Getting to know Monty - less than a day into our adventure as fosterers

[PacificDogwood]

Monty arrived 5pm yesterday.
Lovely 2 yo greyhound - from what I read in his papers and due to the fact that I cannot find his tattoo online, I don't think he was ever a racer (he also does not like his muzzle and is v unhappy to go in the back of the car - again, I think that would suggest that he was not used to going to races).
Sounds like he had a neglectful rather than all out cruel owner - he was very skinny and gained 6kg in 6 weeks while in the care of the rescue and is still a slim GH!

So, good points:

• Seems lovely natured, v placid, tolerates the kids with patience
  
• No crying overnight (a couple of whimpers, but I don't count them)
  
• Accepted his bed and ate and drank in our care
  
• Easy to walk
  
• Did a poo outside [relief] at 5am, mind…
  
• so far he does not seem particularly reactive to anything including people, other dogs, noises.
  
• does not seem to be particularly food driving, patient when waiting for his food, takes treats even out of children's hands v nicely.
  

Challenges:

• wees in the house - we've taken him out really frequently and he seems to wait until he is back in to relieve himself. DH not impressed darn, because I am so keeping Monty!
  
• he wandered upstairs this morning and then could only manage the shorter flight of our stairs back down (old house, high ceilings, 6 steps to mid-landing, then 11 steps). He absolutely froze - treats did not convince him that this was a good idea. I had to lift him in the end - all 34kg of him
  
• not at all happy to be in the back of the car. I lifted him in, he was the picture of misery in spite of having his blanket and treats. So I just took him back out again.
  

I know it's v early days, I am more than happy to be patient with him. He is currently asleep at my feet, snoring rather inelegantly
I am going to use this thread as a bit of a diary - I have lurked rather a lot on previous 'pointy' threads and would of course value any hints and tips any of you might want to share.

[goshhhhhh]

He sounds like he is lucky to have you.

[gailforce1]

He is very lucky to have you and thank goodness he is good with your children. I am afraid I have no ideas on wee training but am sure that this must be very common in dogs that have only been in kennels and there must good advice out there some where.
Will be following your adventure with him and wishing you good luck. Don't forget photos!! Pleeeeese!

[PacificDogwood]

Well, if he was not good with the kids, he would be gone from here, sorry, Monty .

We have now had wees and poos in more appropriate places, followed by lots of praise and treats. I'm sure he'll get it in due course.

He is not particularly frightened of house hold appliances (he is now washing machine, tumble dryer and vacuum cleaner tested) although I would not go as far as saying that he liked the hoover .

Dh who is not entirely sold on the the whole dog idea, is away to get a stair gate….

[PacificDogwood]

This is what he looked like 6 weeks ago

[Whippet81]

I'm sure he will get the wee thing - just don't say anything when he goes in the house and then be really silly with praise when he goes outside. Despite not being the brightest of dogs they do catch on to routines ever so easy.

First time my Barry ran up the stairs at my parents house (we haven't got any) me and my dad had to carry him down. He now gallops up and down. He won't have done stairs before.

Maybe once he learns he goes nice places in the car he will perk up a bit - or he might think he is going back.

He sounds like he has started to settle already. I'm sure he will be fine :D

[SteveBrucesNose]

Hello Monty

Our adopted two spotties took 3-4 weeks before understanding the toilet rules despite being 9 years old so I'm sure a 2 year old baby will get it soon with lots of treats.

It also took them a few weeks to find their voices though. The trainer we used said that this was possibly because Theyd now become comfortable enough to realise that they wouldn't be punished for barking/whinging/general annoying noises so that made me happy when they started barking.

Good luck to you and Monty, whether or not he'd been ra ing he deserves a nice happy home (and if your DH doesn't agree to that being at yours in the long term, well
Done for settling him in to home life)

[PacificDogwood]

Stair gate is fitted

I am sure all will be fine - he's weed various times outside and no accidents since this morning

He does a little bit of whimpering from time to time which I don't know how to interpret - he does not want to go out when he does this (I tried), is not hungry/thirsty and not particularly unsettled

Re voice finding: yy, I fully expect him to become more vocal in time - the rescue dogs I grew up with always started out all quiet and timid and not all stayed like that…

Yes, I think he is beginning to settle. We shall see what the night brings...

[Whippet81]

Mine doesn't bark at all. Very very occasionally he will do one 'woof' if I'm not being quick enough with his lead or something but he then looks behind him to see who made the noise.

He also whimpers and we don't know what he wants - sometimes it's because he needs the loo so make sure it's not that as that's brill if he starts letting you know!

Did the rescue tell you how wimpy they are? Get prepared for your first GSOD (greyhound scream of death) when he taps himself or his ear gets strokes too hard. They also told me that if he looks like he has broken his leg give it two minutes and see if he can remember which leg. I have had a number of occasions where Barry has screamed and been hysterical holding his leg up like it needs amputating and I have been ready to call an ambulance. Now I give it a 'magic rub' and he's normally walks it off it three steps.

They are hilarious.

[Aimey]

Sounds like a great start. I've had 3 rescue dogs now, not GH, and all of them have had the 2-3 weeks in "right I've been on best behaviour now I can relax a bit" in different ways. Don't let that put you off, keep going and it will come ok. Sounds like your boy may do better but one of ours will still wee indoors out of anxiety/marking territory. We've had him 4 years, but it's much much better. He also took around 2 years to start to play - we're gobsmacked that he was still changing so drastically after so long. He's utterly fab by the way! Just wanted to say that at some point in the first few weeks you will probably have regrets about getting him, but this is usual, if you can, keep going! It's worth it in the end.

