silverfish

Exactly so. The trainers here always add water and/or a meaty stew in with the kibble. I bought some kibble from a different trainer once and he was most insistent that I make sure to add a certain proportion of water to the kibble - despite the fact that he knew me and my dogs and that they were well-looked after and healthy (for their ages) he was most concerned to get this message across. He said it wasn't good for them dry. Not to mention that dry kibble, day in and day out, always the same brand, would be SO boring. Why would we do that to them? Sadly true. Many dogs will simply not drink enough, and feeding those dogs dry kibble would be very detrimental to their health. It could cause serious problems for them.

Noooo! I am so very sorry.

I'm so very sorry to hear this sad news.

They can be good swimmers - Sid loves swimming! Jeffie can swim but doesn't much like it, possible because of the muscle:fat ratio plus the fact that they don't have waterproof coats - he gets very cold, very quickly, even in warm water. He's skinny. Sid is a more solid dog, has a thicker coat and more body fat and doesn't seem to get so cold. I think they need to be taught to swim. But I would want one of mine to fall into a fast-flowing dyke, that's for sure!

I'm so pleased to hear the encouraging news!! He is indeed in the best possible place, and to be frank, I wouldn't trust my vets with him either, after the misdiagnosis and poor prognoses. Sending all good thoughts for his continued improvement!

On the whole they are a healthy breed, apart from the risk of osteosarcoma. This risk is a common one in all breeds of large, long-boned dogs, but there seems to be a higher incidence in American greyhounds than over here in England. If you are unlucky enough to choose a dog who later develops osteosarcoma things can get very, very expensive, very quickly if you choose to pull out all the stops. However, if you and your vet decided to treat him or her using palliative treatment until things become too bad at which time you put the dog to sleep, costs are very much lower. I do think there are two things to consider here: one is that yes, many greyhound owners (including me) will do anything possible to give their dogs the best possible quality of life. I'm considering stem cell treatment for one of mine at the moment if he proves to be a good candidate. This would be to treat a hip erosion. I have to say that I know more greyhound owners than people with other breeds who would go to those lengths. However, the other thing to bear in mind is that in a forum like this 1) frequent posters are usually very committed to their hounds, and 2) you see all the problems concentrated in one place. And people without problems tend not to post much except in 'Cute & Funny'! Yep. Our first greyhound was a youngster of around 2 years old when we got him and was very, very healthy up until he became a senior. He cost us quite a bit then, as many aging dogs do. We also took on a five year old girl later who was super healthy until she got cancer at the age of 10 and it was all over within a few days. Since our vet missed it, it cost us a bit more than it should have done because we chose to request a referral, but taken as an average over her life the cost was not horrendous. Jack, who we took on at 10 years didn't cost us much until his last emergency visit and hospitalisation, bless him. And the thing to remember is that when large dogs get problems, you get large bills. From the cost of antibiotics to an MRI, everything is multiplied upwards to take into account the size of the dog. When you need anything from toothpaste, multivitamins, shampoo, etc, to coats and collars and beds, everything will need to be in a bigger size. And finally, how much they cost you can depend a lot on the owner. I'm not talking about imponderables like bone cancer (osteosarcoma), but about whether you're willing to brush their teeth regularly, which will help to avoid a trip to the vets for a dental, and whether you plan a lot of exotic holidays without your dog, leaving him in an expensive boarding kennel. And to some extent, whether you take steps to avoid preventable accidents.

. Ours do not sleep ON the bed (that wouldn't be allowed for various reasons, mostly for my own comfort ) but sleep next to the bed, on the floor, on their own bedding.

That's great news! Looks like a very tidy job, too!

If he's new, Feisty49 is right: new dogs often don't eat properly until they've bonded with their new people and feel at home. We had a girl who would do stairs outside but not in the house. We figured out that basically, the steps outside were open to the sky and felt less intimidating. Stairs in the house also tend to be darker at the top so you could try leaving a light on at the top and see if he's happier. As to boundaries and neediness .. personally I don't buy into all the 'dominance & boundaries' stuff. My dogs sleep in the bedroom and they have no trouble with boundaries. If you don't want him in the bedroom, that's fine and it's a choice for you to make. However, he'll probably be more needy, rather than less, if you exclude him and he's lonely. You don't cure neediness by failing to provide needs, you cure neediness by increasing trust and confidence. If you are going to leave him for a number of hours, you need to start alone training now. Please don't start the training by leaving for an hour - that's far too long for a dog with separation anxiety (SA). I don't know if your boy does have SA, but by his behaviour at night it certainly sounds as if he does. Try for five or ten minutes first and see how he does. If he's vocal, pees or poops, or is destructive, you are going to need to start at square one and do some intensive alone training.

I answered this in the other thread!

I'd put some effort into teaching him to do stairs and let him come up with you. Most greyhounds dislike being left alone. They're not alone during puppyhood or all through their racing careers and they're not used to it. If he's also vocal when you go out and leave him at home, you'll need to do some 'alone' training, too. These two problems are usually fixed fairly easily with time and patience. Here are a couple of threads you can check out to help you: Stairs Alone

Good luck!

Good to hear!

I'm so sorry to hear about Anna's medical problems. It's so hard to know what to do for the oldies sometimes. Have you considered a referral to a vet school? Sometimes they can instantly put their finger on a problem that a local vet might miss, being so long out of university themselves. As to a wheelchair, we've seriously considered it for Sid (a tripod) but when I asked here, very few people had any experience of them at all.

