GeorgeofNE

Well, 7 going on 8 is not "too old to hold it" by any means. However, fecal incontinence can be a sign of spinal problems. Any issues with her hind end? A hitch in her walk? Trouble with stairs? I only mention this because my George DOES have a spinal issue, and the pooping in the house the vet told me I can probably look forward to hasn't started, but she says it may.

Oh, my dog would be PERFECT for you! I'm not offering him up--but please know that your situation is not all that difficult! Your child isn't that young, which is a plus. The cats? No big deal! The small dog? Generally a hound who is OK with cats is USUALLY also OK with small dogs. So you're golden! And I agree--don't fixate on a color/age/sex, as personality and a good fit with the family is what really matters!

Does the vet mean Flagyl?? If the dog doesn't have diarrhea, and seems otherwise healthy, I'd personally suspect the Metacam. I'd consider switching to something else for the pain. You also have to consider it could just be behavioral. Probably didn't start that way (my vet once suggested a "natural" supplement too, and within weeks George's liver enzymes were severely elevated--no more of that for us!), but maybe he just decided it's nicer to poop in a nice warm house! Flagyl has a very strong anti-pooping component to it, so it WILL work, but if the root issue is behavioral...

George is VERY verbal and mouthy when he tries to engage another dog. I'm not always sure either! My old dog--I knew. If he was serious, he put his hackles up. But with George? Not a clue, and I've had him almost three years!

Me! Wasn't a greyhound, but it was a very serious bone infection. My dog Kramer, a pit bull/shepherd mix, tore his ACL. He had a TPLO (tibial plateau leveling ostomy (sp?) ), which involves cutting the tibia, repositioning the top and bottom, and plating it all back together. It didn't heal, didn't heal, didn't heal. Finally after about six months the vet said he was OK to resume normal activity (it's supposed to take about 12 weeks). Almost a year after the surgery, Kramer went from healthy to critically ill over night. He was so ill the doctor didn't even attempt a diagnosis when I brought him in--just rushed him into the emergency area, put him on fluids, and took it from there. It was a bone infection that had apparently been festering all along. He had surgery to remove the plate and screws, drain the joint, and he was put on two antibiotics for I believe 3 months. He DID recover, but it was rough. He had to be confined AGAIN for months. While I would not minimize the seriousness of a tail amputation, it might be easier on your hound. That's between you and your vet, but yes, they CAN recover from a bone infection.

That's a tough one. If I were sure that neither one of them had a UTI (and if this is new behavior, it's not out of the realm of possibility) which was making it impossible to hold it, I'd personally put a stop to this. I'm with Chad. There is no reason you should have to take the dogs out in the middle of the night. If there are those of you out there who don't MIND, well, dandy. My mother, in fact, is in the habit of letting her dogs out any time they want, night or day. They're going to be in for a nasty surprise when she moves to assisted living and no longer has a fenced in yard! But I digress... I get up at 5:20, so George's last "out" is 7 PM, and it's a very rare night when he needs to go out again before 5:20 AM. If he can hold it while I'm at work, he can hold it while I sleep! He gets out five times every day when I'm neither sleeping or working, so please don't feel he's in any way deprived of the opportunity to pee 1,000 times a day! But there is nothing wrong with a schedule. Just because they WANT to go out doesn't mean you have to indulge them! Make sure you know the difference in their "it would be nice to go out, "and "I GOTTA GO NOW" whines, and if it's the latter, I'd tell 'em to go lie down and stop bugging me.

Arthritis doesn't just show up as a limp. It normally starts as stiffness, trouble rising, trouble laying down. Given the horrifyingly high incidence of bone cancer in Greyhounds, you need to have his leg x-rayed ASAP. Don't mean to sound harsh--but it's VERY important that any unexplained limp be checked out in a Greyhound. Good luck! Hope it's nothing much!

I didn't know that- thanks Going to give him so smooches from you right now! I was going to say that, 'cause my George was diagnosed with LS. He hasn't gotten to that point yet, but that's what the vet told me. Not really looking forward to it, but what can you do?

I'm chucking over "can't walk," just because I have NO OPTIONS, ever. So to me there really isn't "can't walk" weather--but I do understand there are days when you need to get things moving quickly! My last dog was a very, very smart mixed breed, and he actually understood "let's go potty" and most times would respond! What I did was every time he pooped, I said the words a LOT, "good potty," "nice potty" etc. and gave him a treat. I NEVER said those words unless he pooped. He was smart enough to understand. George? Let's just be kind and say he is not! But I keep to a very rigid schedule time wise so that he KNOWS when he is going to be able to poop, and he seems to time it right. I must say, he has never once pooped in the house except when he was first adopted and had explosive diarrhea AND a happy tail in the crate all in one day! Took me four hours to clean that mess up!!!

