Questions about behaviours in an ex-racing greyhound.

[SandraSkott]

Hi everyone! 

A few months ago, I adopted a retired racing Greyhound 1.6 years old from Ireland to the deep north of Sweden. He is a wonderful boy and I love him to bits but I have questions about some of his behaviours. 

At night when it's dark outside, he will look up really intensely and bark and growl at the stars or at moving clouds when they're visible. I've never seen a dog do this before! 😅 It doesn't really bother me, I'm mainly curious as to why he's doing this. 🙂 He doesn't look playful as he does it, it looks like he's annoyed by them and never behaves this way in daytime. 

Then onto my second question. Is it common that ex-racing Greys aren't playful? I can get him to fetch and he enjoys that, but he doesn't play with toys, my child or even my other dog who's the same age as him. We've tried so many different ways and my other dog invites him to play on a daily basis but he's just not interested.

Number three - He is very possessive and guards resources. He also growls if anyone but me walks near him when he's resting which is understandable, so I mention it just for context. How do I best get him to tone this down a bit? Even when he has his own, he will steal the other dog's treats, bones or food if I'm not watching closely, and then he will growl if the other dog tries to take it back or reclaim his bowl.

Lastly - My other dog has a small amount of separation anxiety but my Greyhound is way worse. I understand it's most likely heightened because he has moved from far away into a very different way of life with new people and has chosen me to be his safety-person. However, I don't want to encourage this behaviour so that it sticks and I'm wondering how I should approach this "issue". 

If I leave the room he's right on my heel. Even if he's in a deep sleep in the middle of the night and I sneak away to use the bathroom, he will fly up and run after me. If I shut the door to the bathroom, he will whine and cry. The one time I had to leave him alone to go to the doctor's (my partner was at work) I came home to the bedroom curtains on the floor and ripped in half. He had also chewed the bedroom door handle(wooden) and the mosquito nets. 

Additional info: We live in the countryside, with fields and woods all over so he gets to run free at least two times a day. We spend a lot of time outside, he also gets 3 walks a day. He digs in the fields, gets to chase balls and frisbees, and I'm trying to teach him some basic tricks since he doesn't know anything. 

He did not come from a shelter or a rescue, I adopted Skott from his breeder because he suffered a leg-injury during a race. It has since healed but he cannot race anymore and therefore he needed a new home. I don't know much of his history or how the dogs are treated at the breeder's, but I'm told they have okay lives over there. 

 

I appreciate all the help I can get! I'm not new to the breed but I'm definitely new to an ex-racing dog. Sorry for the wall of text and for bad English. Thanks in advance! 🌷

[MerseyGrey]

Hello and welcome. I can’t help much with reasons why, but I can tell you that my dog also likes to watch things scudding across the sky but usually in daytime. He has barked at hot air balloons but just watches the aeroplanes coming in to land at a nearby airport. At night, he has barked at a plant pot rolling around in the wind. I put this down to him not knowing what he was looking at. He got used to it and doesn’t do it any more.

Playtime - Buddy rarely wants me to play with him, he usually is content to play on his own but likes me to watch. It’s a great privilege on the occasions that he lets me take his ball from him and join in with his play. He’s my first greyhound and when I was researching the breed, I read that how a greyhound plays depends on what they have done with their trainers. So some may have been allowed soft toys, some are given bags of treats to play with, and some just don’t know what to do with any toys. This is part of the fun of a greyhound, I think. You get to teach them all this stuff. 

Mine doesn’t resource guard and doesn’t really have separation anxiety but from reading other threads on here, they can definitely be worked on. Good luck!

[HeyRunDog]

It can take ex racing greyhounds up to two years for their full personality to come out.

Grace will only play with a toy when it's new and then only for five minutes then she'll ignore it. Guinness on the other hand is totally opposite and spends his in-between nap times time either chewing them or taking them from one bed to another.

Hopefully the resource guarding should diminish with time. Give your other dog their food and treats first quickly followed by his so he learns he's not going to miss out and doesn't have to compete.

Start alone training so he gets used to being on his own. The book often recommended is "I'll be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell

Ps. Your English is very good and a lot better than some of the text speak the youngsters use

[1Moregrey]

Congratulations and welcome to GT.

