[Food Switching Question...same Brand Different Flavors]

My Very Spoiled Dog (yes I pay the shipping to Japan to get it for her) is fed Merrick which seems to agree with her. When I first tried it I bought several flavors--she didn't like the senior one and the Turducken gave her the most awful gas. She did well with a couple other flavors however.

 

I ended up with two flavors and spent a lot of time starting on one bag, mixing with another, then finishing with another bag. Is this really necessary? I've always read to make food switches gradually, but I was wondering if it really mattered within a brand as much. If I'm using flavors that agree with her already, is it okay to just feed a random one per meal?

 

I know I could just experiment, but if I get a definitive YES or NO, well I can save time and maybe some poop problems.

 

Thanks for any input, and if I missed a previous thread I apologize...and if someone could link me to it I'd appreciate it.

 

 

Cathy (and Jackie, who really doesn't think she is spoiled enough)

[Goodbye Old Girl]

I remember her story too, I'm so glad she was able to be at your home for her last year...

 

 

Cathy

[Need Help With Boy Parts]

An update for today.. the licking continued and today I noticed a pussy discharge. A call to the vet and antibiotics were prescribed. Hopefully, this is just an infection and 2 weeks of meds will clear it right up. my poor boy... at least he wasn't poked and prodded in his privates today...

 

Oh dear You just discovered there's not a nice way to spell pus as an adjective (the way to say something is full of pus for example). At work it's a newbie question..how do you spell pus (sy)? The answer was P-U-R-U-L-E-N-C-E.

 

P---y. Tee-hee. I need to grow up, but I keep thinking P----y Hoo Hoo. I sometimes think I'm actually a 12 year old boy.

 

I hope he feels better soon, poor boy.

 

 

Cathy (and Jackie who is embarassed right now)

[Emily The Kitty]

I can only think she wasn't well and missed her friend too much...Pretty Penny and Sweet Emily. I'm so sorry

 

 

Cathy

[Jed Has Gone To The Bridge]

How devestating...I'm so sorry

 

 

Cathy

[Hair Shedding]

It's that time of year around here...Jackie has started shedding in earnest, I put the Furminator on her and almost died laughing at how much came off of her. Any doubts I had about if she like it or not were answered, she was leaning in and when I was doing her neck she stretched it out and closed her eyes. I think it felt good to have the loose hair come off! The birds will hopfully pick up the clumps and put it to good use.

 

 

Cathy

[Suntastic]

I'm so sorry for your loss...such a beautiful girl...

 

 

Cathy (and Jackie, aka Sun Blaze)

[Ante Up Annie 4/16/01 - 1/3/09]

I'm so sorry to read this news. Annie was the main reason that I became interested in this website and I have so enjoyed seeing her over the last year. What a beautiful girl!! Words are never enough...but my deepest sympathies to your family and all those who love her.

 

Cathy

aka Mom to Jackie (Sun Blaze)

[First Aid Kit..]

Activated charcoal would be useful perhaps. And something to make them vomit.

 

I've read here some people using hydrogen peroxide. I don't have the doses of either handy (I'm at work and will try to look it up).

 

My dog over the weekend managed to sneak up on a table and ate an enormous amount of fudge my mother just made(sugar, condensed milk, butter and loads of chocolate). She had induced vomiting and charcoal from the vet, but those might be useful supplies to have available for your own kit too.

 

Cathy

(who now knows that activated charcoal vomit cleans up from carpeting better than she would have expected)

 

 

edited to add an emesis link from aspca..including hydrogen peroxide use...Link

[Normal Greyhound Heart Rate?]

Thanks! She seems to have weathered the night okay. She had water this morning and I made her some boiled chicken and rice (vet recommended) for breakfast, but my chow-hound wouldn't eat....now I know she's not feeling well!! But she pooped okay. As long as she starts eating by tomorrow she should be okay.

 

The chocolate was semi-sweet dark chocolate and apparantly 18 oz is right at the toxic limit for a 60# dog. I'm sure all that sugar and butter she also ate didn't help with her tummy though.

 

Oh well, off to find a car detailer to take care of the van....good thing I work for the government and have the day off to take care of her and the car!!

 

(I wonder if she'll ever try to eat chocolate or peanut butter again???)

 

 

Cathy

[Normal Greyhound Heart Rate?]

