greysmom

It's definitely shedding season. And it's a myth that greyhounds don't shed. Keep brushing and the undercoat should be gone in a week or two. If he's a BIG shedder, you may see some very thin areas, or even down to the skin on his belly and thighs. If the skin is crusty or very dry or itchy get in to see your vet, otherwise he should be fine. The fur may or may not come back when the weather gets cold again.

The first two weeks are horrible, hands down. But you both will get through it to a better time on the other side. Remember she's only a couple days from a major surgery, Where she lost a whole leg. She has to adjust to that reality and learn how to do everything all over again - it has to be scary and disorienting, and screaming with anxiety and pain is sometimes the only solution. Phantom pain and feelings are definitely a thing! Keep ahead of the pain as much as you can, especially now. Beneful Prepared Meals was is the go-to in our house for getting dogs to eat something. {{{hugs}}}

The price of Amicar has skyrocketed since the company was sold several years ago. They also had/are having production issues having to do with the patent I think. It literally pays to shop around and use whatever coupon and rebate sources you have available to you.

There's also a single fawn male along with those two sisters from the same situation.

That all sounds really normal, Lauren. And if you got her to eat - that's even better!! I hope the swelling goes down soon and you can get her home with you. {{{hugs}}}

Here's the group I was talking about the other day. Awesome Greyhound Adoptions They are a Florida-based group matching veterans with service greyhounds, and doing adoptions. They don't show any adoptables available at this time, but I know they have some from the founder's posts on FB. Plus I think they are a group that will match you with one of their dogs rather than having you pick one off the internet. Says to submit an app to get on their radar.

How's your girl doing today?

Great update!! They'll have her up and walking pretty soon, and she'll be home with you to recover!! Go Tessie!!!! {{{HUGS}}} for you!!

My watermelon was too ripe!!!!! Wiki's looks just rite!!!

I'm so sorry. Definitely not the outcome we all were hoping for for your family. {{{hugs}}}

True aggression in dogs is really rare. What your son is experiencing is very common in newly adopted greyhounds. For the first few weeks, every thing is fine because the dog is learning a new environment and keeping his opinion to himself. Once he starts to relax and settle into the routine of home life, he also begins to express his opinions about what's going on around him. He's beginning to trust and bond with his new family, but he's not there yet completely, so part of him is still anxious and on high alert - even when asleep - and very protective of his personal space. Remember, this dog has NEVER had to share space with any other creature since he left the farm and his littermates behind. He's always been aware whenever he's he's been approached, and never touched without knowing exactly what was happening. Living in a house is *very* different from living in a racing or training kennel. First, your son needs to NOT TAKE THIS PERSONALLY! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught the brunt of your dogs reaction. Which was not particularly aggressive. If the dog had wanted to make contact and bite in those situations, he certainly could have. He did not. I've had greyhounds who have drawn blood on both my husband and myself with sleep startle reactions, and each time it was our own fault for not taking enough time and care with the dog. Sleep startle and sleep anxiety can be very noisy and startling to us, but the snarling and growling are the only ways your dog has to communicate with the humans in the house. Take the above suggestions seriously: {1} Keep the dog off the furniture. Make sure he has a comfy dog bed in every room, out of the direct traffic pattern but still part of the family. {2} Don't grab any part of the dog to move him around. If you need to, use yummy treats to lure him off and to his bed, at the same time saying a command like "off" or "to your bed" or whatever you decide. He will learn the new command quickly. In the event a command or treat is ineffective, don't use your hands - clip his leash on and encourage him to follow you. {3} Since the dog has demonstrated he has sleep startle, always make *very* sure the dog is awake and aware before approaching him or attempting to move away from him. Call his name and have him look at you and take a treat. Greyhounds can be very deeply asleep >>with their eyes open<<!!!!! It's creepy and for dogs with sleep startle it can be confusing if humans approach thinking they are awake. They can also fall deeply asleep in seconds, and be startled awake, reacting violently. It's best to let them be on their own while they are still working through the settling in process. {4} Have your son take over at least some of the care and feeding for the dog so they bond more closely and learn to communicate better. Walking together is a very good bonding experience for people and their pets. He should also do at least some of the daily feeding. You haven't indicated how old your son is, but he should be old enough to assume some of the responsibilities for the dog. Lastly, only you can decide if their relationship is not repairable. As I said, this behavior is extremely common, but with care everyone can work through and have a wonderful, long term relationship. Some dogs get over sleep startle quickly, and some have it throughout their lives, so it can be a long term management issue. If you do decide that returning the dog is the best thing for your family please be honest with them about the cause so they can place the dog appropriately in the future.

Have you changed any food or added any treats recently? A lot of times dietary changes will change the Ph of waste making it more acidic and likely to irritate skin. Same with allergies or food intolerances. A lot of dog food manufacturers have been having to substitute items and change up formulas due to supply chain shortages. And they don't have to make any announcements when they do. So that may be a factor, as well.

Just remember to be kind to yourself too. Everything you're feeling is perfectly normal - it *is* a very serious surgery, with serious risks, and a tricky recovery - but you have a plan, you have some really good science behind it, and you have all of us to support you!! The first two weeks are the hardest for both of you. Let her stay in the hospital for the first few days if she does OK there and you can afford it. That way the trained people can get her up and used to being a tripod, and when she comes home to you she can start the important healing work. Stock your pantry so you're able to stay home with her, and clear off a space on your counter for her meds and your med spread sheet! Like Jan said - you got this!!

