New to Greyhounds.

[jamesuk]

hi all,

great to find this forum; lots of very clued up people offering some great advice. thanks for people putting the time in.

my wife and i adopted a rescue greyhound two weeks ago. signed the papers yesterday. things are going really well. she's a lovely 4 year old girl called amber and she's a lovely addition to the household. she's excellently behaved and has fit right in. the two bits i want advice on are nothing major, just two bits that i'd like to improve.

firstly is the being left alone 'separation anxiety'. i work full time, my wife part time. there are only two days she is left alone all day and then my dad comes in at noon to take her for a walk. she is kept in the kitchen/dining room with the door closed. things had been going very well with no problems except for last friday. basically my wife came home to find that amber had gnawed and chewed into the door frame to quite a significant amount as well as taking slices from the door. there was a small amount of blood on the wood too. she had perfect up until that day, for two weeks. now i had been away on the thurs/fri with work. think this may have upset her and made her behave out of character? hopefully she should be back to her calm self tomorrow? any thoughts?

secondly. when we got her we were told she was bad with other dogs. now to be honest, she seems pretty good to us. we make an effort to avoid other dogs on our walks but if she does come across any she won't start growling/barking unless the other does first and doesn't strain particularly. i guess our concern is that this is hindering her learning to be with other dogs causing us to have to carefully consider where we take her, missing some of the most popular spots. also, we love country fairs but fear she won't be able to attend...again, your thoughts very much appreciated.


sorry for the long post, hope someone has the stamina to read it all and the desire to reply!

many thanks,

james.

[Alisa Bee]

;)First congratulations on welcoming a greyhound into your home . It sounds like you have got things sorted so that, when neccessary, Amber is not cooped up all day and yes, she likely missed the routine that she had since learnt of you coming home, she missed you. If it is likely to reoccur again is there any way that someone could be with her for longer, does anyone leave a distraction for her, a long lasting treat, bone, biscuits in a kong?

As for the barking/growling, this may well be a fear reaction. As someone with two that bark, loudly, at other dogs I too tend to be cautious but have found that when I meet other folk with dogs on neutral territory they are well behaved, contrary creatures. Also should I stop and talk to another dog owner, with a little distance between us, my two do calm down. If you can either join a dog training class, or have friends with dogs it will help, as likely with familiarity and perseverance, she should improve. Forgot to say you could always muzzle her when being introduced to other dogs.

[ellieraven]

Hi i'm certainly no expert, i have only had my dog Kym for six months but reading other threads about dogs being left alone, have you tried leaving a kong stuffed with treats or similar, it sounds as though she could be bored ? its good that she gets a walk midday - do you walk her before going to work - if you did that it would wear her out a bit. Theres lots more experienced people than me on this forum so no doubt they'll give you some advice.

I don't think theres any reason why you can't take her to country fairs etc, you could muzzle her if you are unsure of her reaction with other dogs. Being in kennels they have only been with their own kind and need to be socialised with other breeds. I must say my dog is good with other dogs but i have to watch her with small dogs. I would say the more interaction with other dogs the better - just keep her on lead and muzzled. When we got our dog they advised us not to let off lead and to keep a muzzle (i don't muzzle her now though) - again i expect someone will give you better advice.

Good luck and well done to you for rescuing a greyhound !

[jamesuk]

hi alisa,

thanks so much for replying! for the first point, my wife was with her at the time but maybe she knew i wasn't in the house that night, and had got used to me. might've freaked her out?

for the second, she's always muzzled anyhow. i think you're right though, i guess it's just something that she will probably get used. i guess what i'm worried about is making so much of an effort to avoid other dogs that she never gets to meet any and therefore never gets over her concerns!

[jamesuk]

and thanks to you too ellie!

yep, she's walked in the morning before we leave for work.

yep, a kong could be a good idea but to be honest i'm not that keen on having crushed up treats all over the floor when i get home...kinda anal like that! but yeah, we may well end up doing that.

yep, interaction...has to be done doesn't it!

thanks again for taking the time out.

[Alisa Bee]

I'm not houseproud so biscuit crumbs are no problem here, the dogs are far more important, also some dogs will hoover the crumbs up!

[ellieraven]

Half eaten treats better than half your door frame chewed off though ??

[Jane and Sara]

I let my dogs have free run of the house downstairs, it is pretty dog-proofed - I have a stair-gate to prevent them running up and downstairs. Some dogs can be claustrophobic - Had a labrador once that would eat her way out of anywhere if she was locked in. The dogs are always muzzled when we go out I'm 95% sure they would be OK but you can't be too careful if something small and furry runs in front of them!

