Rescue Greyhound

[Greatty]

I've adopted a male greyhound, he's 6, retired racer.

I've had greyhounds before and I love the breed but I'm really struggling with him. I'm at the point that I want to return him.

Good points:
House trained
Affectionate
Good recall
Not reactive to other dogs/noises/anything really

Outside the house he's amazing! Loves people, gentle with kids, ignores other dogs etc.

The problems are:
Separation anxiety
Destruction
Food mad

So the separation anxiety is extreme. I've dealt with it in other dogs but his is awful. I've crate trained, had a qualified behaviourist visit half a dozen times, I'm a member of FB groups and he does not improve. It's just his nature.

Destruction - he LOVES to destruct cushions, duvets, pillows, anything soft, he's cost so much in furnishings. I can be playing with him in the garden (I've got 5 acres of secure land) but then he'll RUN inside to drag a cushion out and tear it apart.

Food - almost all the greyhounds I've had have been dustbins for food but he's on another level. He eats anything/everything and is permanently starving despite being fed 1kg of food every day, plus treats.

He's huge so he reaches tables and countertops easily. I have to battle him off with elbows while I prepare and cook food. He will not settle, he will not be distracted with a Kong or treat, he wants what I have. I can't put him behind a baby gate, even with me 1 foot away, because he barks and screams, bites and hurts himself.

Like I say, I've tried everything- positive reinforcement, teaching him settle, distractions, flitting, nothing has stuck or helped.

I'm exhausted.

There’s a wonderful behaviourist called Becca Sommerville who specialises in sighthounds and the issues you mention. (I’m a sighthound owner). She often runs free zoom sessions ahead of one of her courses and her Instagram is also full of good, compassionate sight hound specific info. I realise you may not have the funds for a behaviourist, but if you do, she is force free and knows her stuff with these kinds of dogs (she also has a rescue greyhound). Good luck and you’re not alone.

How long have you had him?

16 months

Thank you, unfortunately her advice has not helped. It has with other hounds I've had (I've fostered many) but not this one.

16 months is long enough for him to be settled. I've had my rescue 6 months and he is still very demanding although not as destructive as yours.

I've been trying brain games, but mine is a lab not a sight hound. Good luck though.

Thank you. I think it's plenty long enough for him to be settled, previous rescues have taken up to 6 months, but usually within 3. Behaviour issues take patience and consistency which I have and do, but after zero improvement and going backwards, it feels pointless.

The past few weeks, I feel like there is just no bond, he deserves to be happier than this as he's clearly not happy and I'm obviously failing.

I feel tapped out.

Has he been checked for pain by the vet? I've got a Spanish galga rescue who has quite changed personality since being on daily pain relief. She was hiding it well, there was just something about her gait that was off, and she was stiff in the morning despite being 3ish in age.

One of my previous greys had a head injury through racing (found out through his records) and he was never right poor boy. They go through so much.

I'm not sure that I have a bond with mine yet. Sometimes yes, but other times it just feels like we live in the same house and that's it.

Try not to lose heart. While there are times when a rescue doesn't work, I think it's worth you persevering 👍

Dog training advice and support on FB have great advice. My older dog had separation anxiety. The advice is basically never to leave them longer than they are happy with. To start with I couldn’t leave my girl at all. It was tough.
The destruction? Prevent access. So dog in garden with you then doors to the house shut. Plenty of stuff he can chew. So raw meaty bones.
Bins. I’ve seen people put a crate over a bin to prevent access. Put it somewhere the dog can’t get to?

Second vote for check for pain. We had a rescue spaniel was permanently fixated on food, more so than any Labrador who are known as dustbins, took a vet to diagnose a complex stomach issue which was easily missed and not covered by the usual worming routine. There can be parasites/ diseases that aren’t easily detectable. He sounds like a lovely dog but agree the destruction/ damage to himself and acute focus on food would be hard to live with for both you and him.

They lead such hard lives when racing and with you being experienced I really suspect a vet with knowledge of ex racing dogs would be the best way forward. Really hard on you and him, though.

I'm sure you've probably tried already, but lots of GH owners recommend Julie Naismith for separation anxiety.

Mine is also utterly food obsessed and regularly reaches new heights (literally). She will settle while I'm cooking though.

Have you spoken to the vet about the behaviour? They may have some suggestions, there could be something health or trauma related that they can help with.

