GeorgeofNE

Interesting theory--but I can easily visualize them ripping out a toenail and ending up at the e-Vet.

There are a LOT of Greyhounds in New England, and one of the finest veterinary hospitals in the country in Massachusetts. I have yet to meet a vet here who hasn't treated at least a few Greyhounds. Be prepared to check them for ticks every time they go out. That goes for yourself too. And my George has picked up fleas each of his past three trips to Nantucket, despite having Frontline Plus applied, so if you don't have one already, I suggest you get a flea comb and check them for those too.

Wow! I paid more than that to have a small growth removed from Kramer's toe!

Yes, they can burn, and they can also get skin cancer--white dogs are particularly vulnerable. Fur acts like down on a duck; people who shave their long haired dogs down in the summer are actually doing the dog a disservice, as the fur is natural insulation from the cold and the heat.

You could try teaching him "speak," and then of course "no speak" might make sense! It's what worked on my last dog. I even taught him a hand signal for "speak" so that when we were walking at night (I lived in the city at the time) if anyone seemed creepy, I gave him my secret hand signal and he started to bark like crazy.

There are a WHOLE lot of other things besides a UTI in a 13 year old dog that could be causing these issues. The cranberry can't hurt--George has been taking it for years. I did the ultrasound, and naturally they found NOTHING. Which was good news/bad news. What's the specific gravity of her urine? What about blood work? Dr. Mason at Dedham Veterinary Associates was very helpful to me with George, as was Dr. Kuo. They're somewhat familiar with Greyhounds, and having dealt with George, and ME, they might be inclined to give you some leeway in dictating a path of treatment you feel strongly about.

George takes a half Deramaxx every day. So far, so good. In my experience, supplements don't work in any but the mildest of cases. You can find studies that say they do work, and studies that say they don't work. Suppose they can't hurt! I used them for over a year for my last dog and they did nothing--but he had a bad case.

Frontline Plus does NOT repel ticks, so you just got lucky last year. The only product I know of that does repel ticks that's not a collar is Advantix, but you cannot use it if you have cats.

I have a Wiggles, Wags, and Whiskers harness too, and it's great. However, if pulling is the issue, then a harness is actually counter productive. There's a reason sled dogs wear harnesses to pull... For a spook, nothing beats a harness. But I think they're terrible for training purposes, unless your dog has a neck injury or some other reason a traditional, properly fitted martingale can't be used.

This has nothing to do with hunger or diet. If she's doing this when she's in the yard, the easiest answer is to muzzle her. If she's doing it on walks--well, then you need to not let her even pick ANYTHING up! We had an English Setter who ate rocks, and he had surgery twice to remove them. While pebbles will probably pass, our dog ate rocks to big to pass and almost died twice, so you need to stop her from doing this--I don't think you can train her not to do it. For our dog, it was just a compulsion. We have no clue why he started, but he did seem to stop after the second surgery.

Not a Greyhound issue--this is a dog thing!

George had a dental when I first adopted him, and had a rough time with the anesthesia, so unless it's a life and death thing, I'm not inclined to have him knocked out again. He gets marrow bones every Saturday and Sunday, and his teeth are sparkly! No plaque whatsoever.

Think of it as nature's air conditioning!

Not a greyhound, but an English Setter. We elected to try the surgery; sadly when they opened him up, they found cancer everywhere, called my Dad, who asked them to put him to sleep. He never would have survived, and why torture him? He was 8 years old, and the most beautiful, sweet, kind dog, adept in the show ring and the hunting field.

I don't quite understand why he's confined to the basement in the first place? I get that it's a finished basement ROOM, but dogs don't dig being seperated from the rest of the household. Obviously your friends are dog lovers if they have one, although hearing that they keep their own dog tied up in the house makes me wonder... If their dog is a puppy, and being crated, perhaps if the two dogs were crated together (side by side, not "together"!) that would work? If I had to be away for 12 hours, I wouldn't be comfortable crating my dog for that long. I understand it's temporary and unavoidable. Is there by any chance another Greyhound home in the area that might be willing to be a day care provider, so to speak??? There may be another single hound out there who would love the company during the day for a few weeks. Just a thought.

