I'm posting this question for my daughter who adopted a sweetheart of a retired racer, Lambo, a week and a half ago. (She doesn't have Reddit.)
This community has already been so kind and helpful already. This is her first dog, and my first granddog.
The first eight days went about as well as it could have. No toileting accidents in the apartment, good eating, good sleeping, and lots of petting and snuggling. He likes to pile up his toys on his various beds.
I came for a visit and we started leaving him alone in the apartment for 1 - 3.5 hours with a pet cam. It went great. I left on Sunday.
All of a sudden, though, he's refusing to go out. Won't be lured with love, encouragement, or his favorite treats. At first he wouldn't move past the end of the hallway. Now he doesn't want to go out the door. This resulted in him ultimately peeing in the apartment.
He went out successfully once after that, albeit with lots of hesitation.
The refusal started up again. She tried multiple times and just couldn't unfreeze him. (He's a big guy--80lbs.) He had an uncomfortable night, because he had to pee. They tried to leave again, no joy. He peed a bit in the apartment.
Finally he went along, but didn't make it out of the garage without peeing some in there.
Then he went outside and fully emptied his bladder. By all reports, it was impressive. I think it clearly indicates that he doesn't want to pee indoors, as he's just going a little here and there to relieve the pressure.
On that walk, he pooped--as can be expected, it was a crime scene. He'd been holding it so long.
Unsurprisingly, he seemed to feel much lighter and with pep in his step on the way back home. My daughter has done well--a lot of pleading, but no scolding or getting angry. She gave him lots of hugs and praise when he finally made it outside.
The hardest part is that he's largely unreadable. He's essentially silent. He doesn't startle in any obvious way at much of anything. He's very calm, but of course with the worried, pensive expression of many greyhounds. So far, he's got very little goofball in him. But he seems to like people very much. He seems content to have people approach him for a meet and greet.
Early on, a neighbor did that thing of shoving his tiny lab puppy under Lambo's nose while simultaneously asking if it was okay for them to "meet". Lambo did not eat the puppy, so result!
My daughter would love to help him through whatever's bothering him, but she just has no idea what it is!
Any and all advice is welcome.