Not before you take him to the vet. This is a classic symptoms of a urinary tract infection.

This is a "depends who you ask" question! People like me, who grew up with hunting and show dogs would answer YES, there is a "correct" way. The dog walks on the left. The answer to "why" is just tradition, mostly, and because most people are right handed, and when carrying a shotgun, it's in their right hand, therefore the dog is on the left to avoid any issues! Also, in the show ring, there is only one acceptable way to prance your dog around the ring--also on the left. Any any training book will tell you -- dog goes on the left! However, if you're not a hunter, don't show your dog, and don't care too much about tradition, the truth is NO. I'd just pick a side and train that way. I've been on a few group walks with only hounds, and noticed I'm pretty much the only one who has their dog on the left!

I find this an very interesting phenomenon, because I have never in my entire life met anyone who muzzled their dog except Greyhound adopters. Perhaps it's cause we HAVE the muzzle? I'm not saying it's wrong to do--I just find it interesting! Sounds like Zero is bored. Are you giving him a Kong? Have you tried a Buster Cube? That's a plastic thing you put kibble in and he has to bop and roll it around and make the kibbles come out! How about a "Kong Time"? That's a fancy little doo dad that spits out a small Kong every 15 minutes or so, 4 total. All these things helped George through his early days. You also might consider a DAP diffuser. Not sure they work or not, but it won't hurt

Here's my 2 cents on supplements: I've tried that particular supplement on my old dog. Did NOTHING. And one of the supplements I gave George (Valerian Root extract) caused his liver enzymes to go through the roof. I will never again give my dog something that my vet isn't POSITIVE won't do more harm than good. She's just not used to the place, and she may well whine at home. She'll no doubt get over it, but have you tried a Kong with peanut butter??? You may recall I had a HELLISH time with George when he was new. I do think the DAP diffuser may have helped, nothing I gave him to ingest did ANYTHING (except the above-noted liver enzyme problem!) and lots of exercise before you go out will probably help! The other thing that might help is chatting up the neighbors! Charm them! Explain the situation. What they neighbors don't complain about, the condo board won't know about!!! Susan, former condo board chairman!

Did you put up with the jumping when he was cute puppy, and now that he's NOT, it's annoying?? Just wondering, 'cause he should have learned this a while ago! Anyway--- The old school method was the knee to the chest. Pick up any older training book, and that's what it will tell you to do. It actually DOES work, but some people believe you can hurt the dog, although that's not been my experience. Ignoring him MIGHT work--that did actually work for George--I'd just turn my back on him and ignore him. Now when he jumps, he does not touch me. Another method is to have a helper hold the leash and have you walk through the door. Dog tries to jump, but cannot cause of the leash. The leash won't work if no one is holding it. I can't even visualize how one could step on a leash of dog that's in front of them jumping on them fast enough for it to work! But I helped someone train their Golden Retriever puppy in two sessions. I'd sit with the dog inside, she'd use her key and come in, I just stood there. Puppy would run and jump, leash would catch her and stop her, she gave up quickly! Note: you need a SHORT leash. You don't want the dog to get any speed up, and you don't want to YANK at the dog. Just hold the leash just far enough from the person coming in.

This sounds medical to me too-- However, fi this is a senior, you REALLY don't want to restrict water. I know it's frustrating--I'd discuss it with the vet and consider Hill's K/D. It helped my senior dog a LOT. He was having a similar issue--random kidney related issue--and because of his age, we opted to try simple things first, and whatever the deal is with the K/D, it helped!

Well, I guess it depends mostly on YOU. Do you REALLY think you can devote enough time and attention to a dog AND an infant? The dog won't need less time and attention after you have a baby. Just give that a lot of thought, in addition to everything else people are going to tell you!

I'd suggest a long walk in the morning--not just to go to the bathroom--but he needs exercise so he's tired! Of course you may already be walking him! I get up much earlier than I would like so that I can walk George for 40 minutes every day. He's not crated (you may not need to crate yours anymore either unless he's proven to be a chewer or otherwise destructive) but I still wouldn't be happy leaving him alone all day without some good exercise first. Not everyone can afford a dog walker---I can't--but I also would not want my dog in a crate that long five days a week. I only have a short commute, so my dog is alone every day for about 8 3/4 hours, and he does just fine--but I'm guessing he spends most of that time on the Swedish foam bed!! Good luck!