1.  Wonder if the sky at night is different from where he came from.  Only thing I can think of is when I was on vacation in Alaska the night sky was not at all like what night sky’s at home are. Otherwise I got nothing on this one.

2.  All my greyhounds have been retired racers, they have there own style of greyhound games/play when I have gotten them.  Most involve race track races, or touch ( some times nicely sometimes more like light tackle ).  Some learn other dog style play from being with other dogs some never do.  One of my fosters went to dog day care they sent me a video of greyhound being the referee it was so cute looked like she was chastising them for not playing greyhound games.

3. This might still be settling in issues as he feels more confident and settled in he may relax and see that everyone gets some.  For now try to keep them separate for food and treats.  As far as growling when someone walks by if you can do this while the other dog is in a different area.  You could have people toss a piece of kibble/treat as they go by so that it becomes a good thing.  
 

4. If you have a crate or area to contain him start by feeding him in there/ or a Kong  treat close the door of crate. While he eats it with you in the room then open the door.

When I bring home a greyhound they have a crate.  Get a tour of the house and yard then spend some time in the crate, then spend time outside the crate on a leash so they follow me and I can keep an eye on them.  If I am doing something that I can not watch them they go into the crate.  I find this helps get them used to the home and the crate as I am in the house and always come back to them.  When I leave the house they hardly notice as it has just become normal for them to spend time on there own.  Hope this helps

The following from room to room should get better as he settles in and gets more confident.  I did have a pair of greyhound that followed me around so it was not uncommon to have two greyhound in the bathroom with me or waiting.  Most would come check to see where I am then go to there bed.  Without the whining.  
 

Hope this helps some, they just need lots of patience as they get used to a home environment from a racing highly structured environment.  The more predictable structure you can provide the faster they will settle in.  As there is no surprise to how a day goes for them.  They are all the same with a few exceptions transports day and race day.  Even these have a pattern.  

[greysmom]

All of this behavior is really normal in a young recently adopted greyhound.  Some of it is due to him still being a puppy.  Some is breeding.  Some is genetic.  

1 - Most greyhounds have never seen the night sky.  They're very rarely out at night at all, usually put to bed in their kennels, with their littermates, to spend the night.  So some can be quite anxious in the dark.  And you live in the country, so even more scary noises he's never heard before.  This behavior should extinguish itself as he gets more comfortable being outside in the dark.

2 - Playing - if it doesn't move, they likely aren't interested.  That's just genetics.  They've been bred for hundreds of years to chase prey, so stuffies and squeakies and other toys hold no interest for them.  You're lucky he plays fetch!  Most of them will run after the ball and then immediately turn away in disgust when it stops rolling!!     You might try a flirt/lure pole if you want him to have some exercise and play.

3 - Resource Guarding is also very common.  His stuff has always been *his* and his alone.  He's never had to share, and has likely always been snug and secure, by himself, in his own safe kennel.  No he's out in the middle of the house, another dog is around, people might take his stuff, and he feels he has to protect what's his.  This is mostly a management issue on your part.  Don't ever try and take a high value item away from him - food or chews or anything he feels possessive about.  And DEFINITELY KEEP YOUR CHILD AWAY from him when he has something of high value.  He may not bite - or he may not *mean* to bite - but he also could connect and cause real damage.  If you do need to get something away from him, use a different high value treat (something he can't resist), and offer it to him and lure him away from the object, then pick it up and put it away.  This is called "trading up" and it will usually work.  Always supervise interactions when food or treats are involved, and if possible, physically separate him from other dogs/kids/people.

4 - Separation anxiety is also really common.  They've never been alone before having always been with their littermates or kennel mates.  Then they're taken away from everything familiar and plopped down in a new and sometimes scary place, with people they don't recognize.  So they react by being anxious and (in some cases) destructive.  He's settled on you as his anchor in his new world, and he gets even more anxious when your gone.  The above mentioned book - "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell - is a good resource for step-by-step directions on how to work your dog through his separation anxiety.  You can also search through the forum here for MULTIPLE threads about it.

