The Calming of Cookie
Members might have read our story a year ago, of how we adopted and fell in love with a beautiful black greyhound called Cookie. You might recall how that dog shaped hole in our lives was filled by adopting one of these magnificent animals and how we ended up, like in all good stories, giving Cookie a wonderful loving home (with us) and walking off into the sunset to live happily ever after... Unfortunately real life for dogs and humans isn’t a fairy story and since we took Cookie on, there have been some really rough patches and hard lessons learnt.
Let’s be absolutely honest here, Cookie was and still can be a real handful! While she is sleek and beautiful and looks like the ancient Egyptian god Anubis – she wasn’t a pet at all when we first brought her home. She seemed oblivious to her name being called and if let off the lead would run on way ahead and not come back. Worst of all, she was very aggressive to any other dogs who came within a hundred yards. While hugely excited to see me when I returned from work, she often didn’t want to be with the rest of the family and removed herself, spending time in the front room on her own. In Cookies’ case, the bond between dog and human seemed rather insubstantial. On more than one occasion my wife said that Cookie didn’t seem like a ‘normal’ dog at all, as she didn’t want to sniff or play with other animals and seemed strangely aloof.
Taking any dog for a walk but keeping them on a lead, seems mean, rather like taking a kid to a sweet shop but leaving without buying anything. In an attempt to give Cookie a richer experience, I improvised an extra long lead, using some sturdy climbing rope and a spring clip that I had bought to attach keys to my belt. On our first outing to the beach using the long lead, we came across a rather playful young Jack Russell. The puppy came up to us, looking for a friend to play with, but Cookie didn’t understand and her immediate response was snarling, barking and bearing her teeth. I turned Cookie around and went off in the opposite direction.
Unfortunately our circular route meant that we came across this dog again. This time when Cookie saw this small brown animal in the distance running around, she went wild. She lunged at the far-away dog and with the acceleration of a Ferrari, headed straight towards it. To my horror instead of being able to restrain Cookie with the lead, the spring clip snapped and my greyhound powered forwards towards the little dog. Cookie reached the puppy in a few seconds snatching it up with her teeth, she started to shake it viciously, trying to snap its neck.
This was no rough and tumble, or even a spot of sorting out the pecking order; this was a hunting dog trying to kill its prey. The little Jack Russell’s owner stood nearby, frozen in horror and seemed unable to react. I started to run over but the dogs were still several hundred yards away. Fortunately two young lads, who were close by, managed with a few well placed kicks, to make Cookie drop the little dog. I would always describe myself as pretty calm in a crisis but by the time I had caught her up, I was covered in a cold sweat and my heart was thumping like an express train. I felt physically sick and I started to shake like I had the DT’s. The little dog was terrified and bleeding. I stuttered apologies and said that we must go to the vets and not to worry but I would pay. It was a nightmare. Fortunately when we got to the vets we found that the little dog was not seriously injured and just needed a few stitches, however the poor thing was terrified and cowered into its owners lap. As I left the vets, I still couldn’t stop shaking and felt sick to the pit of my stomach at the savagery of my dog.
That weekend I had to do a lot of thinking. We had not really signed up to rehabilitate a killer, we only wanted to give a dog a home, someone to join us on our walks in the countryside and show and receive affection and care. The trouble was that we had all really bonded with Cookie – my son adored her and in all other respects she was a great pet and we didn’t want to give her back.
For most of our working lives both my wife and I have been involved in some kind of caring job. Claire (my wife) had worked with children whose mothers were victims of domestic abuse. I had worked with children too, children with disabilities, children from disadvantaged areas, children who had got caught up in the criminal justice system. Then, it struck me – Cookie was just like many of the children we had worked with, children who were damaged and had problems making relationships with others, children who had never learn to play, or could not make real trusting relationships with adults or their peers. Cookie acted just like some of the children we had known, children who had grown up ‘in care’!
The more I thought about it the more sense it made to me. Cooke didn’t know how to play and though she was very affectionate, she often got into fights with other dogs. This realisation created a determination to stick with her. We were not going to be like the trainers who traded her like a piece of live stock, to be raced and then passed on to the next track or trainer, we were going to stick with Cookie and do our best to care for her and make her a real pet.