Angell Memorial is one of the best animal hospitals in the entire COUNTRY. It is where many of the graduates of Tufts Veterinary school do their residency. As we have (had) two active tracks within an hour of Angell, and thus many adopters, I'm sure they've seen many Greyhound patients, and would know the protocols. Every book on Greyhounds I own discusses their sensitivity to anesthesia. However, any well educated vet would know that and proceed accordingly. My own dog had a severe reaction upon waking from anesthesia even given my vet knows Greyhounds well. She said she would use more valium next time to hopefully avoid the wake-up hysteria he had.

I understand completely. My last dog was a mixed breed dog from the shelter who was thrown from a moving car, starved and sick. I had been told all my life that "mutts are healthier than purebreds" so when I was looking to adopt a dog, I picked a mutt. I had him for 15 years, but in those 15 years, we endured probably $15,000 of vet bills. My ONLY request when I told my adoption group was that the hound I get be male, and healthy. I know there are no guarantees, but I at least wanted to START with a healthy one. So I know where you're coming from. I think that the notion that a "track diet" causes the problems in greyhounds is a myth. There are certain breeds that are just prone to bad teeth--in the cat world, Siamese cats are famous for this. Because it's believe to be a genetic thing, it makes sense that NGA hounds would be passing this problem around. My vet warned me before I adopted--greyhounds are famous for their bad teeth. Having said that, it's likely that she will be just fine! Now that the teeth are gone, the problem is resolved. You can ask GreyTalk username "Marc." One of his hounds has only got 4 teeth I think. She is perfectly healthy--she just had the bad roll of the dice and got dental disease in her gene pool. My dog lived in a track kennel for 3 years, and apparently he liked to chew on the kennel, cause many of his teeth are broken--however, his gums are the very picture of health! If you aren't ready to adopt yet, by all means don't. But if you are otherwise happy with this hound, I wouldn't let a dental issue that's already been treated stop me! Good luck. I'm sorry about Sol.

Ditto to what Cathy said. George is perfectly fine with my cats inside--and he had a fairly long career. The cat we bump into OUTSIDE? Fair game. He has no interest in squirrels, etc., because they don't skulk about and then run off. It's not that it's a cat. It's that it's RUNNING from him. My cats aren't afraid of him. None of them has EVER run from him. There's no point in chasing something that's not moving!

Suggest you re-read the original post and all responses. This was not a dog who suddenly lunged at his owner and bit him. His owner behaved in a wholly inappropriate manner, and admits as much. These are not dogs who have been treated like fuzzy members of a family from the age of 7 weeks on, like your typical Golden Retriever purchased as a puppy. They got to be dogs for the beginning parts of their lives. It's only when we adopt them that we try to turn them into furry children or playthings. That's the mistake. Forgetting it's an animal with big teeth who doesn't think like a person. They're not actually "fur babies." They're dogs. Dogs bite. Even the sweetest dog in the world, when handled without appropriate consideration and thought, can bite.

Racing ability/career length has very little to do with "prey drive." I've confirmed this with some real racing folks--the prey drive/racing skill thing--see below! George lives peacefully with 3 cats. He has zero interest in squirrels or even rabbits outside. He had a successful 3 year racing career. He is not safe around ANY breed of dog other than Greyhounds! I think, given enough time, a muzzle, and a patient "test subject," he can LEARN to get along with other dogs, but his initial reaction is growling and lunging. I cannot even tell if that's just his doofus way of asking, "What are you? Can I have a taste?" or he's out to get them! I just keep him on a leash, veer around other dogs, and all is well! I would NEVER let George loose with other breeds. He does do OK with my parents' two English Setters, but that's 'cause he spent about 9 hours muzzled the first time they meet, in THEIR house. He pays virtually no attention to them in fact. But just last night, some bonehead with a small fuzzy on a flexi lead wasn't paying attention and let their dog run right up to us. I had to grab him by the collar. But he didn't "go after" the dog--it presented itself as a tasty New Year's snack!

Not sure where the correlation between licking his "butt", a urinary tract infection, and "not good enough food" is? Not a lot of difference between Purina One and Pro Plan either. As far as I know, a male with a UTI isn't going to lick his "butt," he's going to lick his sheath. And while inferior dog food may cause digestive problems, typically it does not cause UTIs.

Lumbar spinal stenosis--narrowing of the spinal column! Not unique to Greyhounds--dogs of all breeds can be affects, as can people.

He could have meant a Borzoi. I used to live in a building full of Russians, and they referred to them as "Russian Greyhounds," and they think that our racers are valuable!