I really feel for you. I was on high alert the first few months until mine settled. I can't imagine sustaining that level of stress.

He's destroying things because he has separation anxiety. Lots of greys have this. Although not ideal, the best thing to cure him is getting him a sister. Always worked for us. Boy greys don't like being alone. Girls don't mind.

He's not destroying things because of SA, because he's never alone.

He waits until he gets chance to grab something he likes. I've tried removing as much as I can, but I can't remove the sofa.

I've been a member of that group for a long time, the book is brilliant, I have followed advice with so much success for other dogs and fosters. Not him.

He hasn't had access to rooms by himself since the early days, and has no access to bins or opportunity to steal. He's still very intent on it though.

He has every chewable item you can think of.

Nothing beats a sofa cushion, apparently. I haven't had cushions for months but he will chew the actual sofa, rather than enjoy his peanut butter stuffed Kong, snuffle mats, buffalo horn, etc etc.

He's been checked numerous times, he's a healthy lad. I have a wonderful vet and he wouldn't miss anything, he is thorough and very understanding.

Be Right Back is a great book, really helpful with my other dogs but unfortunately not this one.

Thank you for your post, just someone sympathising made me tear up. It feels impossible.

Is he your only dog currently or do you have more at home?

Most greyhounds seem to prefer soft stuffed toys and many then enjoy destuffing them so I'm not surprised the soft furnishings are the preferred destruction option, it can be a form of self soothing to relax. It maybe that is living with higher level of anxiety than most and even if you are present is still worried that may leave. Cortisol levels take long time to drop so can easily be refilling bucket with smaller stressy events.

Assume you've already tried calmer supplements but have you seen vet to discuss for anxiety medication option, there are behaviourist specialised vets too. In humans with severe anxiety it's usually advised to use medication to help feel calmer before starting behavioural therapy otherwise it's more difficult to engage in order to learn it will be ok and nothing bad will actually happen, once hit the hit the panic alarm the flight/flight/freeze instincts to take over to save you from the percieved threat and all logical thinking goes out the window. Pain is also strongly linked to behavioural issues and when chronic can grind you down so resilience to other stresses fall.

Sighthounds are notorious food theives but it's usually ninja style. If he is always hungry despite plenty of food and desperately trying to steal food right from under you, that really warrants a vet consult as it's not normal to act like that. Even when my mine came straight from kennels and would try their luck to poke nose in wherever food maybe they'd soon get the message to back off and learned to settle in crate/bed as knew would get some food staying there while I ate.

If your posting as need someone to tell you've tried your best and its ok ask rescue to try re-home to whatever you feel would be more suitable home for him that's fine too and sometimes it's can be best option for the dog in the situation but also tough on the owner.

My grey is on reconcile for separation anxiety. Combined with the training, it’s worked. He’s also much calmer and I wonder if the cushion destruction is stress release. I’d try medication to calm him down before giving him up.

the SA was absolutely awful and it makes me question whether I’d have another dog after him, even though he’s fine now, so I do understand .

mine is terrified of other dogs out and about so my walks are limited so I’m jealous of that part of yours !

i am 2 years in now and we’ve definitely turned a corner the last few weeks with our bond and his attachment to me - which makes a lot of situations much easier

Has your vet tried putting him on medication?

One of my greys loves to rip the cushions. I have some sheepskin ones from ikea and he pulls the wool off in clumps. I let him have those as sacrificial ones. He does it when he gets very excited, when he comes in after a run or is waiting for his dinner. He's also super greedy and was a nightmare when I got him, he had to have his stomach emptied a few times at the vets for eating things he shouldn't have (that I thought he couldn't reach). He calmed down after a couple of years, though. Now he sits and waits patiently to be given food, although starts howling if you're late. He also follows me around the house and i can see little feet in the doorway when I'm having a bath or going to the loo.

That might just be what he's like. Even when he settles he will probably still do all these things just much less often. If you don't feel the bond, though, then that's a problem. Even when mine is being a total pain I still love him and try not to laugh when he's made off with the cushions yet again. My female greyhounds have been much easier to train, I think the boys are a bit dim.

Also, I don't think I'd have just one greyhound again, they seem much happier as a pair, they mostly just sleep when we're not around now, whilst waiting for the sound of the car coming back (according to video footage).