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Post by greymouse on Dec 3, 2006 9:28:34 GMT -5
We had a very shy girl who wanted to remain in her crate also. We allowed her to do whatever she wanted to do for about the first two weeks, and then started to encourage her to come out and join us. We started to shut the door of her crate for a couple of hours in the evening when it was quiet in the house (kids in bed!! At first she laid in the other room, but eventually began to join us in the room where we were sitting. We slowly increased the time that we had the door shut and soon began to realize that she was joining us voluntarily. We also took her everywhere that we could take her so that she would get used to different situations. We didn't force her to be social in those situations,......we just let her "be there" and deal with it in her own way. If Flagger is very stressed then maybe his time in different situations should not stop altogether, but be limited to a few minutes which could be gradually increased as he is able to handle it. Do you have contact with other grey families? We found that Zelda was happiest when with her own kind. She loved get togethers with other greys and eventually we saw a real change in her. She remained shy but began to blossom and look forward to seeing her friends. She also had a sister at home which really helped her. Is this a possibility? If you are in London or close by, I would strongly encourage you to join us at our walks. If you aren't close enough, then find a group of grey families close to you and join them. It is always good to be able to talk face to face with others who can offer you lots of suggestions and share from their experiences.
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Post by greymouse on Dec 3, 2006 12:51:54 GMT -5
Please do try again! Zelda didn't socialize much in the beginning either, but we knew that she wanted to be there. It just may take a while....please keep trying even if you don't see the change right away. It could take months. BTW--we have been going to the walks since June of 2004 and we often walk alone. Most of the socializing is done before and after the actual walking. Talk to Bill and let him know what is going on. When you decide to make another addition to your family, he will be a big help.
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Post by greytpups on Jan 14, 2007 8:42:15 GMT -5
Bailey was an extremely timid pup when we adopted her in 2004. We had to drag her out of her crate and carry her over to the park behind us because she was too timid to walk outside to pee or poop.
We gradually began to work with her and just took baby steps by closing the crate door for short periods of time until she felt safe enough outside of it, then we bought her a pillow and placed it in the corner where she used to lay down when out of the crate, socialized her gradually by taking her to meet-and-greets, and took her to NCR a lot were she felt more comfortable with not just other greys, but people as well. We will never see perfection, she is terrified of cameras, squeaky toys, watch beeps, oh, the list is endless...but I am satisfied with progress.
At first I was always upset because I felt nothing I did was right when I tried to follow "expert" advice. Then I just trusted my instinct and when I felt she needed some down time, I didn't push her. Some times though, I may have not pushed enough and may have been a detriment to her social development. I also tried to make up for 6 years on the track...dumb and impossible idea.
We adopted a male and she has become a real alpha dog with him...go figure!
Timid pups are challenging but her progress over the last few years has been very rewarding.
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Post by sdsandiford on Jan 14, 2007 20:19:09 GMT -5
Keep trying with him, Squiggley! Out of our three boys, Stuey is the most shy. Once he found his bed in our home, he also refused to stray far from it. We also had to encourage him to come out to the main rooms in house to share a little time with us. He has really come a long way! From spook to snuggle machine. It's taken the whole time we've had him for him to fully come out of his shell (about a year and a half now)!. You might be surprised by the type of dog Flagger settles into!
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Post by tara on Jan 15, 2007 8:00:55 GMT -5
I do not pretend to know anything of importance when it comes to these beautiful guys and I am very lucky in that Ty is very social (almost too social and thinks everyone just loves him) but when we first got him he too would only lay on his blanket. Have you tried moving his blanket/bed to where you are? Ty's bed is his security, when he does get anxious (usually when kids are roughhousing) he goes and stands on his blankets. Maybe moving them might help get him used to being other places, Ty's bed is never in the same place twice LOL. Again just something to try if you want.
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Post by rocco's parents on Jan 15, 2007 9:09:53 GMT -5
How is Flagger doing now? If he still won't come out have you tried decreasing the size of the pen over a period of time, that might help.
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Post by jiffer on Jan 15, 2007 12:03:15 GMT -5
Flagger has a new sibling now. I bet he's doing fabulous!
He's a shy boy, not necessarily a spook. I'll never forget the look of shock on your face when he walked into our house and laid down on the dog beds. What a funny guy! He'll always be Mr. Squiggly!
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Post by ontariogreys on Jan 20, 2007 18:40:55 GMT -5
Sometimes a grey simply does not know what is acceptable to do, so having another greyhound or dog helps them understand it is okay to be in other areas of the house or okay to go outside, it is more about insecurity than about shyness sometimes.
Spooks rarely freeze when they are scared, instead they panic and the only thought in their mind is fleeing, so walking them on leash can be super tough as they are in constant escape more and will start bucking and rearing trying to get free so they can flee and they are very unresponsive to you while in panic mode.
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erinder
Grey Lover
Collarbones - for you guessed it, collars! (formerly Fussy Pup)
Posts: 421
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Post by erinder on Jun 3, 2007 12:55:05 GMT -5
I'm glad to read that everything turned out well!
Digby was pretty spooky too at first too so I know it's hard. He did come out of it though and the only thing that still really scares him is strangers, especially men. We've also noticed that he is more comfortable around other dogs, and first learned stairs by copying 2 other dogs in my in-laws house. (i think he was jealous that they got to go to the other floors). He allows strangers to get closer to him if there are other dogs around, also. We're actually thinking about adopting a second grey as well and think it would help him along greatly... So I'm glad to hear it worked for you!
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