GeorgeofNE

"Any thoughts" you ask. Yup. He wants to return the dog and this is going to be his excuse. Particularly since he "won't take allergy medication." Go to any shelter in any city. Those that have kennel cards with "reason for surrender" will say, more often than not, "allergies." Sorry to be a cynic, but that's what comes to mind with me.

My family has always had dogs, and my father REFUSED to have any of them neutered believing a lot of the stories you hear. Then I got my own dog. A Pit Bull mix. Had him fixed when he was 4 months old. He took no cr@p off any other dog, ever. My father was so suprised that a neutered male would actually defend himself. I have to say that none of our unneutered dogs (they were all English Setters, one a show dog, one a hunting dog, and the others were the sons of the show dog) ever did anything like jump a fence to go find "love" or start fights.

18 months. Seriously, George had a very, very hard time adjusting to live on the outside. There were some pretty unhappy times for both of us, but we made it through!

Hmmm. I live in the same area and felt nothing. Nor did I see any news reports that I should have... In any case, I did use to live in Southern California. We had four dogs and two horses, and they were normally pretty unphased by earthquakes. Also, if anyone is wondering, horses do NOT rear up and whiney when they see a snake except in the movies!

I rarely leave the vet spending less than $200. And I don't buy either heartworm or flea/tick from them directly because their prices are insane. In fact I don't buy any drugs from them unless they're needed immediately. Vets are very expensive around here--which I find odd because there are SO many of them with the vet school in the area! Guess they have to pay off those student loans!

I think I could put George on the scale at my vet's office six times and get at least four or five different readings, so I don't worry about a pound or two either way. And he does, and always has, weigh less than his listed racing weight.

Are you positive it's urine and not slobber? George makes some massive wet spots on his bed when he's working on a bone.

Time. It will just take time. I am watching George on a surveillance camera via my iPad right now. He is dead asleep on his bed. When I first got him, he howled at the top of his lungs for HOURS and I know this to be true because while I did not believe my neighbors, I videotaped him (to prove they were liars!) and found out he did not let up even once in the entire two hours the camera ran (ah, video tape! Remember that?). It was a nightmare. And now? Like I said. I am at work and he is home alone sound asleep! Here are a couple things I believe helped him: DAP diffuser--inexpensive and easy to get on line or at larger pet stores. Seemed to help a bit and surely cannot hurt. Not sure if it helped, but a behaviorist told me to try it and I did--if you have an "old fashioned" telephone answering machine, call your house and speak at the beep--and if you have a machine like I did, he'll be able to hear you. That was supposed to shake him out of major panic mode, and I would do that as soon as I got to work which was, for him, about 30 minutes in to his perceived abandonment. Then again in another half hour. Then that was it. I personally found that going home and leaving again simple doubled his stress, so I didn't do that. A "Kong Time" Kong dispenser. This is a nifty device that spits out a smallish Kong at a set time, and holds four of the little devils! George went through his Kong really fast, and then it was the rest of the day with nothing. The Kong Time gave him more treats to look forward to. Again, not sure any of these things did it--or if it was just time and trust. Also, for me (not your issue, I realize) not crating him made all the difference in the world. He hated his crate and to this day when I haul it out to use for a cat containment pen (during work on the condo, etc.) he looks at it with loathing!

Benadryl regular. Do NOT buy "allergy/sinus" with the decongestant!! And it's only going to work if the dog's itching is from an allergic reaction.

Put your food away! And it sounds like more exercise might be helpful for this gal!

Throw rugs--or even bathmats if you already have some. Just make sure they have no-slip backing. Slippery floors can be a challenge. And if you have housekeepers, the small amount of extra work (periodically cleaning the rugs!) is no big deal!!! You're probably spot on about the strange fears of the chair and eating. She sounds very sensitive. She'll get over it, but perhaps you might try feeding her in a different location and see if it helps?

It took my dog FOREVER to learn because the only stairs at my old building were black metal ones in a scary enclosed stairwell. He would go DOWN, but up was just a nightmare, and I'm talking about moving his feet, paw by paw, up three flights of stairs, dozens and dozens of times! Then I moved. Three flights of carpeted "regular stairs" to get to my condo. He followed the moving men up like he'd been doing it his whole life! I couldn't believe it! You're doing everything right, you're just being a wee bit inpatient! Keep it up and before you know it you won't remember this phase except with a smile!

Ah, the oft told myth that Greyhounds "can't" sit! I taught George to sit exactly the same way I've taught ever other dog we've ever had to sit--the tried and true "tuck and fold" method to start, then progressing to standing him in a corner and holding the treat up over his head (so he has to look WAY up and the hind end goes down). Trust me. George has no interest in being trained or obeying or even pleasing me. If he can learn it, and hound can! Is it as good as a "regular" dog? No. But it's good enough. And when some misinformed but friendly person says something like, "I heard the use a cattle prod on them at the track to teach them never to sit" and I say, "Sit," and he does, it's way more effective than trying to convince them there is no truth whatsoever to that silly tale!

