Veyron comes home - needs a new name

[AlreadyGone]

So, here he is all crashed out after his evening stroll.

We had one big shit indoors - thankfully on a hard floor! - but wees all outside. Pre-poo he was doing some weird panting whilst just mooching around the house - is that a sign?

We fed him the food from the home and added quite a fair bit of warm water like they suggested but he was gagging on it. I wonder if by the time he got his food at the home the biscuits were all soggy. The poo was all soft and stinky so he's starting a raw diet tomorrow. Should I just change him over or do it gradually?

But all in all it's been a successful start. He's been very well behaved even staying quickly behind him baby-gate whilst I fried bacon and we all sat down to eat.

The only problem now, is the name!

He was called Vayron which we planned to change to the correct spelling of Veyron. (Italian racing driver and a Bugatti car.) But he doesn't respond to it and was only given to him a year ago by his previous owners anyway. His training name was Gary Merc something.

We had decided on Toby but we're looking at him and thinking it's a bit lame.

Any ideas?

Ps - thinking of this collar choice

I wouldn't worry it's so early days he's probably just finding his feet. My girl was very skittish at first but it's understandable they've been through a lot, I'm guessing he's never even lived in a home before! Don't expect too much initially, just concentrate on building a bond and keep it very relaxed. No big walks needed, just very low key. I'm sure he'll settle, for now I'd just tell the kids to ignore him. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Before Christmas he was living in a home with a "special needs" child (that's what I was told) and we were told he was returned after being with them for 9 months because he took food out of the child's hand. Which seems a bit odd to suddenly be a problem after 9 months.

I agree it does sound odd.
I have had 2 greyhounds and a staffie X and have also worked at a dog rescue and some of the "reasons" why dogs are returned months later are dubious to say the least - the reason you have been given may be true but in my experience, sometimes people just change their minds and feel they need to come up with something rather than say they don't want a dog anymore.

When you say searching, do you mean he's searching for your DC when they are home, or for somewhere way from them?

I think especially if he isn't allowed to roam the house yet and the park is new, it probably has nothing to do with DC and more to do with a whole host of new smells and sights and locations.

The bowing thing is not bad at all - it's the classic play pose, and probably just a sign he's trying to make friends. It's especially common in sight hounds. There's an enormous lurcher on our street who is desperate to befriend our tiny, fluffy dog - seeing this huge dog drop into optimistic play pose every time our 10 inch high dog goes past always makes me smile.

In fact if you google 'greyhound play pose' it will bring up lots of photos of them doing just that.

Sounds like he wants to do the zoomies to wirk off some stress. He will need time to settle but keep an eye on the panting and pacing as it does indicate unease or stress.Just take it easy for a while and keep things quiet and low key.

Is there anywhere he can have the space to play with a toy like this?

Another lovely zoomies vid. This is what you have let yourself in for OP Good luck with him and I hope he settles quickly into his new home and family

Oh, he's home!

Fwiw, I do like 'Veyron', v manly, and has meaning that befits a sleek greyhound, but I also like the meaning of 'Hiro' - maybe think about what you'd find easier to shout standing in the middle of the park?

Panting - yes, stress. Also drooling. Greyhounds drool v little, ours really only when anxious or stressed (fireworks night is not much fun for him...).
Pacing is often stress as well, so offering to let him out is a good idea.

My experience is that GH has IBS, or certainly ours has and I have many many conversations with other owners about the relative quantity, quality, colour, consistence and smell of dog shit . Bones constipated him terribly, I have never seen as dog as miserable as he was when he was trying to pass a poo that was literally rock hard (he eventually relieved himself over night, 4 times, in the house, with decreasing firmness....), so I am a bit scared of RAW feeding, but have now find a place where they might advise me so it could still happen.

I take it Veyron/Hiro has been neutered? If not, get that done ASAP - it takes so much worry away IMO.

Children, oh gosh, children.
We make a point of letting everybody feed him from time to time.
Never feed anything at the table, even if he does get the odd leftover, it goes in to his bowel when we are done.
I don't allow the children to walk about with food in their hands, simply because they are short and perfect mugging height for a tall, long-legged hound. Otoh, 'what falls to the ground, belongs to the hound' . Having said that, ours is not very food driving so is not a very efficient hoover...
The skittish should hopefully stop soon, he may not be able to believe his luck.
The first time I let ours off lead, he got so excited, running, and barking, and growling, all the while tail wagging and big happy grin on his face, that I thought I'd made a big mistake letting him off, in case he ran off or jumped all over me.

Go to a fenced in dog run area, many parks have one nowadays, take some toys/ball and get to know him a bit.
Seeing, hearing and feeling a zoomie is amazing!

Essay again - why use one word, when 20 suffice?!

When you do decide to change to raw you don't need to to it gradually. It's not the same as when switching other foods. We switched straight to raw with no problems.

