Anxious Rescue Saluki Hiding from Visitors

A rescue Saluki who bolts and hides when visitors arrive — that's a really specific pattern, and it tells you something useful. It's almost certainly rooted in a lack of early socialisation rather than a bad experience with people. Salukis are also a naturally sensitive, flight-inclined breed, so that instinct to disappear is strong in them. How long have you had her, and does she recover at all once visitors have been around for a while — or does she stay hidden the entire time they're there?

That's actually really encouraging. The fact that she'll come out on her own terms when people aren't pushing for her attention means she's not shut down — she's just working on her own timeline. That 'ignore and let her investigate' instinct your visitors have is exactly right. The challenge is that the initial spike of anxiety when someone arrives is probably intense enough to set the whole visit back. Is the hiding in one particular spot, like a crate or a specific room, or does she just go wherever she can get furthest away?

A self-chosen bolt hole is genuinely useful — it means she has a place that feels safe, and you can work with that rather than against it. What I'd focus on is reducing the baseline anxiety in the home environment so that the spike when visitors arrive isn't quite as sharp. The product I'd recommend here is the Adaptil Calm Home Diffuser. It releases a synthetic version of the pheromone a mother dog produces to calm her puppies, and it works passively through the plug-in — you don't have to do anything, and crucially you don't have to apply anything to her, which matters with a touch-sensitive rescue. Plug it in near where she spends most of her time. It won't transform her overnight, but over two to four weeks most owners notice the dog is quicker to settle and the hiding, while it doesn't disappear, becomes less frantic. It pairs well with the behaviour work you're already doing.

Honest answer: it's not a magic fix, and some dogs respond better than others. The clinical evidence behind Adaptil is stronger than most calming products — it's the brand vets and behaviourists actually recommend rather than just retail. For undersocialised dogs with anxiety that's chronic and ambient rather than triggered by one specific thing, it tends to perform well because it's addressing the background hum of stress rather than a single event. Where it's less reliable is acute fear — like fireworks or a one-off loud noise. Your situation, a dog who is generally wary and needs the edge taken off daily life, is a reasonable fit. I'd give it a full month before deciding if it's working.

Yes — the diffuser is the support, not the solution. The behaviour side matters more long-term. Keep doing what's working: visitors ignore her completely, let her approach in her own time, and ask them not to make eye contact or reach toward her. You can also start pairing visitor arrivals with something she loves — a treat scatter on the floor near her hiding spot right when someone comes through the door, so the arrival starts to predict good things rather than threat. If she's not food-motivated when anxious, a lick mat with something sticky like peanut butter can work because the licking itself is calming. And if after six months she's still not making progress, a consultation with a clinical animal behaviourist — not just a trainer — is worth it for a dog with her background.