DocsDoctor

Just to add, I had this problem with Doc when he first came to me - he had a strong chase instinct and very little experience of other breeds as he came to me straight from the adoption kennels. What we found helpful was some mixed-breed obedience classes, with a good trainer recommended by my vet. There he met all sorts of dogs under controlled conditions, and learnt that all those funny-looking creatures were also dogs! Like your Zeke he had a particular problem with puppies, their squirmy movements do make them look like prey... when I confessed this to the trainer she invited us to come early one week and sit in on one of her puppy classes. We sat at the side and watched for a while. When he was calm (process probably speeded up by the fact that it was a setting he already knew) she took the smallest, fluffiest and whitest puppy from its owner, came and sat beside us, and offered its bottom to Doc to sniff so he would recognise that it was a dog too. This worked beautifully, though I have to say the puppy's owner looked very relieved to get it back in one piece! I'm NOT saying you should attempt this yourself, it's an approach that requires an experienced handler with a very good knowledge of dog body language (maybe your adoption group could suggest someone?). As RobinM says, some dogs have so high a prey drive/ antipathy to other breeds that they cannot ever be trusted with them. These days, Doc is pretty blase about strange dogs - most he will ignore, a few who he sees regularly have become good friends, but I am very careful about who I let him play with. Even leaving out the prey drive issue, different breeds play differently and that can lead to misunderstandings - dogs like staffies and boxers love to wrestle which he finds threatening, while they in turn find it scary when he tries to initiate a game of 'nip and chase' (a great greyhound/sighthound favourite).

Doc has free run of the house, so can sleep where he likes. Almost always that will be on his favourite bed in the back bedroom (which is also my study). Just occasionally if it is summer and very hot he will move to his bed downstairs in the living room, as that is cooler. When he first came we used to move the living-room bed up to my bedroom at night, but there wasn't really room for it, and he seems very happy in the study! Both doors are open, so when the alarm clock goes off he will come running into my bedroom to say 'good morning' and have a cuddle. Sometimes he wakes up early and comes and lies on the floor, waiting for it to go off... occasionally I will hear him get up in the middle of the night, come and check that I am still there, and then go back to bed. He's never shown any interest in getting onto my bed when I am in it, but then I've never encouraged that. Sometimes he will sleep on it while I am out, but usually he prefers the sofa downstairs!

Welcome, from another Brit! And yes do please post some photos of Joe on here!

What a beautiful dog... congratulations!

I second KennelMom's suggestion of adding in a bit of cheap human-grade raw beef mince to Gina's regular meals, if you're worried. I remember getting the same tip from my vet, who keeps big dogs herself. Adding in some raw green tripe is also often recommended for putting on weight, should you be able to source it. That said it sounds as if Gina may well already have found the weight she's comfortable with! My dog's one of the self-regulating ones too, as you may have gathered. Enjoys any beef or green tripe that comes his way, but keeps his elegantly rangy figure...

Welcome, from another Londoner! (Doc and I are over in Battersea). Bea's a pretty girl!

Hi there Here's a link to a reflective coat on ebay which doubles as a rain coat. Keep Kool coat She has other sizes too, if you look around. I bought one for Doc a couple of years ago but, I have to say, British summers being what they are, it's been much more useful as a raincoat! I've only had to use it once or twice for sun, but when I did it worked fine. That was for walking in the midday sun though, rather than racing around in it - I'm not sure it or any other coat would be much help with the latter. Should we be lucky enough to get another really hot summer, my advice would be to keep any energetic exercise for early or late in the day, when the temperatures are cooler!

I voted once a year - that would cover the annual healthcheck and booster jabs. I've had Doc three years, and the first year we did have a couple of additional visits which I would put down to 'new owner inexperience'. One was relatively serious (cleaning up and stitching a dogbite received after we failed to read an offlead dog's body language quickly enough), the other trivial (soft poops which led to me wanting a faecal test for giardia, but the test was clean and I think it was just that he was still settling in and we had not yet found the right food for him!) He is seven now and does seem to be in the pink of health always. He has a robust digestion, is not accident-prone, and I have become more confident I suppose about sorting minor things out myself - e.g. when he ripped off the nail of a dewclaw, we just kept it clean and it soon healed up. He does have health insurance and I wouldn't hesitate to take him to the vet if need be - there just hasn't been the need. On the whole I would say ex-racing greyhounds, having been bred for athletic performance rather than conformation, are usually very healthy dogs. The thinness of their skin ('like tissue paper' as my vet puts it) and issues with some anaethetics do need to be taken into account always. Other issues which seem to crop up a lot on this board are bad teeth (Doc's are fine thank goodness, but I brush them everyday anyway), delicate digestions (but that may be due to the changeover from a track life and diet) and, most seriously, osteosarcoma. That seems to be more frequent in the US than here - I believe the current thinking is for genetic reasons (the prevalent use of particular sires)? But other large breeds like Great Danes get it too... ...and whatever the breed you can be unlucky. A friend of mine went to great trouble recently to obtain a wirehaired fox terrier - a charming little dog, from a highly reputable breeder. At the age of 8-10 months Delphi developed a persistent limp, and this week after x-rays it was determined she has something called Legg-Perthes disease, which is making her hip socket crumble away. She is to be operated on next week, and the prognosis is good though her hip can never be quite as good as new. The vet told my friend that he had another operation of the same kind to carry out the same week, but then didn't expect to see another case of L-P for the next 20 years...

