Greys4Us

After having almost 700 greyhounds come through our house over a 15 year period, I can only say MUZZLE MUZZLE MUZZLE. And do not worry about for how long. As long as the entire time you have two or more dogs together (if you cannot baby gate and separate at times. Muzzles are used at the tracks for a reason and the idea that the dogs hate it or are not happy with one on is only our feelings transferred on to them. You never know what will trigger a fight or a tussle. We never had any dog have to go to the vet for stitches or had any problems. We never had a foster involved in a fight because our foster homes used muzzles. Once in a home an adopter can decide at what point muzzles are no longer needed. But to get a dog from the track to a home involves good fostering. You are doing a good job to ask the right question.

Victoria Peak dog beds were all we used here when we had our group. We had nine beds at one time! Now that we are down to only one greyhound, I only need two beds. I still have two large round VP bed covers (the 48" round). They are in good condition. If anyone can use them, please let me know and I can send them to you. I know how great these beds are so I'm willing to pass on these covers to others.

I have belonged to GD since the early 2000s. When our group was in business, I posted every dog that we adopted along with photos of each dog. I check this every once in awhile and update when a dog dies. I discovered that another group took three of our dogs and posted them on their account as adopted and changed the adoption dates. I didn't know that this could be done. When I check on each dog, it still says that our group adopted them but the date is wrong and those photos still show up on their account. Maybe that needs to be checked into as one group should not be able to edit or change info on another group's page.

These are my favorites: http://www.houndstown.com/collars/tag-collars Use with the boomerang tags. We used these on all fosters without any problems. No dangling tags or rings to catch on crates or objects, etc. The tag stays on and never comes off or wears out.

You may want to ask your vet about trying Neo-Predef powder (neomycin sulfate, isoflupredone, acetate, tetracaine HCI). We have had several greyhounds successfully treated with this product. It's a dry spray and easy to use. One small bottle lasts forever. One of our females lived to be 13 1/2 and we used this product on her and she did well for 11 years. I never like to go the route of surgery unless it's absolutely necessary.

You may have already tried this but we've had great luck using and recommending Neo-Predef powder. It comes in a very small bottle and is easily sprayed on to the area. It actually comes out in a small puff when you squeeze the bottle so you don't use too much. We used it on a daily basis after wiping. A small bottle lasts a whole year. We have had three females in our program that this has worked on and all avoided surgery. It's prescribed so your vet will have to get it for you.

We use Primo pads too for all of our fosters. We've had them for years and they still look like new. They can even be hosed off. They are nice enough to use alone but we put blankets on top and it makes for a very comfortable bed. They are expensive but you'll never have to buy another crate pad again.

So sorry for your loss Tom and Trish. I know that Lincoln was greatly loved. Run free sweet boy.

Craiger came into our group in the spring of 2007. He turned three years old April 29, 2007. Shortly after he came to our group, he became very ill and was diagnosed with lymphoma. By the time he was diagnosed, it was too late to do anything for him. We could only take care of him one day at a time. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge September 18, 2007. Today is the third anniversary of this death. It was devastating to lose such a young dog. He had just turned three years old when we got him! He was such a wonderful dog. Everything about him was so special. Living with him day to day until the end was one of the most special times in our lives. Although our hearts broke every day knowing that his time with us was so short, he brought us so much joy and taught us so much about living in the moment. When he left us, we were left with such a feeling of despair and grief, that we felt that we had to honor his memory somehow. We decided to create Craiger's List in his honor. We would try to find homes for the forgotten, the left behind, those less adoptable, those sitting in kennels and on farms for long periods of time, the terminally ill, the seniors, the special needs dogs. And when we found those dogs their special forever homes, we donated the adoption fee to the Morris Animal Foundation in Craiger's memory and honored those special people who would be willing to take one of our special hounds for however long they had left. To date, Craiger's List has resulted in our placing 48 of these hounds into forever homes. We have donated over $7,000 to the Morris Animal Foundation. And to date, no Craiger's List dog has ever been returned. That is because those people who adopt these dogs know how wonderful they are (like Craiger). We continue to work with owners, suppliers, kennel workers and other groups to take in these dogs and find them homes. It’s the best part of doing this work. And today, we placed another Craiger's List dog in her forever home. If you are one of those special people who understands what having these special dogs are like, or if you want to open your heart to a special dog, please visit Craiger's List. The list is updated often.

