Problems On Walks

[Cashabian]

Hi, can anyone give me any advice please. I have had my grey for 2 months now. He is great with my lab x and other greys but not so great with any other breeds. Doesn't matter how big or small the other dog is he barks and tries to get to them on walks. The rgt I had him from said it was a socialization issue. I don't think it helps that he is taunted by a jack Russell that breaks into the garden at night. Any ideas?

 

[lurcherman]

yeah kick the jack russell up the arse or his owners :thumbsup:

 

[FeeFee]

Racing greyhounds have often never seen other breeds of dogs until they are rehomed, so it's not an uncommon problem in the early days. It's usually fear based, they have no idea what to make of other dogs and see them as a threat so do a lot of vocal 'go away' stuff.

Really the answer is to introduce him to as many other friendly dogs as possible in a controlled way. A good training class is ideal for this, but have a word with the trainer in advance and explain that you want to bring him along mainly for socialisation initially and make sure they are OK with this, the class I took my greys to was great, they let me work at a distance from the other dogs at first then gradually integrate into the class.

If you have friends with dogs you can walk with that's great too, keep everybody on lead and start off with a bit of distance between the dogs, then as they settle into the walk and get used to one another gradually move closer and if both seem comfortable eventually allow them to sniff and greet one another.

At home teach him a 'look at me' command with lots of food rewards when he focuses on you and build up the time he needs to focus gradually, then introduce that outside away from other dogs/distractions until it's solid, then start when you see a dog approaching. Have really good quality treats (sausage/chicken etc) and hold one in front of his nose and get him to 'look at you', and reward him. Don't worry if you need to use lots of treats at first and literally shovel them into his mouth to keep his attention. He will gradually start to associate strange dogs with being rewarded instead of seeing them as a threat.

The Jack Russell is a problem, is it coming into your garden and if so is there no way you can sort your fencing out so it can't get in? He would probably harm it if he got hold of it, so a word with it's owners to le them know it's in danger would be a good idea, and if they still let it escape or roam free then report it to the Dog Warden. You really shouldn't have to put up with someone else's dog on your property.

 

[Cashabian]

Thanks for the great advice. He learnt the look at me command very quickly. We have just managed our first completely bark free walk despite encountering a cat and a staffie that ran out if someone's front door and was loose. I even managed to take my 3 year old son as well (normally the dogs alone are enough to handle). Unfortunately the jack russell is an ongoing issue. It digs under my fencing so is impossible to keep out. I have tried to find its owners but had no success. The dog warden has also tried to find it but again no luck. Thanks again.

 

[eve]

If you could manage to catch the Jack Russell and hand it over to the dog warden, perhaps it will be found a responsible new home.

Rescues all take time. Some as long as 18 months depending on their former lives. As the former post says, your dog will probably not be used to other breeds. Time & socialization should solve the issue.

If he is an ex-racer, it is probably wise to have him muzzled if you do not already. He will probably be quite used to a muzzle and until you can trust him completely, it would be the safest option.

Just give him time and he should improve.

 

[dogshome]

Racing greyhounds have often never seen other breeds of dogs until they are rehomed, so it's not an uncommon problem in the early days. It's usually fear based, they have no idea what to make of other dogs and see them as a threat so do a lot of vocal 'go away' stuff.
Really the answer is to introduce him to as many other friendly dogs as possible in a controlled way. A good training class is ideal for this, but have a word with the trainer in advance and explain that you want to bring him along mainly for socialisation initially and make sure they are OK with this, the class I took my greys to was great, they let me work at a distance from the other dogs at first then gradually integrate into the class.

If you have friends with dogs you can walk with that's great too, keep everybody on lead and start off with a bit of distance between the dogs, then as they settle into the walk and get used to one another gradually move closer and if both seem comfortable eventually allow them to sniff and greet one another.

At home teach him a 'look at me' command with lots of food rewards when he focuses on you and build up the time he needs to focus gradually, then introduce that outside away from other dogs/distractions until it's solid, then start when you see a dog approaching. Have really good quality treats (sausage/chicken etc) and hold one in front of his nose and get him to 'look at you', and reward him. Don't worry if you need to use lots of treats at first and literally shovel them into his mouth to keep his attention. He will gradually start to associate strange dogs with being rewarded instead of seeing them as a threat.

The Jack Russell is a problem, is it coming into your garden and if so is there no way you can sort your fencing out so it can't get in? He would probably harm it if he got hold of it, so a word with it's owners to le them know it's in danger would be a good idea, and if they still let it escape or roam free then report it to the Dog Warden. You really shouldn't have to put up with someone else's dog on your property.

Great post!

Home made baked liver pieces even distract me :clown: Bought-in dried tripe sticks in a rustly plastic bag for retrievals works well - and takes a few seconds crunching whilst I get the three leads on.

 

[JAX]

Some really great advice here and well done taking a an ex racer .

Good luck with the JRT