Hi!
After many years dreaming of dog ownership and doing substantial research into the breed of dog that would be right for my lifestyle (I work full-time but I am only away from the house 2/3 days a week) I adopted a 6 year old greyhound girl 3 weeks ago.
So far, things have gone much better than I anticipated but I have found myself plagued with anxiety since she arrived in my life. It is most certainly my own worries rather than anything she has done as I am just so anxious to give her a happy life and don't like the thought of her being in distress.
Over the past few weeks I have been leaving her downstairs for short periods and trying to build on this so that she can cope ok when I am away from the house for the full day (on such days a dog walker has been arranged to spend an hour with her walking her an giving her some love around midday). She seems to manage around 30 minutes ok but after this point she cries off and on. She has never caused any damage or shown any other signs of distress. The rescue I got her from described her as "talkative" and I am wondering whether the noises she makes are true anxiety or whether she is just entertaining herself? I plan to continue trying to build on the length of time she spends alone but any tips on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
I have tried leaving a Kong for her (with treats or doggy peanut butter) but she isn't very food orientated and has shown no interest in this.
Is there anything else I could provide to help with mental stimulation while I am away?
Also I have been walking her 20 minutes, three times a day (morning, lunch and night) - does this seems about right? I'm trying to get the balance between her being tired but not overexercised.
I am determined to make the adoption work and I have already fallen completely in love with her. She has been so well behaved I'm just concerned for her emotional wellbeing while I am away from the house and didn't appreciate that I would be this anxious when I considered getting a dog
To be honest I think I am more anxious than she is about leaving her!
When I am back to working full days 2/3 times a week the longest she would be left for is 4 hours - is this ok?
As an aside, is it normal to be this anxious after adopting a rescue dog?!?
Thank you for all your advice I know without doubt it will be invaluable.
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The doghouse
New Greyhound Anxieties
11 replies
Helenmacd27 · 13/09/2020 16:34
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