Ex racer hound and settling in - resource guarding

[Realitea]

I’m on day four of my new ex racer rescue greyhound and while we were told he was pretty bouncy and a little bit nippy I wasn’t prepared for the level of it or the fact he’s resource guarding, has sleep startle, terrified of traffic and any new noise (understandable as it’s a new environment) and has separation anxiety.
He loves the sofa and my bed. Sometimes he’ll approach me or my teenage daughter while on it and then growl at us to get off but other times he’ll rest his head on either of us and want to be cuddled. Yesterday he was on the sofa and I was sitting on the floor in front of him and my head must’ve got too close to his while he was dozing and he barked once and snapped. His teeth hit my head and it terrified me. My daughter now keeps crying saying she regrets this all and now I feel awful as I’m jittery around him never knowing what he’ll do next. I have a call with the shelter’s behaviourist today but apart from this does anyone have any advice?

Stop letting him on the sofa and bed, especially if he's displaying bad behaviour there. I know it's tempting to shower him with 'love' as he's just arrived from rescue but while he's settling in he needs space and firm boundaries. He might not be used to being touched a lot so what feels like affection/ praise to you might actually be a bit stressful for him right now.

You'll able to relax the sofa rules and how you pet him later on. Don't over fuss him, give him routine and structure while he learns who his new family are and where he fits in.

A house leash might be useful. If he is on the sofa and you want to sit down you can tell him 'off' and use it to move him to his bed. Pet him in neutral spaces and only when he comes to you for affection not on his bed or on your sofa/ bed.

No. But I’d never ever have rehomed a “nippy” dog. There’s kind greyhounds out there so I can understand your regret. Did this dog ever race? He sounds very dominating and not handled well.

Lots of rescues resource guard when they come to new homes, particularly if you move too fast with them too soon (allowing them on furniture and giving them 'high-value' items etc). It's not unusual.

(A)How equipped are you to manage this behaviour and work with the dog?
(B)And how much time and energy are you willing to give to help the dog settle?

If the answer to question (a) is not experienced and not equipped - you'd need a trainer or behaviourist and you cannot guarantee you would always be watching and wary to make sure you never put the dog in this situation again - then return the dog to the shelter.

However the answer to question (a) is not experienced or equipped, but you want to try then move onto question (b).

If the answer to question (b) is, yes, you are willing to try for several months or indeed years and do all the work it takes to help your dog, then keep the dog.

But honestly, none of this is unusual. Indeed i'd be more surprised if a dog didn't display all those behaviours in the sort of situation you have described.

The behaviourist didn’t say much just empathised and said find a quiet spot away from us for him to sleep which is tricky in this house. I know his triggers now which is people’s heads near his and when he’s relaxing he needs his own space. Doesn’t explain the growling when he approaches us but my daughter put her hand to his head at the time so maybe that’s something to do with it.
I’ve just lost confidence now really and I’m on edge. The rest of the time he’s ok just anxious. I’ve ordered adaptil spray and the diffuser.
I shouldn’t have said he was nippy really it’s more when he’s excited he’ll mouth you like puppies do.
Yes he was used as a racing dog, never known family life so he is finding it strange not having his own space. But at the same time doesn’t like people to leave him.

You’ve only had him for 4 days - it can take a minimum of 3 MONTHS for rescues to settle. Putting your head that close to his mouth in such a short space of time is way too much, way too soon, as is having him on your bed and sofa when you know nothing about him.

You need to slow way, way down. Keep out of his space, only fuss him when he approaches you and stop regularly to make sure he’s not overwhelmed and only tolerating your touch.

Does he have his own bed?

put his bed somewhere quiet maybe in a defferent room so he can go away quietly and decompress op

had greys for many years now all rescued and things that may help

don’t allow him on the furniture or beds to start with until he learns they belong tonyoh

dont allow him upstairs until he learns as above

if he’s in his own bed sleeping don’t approach him or let children approach him until he’s awake especially to start with.

Let him come to you guys and it may mean the first while he doesn’t integrate but he will the safer he feels

when he eats leave him at his bowl with nobody nearby so he knows he’s safe to eat and nobody will touch his food.

and don’t let him near your food plates when eating.

mine all love blankets so put a soft blanket in his bed so he can curl around it.

he’s been in kennels all his life not really around domestic living situations so he needs time to adjust

ince he does he will fill your home with love and fur but you need boundaries in place early on

@Realitea I think you should return the dog.

Adaptil and a diffuser are not going to do anything (honestly, they're a massive gimmick and beyond useless) and if you plan on relying on them, you're probably going to end up being bitten sooner rather than later - particularly if you are unable to recognise the warning signs (such as your daughter putting her hand outwards to a dog that is clearly very unsettled). And certainly you should not have purchased either after four days - it's quite a clear demonstration you're in way over your head.

Unless you and your daughter are willing to put in proper effort and understand him - and not resort to 'quick-fix' schemes that will not work - this is doomed to fail.

