Robin1017

Aww....Fenway was always one of my favorite greytalk pups. So adorable and I remember all your stories of him growing up. Sad to hear this news, but it sounds like he had a happy full life with you. He will be missed. Run free, Fenway!

Jenn, the Canada website you are thinking of is http://www.campgreyhound.ca/apps/webstore/products/show/1032726 to get a European muzzle. They are definitely a little gentler on them.

I do remember reading about it on here a few years ago, so you might want to do some searches of the forum. The main thing i remember that i thought was really interesting and can really help is to use different scents in different rooms to help them distinguish where they are. I would imagine this would be even more effective if begun while he can still see, so he will associate the scents with different rooms now while he can still see them.

I'm so sorry to hear you lost Corinna. Your hounds have always been some of my favorites on GT....I always loved Hobbes and Wally, and I remember when you got Corinna to heal after the loss of beautiful Hobbes. I hope that your family is able to think of her fondly, in time. Hugs.

No experience, but this is so exciting Pat! And he's adorable! I'm sure someone has experience and will be able to chime in. Commenting to bump it up! :-)

please add Johnny B and Cella, my friend's two hounds that they just lost a week and a half apart. Johnny B was to be 14 next month, so it was not as much of a surprise....but a week and a half later Cella ( who had lost a leg to osteo 2 years ago) suddenly broke her hip. The osteo had come back. Absolutely heartbreaking. Thank you.

I remember beautiful Alan. :beatheart

I'm so sorry, Mary Pat. I can't imagine your pain.

Calvin has been on prozac for exactly 4 weeks, and I've been following this post. :-) Regarding the dosage--the vet had me start Calvin at half a tablet a day, which was 32mg. After 3 days his anxiety was exponentially worse.....the poor dog was a basket case. I called my vet after 4 days and he said to cut the dose in half for a week, and then start inching it up. So I dropped it to 16 mg and he chilled out a bit. I kept him at that level for 2 weeks, though, instead of 1, because I was already seeing some changes to him and I figured it would be best to go slow. Sure enough, after two weeks I called my vet and confessed this, and he agreed. He said that if I was seeing changes at that low dose, that means it's working and he would suggest staying at that dose for 4-6 weeks in order to let it get to a therapeutic level (get the tissues saturated is how he put it....lol...) and THEN maybe try inching it up if we need a higher dose. So you should be good with your lower dose....it sounds like you've seen some effects, so staying there for a bit is fine, according to my (wonderful) vet!

I have all those things, Robin, thank you! I also have a relationship with a doggy physical therapist with a cold laser who i can talk to. I will try a few things and see how he is. Well darnit. Posted way too many times. Sorry.

I have all those things, Robin, thank you! I also have a relationship with a doggy physical therapist with a cold laser who i can talk to. I will try a few things and see how he is.

I have all those things, Robin, thank you! I also have a relationship with a doggy physical therapist with a cold laser who i can talk to. I will try a few things and see how he is.

I have all those things, Robin, thank you! I also have a relationship with a doggy physical therapist with a cold laser who i can talk to. I will try a few things and see how he is.

Hi all, Calvin has a few scars on his legs and feet that are pretty obvious. Last week i noticed that one of them was bleeding, and i wondered if it was maybe itching or tingling, causing him to lick it until it bled. Just now i noticed him licking a different scar, and now it is bleeding too. Any experience with this? Is there something i could rub into the scars that might make them a little better over time? I wouldn't want this to become a problen in the future... Plus itchy tingly scars sounds kind of uncomfortable... Here's a picture of the one just now. Thanks!

I remember them.... please give my sympathies.

I've done the green bean trick before....but....I'm trying to isolate his food right now, to get the D under control, and to see if he may have any sensitivities. I'm thinking using add-ons in this situation will defeat that purpose?

I've been having some issues with Calvin's tummy, so the vet recommended he go on the hills prescription i/d diet for a while to stabilize things. It has worked, thank goodness, but I'm finding Calvin is often still hungry. I'm following the recommendations on the bag for a 70lb dog and giving him 4 to 4.5 cups per day but I'm wondering if the bag is accurate. I know they often aren't for greyhounds. Has anyone had their dog on the i/d kibble who can let me know how much they were feeding? I would love to increase the food a bit, but i don't want him to get overweight either. Thoughts?

Jeannine, she was beautiful! I'm sorry I never met her....but I'm glad I managed to meet you at GiG the past couple of years! Glad you stayed....

When I adopted Calvin, I was shocked to note that he would pee only ONCE on our walks, no matter how long. (And I was doing 2+ mile walks.) I mean, he's a BOY dog! No marking, nothing. He didn't pee in the house either. I eventually figured out that he was a little too new and unsure of himself and nervous to just go whereever. Once he relaxed some, he started peeing on things like a normal dog. And now, believe me, that is no longer an issue. :-)

-Occasionally roommate is home, but usually not. -I do need the second job, at least for now. But I don't think that is the issue, since this is going on during the day mostly. And if roommate comes home, he takes him out. It's only two evenings a week--usually Monday and Friday. Not ideal, but still.... (Plus, this week and last week I got coverage so that I haven't been working the second job and he's worse than ever.) Quitting that job at this point will not solve the problem. Though I hope to do so sooner rather than later.... -Nothing changed at that time that I can think of because it was on December 17. That was before the break. The only change is the tummy upset at the same time. -I have a spycam to watch him secretly, so I know what he's been up to. :-) This crying happens when he is alone in the house. He does get upset when the roommate is home and he is still in his crate, so I minimize that. This was a different story. I do want to get him out of the crate. But I was quite discouraged by how bad the SA was on Saturday when I tried him with just the gate. I am hoping to figure out how to do that transition for him. And I am VERY appreciative that he is not destructive. VERY. I just don't want it to escalate into that if I can help it.

