Wet and frustrated

[drewk1]

Hello

We recently adopted Eve a 4 year old after our previous Greyhound Gemma passed away in December last year.

Now Eve has settled in very well.

But...

We have a big problem with here stopping on walks and not moving.

I don't think she is anxious as she will take treats and her tail is up.

Some days she will walk fine with only a couple of minor pauses and others its up to 20 minute stop.

We have tried circling her, luring with treats, gentle pressure on the lead but nothing will get her moving.

Its as if she is saying I want to go that way and I'm not moving until I do.

I was at my wits end this morning standing in the pouring rain with a dog that won't move.

I have searched Greyhound freezing and read all the info I can find but none of the methods will get her moving.

Any suggestions or help would be very gratefully appreciated.

[vickyb]

So she won't go back the way you came? Personally for now I'd follow her if it's at all possible. Have you tried high value treats like cheese or meat? Sometimes they can help as long as you only use it in those circumstance, I'm currently using warmed sausage rolls as I have an agoraphobic noise phobic greyhound girl who is a nightmare

[drewk1]

No she won't go back the way we came.
We have tried treats and she will walk forward, take the treat ok but then stop again.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

[vickyb]

What about going back to basics. Just take her to the end of the street and back, make a fuss and reward her if it goes ok. Then when she does it happily a few houses further and so on? If you take her further afield in the car what's she like?
I wonder if she's panicking and worrying that she's not going home with you again? It's not the end of the world to cut her walks as long as she still toilets in the garden or on a nearby suitable area. What's she like with other dogs? If she's ok is there anyone you know nearby that you could walk with sometimes to see if another dog gives her confidence?

I'm assuming you've had her checked over by the vet for anything that might be sore and for corns or even something embedded in her pad? Some are very stoic and don't give much away. Did she race? do you know anything of her history and whether she had injuries?

[vickyb]

A few other people have had this problem and it turned out to be weird things like car headlights shining on the pavement at particular point on an evening walk, things we would never even notice normally.  Is she exactly the same whichever way you go? Maybe she's decided retirement means no walks  but seriously I know how frustrating it is.

[drewk1]

Thanks Vicky.
We will get her to the vets for a check up.
We are going to take her for a different walk this weekend and see how she gets on.
Will report back later.

[Ted]

Missy use to do this with some of the people that use to walk for Hersham Hounds Kennels, meaning the staff had to go and rescue those walkers and bring them and Missy back to the kennels. I never had the same problem expect when I tried taking her across a metal bridge then she stopped with her four feet tightly clamped to the floor. Missy reason was that she had broken her back right leg's hock which was plated so she was frightened that she could have slipped and possibly break that leg or her other back leg. Try to find out if your hound has slipped in the past or just wants the walk not to end and anchoring her feet to the floor makes sure of this. She may be remembering that when she was racing after any walks she was then locked up in her kennel for nearly 24 hours 7 days a week. Eventually she will realise that this no longer happens, they do take quite some time to realise that their life has completely changed for the better.

[jodav]

Not sure whereabouts in the country you are drewk1 but after you have had the vet check like Vicky suggests, it might be worth searching out a group sighthound walk in your area. Walks of this sort can really help many hounds, some will follow along at the back and then join in. I often encourage new people with troubled hounds to join our local walks and the power of the pack never fails to amaze me. Hope you find something to help soon.

[Ted]

Socialisation with other dogs as well as Hounds I have found really helps when I had a new Hound rehomed to me. I was lucky in that I had a great training group called A1K9 who run a 6 week course on either a Saturday or Sunday for an hour where for the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of each week's hour to socialise off the lead without any interference from their owners in a very secure paddock. It really helped all my Greyhounds in that these days they are so gentle and friendly to all dogs what ever size or breed, they still recognise their own type and are great trainers for other peoples dogs.

[drewk1]

an update.
A week of doing the same walk daily and trying to see why she freezes.
We have found three main spots and narrowed it down.
Spot one is where the path divides in the park. If we go in one direction she stops but will continue after a short pause. I think she knows the other direction is for her longer walk.
Spot two is on the pavement approaching a busy roundabout. She seems to be looking over the road at a shop/hotel.
She can be lured on by throwing small treats ahead of her.
Spot three which is her main point of freezing is where the road crosses a river and she can see rabbits in a nearby area or has seen rats by the river in the past.
No amount of treats will get her away from this spot.
Yesterday I had to rescue my partner who was stuck with her and a soon as I turned up she came to me and was fine!!
It seems as if she is fixated by these things.
I guess we need to find a method of distracting her and to get her to focus on walking.

[lurcherlot]

I think that the best suggestion is to find a confident dog to walk with, having had a vet check. Have any of your neighbours got a dog who would be happy to walk with you for a while?

[drewk1]

An update.
We had a dog behaviorist visit and she showed us some techniques to use when walking Eve this combined with moving house has resulted in a great improvement.
The freezing is now minimal and when it does happen a quick tug on the lead and she's off.

Many thanks to all who offered advice.