I'm getting worried.

[Greymike]

I adopted a 3 years old retired racer from Ireland over a month ago. He is still very shy and timid. He scared to look at me. HE is scared to go outside in my small backyard. If I let him off the lease he just runs in circles trying the get back into the closed back door. He has been pooping in the car on the way to the park. Just today, I was taking him to the pet store and we were only a block away from home when he peed and good in the back seat. He's never peed in the car before. It seems like his fear is getting worse not better. What do I do. The vet prescribed trazodone, which he has been on for a couple days now, but I don't think its working. Help.

[Time4ANap]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I think the obvious thing is to avoid the car for now as it obviously stresses him out. Remember that his whole world as he knew it has been turned upside down. He may be used to having other dogs around as part of his comfort level, and went from a kennel environment to a house which he has not experienced before. I realize he's been there a little while, but it sounds like he's still not acclimated. 

Is there another greyhound owner nearby who can bring their dog over to go for walks with him? Having another grey on the walk may calm him down and let him see that everything is okay. I would start with short walks around the neighborhood to get him comfortable instead of trying to get him in the car. You need to work up to going to the park eventually once he;s comfortable with the house and neighborhood. 

Also make sure that he has a space in your house that is his and his only where no one bothers him. He needs to have a safe space, whether that's a bed or crate. A crate may be better since that is what he's probably used to from the kennel. Leave the crate door open so he can come and go as needed. 

Others will chime in with other ideas to help. Many people here have been through similar issues with a new hound. Good luck! 

[LBass]

Slow down, with this boy.  He may well be a naturally timid soul--one of my Greyhounds--or he may just need some time to adjust. Remember that his whole world has been completely upended within the last month.  All the people he knew are gone.  All the routines that governed his life are gone.  Every familiar touchstone he ever counted on is long gone.  I suspect that he is terrified.  IMO, you need so slow down with this boy and put your focus on becoming the calm, quiet, gentle, benevolent rock in the storm for him. 

Stick to home and yard right now.  He's not ready for Petsmart, the dog park, or likely even walking in your neighborhood right now.  Sure, got to the vet if he needs that, but otherwise, this is the time to work on building your relationship with him.  Think low, gentle, quiet.

Focus on your preferred household routines.  Routines around meals, bedtimes, potty trips.  Chilling together.  even if you aren't interacting, he is watching you and learning about you and thinking about bonding with you.

I would leash him in the yard for walking or potty trips.  The frantic, fearful running in the yard is not helping him or you. Walk him around, talk quietly.

Others with more experience will chime in with good advice for you.  I'll just mention the reward that generally comes after the initial effort you put in with timid, scared dogs.   My 2nd Greyhound, Spirit, didn't race because he was too scared of strange people and places to handle being at the track.  He spent some time with the trainer and his staff and they just loved on him--they taught this frightened boy that humans could give good scratches.   When I met him, he was willing to let me pet him in his comfortable, familiar kennel crate.  He was also still scared of the world.  I remember his frantic, terrified running in the strange yard when he first got here.  I thought I was letting him chill and potty after the long drive.  In retrospect, it was all just too much too soon for Spirit (aka, Chicken Little, lovingly, I promise.).  I do think it helped Spirit that my first Grey was there to model and reassure.  I followed my own advice--slow, quiet, gentle.  We lived more in parallel than together for the first few weeks.  Eventually, Spirit came to trust me.  Then he came to trust my sister, who visited often.  It took several meetings before he decided she was OK. As soon as he was sure of a person, he was a love sponge, who wanting endless attention.   Eventually Spirit came to trust me and that helped the world open up for him.  I could take him anywhere and he would be comfortable.  I think he knew I'd keep him safe.  He even came to the point where he could let stranger pet him--I'd just keep an eye out for when he'd had enough.  As he came to trust his humans, his personality blossomed and he became one of the funniest, sweetest boys.  Stealing tomatoes from my garden.  After years, standing up on the fence so the neighbor's son-in-law could pet him.    What courage and growth.  I lost him about a year and a half ago at 14.5 years.  I wouldn't have missed him for the world.  Hang in there.

In this forum, search for "timid" "spooks" "fearful" and you'll find lots of threads with helpful info.

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by LBass

[ramonaghan]

Agree with the above. It's all too much, too soon, for him. Keep his routine as regular as possible. No rides, no parks, no pet stores. Doolin has been with us almost a YEAR and is still totally freaked out by the pet store (a small local one, not PetSmart) and, well, most things outside of his bubble. He's just a sensitive soul—my husband calls him the 80-pound marshmallow. We were fortunate to be able to adopt his littermate a few months after him, and she is far less fearful. He's improved a lot with time, but sometimes he still statues in the middle of a walk for reasons known only to him .

If Trazadone doesn't work, you could try Xanax or Prozac, but in my opinion it seems quite early for that. Time and patience will pay off. Usually at the three-month mark, you'll see a change. Your boy will realize he's home and safe with you, and you'll be able to start gradually introducing him to new things and experiences. Good luck, and please keep us posted on your progress.

Edited June 4, 2023 by ramonaghan

[FiveRoooooers]

Excellent suggestions above. A month is no time at all. This GreyTalk post is from 2020 and the suggestions and links are also spot-on.

[greysmom]

Yeah.

Stop.  Just stop.  He can't handle any of this and is completely overwhelmed and scared of all the changes he's had.  Don't take him anyplace.  Don't force him to go anywhere.  He's not even ready for freedom in the yard.

One safe place in the house - let him stay there as long as he wants except for eating and potties.  Yard on leash for very quick potty outings - praise praise praise with yummy treats (really really yummy - like, roasted chicken or other real meat or cheese - if he'll actually take a treat).  If he can't accept treats yet just lots of verbal praise and calm petting - don't overwhelm him further.  He'll be fine with limited exercise for a while.  He's burning up a LOT of calories with anxious energy.

Keep up with the trazadone for at least a month, while continuing to limit his world.  He needs to understand he's safe before he can understand the rest.  If you don't see any changes in behavior you may need to try another anti anxiety medication (or two) before finding the one that works for him.

It's also possible that he's just one of those dogs that can't be an only dog in a home.  If that's the case you should be in touch with your adoption group asap.

[Apollo_the_Grey]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:56 PM, greysmom said:

Yeah.

Stop.  Just stop.  He can't handle any of this and is completely overwhelmed and scared of all the changes he's had.  Don't take him anyplace.  Don't force him to go anywhere.  He's not even ready for freedom in the yard.

 

This.

He doesn't have the filter of "this is normal" yet so everything...and I mean everything is stimulating him.  Birds, insects, the feeling of the carpet on his feet, the sounds, the sights, the smells... every single sense he has is being assaulted by our "normal" and he just needs to learn to absorb this.

 

Apollo was super timid, and still is to an extent.  Sometimes he still sees something new and has to stop, stare, and figure out "friend" or "foe" or what strange thing this is... But literally, he got plenty of quiet time and insulated time before we started slowly expanding our circles.  Walks were:  go out, potty, come back in.  Then they progressed to "down to the corner and back" and then "around the block."    I've watched his confidence grow and it's amazing.  But the main thing is... slow down, or stop.  Keep every experience positive, every good step comes with a reward.  

I think as humans we feel we need to solve the "problem" quickly.  In reality, we can let the dog work things out, it just takes time and every dog has his/her own timeline.