to me it looks like more and more newly adopted dogs & owners are having behavioral issues

[cleptogrey]

as of lately(the past year +/-) i've noticed more and more dogs and owners who are not adjusting well to off track conditions and behavior that is not easy to deal with for new dog owners is becoming more and more common. it used to be the occasional dog that was placed in an urban situation who needed a quieter suburban environment and that was about it.

is it dogs are not being evaluated carefully by the track/farm/owners/handlers? the people who are working/handling these pups just aren't being asked, behaviors not obvious, adoption groups are not fostering dogs and temperaments are not being evaluated? are the adoptees just not aware of greyhound quirks or novice dog owners who have more on their plates than they bargained for? adoptees are not getting the support from their adoption reps? adoption groups are running on a skeletal group of volunteers?

i feel bad for both the dogs and the new owners who are struggling to work/live with a "spook" or a dog who needs a companion or an incorrect placement.

has anyone else noticed this? support in suggestions is always bountiful, but the emotional trauma of feeling like a failure in working with a new dog is not fun. 

 

[greysmom]

I think the pressure on adoption groups by long long long waiting lists leads to dogs being rushed through testing and fostering.  Where in prior years, responsible groups would mandate the time to fully evaluate a dog, now they are being adopted out nearly as fast as they come in.  The same holds true for groups evaluating and vetting prospective adopters.  During the long process of home and background checks, some adopters may have dropped out of the process on their own, or adopted from other breed rescues, or just decided not to get a dog at all.  Some might have decided greyhounds were not for them as they learned more about the breed and actually met some possible dogs.  And some adopters - who were just into greyhounds for "pity adoptions" - would move on to their next cause.

All this leads to mismatches between adopters and dogs - dogs that aren't ready for homes, homes that aren't really prepared/educated to properly take care of retired racers.  Add to that, the explosion in growth of social media and more people finding their way here to GT when they're searching for answers to issues, and it can seem like there's been a big jump in behavioral questions.  I'm not sure there actually has been by the numbers.  We're also not seeing really hard questions - it's mostly basic stuff - statueing, resource guarding, not playing, sleep startle.  Things there are probably thousands of threads about on GT already.  Things proper preparation *should* have taken care of in the adoption process (IMO).

You can also add in the large number of people that adopted dogs during the pandemic the last two years.  People who just decided they were home full time now so they "might as well" get a dog.  It's all over the news that many of those dogs are being returned now that folks are going back to the office or finding jobs away from home.

[HeyRunDog]

As well as the suggestions mentioned above I wonder if there is a generation on new dog owners who have never had a dog as a family pet so their concept of ownership is through rose tinted spectacles. They think dogs are fully trained and well adjusted to family life from birth and with the Covid lockdowns the puppy/dog classes have been closed so professional help has been in short supply.

[macoduck]

I am seeing less issues with dogs adopted out by my group. Our adoption kennel closed years ago so all dogs are fostered. Yes, as mentioned above, some are adopted quickly with little foster home time. The group also has set tighter restrictions: previous adopters only - no newbies, no cats, no kids under 10 (I think that's the limit), no college students, no single military (unwritten rule, but I am military-connected (hubby) and have had to do "cleanup" on several bad adoptions. The majority of the dogs are from the "Mac's" line from a farm in WV and they to a good job with socialization before they release them.

On other social media pages, when I see someone asking for help and "I was never told that" about sleep aggression, dog parks, etc. It doesn't even occur to them to ask their adoption group for help. I'll then post a link to a new adopter's guide I wrote I guide for my group. For many years I paid for printing the booklet and was pretty p*ssed that the adoption counselors back then would just tell adopters to check the website for more info.

To sum it up: I think tighter adoption parameters on who can apply for a dog and multiple post-adoption followup calls would reduce problematic issues before they escalate.

[cleptogrey]

54 minutes ago, macoduck said:

 The group also has set tighter restrictions: previous adopters only - no newbies, no cats, no kids under 10 (I think that's the limit), no college students, no single military (unwritten rule, but I am military-connected (hubby) and have had to do "cleanup" on several bad adoptions. The majority of the dogs are from the "Mac's" line from a farm in WV and they to a good job with socialization before they release them.

To sum it up: I think tighter adoption parameters on who can apply for a dog and multiple post-adoption followup calls would reduce problematic issues before they escalate.

i'm glad to see that your group has tightened up the reins. but to me i just seem to be reading more and more about dogs in the wrong situation and new owners with the wrong dog. and i agree 100% on tighter adoption parameters. 

as per adopting during the pandemic, these are current posts that i'm commenting on. nothing was normal during the pandemic lock-downs!  one would think with tracks closed and a limited # of GH out there groups would be very careful and screen better and offer more support.