4 yo male, with PRA, jumping on people

[GreytMom]

Hi fellow greyhound lovers! So, this is my 4th greyhound. I’m not exactly a newbie. My boy is only 4 now, so young yet. He retired at 3 because he wasn’t doing well. As soon as I got him 1+ year ago I noticed a vision problem. Sadly diagnosed with PRA. He has very, very limited vision now. And, he has recently developed a few bad behaviors that I can’t seem to correct. The biggest issue is jumping on people. He does it as soon as the leashes come out, if someone comes to visit, as soon as he gets me out of bed in the morning, etc. Times of excitement. He does paw me if he is laying near where I’m sitting but if I hold his paw he is happy. 🙄 He also does little bites/nibbles. This is new as his vision has worsened.
 

Anyway, I’m tired of the bruises and scratches, he does cause bleeding sometimes with his jumping from the scratches. Help please. I’m consistent with telling him “no jump” and “no biting” but think I’ll at least change to “off.” I also hold his collar down so he can’t jump, but the second I let go he jumps. I don’t want people in the house because I don’t want anyone to get hurt with his exuberant greetings. I do think some of this, esp the nibbling, is him using a sense other than his vision to determine where I am. He also has sleep startle, and add blindness to that, and he does growl if my other grey touches him while they are riding together in the car. I’m trying to figure out a way to partition the back of my car because I don’t see a behavioral fix for that. He is a bit of a challenge, but very smart at the same time. I’d love suggestions on correcting the jumping in particular. TIA! 

[LBass]

My current Greyhound also has PRA.  Nate came into the adoption group at 1.5 as a racing school failure.  It wasn't until he reached the adoption group's foster home that anyone figured out that he couldn't see.  The adoption group took him to the specialty vet where he was diagnosed with PRA.  At 1.5 Nate's vision was already almost completely gone when I adopted him.  He's 6 now and living his best life. His confidence is quite amazing.

Like your boy, Nate gets excited and tends to jump on people, including me.  Times for feeding and walks are when he gets particularly jazzed and jumps. Meeting new people as well.  He too is quite protective of his own space.  This turned into quite an ordeal when my elderly Grey needed help at night and Nate turned into a growling, snarling, lunging Cujo impersonator in my tiny bedroom in the middle of the night.   In trying to figure out what to do, I decided that I wanted help from a veterinary behaviorist rather than "just" a trainer.  I found a great resource, a behaviorist and a trainer working together, who were able to work with Nate and me over Zoom, since we weren't in the same city.  They were able to help me find ways to help Nate and and to work with his specific problems.  I used https://behaveatlanta.com/  IMO, money well spent.

For the jumping, I would keep your boy leashed for a while so that you can have some physical control. That will help you work with him on "off" at home around you and any guests. Think of it as being like the way people leash a new dog to themselves to help with house training.  You'll have that constant physical connection to help you teach him in the moments he's jumping.  Perhaps decide on another greeting behavior you'd like him to use and work on training that behavior at the same time you work on "off". 

I've lost my older Grey (Spirit, 14.5) so the canine space issues are, sadly, not a problem.  I did muzzle both dogs when they road together in the car.  Their dynamic was slightly different than the one between your 2.  Nate would encroach on Spirit's space.  Spirit would growl, then snarl.  Nate would just stand there.  Spirit would then get up an move.  Spirit, poor boy, qualifies for sainthood in my book.  Most of Nate's space issues are directed at humans and we abide by the rules of not petting him when he's in his bed and speaking before we pass his bed.  

 

[Jerilyn]

I’m afraid I’m not going to be of any help, but I can sympathize, I too have a jumpy hound and nothing I do can make her stop. When I first got her she would jump on guests, that has stopped and now she saves her Jump Around routine for me when it’s time for a walk.  Like you, I’ve tried all the normal things to get her to stop and also like you nothing works. She’ll stop if I stop moving but the second I move she’s back at it. She knows “go to your bed” but it’s totally useless when she’s in that state of mind.

I feel like I’ve tried everything, but I’m curious what else all the smart folks here have to say.

[palmettobug]

OH, yes, I have a jumper, too. Roman is the same age, 80+ pounds, and tall and long. He loves to meet people, gets so excited! ABOUT! EVERYTHING! and then he does his worst to knock me and everyone else down.

I agree w/Lucy, use the leash to keep him from as much jumping as you can. Depending on your size, and your grey's size, this may be easier said than done. You can step on the leash to help with the control. A trainer can help you with this, too!

[GreytMom]

Apparently Dune knew I wrote this about him because he was angelic today. Actually I think I was quicker on grabbing his collar before he was sure the leash was coming, so stopped the jumping before it started. I need to use his blindness to my advantage and keep the leash silent until I have hold of him.

