My greyhound thinks she's a tortoise....

[IanMc]

Hi all - I'm a new member looking for words of wisdom regarding the latest addition to our family.

Danni, a 6 year old greyhound, is a rescue dog, picked up from the RSPCA a few weeks ago. We have little or no background history, but know she was bred to race as she has the tell tale tattoos on the inside of her ear. She's been rehomed once, but then returned to the RSPCA (after how long, I don't know).

Danni is pretty much everything you'd expect from a greyhound - she's an incredibly tolerant, child/house friendly dog, but she seems loathed to walk (currently she has a morning, afternoon and evening walk).

When I say 'loathed', I mean loathed. There is nothing worse than feeling as if you have to force anyone into doing anything, but obviously she needs to exit the house to 'empty'.

I've tried all sorts of tactics to get her to move those great long legs of hers, but none seem to work (most dogs go beserk if they merely hear their lead being picked up).

At night, I think I'd need a JCB to move her into her 'bedroom'. Its impossible. I need her to sleep in a secure room to stop her padding around the house at night and setting off the burgular alarm and waking the kids, therefore I've taken to leaving her where she is and simply obstructing the exit. Strangely, she doesn't whine at this, but I can see it distresses her, which makes it feel all the worse.

In writing I feel as if I'm over playing my problems, but as a new pet owner, I'm anxious to get things right before anything too dramatic goes wrong ....

[Borzoi mad]

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and my Gang.

First of all how long have you had Danni, could be she is still recovering from her trauma of going back into kennels, plus you do not know her history and what has happened to her in the past. I can understand your frustration and know you only want to do whats best for her, but if you have not had her long I would say it will just take time and patience. All Sighthounds are very gentle breed and can be stubborn if they so decide. Good Luck hope she improves do keep us posted and please let us know how long you have had her and if you know anything at all about her history that might help. When yiou get a chance a picture would be nice thanks.

[IanMc]

Hi B
We've had Danni for three weeks only, and as we have no history, we don't know if her current reticence is due to trauma.

Clearly time will tell, but in the meanwhile, I'm anxious to avoid making the wrong decisions when attempting to get her moving.

Have you got any tips you can impart?

She literally refuses to move and I hate pulling her out/up with her lead. I've tried treats etc, but to no avail.

[Borzoi mad]

Has she a favourite toy? perhaps she could be encouraged by this or if she will play with a ragger you could try this by moving nearer and nearer to the door . Don't know what else to suggest.

Has she had a vet check i.e. is she lethargic and is she eating and drinking okay.

Perhaps Tom [vagreys] on here ( he is the greyhound expert)will be able to offer some assistance when he comes on or perhaps you could pm him.

[IanMc]

She was checked by the vet at the RSPCA, who, teeth aside, said all was in good order.

We also took her to our local vet (for an unrelated issue), and have had the RSPCA home inspector around a couple of times (who have been brilliant I should say), neither of whom have suggested there is a physical problem.

She doesn't engage with toys at present, though we've tried to encourage her in this direction.

Like most greyhounds, she's content to be petted, stroked and fed, but doesn't show any interested in games or toys.

How assertive can one be with a dog? What are the do's and don'ts?

[Borzoi mad]

I really don't know what to suggest. You ask how assertive you can be . Well in my opinion it depends on the breed and with my Borzois ( and I think most sighthounds you will get nowhere if you try to force them to do something they don't want to, I have found gentle persuasion best for them, but as I say Vagreys is really the person to answer you on this. So sorry I can't suggest anything further. As you don't know anything about her history it could well be she has had a traumatic experience on a walk or relates to putting on a lead with bad memories. It is just so difficult when you don't know what she wenr through before coming to you and I would not like to suggest something that might make the situation worse for you and Danni.

[Doberman's]

Welcome to DogForum.org. :)

You are wonderful for adopting a rescue. :) Once your dog is ettles and secure in her new home she will be forever grateful to you.

Do you have a crate for her to sleep in at night ? If not and you do not plan on crate training her, set up a bed for her to sleep on. My dogs have several comforters they sleep on. They mould them in the shape they want and are quiet most nights as long as they do not need to go outside.To get her more comfortable at night take a KONG and freeze some peanut butter, Cheez Whiz, or canned dog food inside of it and give that to her to keep her busy if she feel insecure going to bed. It will comfort her and in notime she should settle. Eventually you should be able to just leave the Kong for her.

