rascalsmom

Stairs were a challenge for Phoebe, too, and we had to teach her since her foster home didn't (she had had a broken leg, and they weren't supposed to). She's a big girl, so it was rather difficult, and as food-motivated as she is, she was scared to death of the steps. We found it helped to have two people--one right behind her, as mentioned above, moving each foot in turn; the other person in front of her, encouraging, luring with a treat, also preventing her from leaping them in a single bound, etc. She eventually got it--I think it took a few days of 'practice'--but once that light bulb goes off , they've got it. You just have to be persistent. It's hard 'moving' a very stiff, very heavy greyhound UP the steps, but you've just got to do it. Keep at it, and he'll have that 'aha!' moment. Batmom can explain the method a lot better than I do....

She's so beautiful. Congrats to all of you!

Oh my, hoping for the very best for your girl. I don't have any tips, but hope all goes well!

Oh my. First of all, great news about the new vet, and yeah, those prices seem pretty reasonable to me! Not sure how PLE relates to what Jack had (lymphangiactasia), but I know that was an inability to absorb protein, and the 'fix' was rx food and steroids. The food was around $75 for 15 pounds, and Jack was eating 7+ cups per day. Crazy. The steroid (prednisolone) treatment didn't go so good for him, as you know. He got blood clots and we had him PTS. But I know there are lots of dogs who can tolerate pred. It was the really low protein levels, combined with weight loss, and perpetually soft stools (the whole time we had him, basically) that led us to look for what was going on. And we'd had him on a prescription food anyway, hoping to 'fix' the soft stool....so we were inadvertently 'treating' his illness before we knew he had it. He went from (I think) low fat food to ultra low fat. Let us know how things go.

No advice, but CONGRATULATIONS on the new pup! Any pictures??

My first thought was protein levels too. The first sign we had when Jack got sick was that his protein levels were dangerously low...bloodwork that was done because of a weight loss.

Phoebe tends to go from side to side, following her nose. It's kind of frustrating but I know it's my fault. She was better when I first got her but then she seemed to discover that I'd let her stop to sniff.... Sometimes I think it was easier when I had three greyhounds. Even though they all liked to stop and sniff (well not Ruby so much) they all knew their "spot" and didn't go from side to side that much. Buddy was on my right side. Ruby and Rascal were on the left with Ruby right next to me. And no, I'm not getting another dog so Phoebe stays on one side.

With Jack (my avatar pic) we spent around $3000 figuring out that he had lymphangiectasia. That was blood work, which showed very low protein levels; an ultrasound, which found a mass; surgery to remove the mass and find out it was 'clogged lymphatics', which led to the diagnosis. Then we had to have ultra low-fat food, which was very pricey ($75 for 15 pounds), and steroids. Start to finish, he lasted about a month. He developed blood clots, likely due to the prednisolone. He was the best dog EVER.

I really have nothing to add, since all the advice is good, but just wondered if I could borrow your dog...maybe she'd teach Phoebe to stay OUT of the kitchen! . Believe me, a dog who doesn't come into the kitchen is something I dream of!

I used to dogsit a greyhound who would only eat if hand fed. I think he missed his "mom" so much that he "took to his bed" in mourning. Aside from that he was fine at my house.

I'm so very sorry, Erika. He was obviously loved very very much.

All of our greyhounds--and we currently have just one, she's our fifth--have shown interest in outside cats. We have always had indoor cats, and all five of the dogs were fine with them, mostly ignoring them. They have always been far more interested in the cat food--or what comes out of the cat--than in the actual cat.

I never had a problem with allergies when I was young, and I had a cat. When I got pregnant I developed allergies! I went for allergy shots for almost seven years--I wasn't about to get rid of my cats--and it helped a lot. I still take allergy pills every day, generic Zyrtec, and I have to be careful about touching my eyes after petting the cat, or my eyes get extremely itchy and swollen. Allergies can most often be managed, at least in my experience. You just have to try different things (lots of good suggestions in this thread!) and see what works for you.

Your girls sound just like my own set of litter-sisters, Rascal and Ruby, both gone now. Raced at the same tracks, were inseparable, I was lucky enough to adopt both of them, though a year apart (Rascal didn't race long, Ruby raced another year longer). Fortunately they never had an incident like yours did, though. Glad to know all is OK now. Isn't it wonderful having litter-sisters? How lucky for them, and for you.

Maybe, on the weekend when you're around more, it's just enough of a change from her weekday routine that she's a bit befuddled: she gets used to you leaving, then suddenly you're home. She'll get used to the routine soon, and perhaps won't even get up for you when you come home---we've had dogs like that. My DH used to come home and yell, "Don't get up!" because none of the dogs would get up when HE came home, but they always did when I came home from somewhere. Like Robin said, just relax. It takes awhile for them to settle in and adjust. And if she wants to lie on the hard floor, what's the harm? The soft bed is available whenever she wants it. One of our dogs would always stretch out on the hard linoleum at Petsmart when we took her to meet and greets. Apparently she thought we were saying 'meet and SLEEP'.

Are you going to adopt from a group that fosters its dogs? We did, and we had no problems at all with our first two dogs. They came from foster homes with multiple cats. Third dog wasn't in a foster home with cats, but a few simple corrections were all it took for her to realize the cats weren't worth the trouble. Fourth dog we took as a foster, he was tested with a cat at the farm before we got him and he couldn't have cared less about the cats. Fifth (and present) dog was also not fostered with cats but was tested at the vets when she went for her spay...she passed the test and once she came home was a tiny bit curious but easily distracted. While your protocol looks good, you may find it may be "excessive" if you adopt a dog who's already had a little cat experience. Foster families are invaluable in that respect!

Wonderful, wonderful news.

To add to what Robin said, knowing Robin she is not going to do this (short periods of separation) without a lot of thought, or rapidly. She is knowledgable enough to take it slowly, and to back off if either dog seems unready.

What wonderful, awesome news! I remember how thrilled I was when Ruby--after just one chiropractic treatment--got up and walked unassisted. A happy day indeed!! Sounds like some very yummy treats are in order....

So happy to hear of her progress. Her journey brought back memories of my Ruby--although she didn't have a stroke, but an accident that left her basically paralyzed. We had to syringe feed her, so you are very fortunate that Doodles is eating on her own! Do they give anticoagulants to dogs who've had a stroke? Just wondering, since you certainly don't want her to have another one!

As was pointed out, taking one to the vet--much easier if the other one is ok with being alone for brief periods of time.

Perhaps for short periods and see what happens? If Iker regresses then maybe it's too soon. It took him a while to become traumatized and fearful so maybe it'll take a while with Xavi giving him confidence before Iker will really BE a confident dog alone. If that makes sense. Or, if in doubt, ask Batmom. . She never fails to give good advice.

My first dog was also a greyhound. And I was 44 at the time. Like PrairieProf, I was a lifetime cat person, and greyhounds were perfect for me. Our first one, our girl Rascal, was THE perfect 'first dog'. Just ask queenwinniesmom, who was her foster mom. While I was growing up we had a miniature poodle, but since I didn't have responsibility for any of his care, I don't really 'count' that as my first dog. I also agree with PrairieProf that if it hadn't been a greyhound, I wouldn't have a dog at all. In fact, after our fourth greyhound passed, we went for 10 months with no dog--and my husband suggested maybe we should get a non-greyhound. I can't even imagine that. For me, it's a greyhound or nothing. But that's just me.

I agree, I will definitely start the impulse control training when nobody else is here. Phoebe knows that her 'daddy' is the weak link, and everything I teach her sort of goes out the window when he's home. He may require the more intensive training.