Barking at other dogs...lots

[harrie]

Hi all, firstly I'm new here so hello to everyone and their leggy wonders

I'm an experienced greyhound owner and after my old boy died aged 12 last June, I adopted 2 new babies in December last year.

Ronnie is 5 and Wendy is 6. Ronnie is super soppy and generally does as he is told (unless shoes are concerned in which case he will only swap for food!).

Wendy has taken a little more time to settle which was expected as she had already been homed once and then returned to the RGT kennel after a few weeks supposedly for growling at the children but the kennels didn't believe this and suspected there was some other reason. Because she had been rejected once, we thought she would be quite guarded and take a while to settle, and she has been.

She's very gentle but a little nervy and jumpy around loud sudden noises - but then looking at her race history she was one fast dog so again not a surprise!

The problem I'm having is with other dogs. She goes absolutely nuts at most of them - barking, shrieking, howling. I've spoken to the RGT kennel and they've given some advice but nothing is working and I'm starting to get really upset about it which obviously isn't helping either of us.

Ronnie is interested but doesn't bark. Wendy is starting to get interested from a long distance away and even if the other dog is on the lead, or being carried by the owner, she still gets really upset.

I've tried stopping and letting the other dogs pass us, trying to calm her down, telling her no, trying to put her between my knees. I took her to the beach on Saturday knowing other dogs would be around in an attempt to get her to see that nothing bad was going to happen, and she had her muzzle on after a while to try and give other owners a heads up that she was gobby ;D

I live very rurally so we don't see that many other dogs (plus we are out super early in the morning!), but I hate the feeling that I can't control my dog especially around other well behaved dogs that just trot along happily next to their owners.

Just wondering if anyone else has any advice or can share any experiences as I am starting to feel like a bad mummy. She is such a lovely dog in every other way and I want to crack this so that we can enjoy being out and about without her going bonkers and me ending up in tears.

thanks in advance x

[jodav]

Hi

Welcome to you and Ronnie and Wendy This is certainly a great place to get good advice and you'll find that many of us on here have situations where our hounds bark at other dogs so please try not to get too downhearted with Wendy and her barking! It might be worth getting a vet to check her out to make sure there are no medical problems.

You mention that you are an experienced owner but have you read the recent thread on Behaviour Adjustment Therapy BAT? A lot of the advice on there is really excellent and has worked for me. Also, is there any possibility at all that you can find a very calm dog to parallel walk with?

Good luck with Wendy

Jo x

[julies]

Hi Harrie

I run a greyhound class for retired racers and this is one of the main issues our dogs have - in my experience (and others may differ ) it's based on fear - the grey has never usually seen other breeds, they're now on a lead so feel vulnerable and if they shout the other scarey thing (dog) goes away so that reinforces that barking works

I'm a TTouch Practitioner and find it is ideal for this - TTouch builds confidence and reduces reactivity so check out Linda Tellington-Jones' books so you can learn some of the bodywork and practice at home so you can calm the dog when she sees other breeds - doing earwork is usually best ( I do mouthwork which is better still but may be a bit tricky if you're not used to TTouch). When you see her begin to 'fix' on something I'd suggest you give her something to do - either do some loops as you walk and use high value treats so she's encouraged to listen and come If another dog is heading your way you need to get her to her coping distance so ask her to 'come' or 'turn' then you can take her away from the dog to a distance that she can watch but hopefully won't react- I always say to people think of spiders ... I'm ok if they are far away and I can see them but I'm NOT ok if they're too close and especially if they're heading my way (Gulp) In TTouch ee tend to always use harnesses with a double ended lead - we find that by taking the pressure off the dogs neck their reactivity is reduced and there is loads of scientific research that proves collars can damage or cause harm to dogs' necks, eyes, throat, breathing etc if the dog is lunging and twirling. I usually attach the lead to the back of the harness and to the clip on the opposite should to me so the lead goes round the dogs chest - if you buy a Mekuti harness you can thread the lead thro the chest ring- for extra control with some greys I also recommend you loop the lead round the chest loosely and hold it in both hands - sort of like horses reins, this enables you to move the dogs body when they are going off on one - then of course you can reward the dog as it's 'come' when you've asked her to.

