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The doghouse

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Original poster

Help us settle greyhound in

95 replies

PengAly · 06/01/2019 14:14

We just brought home our lovely retired greyhound yesterday. He has been very anxious, panting heavily and quickly, frantically jumping at the window above the sofa as he is always seeing movment and lunges when a cat is outside. Im worried he will hurt himself doing this as he sometimes will climb on the back of the sofa and onto the window ledge with front two paws. As its only day 2, he does not cope at all with us leaving him. We left the room for 2 minutes and he was panting and jumping at the door waiting for us to come back. I know it's early days but any advice please? He isnt food motivated...doesn't seem interested in treats and only eats his dinner, wont have breakfast. Last night we slept on the sofas but we need to be able to leave the house and for him to settle down.

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Original poster
PengAly · 07/01/2019 15:54

@Wolfiefan we have got a meggie moo one! Must havnt tried it on him yet as the RGT suggested sticking with the leather greyhound collar he came with. I may put it on him soon and see how it fits

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Girlwhowearsglasses · 07/01/2019 15:57

You might find a harness useful. Our whippet pulls a bit but is fine with a 'Houdini' harness. (made to measure) Iv'e heard good things about webmaster harnesses too

Wolfiefan · 07/01/2019 16:09

Perfect fit are supposed to be good too.
Best to keep things as similar as possible for now. Be careful. Collar/lead/bed/coat buying is addictive. Blush

Wolfiefan · 07/01/2019 16:10

Madam has a posh collars one.

Help us settle greyhound in
Original poster
PengAly · 07/01/2019 16:11

Also he has zero interest in his bed or laying on our sofas...the only time he jumps on the sofa is to get a better look out the window and then he hops down to lay on the floor

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Original poster
PengAly · 07/01/2019 16:56

Ive closed the blinds butbhe is jumping up and pushing his face through them to see out the window...im worried he is going to get tangled and hurt himself as they have chords and we dont have curtains either!

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Wolfiefan · 07/01/2019 17:05

Give him time. Eventually he will settle. Can you rearrange furniture or somehow stop him getting at the window? Trying to be inventive here!!

SleightOfMind · 07/01/2019 17:24

Aw congratulations! He’s gorgeous.

I’d suggest giving him a really long walk until he’s properly tired out.
Will help with anxiety and appetite.
If you have a little bit of stinky cheese, that might get his nose working and tempt him to take treats - he’s probably a bit too excited to focus on food at the moment.

Also, ignore him for a minute or so when you first get in so he’s not learning to get keyed up for your return. If you fuss him immediately, it can reinforce any worries he has about being apart from you.

We’ve had retired greyhounds since my eldest was 5. He’s at university now.

The early days are always a rollercoaster, even if you’re super experienced.

Then, before you know it, they’ve just folded into your family and will make everything better than it was before. Grin

Original poster
PengAly · 07/01/2019 17:28

@No way im afraid. Thus window sits right above our sofa and nowhere else for the sofa to go...

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Original poster
PengAly · 07/01/2019 17:32

@SleightOfMind thanks, we will try to go out tomorrow and perhaps buy some stinky cheese and cocktail sausages to try. We do have a kong and another distraction toy in the post. We tend to take him out for a walk when he seems particularly anxious at the window as i thought itd reassure him that he can go outside but not sure it helps so maybe we can only take him when he is calm. He just ate, had a wee/poo and is noe lying on his side by the sofa. My dh has been upstairs for last hour so i think thats what set off his pacing this time. I need to start taking it day at a time- i feel like a over worried mum and i dont have kids!

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Wolfiefan · 07/01/2019 17:43

Oh bless. We have an anxious/sensitive/neurotic hound. I started putting a treat on her bed for her when she settled there. It’s now her favourite place in the world. Before she would pace etc.

stayathomegardener · 07/01/2019 18:11

Opaque film stuck on the lower part of the windows.

And ❤️ at your picture.

dreaminofholidays · 07/01/2019 22:37

@pengaly it does just take a bit of time. He will settle, it's just all so new. I think they always worry us cos they are so precious but it does just get easier.

Personally I like harnesses for walking. It feels more secure having the harness around their body than their neck to me but this is very much down to personal taste. Lots of people feel better with Martingales. I do use both, Martingales in summer and harness is winter because ours are fleece.
Definitely worth having a think about.
My boy avoided the stairs for almost a year until we added a 2nd hound and she just ran straight up after us. He eventually ventured up but would get stuck and need to be carried down. With a few days training and one billion sausages we nailed it and now he's totally at ease going up and down them.
Jaxon is my first dog, only had him about 19 months so also relatively new to having a dog too. A week from now things will be so much easier.

Agree on cheese, it's another winner.

xxx

Original poster
PengAly · 08/01/2019 09:25

We seemed to have another good night but he got quite anxious and nerourtic in the first 30 minutes of us being upstairs but he did eventually settle. Its hard listening yo him pant, whine and jump up on the baby gate in a panic but we feel its slowly starting to work. He has seemed a bit calmer this morning too, took him on a short walk to test out the martingale collar (im still a bit paranoid but DH says its safe as apparently they tighten when the led is pulled) overall i need to stop worrying so much haha and he also had a play in the garden

Later today we will try some away training and maybe the stairs again. We also have a no toy for him :)

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PengAly · 08/01/2019 11:48

New toy not no!

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userxx · 08/01/2019 15:12

He's lovely and looks just like our old boy. He will settle, it probably doesn't feel like it at the moment though. How old is he? Some hounds are so confident and laid back and others skittish and neurotic...…. its the luck of the draw!!

Original poster
PengAly · 08/01/2019 21:04

He is 3 years old! He has got a bit better today at listening to commands and the word "NO!". he also got better on his walk with constantly saying "LETS GO" whenever he got distracted by other dogs. We did have a bad moment when i introduced the hoover to him and he cocked his leg and wee'd on it!
He does sleep and laze about loads and when he is calm he seems so distant, withdrawn and depressed to me honest :( its be nice if he came up on the sofa for a cuddle but he hasnt at all- only comes up to look out the window

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dreaminofholidays · 08/01/2019 22:03

Don't worry he will come for cuddles, just needs some time to settle.
Martingales are safe, the loop means they tighten so he can't back out of it at all. xxx

userxx · 08/01/2019 22:05

He'll come out of his shell eventually, he's obviously a bit of a nervous one. Don't let those long pointy faces fool you, they can tend to to look a bit depressed and distant even when quite happy! He's just finding his feet and settling into a home life rather than a kennel life, they really are quite adaptable and takes things in their stride. 😂 at peeing on the hoover.

Original poster
PengAly · 08/01/2019 22:16

@userxx im staring at the stain now goping it fades!! We think he did it as a "marking" thing as he never normally cocks his leg to pee, just squats. He has only ever cocked to "mark". He does have a few funny moments where he forgets spacial awarness haha. They do sleep loads!

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PengAly · 08/01/2019 22:16

Hoping obvs!

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PengAly · 09/01/2019 12:16

He had a pretty good night again but we tried the stairs today (again) and he went up fine but frooze and refused to go down so had to carry him :/. We are just doing some alone training at the moment but when we get back we are going to leave the stair gate open to see if he decided to try it for himself.

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userxx · 09/01/2019 13:29

Do you actually want him going upstairs? There's a good chance he will take over your bed...… imagine those legs giving you a kick in the night!

Wolfiefan · 09/01/2019 13:32

You might have more success with steps when it’s just a couple out walking. Start with that?

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 14:21

He wont even sleep on his own bed or lay in our sofa so doubt he would bother coming into ours. We think him coming up might help establish the bond more as he could sleep in the same room?

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