As for her walks; does she had a favorite toy ? Coax her with it and play with her when she is out. She probably never leanred to play and have fun, where she came from it was all business for her. Poor girl. Make her walks as much fun as you can, praise her a lot and make her feel secure.


All these things you have mentioned sound like insercurity and no wonder being bounced around the way she has. She needs lots of love and the securty will come in time when she realizes you are not going to leave her too.

Best wishes with her please keep us updated.

[IanMc]

Thanks for the excellent replies - it gives me plenty of food for thought..

I guess you're right - three weeks is far too early to start becoming paranoid about Danni's behaviour.

Let me stress, her behaviour isn't bad - far from it, I just don't want HER to think our behavoiur is bad when reduced to hauling her into having a walk or going to bed.

Should we keep the discipline of morning, afternoon, evening walks going, despite the fact she clearly doesn't want to go?

[Mom to Lil Buddy]

So glad you rescued. I too have a new rescue and having never done even fostering before it sometimes feels like I am shooting in the dark. I think the walk schedule would depend on her bowel and bladder habits, does she need to go out three times a day? Does she have accidents in the house? If that seems to be the right schedule for her then I think you have to stick with it. I wouldn't feel bad about it, just very matter of fact.

I know small steps work better for Koko. Can you just work on standing up for you at other times? Will she come to you? I know there are others far more experienced than I who will have other suggestions for you.

[vagreys]

Hi, Ian. I apologize for the long reply, but I wanted to address a number of points you raise. I have three Greys of my own (two retired racers and a pup) and have fostered many more. There are other Greyfolk on the DogForum, too, and I'm sure they will chime in. Thank you for taking a Grey into your family. We can make this a successful adoption.
...Danni, a 6 year old greyhound, is a rescue dog, picked up from the RSPCA a few weeks ago. We have little or no background history, but know she was bred to race as she has the tell tale tattoos on the inside of her ear.
If she has tats, then she is registered and we should be able to get you her pedigree and any recorded racing history - just give me her right and left ear tatoos, and I'll show you how to find out everything there is on her. I can't tell you how many homes and kennels she may have been in since retiring, though. If she was a racer, she probably retired somewhere between the ages of 2 and 5. She probably wasn't used for breeding afterwards, or she would still be a brood bitch. If you just adopted her, then she's been off the track for a minimum of a year and probably more. Tell me about the hound. Is she intact or spayed, and if spayed, how recently? Has she recently received vaccinations or been on any meds? Does she have any lingering track injuries? Tell me about your home and family, without getting into identifying details. Do you have steps leading up to your house (either front or back)? Do you have sliding glass doors? A deck? Stairs inside the home? Carpeting or hard floors? Area rugs or bare floors? People in the house, ages, and who does what with the hound? Other pets?
...Danni is pretty much everything you'd expect from a greyhound - she's an incredibly tolerant, child/house friendly dog, but she seems loathed to walk (currently she has a morning, afternoon and evening walk)...I've tried all sorts of tactics to get her to move those great long legs of hers, but none seem to work (most dogs go beserk if they merely hear their lead being picked up).
What do you do to try to get her to take a walk, and what does she do?
...At night, I think I'd need a JCB to move her into her 'bedroom'. Its impossible. I need her to sleep in a secure room to stop her padding around the house at night and setting off the burgular alarm and waking the kids, therefore I've taken to leaving her where she is and simply obstructing the exit. Strangely, she doesn't whine at this, but I can see it distresses her, which makes it feel all the worse.
OK. Tell me about her bed and bedroom. Racers grow up living in wire kennels, sometimes called "crates". It is where they sleep and all they have every known. Something about her bed and/or bedroom is keeping her from wanting to settle for the night, and she's probably exhausted.
In writing I feel as if I'm over playing my problems, but as a new pet owner, I'm anxious to get things right before anything too dramatic goes wrong ....
Everything you are experiencing is common for new Greyhound owners. You are not alone, and nothing you've described is unusual. We'll get things right, I promise.
...She literally refuses to move and I hate pulling her out/up with her lead. I've tried treats etc, but to no avail.
The walk actually starts with everything she observes before the walk even begins. So, as I asked above, please tell me everything you do in preparing for the walk and exactly how she behaves until the walk is over.
She was checked by the vet at the RSPCA, who, teeth aside, said all was in good order...She doesn't engage with toys at present, though we've tried to encourage her in this direction...Like most greyhounds, she's content to be petted, stroked and fed, but doesn't show any interested in games or toys...
Elements of Greyhound personality emerge daily over an 18-24 month period after adoption. Some Greys start playing with toys immediately, but others never do. Don't invest in lots of toys. Don't try to force her to play. It is more important to give her a variety of different kinds of toys, so you can find out what she likes. Some like balls, some stuffies, some rope toys, some like kongs, some like bathmats. You won't know until she decides she's ready to play. Just be patient, and try not to worry. Let her become part of your family, first.
...three weeks is far too early to start becoming paranoid about Danni's behaviour...I just don't want HER to think our behavoiur is bad when reduced to hauling her into having a walk or going to bed...Should we keep the discipline of morning, afternoon, evening walks going, despite the fact she clearly doesn't want to go?
Please give me some of the information I have asked for. I have a number of recommendations for you, including a schedule that works well with retired racers, but I need some more information, first. If you are uncomfortable posting to the thread, please feel free to PM.

