Life before retirement

We are temporarily fostering a 2 year old female greyhound.  She was adopted within 5 days of arriving here and never really had a chance to figure out what happened and learn how to be retired before she was adopted.  Her adoptive people had a greyhound who died and she is their next dog.  She was returned when she wouldn’t go outside to go potty. She had been whiny and skittish also, but the foster coordinator was able to help them deal with that  The reason, she was returned seems to be that there was a roof being removed and replaced across the street and the noise and flying things scared her. She would not go out.  This was the last straw for the humans.  Bill told them to bring her here and we'd find a place for her.  Fortunately, River has mellowed in her old age and is tolerating Indigo well.  I told Bill that we already have a foster dog and 5 are too many.  He convinced me and Indigo's adoptive family that the South Pack would teach her about retirement and I would teach her how to be a good girl. They could take her back when she got some greyhound guidance.  Her adoptive Dad comes to visit every 2 or 3 days, he loves her and wants what is best for her.

I got to thinking what the retired racers go through before they retire and through their transition.  I found this article by Dennis McKeon, written in 2013 that addresses the mindset of a retired greyhound as they become pets.

" It’s just that when a greyhound retires and is adopted, he is entering an entirely new and foreign world, full of strange and often, to him or her, intimidating new places and things.

For the first time in their lives, they are outside of their normal, busy, familiar, athletic routines, and their greyhound-centric environs. They are without their kennelmates, their littermates and the people they have known, depended upon and loved. For the first time in their lives, they are often without any canine companionship at all, or the security of the pack that they have known since the day they were born.

For some of them, this adjustment is a can o’corn--for others, not so much.

Because of their essential nature as hunters, who locate and then chase after game by sight, racing greyhounds are very highly attuned to their surroundings. They notice things. The simple flick of an upright, velveteen ear among briars, while entirely imperceptible to us, can be, for a greyhound, the clarion call to a thrilling chase and catch episode of the purest excitement and delight. It’s what they do.

Conversely, the horn blast of a passing automobile, or even the crash of a milk glass on hardwood, can be absolutely terrifying to them. They notice things. But they only know what is familiar to them. Everything else is a crapshoot, and to the most high strung and skittish of them, some things can be terrifying.

We hear a lot about “socialization”, or the lack of it, from those who themselves lack greyhound experience or first hand knowledge. The truth is, that mostly all racing greyhounds are quite well socialized, both with and among canines and humans. They are handled by a plethora of individuals from the day they are born, from the breeder and their helpers, to assorted guests, to the veterinarians they visit, or who come to visit them. Again, with their handlers, when they begin to learn how to chase after the artificial lure, and to also learn proper manners, while being walked on the lead, exercised, groomed, bathed, and/or massaged.

At the racetrack, they encounter many different people, from the leadouts, to the judges, to the track vets, and then of course, in addition to their own handlers, the many other handlers they also come to know.

Most of the time, it’s not lack of socialization that can cause upset to a greyhound. The real challenge is complete and utter “re-habituation”--from life as a racing athlete, to life as a family pet.

Like all dogs, racing greyhounds are primarily creatures of habit and routine. They have remarkably accurate psychological time clocks in their pointy little heads. They have led very structured and predictable lives. They demand your punctuality and your attentions at what they have learned to be the “appointed” times. They thrive on routine. It is novelty that can sometimes completely undo them and even drive them into an ill-advised “fight or flight” panic ."

Indigo was in a panic mood at the adoptive home.  The roofers put her over the edge.  But happily, she has been here for 2 weeks and is a normal greyhound and is ready to go back to her adoptive family.  I think she has figured out that this retirement will be a good thing.