We 'ask' the dog to walk using lead signals from either hand so the dog starts to listen rather than just follow and we ask for a halt not by pulling but by a gentle signal then a release - if you're not giving the dog anything to pull against it can't pull tho with our greys I'd suggest you find a local Practitioner or go to a TTouch Workshop so you can learn just how to use the lead/harness in real life ... I use an electronic cat and rabbit in my class LOL so people can practice

A well socialised dog friend is great - stay far apart till your dog relaxes (days/weeks/months) then get a little closer and again only move nearer if your dog is happy I'd also just check the protein level in her food - less than 20% is what we recommend tho no bright colours and my grey reacts when she's fed beef so maybe start with a fish and potato or pork an potato food if she's fed a complete and see if that helps too Like you I'd keep her muzzled which warns people and keeps everyone safe

Good luck with her - they do usually come round tho I find some greys who have been rehomed to people have rushed out taking the dog to real breed training classes (with the best of intentions) can end up with a totally terrified grey and they take longer to rehab but they do come round - the secret is taking it all at the dog's pace

Keep asking questions and welcome to Gap

Julie xx

[harrie]

Thanks so much for the welcome and for all your help – I saw the Behaviour Adjustment Training thread right after I had posted! Derr. I had a read through that and found it really useful, felt SO much better afterwards

Yesterday was the worst day yet so was particularly upset , but looks like I have come to just the right place. I had a good think on yesterday after I’d read through the threads on here, and we had a much better morning today

We meet 2 dogs each morning – a lovely beagle who is very well behaved but whines every time he sees anyone – you hear his dad gently telling him off/laughing at him all the time ;D - and a gorgeous Airedale who again is very well behaved.

Wendy is getting much better with the beagle – she was fine with him yesterday and a couple of days last week but growled a little today.

She was a million times better with the Airedale today I went armed with a few treats and gave them to her as we were going along while she was calm.

As soon as we saw the Airedale she was still quiet so I said good girl and gave her a treat, then she had another as he got nearer and she was still being good. I held her lead much shorter so her head was right next to my thigh (I’m not very big ) and kept fussing her head and saying good girl as we walked past.

She barked a little but was SO much better than yesterday and I felt much more confident. Once she was calm again she had another treat. (Poor old Ronnie didn’t get any but wasn’t bothered as he was sniffing interesting things ).

Hopefully we may have turned a corner. I had a think and my dog walker has 2 very confident dogs – he is in the next village, so I think we will maybe see about walking with him as both my dogs know him well, so hopefully will feel a bit happier than with a stranger and strange dogs.

I really like the sound of the books though and the harness – I hadn’t thought about that before but have always felt really uncomfortable with a dog whirling away being held by the neck, it definitely can’t be pleasant for her. I will keep trying with the treats and try some walks with others before resorting to the harness, and see how we get on.

My old dog (Bubble) was much more chilled out in general – more like Ronnie. Bubble was very barky on the lead to start with but settled down very well as he got used to being around other dogs. So hopefully Wendy will too.

I knew about the unfamiliarity with other breeds thing from our time with Bubble – Wendy is fine with another greyhound we meet sometimes, and is fine with my mum’s greyhound and whippet. I hadn’t realised until reading into it that was all based on fear – thought it was just not knowing what the hell it was

I had been really reluctant to go to normal dog training classes too, as you say, I thought it would just frighten her even more and I didn’t want to get told off or patronised !

[julies]

Great and that builds your confidence so she's more confident etc etc LOL Personally I'd keep just that little bit further away so she's not growling and then she's happier to watch and look but doesn't have the Airedale or Beagle coming up to her at the moment ... I find that greys also 'shut down' to cope so you think they're accepting the other dog as they appear calm whereas they're actually so frightened they can't react (or just freeze) and then you can often get a HUGE 'over the top' reaction which seems out of all porportion but is actually 'the final straw' I know of people who say ' my grey was fine with the other dog then it just lunged at it and bit it ' but they were probably too close too soon so better to be safe than sorry .. if she's able to eat tho that's a good sign that she's not too stressed but do go slowly then she'll have a solid base of confidence to use

Parallel walking is a great introduction to other breeds and of course you're not walking directly at another dog which dogs can read as confrontational I find that the greys seem to be improving then have a bit of a blip in behaviour at around 6-8 weeks in their new home tho you may have found that with your others

Yep quite agree with you re other dog clubs .. horrible when they patronise you .. just cos the trainer isn't capable of training or even understanding a greyhound they blame you !!! I took my greyhound to a Kennel Club weekend and we had a lot of fun trying heelwork to music (sort of LOL) .. the lovely instructor was amazed when she looked round and my Lucy was absolutely fast asleep ... after about 15 minutes of walking up and down and stopping LOL

Julie x

[harrie]

yes we have definitely had the freeze/final straw reaction several times!

