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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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Wolfiefan · 09/01/2019 14:34

If he’s happy downstairs then I would let him stay there. Hours of walking and training. Lots of meals fed and fuss given will build the bond. It takes time. That’s all.

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 14:53

We just want him to have the option for coming upstairs. One reason for safety as if he tried to go up and down before he figured out how he could hurt himself trying and also he does get quite anxious when he knows we are up there (creaky floorboards!) So at night we tiptoe around in order to let him settle which normally take half an hour and as soon as one of us visits the loo he is up and waiting at the bottom for us! Just thought if he could learn to go up and down then at least he always had the option of coming along instead of us stopping him with the stair gate

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Wolfiefan · 09/01/2019 18:07

That sounds sensible but it has only been a few days!

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 18:12

True! He is starting to get better and calmer generally...he has got a fascination with "marking" our kitchen bin :/ haha

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weallneedcounselling · 09/01/2019 20:14

Hi, we recently lost our beautiful grey, we had him for 4.5 years and he never once tried to go upstairs! He also didn’t like our leather sofa but liked to get up on fabric sofa in our conservatory, spent most of his time (snoozing) on his own bed.
Hope your boy starts to settle a bit more soon and It’s still early days.

FixItUpChappie · 09/01/2019 20:29

Hi OP,

I haven't RTFT but just wanted to share what we did with our new greyhound back in August

-our rescue came with a Martingale collar and it works great. There are many lovely non-chain ones you can get on the internet.

-we keep her crate in the living room so she can go in there if she is anxious. She is used to being in the crate all day from her previous life. We work so she spends daytime hours in her crate (minus lunch walk) and sleeps on her dog bed next to our bed at night. it did take her quite awhile to get used to our sleep routine. I recommend using your dogs kennel when you go out - it should be their safe space. We used to feed her in there too at first.

-we walk ours 3 times a day - not too long but if dog has pent up energy best thing you can do is blow off some of that with a walk. It took her some time to get used to all the new sights and sounds (smells) as with all things human - I'm always reminding myself that having never lived in a home it must be like landing on mars for her.

-our dog can't manage more than a few stairs before it looks like she is going to break a leg. I think that just takes time and careful supervised practice.

-they would have no experience with windows so it was suggested to us to put some window decals up like you would do to keep birds flying into them.

Your dog is lovely by the by Grin

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 20:52

@FixItUpChappie thank you! He currently sleeps downstairs and we have put a babygate on the stairs but he gets quote anxious and whines/pants for the first 30 mins. We are happy to have him come up with us but if he is too scared than we worry he would get hurt. Are we best keeping the baby gate closed at night until he is confident enough? Or shall we leave it open and see if he follows up? If he does than id keep the bedroom door closed overnight to prevent him attempting to go down on his own incase he hurts himself but not sure if being enclosed would stress him out. Does this make sense? So many questions!

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userxx · 09/01/2019 21:25

I'd personally leave the baby gate up for now, let him get used to sleeping downstairs and getting into his own routine. Have you got a crate? It might help him feel more settled.

youaremyrain · 09/01/2019 21:31

How steep are your stairs? Some stairs are very tricky for greyhounds to get down as they are so gangly and have such a high centre of gravity

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 21:42

We dont have a crate and honestly dont have the space for one! I wouldn't say our stairs arent particularly steep...they are just standard carpeted steps. Just straight up and down

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Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 21:43

Meant are not arent

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Wolfiefan · 09/01/2019 21:48

Imagine going down the stairs on all fours! It’s tricky and steep for them.

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 22:02

Its a very good point but i know lots of other dog including greyhounds can do it so hopfully he eventually will too!

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Ollivander84 · 09/01/2019 22:04

Our old GSD used to go down stairs on her bum with back legs tucked under and front paws out. She discovered she could slide down like that 🤣 lazy

Original poster
PengAly · 09/01/2019 22:52

We caved and have let him upstairs tonight....we figured if we keep him closed in the bedroom with us then he cant go down on his own. But now he wont settle as he still wont lay on hisndog bed and thats the only space available

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Screamqueenz · 10/01/2019 06:32

We've got 6 greyhounds and they all settled at there own pace, he'll get the hang of the stairs eventually, but they do find it challenging at first.

Just lots of patience and love (Which is exactly what you're doing).

Keep going they are the most rewarding dogs once they've settled with you.

Original poster
PengAly · 10/01/2019 07:35

Thank you! We tried to get him to go down and he froze up so my DH carried him half way down where he managed maybe one step and then jumped over 3!

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Original poster
PengAly · 10/01/2019 17:14

Not had a great day today! Arthur had to be carried down stairs twice and then got very stressed at the vets (registration health check) as he had to deal with three tiny, fluffy dogs in the waiting area and his prey drive did not like it! So all that mixed with the car journey seemed to make him so stressed that he wee'd in the house as soon as we got inBlush we thought we had gotten the house training down so i assume it was stress related... Deep breaths as we know it will get better

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Screamqueenz · 10/01/2019 17:32

It will get better, have you tried coaxing him downstairs slowly using treats?

One of ours (unfortunately the largest at 36kg) had to be carried downstairs every day for a week before he took to it.

If you let him follow you upstairs then walk very slowly down in front of him with a piece of chicken or sausage he should follow you.

Original poster
PengAly · 10/01/2019 17:39

@Screamqueenz we have tried coaxing with treats and even his favourite toy and it does nothing. He has zero interest due to fear so just freezes up. Going upstairs is no problem- he runs up by himself, its just going down

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Original poster
PengAly · 10/01/2019 19:46

Thank you! Im hiping we soon get that personality coming out. I hear peioke always say greyhounds will take over your sofa but he hasnt once joined usnfor a cuddle and he STILL wont even use his dog bed, poor thing sleeps on the hard floor. Its idd how distant he can be when we are here but when we leave he whines and paces waiting eagerly for us to come back. Im hoping he one day just comes up on the sofa for a cuddle

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DivaDroid · 10/01/2019 19:59

Hey - your boy is gorgeous. We've had our ex racer for 9 weeks now & he's starting to properly settle.
Our rescue (Give a Greyhound a Home), advised not fussing him too much in the first few days & getting him used to being alone literally minute by minute with the radio on.
As they're sighthounds, they can get very stressed if they can't see, so keep the window clear & dont shut doors on him!
It'll take a while until he gets used to his new home & new lovely family.
Be guided by him - remember he's never been alone or in a house before, he's no idea what's expected of him.

DivaDroid · 10/01/2019 19:59

Obligatory pic

Help us settle greyhound in
Screamqueenz · 10/01/2019 20:45

Oh diva he's gorgeous.

Mine never come on the human sofas, but they all have dog beds and their own sofa. Honestly, it's just a matter of time, he'll get there.

Some of ours are cuddlier than others but they all show affection. Bear

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