GeorgeofNE

I'm going to suggest it MAY have nothing to do with the nip on the nose (my opinion only) but might be related to the length of time you've had him. Dogs go through a lot of changes and phases. It seems to me that at a month and a half mark, he is probably attached to you, and therefore wants to spend time with you more than he did before he knew you. If you work and go to class at night, how much exercise is this young man getting? It's not easy when you have lots on your plate to set aside enough time for long walks. He's a very young dog, and the more exercise you give him, the more inclined he will be to snooze when you're gone. Also, dogs are super routine oriented. If he is used to a certain schedule, and the schedule changes, that could be enough to throw him off. Can you try walking him for at least 30 minutes before you leave him? Does your neighbor like dogs? Maybe he'd like a companion while he works at home!

I think you DO know what to do, or you would not have spent so much time thinking/writing it. The blessing we have with our pets is we can let them go and not watch them suffer. We can't do that with our humans. Please think of HIM. His spirit will never die, but his body is already beyond all hope. Best wishes. Most of us have been there--some of us many times.

Could there be an animal out back you can't see but he can smell?? My inclination would be to go out back with him for a good long while and see what happens. And then if nothing happens just get on with life. Sometimes dogs do weird stuff and we can make ourselves crazy trying to figure out why!

I think that six vets could listen to a dog's chest and you'd get six opinions--that's how subjective murmers are. I had one vet tell my my mutt dog had a "pretty severe" murmur. A senior vet then listened to his heart and said, "Your dog has the heart of an athlete. The best is so strong the other guy probably hadn't heard anything like it before." In all of his 12 years, not another vet heard a murmer. Glad I elected not to go with the expensive testing he suggested!

I'm with Needlenose Jake on the Rescue Remedy. Google it. There isn't a single study other than ones they have done themselves showing it does ANYTHING. Waste of good money. You're better off giving them a shot of brandy.

So you mean you've had your DOG for a week, not that you just had a baby?? Just making sure! Is this your first dog? I'm not sure where you got the idea that greyhounds, in general, don't like children. I think the opposite is GENERALLY true. I personally NEVER let a child pet my dog unless their parent is with them and I see that the parent says it's OK. Not sure if you live in the US or not, but with our ridiculously "sue happy" society, even though my dog has never indicated he doesn't care for kids, I keep them away. I think you did well, but I also think that you might be going a bit too fast. You don't have to explose a newly adopted dog to everything in the first 10 days! He needs to know and trust you and your husband first.

Yikes!! I see you've already been, but no way in heck that's "normal" allergies. That's just horrible looking! I've had two dogs with seasonal allergies and even at their worst, they were no where near that bad.

Maybe they meant "10 scoops" of whatever size they have? I can't imagine any dog eating that much. My dog, and my prior dog, get 2 cups a day. My mutt, who was extremely active, got 5 cups when he was young and at the dog par 3 hours a day, but as he aged he also went down to 2 cups. Never go by the bag. Their goal is to sell more dog food, right?

A harness will simply enable her to pull harder. Most dogs won't willingly choke themselves, and that's why a martingale is intended to be worn up near the chin, not down around the base of the neck. If she pulls, it will be uncomfortable, and she will hopefully stop pulling.

let's go tinkle and let's go potty.

Please take any newly adopted dog to the vet for a check up, including checking his stool for parasites.

You will get various opinions, but my dog(s) have all been home alone Mon-Fri with my full time work schedule. Plan on getting up earlier than you normally would, and taking the dog for a long walk whether or not you have a fenced in yard. Turning a dog out into the yard is great for going to the bathroom, but a solo dog with not typically get meaningful exercise unless you go out with the dog and do something to get it running around. With a new dog, a long walk is great for bonding and for tiring the dog out. Your goal is to burn off some energy making it more likely the dog will simply sleep while you're gone. Avoid the temptation to spend all day for two weeks with your new dog. Try to get the dog on a schedule immediately--one that mimics what the dog is going to have to deal with on a regular basis.

Walking him on a leash in the back yard. If he doesn't do what you want in a couple minutes, take him back inside and ignore him. Take him out on a leash again in 15 minutes. Repeat as needed. When he goes, make it the most spectacular celebration you can imagine!

I'd guess he needs more Rimadyl. If you believe supplements work (and that's a big if) you still need to give them 4 weeks or so to actually do anything. I think they even say that in their own literature. Never did a thing for any dog of mine, but a daily dose of an NSAID made all the difference!

If my dog was bleeding from the mouth and CLEARLY had something in there, I would have gotten over his back (like he was a pony), pried his mouth open (one hand on each jaw) and shaken his head. He cannot bite you if you have good hold on his jaws. I know it might seem harsh, but he could have swallowed something dangerous. You MUST prevent him from each crap off the ground, and if you cannot train him out of it, I would muzzle him.

Is he getting any meaningful exercise? Sounds like he's trying to make his own fun/entertainment.

That's a lot of food. Twice as much as Buck gets, in fact. He is about 63 pounds.

Oh dear. I hate to say it, but if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck.... The odds that your greyhound's leg broke doing nothing in particular and it's NOT osteo are fairly slim. I hope with every fiber of my being that I am dead wrong.

Thanks Dr. Feeman!

As far as I know, seasonal allergies do NOT cause sneezing in dogs (they cause itching) and dogs do not catch "colds." I would have them to the vet. If they both have it, it's probably something contagious.

I have arthritis. . Some supplements MIGHT help a little with minor arthritis pain, but there is very little evidence they do much of anything for serious arthritis. My physicians certainly do not recommend them for their human patients.

Time! When I adopted Ming, he was 11 years old, had been a treasured only pet to a widow, and after her death was placed in a home with a yappy dog who terrorized him. He was then sent to live with me. When he realized my dog wasn't interested in chasing or otherwise bothering him, he slowly but surely stopped running out of the room the dog was in, stopped walking in 20 foot circles around the dog, etc. Now, a couple of years later, he will actually lay on the couch next to the dog!

Not a problem.

Your "job," as a foster parent, it to help the dog learn to live in a home. I would not spend a lot of time working on obedience training, but instead work on things like leash walking and alone training--things that her future home will very much appreciate. Everyone uses different hand signals/voice commands for basic obedience, so there isn't much point (just my opinion) in you teaching the dog that you're not keeping. House break her. Make sure she can potty both on a leash and off. Teach her to go up and down stairs. Those are important things a greyhound won't know but needs to know to live in a home! Just my 2 cents. And yes. Training a greyhound is a LOT like training a cat compared to other breeds.

I actually don't worry about mosquitos. But I believe K-9 Advantix prevents mosquito bites, repels and kills fleas and ticks. It is safe to use on Greyhounds.