GeorgeofNE

The simplest answer is to simply baby gate him into another room. I'm not sure how you'd CHANGE this behavior ('cause if he only acts this way with "strangers," it's someone he doesn't know, and I'm not sure how you change a dog's essential nature like that) but it's easy enough to prevent it.

Well, I can tell you for a fact it isn't true that smiling and gentle bites are exclusively grey traits! We had the smiling-est English Setter in the world when I was a kid, and my old dog was a pit bull mix, and he was a nibbler!

Any chance you've inadvertently trained her to hold it by taking her home AS SOON AS she tinkles? If your habit is to walk and walk and walk, and then as soon as she goes, go home, then it could be she's a smart little girl and is holding it because she's figured out that's how to keep the walk going! What I do when working on elimination habits is to NOT walk and walk--take her to an area where you'd like her to go, and give her the cue ("let's go tinkle" or whatever) and give her a few minutes. If she doesn't go--back inside! Try again in 15 minutes. Won't take you any longer than walking her for 30, right? If she goes the second time, whooo hooo, party and treats, and a walk! Repeat until she gets the point; the walk is the REWARD for eliminating. My parents had no idea they had done this with their old dog--he learned to hold his poops in FOREVER 'cause as soon as he'd go, they took him home, and he LOVED his walks!

Exactly! Super easy fix. Or put a baby gate up so he can't run out of the kitchen! This is a fairly common thing, actually. Two of my three cats do it in fact!

My parents have a dog that can easily go 14 hours or more between outs! Yes, I'm serious! They are willing to let her out any time, night or day in their fenced yard, but if it's raining, she doesn't go out! So if the dog isn't having accidents, I guess it's normal for him! Another friend had a bulldog, and he had to wake the dog up on Saturdays to take it out he'd sleep so long!! Sigh. I dream that one day I will have a dog that sleeps past 5:30 AM!

I feed AM and PM (how would you like to go 24 hours between meals). Every dog has a different metabolism; George is a smaller male, 65 pounds, and maintains perfect weight on 2 cups of kibble per day (1 AM, 1 PM). He does also get dog biscuits as treats. My last dog was a mixed breed who ate 5 cups a day to maintain perfect weight! George eats Solid Gold's beef and barley formulation (and he loves it). He ALWAYS poops twice a day.

Wow. Straight to a steroid injection with no diagnosis? I can tell you what my vet would say about that!

Some of the triple antibiotic ointments I have on hand have a very mild pain relief component. Check your tubes! That's all I'd do. It's a cut. As long as it's not bleeding anymore, I'm sure he'll be just fine!

I live about 200 yards from train tracks myself! It totally depends on the specific hound; you really cannot generalize how all hounds (or dogs or horses or children or anything else!) will react to something like a train. I was prepared, and the first time were outside and the train started coming, I gave George a treat when the whistle blew, as it got closer, and as it whizzed past us. I did this consistently and now when he hears the train whistle, he wants a treat! It doesn't bother him at all, and may well never have--now I have a dog who associates the train with cookies, and he couldn't be happier that we live right next to the tracks. FYI, amusing note: I knew there were tracks in the general area--but it was just dumb luck the train never went by when I was looking at the condo, and the realtor didn't mention it, and the big wooden fence totally hides them! You can imagine my surprise my first night in my new home when the first train went by!

My question is why is an 8 year old dog who isn't new in your home being crated at night at all? I'd try a nice comfy dog bed and teach them the "off the bed" command. My guess is she's just had enough of the crate!

I personally think all dogs should go out a bare minimum of 4 times a day-- And YES, you can work all day and your dog can hold it! MOST adult dogs can easily hold it for 8-10 hours (just ask your vet about that). I myself work a normal Mon-Fri, "9-5" job (actually 7-3:30!), live alone, and do not have a yard, and cannot afford a dog walker ($16 per visit in this area). My last dog was just fine on this schedule for the 15 years I had him, and George, after an adjustment period and a very unfortunate and strange infection, had been doing great for 2 years now! I made sure George gets his 4 "tinkle breaks" and one long walk EVERY DAY--rain or shine, wind, cold, snow. No excuses, no slacking. He deserves that for being a good boy for me and patiently waiting for me to come home! He does have company; his kitties!

Suggest you buy ANY basic training book and just treat him as if he's a pup! He may know other commands (I surely don't use the command "out" myself!), or they may not have taught him any! Don't let his age be a barrier to teaching him the things YOU want him to know! Dogs also learn from watching other dogs obey commands, so he'll probably pick them up quickly!

George was afraid of his first snowman too! A trail of biskies in the snow cured him pretty fast! My last dog [pit bull mix] was a carrot addict; when he found HIS first snowman with a CARROT nose, he literally jumped on it and knocked it's head off, ate the carrot, and after that would be crazy any time he saw a snowman believing they were a source of his favorite treat!

What Macoduck said. It's not necessary to shield a dog from anything that makes it uncomfortable! Get her to associate the trip to the school with a treat (but don't reinforce the fear with cooing and coddling--be matter of fact, say, "Good girl Esme, let's wait for [insert name of child here]! Here's your cookie!" in a bright and happy tone. I happen to live right next to train tracks, and as you can imagine, the train is pretty loud and somewhat intimidating when it goes by and I'm out with George, so this is what I've done. Now the second he hears the train coming, he's poking my hand for a cookie! He's not (and never was I don't think) in the least bit afraid of the train, and I have created a treat monster! You might consider one of 2Hounds wonderful "no pull" harnesses though, just in case!