This is Quincy. He was turned over to our group recently. This is what Quincy’s mouth looked like when he was turned over to us. This is Quincy’s teeth. They were in his mouth until recently. Quincy is a perfect example of what happens when an adopter does not take the time to take care of his greyhound. When we took Quincy in, we were told that his teeth were “normal for a greyhound.” We didn’t question much. All we wanted was to bring him to our group and help him after his adopter asked us if our group would take him. When we took him, it only took one minute to smell the horrible breath coming from Quincy. When we looked into his mouth, we were sick. We could tell by the black tartar and the shrunken and red gum line that this dog was in trouble. We immediately made an appointment with our vet and within two days, Quincy was getting his dental. We knew that it would be bad. But we were sick and shocked to learn that Quincy lost all but four teeth! Quincy is six years old and he had been in his home for three years. We don’t know why his adopter was able to overlook the obvious. We know from what our vet told us that Quincy had to have been in a lot of pain for a long time. He drooled constantly which was how the mouth tried to compensate for the pain. He also took a long time to eat. He had to have felt immense pain each time he tried to eat. His teeth were not “pulled”. They popped out of his mouth when the tool the vet used for cleaning off the tartar was used. Only three of the larger teeth actually had to be pulled. PLEASE take the time and make the effort to keep your hound’s teeth clean. Find ways to keep the teeth free of tartar. If they don’t like having their teeth brushed, find some other way to clean the teeth. There are products on the market that will help keep tartar from building up. Save the money for a dental. Yes, dentals can be expensive. But, what is the cost to the dog? How costly is it to watch a fairly young dog lose all but a few teeth in his mouth just because someone didn’t take the time or want to spend the money to keep his teeth in good shape? How much time and effort would it have been to prevent what happened. Maybe it would have happened anyway. Yes, some greyhounds have bad teeth. Some are prone to having problems. Blame it on genetics, etc. That is not the point. It is no excuse for a dog to suffer pain. Bad teeth can cause many other medical problems. If Quincy could talk, we are sure that he would be pleading for every person who has adopted a greyhound to do the right thing. His mouth is healing quickly because those teeth were ready to come out. He is happy and healthy now and has a great appetite. He won’t ever be able to chew on the bones he picks up but he’ll find some enjoyment from carrying them around. He will miss out on some things a dog loves to do. But he’ll be OK. And no thanks to the person who was given Quincy in return for a promise take care of him. (If you are part of a group, please feel free to copy and use all of this material on your web site or hand it out to new adopters. If it saves one dog from going through what Quincy had to endure, it will be worth it.)

We are constantly dealing with major dentals here with the seniors, etc. that we bring in for Craiger’s List. In fact, we have two in today getting dentals and they will surely loose lots of teeth! Some lose lots of teeth and are sick and sore for a few days. But all recover and do well. Here are some of the things we try depending on the dog, how sore the mouth is, what food sensitivities they might have, food drives, etc. Cooked boneless and skinless chicken breasts. We simmer slowly and don’t over cook. They get very tender. We break those up into small pieces. We strain the broth (no salt) of all fat (very little) and use that to soften the kibble when they are ready to be fed that again. Baked sweet potatoes. Cool and smash. Cooked and drained macaroni and/or rice. Simmer butternut squash until tender and smash or cube. Canned Hills Prescription I/D for sensitive stomach. It is very bland and won’t upset stomachs. Canned meat baby foods. Yogurt (organic plain). Canned tripe. In all cases, we judge what the dog will want and eat first. Some are eager to eat right away and some take a day or two. But we keep offering food as eventually they will get hungry enough to eat. Eventually you can soak enough of their kibble in the chicken broth and get them back eating the kibble as soon as possible.

Our group sells these: http://www.tickkey.com/ We love them and have not heard one complaint about them. We can't keep them in stock. You don't have to touch the tick.

Trish, I'm so sorry to hear that Patricia lost Misty; I know she was greatly loved. Please send our condolences.

So sorry that you had to let your sweet Mylie go. Dogs do not measure time. They only know the moments they spend with us and the love we give them. Thank you for being one of the special people who understand that it's about the moment. She knew she was loved. God speed Mylie. We will all meet some day at the bridge.

Run free sweet Rachael; so many loved you and will always remember you.