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Post by melissa on Jul 29, 2014 16:26:32 GMT -5
I brought Hawk home on Sunday and he seems to be settling in quite well, apart from a run in with next door's cat, a few wees in the house and whining at the sheep in the field next to our house!
One thing I'm struggling with a little is Hawk's reaction when I'm trying to serve tea, I lock him out of the kitchen whilst making it, "his" room is a dining room in between the kitchen and living room, you need to walk through his area to get to the living room where we have been eating. Basically he goes completely nuts when he sees that I'm serving food and it makes it almost impossible for me to get past him!
possibly one of the reasons behind it is that he is eating at about 5pm and we don't eat till 8pm as my husband isn't back from work till then. I gave him 250g of Harrington's which was the recommend amount (I don't know his weight although I assume he's between 20 and 40kg)!
have read through some of the threads on here and the advice for newbies, I'm not giving him food from our plate but have given him the smallest amount of what we are having - would you advise against this and give him nothing at all of what we eat? Considering this is the third night for him I'm presuming that he's settling in himself and it's all obviously very new to him and I need to stop being so anxious and over analysing things but I can't help it! He just gets so jumpy and a bit naughty when food is involved.
Any help greatly appreciated x
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Post by greybeard on Jul 29, 2014 17:48:33 GMT -5
Melissa - did reply on your other thread.Like Sam said,early days - any food he was expected to eat it quickly and probabley thought he wasn't going to get any more.And like I said we've had 2 greys,1 always a pet the other ex-racer but as far as food is concerned they both behaved as if they'd never,ever been fed.Human food is irrestible - and the saluki x was the same.Be firm(and I find it hard cos they look so pathetic!).Our saluki x used to sit and stare at me and made me feel so guilty.Try hand signals - Perry's not that not bright but he knows that both hands held out upright means he can't have our food or there's no more treats.Cath
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Post by melissa on Jul 29, 2014 18:18:31 GMT -5
Thanks for this Cath, I'm having to search for my threads but just realised I can group them all together and access them easily.
Am trying to be as firm as possible, he's such a strong lad though he can certainly push his weight forward through the door into the kitchen. And the guilt you feel! The food we had tonight involved pulled pork shoulder in a rich gravy so I'm sure his nose went into overdrive!
Am I best not giving him any of our food so he can differentiate between what's ours and what's his?
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Post by samburns on Jul 29, 2014 18:40:46 GMT -5
Personally I wouldn't give him food that you are eating, its just going to keep him focussed on you and your food!
Maybe getting a Kong and fill it with really yummy treats for him to have while you are eating would be enough to distract him?
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Post by vickyb on Jul 30, 2014 1:39:54 GMT -5
Sam's advice re a kong is great but in the meantime or if he isn't interested in it you could try splitting his tea and giving him some as his supper while you eat. Ours have brekkie, tea between 5 and 6 and a handful of biscuits around 9pm. Are you closing the door on him as you cook? We use baby/dog gates rather than closing the door if I want to keep ours out of the kitchen so they can see me and what's going on so the don't get anxious at being shut out. Not that they care any more now they're so settled - I know it might seem hard to imagine now but he will change a lot and all these things will get easier. I know it might seem hard now but if he is so food obsessed it should help make training him easier. I always try in the early days to get them to learn to sit (if he can, not all greys are physically able to) or down before they get their food or a treat and they soon learn that the goodies only arrive if they're calm and not pushing for it but that can take time but it does make life easier! I wouldn't give him your food at the time but if you have a little left over save it to put on his next meal if you want. For now he has to learn that food isn't a resource he has to fight for, it will always come at regular intervals and he will get the idea. In kennels life is boring and feeding time is exciting but can be tense if there are other greys around who may try to steal it hence he gets so excited now, especially as it looks smells and tastes new and wonderful. Our Sapphy and her brothers (adopted by other gappers) are renowned extreme food obsessive thieves but recently, after being with us for 4 yrs she's changed completely and will walk away and leave a little food, almost as if we've finally 'filled her up'  It's lovely to see how chilled she is now around food so it will happen. I know things like this are a pain but when you see how far he's come in the coming weeks months and ever years you'll feel so proud of him and yourselves  |
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Post by ragsysmum on Jul 30, 2014 3:18:38 GMT -5
I always feed our dogs immediately before we eat so they are already full and don't beg for anything of ours. Maybe it would help if you moved his mealtime back gradually to just before you eat your evening meal....at least if nothing else you won't feel guilty when he begs and you refuse!  |
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Post by lurcherlot on Jul 30, 2014 3:55:32 GMT -5
Most dogs coming from kennels usually are starving hungry - I find it takes about 6 weeks for a dog to take on board that he/she will be fed at least twice a day, every day! I doubt your dog is obsessed .... probably just genuinely hungry and trying to settle in to a new home .... it's very early days. I would get him weighed too, so that you can be sure he's getting sufficient food.
