GeorgeofNE

I decide how many pets and of what variety, not my other pets! If you are ready for another dog, I'm sure your pooch would be thrilled with a companion.

I'm curious why a Greyhound needs a trip to the groomer monthly? Bathing a Greyhound monthly, unless it has allergies requiring medicated shampoo, is TOTALLY unnecessary. And if you're going to a groomer monthly and they have not been trimming the dog's nails...it's not a very good groomer anyway!

You need to really try to stop assuming they feel and think like people. They are actually DOGS, and your mixed breed will not be laying in the crate thinking, "Oh my GOD! They Greyhound is on the couch. Mommy doesn't love me as much!" Believe me!

I use water because it helps release some of the scent from the kibble, and to me it's sort of like cereal for people. Sure, you can eat it without milk, but doesn't it taste better floating around? I don't use much--but I've always done it. Learned it from my Dad, who probably learned it from his Dad...

You can never know. My mongrel cost me over $15,000 in vet bills. Tore his ACL, required major surgery, got a bone infection from said major surgery, almost died, needed more surgery, etc. You have to be an educated consumer of vet services. If you're one of those people who gets emotional and says "do whatever it takes to make him better" and allows your vet to subject your dog to tests (many of which often have zero impact on the outcome or treatment--just give your vet information at your expense) and treatments that cost of fortune but do little for your animal, count on spending a lot more than if you ask questions before agreeing to things. One question of my vet saved me a couple of thousand dollars when my George was diagnosed with LSS. She wanted to do an MRI to confirm. I asked if knowing FOR SURE would change his treatment since there was absolutely no way I would subject a dog to spinal surgery, and she said no, it wouldn't. So why would I spend over $2,000 on an MRI? I think we tend to forget that at the vet, we are a customer in addition to the owner of a pet. You don't have to do everything your vet wants to do.

It is not too long a time--they certainly don't go out whenever they want while at the track! If you haven't already had her checked by the vet, please do so. You need to rule out any medical issues such as a urinary tract infection! And yes, confine her to a smaller space. Dogs will instinctively not soil their "den."

I would confine the cats when you're not there. Set up a spare bedroom, if you have one, with all of their stuff. That's what I do when I have a new dog. A cat scratch can get badly infected. Clearly one of your cats is afraid of the dog. He or she will be much happier in a place the dog cannot get to when you're not there to supervise. I have two cats and one hound as well!

My dog is alone from 7 AM until about 4:20 PM Monday - Friday. He is 3, and I got him in August. I have two cats, and one Greyhound. I crated him for about 2 days, and decided he'd been in a crate long enough (9 months in the adoption kennel, plus his short time at the track). He hasn't had a single accident, chewed on anything. I have cameras and spy on him via my smart phone, and 99% of the time when I look in on him, he's sound asleep! Yes, a dog walker gets a key to your house, etc. I have never known anyone who hired a dog walker who had a problem with theft or anything like that. They'd never get another client if they did stuff like that. If you find one who is insured/bonded, and call clients for recommendations, it's fine. But you really don't need one. Any healthy dog can hold it 10 hours at least. Don't listen to the "that's too long to be alone" crowd. Thousands of dogs are alone all day Mon-Fri. Just make sure your dogs get plenty of exercise before you leave them, and in all probability, they'll sleep the day away.

I would NOT take a dog with osteo to a park. There is a real possibility of a fracture, and it would be a horrible thing to happen at a park where other dogs could possible gang up on her.

I've used them, but I prefer 1800PetMeds because they're a LOT faster. My vet has no problem with me getting prescriptions filled elsewhere. If she did, I'd find a new vet. If they won't price match, you have every right to save $$. Never forget that you are the vet's customer. If they're not treating you right, there are plenty of vets out there.

Greyhounds in general are rather sensitive to the heat. Turn on your air conditioning and don't worry! He'll be OK. Good idea to have the vet check him though. My last hound melted if it was over 70 degrees!

Proper hip x-rays require anesthesia. But if the vet saw nothing, the dog is not in pain, I wouldn't be anxious to spend more money chasing after a non-problem. Did the dog race at all? If not, he's probably always had a funny gait, and there's likely not much to be done about it.