The play bow is a wonderful sign, that's showing he wants to play with you all.

Searching for a mad five minutes is very typical greyhound behaviour. They will often have a bonkers five minutes (often comprising hurtling round the furniture doing a sort of greyhound Wall of Death), playing with toys, bouncing and generally being bonkers then after five minutes it's all over and they're asleep on the sofa. Very, very well established and typical hound behaviour, and actually very nice to see, as it's showing he's settling in.

There's an excellent FB page called Secure Dog Fields which I always recommend new dog owners join (any dog, not just greys) which lists all the places nationwide where you can take your dog for off lead play, recall practice and fun zoomies in a safe enclosed environment. We are currently taking our new boy to one near Bristol while we work on getting his recall solid. It's a great way for them to let off steam and have a run around safely. You may also find the rescue have a similar secure paddock you can book/use - many do as it's a well established need for greys - worth checking.

The play bow is a wonderful sign, that's showing he wants to play with you all.

Searching for a mad five minutes is very typical greyhound behaviour. They will often have a bonkers five minutes (often comprising hurtling round the furniture doing a sort of greyhound Wall of Death), playing with toys, bouncing and generally being bonkers then after five minutes it's all over and they're asleep on the sofa. Very, very well established and typical hound behaviour, and actually very nice to see, as it's showing he's settling in.

There's an excellent FB page called Secure Dog Fields which I always recommend new dog owners join (any dog, not just greys) which lists all the places nationwide where you can take your dog for off lead play, recall practice and fun zoomies in a safe enclosed environment. We are currently taking our new boy to one near Bristol while we work on getting his recall solid. It's a great way for them to let off steam and have a run around safely. You may also find the rescue have a similar secure paddock you can book/use - many do as it's a well established need for greys - worth checking.

I think I prefer Veyron but DH doesn't want to be calling out the name of a Bugatti car in the park, so Hiro it is!

Hiro and the DCs had a lovely patting and stroking session this afternoon and lots of tummy was offered. He has also had a couple of zooming sessions around the garden. That was pretty frightening the first time!!! I'm glad to see it's normal.

I'm sure he's just stressed which is so sad to see. I think he'll have a better time this week while the DCs are at school.

He pulls terribly when I'm walking him and it is scary that if he wanted to go I'm totally powerless. He 'heels' beautifully for DH.

But this all aside, my littlest was awake most of last night with a blocked nose and hacking cough. Totally fine all day then it all started again tonight. I gave him calpol which didn't help. Then I gave him antihistamines which did. If this means what I think it does the DCs are going to be devastated. Me and DH will be gutted too. It's not something I even thought of. Which seems stupid now because in hindsight I can see the signs were there.

It's been an emotional weekend to say the least!

Thank you partcularly to Pacific and Fen for your help. It's hugely appreciated.

^ and scuttlebutter and luckylamb!!

This board is like a completely different forum to the rest of MN. So nice and friendly!!

Oh I do hope your DC isn't allergic, Already. When we first got our dog I suddenly developed a streaming nose and cough and assumed the same as it seemed worse when I was in the same room as him. After a while it went away and I later read that allergy symptoms can come on temporarily when a new animal enters the home. Obviously it's different for a child though as you don't want to see then suffering, but could you give it a week or so and see if anything changes?

It could also be the flea treatment or something else - I'd give Hiro a good bath in a gentle dog shampoo, maybe even something like Petalcleanse which claims to lower allergens, and give it a week to see what happens. A small dose of antihistamine before bed won't hurt

A small dose of antihistamine is fine, even for longterm use but as a PP has mentioned - developing a temporary allergy is not uncommon. We always had dogs growing up. My brother does have some mild allergies, and has no pets of his own now. Whenever he comes to stay here his allergies play up on the first day or two around our dog, then settle. (So he claims - a. Our dog is a hypoallergenic breed and nobody else has EVER had a reaction to her, and b. He's a complete hypochondriac so may have seized on 'acclimatising' as a way not to look like a twat... )

fenella

It'll be a week min before we can get DS tested for asthma/allergies anyway and I'll give him bedtime antihistamines until we know for sure. I'll possibly try again without it at the weekend.

We've given him a strip wash but will book him in for a proper groom and see if that help.

A groom is a really good idea. I love big dogs but the downside is its nearly impossible to cram them in the bath! It's easier in summer when you can get the garden hose out. Although my mum's dog loves that so much that every time you turn on the hose to water the plants she assumes it's for her and goes marauding gaily across the flowerbeds....

I have one of these portable showers which are brilliant for dog washing - and even if you can get them in the bath, very useful for rinsing them efficiently. We also put hot water in it and leave it outside the door if anticipating a very muddy walk

I'd give it a week with your child and see what happens. Encourage him to wash his hands after stroking the dog. But if no improvement then sadly you'd have to re-home the dog