[PacificDogwood]

Thank you again for sharing your experiences

We had a good night: a bit of whimpering when we went upstairs, then no sound all night, only one pee in the kitchen this morning.
Been for a walk, he did what he had to do, had breakfast, now sleeping.

He's discovered that we own a sofa
Dh is not for having it - so I am indulging him for now. I know who is going to win. Our sofa is 18 years old so I am not precious about it.

V interesting about your dog changing after 2 years! Amazing.
Monty is clearly relaxing a bit which is lovely to see.

[PacificDogwood]

No wee over night!

He was very reluctant to go out this morning and then did the necessary within 10 yards of the house, turning back immediately afterwards.

Lazy git perfect dog for me

[SeaLavender]

This is heart warming stuff. Please keep up the diary. And comments from other posters. Barry sounds like some people I've known.
A friend had a rescue greyhound, very, erm, relaxed. She told me that one morning it was 5 hours before he got out of his basket. Or even opened his eyes.

[PacificDogwood]

Weeeell, Monty has proven that he is not entirely stupid - DS1 left his (late) dinner unattended and the naughty dog made off with his gammon steak . He is a bit thirsty now…

He also chewed a few things today and takes an unhealthy interest in my woolly sheepskin cushions on the sofa. Ah well

On the upside, he continues to tolerate the chaos that is our house, has been nothing but lovely to assorted children visiting our kids, my own visitors. No pee in the house and one less walk than yesterday - so we are down to 3 hourly rather than 2 hourly. He looks at my like this when I come with his lead again - if he keeps not seeing in the house I won't keep pestering quite as much.

[CMOTDibbler]

Wait till you get the look when suggesting he'd like to go out when its raining or cold. Ddog (who is possibly grey x saluki) has just had to be shoved out of the backdoor for a wee, even while wearing his cozy fleece. Which he cried for last night as I'd forgotten to put it on him before going to bed.

Mine also does what Whippet81 said - in fact he's forgotten which leg he hurt and limped on the wrong leg.

If you are looking for a mud removal tool, I have a 'magic brush' which is designed for thin skinned horses, and is tolerated by ddog who has vv little coat. Dpuppy has much more, and it still strips the mud out

[PacificDogwood]

I think I've had The Look this morning - this is Scotland after all

Thank for the brush tip - I will need something like that...

[gailforce1]

Did you have a good night with him last night Pacific? Are your DCs starting to take it for granted that he is part of the family? Hope all is going well.

[PacificDogwood]

It is going great, thanks, gailforce

Yes, another dry night, he is gaining in confidence in leaps and bounds (which unfortunately also means that he now chews things - there was a blizzard of tiny pieces of paper in our living room this morning after he got hold of a book - cheap paperback, but still! I think he must be a very intellectual dog).
Kids love him, he is happy to see us when we come in and DH is grumpily affectionate to him

He got a Kong today and is currently busy with that - hopefully that will divert the chewing needs a little.

He is hilarious when I need him to go out and do his business, but he does not want to. His look just says 'Really? Really? You are expecting me to go out in that?!'

[gailforce1]

Sounds as though he is having a puppyhood now that he was denied in the past! Enjoying your updates - hope all continues to go well.

[tinymeteor]

My top tip for acclimatising him to the car is to spend a few weeks using it to do a regular short journey somewhere for a really nice walk. We used to drive our dog to the local park even though it was walking distance from the house. That way getting in ge car was something to look forward to rather than a source of stress. Good luck, he looks lovely.

[PacificDogwood]

My love affair with Monty continues

He's great.
Coming out of his shell, sniffing more when out, more playful and confident.

We had a very exciting long walk this morning and meeting lots of other large dogs. He seems v v keen on them, more in a friendly, playful way although the group of ?10 small fluffy dogs we met he possibly regarded as lunch…
As a condition of the foster agreement I am only walking him on lead and with muzzle and I did not give him any kind of chance to get near or scare anybody - human or dog.

I wish I could safely see what he was like off-lead with larger breeds who would be able to stand their ground with him. Hm.
I will be walking him again on Sunday with a whole group of greys and I'll see how he gets on with his peers.

He remains really good-natured with us - playful but not aggressive with the kids, keen on his food but not obnoxious.
He has taken an unhealthy interest in our shoes, so the utility room door now remains firmly shut.
He can empty a Kong of Philadelphia and treats in an astonishingly short time and demolished a cow hide 'bone' in half an hour tonight
The search for a chew toy continues….. I am tempted to give him DS3's outgrown, holey and rather stinky old slippers - would that be a terrible idea?!

Thank you for your tips and experiences

[CMOTDibbler]

You could look to see if there is a Sighthound Playgroup near you - its off lead in a safe enclosed area so they can zoom round even if recall is an issue.

Many people use antlers as chew objects as they don't splinter.

[PacificDogwood]

Oh, I've got some antlers in the garden! I found them myself
Thanks, good idea.

Yes, I'm planning on taking him for one of those, but I have to clarify first whether I'm 'allowed' while we foster - all sorts of strict insurance restrictions… but DH seems to be coming around in spite of the fact that M chewed a SKY remote control

[CMOTDibbler]

Chewing is very tedious - ddog never did it, but dpuppy loves a chew of random objects. He is getting better with swift removal of whatever he has stolen and substitution of something he can have. Slowly though.

Good thing I love him really.

[PacificDogwood]

Yes, just like children - good thing we love them too!

Monty also produces the most noxious farts and snores loudly. Awww!

He now knows he is not meant to be on the sofa but still tries it on, slinking off when one of us enters the room