I took my 1st greyhound home with me on Jan 11th and the 2.5 hour ride home was stressful (for me and the dog). He panted and shook like crazy. After he was out of the car, he was fine. I really want to get him used to the car but he refuses. I made an appointment with a groomer for tomorrow to get his nails clipped and I know it will be a struggle to get him in the car again. I tried yesterday just to see how he would do and he tensed up and put the brakes on. I couldn't budge him if I tried. He started shaking and panting like crazy again and he wasn't even in the car yet.

I need some tips!

First, do you really need the nails trimmed? If you just got him from the Kennel, the nails should be fine. A good rule of thumb is if you can slide a quarter under them on a hard floor, their short enough. THe reason I say this is, he sounds like a bit of a nervous dog (which is FINE! Its still WAY early in your relationship) and taking him to a groomer might be a bit too much excitement.

Since I am thinking he is a bit of a nervous dog, I have some suggestions that would help every issue you may have with him. The best most reassuring thing you can do for a dog is show them that you are the leader and in complete control ALL the time. Dogs need reassurance that everything is ok, and you are controlling whatever happens. I would highly recommend the following books:
"Ceasar's Way", by Ceasar Millan as well as his DVDs. It helps to see him do his thing.
"The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell

Here are my opinions which stem from these books as well as others, plus my own experience with my boy Cash.

A leader must be CALM and ASSERTIVE: This means you should remain calm in any circumstance, for example being charged by 2 little yappers, telling your dog no, etc. You should also never have a tense leash. A dog can sense your tension thru the leash and it just creates more tension for the dog. NEVER GET FRUSTRATED! If you are frustrated, walk away and try later. Frustration is not Calmness. Also, baby voices/high pitched voices are not Assertive. A calm firm matter of fact voice is best.

-Disciplined Walk: This is the basis for developing a good relationship with your dog. After your dog as pooped/peed, you need to begin this type of walk. You want to walk with your shoulders back, head up, arms and leash loose, with your dog beside or slightly behind you. You do not want them in front. The leader is in front and that is you. Now after a few months, you can allow them ahead if they obey your commands like wait for me, no pull, leave it, etc. But initially you go out the door first, and you lead the walk. You can start the walk by saying "Heal" or "lets go", that will clue the dog into you/the pack are now "migrating" and don't have time to sniff the roses, etc. Now once they are good with this, again you can let them stop and sniff things, but its on your terms and when you think they've done enough, its "heel". A correction during the walk should be just a quick snap of the leash, not a Tug or Pull. Snapping the leash should be the equivalent of tapping someone on the shoulder to say "hey lets go this way". It is not meant to hurt the dog. This is also another reason why the dog should be by your side. Correcting a dog that is in front of you means they are pulling you with the strength of their shoulders/body, if they are beside you, you can get them off balance by snapping to the side and get them a little off balance, just enough to get their attention. Oh and NO FLEXI-LEADS/Retractable Leads. These are a disaster waiting to happen, and you have no real control over the dog. (more on this if you like...just ask).

During the walk if you are approached by strange dogs, you need to put yourself in between Odie and the others. This will show Odie that you are taking care of the situation and he doesn't have to.

Basic Commands are another great way of establishing leaderhsip and making your life SOOO much easier. You should try these on your walks while you are the established leader.
-Leave it: A simple firm low voice should be sufficient with a snap correction if needed. This applies to food, sniffing poop, other dogs, whatever.

-Wait: Just say wait and make them stand still until you are ready for whatever. I use this command when getting him out of my SUV. He will now stand there with the door open until I am ready to get him down. Also waiting for me to get the door open, put his food in the bowl, cross a street, whatever.

-Bed: I use this at night when its bed time, or when I leave the house. Just get a treat, and say "bed" and lead him to the bed, then give the treat. He'll get the hang of it quickly.

Now, what does this have to do with pooping, car rides, etc. It all relates to his confidence in you. He will do what you want MUCH easier if he is sure you are in control of his environment.

Now to the Car: I hope he's treat motivated...it will make things a bit easier, but its not impossible if not.

Here are a few things to try:
First just try to throw some really good smelly treats in the car and see if he'll just go in.

Ok..that didn't work:
Take the leash calmly (as stated before) and walk a few feet way, then walk straight to the car like you're carrying luggage and put the luggage in the car. If he puts the breaks on, then try placing his front feet in the car and grab his butt and push him in. Not too forceful, he may just need a nudge. I would go beyond that. And Treat him when he's in. You might also say "in the car" while you are doing this so he starts learning the command. If he freezes right at the start, then back up go around and do it again, hopefully getting closer each time. This could take ALOT of patience.

