ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
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Post by ritab on Dec 19, 2013 18:01:10 GMT -5
Just wanted to say thanks to all those who give advice etc in this section - adopted first greyhound just over 2 years ago, and second a year ago. Both are girls. I learnt lots about sleep aggression, agoraphobia, cuts and scrapes, nervousness, knackered lawns, etc.
However, one of the best pieces of advice I was given was by a greyhound owner we met while on holiday. She said it takes about a year for them to settle into a home properly. I know some people say theirs settle straight away, but neither of ours did. But after a year (yes!) they started to respond to us much more positively. I have seen new owners write that they are worried their hound isn't settling after a matter of weeks. And a year sounds absolutely ages, but when I look back it seems like nothing at all, and I have such a nice warm feeling knowing I stuck with it, and have 2 lovely black girls.
Happy Christmas everyone, and thanks again.
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Post by andywillow on Dec 19, 2013 18:52:47 GMT -5
What a lovely post, its so lovely watching how they gain confidence once in a loving home, some do settle much quicker than others, some who haven't been treated well take a long time to overcome their fears. Its so rewarding to watch them develop and learn to trust us and enjoy their lives.
I wish I had found Gap when we adopted our first greyhound, he really was a steep learning curve but we got there in the end!
Have a lovely Christmas with your beautiful girls xx
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Post by deborahburt on Dec 20, 2013 3:55:28 GMT -5
They are definitely worth the wait aren't they.  |
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Post by tinar on Dec 20, 2013 11:45:38 GMT -5
It's a steep learning curve, but so rewarding seeing each little [or large  ] personality emerge and grow. Linda [LoupyLou] said after 5 years Suggs is still surprising her! |
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Post by loopylou on Dec 21, 2013 5:18:57 GMT -5
It's a steep learning curve, but so rewarding seeing each little [or large ] personality emerge and grow. Linda [LoupyLou] said after 5 years Suggs is still surprising her! What a lovely post Rita I'm glad your Hounds are now settled and happy. It's true Suggs has been with us since 2007 , he now has four ''brothers and sisters'. He was a nervous wreck when we got him and still this far on his personality is developing , he is a confident, playful cheeky boy now and it seems like yesterday he was a nervous , very shut down boy . |
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ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
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Post by ritab on Dec 21, 2013 12:23:30 GMT -5
I forgot to mention the worries over hair loss, diet, house training, etc. But reading this section of the forum helped me to stop worrying so much. My baldy one isn't that unusual, but I don't understand why her fur grows back in spring and then moults in time for winter!!! I moved onto Burns Pork and Potato and the itchiness stopped, and Lena just drinks a lot with her meals and then needs to go out frequently. She doesn't drink much after her evening meal though, so she obviously knows she has to go through the night.
My first girl never raced, and the second one had a short but successful career. My first is like an old lady, and my second like a naughty pup (despite an age difference of only 8 months). So I've seen quite a range of behaviour. But this forum has always been there for me.
And I fully intend to put some photos on the chat section - but need technonerd husband for that.
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Post by sharonhigh45 on Dec 22, 2013 7:04:28 GMT -5
What a nice post, wish I had the Gap for advice when I found my first lurcher abandoned on the road,had to learn everything from scratch with no advice but we got there and she was a lovely girl.
Shazx
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Post by futuramafan on Jan 6, 2014 15:07:15 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more. I got myself really stressed over Molly and thought I was constantly at fault. However as I got more confident so did Molly and 18 months later she is is the most wonderful companion and my gorgeous girl. So worth it.
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ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
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Post by ritab on Jan 9, 2014 3:19:11 GMT -5
Is that Molly on the photo? She looks lovely - you can't beat a black greyhound!
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ReggieK
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Human slave owned by Layla
Posts: 257
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Post by ReggieK on Jan 10, 2014 10:29:54 GMT -5
Been 5 months with my girl and she is still changing, getting more talkative and cheeky all the time. But also more loving and more fun to be with. Wouldn't swap her for the world.
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Post by Letty's Mum on Jan 10, 2014 15:27:39 GMT -5
It's lovely that your girls are doing so well  I was lucky in that my first Greyhound was amazing and tought me everything she knew Never looked back x |
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Post by futuramafan on Jan 11, 2014 15:42:41 GMT -5
Is that Molly on the photo? She looks lovely - you can't beat a black greyhound! Yes that is my gorgeous girl Molly. We've just adopted Wallace from gap too so a handsome pair! |
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Post by dash4misty on Jan 12, 2014 7:22:47 GMT -5
We were lucky with our first hound , he was a lovely black boy called Buddy and he came from a small rescue of only 8 kennels , the owner Gary picked him for us , we wanted a husband for our 8 year old lurched and he was perfect  . I do remember looking at a couple of "pretty" hounds Buddy had kennel coat so his coat was dull , but after a few weeks he was stunning people used to comment on his shiny coat ,he was an ideal novice owners greyhound , which was what we were after him I was smitten , my next grey was a girl straight from racing , that was a RUDE awakening |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2014 15:10:27 GMT -5
I was wondering about this myself - thanks to the OP! I've only walked a grey once, I'm totally new to all of this, but doing my reading reading reading. I noticed when I took the grey for a walk at the kennels, he seemed so distant - very light on the lead, didn't really respond to his name that much, would occasionally just stop to look at something, and then trundle on. I figured I must've been 'walker #6' of the day to him! It must be so sad with all these people coming, looking, walking, and then disappearing off...he stopped by the main gates and took ages to budge as if to say 'well...?'!
So is this quite normal at first after rehoming? It sounds like it's normal for their personality to come through after some time of settling in to their new life, home and family?
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Post by samburns on Jan 14, 2014 15:27:20 GMT -5
So is this quite normal at first after rehoming? It sounds like it's normal for their personality to come through after some time of settling in to their new life, home and family? They can be very shut down to start with. The life a greyhound leads in racing kennels lacks in any great amount of stimulation - they are quite often in their kennel for over 23 hours a day, sometimes alone. They get turned out to a small run or paddock once a day or twice if they are lucky for maybe just 10 minutes or so. Their interactions with humans are often limited, being taken from the kennel to a paddock, or to the track, or getting fed. Its not unusual that they don't know their names while in kennels, they just don't get enough positive human interaction  Even being lead walked is quite alien to many of them. That might be all they know for four or more years. So it takes a while for them to adjust, some adapt really quickly to home life but most take a good six months to really settle in and for their personality to really come out. |
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