First of all, please do not assume this behavior results from abuse. It most likely does NOT. There are many Greyhounds (and dogs of all breeds) who are, for whatever reason, just fearful animals--often referred to on Greytalk as "spooks." My primary suggestion, beyond the above, is that you contact the group you adopted the dog from for support. My dog had a really tough adjustment period too, and my group was invaluable. Having not owned a spook myself, I can't say too much about that, but you should know, in terms of Greyhound time, four months is not long at all. The aloof behavior--totally normal. The following you around--totally normal. The not playing--totally normal. And all of those things may change as time goes by! As to the accidents, has he been to the vet?

I agree. He needs to be seen. Maybe not necessarily x-rays (although typically a couple shots of a leg aren't that expensive), but he needs to be seen.

I'm so sorry. The only vet I've had do this was a vet who did ONLY housecalls, and he cost a fortune. I don't think any of the other vets in this area do it. Anyway, my experience was actually very stressful. It was a cat, and when he got his injection, his bowels let loose all over me. And then the vet took him away in a trash bag...it was pretty horrifying. This particular cat was vicious at the vet--they had his folder marked "DANGEROUS ANIMAL" on the cover, and would put a leather hood on his head--and I couldn't do that to him for his last trip. When I had my dog put down, I sat on the floor of the exam room, and so did his vet. It was very peaceful--and she even cried with me. Then I stayed with him, but did not have to experience seeing him hauled away. I was able to claim his ashes in about 10 days. I did have a cat just drop dead at home--again, horrible. I didn't know what to do. I KNEW that he was dead, but I couldn't process that one minute he was playing with a toy mouse, and the next he was dead. Here I was, an 15 pound cat, a 95 degree late afternoon--all I could think of was if I couldn't get him to the vet before they closed, I'd have to put him in the freezer and I couldn't bear the thought--and I just really needed to know that he was TRULY dead and that there was nothing I could have done differently--so I race off to the vet with him. I only bring this up because my other cats were there, and one of them changed dramatically after that day--and I sometimes wonder if he thinks I killed his brother. I can't explain why he's SO different, but I can't help thinking that I made a mistake grabbing his body and running out with it.

I expect that dogs are like people; some of us run chunky, some of us run average, and a few of us are skinny no matter what. If he's otherwise healthy, and it certainly sounds like he is, I wouldn't worry about it. He looks like a sweetheart!

We had a problem at my old condo. Animal control does not deal with feral cats. Not in Massachusetts, anyway. The only organizations that would trap, spay/neuter, and release wanted $90 per cat. I called and emailed place after place, and the best help I could have gotten was a place that would deal with them if we trapped them and brought them in. I couldn't even find anyone to loan us traps. The OP lives in Los Angeles. With California's financial woes, I am guessing that the OP would not be able to find any more help than I could. Best bet is probably to make her fence more secure and hope it doesn't happen again.

Exactly--but if you spend enough time on Greytalk, you'll find LOTS of people horrified by the notion! Dogs that are home alone, specially greyhounds, tend to SLEEP all day. Assuming you're willing to get your dog regular exercise in the morning before you leave it, it should be fine, although you might want to build up to all day.

I don't think a dog that doesn't even live with you counts as a "pack member." My bet is your greyhound misses the little dog when it leaves! So the "poopie-faced" behavior may actually be a touch of sadness! Is she an only hound?

I'm sorry for the kitten, but what the dogs did, dogs have been doing since dogs came to be--killed a prey animal. Bathing them wouldn't occur to me. I wonder why she suggested that? Obviously if they have blood them, you want to wipe it off. The vet? Totally not necessary. I'd check that corner and make sure there isn't an entire family back there.

Since Flagyl is pretty much the first line treatment for bad diarrhea, I also find it hard to believe that it's CAUSING it.

Daily fish oil MIGHT help her skin's overall condition and thus make it slightly less likely to tear--MIGHT. I hope you have a boot for the dog to wear if it rains?