5 - though you didn't ask for it.  People in other countries tend to treat their greyhounds like any other dog.  Letting a greyhound run loose in open country, off leash, is something that is just not done here in the US.  Most adoption groups have specific clauses in their adoption contracts stating the dog will never be loose in an uncontained area off leash.  The danger of your dog getting on the sight of a fleeing rabbit or bird, running after it, and getting lost and not coming back is real.  Once greyhounds see something to chase, nothing else matters.  They'll run away, into unfamiliar territory, into traffic, or into other dangerous situations they've never seen before and get injured or even killed.  But that's something you have to evaluate for your own dog and situation.  As a still-young dog he definitely needs the exercise.  Just make sure you balance his safety.

Congrats on bringing him home with you!  Welcome to Greytalk!

[cleptogrey]

On 8/27/2022 at 12:32 PM, greysmom said:

All of this behavior is really normal in a young recently adopted greyhound.  Some of it is due to him still being a puppy.  Some is breeding.  Some is genetic.  

1 - Most greyhounds have never seen the night sky.  They're very rarely out at night at all, usually put to bed in their kennels, with their littermates, to spend the night.  So some can be quite anxious in the dark.  And you live in the country, so even more scary noises he's never heard before.  This behavior should extinguish itself as he gets more comfortable being outside in the dark.

2 - Playing - if it doesn't move, they likely aren't interested.  That's just genetics.  They've been bred for hundreds of years to chase prey, so stuffies and squeakies and other toys hold no interest for them.  You're lucky he plays fetch!  Most of them will run after the ball and then immediately turn away in disgust when it stops rolling!!     You might try a flirt/lure pole if you want him to have some exercise and play.

3 - Resource Guarding is also very common.  His stuff has always been *his* and his alone.  He's never had to share, and has likely always been snug and secure, by himself, in his own safe kennel.  No he's out in the middle of the house, another dog is around, people might take his stuff, and he feels he has to protect what's his.  This is mostly a management issue on your part.  Don't ever try and take a high value item away from him - food or chews or anything he feels possessive about.  And DEFINITELY KEEP YOUR CHILD AWAY from him when he has something of high value.  He may not bite - or he may not *mean* to bite - but he also could connect and cause real damage.  If you do need to get something away from him, use a different high value treat (something he can't resist), and offer it to him and lure him away from the object, then pick it up and put it away.  This is called "trading up" and it will usually work.  Always supervise interactions when food or treats are involved, and if possible, physically separate him from other dogs/kids/people.

4 - Separation anxiety is also really common.  They've never been alone before having always been with their littermates or kennel mates.  Then they're taken away from everything familiar and plopped down in a new and sometimes scary place, with people they don't recognize.  So they react by being anxious and (in some cases) destructive.  He's settled on you as his anchor in his new world, and he gets even more anxious when your gone.  The above mentioned book - "I'll Be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell - is a good resource for step-by-step directions on how to work your dog through his separation anxiety.  You can also search through the forum here for MULTIPLE threads about it.

5 - though you didn't ask for it.  People in other countries tend to treat their greyhounds like any other dog.  Letting a greyhound run loose in open country, off leash, is something that is just not done here in the US.  Most adoption groups have specific clauses in their adoption contracts stating the dog will never be loose in an uncontained area off leash.  The danger of your dog getting on the sight of a fleeing rabbit or bird, running after it, and getting lost and not coming back is real.  Once greyhounds see something to chase, nothing else matters.  They'll run away, into unfamiliar territory, into traffic, or into other dangerous situations they've never seen before and get injured or even killed.  But that's something you have to evaluate for your own dog and situation.  As a still-young dog he definitely needs the exercise.  Just make sure you balance his safety.

Congrats on bringing him home with you!  Welcome to Greytalk!

exactly, but as per #5, your situation is very different than most of us in the states. if you dog has a good recall then let him enjoy life running free. one needs to know their dog and it sounds like you have a velcro dog who will always return.

you can start some exchanges on lead which may help w/ the guarding resources. first let him get used to you giving him treats by hand and let him become accustomed to getting them and hand feeding. he has to work for all treats- sit/down something like that. that's a start and do not accept growing/guarding behavior while he is leashed and next to you. it's not an easy task, but can be done. he needs to know that you are in charge. also, be careful with the other dog. i would hate to read that your pup has gone after him guarding what he believes is his. for that aspect it's BEST to work w/ an experienced trainer.