LBass - thanks so much for the referral. I’ll looked them up, sounds like a good resource. And Spirit made it to 14.5? Wow! Definite  sainthood for him. 😇 My first two died due to osteo just before their 9th birthdays - one after 3 yrs of treatment and one after 6 mos. My current girl is 9 and I celebrated big time her making that birthday. She just had a soft tissue sarcoma removed but they got it all and low likelihood of recurrence or metastasis. So yay!! She is good at trying to stay out of the Dune’s way. I think she thinks he’s a pushy clutz, who hogs the jeep space, but not that he is blind. Glad Nate is doing well, because the PRA diagnosis devastated me. I’ll certainly give Dune the best life I can, but I’m in, for me, uncharted territory. I’ve had dogs go blind in old age but a young greyhound- yikes. He still likes to run but it’s scary knowing he can’t see where he is going. Ran right into a tree in the backyard once. And the slider. Scares the heck outta me. It would be different if he sauntered, but he’s generally in a hurry. But I can see him learning to pay attention to the feel/texture of things. (Was kind of funny yesterday he was in the backyard, I knew right where, suddenly I look up and he has vanished. Call his name and I see a greyhound butt backing out of a very narrow space behind my shed. Think he took a wrong turn but wasn’t sure how to course correct until I called him. Poor guy.) 

Jerilyn - good to know we aren’t alone, eh? Yes, in that state of mind all reason seems to be gone. Silly hounds.

Palmettobug you have a good point - I have said many times it’s a good thing I’m not a petite thing because he’d knock me over if I was. I’m 6’ so can keep my balance, at least so far! 😆

 

[LBass]

Nate's PRA seems to have hit him much earlier in his life than happened for your Dune.  Nate was pretty much sightless at 1.5.  It fascinates me how well Nate manages.  He has clearly got a map of the house and yard in his head and it serves him well 99% of the time.  About once a year I'll see him suddenly, clearly lost.  At that point I take him to one of the touchstone areas of the house--the water bowl, the deck door, one of his beds--and that helps him get his bearings, after which he is fine.  I've got a large back yard and he is quite confident there. I introduced him to it by walking on leash all around the perimeter, walking him to all the trees, shrubs, and garden beds. If anything changes, I can take him to the new item and let him become aware of it and generally that's all he needs.  He does generally walk rather than run in the yard.  When he's got the need for speed, he spins, like a reining horse.   Interestingly, the moment the leash is clipped on, Nate seems to transfer all responsibility for his safety to the person on the end of the leash and he is full on going forward.    It sounds like he's been dealing with blindness for a bit longer than Dune, so I hope that Dune will begin to learn and adapt as he gets more experienced.

Nate's ability to sense objects has been really fascinating over the last 6 months as we've rebuilt our deck.  I was surprised to see that the moment all the big flower pots were removed from the deck, Nate knew and was suddenly more cautious because of the change.  Last weekend, I put 4 flats of annuals and a couple of hanging baskets on the deck.  Again, Nate was immediately aware that something was there.  He carefully avoids the 2 ferns to his left and the flats to his right as he navigates toward the stairs.  Originally, I walked him down the deck stairs to the yard but now he manages that happily by himself with a mat in front of the stairs so he knows how to find them.  I do watch, just to be sure.  All this is by way of saying that Dune's confidence may actually be a blessing as he deals with the loss of sight.

[GreytMom]

LBass - thanks for the encouragement. It does sound like Nate went blind far younger. Advantage for Dune because he has had some vision for the past year, sufficient time to get a cognitive map of my house and yard in his head before his vision/retina disintegrated nearly completely. And he learned how to jump in my Jeep. I am impressed that he will continue to jump blindly in. I noticed him become a bit disoriented the other day but he and I were quickly able to help him do a reset. My yard has a decent sized rectangular area of grass with river rocks on 3 sides and concrete patio on 1 so Dune can play safely in that area and he has the tactile cues to (hopefully) slow down when he leaves the grass. But if he hears something in the bushes - it could be a bunny after all, he is off at 100mph. 😆 He has also had one corneal scratch so far from a leaf in the yard. I may have to consider some doggles for him, which I’m sure he will hate. Have you had problems with that? I was hoping for a hiking buddy and surprisingly he is quite good as he will go wherever I lead and he stays right by my side. The bigger problem is other ppl who let their dogs approach - he loves ppl but is a bit fear aggressive with other dogs. Makes sense as he can’t read the dogs body language. And if I tell ppl he is blind and can’t see their dog or read the cues they just say “oh” and let their dog approach anyway. 🙄 Then they read my body language! 😡 It’s nice to hear Nate is doing well, has developed a sixth sense, and is loving life because I was so distraught for Dune initially. Nate is lucky to have you. I would not have volunteered to adopt a blind greyhound but I adopt for life and quickly discovered I had adopted a going blind greyhound. So here we are. 😎 

[palmettobug]

I've met Nate, he is a sweet goof when he's not going Cujo! Of course, around other GH owners, they heed the "blind dog" banner on his leash, it's the non-GH that don't seem to understand that GHs are breed snobs to begin with and the blindness just adds to it.