Where we have our morning walk it's down a country lane so very difficult to manage the distance between us and other dogs, and I prefer to keep her moving as it is so much worse if we stop and wait. certainly that's the case at the moment anyway. I don't really want to change the walk as otherwise we won't see any other dogs at all and she will never learn, plus it's the perfect spot (poo bins, things to sniff etc!)

thanks again x

[jodav]

I would just add that Julies' advice is always 'right on the money' so hope you have enough info to really make some progress One final thought - arm yourself with an irresistible treat, livercake, squeaky duck or something else that Wendy loves, to interrupt her stare and look at you Also love the name Wendy - my hound's racing name was Tracy and I love that as well ;D ;D

Jo x

[julies]

Thank you Jo that's really kind I think all of us who have norty greys can offer something ... please don't stop putting tips on this and other threads cos you think I'm a know-it-all ooops meant have a lot to say LOL I love reading how others cope with their greys 'issues' and it's helpful for the the dogs I work with to have a few options

Have you found the A La Bark baking book? ours kill for their receipes and Kris gives a donation to grey/lurcher rescue I think someone on here has their hound in her book

Julie xx

[Deleted]

Not really offering any constructive advice but if worst comes to worst you can actually get used to it Duncan has been with us for 3 years & he still shrieks at other dogs (and inanimate objects including a lady who stands outside our local shop with a grey bag at 6am EVERY morning).
I can now have conversations at a safe distance with other dog owners whilst he is shrieking & I really don't notice
Pleas don't get upsaet sometimes I think you have to accept that is how they are & they aren't perfect (but then neither am I) & they have their quirks but they make up for in other ways

[harrie]

thanks both - we are investigating different treats at the moment but having been told by the kennel that she wasn't that fussed on eating, she has turned into a real gannet so I think this means she has settled! And she pretty much loves anything I give her to eat.

Ronnie is more toy focussed than Wendy but she does have one cuddly toy she particularly likes so I could try that - great idea, thanks again!

Wendy's racing name was See You Wednesday - so Wendy was an easy one from that. Her nickname is Pops now, as she quickly became WendyPops. Or if she's having a fuss in the garden I coo Wendy Wendy Wendy at her while she's wriggling on her back and she loves it! Aren't we daft about our hounds

[harrie]

And thanks Wanda - if she wasn't so distressed each time I wouldn't be so bothered. The Airedale owner seems pretty cool with it all and his dog isn't bothered at all so no reason for me to be upset other than seeing Wendy so upset.

We will see how we go - but yes I agree, they all have their little ways Ben the Beagle has been whimpering as I walk past ever since I moved here 6 1/2 years ago ;D

[jodav]

May 29, 2012 15:38:04 GMT -5 julies said:

Have you found the A La Bark baking book? ours kill for their receipes and Kris gives a donation to grey/lurcher rescue

Will definitely look at this book, sounds excellent. I made 10 bags of livercake and sold the lot at a Rescue Open Day recently - could have sold much more, people were coming and asking when it had sold out ;D Hopefully get some other ideas from the book

Jo x

[julies]

Will definitely look at this book, sounds excellent. I made 10 bags of livercake and sold the lot at a Rescue Open Day recently - could have sold much more, people were coming and asking when it had sold out ;D Hopefully get some other ideas from the book

Jo x[/quote]

My two and others just love the receipes and I love them cos they're easy to do LOL

[harrie]

hi everyone, just a little update

we are doing OK, managed a trip to the vets yesterday with no problem at all, even with a little Pomeranian and a Westie (i.e. starter and lunch sized!) in the waiting room. She whined a little but was OK.

She has stopped barking at Ben the Beagle and I don't even have to hold the lead tight for her now

She yapped at Harry the Greyhound the other week but he was whining because he always does apparently, and all of us were laughing at them as it was so funny - so nice to be with other greyhound owners who know that they have their little ways! We tried to walk with them a little but neither Harry or Wendy were that thrilled about it so we carried on.

If the weather's nice again tomorrow I will take them to the beach again.

The Airedale is still hit and miss - but I'm starting to wonder if she just plain old doesn't like him or the owner. The dog is stunning but quite big and proud looking so can understand poor little Wendy not being that comfortable.

Sometimes biscuits are working, sometimes they don't but I've relaxed about it and think this is helping all of us

[jodav]

Excellent, well done to you and Wendy Relaxing is the key but it can be so darned hard at times ;D The latest 'attraction' for one of my dogs is the grazing cattle on the Heath. One particular, large, black cow with horns looks directly at Paddy whilst it's chewing ;D We keep our distance of course but it kind of does make a complication to a Heath walk. We're finding all sorts of new and interesting pathways now

Jo x