GeorgeofNE

What set up a red flag for me was the other posts--how do I housebreak him, my other dogs were already housebroken. How do I leash train him, my other dogs were already leash trained. It sounded to me that what the OP was looking for was a dog who had ZERO issues, needed ZERO training or time to adapt, and yet she said she was an experienced Greyhound adopter. ????? George is my first Greyhound, but not my first dog. Nor was this the OPs first or only dog. How do you own dogs for years and not know even the most basic of things?

Oh Deb, What a beautiful tribute. A shocking loss. I am so sorry. Hugs to you and John, Dexter, and all the rest. Susan and George

I rarely spend less than $200 at any vet visit. It's incredible, really. I make sure to ask now before I agree to any tests, "How much is that?" They asked me once if they could run a clotting factor test on my cat because "we had a hard time sticking her for her blood draw." I said sure. It was $115. And of course it was totally normal. I was ticked off.

He's more comfortable with you, and the first few times he tried it, it worked! If ever in doubt about "I wanna play" versus "I have to pee," take him out on a leash to a designated pee spot. Don't speak to him. Don't pet him. Don't play with him. Give him a couple of minutes, and take him inside, go back to bed. If he has to pee, he will. If he doesn't, he will quickly realize how boring the "game" has become and hopefully give up. That combined with "go lie down!" in a stern tone are both things I had to do myself!

I had a dog who was a die-hard toy eater. I had to switch from plastic type toys to latex only, since they had no hard edges when swallowed. Suggest you start buying toys without squeakers, but for now, I would just wait myself.

You haven't given yourself much time to learn the essentials! Did you read Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies?

If she's yelping, you're hurting her. How is that an acceptable solution? Or she's a drama queen!

It's far more important at that age to keep the weight on and keep him eating than WHAT he eats. I'd give my old dog anything it wanted to eat if he was off his food!

I'd insist on x-rays myself--simple films. If they show anything suspicious, then you can go somewhere and get digital ones. If it's clean as a whistle, you're not out a lot of $$ but you can relax a LOT.

If you share a yard/land, then really, he IS growing up with your dog. He'll see him every day, interact with him every day. It's not the same thing as randomly running into a particular dog every few months! I expect all will be just fine and your dog will have a very big, hairy friend with four dew claws!

Exactly. Snap on her leash and give her a cheery, "Let's go" and if she doesn't, give her a little tug and release, and put on your I Mean It voice!

Great P's are generally VERY easy going dogs. I imagine if he's grown up with your dog, he's not going to suddenly see him as a challenger. We had one at my old dog park when I had my mutt, Kramer. The Great P. was named Odin. He was so cute! And he was HUGE when he got to be full sized. His disposition never changed. I'm not sure he knew he was twice the size of all the dogs he grew up playing with.

You said in another thread that you've had Greyhounds before, so I will try not to talk to you like you're a newbie--but you don't know this dog, he doesn't know you, it was way, way, way too soon to take him to a dog park. You're very lucky no one (including your dog) was injured. This dog has NEVER had any of the experiences he's gone through since you picked him up. You can't just expect him to be good to go as if he's already acclimated to pet life, home life, and you! I would not even consider going back to a dog park for months. You need to train him, he needs to know and trust you, and you need to know a LOT more about him before you do. For what it's worth, indoor cats are very different from a small white fluffy dog running in a park. You cannot assume he won't be OK with your cats based on the dog park reaction. Good luck!

Get a tick collar. Preventic collars work great. The ONLY topical that repels ticks is Advantix. Any dog (any breed) MIGHT react to one topical or another. I don't believe there is any known problem with Greyhounds and Advantix. In fact I used it on George for a couple of months but my vet doesn't want me to use it because of my cat (who is all over the dog all the time!). Frontline will EVENTUALLY kill a tick that is already feeding, but if you want to keep them OFF, you need a tick collar.

Any basic book on training a puppy will cover housebreaking in detail. Just treat the dog as if it's a puppy, and it should go fairly quickly!

Of course he's bored! Not a lot to do in the crate besides sleep! If he was otherwise calm, I wouldn't worry about it. Could be as simple as some peanut butter on the bars. I have found, despite what folks on GT recommend, that freezing peanut butter in the Kong makes it EASIER to get out, not harder. It gets solid, and it breaks if the dog drops it and comes out in big chunks. Try just refridgerating it instead. As folks say, a tired dog is a happy dog, particularly if he's going into the crate. So if you CAN, more exercise is never a bad thing!

Why are you saving them? The only thing that REALLY works is a Preventic collar. I think K-9 Advantix is also pretty good at repelling ticks. It's the only topical that does. You can find tons of info. on tips for cleaning up your yard and making it less attractive to ticks, but it's really an uphill battle.

You cannot possibly know how he's going to act in a home based on his behavior at the track. Perhaps if this is your first Greyhound you should consider adopting through a group where you will have more guidance and a back up system if you have any problems that needs to be worked through?

A few x-rays of the limb won't be expensive and you will have one less thing to worry about if you confirm he doesn't have anything going on with the bones. I would not wait a month with a limping greyhound either. Neutraceuticals are thought to help lubricate the joints; if there is something like a bone spur causing pain, they won't really do anything at all.

You can't judge whether she raced or not by the state of her claws, FYI. Some dogs nails grow incredibly fast. I trim George's every week. If your girls had been neglected for a month or more, they could look crummy, but that really means nothing in terms of racing or not. Just FYI. I think she just has small teeth.

I have a cat with never ending eye goobers. We also had a dog (English Setter) with gross disgusting eye goo all the time. His eyes were "loose" and the goo was likely his body's way of keeping his eyes clean--so to speak. He had droopy eyes like a bloodhound--we did find that using regular eye drops helped somewhat. As to my cat, my vet thinks he may carry the herpes virus (cat version?) and that's why his eyes are always boogery. He was the only kitten in his litter who lived, so it is entirely possible that the other died from a virus.

I'm not sure why people jump to FOOD allergy. He could be allergic to ANYTHING. From pollen to fabric softener. Before I changed his food, I'd try him on some Benadryl and see if he stops scratching himself. If he DOESN'T, then he probably doesn't have an allergy. I would start with a bath with a medicated shampoo (for dogs). I find that the coal tar or oatmeal based ones are most soothing. Loosing the fur on his thighs is probably just part of normal seasonal shedding. Lots of Greyhounds have bald thighs. Since this is your first season change with your new guy, this could just be normal for him! My own dog is currently extremely flaky, and I've had him for four years. Some dogs shed in the spring--apparently mine gets flaky!

Sounds like anxiety. Any chance at all there is something going on outside you're not hearing/smelling/seeing? Like a nocturnal critter?

Don't worry about the A/C too much. As long as it's on, and he has access to the cool room, he should use it if he gets warm! My dog, given free reign (granted, I have a condo which isn't all that big) to his giant dog bed and my Tempur Pedic bed sleeps on a throw rug at the door. He waits for me there. I guess he's afraid he might not see me if I sneak in... So if your guy can see the door, he MIGHT be happier. I believe you said before you're leaving on a radio or the TV. That should help with the noise. Also, just TIME. He'll get used to the noises and they won't bother him. Maintain those good relationships with your neighbors! I think you're doing very well, and making progress.

Just to clarify--is he confined to your bedroom? Many dogs just despise being confined, period. The only thing that worked for me was letting my dog roam freely. He still got stressed, a bit, but he no longer made noise. I've had him for four years, and I still have to give him a Kong when I leave, and unless it's Monday-Friday, my neighbor tells me he cries for about a minute. He just NEEDS his routine! But that's a lot better than the hour after hour of howling at the top of his lungs when I first got him!