He's gorgeous! Two qutestion: 1) "Fake peeing," are you sure he's not straining? Because there is a small possibility he could have some sort of stones that kind of come and go. Stones irritating his urinary tract could cause your problem. 2) What do you mean when you say "long term" antibiotics? I ask because George took an entire year and over $2,000 in tests which found NOTHING before we landed on the idea of REALLY long term antibiotics--and it worked. And he isn't the first Greyhound my vet has treated in this manner after getting the same weird test results. George had three regular urinalysis, and 2 full on cultures. All of them were 100% normal. And yet he COULDN'T HOLD IT. But every time we'd trying him on antibiotics, within days he'd be fine! Then within 10 days of stopping, he'd start peeing again. Aside from a "greyhound normal" high creatine, all his blood and urine was normal. I started keeping a diary, and the pattern became clear--so the vet told me she'd like to try ONE MORE TIME with the antibiotics, and we gave him 14 weeks of Baytril. Hasn't peed in the house since! PM me if you have any specific questions.

Oh, I'm sorry. This must be terribly hard. I personally firmly believe that just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we SHOULD. I you believe your dog's quality of life is still worth living, then great, but if you don't, then do what you think is kindest FOR HER. I wish you the best.

Well, exercise is more of a necessity than a reward in my opinion. If what you're saying is you don't want to have to walk her because you have a yard and she should be tinkling out there, I might suggest that at first you should actually go with her, and give her praise and a treat for doing her thing. For example, you should say, "Let's go tinkle!" in a bright and happy voice, and when she (eventually) does, say "Good tinkle!" and give her a treat. Make it in her best interest to go in the yard. You may even need to put her a leash and literally walk around the yard with her. Many dogs, however, need to get moving to get things moving! Dogs need daily exercise, and for many people, a nice walk is both enjoyable and beneficial to both human and hound.

My dog is totally fine with my cats (indoor) and NOT fine with other dogs--he loves all Greyhounds without exception, but not dogs of other breeds.

Exactly! I find it easiest to "ride" the dog as if he were a horse, and if you do it quickly and gently, it's a lot easier than messing around trying to trick them with food. FYI, it IS bitter, but not horrible. Take it myself!

Sounds like she needs TRAINING, not confinement! Also DAILY exercise. Long walks will serve two purposes; it will reinforce your relationship since you'll be together and you'll be guiding the walk (not letting her just run around like a wild animal!) and you can use the time two work on leash manners, heel, etc. There is really no substitute with young dogs of ANY breed for regular exercise and training!

The famous flower essence potion just happens to be in a base of BRANDY. I find it hard to believe the flowers do anything at all--although the amount you give it's hard to believe the alchohol base does much either. Did NOTHING for George at all. The term "homeopathic" is wildly misused. People seem to be using it as a synonym for "natural," but that's not really what it means. I also tried an herbal remedy for anxiety that my VET suggested, based on a recommendation of a friend of hers--he suggested we try Valerian Root for George's anxiety, and it make his liver enzyme values spike badly. She won't be recommending THAT herb again! I am very hesitant to use any "natural" product at this point. Just because natural made it doesn't mean it's either effective OR safe.

Yes, yes, yes! Any time George is stressed, his nose runs like a faucet and he sheds!

I'm so sorry to see this. I don't think there is anyone on GT whose writing so clearly conveys the love they feel for their hounds as yours. Thanks for sharing Piper's story--run free sweet girl!

VPI would not cover George because of a creatinine value that is TOTALLY normally for a Greyhound, but skews as "out of range" on their little charts. VPI would not cover anything orthopedic in my last dog because he had torn his ACL on one leg--made it totally worthless. Most of these companies do NOT cover pre-existing conditions, so if you've ever had your dog or cat treated for something, you're out of luck on that front. I have ASPCA's basic coverage for George and one of my cats (Siamese cats are prone to dental disease). It doesn't cover anything routine, and unfortunately, where I live, the actual cost versus their "customary amount" that they'll pay is so wildly different, I'm probably not going to renew. I looked at one of the links in one of the posts above; the annual limit for "routine care" was less than the cost of ONE visit to my vet! If you add the monthly premiums up, the deductible, and then assume they reimburse 80% of what they consider "customary," for me it has NOT worked out well. It does offer some limited peace of mind...

I have no clue what 29 kgs is (cause I'm ignorant and also too lazy to look it up!)...but a regular sized Greyhound can safely take two pink Benedryl pills a couple of times a day--but frankly, what you describe doesn't sound like a food allergy to me. She could have any kind of allergy--or none at all. Once a dog gets a "hot spot," they tend to lick and lick and lick it. And they tend to get staph infections at said hot spots! Some dogs get what amounts to OCD about their hot spots-- I'd suggest a trip to the vet. They can give you a topical spray to help eliminate the itch, a short course of antibiotics, and an educated opinion on whether it could be allergies or not.