GeorgeofNE

Oh, not long! George hated his crate and I dispensed with it after a few weeks, but I was really never concerned since he showed NO interest at all.

I would personally call to the owner of the pup and ask her to please keep her distance. If you are walking on leashes, both of you, it shouldn't be an issue but I would keep away from a puppy that small regardless. It's SO easy to hurt a tiny puppy and you know even if it isn't your fault you'll be blamed.

I doubt it. Greyhounds have a larger heart because they've been breed for so long to hunt/run. The Italian Greyhound is a toy breed who does not have the same heritage at all.

I wouldn't consult a behaviorist over one scuffle in which no one was hurt. Trust me. If they were REALLY fighting, someone would have been hurt. If you're worried, muzzle when you cannot directly supervise them--at least for a little while. I grew up in a house with three unneutered males (father and his two sons). They had disagreements from time to time. No one was ever hurt, and while the noise can be fearsome, like a lot of male nonsense, it was all noise and not much else!

2.5 is NOT a puppy. You should be able to see some ribs and the points of his hip bones. Otherwise he's overweight. How about posting a picture??

I've lived with a string of puppies since I was an infant, and none of them have ever had a "fear phase." Healthy well adjusted puppies do not as a matter of course go through fear phases. Oh, sure, a pup now an again will be afraid of something--usually irrationally. But there are no normal fear phases.

Your belief that he "acted guilty" and he'd "done something wrong" are very outdated beliefs. I get it--I was raised the do the same thing--take the dog to the scene of the crime and tell him he's a bad dog. It's not like you did anything HORRIBLE--but trust me when I say that I and many others have learned that what you did will do nothing except make the dog wary of YOU. Urine isn't a bad thing to a dog. Therefore it isn't "something bad" to pee in a guest bedroom. The words "bad dog" mean nothing. It was your bearing, your tone of voice, your facial expressions. You acted different, so he acted different. It's as simple as that. Now, get the area clean as can be, and don't let him in there any more. Keep all doors closed to rooms he doesn't need to be in, and when you can't keep your eye on him, perhaps baby gate him into a room rather than let him have the whole house quite yet.

We had four English Setters at one point. They loved their dog door--so much that we had to install a second one right next to it because we kept having head on collisions when one was running out as another was running in! No, they didn't have an "in" and an "out" door, but at least there was a better chance they wouldn't hit someone else with two doors. Made it interesting when it came time to sell the house, 'cause my Dad put the second door right through the side of the house since the DOOR was already in use. The buyer asked him to pay to fix it, and he told him to pound sand. They bought the house anyway.

I'm guessing your vet is not familiar with Greyhounds if he's unaware of how painful corns can be. On what did he base his bone infection theory??? I almost lost my last dog to osteomyelitis (sp?) an entire YEAR after he had surgery which involved cutting his tibia. Dogs (or people) don't just catch a bone infection. I believe the bone has to be opened--either broken or surgically. I would suggest making sure an experienced radiologist read the dogs x-rays too. Your vet may not recognize certain conditions common in greyhounds if he's so naïve about corns!

I taught my old dog to bark on hand signal by first teaching him "speak." He never barked. I had to bark like a maniac at him for a few days until he caught on. They it was easy. I wouldn't attempt to teach George anything like that. It would be rather like slamming my head against the wall. I feel fortunate he will actually "go lie down" after only the third command to do so...

I've had my dog for five years, and he's probably "played" less than an hour, total, in five years. He just isn't that kind of dog. I could NEVER take him to a dog park. He is what they call a "breed snob." He is very aggressive towards all dogs that are not Greyhounds, but loves all Greyhounds without exception immediately! There have been three dogs he liked--my parents, but only after six hours muzzled in THEIR house, and bizarrely he fell head over heels in love with a lady Shepherd that used to live in my building (who has since died of Osteo believe it or not). Your dog is really too new to your household to be taking her to the park. You'll bond more with her and get some training in if you take her on long walks. And take her on car rides, take her to pet stores, stuff like that. New experiences that aren't too intense are better for her. You have to remember it's ALL new to her. If you were looking for a rough and tumble dog who wants to play fetch and such, I'm afraid you probably got the wrong breed. Most Greyhounds are perfectly happy sleeping most of the day, as long as they also get plenty of belly rubs, food, and blankets to snuggle in!

