What happens in foster care


Standard	Personality	The Family	Foster Care	The Track	Care	Nutrition	Facts	F.A.Q.'s	Right for YOU ?

What happens in Foster Care
From Track	To Shack
Transition After living their lives as professional athletes whilst racing, greyhounds already have some skills to make the transition into home life as a pet. Most dogs will already walk beautifully on a lead, due to intensive training. Greyhounds are well used to being handled, and are quite used to being groomed, walked, handled by the vet and taken around in vehicles. Track greyhounds are well used to being around other dogs, which is especially useful if you already own another dog. In fact they really relish the company of another canine ! However, as most racers have never ventured into a house before, becoming a house pet can be a major transition. When you adopt a dog from GAP, an experienced foster carer will have introduced your dog to normal household life. With patience and understanding during the first few weeks most adjustment problems may be easily overcome. A greyhound may be extremely nervous and baffled by his new surroundings. This may manifest itself in such behaviour as panting, whining, moving around a lot, a drippy nose, diarrhoea and sweaty paws. All these signs are common, and will settle once the dog feeds more secure in his new home. Everything in your house that you take for granted as familiar, is new to the ex-racer. And then of course there may be children and pets as well. A dog cannot be expected to cope with such a massive upheaval overnight. It may take a greyhound several days to begin to adjust, and some people find it useful to spend a few undivided days with their new pet in order to help with settling in. They are intelligent dogs and soon are able to grasp what is expected of them as pets. A newly adopted greyhound is likely to follow its new owner everywhere ! This is all part of the bonding process, and is likely to continue until it realises that no one is going to disappear and he is a bona fide member of the household. The more bonding activities that are carried out with the new dog, the more solid the relationship becomes between greyhound and new owner. The more these dogs are touched, played and loved, the more one gets in return. Once a dog feels comfortable with its new owner we advise that it be taken wherever it can. Many ex-racers will never have seen such things as shops, cars, other animals, etc. This allows the ever-curious greyhound a new perspective on a new life. Around The House Whilst it's fun to watch a greyhound explore its new household, help is needed to help him tackle some of the common household horrors. Greyhounds from GAP will usually have been introduced to many of these things before they are adopted into a family. Stairs Most greyhounds have not seen or had to climb stairs before because everything at the track is flat. This challenge is quickly mastered if the dog is given lots of positive verbal reinforcement and some gentle guidance. To get them to go up, get behind them and gently push on their rump. Alternatively, show him, one leg at a time. To get a greyhound down, move down beside them, gently holding onto the dog's collar. Never force them up or down by the collar. This may frighten the dog, or worse still, injure one of its long, delicate legs. Mirrors, Floors, Doors and Tables If a dog has never been fostered in a home, then everything within its adoptive household may be new and confusing. Greyhounds have been known to stare into a full-length mirrors for considerable lengths of time. Sliding glass doors can cause sore noses, until a new pet is shown, by gently pressing its paw on the offending item, to show him that it is a solid surface. Some people place decals on their glass doors to help. Hardwood and linoleum floors are slippery and therefore tricky for greyhounds to negotiate initially. Most tables and kitchen benches happen to be at a perfect level for the greyhounds nose. Food and potentially breakable or dangerous items need to be left well out of the way of an unattended dog. It seems quite reasonable to a dog brought up in a kennel to assume that any food they discover is their food. It is up to us to teach them that this is not so. A sharp "NO" when a greyhound shows interest at the food on the kitchen bench usually suffices, at least while the owner is around. Toilet Training Adopting an adult greyhound means taking on a dog that is used to being let out of a kennel to relieve itself, at least four times a day. Most catch on to toilet training quite well. They are extremely clean dogs and generally won't soil in the area they consider to be their kennel. For the first few days it is advisable that the greyhound be let out often, and for the new owner to stay with the dog to praise him profusely when he relieves himself. The dog then catches on quickly that outside is where he does his thing. Most owners start to notice that within a few days the dog will have easily adapted, and will start giving "signals" as to when it needs to go.