A New Attitude?!

Thank you everyone for the kind words after the last Blog.  I appreciate it.

This is a happy blog about Khan. 

Erie Shore Greyhound Adoption of Ohio had a booth at a show called the Christmas Connection.  It is held each year and thousands of people go to buy unique gifts from private vendors.  We go to encourage people to consider adopting a rescued greyhound, and to raise money. 

This year, the foster parents were encouraged to bring the foster dogs.  Bill and I signed up to take Khan on Saturday afternoon.  Saturday, was only a couple days after the “treat” event.  I was feeling that this may be too much for Khan to handle; but, we agreed if he panicked one of us would bring him home and take Ace back. 

We had a couple problems getting him to come through the entrance, but a little love and encouragement got him through the entrance uneventfully.  The entrance for vendors is at least 1000 yards of polished concrete until the first booth. Our booth is near the huge Ferris wheel and 500 feet from the first booth.  River can’t do the show because of the polished floor, Bill had to carry her in last year.  Macho is afraid of the Ferris wheel, so he can’t go.  Lots of things against us.  Anyway, Khan pranced across the long unending stretch of concrete.  We got to the show, and he didn't want to walk on the carpet that covers the walkway from vendor to vendor!  More love and assurance and he was walking again, not so proudly, but walking on his own.   We arrived at our booth and set to work.  Khan allowed everyone to pet him, wore the donation jacket and was all around a good guy.  When he got overwhelmed, he would go to the back of the booth and lean on another group member, or do the greyhound sit on a lap of a member until secure.  Then he would go and get more attention.  GOOD GUY!  Near the time for us to leave, he was trying to walk down the aisle way.  I realized he needed to go out, so we headed toward the 1000 yard walk.  Of course, people want to pet him and ask questions, so we didn't get to the walk to the entrance for about 10 minutes.  Right in the middle of the floor he stopped and pooped!  I told him we had to stop and clean that up, and I got on the floor to pick up the poo.  He was straining to get away.  I stopped picking up poo, and reached out and gave him a big body hug and told him it was ok.  He relaxed, and I finished, and out we went.   We returned and then shortly after, our time was over and we returned home.  Fog was there, along with a couple of the dogs that came on the hauler with Khan.  And Duke and Effy were there, they are the friendliest greyhounds. Maybe they all chatted.

Khan in his new collar

Khan was tired.  He didn't even eat standing up.  I put his food near him on his bed and he ate, laying down.  At 9, he marched up the stairs, without help, encouragement, or permission and went to bed.

He got up at 730 the next morning.  His legs and feet were obviously sore. He gingerly came down stairs went out came in and went back upstairs.  I fed the other boys.  River and Khan came down at 930, the time she normally gets up.  I fed them, he stood and ate and went back upstairs to sleep. When he got back up 4 hours later, he had a whole different attitude.  He is coming for attention.  I don’t have to be in view for him to come in or go out.  He will come for treats.  This evening, he even took a treat right off of my open hand!  He’s got a new attitude!  He seems happier and more confident.  Bill said Khan conquered some of his fears at the show this weekend. I think he realizes that he is safe with us and even if something scares him, we are there to support and protect him.

Poor guy

Khan is probably 28 inches tall at his shoulder.  He is black with a Red undertone.   He is starting to get white hairs all over him.  Khan has really long top K9 teeth.  When he got here he weighed 63 pounds, he is now around 70 pounds.  Khan has bonded to Bill, as my dogs believe Bill is the protector, so does Khan.  Khan would be a lap dog, if he could get on the furniture.  He loves to be cuddled, stroked, and gently spoken to.  His ideal place would be right next to a human with a hand that just gently rubs on him. He has a gentle soul.

This Blog is about the hard part of fostering.  Similar issues probably occur with non greyhounds, but all I know is greyhounds.  Khan is 3 years old now.  He is starting to have separation anxiety, but not bad yet.  We can work on that.  But this little guy, has been severely mentally abused, I’ve decided.

It appears that whoever worked with him in his formative years were bullies.  I believe the abuse occurred at the hands of his handlers. Khan will not walk past you unless he can see both hands and you are at least 3 feet away.  If we reach for him to reassure him that everything is ok, he backs away, tail tucked, head down trying to find an escape route. But his eyes never leave the person.  They must grabbed him or hollered at him every time they let him out or tried to feed him.

