Socialisation questions

[Simon]

Hi,

First post, first greyhound... We've had our five year old, male, ex-racer for just over a week and, generally, he's doing great. We live in a pretty rural setting and he meets sheep and lambs on pretty much every walk (on lead, muzzled, obvs), sometimes within a couple of feet, and after lots of patient 'good boys' when he's (just about) ignoring them and a few 'no' commands if he's looking a bit too interested, he is definitely showing less interest in them, which is great. 

The next thing is other dogs. We've only started encountering them in the last day or so and, from a distance, of say ten feet or more, he is interested and focussed on them, but not to a worrying degree, but once they get closer he will lunge and pull towards them.  I don't think it's an aggressive lunge, I think it's a "ooh, is that a dog to say hello to?" lunge, and he can be kept moving if, say, they're walking in the opposite direction to us, but when a 35kg dog is lunging/pulling it's hard to tell the subtleties of their body language... 

So, I'm after the benefit of experience please. Is it likely that's it's just early days, we just keep walking him past other dogs until he's 'used to' them enough to have calmed down a bit, then try a few actual hellos? And how do we tell if it's an aggressive/chase lunge, or an interested/poorly socialised hello lunge?

Thanks very much.

[greysmom]

It's highly likely he doesn't recognize the other dogs he's meeting as dogs.  Greyhounds very rarely come into contact with other breeds at all until they are adopted, so they have no concept of what they are and how to react.  In addition, greyhounds are superbly adapted to being dogs.  They stay with their Momma dogs for weeks longer than "normal" puppies, and their littermates for up to 18 months.  So they're taught dog behavior, dog playing, dog language more in depth than any dog they're ever going to meet that's NOT a greyhound.  They are often intolerant of rude behavior during greetings, and aren't shy about correcting that behavior, just like what happens in established packs.

The other things is - you've had him a week.  That's a blink of time for him.  General adoption theory is The Rule of Three - three days, three weeks, three months - for a newly adopted dog to become settled into a new environment.  You will see major changes over the next month or so as he becomes used to living in a home, his new schedule, and learns to trust the new humans in his life.

So - time and patience.  He's not doing anything wrong specifically.  He's NOT being aggressive.  He's just trying to figure things out.  If he's treat motivated, keep rewarding the behavior you want and ignoring the behavior you don't want.  Talk to him calmly and praise him when he's doing things right. 

And take off his muzzle.  He doesn't really need it unless he's free playing with other greyhounds, and it may encourage him to be anxious out on walks.

Enjoy this time with him, too.  You're basically teaching him everything he needs to know about being a dog in a home!!  It's a great time!

[EllenEveBaz]

Welcome!  What fun!  He sounds like a nice dog who just has to learn how to live outside a group kennel.  If he hasn't lived inside a house before, I'd guess he's also busy learning about stairs, and boxes with pictures that move and make sounds but no smells, and the delicious smell of cooking but it's not for him, and who's that handsome dog behind that shiny window, and ...........

To add to the above, could you find out from wherever you adopted him from if there's an already established greyhound reasonably near you, that you could meet for walks once or twice?  That could give him a good role model, and also the fun of being with another hound.  Most of them love being with other greyhounds.