Hello!

Well, I have wound up adopting a greyhound (not the first one I was thinking of... this one is an older black female named Trinkett, a bit more settled than the younger one I first met.) So far, things seem to be going ok. The cats are hiding in a closet, but I think that, with time, they will decide to come out and get acquainted. It's going to take some time, but I think that they will come around.

But one thing I didn't consider as well as I should have... I drive a very small car, a 2001 Celica hatchback to be exact, and this is not a small dog! And at some point I am going to have to get her in the car to go to the vet, park, etc. I tried to get her in the car earlier, and she got to where she had both front feet on the passenger seat, but she was entirely unwilling to pick up the back feet, I think because she couldn't tell where they were or where to put them. And getting her into the back seat was impossible, because the opening to it really is very narrow. The cat carriers barely fit in.

So any advice that people have would be appreciated. I'm wondering if the best approach would be to get a ramp and load her into the back trunk area, with the back seats down.

Here's some pictures of the car: Toyota Celica Pictures. They have both internal and external shots.

matiasmommy

hmmm.. that is a toughie!

I love greyhounds! Congrats on your new furbaby!

I once upon a time had a very LARGE king shep and a very SMALL honda CRX hatchback. Here is what I did.. lay down the back seats and take off the little shelf thingy that closed off the hatch portion from the back seating area. I don't know what to call that- but it was a felt covered piece of plastic. You know- where people often stick a kleenex box?

Dog had lots of space- but I did have to help him to hop in- he was older- backing up to a curb and then lifting his rear end once his front legs were in did the trick- no way he could squeeze in through the side door either- 220 lb pooch, and rather barrel chested! Don't think you might manage the cat carriers at the same time, mind you! Unless you can have them in the same crate and squeeze it in the front seat?

Good luck!

Jani Teeter
L3 Director, CSG

Fr_Chuck

Ok, I am not a dog expert and seldom answer on here and If some of the others think I am way off, forgive me.

But time, and love. As the dog gets used to you, make trying to get into your car just part of your activities. As the dog loves and trusts you more, sit on one side or have the other door open, and reward them each time they get alittle further into the car.

** don't get made or angry and don't yell at the dog

RubyPitbull

froggy, congrats on your new addition!

You have received some good advice here. I don't know where you live but you should do a search and find the closest greyhound rescue in your area. It is a very active and very well run organization. These people are wonderful and will go above and beyond to help out a new greyhound owner. I am sure that they have come up against this problem before, among many others. Greyhounds are special needs dogs. They are not used to living in a home, dealing with cars, or any of the normal day to day activities. They have lived a very different life, and have to be trained to do stuff we believe to be simple, such as walking up and down a staircase. There is a desentizing technique that is used when dealing with cars and stairs. A bit too long for me to post here and it is something that is best approached in a hands on way. Contact the rescue closest to you and see if they have anyone who will be willing to come to you and walk you through the training steps. It may take a few sessions but will be well worth it. It will also give you a support network. They are wonderful about supporting people who adopt greyhounds.

matiasmommy

Yep.. that is bang on too.. I was more focused on the space issue. A trick with horses is to let them eat in the trailer.. that is kind of the same thing you are recommending.

Just gentle kindness... toss a nice yummy special good smelling cookie into the car where you want to dog to go and practice. Make it FUN, no sense of urgency or frustration!

My dogs have always loved the car, I take them everywhere I go. My vet made housecalls, so they were never thinking I was taking them off to get poked and prodded!

Cats in the car, on the other hand.. another story altogether!

Cheers

Jani Teeter
L3 Director, CSG

labman

The 81 Pontiac Phoenix, 92 Grand Am, and current 02 Chevy Cavalier we owned are not much bigger than your Toyota. We have managed, although most 60-70 pound Labs aren't spread out as much as a Greyhound. Peggy was. We had two 70 pound Labs at the time. Lola had the classic Lab build, as close to a show dog as any we have had. Her head came up to Peggy's shoulder. Our friends and family have had assorted larger Labs and the 88 pound Shepherd my daughter raised. He fit OK in their Honda civic.