[IanMc]

She comes to me to say "hello", which is endearing, but won't budge an inch if she knows its to walk as far as the back garden!

She's had the odd accident around the house (only one in the last couple of weeks, and that was because we got our timings wrong).

Danni doesn't respond to any commands at all as far as I can see, not even with the lure of treats.

Is this likely to be due to rehoming, her age, lack of training, or just plain and simpe obstinacy?

[IanMc]

I think I've made a little progress over the past couple of nights by leaving Danni to sleep where she chooses (downstairs), and placing an obstacle she can see through across the door to prevent her padding around the house at night. I've also left a distant light on for her. Thus far, she's been fine - no whining or reluctance, which as you know, is a problem I really don't like dealing with.
Hopefully I'll be able to provide equally encouraging news over the next few days.

Has anyone got any input on greyhounds who don't obey simple commands?
Any help will be much appreciated!

[vagreys]

I'm glad you're making progress. Adult Greyhounds are generally very quiet, tolerating a great deal in silence, so I'm sure you won't have much whining to deal with. Greyhounds require a soft training approach, like clicker training, and training them requires patience. They do not respond well to forceful training approaches, or demands for obedience, and will become stubborn and willful, if forced. Generally, when the hound does not obey commands, the problem lies with the trainer or training method, not the hound. It is a matter of figuring out what approach works best with that hound and its motivation. Some are motivated by food, some by toys, some by affection, some by the job. I've observed an expert trainer have a strange Greyhound paying rapt attention and sitting within 4 minutes, so it is possible. What commands is she not obeying?

[vagreys]

A couple of not-so-obvious reasons why Danni might be reluctant to go outside. Does she have to cross a hard floor? Does she have to negotiate stairs to get outside? Some retired racers have to be taught how to negotiate stairs, and are reluctant to do so, at first. Most racers are raised on dirt or sand floors, and are unfamiliar/dislike hard, slippy surfaces. If Danni has to cross a hard surface to get outside, she may be balking at walking on that floor, not going outside. Just some ideas.

[IanMc]

Hi Tom - thanks for your input - much appreciated.

Danni, like most greyhouds, spends the majority of her time either in her dog basket or on her beanbag. She won't respond to her name by getting up, even if you've got her lead in your hand. The only way I can get her to move is by affixing the lead whilst she's in her state of rest and gently tugging (which I really hate doing). Unfortunately though, she doesn't voluntarily manouvere to the garden off her own volition, so the only way I can get her to 'empty' is by employing this tactic.

The access to the garden is flat, then 2 foot of patio, then grass (which is the only place she pees. Her bowel movements are performed on walks).

From the front door though, there are stairs to navigate, so you may very well have a point there. Once out, she walks to heel, checking I'm there even if she finds herself walking a foot ahead of me, afterwhich I take her straight to the back garden to empty.

When walking she shows no interest in other dogs or their scent - I feel as if she's just waiting for the moment she sees our front door and knows she can rest! Is this normal??!!

