We have had Carrie for a little over a week now and she is making progress, but it is slower then we would like. It is very odd because in every way she is a perfectly normal dog, except around people. When we weren't looking, she starting stealing kitchen towels, she taught herself how to go up and down the stairs, and she likes to play with our dogs. She does all the things we would expect any normal dog to do. But once a person walks in the room, she gets scared. I don't know what experiences she has had in the past with people, but obviously they weren't good. I can imagine her being a shy dog to start with, and her trainers growing progressively more frustrated with her, making the situation worse and worse. I don't know if that is the case, but I can certainly see something like that happening. Carrie probably still views us as her trainers thinking we are going to drag her across the kennel to try to make her race. She is making progress in that department, but it is slow going. It takes a long time to build back the trust after it has been lost. We can tell that she wants to come out of her shell, but isn't quite sure yet. She follows us around the house but keeps a safe distance. She is like any other dog in that she wants to know what is going on, but she is still afraid to get in the middle of it. She comes up to our room at night and sleeps with us and our hounds. She doesn't like being left alone downstairs. She will get there, but it will take some more time. Stay tuned for more updates on her progress. In the meantime, enjoy the video of Carrie and see for yourself what a beautiful dog she is.
4 comments:
She is such a cute cow-girl. I hope she will come out of her shell soon and find the special family
We recently lost our Akita of 12 1/2 years and quickly realized how much we miss having a dog. Though we are not rushing into anything, I have friends in different part of the country with rescue Greyhounds and love them. My husband and I have been talking about our next dog being a rescue dog and a greyhound is at the top of the list. I was given Denise Davis' name today by the Inwood Vet Clinic and found this web site this evening. I am very moved and touched by your Carrie and I wish you well with her. I will follow her progress.
Carrie is a very pretty girl! Unfortunately, we never know just exactly what they went through in their previous "life" at the track. She's in a very good place now and I'm so glad she's with a patient family that has lots of experience with greyhounds. It sounds like it will take a while, but she will eventually learn to trust and when she does it will be a very special moment!
Hey guys! I've mentioned this to Denise before and I'll pass this along to y'all as well. You may want to ask your vet about getting Carrie some thyroid supplements to help with the spookiness. I'm including a link and a pull quote from an article that addresses what the National Greyhound Adoption Program has found out about using thyroid supplements with shy hounds:
Greyhounds that are low-esteem, shy, thunderstorm phobic, spooky, and/or afraid of visitors all fit into this category of dogs that would probably benefit from thyroid supplement. Clinical signs are the primary factors in determining if your dog should be treated, as opposed to test results. Our most significant concern is how your greyhound feels about himself and his general esteem level....
....NGAP has treated more greyhounds with thyroid supplement than probably anyone in the world. We have seen wonderful results from it in many greyhounds. Thyroid supplementation is generally given for life and dogs that are taken off of it will often regress, although their regression does not appear to be as severe as from where they originally started.
We've yet to use any supplements on the few shy hounds we've fostered, although we've been tempted, but it's something you may want to look into to help with Carrie. Good luck!
J.P.
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