Okay, all....I feel bad about starting another Separation Anxiety thread, as there are so many. I don't want to ask people to repeat themselves over and over again. But each case is so different! So as I work through reading all that is available here first, I had a few questions to start. Background: I have had Calvin 6 months. He was 21 months old when I got him at the end of June, and he is, as my roommate put it, "an energetic young lad". I am a teacher, and for July I taught summer school, so Calvin had to get used to me leaving. Some signs of SA, but nothing ridiculous considering he was newly adopted. When school started in September, we progressed to full school days with a dogwalker midday, plus 2 nights a week I work 3-4 hours at a restaurant. (I know that's not ideal....so I started adding a dog walk at about 7 on those evenings.) He is crated whenever I leave, as he is quite mischievous (and scared me by trying to chew power cords at first). He gets his muzzle off in 10 seconds. The thing is, after a short adjustment period he had been doing well in his crate each day, sleeping most of the time. Until mid-December, when SA appears to have taken hold. Barking, crying, howling, and peeing. Since then I've been trying things, but am having little success. Compounding this is that he developed diarrhea at the same time, so I am having trouble determining if the diarrhea/GI issues caused the SA, or if the high levels of anxiety caused the tummy upset. It is only now starting to resolve after almost a month. Questions 1. Is it common for SA to not be an issue, or to be well managed, and then to have it erupt after 6 months? This seems weird. There were signs that he has a little anxiety here and there, but he was managing well until then. 2. The other strange piece is that, though some days he will cry when I leave in the morning, it lasts about 5 minutes only and then he is quiet and sleeps until the dogwalker comes at about 1. But then, about 2 hours after that, at around 3:30, he will wake up and cry and howl until I get home, whether that is at 4:00 like typical or later if I have errands. The afternoon session is shorter, but he gets anxious. That is when he pees. I am thinking that he starts to get bored at that point, which makes sense. But if it were SA, would it be worse in the afternoon than the morning like this? 3. My most recent attempt is that I bought a gate, and worked hard to dogproof my room, so that I can try allowing him in there instead of the crate. I figure he would get less bored, be less confined, can sleep on my bed, and could have his treat ball out for if he needs entertainment. I tried it on Saturday. He started crying and howling instantly and kept it up for an entire hour. (In hindsight, an hour was way too long to start....but I didn't realize that we would be starting from scratch...I honestly thought he would be ok.) Is it common to have to re-do alone training when you transition from crate to room? It always sounds like people on here just give them the run of the house one day, or a blocked off room, and they are magically fine with it. That was NOT my experience with Calvin. I know I have many other questions. I did see a recommendation for the I'll Be Home Soon book, which I'm going to order. But this is at least a start.... I forgot to mention that he does get a frozen kong when I leave.... This was a long post for only 3 questions. Sorry guys. Thanks for any input. Cathy

Oh Tricia, I'm bawling right now at your words and the sadness at losing your boy. Murray was a favorite of mine, and i loved him well before i ever got to meet him in person. Hearing his story reinforces what a special boy he was and how lucky he was to find you and Burke. I hope Robin is able to meet up with him at the bridge, and that Murray cam be reunited with his Bee. I'm so sorry for your loss. He was much loved. Cathy

I truly hope I can pull it off, Diane! I so want to go....but can only get Friday off so would have to drive down Thursday after work. I'm hoping!

He's actually a fairly small male, though he seems to look big in the pictures. He was only 64.5 pounds when I got him and is now about 70. He's not very tall, either. (Of course, my perception is a little skewed because Robin was a big boy, at 82 pounds in his prime and stocky in frame. But my greyhound friends near me agree...) His muscles are HUGE, which could be making him look big, too.

Well, I have had a hard time mentioning on GT the loss of my Robin. He and I were together for 11 1/2 years and it was hard to say goodbye. But by now I think most of you know that I lost Robin in June at 13 years, 8 months old. He was a very special boy. I was crushed. Though I knew I would not be able to be alone long, I was surprised by how soon it happened. My students had done a service project where they made dog treats for the kennel, so I had to deliver them. SINCE I was there, I asked to go in the kennel and just LOOK at the dogs, to see how I felt. I was standing there, feeling kind of overwhelmed, while all the dogs barked and barked at me, and I turned and saw....THIS. I laughed out loud. And fell in love. A few days later, he was home. Meet Calvin. He was not yet 2 when I adopted him. And though he was quiet and calm in the kennel, he came home and started BARKING at me and running around the house like a maniac. It has been SO much fun to see him learn about life and come out of his shell. He is a super goofy boy who LOVES to snuggle. Quite the personality. And I kind of like to imagine that Robin sent him to me, and that he's been LAUGHING his ass off at me from the Bridge as he watches me learn to manage what is essentially a huge puppy. I plan on posting more about Calvin and his antics. He is SUCH a goofball. And he is helping to heal my heart. But for now here are a few pictures of our first 5 months together.