My former dog, a mutt, used to eat 5 cups of a high performance kibble when he was a youngster. As he aged that went down to a much more manageable 2 cups! He was at the dog park on average 3 hours a day, so...he got a LOT of exercise! And he was so emaciated when I got him, same thing--dirty looks, etc. Every vet check up the note was "needs to gain weight." He just couldn't for the first year. After that he was fine!

Just get the x-rays. If it's good news, you'll be thrilled! If it's bad news, you need Tramadol and probably Gabapentin Even around here, where vet care costs a fortune, a couple films of the lower leg are not expensive. They should not need to knock him out, so it should be quick and not expensive.

I can't believe no one has asked you what kind of treats you're giving him! I do not feed rawhides because this sort of nasty good was always present after doing so.

I wouldn't even blink at a two pound change. I can virtually guarantee you if you put your dog on the scale five times in a row, you would not end up with five identical weights. I am guessing most veterinary scales are not particularly accurate, or calibrated very frequently.

I forget which book it is, but I think it's one of Patricia McConnell's--anyway, she mentioned talking to a lot of owners who feel guilty leaving their dogs alone to go WORK. And she reminds them that leaving the dog alone to go WORK is what enables the dog to have a home, veterinary care, toys, etc. You need to be able to sleep. You deserve to wake up not in pain. Why on earth would you feel "bad" making your dogs sleep on their nice comfy dog beds? Don't get me wrong--George used to sleep with me, and my cats still do. But if I was not able to get a decent night's sleep, I would have no problem making them get down. In fact sometimes I do just that. Toss them right out the door and close it. One of us has to be in good form in the morning, and since one of us paid for the darned expensive mattress, one of us is going to be comfortable--period! Perhaps it's time for a little tough love?

Relax! Greyhounds can be very dramatic. Obviously your dog wasn't hurt. They're not made of glass. They're actually DOGS. Of course they can be lose in the yard!

Let's be clear--she didn't "attack" a dog. She may have greeted it in an overly enthusiastic manner, but a large dog pinning a small dog is hardly what I would call an "attack." And no one was hurt. So try and relax. I feel certain you ARE telegraphing your own fear and insecurity to the dog. Remember, she lived with other GREYHOUNDS. She probably has no experience at all with other dogs. My own boy wants nothing to do with any dog that isn't a greyhound--and I've had him for five years! Is is possible maybe for you to contact the group you got her from and have someone come over and go walking with you and watch what's really going on? They might have some useful observations.

It's a well documented "greyhound thing." You might find she stops at some point. My dog did. When I first got him, he used to take my clothes to his bed all the time. After a few months he stopped. I'm not sure why.

"prey drive" doesn't necessarily mean a hound cannot live with a small dog. Dogs learn who is part of their pack (or family) and will learn to accept that animal. A part of your pack is NOT prey. Just as many hounds can live with an INDOOR cat but would merrily chase down and kill an outdoor cat. Based on my reading on this board for a few years, it seems to me that you'll find examples of pretty much every breed living happily with a hound or two!

What you do if you catch him in the act is say, "No no no" or something (don't holler!) and take him outside. You are on the right track. As the owner of a dog with a bladder of a THIMBLE, count your blessings! He'll probably be one of those dogs that sleeps late on weekends! I can only dream of such things...

Basic obedience commands (sit, stay, come, heel, down) are not tricks, in my opinion. Shake, roll over, play dead--those are tricks. I can barely get George to do the basic commands. Life is too short to spend it teaching a dog who has ZERO interest in tricks to do them! Now, my last dog? He was a sponge! He knew all kinds of stuff, and he really enjoyed learning. George enjoys eating, sleeping, and going on walks.

Neither did I, and I did see plenty of alternatives suggested--like continuing with leash walking, which is what I said. I have had dogs my entire life too. I've been paid to train other people's dogs. And George has been a totally different experience for me. He is NOT just like a "regular" dog. There were times when I was a new hound owner that I got ticked off at the advise people gave me that was UNSOLICITED. The original poster of this thread ASKED what she should do, and people answered. I don't get what's so heinous about that.