[LBass]

I'm so glad that Dune is a happy hiking buddy.  Off leash dogs are a dangerous nuisance everywhere and their clueless owners are the root of the problem.  I wonder if it would help to just announce that he doesn't like other dogs?
I really am sorry that PRA ambushed you and Dune.  

When I first adopted Nate I did a lot ob reading of books and on a Facebook forum for people with blind dogs. Many of them used something to protect their dogs eyes.  Brimmed hats, visors, Doggles.  So far, I haven't gotten anything like that for Nate and he hasn't damaged his eyes.  We may have been lucky so far and I may regret that decision eventually.  It certainly wouldn't hurt to have something for Dune to wear.  The only thing Nate's worn on his punkin' head so far was this cute snood and dear Greyhound friend sent him when her own beloved Isabelle died.  There was lots ob woe face and head shaking to free his ear.   No eye protection either, for all that flapping a flurry.

Nate has been quite happy to be around most other dogs, particularly other Greyhounds.  In terms of chasing, he does hear the squirrels rushing to leave the deck bird feeders when he goes out and he will indeed chase them to the big oaks at the back of the yard.  So far, he always knows where to stop and he never runs as flat out as my other Greys have, thank goodness.

I love that Dune trusts you for walks and hikes.  Dealing with this was not something you'd planned but you and Dune are clearly rising to the challenge. 
Nate is not the first special needs dog I've had and there is something about dealing with such challenges together that forges an especially strong bond.

 

[phall]

Sorry I'm a little late to this, but thought I'd chime in with what has worked for me.  My Lucas is blind from PRA.  I adopted him when he was about 3 years old, when he had been diagnosed with PRA by the vet of the adoption group. He still had a good amount of sight at that time.  Lucas is 9 years old now and completely blind. I love him so much - he's a happy, confident boy.  He has always been a "jumper" on people - even when he could see. He just loves people and visitors. Holding onto his collar when people came in the house didn't work well with him or for me (pulling my arm hard, twisting my wrist, etc).  So I purchased a couple of short leashes (traffic leashes - which are about 12" long) and kept one by the door and one by the door to my dog yard. Whenever someone came to the house I quickly snapped the leash on and that gave me much better control over him, and it was easier to use than the usual 4' or 6' leash.

I have another greyhound - female with full sight.  She doesn't have sleep startle, but she doesn't want Lucas on her bed when she's napping and she tends to growl at him if he gets too close.  Lucas will air snap at her if she comes too close to him when he's on his bed. During the day, they each seem to work it out with low growls saying, "I'm here on this bed" and the other walks to a different bed. But at night time if Sox is sound asleep and Lucas gets up, he'll sometimes get disoriented and once he actually stepped on her when she was sleeping.  She was not happy. I did not want to crate either of them at night - neither would be happy with that. So, I purchased a  "gate" that is free standing, only about 2 ft. tall, and can circle around a dog bed.  I put this around the bed Sox prefers. It goes around about half of the bed in a semi-circle and allows Sox to get on the bed from either open end.  This gate makes Sox feel secure from Lucas stepping on her unexpectedly and Lucas knows that it's there when he touches it with his nose when he gets too close. This has worked so well for my two. Sox now automatically goes to the semi-enclosed bed at bedtime.  During the day I take the gate down as they are okay with calmly each other know where they are.  

I know the above may not work for you, but thought I'd share.

Edited to add - I meant to include that I had the same issue of people letting their dogs run up to meet Lucas when we are on walks, and with strangers coming up and just reaching to pat him.  I purchased a harness for him with a handle on top that I could grasp when needed (helps me guide him as needed) and had a place to attach a velcro sign that says "Blind Dog". That has really helped SO much!  

Edited April 25, 2023 by phall
Adding info on a harness

[GreytMom]

Thanks for the ideas also phall. My female grey is so great she just moves away from Dune and doesn’t even growl when he steps on her. He is careful to sniff beds to see if she is there but if she is unexpectedly sleeping in the middle of the floor somewhere look out. Although if Dune’s front foot brushes her he does leap to try to avoid her. Sounds like my situation is about as good as it can get. My guy just is too fearless. Not sure what he was doing outside in the dark this morning but I heard bushes rustling in an odd way and then hear him crying. Yikes! I run out and he had gotten his rear leg hung up on a faucet somehow. No damage, well some bruising but nothing more. Silly boy. He just won’t acknowledge he can’t see and so goes places he shouldn’t. The jumping on people is getting better as I’ve gotten firmer about pulling his collar down, but I don’t want to hurt his neck either. The short leashes near doors is a good idea. 
 

And most of all I’m just happy to hear about the greys who have lived and thrived despite PRA. Hopefully my guy will too… as long as he learns to slow down a bit. 

[LBass]