I feel like such an idiot...my poor has-no-self-control-around-food dog got into a huge amount of chocolate earlier tonight. My mom came for a visit and made two batches of fudge--one with peanut butter and one with 18 oz. of semi-sweet dark chocolate. I took a nap (I worked all night) and didn't give a second thought to the fudge on the table. My husband was tending the kiddos and my mom had no idea what a pig the dog is (sorry Jackie). Anyway at some point Jackie ate ALL the fudge (including the afore mentioned fudge/peanut butter, plus the condensed milk, sugar and butter involved).

 

I called the e-vet and at 60 pounds 18 oz of that kind of chocolate can be toxic apparently. She actually only weighs 57 pounds (my petite). So I took her in and the poor girl had to get induced vomiting (though I think most of the peanut butter came up in the back of the van--yeecckk). She then got and some toxiban (charcol). Poor girl.

 

The vet mentioned she didn't have too elevated of a heart rate which would have been more worrisome (it was only 110). I was so rattled I forgot to ask...what is a bad heart rate??? What is normal for a greyhound?

 

She threw up twice more at home--what a mess! I never thought I would find the smell of chocolate revolting, but eeewwww! But at least she seems comfortable now.

 

I feel terribly stupid...I know how she is about stealing food when no one is looking (she just can't help herself...and she looks so apologetic later, but yet does it every chance she gets). I was so sleepy, my mom doesn't know her ways and my husband was distracted with the children. No one thought about her climbing on the table. Of course, now I can't sleep..I wish I'd had that problem earlier! My poor doggie .

 

 

[Jackie Just Stole (and Ate Of Course!) A Chicken Bone...]

Thanks I did end up getting some rice for her too just in case (she had to share with my boys though, they decided rice sounded good as an after dinner snack too).

 

Without this forum I probably would have rushed her to the e-vet just in case and had a huge bill. We'll just watch her to make sure she is okay....she did breakfast (with a little extra pumpkin) just fine .

 

 

Cathy

[Jackie Just Stole (and Ate Of Course!) A Chicken Bone...]

I searched the forum so I feel a little better...I don't have any rice or white bread handy so I gave her some canned pumpkin and wheat bread (it was Wonder--I can't believe my husband found it and bought it--but I'm sure it's squishy enough).

 

I'll watch her for any signs of GI upset/straining etc...but is there anything else I should do?? I could probably go try to 'borrow' (like they'd want it back...) some rice from the neighbors--is that a good idea?

 

Grrr..... and thanks for any input!

 

 

Cathy

 

(and the other lesson is 'never trust your 6 year old to clear his plate without checking up on him...')

[Bones' X - Rays]

Okay, I just read the other thread ...I need to rescind my previous nickname and call him Dr. Awesome Hands. It looks like your wonderful dog got some great, great care.

 

 

Cathy

[Bones' X - Rays]

I haven't caught up on the other thread so hopefully I'm not being overly rude....but what just popped into my mind was:

 

Dr. Perfect Lametard

[My New Pooch!]

Thanks for the info!

 

At 74# now, do you think that he will be a really big boy at his "pet" weight?

How much do they typically gain?

 

I am too much of a newbie to know the typical answer, but the paperwork says our girl was racing at 58 pounds. When I took her to the vet the first week I had her she was only 52 pounds. 2 months later I'm pretty sure she is just a wee bit heavier , but I haven't weighed her again yet. Going by the recommendations I've read -- able to see the last three ribs and still has a nice tuck-- I'm thinking she's okay though.

 

Your new boy looks so sweet--I don't know how you can wait until the 1st!!

 

 

Cathy

 

 

 

[My New Pooch!]

I plugged in his name at greyhound-data and here is what I got: Linkage. He looks wonderful!

 

Cathy

[New To Greytalk]

Thanks for the update . She is such a wonderful dog! I tried calling her Katie, but she didn't seem to notice too much.

 

I put another picture of her on the "cute things" section--she likes to put one of her paws behind her ear to sleep sometimes too.

 

I think she is starting to relax now. Today she 'found' the not-so-empty cereal bowls my sons left on the table (forgot to clear) and somehow they were both on the floor and clean as a whistle when we got home from the grocery store. All I did was say her name and boy did she ever look guilty..it was so cute! Who knows, maybe she will discover the toys--but for now her life seems to revolve around scratches and treats.

 

It would be fun to see if she could meet any relatives--I imagine she was with her littermates a long time and might even remember them. She is definitely not interested much in the other dogs in the neighborhood, but I wonder if she would be excited to see an old litter or kennel-mate?