Some dogs don't like to wear clothes. If you're just going out to piddle, she really doesn't need it in the first place, but I think if you take her on some nice long and fun walks when it's chilly enough to wear it, and make a big deal when she finally does pee, she'll get used to it!

Never had anything homeopathic work on my pets or myself for a medical issue. There are skin care remedies and such that seem to work, like tea tree oil to soothe skin, oatmeal to cut itching, but I just don't find that the "natural" remedies work well, and in fact giving some herbs to my dog to help him through his SA caused his liver enzymes to spike! I'll stick with better living through chemistry for both of us!

I'd put a non-slip mat on the floor at the top of the stairs. That way when/if he jumps, he won't do a "Bambi on Ice" on the wooden floor.

Yes, because he's a normal dog and that's what they do!

I'm not sure what you read--but Greyhounds live with their entire litter until they're at LEAST six months old. Your Bernese Mt. Dog? Probably you purchased it when it was 8 weeks old and it's been living with you ever since. I'm sure you love your dogs very much--but as a dog who it would rather live with, it's litter or humans, and you would no doubt be surprised to learn that your average DOG (they're NOT babies) would much rather be running around in a large, clean run rough housing with his siblings that baby gated into a kitchen, alone, while it's humans are off at work (which is pretty typical of your normal pet dog upbringing). Isolated? They're NEVER, ever alone. Not until they're adopted.

Most dogs in the US are fed twice a day. Back when my Dad was a kid (he's 83) most dogs were fed once a day. I sure wouldn't want to be fed once a day. It takes me less than 5 minutes to feed the dog. Not sure why I'd even consider only doing it once.

Did you make note of this: All jars will be stamped with: The “Best-if-Used-By” Dates stamped on the recalled products will be March 1, 2011 I assume most people don't have peanut butter that was supposed to be used 18 months ago sitting in the cupboards.

There's really no reason your dog can't eat kibble. George doesn't EVER chew his kibble--not even for a second. I had a cat loose 16 teeth in one shot, and he was eating regular cat food the next day. Unless there is some other medical condition, I think what you were told was just plain silly. Soak the kibble and see what happens.

I'm sure most of your questions will be answered in the books! You're asking for quite a bit-- A dog that will be OK with a LARGE puppy, a little dog, and what sound like young children. Playful but not hyper. Interactive but independent. Yes, this dog exists. But you may have to wait a bit for him! And most retired racers require a period of adjustment to home life which lasts anywhere from a few days to a few months. The unique upbringing and early life of a retired racer is what makes him special--or so many of us think--but it's also what can make it a bit quirkly compared to a dog who has been basically raised from 8 weeks on in a home. So be prepared. Your dog will most likely need to be housebroken, taught to go up and down stairs, and even learn to walk on shiny floors and hardwood. You might do best with a group that fosters their dogs since you do have a rather long list of "must haves." I, for example, only needed one that was cat safe. I didn't care about the other things you mention cause I live alone and have no one to worry about but myself. So it was fairly easy for me to find a dog that met my requirements.

I had my last dog for 14 years, and he never stopped that exact pattern. I didn't let it worry me. My current dog--5 years. He's fine Monday-Friday being left, but if I go out on a Saturday or Sunday without him, he cries. A little missing me isn't going to hurt him. He's not destructive, he's not overly noisy, I don't seek to make every single situation "comfortable" for him. Dogs thrive on routine. Any change to George's routine throws him. Am I going to never vary my routine? No.

Not dumb at all. The answer is "possibly." It's possible they all have a TBD, but in and of itself, that won't cause overdrinking and overurination. You'd see something in the bloodwork or urinalysis (signs of impaired kidneys, infection, etc.). And if they've all been in their homes for a while, I think the odds that three dogs would start to show the SAME symptom at the same time would be slim. Is this the prepared raw diet that you use that they all eat? It really does seem to be the ONLY common denominator, if so.

Same home?? I'm thinking not. Same vet? If they all eat the same food, which I consider a massive coincidence, and none are in the same home--the odds of this are--very, very low! I'd be inclined to worry about the food. But why just those three? As you know, my vet gives me what I want or I don't leave! And there are other perfectly legal sources of antibiotics... Juss sayin' I showed the antibiotics labeled for "aquarium use only" to a pharmacist and he immediately identified them as the human grade form of exactly what they're supposed to be, i.e. doxycycline. I would 1) demand the antibiotics for a full month if they worked in the short term, 2) find a new vet if #1 was refused, and 3) consider a temporary change of diet just to rule that out as a potential cause.