"I want too much....TOO MUCH!"

I've realized that I am trying to do TOO MUCH with Gracie.
In an effort to try to get her exposed to as much s possible and help her become a "normal dog," I think am overwhelming her right now.
I knew I would make mistakes as a new dog mom. I am trying hard to be kind to my mistakes. 

I am going to start to back off with trying to get her used to kids and things that scare her by FORCING exposure and simply try to allow her to be an observer and learn to see that the things she is afraid of aren't so bad.

I am so very thankful to have such an amazing support group at greytalk.com.
I have learned so much from other people's posts in the past, from way before I got Gracie, and from my own posts there. The people on this forum are a wealth of greyhound knowledge. I would be lost and a nervous wreck (especially with Béla stuff) without their help!

Some of the most helpful comments I read this morning were:

"Given Grace's reaction, I would say that it was waaay too much too soon. She's just starting to get used to "her" house, "her" bed, "her" routine." 

 "You want to say, "Buck up- face your fears." But the absolute worst mistake you can make with a fearful dog is to push them into something they're not ready for."

"She needs MUCH more time to develop full trust of the safety of her own home and her adult people. Remember a racing Greyhound's limited life perspective. It's almost like a human moving to Mars." 

"Earning her trust towards you is the most important thing for you to focus on at this early stage. Better to let dogs approach a person whenever the dog feels ready vs. the other way around."

 The one thing that I really needed to hear was this:

"Don't feel bad though, it's a beginner's mistake. I did it too."

I am so thankful for all of the supportive and helpful comments people make on those forums. I want to hug each of those people and buy them a beer. Seriously.

Walks

This morning's walk went very smoothly! Thanks to someone's suggestion I did not put the martingale collar/ leash on Gracie until we were at the door. I usually put it on her while she is on her safe bed - that's the point where she becomes a stone statue who won't budge.

I got her to easily come to the door by holding her ID collar. That's how I usually get her to the door when she is just going out to the yard leash-free. I gave her treats and praise while putting the leash and martingale on in an effort to associate leash with good things. She gave a little resistance to going outside once the leash was on, but it was MUCH easier than trying to get her off that safe bed with a leash on.

She seemed to really enjoy the walk this morning. I'd say about 75% of the time the leash had slack to it. The only time she pulled was when she saw a man by a loud truck and when she realized we were close to home. We walked for about 30 minutes this time.
When we got to the man near the noisy truck, as soon as I saw her get tense I stopped, took a few steps back, and let her observe for a bit to see that he was ok. Then we were able to pass him! Progress! She only pulled a little bit after we passed, but quickly regained calmness. That is something she is really showing improvement with - not letting one stressful experience ruin the rest of the walk. I am so proud of her!

We also had a surprise visitor when a small, white, and fluffy dog appeared out of nowhere jumping around Gracie! The owner had the dog off leash and she decided to say hi. (I hope the owner realizes that another greyhound might have had that white dog for breakfast!) Gracie was totally calm and just kind of looked at the dog as if to say, "Really? Quit jumping around me...I'm trying to enjoy my walk!" She even passed another man on the sidewalk, this time without getting tense! Small victories! :)

Barking
I heard her bark for the first time. This morning at about 5:40am - she was ready to play and ready to go outside and she wanted to let me know it with one quick bark! To my husband's dismay I ignored her until I was ready to get up about 10 min later. We get up when mom is ready, kiddo....get used to that! And...your sister Béla gets fed first in her room before I go downstairs, so be patient!

Thankfully she hasn't barked at anything else for any other reason.
I'll be fine if that continues! :)

Here's to a day of allowing Gracie to come out of her shell....
at her own pace.