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Hi All

I’d really appreciate advice or to hear from your experience. 
I’ve got a rescue greyhound (the lovely Wonder). I’ve had him for 3.5 months now and I still can’t get him out of the house on a lead for a walk.

On day one I took him for a walk and unfortunately the neighbours dog was off lead and ran up to him and licked him on the face 🤦‍♀️. Then I couldn’t get him out of the door on day two, on day three whilst out in the back garden waiting for him to go to the toilet some let off fireworks a few streets away (no idea why in March), after the fireworks Wonder wouldn’t even go in the garden, however this was quickly corrected with the help of a behaviourist, however 3.5 months on I still can’t take him on a walk.

On a loose lead I can get him about 10m max away from my front door. Off lead he’ll happily walk around 2/3 of the road in front of my house. I’ve trained Wonder to jump into the car so I can take him to the nearby cemetery (luckily it’s a 30second drive away) and he’ll walk around there to a mixed level of success, however getting him home is difficult as he won’t go back in the car...to cut a long story short, he’s now resisting going into the car which means I can’t take him for a proper walk. I’ve managed to get him to the cemetery about 10 times in total.

He’s 40kg so at 5.3ft it’s tricky to lift him into the car, I do have a lodger that I keep bothering to ask him to lift him in, as I can’t get him back in the car afterwards it’s tricky to go anywhere other than the cemetery.

I’ve used a behaviourist, an adaptil collar, Dorwest herbal tablets, other greyhounds have come over (this helped Wonder leave the house without a lead on but no luck when a lead was on him). I appreciate it will take time but I was hoping I’d be a lot further ahead than I am now, it’s pretty upsetting for me as it feels like constant failure.

I should add, he knows how to walk well on the lead as we practice in the garden and on a good day in the cemetery he’ll walk nicely. He’ll also happily jump in the car when he knows I’m far enough away that I can’t close the door. 

Any tips would be very welcomed

Many thanks

Laura

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Just a thought. Have you checked his pads for corns?

You say he walks around the cemetery with a mixed level of success. Does he walk better on the soft grass rather than the hard footpaths? Next time you can get him into the car take him to a grassy park and see if he improves. Bribe your lodger with a bottle of something or a couple of beers to come with you just in case he need persuading to get into the car to come back :D

Grace (Ardera Coleen) b. 18 June 2014 - Gotcha Day 10 June 2018 - Going grey gracefully
Guinness (Antigua Rum) b. 3 September 2017 - Gotcha Day 18 March 2022 - A gentleman most of the time

 

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Just a thought could he be associating the leash with uncomfortable new things (being licked in the face, fireworks).  Work on the leash being a good thing. You could also try letting him drag one around the house (under supervision) or making a short leash or piece of rope less than 12 inches so he gets used to it and sees that not every time he has one on something strange and random happens.  Maybe feed him with it on or give special treats start indoors where you can control the environment then after he gets used to it move to the yard then graduate to the outside world.  Hope this idea helps.

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Keep a check on his feet for corns or other weirness as someone above said.  Petunia loves to walk, but will just stop mid-way and refuse to go any further. It took us months of thinking it was a behavioral issue when an extra nail popped through her paw pad. There is a name for this but it escapes me at the moment. She was walking as far as she could, but when the pain from that hidden nail under her pad got to be too much she would just stop. 

It's kind of a pain to do, but you might also try leashing him to your belt in the house so that he is connected to you for a few hours a day and gets used to a leash being there. Hopefully that will make the leash less of a big deal when you put it on him.  If you have any other friends with greyhounds, a group walk a few times per week may also reduce his anxiety. Sometimes these guys just need to see another hound having no issues with something to make it okay. 

 

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Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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Thanks for the responses. I really can't see anything wrong with his pads. I'll get the behaviourist to look incase I'm missing something obvious the next time I see him.

I can do more lead work, he walks fine in the garden on the lead, and when I've got him up the cemetery he walks fine on a lead but there's always more lead work I can do. I can give the 12 inch one a whirl ☺️

 

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Regarding other greyhounds, Wonder loves playing with the greyhound in my house and garden but outside the front door he doesn't really even look at them.... When he's on the cemetery he pays attention to them more again, this has been handy to get him out of the cemetery at the end as he'll follow the dog out.

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I’m going through this with my own hound. Something must have startled him and now he’s very resistant to going on walks— stretch, rolling over to show his belly, and refusing to get up when I call him over. 
 

My strategy has been two part: training in comfortable situations to build up his confidence and rewarding him with treats for when he gets his collar on, and being very consistent in making him come on the walk (to make him learn he can’t just get out of going).

During the walk I try to make sure he was lots of commands / clear instructions so he doesn’t feel overwhelmed about what he should be doing. 

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I had this with my hound. She is incredibly anxious and the slightest thing would spook her, and she'd remember it next time and point blank refuse to cooperate. We got by by only walking her if she requested it herself. Then we knew she was in a compliant mood. Then after a while we adopted a big, stupid, easy going oaf of a hound who absolutely loved walks, and that excited her enough to want to join in. Then she turned into the bravest mut on the walks and would bark at everyone whilst wagging her tail, with her big bodyguard in tow. 

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Okslater that is great news. The easy going oaf sounds great!

I feel a bit overwhelmed with one at times as I can't expect my lodgers to help much so it's just me. I have got some very kind friends who are trying with their greyhound once a week so maybe it's just going to be playing the very long game!

Thanks Hudsy... I hope it's working, best of luck. As Wonder is 40kg and I'm pretty petite if he doesn't want to move I can't make him. He doesn't really seem that anxious.. It's just like he doesn't want to go.

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