We're considering adding another psychotic animal

"Nibbles" (nibbles) 11/11/2013 at 14:42 • Filed to: Doglopnik, Greyhounds

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To our house. My wife and I love Greyhounds. One of our friends is moving across the pond and has been asking if we want to take in one of their rescue Greys; Artemis, a 7 year old white female. After much deliberation and taking our Grey (Tara) to meet her, it's been decided that she wouldn't be a good fit :(. Tara very pointedly refused to acknowledge Artemis' existence, which would most likely lead to serious issues at the house. Well, we tried.

Then this friend brings up something else. Something new! Something exciting! The local Greyhound rescue has a 2 week old puppy. This puppy hasn't been claimed because people are afraid of Greyhound puppies, and rightfully so. They're an absolute pain in the ass for the first four years of their life. They don't train well. They're overly hyperactive. They don't listen, are hard to housebreak, and all they want to do is run. The shelter knows this and will only release the pup to a home that has previous Greyhound rearing experience - us.

Apparently our friend mentioned us to the rescue, now they are very interested in vetting us for the pup. The wife and I are going over all pros and cons, and the pros are coming out on top. We may just end up with a blue brindle Greyhound pup in a few weeks! I'm excited / scared.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Nibbles 11/11/2013 at 15:24

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Training collar. done.

Nibbles > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper 11/11/2013 at 15:31

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The day we put a training collar on Tara was the day we found out that she could jump 7 feet in the air from a sit.

Greyhounds just require a lot of patience and reminding than a lot of other breeds. Their incessant need to please, along with their overactive mindset, makes most "simple" training measures worthless. They learn quick, but forget even quicker.

lucky's pepper > Nibbles 11/11/2013 at 15:39

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Good for you, especially with a breed that most people couldn't handle. Dogs are wonderful animals. When I'm home not an hour goes by that I don't want to strangle one or both of mine. But not an hour goes by that I goes by that I don't think of how thankful I am to have them.

Nibbles > lucky's pepper 11/11/2013 at 15:51

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We love 'em. Yeah they're a handful, and ours is a neurotic, epileptic basketcase, but they are just so lovable and cute.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Nibbles 11/11/2013 at 16:02

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Ha, I remember that day. In reality I would never recommend a collar to a new dog owner. It takes a lot of understanding to effectively use one with out damaging the dog (trust confidence etc.) I always wondered if it was possible to use one with the GH breed, being that they're wicked fast.

I have a Vizsla, so probably a polar opposite in the training department from a greyhound. I got a collar for Mika after she had learned all the important commands and what was expected of her, and only really for field reinforcement. Ive always hated the idea of leashes and wanted to get her to the point of absolute obedience when out and about. The collar I own vibrates and shocks. I used the vibration mostly (now I only put it on for show, I cant remember the last time I've even pressed a button besides the power), when she was in her testing faze (6mo to 1 year) I would only gave her current when she would do an "unthinkable" like chasing game with out permission, approaching the street unaccompanied, walking up to strangers when uninvited. Again its a 2 edge sword so if its not applied correctly it can be more then counter productive.

Greys have always fascinated me though, their speed, and being car people its cool to be able to observe what is effectively a real life example of mother natures race cars. (talk about variable valve timing!) I dont think I'd ever get one though, a Vizsla is the smallest dog Ive owned (grew up with rotties and a GS), I absolutely love the temperament, if I did move away from the breed I would most likely go for a Ridgeback just to get back to the large breed feel I was used to. I dont think my wife would let me though. HA. Heres a pic of my bitch:

Textured Soy Protein > Nibbles 11/11/2013 at 18:47

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What gender is the puppy? Having 2 female dogs in the house can be asking for trouble down the road once the puppy grows up. Although I suppose your current dog could "adopt" the puppy and then it wouldn't be an issue.

My folks had an adult female dog, and adopted a maybe 10 month old female dog because the dogs initially got along with each other fine. But once the 10 month old dog grew up, it started challenging the bigger, older dog's dominance, and they had a couple really bad scraps where my dad had to jump on them to break them up. They went to a behavioral vet who told them that unfortunately the fighting would likely continue. So after a bunch of heartbreak, they adopted out the younger dog to a good family.

Not that 2 female dogs will always be a bad match, but there's more of the potential than with 2 males or a mix.

lucky's pepper > Nibbles 11/11/2013 at 19:39

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One of mine is a German Short Haired Pointer. Talk about neurotic! He's got phobias coming out of his butt. But he's about 70 lbs. of muscle, a spectacular athlete and his temperament is fantastic.

I can't blame him for his quirks though, I found him wandering in a very bad part of town when he was about 6 months old. So God only knows what his early life was like. Turned him over to the dog warden and a few weeks later she called and said they were going to put him down because the shelter they were planning on sending him to wouldn't take him. Couldn't let that happen.

Nibbles > Textured Soy Protein 11/11/2013 at 19:50

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Thankfully, the pup is male. Tara is definitely alpha bitch (when my wife isn't home), one of the biggest fears we had about introducing another female to the house is how Tara would react.

Nibbles > lucky's pepper 11/11/2013 at 19:51

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D'awwwww