Ok...I wrote a lot and I am starting to ramble. So see what sense you can make of this and feel free to ask more questions. This may be frustrating at first, but trust me, there is nothing better than seeing your nervous greyhound grow into themselves and become more confident and loving as time goes on.

GOOD LUCK!
Keith n'Cash

I read that I am supposed to cut the nails every 2 weeks so I was concerned AND I also did not know the "quarter under the nail" rule so thanks! Appointment canceled!

The books you mentioned will be purchased today... thanks!

Odie seems to know that he is not in charge. He NEVER walks in a doorway before me and stays very close on a leash.

Excellent point on getting between the other dogs and Odie. I didn't think about that. he looked very scared.

I will work on basic commands... he seems to be very smart and knows what the word "bed" means already.

Odie loves treats but I tried the treat thing to get him in the car and he totally ignored it. I finally got him in the car using the same technique you mentioned: put his front legs in and then pushed his rear end. once he was in the car he freaked out even more and began the shaking, panting, and slobbering.

thanks for all the tips/info!!!
traci

As far as the car goes, you may want to take him for lots of short trips, and possibly to some fun places like the park or petsmart if he can tolerate that kind of place. But getting him in and out of the car frequently for short rides will do best to get him acclimated. Just don't stress him Too much.

Good luck! Please keep us updated on his progress!

that was my goal yesterday by putting him in the car. i was going to try to get him in and then go for a quick drive and then come back home. i was planning to do this a couple times a week to get him used to it. after yesterday, i posted to the forum because i saw that it was a major task and he was very upset.

going to petsmart or a playgroup is my DREAM but both of these things are a long drive away (or at least a good 45 minutes)...

Another good book is Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies by Lee Livingood. Not all adoption groups are the same, in Ours it was one of two that was required reading if You wanted a Hound.

Gary

Keith
Thanks for all the help you are giving Traci. Just for your information, if Traci sounds frustrated-Odie is, I think 85#-a big boy to pick up. His brother Ox, is 90# and after almost a year, all kinds of treats, etc-he won't even step up into a Honda Element. Marianne still has to do the front feet and then the butt.

Thanks everybody...

By the way, I have read "Adopting the Racing Greyhound" and "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies"... AND "The Best Finish: Adopting a Retired Racing Greyhound"

Since the PetsMart is so far away how about a trip through a drive-thru for a burger or fries? That would be a wonderful treat to show him that car rides can be good. Of course I wouldn't do it everyday but maybe as a weekend treat.

i can give him a burger and fries?

Well not both at once and not a whole one of either. Or the next post may be about how to get a greyhound to lose weight.

After Pet Therapy visits I will go through a drive-thru and share a small fries with which ever one is with me. They get about 5 and they are happy. And if I get them a burger I ask for it plain and give them the meat and toss the bread. And if it is a summer day we just go for the vanilla milkshake. Of course it comes home with us and is shared by all four dogs............and Me.

These small treats don't have much affect on my greyhound. It doesn't cause them gas or the big D. But it does some dogs.

Oh and Jack In The Box where I stop actually gives out doggie treats! Which makes me go out of my way to go to that one instead of the one on the way home.

he is good with my 6 year old... my 15 year old is hardly ever here because she is either doing something with the school (clubs, sports, etc) or with friends. i think Odie has bonded as much with my 6 year old as with me. Of course, I pick her up on the way home from work so that wouldn't work. I just feel sorry for him because he looks so stressed out. I am going to try again tomorrow. I live in a very small town so there isn't really anywhere that is fun to go to.... I will have to do some research on that one.

The more he rides, he'll start figuring out that nothing bad is going to happen and he'll always go home with you.

It is important for you to be calm and confident. This guys really fed off of our emotions -if you are stressing or tense, he'll stress, especially the shy ones. They look to us to be leaders. If the leader is upset, there must be a reason to be upset. Also, as much as we humans want to soothe the dogs, it gives them the wrong message.

"There, there" actually reinforces the stressed behavior. To them, it carries the message that there IS something to be stressed about. It also tells them that their response is correct and what they should do under those circumstances- a reward for that behavior.

In the pack, the leader ignors the dog who's having issues and let's them work things out for themselves and allows them to join in when ready. Ignoring them is actually more reassuring (in dog language). When he does relax and gives you the behavior you want, then praise him.