Doc gets walked three times a day, adding up to about an hour and a half to two hours daily. The morning walk will usually include some offleash time in a local park (though not this morning as there were suddenly a lot of strange dogs around). He loves his walks and is always up for a longer excursion - he will happily to do eight or ten miles, especially if we stop for a pub lunch in the middle! I do think walking a dog is vital, for its mental as well as its physical wellbeing (and also good for the owner - I feel a lot healthier for our walks too!). Here in the UK having a dog and not walking it is still thank goodness frowned on. I know things are a bit different in the US, that in some areas you have a loose dog problem and that many of you have bigger yards for exercise too. Maybe the outside walks are less important if you have a big yard and several dogs so that they can make their own fun... ... However even if I had a garden the size of the one at Buckingham Palace and more than one greyhound I'd still want to take them for walks! They take so much pleasure in getting out and about. Doc came to me fresh from the adoption kennels, and with a high prey drive, so walking him started out as a steep learning curve for both of us, but right from the beginning it was lovely to see how much pleasure he had in learning about his new wider world. Something that proved very helpful was taking a mixed-breed obedience class here in London called something like 'learning to be a good dog about town'. Doc was there to socialise with other breeds for the first time as much as anything, but the whole course was great because much of the emphasis was on good manners for the pavement and the park. I would recommend such a course (with a good trainer) for anyone nervous about walking their dogs - I learnt a lot about other dogs' body language in particular from doing it. These days Doc is a well-socialised and -mannered dog who I can happily take anywhere - on the tube, train or bus as well as on foot - despite his size. He's a PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog too, and goes visiting once a week at a local centre for the adult disabled down the road. He's very happy with his life, and the walks are an important part of that.

It sounds as if he's in considerable discomfort - please take him to see the vet asap! ETA: take a stool sample with you, as they will probably want that to analyse.

Doc's shedding (or moulting as we would say in the UK, here shedding is for snakes!) too. This started about three weeks ago, earlier than usual, I'm sure because of all the horrible wet cold weather we've been having - other locals have said it's the same for their dogs. My tips would be to groom your dog every day for the time being, and to groom him outside. Even so you'll probably end up doing more vacuuming than usual!

Raw green tripe is great for encouraging appetite - it smells vile to humans, but irresistible to dogs! Very healthy and easy for them to digest too. In the UK I buy it frozen in small packs from my petshop, in the US I believe that you can also buy it canned.

Hugs to Henry - I hope he's feeling better! So far as long walks are concerned, greyhounds can and do enjoy these, Doc is good for eight or ten miles especially if there is a pause for a pub lunch in the middle! He will want a quiet day the next day but I have never known him have sore feet. You will however probably need to build stamina before they can go this far - when Doc came to me he loved his walks but was only up for short ones, because that was all he had got during his six months at the adoption kennels. I suppose a dog might also have rather soft pads if he had not been walked much, or only on soft surfaces. Doc has never suffered like this, but he does get a lot of pavement walking since we live in the inner city. The only time he damaged his pads was when he took off after a squirrel in the local park and 'coursed' it across some tarmac before I could stop him (the squirrel got away up a tree, thankfully). Maybe one could help harden up soft pads by applying something. Human athletes use surgical spirit I believe. I also note that Anne Finch says in her book on greyhound care that some greyhounds can suffer from flat feet if they have not been reared on concrete - their toes do not curl over properly, and so then the nails do not naturally wear down as they should. However, it sounds as if you already have any nail-clipping issues well under control!

Welcome Catherine, your dogs are lovely!

Yes, I was another secret picker! Doc had a big patch of these on the point of his chest when he first came to me, having always lived in kennels where I guess the bedding and the floors were not always clean. Sometimes it would look a bit inflamed - I asked the adoption kennels for advice and they recommended putting on some Sudocrem (a medicated barrier cream more commonly used for nappy rash and bed sores!). The Sudocrem soothed the inflamation and also softened up the blackheads so they popped out more easily. Doc found the warm washcloth method rather alarming for some reason, so I would wait until he was roaching and just squeeze away for ten minutes or so, until he got fed up, and then clean up with a bit of witch-hazel on cotton wool. He had some on the bald patches on his thighs as well, but the vet prescribed some antibiotic ointment for those, which in retrospect I think was probably overkill!

Poor Macy! Doc ripped off a dewclaw once, but that wasn't nearly as problematic because it wasn't in contact with the ground thereafter. We kept it unwrapped so the air could get to it and I cleaned it with saline solution 2 or 3 times a day - he did his best to keep it clean too, by licking! I think it took about 3 weeks for it to grow back over the quick, but longer to get back to normal length of course. However I thought it worth mentioning one suggestion for cracked/missing nails that I have read on another greyhound forum, one used by a lot of trainers and breeders. That is to paint the quick with Friar's Balsam (available here from pharmacists, maybe not in the States?) or one of those preparations for hardening human nails. The coating then protects the quick from further painful knocks as it heals. I've not tried it myself but you could always run the idea past your vet.

Here's a link to a page on the website of the UK blood donation scheme to which Doc belongs, with diagrams and explanations which should answer all of your questions: dog blood donation procedure I'm a blood donor myself and signed Doc up after reading about the scheme in my NHS donor newsletter! He hasn't been called on yet but I wouldn't have any hesitations about letting him donate. Greyhounds are so placid that they can usually donate without any kind of sedation. I know that several Retired Greyhound Trust kennels in the UK regularly have the blood bank visit to take donations from their greyhounds without any issues. I'd also like to encourage krisandzoo and anyone else who's thought of donating their own blood to do so now because it's always in need. I'm asked to donate every 4 months and it really isn't a big deal - you don't even need to watch the needle go in or the blood coming out if you don't want to. Recovery time is minimal too - these days you are only asked to keep lying down afterwards for a couple of minutes, though you do still get offered tea and biscuits afterwards!

I notice Doc 'grazes' more than usual at this time of year - lots of the other dogs round here too. There's a particular type of long grass (goose grass?) they all favour. I don't think it's anything to do with an upset stomach, just that it's just nice and tasty as it grows through all green and new, like a fresh salad. I will usually let him eat a bit, but haul him away before he can carry it to excess. No problems to date with regurgitation or anything else!

Two 'alternative health' remedies often praised for their ability to promote the healing over of stubborn wounds when applied as dressings are manuka honey, and colloidal silver. I have had no personal experience of either, but it might be worth doing a bit of research and/or running them past your vet?

Here in the UK Doc started about ten days ago - even though the weather's still cold (earlier this morning it was snowing!). I find myself wondering if it has more to do with day length than temperature....

It doesn't need to be done as a matter of routine, only if the glands are impacted. If the dog (or bitch) is healthy and passing firm stools, the glands should be expressing themselves naturally when the dog poops. Certainly my greyhound has never needed to have had his 'done', but I believe that some breeds (King Charles Cavalier spaniels?) are more likely to have problems in this area than others. If they get impacted the dog will be uncomfortable and may start persistently scooting its bottom along the floor or licking in an attempt to relieve itself, there is also a risk of an infection developing or the gland itself rupturing. Adding fibre to firm the stools up can help, but I think if there has been a problem once it is more likely to recur which is probably why some dogs are routinely expressed. It's not a nice job as you say so people tend to leave it to the groomer or the vet - though the vet would be able to show you how to do it if need be.

Our problems with boxers were the other way round... Doc came to me straight from the adoption kennels and had to be socialised with other breeds of dogs. He seemed to have a particular problem with boxers, snapping a couple of times at a young male one who lived down the road. At the time we were taking some obedience classes with a very good (APDT) trainer to help socialise him, so I raised this problem with her. She explained that it was not surprising that Doc was having difficulty reading these dogs' body language - many dogs do, because their shape makes this confusing - no tails to wag, squashed up faces which tend to look as if they're snarling. Pugs similarly are a difficult breed with their squashed faces and curly tails - certainly when she brought along a black one called Elvis the next week Doc nearly barked the hall down! I think it's also fair to say that boxers as a breed are playful and bouncy by nature, in a way that greyhounds and some other breeds may find rude. I see them adopt this sort of 'gladiatorial' stance with their shoulders braced when spotting another dog - usually that's because they want to play, I think, but if there's a misunderstanding it could lead to a fight. And their ideas of play are again very different - boxers and the bullbreeds like wrestling and rough-housing, greyhounds like 'chase and nip' - again, lots of potential for disaster! On a more positive note Doc has over time acquired one good boxer friend, whom he saw and greeted very nicely just this morning in the park. Buster is an unusually calm and gentle specimen of his breed... the two of them don't play so much as just trot around and sniff at things together!

Personally I'd clean the area - maybe with witch-hazel, if I had that to hand, dry it, and then apply Sudocrem. That's intended primarily for nappy rash and although it's a UK product there must be a US equivalent! It's very mild but effective, because it's greasy enough to stay put and act as a barrier preventing further chafing while the soothing ingredients get to work. I remember the RGT kennels I adopted Doc from recommending it to me for a pink spot on the point of his chest, soon after I adopted him. They also said to put it on just before I walked him - to give it a chance to soak in before he started licking it off again!

It's a greyhound thing, not by any means always an indication of thyroid problems. When people comment on Doc's bald patches on his bottom I tell them its the greyhound equivalent of 'male pattern baldness'! His thyroid levels are fine and he has a lovely glossy coat, just thin in places - at the moment also on his shoulders, just where these rub against the fleece lining of his outdoor coat when he is exercising. So I would second waiting a couple of months to see how her spring coat grows in. You might like to try a fish oil supplement meanwhile, that will be very good for the general condition of her coat in any case. Doc gets (and loves!) a tin of oily fish such as sardines mixed in with his dry food a couple of times a week, and a cod liver oil capsule every day. Edited to make it clear that Doc has bald patches on his bottom...