He literally snatches treats out of my hand, just missing me with those huge K9s.  If Bill tries to give him a treat, Khan is scared.   He paces and comes quickly, snatches the treat and runs to his bed, where he feels safe and he can watch what is happening.  So the other day, Bill tossed the treat to Khan.  OMG! He tucked his tail and ran to his bed and stood on it and shook.  It was very sad.  Bill felt bad. I felt bad, and Khan felt betrayed by the protector.  Bill gave him lots of love and kindness and Khan is forgiving Bill and becoming comfortable with Bill again.  One simple gesture that works for other dogs, undid 3 weeks of work. 

I am concerned that he may accidentally bite my finger when I give him a treat.  He is getting to the point where he stands with the pack and waits for a treat.  He is even coming for more treats, as my dogs do.   My dogs take treats so gently that a baby could give the treat to them. So, I decided that he is comfortable with us, and I would hold the treat as he took it from me, to show him I won’t hurt him. A mistake on my part.  OMG!  He had half the treat in his mouth and I had the other half lightly in my fingers.  When I didn’t let it go he started crying.  Crying like he was going to be tortured.  He let it go and he was whimpering and backing up while looking at me.  When he made it around the corner, he just stood there, shaking.  I  told him it was ok, and (stupidly) tossed the cookie near him.  That sent him running, as far as he could. (why didn’t I learn from Bills mistake?)  He found his safe place, next to Bill.  I went to pet him and he hung his head and winced, like he was going to be hurt.  I said to Bill, with tears in my eyes “what did they do to this poor guy??” 

Khan on his safe bed

I suspect they used to grab him when he walked by.  Probably by the neck and scream at him or something.  There is no sign of physical abuse. I have also decided they would throw things at him or on the ground and then run toward him screaming or something to harass him. They may have double teamed him and let him pick something off the floor and then ran toward him while someone behind him caught him.  Terrible treatment this guy must have endured, it breaks my heart.  Khan is by no means an alpha dog, so this treatment destroyed his confidence and made him a scared guy.  I don’t understand abuse of  any kind. Mentally abusing an animal would result in what?

He is still arched in the back.  He eats if people are still.  If I move or Bill moves, he leaves the food and runs in another room.  He does; however, love to walk on the leash, with dogs, without dogs it doesn't matter.  He is a strong confident happy guy while on his leash or alone in the yard.  The trainer would have been working with him for this stuff, which is why I don’t think the trainer abused him.

The treat event, damaged the confidence he was gaining with us.  He is better today; he came with the pack for a treat this morning.  He is not as confident as he was, but he is better.  

Play?

 My dogs are spoiled. They have a box of toys.  The box of toys is near their downstairs beds.

Ace likes to play with toys, so periodically, he’ll dig one out and toss it around and play with it.

Khan is still learning what retirement is like, so he watches what my dogs do, and learns from them what is acceptable.  My dogs are warming up to him.  Khan is frightened by unusual noises or movements: introducing toys was not going to happen for a while.

Ace in his younger days, was a player.  Now that his playmate is gone, he doesn't play so much, but when he does, he spins and tosses toys and chases after them, and occasionally, it is ok for Mom to toss the toy for him.

So, Ace had a squeaky toy and he was chewing on it and tossing it around and running 4 feet to get it.  A little while later, Khan got up and pranced his happy self over to the box of toys.  He gently took one out, and promptly put it down.  He went and laid down in what he believes is his bed.  I went and got the toy he got out of the toy box, and gently put it by his bed.  This particular toy doesn't squeak.  It is an elephant that crackles when chewed or tossed, I figured it wouldn't scare him, if he chewed on it.  I went about my business and soon heard crackling.  I peered around the corner and Khan was gingerly chewing on the toy.  Well, this inspired Macho so he went and got a toy and started throwing it in the air and catching it on the fall, and then spinning and doing it all over. Macho puts his heart and soul into playing, which right now is way to intense for Khan. Khan watched from the safety of his bed.  Soon Khan was carrying the elephant around the house. 

Later I let them all out and in through the patio doors. Near the patio door was a red stuffy bone, that is about a foot long and 6 inches wide.  He smelled it, looked at me and quickly ran in.  I took the bone and put it near him.  He grabbed it and pranced around with it.  He put it on his bed and in greyhound style, invited the toy to play with him. He decided he could chew on it and when no one said no, or moved to take it away, he gleefully laid on his bed and chewed and chomped.  Soon Ace came in and showed him that you can play with one toy for a minute and then get another and another and no one says anything. 

