Sid's Journey: From Struggles to Snuggles

[TamingSid]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

Sid is an 8-month-old dog who resembles the Greyhound, though I suspect he may have some Saluki in him by the short-hair/feathered tail and fluffy ears.
Remi is the ginger looking dog in the photos - he's a Fox Red Labrador and is Sid's older "brother-from-another-mother," being just over two years old.

Sid has had a tough start in life, so we're going back to basics. He was found in a kennel, neglected by his first owner (not sure to what extent; this wasn't shared with us). After being surrendered, Sid went through two temporary homes. His second owner didn't want him because he wasn't prey-driven, so they passed him to a friend for temporary care. This third owner then advertised Sid for sale. My husband and me, now owners #4, adopted & bought him home on May 11 2024 to provide him with a loving, permanent home.

Things were fine until May 16, when Sid began showing more aggression towards Remi. It's apparent that Sid hasn't been properly cared for or trained before coming to us. He seems to have been left to his own devices, with little human attachment or discipline and maybe left to just fight/be in competition with the other dogs from the previous homes. I truly believe this is what is leading to his current behaviour issues.

Current behaviour issues:

• Nipping Remi
• Blocking Remi from entry-ways / doorways / toys
• Barging Remi
• One time, went to attack Remi
• Eating grass
• Barking and whining
• Snatching toys off of Remi
• Chasing Remi when Remi is trying to get away from him
• Remi is really scared of Sid
• Trying to get them both used to sharing space
• Limited association / introduction to basic commands such as Sit, Lay down, Leave it, Heel etc

 

[Hemlock]

Sid is definitely a saluki greyhound cross, and so with a sighthound mindset but not as laid-back as a full greyhound. I suspect the tales you have been told about his past are just that - tales - so don't set a lot of store by them. What is important is that now he is with YOU - what a lucky dog - and so in a caring home for life.

 

[JudyN]

He's gorgeous - I'm very fond of salukis and saluki crosses. But yes, they can be a little challenging!

 

[TamingSid]

Thank you !

Daily Rover Report
(...or whenever I remember)

• Sid has improved from yesterday's "snapping Attack at Remi" , with minimal nipping or snapping
• We have been working on Sit, Lay down, Leave it, Come/In, Stay commands and doing really well, I'd say he's still at the introduction level of learning these.
• Today I started clicker training with him which does seem to be improving
• He's become more kinder to Remi , being gentle
• Remi and Sid played tug together for a short while , with Remi enjoying it! (First time Remi has enjoyed playing with Sid)
• Less barking and whining when I am preparing his meals
• Had a wee accident indoors for the first time, but it was our (the humans) fault as Sid whinned and barked, I said Sid needed a wee and the other human disagreed so we didn't let him out...sure enough he peed on the floor then a while later a poo (to be honest, he's switched slowly over to new food so bound to happen)

 

[arealhuman]

It seems Sid's journey is taking a positive route, so that's great. As another person who has rescued dogs, thank you for doing this. It can be tough as you don't always know what behaviours you're going to inherit, but you're also giving a needy a dog a safe and loving home. Thank you.

 

[TamingSid]

Daily rover report!

Date:	18 May 2024
Commands	Sit Introduction level Responsive Stay Introduction level Not to focused on this so stopped Leave it Introduction level Responsive
Command environment	Home - Living Room
Distractions during commands	• TV • Hubs talking to me / me talking to him • Remi next to him following commands too & sometimes Remi nudging me to get treats
Command duration	• 10 mins with short play break in between to refocus • Was a good duration whilst getting used to being trained
What worked well during command training	• Showing Sid the treat first to get his attention, saying which dog i wanted to do the command • Using treat to help Sid learn up from laying down • learning Leave it with me holding treat by his nose
What did not work well during command training	• When hubs spoke to me whilst i was trying to to train Sid, made him loose focus
Highlights	• Did really well with leave it and sit
What to try next time	• Try Stay/Come with less distraction
Additional command notes	Showed active interest in playing fetch by bringing me the ball, catching it, bringing it back to me and dropping so played this for a while.

Interaction with remi	Played tug a few times together with a little help from humans, Remi loved it, Sid Loved it, Sid has now started to bring the tug toy over to Remi to play (but Remi hasn't realised that Sid is 'asking' to play with him)
Barking / whining	• Barked when needed a wee, was let out for toilet, was not discouraged from this barking • Barked when I was preparing his evening meal, I turned my back, didn't stop, and was doing it even more when me and my hubs spoke so we redirected him into the living room to cool off for a few seconds, reintroduced him to the kitchen and barking stopped

 

[JudyN]

Do be careful not to overload him - that's quite advanced skills you're working on, and he's still settling in. And watch out for any hesitation in the sit - my lurcher sat without any problem, but never held the position, and would have been uncomfortable if I'd insisted he did. But I caan see that you're focusing on observing him as much as 'training' him, so that's good

 

[JoanneF]

I have a mug (secret Santa gift from someone) that says ”I love spreadsheets”.

I think I met my match!

Seriously though, a diary is a great idea to log your progress.

 

[TamingSid]

Thank you both!
I think I may need to re-introduce Stay at a later stage (maybe from standing position) once he's settled in more. I sometimes accidentally forget he is new to our house as he's just integrated really well and feel like we've always had him.

When I do sit, I don't make him sit for long at all, like as soon as Sid sits , I give him a treat after a few seconds and 'release' him from that position as I've noticed people on the forum saying with Sighthounds it may be uncomfortable - so changed my expectation of this (i'm used to smaller dogs and was...naive thinking all dogs are the same) .

I'm not too heavily focused on these commands but Sid seemed to be responding well when I was asking Remi to sit so I could do something (I can't remember what) so decided to lightly practice, as soon as Sid lost interest, we stopped and I let him play

The interaction / barking isn't being trained but wanted to keep a diary of how him and Remi are getting on, mainly.
I'm not bothered about barking but my husband is so that's why we're addressing it, him more than me.

@JoanneF I think i need that mug!
It's just a way to show he is improving. My husband sometimes forget that Sid is still a pup so normal puppy behaviour is making him a little...wound up so I wanted to have some way to show husband of the good work Sid's doing (trained or independently) it was his idea to get a second dog in the first place but it's been stressful with getting him to recognise things take time and that he has too high expectations of Sid at the moment, especially given Sid's previous history.

 

[Hemlock]

Training people is way harder than training dogs! Well done on your good work so far.

 

[JoanneF]

Training people is way harder than training dogs!

After 30 plus years of unsuccessfully training Mr F, I realised I could train Timber to shut the door. It took about half an hour.

 

[Flobo]

Diaries are a great idea! With pups or rescues, to keep an eye on progress is really handy generally, but especially if you're ever having a difficult day... you can look back and then remind yourself how far he (and you all) have come. Really glad to hear things are settling with Sid and Remi, hopefully he'll pick up some positive behaviour from him too, as he sounds like a gentle type.

 

[TamingSid]

Remi is such a gentle type and Sid is learning both good-boy behaviour and not so good-boy behaviour from Remi...sometimes Sid does something and it's like "Remi defiantly taught him that!" its quite funny!