[jamesuk]

yeah, you're right of course ellie...



i often think about leaving the door open so she can have free-run of downstairs. my only concerns are these;

1. we don't let her on the sofa but she'd be up there if alone. as ellie points out though, this ain't as bad as other possibilites though!

2. she'd be able to get upstairs. we have an old house with an old, windy staircase, pretty sure a stairgate wouldn't fit.

3. most importantly, this would mean that as the front door opened she might run out, particularly if people are returning from work and she's over excited.


whaddaya think?

[dominique]

Some hounds like the security of a crate, a safe place that they can go for time out. My puppy (seven) months is crated when I go out and over night for two reasons. The first is that her house training is still ongoing and secondly i don't want her to have the freedom to chew my house. She loves her crate and happliy lies in it of her own free will. Would this be a possibilty in your house. I know that there are plenty of people on here who can give very good advice on how to introduce a hound to a crate. This would also mean that you could contain any mess made by kongs filled with biscuits. They can also be filled with a number of other things and frozen to make them last longer.

There are a number of hounds on here who have not been socialised properly when younger and the owners are amazinglly dedicated to working with their hounds to desensitise them to strange dogs/events. A harness may be a good idea if you are usure of her reaction to certain situations as she will be far less likely to slip her harness if she starts to twist or jump. Some people use two leads, one on the collar and one on the harness.

You'll get to know her body language and will be able to assess when she is getting out of her comfort zone and then distract her.

Training is a great way for her to get to meet all shapes and sizes of dogs in a controlled setting and hopefully this will build her confidence.

I'm sure that you'll get a load more fantastic advice and i wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your new hound.

Remember that it's early days yet and she is still settling in, with time, patienc and love I'm sure tou'll be able to resovle any issues that you may have with her.

[jamesuk]

everyone's so nice on here, lol!

thanks for your kind words dominique.

yes, i have read a bit about crates. seem a possibility. however, amber is 4 and not small! still think it's an option?

she doesn't really twist or jump when meeting other dogs. she's quite calm to be honest, just growling and a spot of barking. reading body language is obviously important, as is distraction!

i'm sure as she's out and about more then meeting other digs will slowly become naturally easier for her. i guess if not then we might want to look into professional training.

you're right of course, we've only had her about two weeks, she's got a long way to come yet!

many thanks.

[alexandsteve]

Hi,
im definitely not an expert but have taken loads of advice on board about leaving my dogs as one of them was crying on and off and was quite unsettled when we left -

we only give treats when we leave the house, we give some kind of rawhide chew as they last for a while and also a kong.

I put some rescue remedy in their water to help keep them calm and when we arrive home we never even entertain them for the first 10 minutes (as per NILF).
We also only ever put the toys out 10minutes before we leave so they have something else interesting to do.

If you get the chance have a look for Nothing In Life Is Free on the internet - We have found it really helpful,

All the best ;D

[ellieraven]

Never used a crate personally - could be a good idea but depends how long they are to be in it ? bit of a difficult one !

[tesse0barney]

i have a dog that was under socialised... avoiding other dogs just makes it worse IMO. if we go somewhere neutral and start a walk with others she has no problems.

try to make friends with local dog owners or see if anyone on here is local to you. i know alot of on here have a blunty as well as a pointy and would happily walk with others on here ;D

as for the sep anxiety... it will take her a little while to settle down and find her feet... the first couple of weeks could have been quieter as she is new to it all and still finding her confidence. crumbs can being icky... esp standing on bits of pig ear with bare feet. hahahaha. the little buggers.

[vickyb]

Crates come in enormous sizes so you could get one big enough if you decide that's the way to go. Look on the net rather than pet shops, cheaper and more choice.
Did anything out of the ordinary happen on fri? bin men, window cleaner, loud bang outside, anything that could have spooked her no matter how minor it seemed to you or I wonder if she thought your wife may not come back as you hadn't.

Just to pick up on Alex's point about leaving a hide chew, I always understood that they shouldn't be left unsupervised with them as they can be a choking hazard when they get soggy and bits get bitten off. I've had to extract stuck bits on a few occasions, and hard bits that have got stuck behind teeth side to side.

As for other dogs, I would recommend a harness as well as a collar for your peace of mind and then actively seek out friendly dog owners with dogs who won't be spooked if she lunges or barks. If you explain that she's new and settling in to her new world I find that most people understand and are happy to walk with you. Try not to pass any trepidation you may feel at first down the lead as they can be very sensitive to your anxieties.
I'd definitely go to the dog friendly places you want to go and see how it goes. If you avoid dogs she will start to see them as a threat and then you will have real problems.

Good luck and keep dropping in here and ask away if you need any help, there's usually someone to offer advice. You could always ask if there are any other gappers in your area to meet up for a walk occasionally.
Vicky