She slept well last night thankfully, and is being taken out to a big London park this lunchtime where hopefully she'll find a squirrel or two to chase!

[vagreys]

This is another long post, for which I apologize.

Ian, I've seen behavior like this before with foster Greyhounds from a kennel that was shutdown for abuse. It almost sounds like she was kept with multiple hounds in a crate made for one. When this happens, they shut down and refuse to acknowledge a lot of external stimuli; it can take months or years for them to get past. I'm not saying this is definitely your situation, but some of the behavior is eerily reminiscent. Keep in mind, too, that she is middle-aged, and slowing down a little (not really a senior for another couple of years). I'm going to suggest that you go back to square one - you haven't had her very long, so this isn't a big setback - and I think you may want to try a different approach with her.
...Danni, like most greyhouds, spends the majority of her time either in her dog basket or on her beanbag. She won't respond to her name by getting up, even if you've got her lead in your hand...
At one end of the spectrum, this is normal Greyhound behavior, and at the other end it is shutdown. First, make sure she is awake (no sarcasm intended). Greyhounds sleep with their eyes open. Sometimes, when they don't respond, it is because they are asleep, even though their eyes are open. She may not be waking up and becoming functional until you attach the lead to her collar, and then, like anyone just waking up, she is reluctant to hop up.

Second, your schedule may be at complete odds with the schedule she grew up with. Greyhounds are creatures of habit, and have lived a life unlike that of any other kind of dog. If she was abused or in a situation where she was not on a healthy schedule, then you are going to have to help her reacquaint herself with normalcy.
...Unfortunately though, she doesn't voluntarily manouvere to the garden off her own volition, so the only way I can get her to 'empty' is by employing this tactic...
I haven't known a Greyhound, yet, that didn't 'empty' eventually. You need to find out what her schedule is. You have a couple of vets who vouch for her health, so let's consider schedule. We'll address walks and stairs after we've established the basics.
...Once out, she walks to heel, checking I'm there even if she finds herself walking a foot ahead of me, afterwhich I take her straight to the back garden to empty...When walking she shows no interest in other dogs or their scent - I feel as if she's just waiting for the moment she sees our front door and knows she can rest! Is this normal??!!
Yes, this is normal Greyhound behavior on lead, for a quiet Greyhound. The lack of interest in sniffing and other dogs could be habit learned from the way she was turned out during her career and training, or it could be part of shutting down from abuse. You don't have a good way of telling which. The desire to crash after her walk is absolutely Greyhound.
...is being taken out to a big London park this lunchtime where hopefully she'll find a squirrel or two to chase!
I hope you are keeping her on lead at all times, except when she is in a completely enclosed space. Greyhounds can reach 55kph in six strides, and keep at or above that pace for over a kilometer. They become focused entirely on catching what they are chasing to the exclusion of all outside distractions and obstacles. If she finds something that she *does* want to chase, and she is not on lead, you aren't going to catch her, even at her age.

OK. First, I see a very good thing. She has attached herself to you. She greets you and stays by your side. You have that to work with. Now, you have to figure out what her schedule is, and what motivates her. She is a hound, but she is also a member of your family. It would be best if you could take some days off so you have uninterrupted time over several days to work with her. These are my suggestions. Do what you will.

I suggest you keep a journal, so you can make notes of your progress. So, the first thing to do is simple: let her be. Don't go to her. Let her come to you and tell you when she is ready to interact. She will. Go about your business around the house. She will start to follow you (she may already be at that point). Let her. And treat her behavior as unremarkable - just a fact of life. You aren't ignoring her, just not making a fuss. Treat her matter-of-factly. Talk to her calmly and quietly as you go about your business. She will start to pay attention to your voice and tone, and will become interested in your activities.