This is what I feared. My daughter is very upset and the shelter did not tell us about this behaviour he had but then how were they to know :( and the only thing I was really recommended was the diffusers, nothing else

@Realitea its tough! The issue is this sort of behaviour is ‘lifetime’ behaviour in most cases (sometimes displayed for a few months until a dog settles, but more often not). So even if you do manage to manage it, you’ll be managing it until the day the dog dies.

FWIW I don’t think you’ve done anything ‘wrong’ if that makes sense. These things happen and unless you going in knowing to expect it…it’s really hard to adjust and manage. Once that ‘trust’ is gone, it’s almost impossible to get it back. It’s easier, in many ways, if you expect bad behaviour or aggression beforehand because then your expectations are set accordingly.

If you do want to try again, rescues like Spaniel Aid are always a good shout. They foster the dogs in homes before they give them up for adoption, so the behaviour is a bit easier to predict. Or indeed a small local breed specific one - any that foster rather than ‘kennel’ are always my recommendation.

Please contact a reputable greyhound rehoming centre for advice and support. 4 days is nothing but you need the tools to put in the boundaries asap. You cannot treat them like a normal dog until they have settled and know you and the rules. Quiet, kind and firm.

The shelter told you the dog needs its own space but you say you can't do that in your house. Why on earth did you go ahead with the adoption and what kind of shelter rehomes to unsuitable houses?

There's lots of really useful information and advice on the Internet from rehoming kennels and elsewhere about adopting retired greyhounds, what to expect and how to deal with them. Not least the 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months stages after adoption as they gradually settle. Some greyhounds do have sleep startle. Our first boy did, our current boy doesn't. It's dealable with. Some can be possessive about furniture. As a PP has said, be kind, gentle and firm. Your greyhound's probably spent his life sharing a kennel with another greyhound in an environment that was full of routine, people he knew, with all that was needed to help him be a professional athlete. He's been deposited into a house, with new people, without any routine or purpose and without his own space, in any meaningful sense. He'll be wondering what on earth is going on and needs to be helped to adapt and to decompress. Do some research and, as previous posters have said, talk to a greyhound rehoming kennels. You don't say whether you adopted him from a specialist greyhound rehoming kennels or an all breed one, like Dog's Trust. If the latter, you probably won't get any useful advice.

I dont really have any advice but just wanted to say this sounds really stressful and I feel for you and your daughter 💐

So often on here I see greyhounds recommended as easy/low maintenance, but obviously this is not always the case!

Don't feel bad if you need to return the dog to feel safe and relaxed in your own home. If yoi do decide to keep him I hope the rescue provide you decent support & things can work out.

All of these suggestions. You've sent such mixed messages, this dog needs clarity. He also needs to know when he's in his bed, he'll be left alone and no one will go near, esp. your DC. When he's asleep, don't cuddle.

They have so much to learn and adjust to, they need a lot of space and time. Showering with affection is nice for you, but not necessarily for them.

They really need space at this stage.

You have had the dog for FOUR DAYS and no, this is not a “lifetime” issue. Get him off the couch and the bed. Until he learns the rules he stays on the floor. Many of my rescues have resource guarded for the first few days or weeks. All, and by that I mean 30+ rescue dogs, have stopped it, usually in less than 2 months.
For context, the dog currently snoring in my left ear, went for me pretty much every day for the first month after we adopted him from a horrendous situation. That’s 12 years ago now and he’s never even growled at me or anyone else since. And he’s one of many.

I’ve had rescues take over a year to settle in and feel safe.

So often on here I see greyhounds recommended as easy/low maintenance, but obviously this is not always the case!

Tbf, they generally are, but it helps if you respect and understand the breed and their experience and do your research. Part of that is not thinking of them in most cases as rescues as opposed to retired. They are quite idiosyncratic and full of themselves - when they aren't being totally soft....Once they've got the hang of their retirement home....

They're attracted to comfy sofas as have raised beds in racing/breeder kennels.

If your first timers I'd return this one and seek a better fit as I think he'll need a more experienced sighthound savvy owner and possibly a dog friend to ease the separation anxiety. I'm all for giving it time to settle in here's a risk with this mismatch he'll end up with a bite history rather than just warning contact.

The rescue may not have known as It's not always clear when in kennels how a dog will behave in a home environment or when handled by those less confident and well versed in reading dogs, as you can provide them more information it should help to make sure he's placed better next time. For greyhounds kennel life tends to be all they know and are comfortable with and know what to expect with the routine.

If let me know area in I can see what greyhound specific rescues are around, but many do home outside their local area. I know Norfolk greyhound rescue uses foster homes and covers mainland UK. Even if mainly kennel based rescue some put in way more effort than others to get a fuller assesment picture, using volunteers to walk the dogs off site to discover reactions in typical environments and test around kids, other dog breeds or cats. Picking the right rescue to work with rather than just the dog makes a big difference in outcome and even those under Greyhound Trust banner are individual and vary in how they're run, homing policies and post adoption support.