 

Anyway, she is such a sweet thing, and we are grateful to have her!

 

 

 

Cathy

 

 

[New To Greytalk]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone .

 

Her old owners actually gave me all her adoption stuff (which is why I know what the contract said) including a CD with most of her races. She was a speedy little thing! I don't think she was ever unsafe or anything...my coworker had planned on contacting the adoption agency except that we wanted her so badly. We live in Maryland though and the adoption was from Florida which was part of why my co-worker was glad to give her to us.

 

Along with the CD the adoption package also listed her old kennel name and included her racing record and who owned her. I've found out who they are but I didn't want to say anything unless I was sure of the reaction. I'm feeling a little braver about it now . I'll probably call the adoption agency Monday and ask them a hypothetical question and gauge their reaction.

 

Thanks again for the welcomes and also the reassurances!

 

Cathy

[New To Greytalk]

Welcome Sounds like you are dedicated to giving this little girl a good life. I would think Jackie's former adoption group would be happy to hear that she's safe and in a good home. Have your read Greyhounds For Dummies or other similar books?

Please stay with us here.

 

 

Thank you for the welcome! I read --and read the highlights to the rest of the family-- the Dummies book (I love those!) and also "Adopting the Racing Greyhound". We had about a week's notice before getting her, (I didn't want her coming home when my in-laws and their two dogs were visiting) so we had time to read up. Definitely good material. I went through several adoption site's webpages to get an idea of what we should be prepared with. Nothing prepared us for the instant love! We were supposed to keep her for the weekend to see if it was a good idea but with an out so the children (5 and 10) wouldn't get too upset if she left. Well, she was in the house for all of 2 hours and my husband went out to get the crate and toys. The next day was shopping for clothes and the vet visit was next. Those big brown eyes are amazing!

[New To Greytalk]

Hello, my family and I were very lucky to get our first greyhound, Jackie (as you may have guessed by my screenname), a little over a month ago. She is a 6 year old retired racer--I've had a lot of fun looking up her ear tatoos and her race record as well as about the breed in general. I've learned about martingales, chattering and that bare bottoms are a thing of beauty! Anyway, she really is the ideal dog for our family. My husband has been a fan of greyhounds for years but we had dalmatians when we first got married (since passed away). Now we have Jackie and I can't imagine getting another type of dog. She is the sweetest, most gentle loving dog, who of course loves napping as a hobby. She's not very interested in toys, unless there is food involved. She LOVES squirrels and cats--good thing she is always on a leash!

 

I am curious though...I got her from a co-worker who had adopted her from a group which did have a clause about returning the dog if they ever gave her up. I feel as though I have a black market dog!! We love her to death and have no intention of having an Ellen Degeneres type situation.

 

The dog seems happy with us. She did not get along with their other dog and once they moved to this area they were in a smaller house/no yard and the tension was escalating. Here she is a pampered only dog--which I think she likes (she is NOT interested in other dogs on walkies). She gets at least 3 walks a day 15-30 minutes (vs a quick turn out) with us and has given up her old habit of chewing furniture when left alone. Actually, she rarely is alone more than an hour with some combination of me, my husband, two children (who are very gentle with her), and the babysitter in and out all day. We also take her to a tennis court for off-lead runs once or twice a week. When we first got her we took her out and got her some warm clothes. All she had was a sweater I suspect was made for a smaller breed--hard to get on and off and she hated it. Now she has a nice fleecy for 40-60 degrees and a warm coat for under 40 (I think I would put her in both if it gets under 20). I've also switched her food, took her to the vet, updated her vaccinations etc (rabies was expired!), licensed her and bought her a new bed and a crate (which she seems to like and puts herself in at night if I haven't done it fast enough).

 

I guess my point is that she is now in a home that is taking care of her, spoiling her often, and offering lots of love and scratches. She seems happy and relaxed and I wouldn't want her adopting organization trying to interfere with our situation, but I really want to contact someone as I've identified some of her relatives--I'm just worried someone might interfere because of how we got her. Do the agencies really go after unofficial rehomes if the dog is doing well?

 

Well anyway, this is Jackie and we love her! I'm going to try and attatch pictures, but I'm used to another forum (non-doggie).

 

 

 

She won't play with the toys in the picture--that was when we first got her and we didn't realize she wasn't interested.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for listening

 

 

Cathy (aka Jackie's Mom)