Feeding. Food and water should be in raised bowls. Fresh water should be available at all times. Divide her daily ration into two feedings of limited duration. Her first feeding, during her racing life was probably between 4am and 6am. I recommend you feed her between 5:00am and 6:30am, unless you rise earlier. Once you put the food bowl down, give her about 20 minutes to finish. If she doesn't finish or doesn't eat, throw the uneaten food away at the end of that 20 minutes. Each meal should be fresh. Do not feed her again, except for an occasional treat, until the next meal. The second meal of the day should be about 12 hours after the first. She will learn to eat when the food is available. Free-feeding is not advisable for a Greyhound - they tend to turn into large sausages with long legs. I feed mine at 5:45am-6:15am and 5:30pm-6:00pm. Some Greys are raised on a single, daily feeding, but two feedings per day seems to work better for most, and they adjust well to it. Try not to vary your feeding times by more than two hours from schedule. Greyhounds are creatures of habit, and if you miss their normal feeding time by more than two hours, they may develop an upset stomach and start vomiting bile. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you can't feed her on schedule, try to have a snack available, at least.

Sleep. You seem to have found a fix for the pacing at night. She may have been unable to settle because she wanted to sleep in a crate. She slept in a crate for almost her entire life. You may see it as a cage, but she sees what she knows best (and even if she was stuffed in one with other hounds and it was unpleasant, it is what she knows). While I try to wean my foster hounds off the crate, they all start out sleeping crated. Some of them won't settle unless they can curl up in the crate, even with the door open. That she has found a place she is willing to settle is good, and if it is acceptable to you, that's fine. You may still want to consider borrowing/renting/buying a crate (the 48"x35"x30" crate is good for most Greys), and seeing if she prefers sleeping there. Crate-training is good for occasions when you need to leave her for extended periods in unfamiliar areas, as when travelling. As long as she's got a good soft bed, whether inside a crate or out, and she is settling, that's what is most important.

Walks. Forget the neighborhood walks, for now. It is clear your schedules don't mesh, yet. She will do her business in your yard, when she needs to. You can start walks again, when you understand each other a little better, in a few days. Once she is getting up and going out in the back garden, willingly, then you can resume walks (again, when she is up on her feet of her own volition).

Turnouts to do her business. Abandon your schedule for her turnouts. Let her indicate when she needs to go. You risk having an accident or two, but clearly, the schedule you have been trying isn't working, as her reluctance points out. So, find out when she needs to go. She may tell you outright, or she may get up and start to sniff around for a place to go. This means you have to be paying attention to her behavior, just as if you were keeping track of a toddler in the house. Whe she gets up and wants to go out, THEN you attach her lead, take her out in the yard, and when she goes, treat her and praise her lavishly. So, you want to take advantage of those times when she is on her feet of her own volition, and turn them to positive use. You are using the lead for a reason - to get her used to going outside on lead, but not from when she is resting. Once you know when she is inclined to go, you can work out a compromise schedule that works for the both of you.

When should you take her out? To begin with, when she tells you she needs to go. Eventually, when she is used to going out with you and no longer balking, you will gravitate to something like this schedule for turnouts:

- First thing in the morning, turnout before breakfast, while breakfast is being prepped. (5:45am-5:55am)
- 15 minutes after breakfast, turnout after eating. (6:30am-6:40am)
- mid-morning turnout (9:00am-9:10am)
- mid-afternoon turnout (3:00pm-3:10pm)
- turnout before evening meal, while evening meal is being prepped (5:30pm-5:40pm)
- 15 minutes after evening meal, turnout after eating. (6:00pm-6:10pm)
- mid-evening turnout (halfway between evening meal and bedtime)
- bedtime turnout, just before turning in.

Additionally, I offer turnouts before the people leave the house on an errand, and immediately after the hounds get up from a long rest. Danni will get used to a schedule, and will come to expect her turnouts at whatever times you all work out. The schedule I have provided is just an example and the one I follow.

This is a lot to absorb. There is more. I think though, that if you will consider my advice, you will find that things continue to improve. Once you have improved her response to going outside, you can work on walks and commands. Until you have her actually wanting to be active with you, it will be difficult to work on other training.

[IanMc]

Tom, I'm both humbled and genuinely grateful to receive such a fulsome reply. Its great to know there are people out there so willing to help.

I will of course take as much of your advice on board as I can.

There is a lot in your reply which already rings true, and you'll be glad to know, there's a lot we are already doing.

We feed Danni in precisely the manner you recommend, and we encourage her to 'empty' at much the same points of the day (albeit not at 5.30am!!).
She eats the required amount twice a day at 7.15am and 5pm, and always has water to hand. Equally, we feed her from raised bowls and feed her with little else outside of these times.

