofa, and hasn’t tried to follow us upstairs. He doesn’t get excited about walks, they seem to be a bit of a chore for him that he does to keep us happy. I think these dogs are the most cat-like dogs I’ve ever encountered, and maybe your boy just takes it to the extreme. Ours continues to surprise us even now as little bits of his personality emerge. Maybe you have a very chilled boy, and just maybe he will surprise you too

 

[PabloDH]

Pablo is 6 years old now. When we moved, he was definitely affected, understandably. We weren't subtle about it. Packed up everything in front of him. However, once he realized his new home, he started to come back to "normal." Then I had my baby and he went back to staying in his crate most of the time. After a few months, he started going to his bed in the living room. Overall, he really hasn't changed. He goes through phases like this, and I'm always afraid I did something that makes him retreat. He's pretty much been like this since the beginning and I always thought it was because he was still coming out of his shell, but I think it might just be who he is.

I think you're right though--he's probably chill to an extreme and there will be little things that surprise us in the coming years. Thanks! 

[zimsmom]

They each have their own personality.  As long as Pablo is eating well drinking well pooping well and walking daily I would not worry too much about it. 

[Remolacha]

Many greys are very cat like, in that they go do their own thing. One of my broodies was what someone on GT described as a "background" dog. Not meaning it in a negative way, just that she was the opposite of an in-your-face attention hog She would often go outside or into the bedroom and hang out by herself. Doesn't mean she wasn't happy here, or that it didn't break my heart when she passed. They are also very sensitive, and changes in their world, like moving or having a baby (you, not him!) take them a while to process. He sounds pretty normal to me

[HeyRunDog]

There are two breeds of greyhounds. Those that are in your face fuss junkies who won't leave you alone and become your second shadow and the ones like Grace, Pablo and Buddy who are just happy to be in the same home as their owners and are that chilled nothing fazes them apart from, in Grace's case, screaming children, thunder, fireworks and the sound of a football being kicked.

Why put the effort into climbing onto the sofa or going upstairs when it takes less energy to collapse onto the floor?
Why worry where your servant is? They'll turn up and feed you.
Why get excited about going for a walk? It's either raining, to cold, to hot and you always end up back where you started.

And you know what? I wouldn't have my Grace any other way
 

[sarabz]

🤣 "in your face fuss junkies" omg, that describes our last foster perfectly. Our Gracie is more of a background dog, until it's time for walks. Our new "foster" David is working on deciding what he's going to be. 

[PabloDH]

I'm happy to hear that others have/had a similar experience. I'm a first time hound owner so sometimes I'm not sure if I should be worried about Pablo. Thanks guys!

[greysmom]

Yes, very normal.  And I second what everyone else has said.

But I also want to point out that many greyhounds don't react well to having a small baby in the house.  We see it all the time.  The baby takes his human's time and attention, understandably so, and smells weird, and makes a lot of noise and fuss in their otherwise calm household.  They just don't like or react well to all the changes and noise.  Doesn't mean they aren't happy or that you're doing anything wrong, it's just the way they are.  Essentially, he's the slightly older brother who's seen his world change overnight.

If you have the time and the energy you might consider doing some things just for/with him.  Give him some special dog time one-on-one each week.  Get him around other greyhounds so he has some beings like himself to socialize with.  I'm not a fan of dog parks in general, but they can be useful if you're smart about it.  See if your adoption group has play dates, or make friends with other greyhound owners who have fenced yards and a playmate for him.  Take him to an obedience class and wake up his brain.  Or just put him in the car and go for an ice cream or puppacino.

 

[MerseyGrey]

10 hours ago, HeyRunDog said:

There are two breeds of greyhounds. Those that are in your face fuss junkies who won't leave you alone and become your second shadow and the ones like Grace, Pablo and Buddy who are just happy to be in the same home as their owners and are that chilled nothing fazes them apart from, in Grace's case, screaming children, thunder, fireworks and the sound of a football being kicked.

Why put the effort into climbing onto the sofa or going upstairs when it takes less energy to collapse onto the floor?
Why worry where your servant is? They'll turn up and feed you.
Why get excited about going for a walk? It's either raining, to cold, to hot and you always end up back where you started.

And you know what? I wouldn't have my Grace any other way
 

Whoa! I think I may have given the wrong impression! Buddy is definitely an ‘in your face fuss junkie’, and although there are a few days when I wish I could go to the loo in private, I wouldn’t have him any other way either 😍. As Zimsmom says, if he eating and pooping he’s probably very happy with his lifestyle. Maybe when he first came home he thought you were a clingy human, and now he’s more comfortable, he doesn’t feel the need to pretend!