The Handing Down
by Dennis McKeon
It would be useful if more adoption groups and their representatives, stressed the importance of understanding the nurturing of greyhounds, done by other greyhounds—the handing down.
This is the essence of the canine culture by which all performance greyhounds have been deeply informed and affected. It is highly unlikely that your adopted pet, prior to your having adopted him/her, was ever without the company of other greyhounds for even a few seconds.
Photo courtesy of Crossland Farm: -Dyna Nalin-and-Luxurious Trent litter-photo-by-Nicole-Crossland-4-2015
The impacts of this pack-oriented and colonial culture upon the greyhound, are as indelible to them, as are the circumstances of our own upbringing, growth and development, within a culture and a segment of society.
So the experience of being adopted, and suddenly finding themselves without everyone and everything they have ever known— the “lone wolf”, for the first time in their lives— is a form of culture shock, if not an outright trauma for some of them. Acting independently, outside the dynamic of the pack or colony, is a concept unfamiliar to them.
Much has been said and done, as it regards the adopters’ perception of “separation anxiety” and coping with it, should a newly adopted greyhound exhibit signs of stress when they are left alone. It is a wonder that we often fail to perceive the first instance of separation anxiety—that being, when the newly adopted greyhound is suddenly separated, or perhaps in his mind, expelled, from the colony to which he belonged— only to be confronted with a virtual universe of novelty and uncertainty, much of which is beyond his understanding.
We will never fully appreciate or understand the greyhounds we adopt, unless we can begin to wrap minds around the unique experience they all share, as purpose-bred canines– the effects of a nurturing canine culture, and the handing down of collective consciousness, which is predicated upon their co-existence within the pack or colony unit, and the supports, securities and bonding it affords them.
copyright, 2019
Written by Jennifer Ng, DVM
Willow —- Photo courtesy of Jennifer Ng, DVM
Here’s my usual fireworks PSA. A little difficult to write this time as it will be my first fireworks holiday without a dog with noise phobia in many years. In memory of Willow, running free at the Bridge, never to be scared by storms or fireworks again.
With July 4th just around the corner, I hope everyone with a dog who is afraid of fireworks has a plan in place. There are a lot of options depending on how bad the anxiety is.
If this will be the first time your dog has experienced fireworks, or if your dog is just a little startled and worried but not overly anxious, you can start with some management and training techniques. Start by taking your dog out for a last potty trip before it gets dark so you won’t have go while people are setting off fireworks. Turn on the TV or radio so that there is some background noise.
How you respond and act during the fireworks can have a big affect on your dog’s reaction. Act calm and confident like it’s no big deal. If your dog is only mildly concerned, you can help prevent it from developing into a real problem by acting like it’s fun and exciting and immediately giving the dog a treat every time you hear any fireworks noise.
For dogs that are already mildly to moderately anxious with fireworks based on past experience, natural calming supplements can help. There are a number of products on the market, such as Composure Pro, Solliquin, Zylkene, melatonin, or Rescue Remedy. A lot of dogs also respond well to Thundershirts.
For more severe anxiety, talk to your vet about prescription medications like Sileo, trazodone, Valium, or Xanax. Just please avoid acepromazine, which only immobilizes the dog without providing any anxiety relief and can actually worsen noise phobias. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday and keep your dogs safe and happy!