NO ONE should "wrap the leash around wrist and hand a few times." If you've ever had your dog take off, you'll understand how badly you can hurt your hand doing that. The "proper" (meaning traditional, old school way) way to hold a leash is to put your right hand (I suppose if you let your dog walk on the "wrong" side (your right), you'd use your left hand) all the way thorough the handle, then grasp the leash below the handle; I use a leather leash with a braided section where the handle is formed, so I hold the braid. Those of you who prefer nylon leashes, it would be were the stitching is. If you wish to hold some of the excess in your right hand, you can gather it up and form a few small loops or circles, and hold them with your fingers as your grasping the leash. I myself use my left hand to hold all the excess. I use a 9 foot leash, but it's only a 1/2 inch so I can handle all that excess. Because I have a new dog now, I did switch to a four foot leash temporarily, but he's walking properly now, on my left, basically at heel. I did a goofy YouTube video on it for my co-worker's son who watched George for me for the weekend. I can't tell you how many people I see using the handle of the leash and holding it just with their fingers. It's nearly impossible for a dog to yank the leash out of your hand if you use the above method. Very, very easy for a strong dog to rip the leash out of your hand if you're holding the loop with your fingers.

Very common. You might reconsider letting him have free access to the yard if you're not paying attention to him. I know a fenced yard is a beautiful thing, but you just got him. You don't know enough about his habits to trust him outdoors alone and unattended.

You're training a dog! Nothing special about Greyhounds when it comes to plain old obedience training. Some people will say that sitting is difficult for them--and while they may not sit in the same manner is "regular" dogs, you can teach them to sit, and you can use the same methods you'd use for any other dog. You can go to a class, if you like, or buy a book. The key is keeping the lessons short and being consistent.

Food allergies do not typically manifest as loose stool. Just a "for what it's worth." Food allergies cause itching, normally. George had chronic loose stool when I first got him. A second round of panacur helped, as did switching to a beef based food.

I would not worry too much about that lump, but it doesn't need to be looked at. I would be more worried about a limping greyhound. Please, don't let the vet blow off your concern. If he or she isn't savvy enough to know that any limp in a Greyhound needs to be taken seriously, find a new vet. Particularly if they can't tell the difference between a nipple and a lump!

You can go to a low cost spay/neuter "spay wagon" and have your animal spayed or neutered, and I expect they don't do blood work. However, what you CAN do and what's best and safest as we know are not the same thing! I think George was neutered with a box cutter and was konked on the head with a rubber mallet! I'm 100% sure he didn't have blood work done, but he was neutered by the track vet, and I expect since he was on his way out of there, cost was a huge consideration. No idea when or where or by whom Buck was neutered. My vet would never, ever perform surgery of any kind without doing bloodwork. They are in business to make money, and while I'm sure she cares about my animals, the policy of their clinic is no bloodwork, we don't operate. My old cat, Miss Parker, was a "stay for spay" when I adopted her from a shelter. I was charged $35 and a vet student did it. No bloodwork. So... ; ^ ) I'm no help, am I Ducky?

At that age, some hazing of the eyeball is pretty typical. It's probably just natural aging. Nothing to panic over! You mean sort of like a bluish "film" you can probably only see in certain lights? George had that for years!

Not sure what track you are referring to with a "very bad reputation," but one of my friends is the chairman of the AZ racing commission, and it's HIGHLY unlikely any of your dogs issues have anything to do with the track he was at. A nervous dog is a nervous dog. I just adopted one myself. Track life wasn't for him. Doesn't mean he wasn't treated well--he just needs a different life.

I don't see anywhere that you said, "After taking him to the vet and having his stool checked...." That would be MY first step instead of guessing whether or not he still has parasites and if it's food or something else upsetting his digestion.

I suppose it could upset her stomach. It would be very simple to figure out; stop giving it to her and see if she stops whining!

There is no "normal" number of extractions--perhaps you mean typical? A dog who has drawn the periodontal disease straw is unlikely to benefit from tooth brushing--some of them just have really bad mouths--just like Siamese cats are genetically prone to bad mouths. One of mine had almost all of his teeth pulled when he was 6 years old. George had good teeth. I had them cleaned when I adopted him, and never touched them again. Seven years later, he passed with pretty darn shiny clean teeth that were never brushed or otherwise fussed over.

Maddie and me finally got to meet in da fur! She is doing real well up here, and we had some good talks about The Island! Wags, George

Never mind!!