We have Kong toys.  They are heavy and are generally for heavy chewers.  My greyhounds love them. Every foster dog has found the Kong toy has managed to do some serious damage to the toy and or their teeth.  Khan found the Kong softball.  Fog had found the kong softball and was in the process of taking the bright yellow cover off of it, before he got adopted.  I looked at Khan, and he was carrying the kong softball all around the house, by the partially removed cover.  It looked like a Christmas ornament hanging from his mouth! He dropped it and it scared him so he ran to his bed.  Ace got up, grabbed the ball, tail wagging, and took it to his bed (nearly 20 feet away).  A little later, Ace moved from his bed to another bed, and Khan, got up, and stole the ball and took it to Khan’s bed.  This was deemed a challenge by Ace, so when Khan was looking for more food in the bowls, Ace stole the ball back.  They stole the ball from each other the rest of the day.

Now when Khan is feeling especially good, he gets the big red bone and chews on it.  The yellow kong ball is missing, it must be under something and I haven’t found it yet.

A side note, the boys are taking turns playing in the yard.  Khan invites Macho to play, so they chase each other, then Ace runs with Khan, and Macho stops, and then the three run together.  I noticed yesterday, that Khan is now inviting River to play too.  While she does not play with him, she does not stop him from running in the yard.  I watched him run in the yard after he talked to River. (boy is he speedy)  River went and stood near the deck and pretended to not notice while he ran a couple laps.  When Khan came in, he found his elephant and chewed on it, then found his big red bone, picked it up and dropped it in front of Ace, trying to get Ace to play.  I think Khan is gonna be a dog that plays!

Fog and Khan

So, I noticed with Fog, that he had an arch in his back for the first couple weeks and Khan has a similar arch.  With Fog, the arch came out when River finally accepted him to the pack. We’ll see how long it takes for Khan’s arch to go away. 

But my dogs aren't excited to have a foster dog in the house. They are not inviting Khan to be part of the pack.  I showed Khan where to lay the first night and that is where he stayed when he wasn't following me or jumping at every new noise or movement in the house.  My dogs are ignoring him, except Macho.  Macho is not inviting him to hang out with him, but he is tolerating Khan hanging around Macho, leaning on Macho and stealing Macho's favorite bed.  River stayed upstairs for two days after he got here, and Ace laid on his bed and just watched what was happening. 

Khan is just looking for a dog to tell him what is happening.  I figured, Fog recently went through this, maybe Fog would be able to explain to Khan what is going on.  And they came from the same kennel, they may know each other.  So I called Fog’s parents and arranged to borrow Fog. When we got off of work, I drove over and got Fog.

Fog came over and greeted River, then Ace, and lastly Macho.  Macho was not impressed, someone ELSE to take attention away from him.  Then Fog discovered Khan.  Sniff, sniff and all of a sudden both of them back up and their hair is standing on end.  I told them to stop.  A little paw stomping and huffing continued, but Khan ran off.  Soon Fog got done talking to the pack and I took my eyes off of them for a minute.  When I looked up, Fog and Khan were walking right next to each other, like a team of reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh.  Same pace, almost as if they were tied together. It would have been a terrific picture, but no camera at the time.  Fog spent some more time hanging out in the yard, but Fog didn't want to run in the yard. And, he wasn't too interested in hanging out with Khan or River; although, he and River had a conversation which made River sad.  I let them all back out, my dogs came right back in, and Fog and Khan stayed outside.  “Good” I thought, “they’ll play now”.   I came in to get my phone to capture the perfect picture of them hanging out together.   This is what I got. Fog standing and Khan lying in the yard!

I took Fog home. When I returned, Khan was prancing around the yard.  When greyhounds are happy, they prance, it is sort of like a fancy horse trot.  When my dogs prance, I know that they are happy with themselves.  He came galloping to me and proudly took himself into the house.

Although they didn't get to run or play in the yard, the short time Khan and Fog spent together had a positive impact on Khan.  I suspect Fog told Khan that this is a good place, and he doesn't have to run any more or live in a cage.  I think Fog told him that it is good here. 

Khan has not had any “accidents” in the house since Fog left.  He sleeps through the night. He is still jumpy, but Khan will now take treats out of human hands.  And Khan really likes Bill!