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Post by emmajane on Jul 30, 2014 5:23:57 GMT -5
You have to remember that if he's been in kennels for a while he will be used to the routine that any food coming into his kennel is for him so it'll take time for him to adjust. He also doesn't know what is expected of him, so decide what you want him to do while you're eating (it might be lay on a particular dog bed, or to stay in another room completely) and then while you're eating reward the crap out of him for doing it. If you can't be arsed training (lets face it some days you just want to watch something on the telly and stuff your face without having to eat one handed while you throw dog treats while keeping an eye on what the dog is doing) then give him a stuffed kong/pigs ear/other long lasting very yummy thing to distract him from begging. When Mag first arrived I fed him pretty much half of my meals while he lay down in the living room or else he would just do a smash and grab raid. He will now lie quietly while we eat (and even occasionally have a snooze) because he understands what I want him to do and if he does it well then he will be rewarded |
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Post by kamkay on Jul 30, 2014 8:20:36 GMT -5
You will get there, it is so early on and he is still learning the ropes. Jet isn't the brightest of dogs but even he has learnt some basic commands. From day one I said Wait as I was putting his food down and he has learnt that Not for dogs means Back off! He still does a fly past when he fancies the look of what we are eating, but retires immediately to the sofa once he's told. If you've been used to chuhuahuas you have a particularly steep learning curve because greyhounds have a tremendous reach . Keep up the good work and remember we are all rooting for you
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ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
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Post by ritab on Jul 30, 2014 16:40:16 GMT -5
I started with chihuahuas and have ended up with greyhounds. One of mine isn't really interested in food and sometimes has to be persuaded to eat. The other one is totally focussed on food. It took a while to stop her trying to get at ours. Now she sometimes lies between us on the sofa when we have a tray meal and doesn't try to steal it. Amazing!
We feed ours 3 times a day - AFTER we have eaten which is what you should do so they know their place. It's just a gentle way to remind them of the pecking order. And I usually cook a bit extra veg (not onions or leeks) which I add to their kibble. If we have chicken I give them a very small amount. Many of them easily get upset tums so you need to be careful what and how much human food you give them.
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Post by gazer on Jul 31, 2014 5:15:04 GMT -5
So much food, so many wonderful smells of food, you feed him, then you get more food, hey, that food must also be for him. That's probably what he's thinking at the moment, it will change, a dog/baby gate is a good thing to use, to avoid actually having to push him away and you can eat in peace. I wouldn't give him anything off your plate and don't even look at him while you are eating, he is associating your food as his at the moment and you need to try and break that. Praise him when he walks away or just lies there but doesn't try to get to the food. Ignore him as best you can when he's not doing what you want. It will get easier I promise, however some of these little dears are total thieves and will steal food from anywhere they can reach  I remember not having had Alfie very long at all and had put a loaf of bread in the sink to defrost, I went out for a while, when I came back it was like a snow storm, he had got to the bread and obviously shook it, broke the bag and it had gone everywhere Most people here have stories of thieving hounds, it's just how some of them are. You're doing fine, and Hawk is just settling in, it will take a while but you'll both get there. xx |
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Post by vickyb on Jul 31, 2014 7:36:00 GMT -5
You do need eyes in the back of your head with some We went out not long after Gracie arrived and when we got back she'd had managed to get the big pot bread crock from the back of the worktop onto the floor only breaking the lid and had eaten half a loaf and 3 part baked bread cakes. She got a lock and lock container off a shelf and ate the 12 weetabix inside it. There were crumbs everywhere as she'd taken it through to her basket. Trixie was sitting there with a look of disgust and a 'not me - nothing to do with it' look on her face, she would never steal a thing but she wasn't a greyhound! One very thirsty hound and massive piles of poo  - and a kitchen with the clearest worktops ever These days she would never steal a thing. They don't know they're doing wrong, they've never been in a home so how can they? |
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Post by melissa on Jul 31, 2014 9:44:41 GMT -5
Aww some funny stories! Thanks everyone Gave him a tin of sardines earlier as a one off treat of lunch, am I ok doing things like this every now and again? He's still scavenging a bit for food, feel like we're not feeding him enough though. How many coffee mug's worth should I be giving him? He's developed a love for my trainers/slippers/flip flops, I keep finding them in his bed every now again, nothing is safe, paintbrushes too. He's having a sleep now, my hubby has had a good run round with him in the garden x |
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Post by vickyb on Jul 31, 2014 14:31:37 GMT -5
Sardines are ok couple of times a week but a full tin would give mine the runs. Hope he's ok.
I feed ours quite often just before we eat so they're full and they just lie down and watch us these days! I never deliberately make them wait until afterwards.
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Post by gazer on Jul 31, 2014 15:10:19 GMT -5
Colllecting shoes seems to be another hound 'thing', mine did it for a while, then stopped, he never chewed them though, it may be a comfort thing as they smell of you, sometimes if a dog doesn't settle well people put an old unwashed t-shirt in their bed with them as it also smells of them.
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