We so very nearly lost Sid to a ruptured spleen earlier this year. He had a tumour - well, I say 'tumour' but it was probably multiple tumours - his spleen weighed 5 pounds! As soon as they found it, they scheduled him for surgery the next day, and they said it was full of blood-filled chambers. Recovery was a little difficult (he's a tripod) but uneventful and he's now fine. Histology came back negative for malignancy and they simply don't know why it happened.

Also ask about painkillers; was she given something, and if so, what? This happened with my Sid when he had the two teeth right at the back of his top jaw removed. He was given Vetergesic and he was SO out of it and disoriented and just plain paranoid that the vet thought he'd had a stroke. He'd run away from us up the garden in the dark and just stay there shaking - something he never did normally. He never even stays out without someone there with him normally. He didn't eat well, he didn't rest properly. Turned out he is super-sensitive to Vetergesic. He was given it again after spleen surgery but we were ready for it and managed him better - and got him off the stuff quicker.

Lincoln is handsome!! His body shape is a lot like Sid's - same colour, too!

No, not yet. The vet was going to ring me tomorrow. Thanks for asking!

I have a hound like that. He'll miss meals, sometimes one of the two daily meals, sometimes two days (all meals) and sometimes he's off-and-on for a week. He's always been a fussy eater. I don't worry unless it goes on too long or he's obviously not feeling good. Actually I do worry a little bit because he's skinny to start with. If he doesn't eat he loses weight fast. But I can usually tempt him with something. Anyway, if he's off his food for more than 48 hours or he seems unwell in any other way, I'd get him checked. I do with Jeffie, too. But mostly he's fine.

It's the opposite here, of course. If there's no pavement (sidewalk), we walk on the right so that oncoming cars can see us, so the dog walks on our right to be safer. I was taught the same with horses; you walk between the animal and the traffic. If we walk on the left, the dog (or horse) goes on the left.

Jeffie is having the same issues. He doesn't appear to be in pain, loves walking, but is definitely wobbly on the back end and I never have to clip those nails. He is also - sadly - losing bowel sensation. There have been a couple of times when he's pooped in the house because the need to do so has come on so suddenly, and the last time, we wondered if he even realised what was happening. He's on an anti-inflammatory (Onsior 40mg). Since the older guys at my vets are not always up-to-date with new thinking, I talked with a new, younger vet last week about options and, as a result, that evening sent her the Suzanne Stack article. She is looking into it and will ring us on Monday with a treatment plan. I'd like to give the depo-medrone shots a try with him to see if it helps. We're in Engand, BTW, so this protocol is pretty much unknown here. Jeffie has slowed up a bit, but he is twelve and a half. He still thinks he's a puppy, though!

It is definitely possible. Dogs do feel for their sick companions and grieve for lost companions, and spooky hounds seem to gain a lot of confidence and support from healthy housemates. It's likely that Travel is feeling very insecure, knowing that Echo is sick. You could try the DAP diffuser again. It can't hurt, and might help. Apart from that, I think the best thing you can do is make sure you don't go all 'poor dog' on her. She needs you to be matter-of-fact, strong and sure, and to keep her routine as much the same as possible. By all means pet her and feed her treats, but make sure that in trying to treat them equally you don't accidentally treat Travel like a sick dog too. Travel will also probably benefit from a little extra exercise or play sessions. These can help take her mind of things, keep her busy and interested and help her feel 'normal'. They are also wonderful stress relievers. Another thing which can help to relieve stress in dogs is chewing. Can you find her some good chewy treats or give her kongs? Beef trachea, dried tripe, ears, etc are good, but you don't want to get her fat, so I also like smoked bones. A good quality (expensive) smoked bone will not splinter or stain your carpet. We had one for Renie and it out-lasted her, with only a few nibbles gone from the ends. Before she had that to chew on, she'd eat the plasterboard (drywalling) and chewed all the lower knobs on a big piece of furniture we have in the dining room! I'm so sorry that Echo is now in the osteosarcoma club. Sending hugs for you and gentle scritches for Echo.

Ouch! Well, I'm not sure whether a snakebite or a fracture is a better dx - never having lived in 'snake country' - but I'm so sorry to hear she's fractured her hock. Hoping for the best for her! It was a hock fracture that turned Sid into a tripod 7 years ago, but don't panic. His whole hock was a mass of small fractures apparently. The vet at the time said that it looked as if it had exploded. It's difficult to see on the x-ray but it looks as if it's just Wasabi's calcaneus which has a diagonal break? I believe it's the most common part to fracture in the hock and most do heal quite well. I hope that they can fix her up with screws.

Thanks - yes, it's his hip that they think is the problem. If it is proved to be rough, I think I'll say go ahead. I'm waiting now for the vet to get back to me with more information.

Another vote for putting one hand through the loop and grasping the leash just below the loop with that same hand, then using the other hand to gather loop/s of leash and keep control of the dog - who should be walking on that side, not on the 'hand through the loop' side. This the traditional, old-school way of doing it. I don't care whether my dog is on my right or on my left, but I've always used this method. It means you can pay out/reel in the length without letting go of the hand loop, and easily gather it up again. It also means there's less chance of the dog pulling you off your feet, because the energy is shared between two hands. It's also safer than wrapping the leash around ANY part of you, which IMHO is an accident waiting to happen unless you have a particularly well-behaved or elderly dog. It's even possible to use this same method while walking two dogs, whether you have them on one side of you or on either side. Just needs a little adapting of loops/handles/slack. Jeffie will just keep walking if he gets the leash between his legs. Sid will stop dead and look at me reproachfully until I untangle him (he's a tripod). I do second the advice to hold the collar and (if necessary) drop the leash while you untangle it, if it does get wound round the legs. A soothing voice, belly rubs and a small treat will soon have Rose waiting patiently for you to help her!