More and more Danni is starting to 'find' us around the house. Its a busy house (as you'd imaginge with two children), so she comes to us a lot of the time, rather than the other way around. She likes to know where we are, and then pads off bag to her nearest 'station post'.

At present, I'm letting her decide where to sleep, and simply ward her off climbing upstairs to the girl's bedrooms by placing 'soft' obstacles (a couple of cushions) in strategic points on the staircase. So far, so good. She doesn't appear distressed either in the morning or evening.

On walks, we keep her on the lead, letting her off at appropriate moments. There was an instance on Saturday when in a large London park she made to bolt after a duck, but fortunately she relented on our command. Again, a good sign I'd imagine.

I do, however, think you are right about a 'dark' history. Clearly something is lingering at the back of her mind that we're not aware of, something most probably borne from previous neglect.

Danni is a real lady, and acts like one, always willing to be petted by strangers, and non agressive towards other dogs.

Hopefully we'll take the next step soon, though as you say, it may take a good while yet, whereby she starts to obey simple commands, and comes when you call her. At the moment, the only guarantee is that she'll bolt to her dinner bowl when she hears it being placed on the stand.

I'll keep you appraised of her progress over the course of the next few days.

Thanks again Tom
Ian.

[vagreys]

Danni sounds like she is doing well and is a wonderful hound. She may just be a quiet one. Retired racers seem to reveal a little of their personality each day for a year or two after adoption, and it can be wonderful to watch them blossom.

Teaching a retired racer a reliable recall can be difficult, because they are taught to chase without distraction. You are lucky she broke off her pursuit of the duck when you called, but I wouldn't trust it. A lot of track trainers use a squawker for recall. Mine stop what they are doing and come to me eagerly if I use the squawker. You might consider training recall to a squawker for those situations where she doesn't want to break off her pursuit.

I have a friend in Barcelona who has two Greyhounds that she has raised from small pups, and they have excellent recall, but there, again, they weren't raised and trained as racers.

You should be working on name recognition, and whatever your attention/watch me command is going to be. Down is easier to train in a Greyhound. Sit is more difficult for them (an awkward position because of their build and well-muscled thighs). I have found it easier to get them into a Down and then move to a Sit. Wait is a good one for many reasons, and one of the first I train. Kennel Up is the one we use for crating and for getting into the car. Side or Heel or whatever command you use when you want her to be still is a good one to practice on walks with passing traffic. Come is an easy one when there is food involved, and a difficult one when something more interesting has their attention. It sounds like you keep a martingale on her at all times, but if you have a specific collar just for walking, you might teach a Collar command for putting collars on and taking them off; and, if you use a muzzle on her, a Muzzle command is useful, too. Brief training sessions seem to work best - a few minutes at any given time. Since she seems to be food-motivated, you should be able to leverage her enthusiasm for meals for training purposes.

It sounds like you have things well in hand, and it may just be a matter of time and patience. One of the most important things you can offer a retired racer is consistency. Another is patience. A consistent schedule and consistent, patient people will make up for a lot of past difficulties. She's fortunate to have you.

If you have a chance, I'm sure we'd all love to see pics of Danni!

There are a couple of databases with the pedigrees of racers in the UK, USA and Australia, and they have some of the lines going back to the 19th century. If you know Danni's tatoos, you can look up her pedigree and possibly her racing history, depending on where she raced.

I look forward to hearing more about her.

[LesterJ]

Tom, this is excellent advice, whether specific to retired greyhounds, or new rescues in general. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with everyone.

Ian, bless you for rescuing a Greyhound, and having the patience and heart to see it through. I'm sure she'll come around soon, you're off to a great start really. :)

[IanMc]

Thanks for the most welcome encouragement - it means a lot.
As Tom has so ably pointed out, things are likely to improve with Danni day by day, and so it is proving.
This morning for instance, after dropping my daughter at the bus stop, Danni jogged back home with me, which is the first time she has run whilst on the lead.
She lags behind me when running though - is this usual?
Whilst Danni responds to her name when out (and she's temporarily lost sight of us), she obstinately refuses to adhere to any command at home, but I guess, as you've been telling me, this is something we'll have to work on together.
I apologise for the lack of pictures, but I'm one of those rare souls without a digital camera.
Do you know if there's a way of taking photos with a mobile phone and uploading them on the site?
I'd love to share the photos with you - she's a beautiful dog, much admired by everyone who comes into contact with her.