After several very long supportive phone calls from various members of Greyhound Rescue Wales, Sandra Morris the Chair offered to come down to visit and give us some hands on advice. Sandra explained that we often think that we understand dogs and they can understand us but all too often we are speaking two different languages and completely misunderstand each other. Dogs are pack animals and constantly look to their leader for guidance, reassurance and direction. If the pack leader weakens, then there is always another dog ready to take over. This point is always a stressful time for dogs and causes them much unease. If we – the humans fail to live up to a dog’s expectation of the way a pack leader should act, they become confused, unsettled and sometimes think that they should be leader and that is when things get out of control. I was convinced – it was clear she was talking sense, and could see through our intractable problem and gave you clear solutions to our doggy dilemma. Sandra told us we needed to assert ourselves as the leader of the pack. This would help Cookie to feel calm and reassured and help us in our attempts to control her behaviour. To do this we had to think like a dog and follow three simple rules:
For wild dogs acquiring food is a life or death matter and when they make a kill, it is always the pack leader who eats first, the rest of the pack must wait their turn. So the first rule was always to eat before your dog eats. This can be a problem in our modern lives, so the solution is to make sure that before you feed your dog you eat something like a biscuit or a small snack in their presence. Once you have eaten, put your dog’s food down and walk away leaving them to wolf it down.
The second rule was making sure that whenever we left or returned to the house or even when we went through a doorway or narrow opening – that we always went first and our dog should go second. We were the leaders and she was the follower.
Thirdly, and this rule I found the hardest to follow, was when returning home from work and faced with an excited and affectionate dog, not to respond but instead to ignore them. This asserts your authority as the head honcho and puts the dog into a submissive position. Once your dog has calmed down and you have reoccupied ‘the den’ then it is possible to respond to their attention.
I wish I could say that following Sandra’s guidance worked like magic. Even after her dog behaviour master class, we had several more ‘incidents’ with Cookie. For a few months taking Cookie for a walk was a ‘white knuckle ride’. However Sandra’s advice slowly begin to work and eventually we started to let Cookie off the lead in places that were off the beaten track, making sure that she always wore a muzzle.
Cookie is a very determined dog and it has been a battle of wills to make her do what I decide, not what she wants to do. A good example is the struggle I have had getting her into the back of my estate car. On the way to the park Cookie would jump in without prompting, however when it was time to go home, she would refuse to get in and stand at the open tailgate stubbornly looking away. For a while I had to pick her up and lift her in, then one day I decided to call her bluff and got into the car and started to drive away. The tactic worked and Cookie ran frantically after my car and when I stopped a few yards down the road she immediately jumped in.
I also realised that I needed to be less verbal and more physical with Cookie. In a documentary on the wolves of North Dakota, I particularly noticed the intensely physical way that the pack interacted with each other. As a result I started to back up my verbal commands with a bump, a poke or a shove. Not smacking or hitting but giving Cookie physical reinforcement, such as using a nudge with my knee if I wanted her to go in a particular direction. We also forced Cookie to focus her attention on us. At the start of every walk we did some short lead work, walking a few steps in one direction and then switching to another, always keeping the dog on her toes, never knowing which way we intended to go next.
It’s been a year and at times it has been a real struggle but today Cookie really is a different dog. She is still strong willed and when an over playful dog won’t stop bothering her, she will give a warning growl but that is as far as it goes - now we can walk her without a muzzle and even let her off the lead when other dogs are about. She follows me up the stairs and lies down at my feet when I work in the study, rather than going to sit on her own in another room.
A few days ago, while walking Cookie; we saw another greyhound with her owner. Cookie started to trot over to her fellow racer, tail wagging. But as we got closer I could see that the owner was clearly uncomfortable and was holding on to her dog like grim death. I called to Cookie and told her to STAY. She stopped straight away, like it in a game of musical statues. I just slipped the lead on to her collar and she stood next to me, relaxed and calm. I started to chat to the other greyhound owner. The lady told me that she had just adopted her greyhound and that the dog was proving to be a bit of a handful. “She’s very strong willed and can be quite aggressive” she said “not well behaved and obedient like your greyhound” I laughed and thought to myself - if only she knew!
Jon
Adam on the beach
Adam in a rockpool
Meet Birdie, another happy greyhound.
Phil and Annellie Boal and their children Quade, Hannah and Jodi who live in Port Talbot adopted Johnno on January 22nd. 
Georgina Smith sent us this lovely picture of her greyhound Jade. Jade was very lucky as she was rescued when she was 7 years-old and when she was going to be unnecessarily put to sleep.
Rob and Deb - Star's new owners have sent us this lovely message:
Virginia and Peter Teague have sent us this lovely photo of Bryn. Virginia and Peter adopted Bryn from GRW and "fell in love with Greyhounds"!
A lovely photo of Smokey, now known as Tony - what an aristicratic looking dog, sent in by his proud new owners Gaby and Glenys.
Lucy has been living with Barbara Neal near Tenby for over a year now but we think she deserves a 'photo shoot' of her own. Lucy is one of our 'golden oldies' and when she first came into GRW care she was very withdrawn but as you can now see, after having a wonderful time living with Barbara she is now living life to the full.
Bullet has hit the target. His new owner Martyn says: