gracegirl

I believe you promised video....

I just love good news! But Isis, please please please don't ever scare us like that again. Hope she is well on her way to being as good as new.

Keep us posted, please. Still thinking of you both today.

Thinking and hoping and wishing and praying for Isis today.

I'm so sorry for your loss!

I love him already! He's so cute. Take lots of pics, especially now...they grow up way too fast!

I would suggest the dog walker come later, not earlier!

Yep...normal puppy thing. Amongst many other things that you will expeirne while raising one. The joys of puppyhood! I'd do it over again in a heartbeat too...potty accidents and all. I'd say he's doing really, really, REALLY well if he's asking to go out at that age. Good boy!

So if I understand correctly you are looking to crate him outside the bedroom, but then he wakes up at dawn. Instead of sleeping later, like he did crated in your room? If that's correct I unfortunately have no suggestions for you...other than the blanket. Or heavy, heavy blinds. I did want to say that I let my dogs choose where to sleep and many nights they choose the living room over my bedroom....so I feel that crating him OUTSIDE your room is a very viable option. I didn't want you to get flamed for keeping him in a seprate room. I see no issue with that. I personally like to keep my door open, but have shut it several nights with the pups on the outside. As far as I can tell, they were not traumatized by this experience! And....congrats on baby! How exciting for you.

I have two greys with very, very different potty styles. Grace will immediately go, and will go wherever (concrete included). Fenway has to find EXACTLY the right spot to go. EXACTLY. Enough to make you want to pull you hair out when you know he needs to do his business. Fortunately for my sanity, he's a boy so the urge to mark helps us out. I have a dog walker that comes every day too, and she comes around 2:30 or 3pm. I leave my house around 7:30 or 8am after I've walked and fed the pups, so they are good with naps for a few hours at least. I played with the times over and over and have settled nicely into the late afternoon routine. This also works out well for me when I have to stay late at the office or go to happy hour. If my pups don't potty with the walker, they have to hold it. Their decision. The walker is only there for 15 minutes so the walk is not long, just like you. Unfortunately I have no further suggestions. Good luck...little diva!

I'm so sorry for your loss. What a special friend he was.

Grace, Fenway and I go to the Dog Park at least twice a week. We have been for years. Fenway has needed stitches twice, once from Grace and once from a German Shepherd Dog. I do not muzzle my dogs at the dog park, unless it's a "greyhound only" event which is rare. I find that when I walk the permeter of the park (on the inside, with the pups off leash) they tend to stay with me and away from the "packs" that form near the gate. The larger the park, the better. Fenway will sprint off to do his large laps but a whistle sends him sprinting back towards me. My advice would be to start off going at non-peak times. Do not muzzle your guy, and take him off leash immediately upon entering the park. Get to know him and his body language better before you go. You should be able to tell if he's getting worked up in some way...and if that happens simply leave. I think dog parks are great if you are very aware of your own dog as well as having the ability to read the dogs of those less aware owners. In the four years of going to the dog park, two incidents are not bad IMO.

I'm a big fan of letting your first dog pick your second one out. (Note that while I'm a fan of this, I did not heed my own advice and adopted Fenway as a puppy...sight unseen.) When I get a new dog in the future, I would like to foster with the intent to adopt. I love Fenway to death, but he's a much more challenging dog than Grace. If I had two Graces...my life would be so easy! They always give you the easy dog first. #2 is the one who's usually the PITA.

I'm so sorry for your loss of Pete. Godspeed!

First, I don't have children (but might someday) so take my advice with a grain of salt. If Beau had really meant to hurt your son, he would have. Sounds like Beau was giving a warning to BACK OFF. Most bites don't happen out of the blue, there are usually other signs leading up to the bite that the dog is unhappy, unfortunately those signs are very subtle many times. I don't think I could bear giving either of my dogs up. I've had Grace for almost 4 years and she is also 7 years old. I could never, never give her up after what we've been through together. Instead I think I'd take the route of diligent supervision between dog and baby...if that is not possible I'd place either my child in a play pen or my dog in an x-pen. Good luck. It sounds like you are caring owners who love both your child and your dog and would really like to make it work.

What they said about punishing after the fact…it does no good and the dog has no idea why you are mad at her. It sounds like she is not “banished” to the room, but hiding there. Next time, go about cleaning up the mess without yelling…there’s nothing you can do about it but laugh at that point anyhow! Yes, she can most certainly get to the food through her muzzle. I’d skip dinner for her tonight and possibly breakfast in the morning as well. If she is not happy being contained in one room you have two options. Crate/Xpen or free roam. Personally I crated both my pups for a while and that’s the route I’d pick. But that’s just me. Oh, and lots of exercise too.

You did the very best you could for your boy. Godspeed Smiley!

So very sorry for your loss. She was a special girl indeed!

Not knowing whether or not she is destructive, you could muzzle her. However, just a work to the wise….Fenway was able to chew apart and then eat a leather handle of a Kate Spade ($$$) purse while muzzled. Just don’t want you to think that it will eliminate all chewing, it will just make it harder for her to gnaw on your sofa or table. Also regarding your neighbors, do you know them? Or are you assuming that they will not appreciate a vocal hound at 7am? If you do not know them already (or if you don’t know them well) I’d suggest typing up a note with a photo and leaving that for your neighbors. I did that when I got Grace and lived in an apartment. The note read something like this: “Hi, my name is Grace and I’m a retired greyhound. I was just rescued and came to live with my new mom, Lauren, in apartment 123. I have never, ever been left alone before because I had many greyhound friends at the racing and adoption kennels to keep me company. I might be scared and as a result I might cry or bark. If I do, please call my mom at work XXX-XXX-XXXX or on her cell phone XXX-XXX-XXXX to let her know. And please stop by sometime to meet me, I love getting pets from new people! One weekend when she did throw a fit and start barking her fool head off, people called me out of concern rather than calling management out of anger. The note really works, trust me!

What a devastating story! My worst nightmare. I’m so very sorry for your tragic loss.

Yikes! Have you used the booties and coat with him before? How did he react with you?

Welcome back!

I'm so sorry to hear that Cora is gone, but glad you were able to steal some extra time with her. She is just lovely. I don't know how you get over it, I guess just take it day by day. It's never easy when they leave us.

I'm so very sorry that you are faced with this question at all! I tend to agreed with Shiela on this one, there really is no way to prepare Wally for Hobbes passing and any attempts to do any training now will be counter-productive. Why not let them spend the rest of their time together stress free? I believe in having a dog present at the other's passing. If I were in your situation I would take both dogs to the vet, let Wally be there to say goodbye to Hobbes (sniff, etc.)...take all the time you need to say goodbye. THEN, when you get home...begin the alone training. Fenway has never been alone a day in his life so I worry about what would happen if Grace has to go first. She is three years older so chances are that I will face this same situation at some point. Hugs to you and your boys!