[vagreys]

Sounds like progress, day-by-day. Greyhounds usually drop behind a little, because human speeds are just too slow for them, and the break into a different gait is awkward. When we run, all they have to do is fast walk/trot to keep up. If they break into a faster gait, they pass us by and get pulled up short by their lead. So, they tend to lag behind, instead.

Figuring out what motivates Danni is going to be the key to her response to commands (anywhere). Good luck working on that. It sounds like you are making progress. It took me 10 weeks to get Zen into a sit. It took one day with Damiri. It took one week with Lily. Every hound is a different challenge.

[IanMc]

..... and she barked at something in the garden for the first time this morning!
I know its sounds bizarre to applaud a bark, but, much to my relief, it feels as if she's starting to display regualar dog behaviour!

[vagreys]

..... and she barked at something in the garden for the first time this morning!
I know its sounds bizarre to applaud a bark, but, much to my relief, it feels as if she's starting to display regualar dog behaviour!
Cool! They have a "big" bark for such a skinny body, don't they? I have a friend who had her dog for two years before he barked, the first time. She was standing right beside him (inside) when it happened, and it startled her so bad she nearly fell down!

[IanMc]

Well it was just a single "woof", but it was music to my ears!!

[IanMc]

Hi Tom
Another question for you!!
One thing I forgot to mention is the fact Danni is sick fairly often.
Yesterday for instance, she was sick around 3pm (she will have eaten around 7am).
She had been left alone between 8.30am and 1pm.
Do you think this could be an anxiety issue?
She is being fed dry greyhound food in the main, though we vary it every now and then.
When we initially rehomed her, she was sick within the first week, after which we took her to the vet who gave her an anti sickness jab.
She has been sick a few times since then, always after she's been left on her own.
Given your previous kind advice, I wonder if you could shed some light on this for me.
Many thanks
Ian.

[vagreys]

...One thing I forgot to mention is the fact Danni is sick fairly often...she was sick around 3pm (she will have eaten around 7am). She had been left alone between 8.30am and 1pm. Do you think this could be an anxiety issue? She is being fed dry greyhound food in the main, though we vary it every now and then...She has been sick a few times since then, always after she's been left on her own...
It very well could be brought on by anxiety. What color is the vomitus, does it contain any solids, and if so, what?

If the vomitus contains a lot of kibble, then given her feeding times, and when she is sick, she's having trouble with her food.

If it is yellow-to-green, or even tan liquid without debris, then she is throwing up on an empty stomach, and it is probably bile, typical of anxiety.

If it has grass in it, she is eating grass on her walks, and that can be addressed with a minor adjustment to her diet.

If it has foreign debris in it, like paper or plastic or fabric, then she is eating objects within her reach - typically an anxiety behavior.

[KatzNK9]

She's a very lucky dog! Looks like you've got some great help here so I'll just say this ...

I am confident that even though her new adventures may not seem to be what she wants, she will soon begin to enjoy all the things she's supposed to if you keep up the consistent, gentle and caring approach toward bringing her out of the memories of her past. Again, she's a very lucky dog! Thank you on her behalf.

[borzoimom]

I am new here too.
With retired racers, please realize Danni only knows other dogs to sleep with. Suddenly at night- she finds herself alone- even if she is with you without the "normal" noises she is use too..
I have a left field idea- get a second one.. I am sure you are laughing right now, but really sighthounds are happier in pairs. Its totally natural behavior for them to " pack up". Shoot- mine sleep on each other.. or at least touching.

[elmuervo]

Hi All,

As a recent adopter of a retired racer I was fascinated by this thread and found the information invaluable.

Does anybody know how Ian and Danni progressed?

[Borzoi mad]

Sorry I don't know as Ian has not posted recently.

[Janimal]

I Do hop you are making progess with Danni... bless you for taking her on. Im sure she has a forever home now, and hope you are overcoming her problems.

What excellent advice you have been given, she is very lucky to have found you.:)

[Hazen 'n Mike]

Aren't there some Greyhound Rescue Support Groups out there...sounds like you are in need of support for those with experience with rescue Greyhounds- do a search, there has to be a list or website you can join.