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Sleep Startle

Sleep Startle

Training & Behaviour
Sleep Startle

Sleep startle is an automatic reaction to being abruptly woken from sleep and is perfectly normal in greyhounds. Here's what to know and how to manage it.

Sleep startle, or sleep aggression as it is sometimes called, is growling or snapping when a sleeping greyhound is bumped or disturbed.

Sometimes, your greyhound's eyes may be partially open, and you may think they are awake, yet they startle, growl and even snap when they are touched. This is because despite the partially opened eyes, your greyhound was sleeping.

The best management for this behaviour is to ensure sleeping areas are away from high traffic areas or areas where people move around and can accidently wake a deeply sleeping greyhound.

If your greyhound likes to sleep/rest with the family while you are watching tv or reading or talking, make sure the family is aware and is careful not to accidently wake the greyhound.

Listen to your greyhound. If they snap or growl when disturbed while they are sleeping, they are telling you they are not comfortable with this and that's ok.

Respect their boundaries.

If you need to wake your greyhound, or you are unsure if they are awake, begin by calling their name until they show definite signs of wakefulness. Then you may approach or begin to move them.

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This greyhound is part of our Assisted Rehoming Program (ARP). Through this program, greyhounds stay with their current owners while they wait to find their perfect forever home. If you're interested in adopting this dog, we'll arrange for them to come into GAP specifically for you to meet and complete the adoption process. Since the dogis being brought into the program based on your interest, we ask that applicants be reasonably confident this is the greyhound they'd like to welcome into their family. Unlike our standard adoption process, you won't be able to meet multiple dogs at the same time however our team will share lots of information about this greyhound to help you determine if they're the perfect match for your family.

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