Much of it has to do with what the dog knows. I was shocked to find out how easy it is is to train a dog to ride on the floor of a car. I grew up thinking they would smother even in the winter if they didn't have their nose out the window. You have very little trouble with a puppy that starts out at 7 weeks with a 5 hour ride home. I have had good luck with occasional older dogs that fell into my care. When Aster returned to my care at 10 years old, she had been spoiled and needed to be retrained.

Ruby is right. She may need some special work to acclimate her to a car. A good rescue
should have done some of it, and a local one should be happy to help. Too much of my experience is in starting a young dog out right, and too little on fixing problems with older dogs. I will say treats work with many dogs. So does patting things and talking to them, ''Good car, good car.'' Use stress breaking techniques. You need to be relaxed and confident. If you tense up, so will she. Keep up happy, excited chatter.

As for large dogs in small cars, yesterday one of our group showed up with a Great Dane in an MG-B. The roof was down. It was wearing goggles.

froggy7

Well, it's looking like I have two issues. The first is the actual space. It's not an easy backseat for humans to get into, what with having to duck the seatbelt and squeeze into a very narrow crack, and we know that nothing terrible is going to happen to us while we're doing that. I think I'll take Jani's advice and try getting her into the hatchback. And yes, I know exactly what you mean by the "shelf thing". :-)

But the second one is that she seems to have a bit of a car/street phobia. When we go for walks on the sidewalk, she trots along as happy as can be. When we have to take the street for lack of sidewalks, her pace drops a lot and she does a lot more panting. (I thought at first that it might be a different texture, but the are both concrete, and the sidewalk changes texture in a couple of spots without bothering her. But when we get to a corner, she'd much rather continue on the sidewalk than cross the street.) And she veers wide around parked cars and startles when she hears moving ones. It's nothing major, and may be just the result of so much being new around her. According to her foster family, she's good when she's IN the car. So for now I can take it slow and hope that familiarity makes it easier on her.

RubyPitbull

Yes, froggy, if you don't want to contact the Greyhound rescue, then it is "take it slow" along with patience, patience, patience. She is fearful, even though she was fostered, because this still is all so new to her. You, your home, and adjusting to "civilian life" in general. Greyhounds are sweet, sweet dogs. They are not used to cars driving by. They are used to being crated for hours on end and running on a racetrack. That is it. They are not used to the normal attention we give our dogs, or even taking a simple walk. They are bred for one use. She is like a fish out of water. Just be positive in all that you do with her. If you are nervous at all, she will feed off of that. She needs consistency, patience and positive energy. Keep us updated on her progress.

labman

''If you are nervous at all, she will feed off of that. '' As I said, ''You need to be relaxed and confident. If you tense up, so will she. Keep up happy, excited chatter.''

Do you have a field or park where you can start walking back from traffic and work closer as her comfort allows?

froggy7

Don't get me wrong... she's a sweet girl, and really doing quite well for being thrust into a new situation. I do think it's just that so much is new to her, and, unfortunately, not always the same. I'm remodeling, and she did fine with floors covered with plastic, but then had to deal with the plastic-less version today, which bothered her at first. But she seems to have decided that they are ok now.

Mostly it seems to be caution on her part, so I'm trying to take the same walk for now so that it becomes less strange to her. The most that she does is startle (especially at intermittent noises, like a weed whacker), which responds well to a "come on" or "let's go", and then just keeping on walking. And she does want to be by her people, which is making bonding go quickly. :-)

But we'll both be happier when she can stop wearing the muzzle! Another reason I hope that the cats get a bit more adventuresome soon, so that I can get a good feel for how much work that's going to be. I know that she can do fine in the muzzle... eat, drink, sleep, etc. But until I know that the cats are safe, she has to wear it. *sigh*

Her name is "officially" Kb's Trinkett, her call name is Trinkett, and she's apparently run in 163 races and had 4 pups. One of the good things about a purebred rescued ex-racer is that it's relatively easy to find out their history. Her's is at Pedigree of Kb's Trinkett, including a picture of her looking all adoptable. I'm not at all sure what a lot of it means, but it's interesting to see what her past was like.

But really, she's just a sweet sweet dog. Well-mannered, lovable, and that's quite enough.