It's very common as slippery floors aren't something greyhounds come into contact with until they get adopted. Some people use those glue-on nails caps, some rubber Paws booties or toddler socks with rubber grips on the bottoms, or make trails of runners and throw rugs where she usually travels. There are now rugs available that you can wash in a home washer which might help with your partner's asthma - Ruggables, is one brand, but there are several now. Washable carpet tiles like the ones from Flor are also an easily cleanable option. As mentioned, keeping nails short and paw pads supple will help her feel less like a giraffe on a waxed floor. You can encourage her with praise and treats once you're living there. She may or may not become used to the slicker floors, but you can give it a shot to try and change her opinion!

The play behavior of greyhounds is normally *quite* robust. It sounds like WWIII in my yard when they get going. Running is absolutely silent, but all wrestling and physical play is LOUD and violent. If your grey will stop when the whippets tell him to, that's a good sign he's understanding their communication and will limit his actions accordingly. Put muzzles on everyone for their safety and let them play!

Doo Be Doo Be Doo!!

A harness will help until you can break her of the need to respond. Though I would opt for a more secure harness to ensure she doesn't back out of it. Spooky Dog Harness Also, for your other dog, get this training book to help you work through his/her issues. The techniques will also help to get your greyhound out of the habit. Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash Reactive Dog

Gunnar gets my vote from your list. But I do like Harry. And Remington. I've always like the nickname Remy. Then when he's in trouble you can use his full name and it has some real weight!! "Remington G Lastname!!! What are you doing??"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When Dude was going back to the oncology department weekly for check ups and bloodwork and chemo, the techs wouldn't put him in one of the holding kennels. They just set up a bed in the middle of their offices and treated him there. Even techs from other departments would come in and hang out with him for his chemo, giving him treats and attention the whole four hours he was there. He LOVED going in for treatments!!! And when it was his time to pass, just about every tech on duty came in to say goodbye and give him a kiss, and to tell us what a sweet and loving boy he was. Even the doctor cried as she was giving him the IV. The card we got with his ashes was 4 pages long. I'm bawling just remembering it! I'm saying this because it's important to take Tessie's personality into account. We made the right decision with Dude - he was so outgoing and loved being around people who were paying attention to him. And he was never nervous or afraid or anxious when we had to go in. A dog with a quieter personality, or who was particularly nervous at the vet I would seriously consider what I was asking them to handle. And definitely get it in writing from Healthy Paws if they'll cover this. I would expect they consider it "experimental" and will not cover much, if anything. It took me several years to pay off Dude's bill of @$20K, so that's unfortunately something to think about as well.

I'm going to push my luck and post this for you @DaveS This is a talk given by John Parker - an owner, a breeder, and greyhound expert - at the recent national greyhound association gathering. It apparently had a Power Point deck along with it, but this is just the text. WHO WILL BREED – AND TEST – THE AMERICAN GREYHOUND IN THE FUTURE ? A presentation by John Parker at the 2022 Heart of America Greyhound Gathering in Abilene, Kansas Last year, it was my pleasure to speak to you about the history of the Greyhound breed. This year, I’ve been asked to speak to you about the future of the Greyhound breed, or at least that segment of the breed known as the American racing Greyhound. We all know that sadly professional American Greyhound racing may be reaching its sunset. The Iowa Greyhound Park held its last racing meeting ever earlier this year. The Southland track near Memphis will cease live racing at the end of the year. That will leave only two American Greyhound tracks, both in West Virginia, and it’s anybody’s guess how long Delaware North, the company that owns both those tracks, will want to remain in the live Greyhound racing business. Delaware North also owns Southland, so that may be one predictor. I hope I’m wrong. I hope professional Greyhound racing comes back in the near term, perhaps to Kansas or Alabama, where wagering on Greyhound racing is still legal and there are still track venues present. But a betting man or woman probably wouldn’t take that bet. And so it’s time to hedge those bets and talk realistically about a future in which there is little or no American Greyhound racing, there are far fewer, if any, racing Greyhounds are being bred for the pro track, and there are no former racing Greyhounds for many of the people who still want to have Greyhounds in their lives. So this current state of play gives rise to the question that’s the title of my talk – Who Will Breed – and Test – the American Greyhound in the Future ? I’m here to suggest to you that a significant player in the answer to that question is the American Greyhound adoption community, which has evolved over the years into a community of Greyhound enthusiasts who have embraced the breed and are its most enthusiastic and effective advocates. In short, folks, it’s you and Greyhound enthusiasts like you all over the U.S. We now find ourselves in a somewhat similar position to that of the other sighthound breed communities, in which hobbyist breeders breed and see to the athletic testing of the puppies they produce. SLIDE 2 Their experience demonstrates that there are three essential elements to preserving and extending important bloodlines: 1. Responsible breeders who will breed from athletically proven breeding stock; 2. Breed enthusiasts who will buy puppies from those breeders; 3. The athletic testing of most of the dogs as adults in public amateur athletic competitions. SLIDE 3 Let me digress for a moment here to say that I’m not here to talk anybody into having a Greyhound puppy in their future. I get that some Greyhound people only want an “easy” adult former racer, and that’s fine. I hope you will always be able to have an adult former racer in your life, and I wish you the best of luck in being able to assure yourself of their presence for the indefinite future. But for those who, again, want to hedge your bets and have greater assurance that you will always be able to have a Greyhound from racing bloodlines in your life, it would be prudent to give thoughtful consideration to your options. And remember that acquiring a Greyhound puppy and adopting an adult former racer aren’t mutually exclusive propositions. I’ve had both myself for about the past 12 years or so, as have a goodly number of Greyhound friends, and to a person they say that puppies and adults together are a joy to have. There is little that is more satisfying and more fun than watching adult Greyhounds interacting with Greyhound puppies. One of our adult Greyhounds takes great delight in being chased around by puppies, and has become one of our official Greyhound puppy exercisers. Let’s first address a couple of misconceptions about home-bred, home-reared Greyhound puppies. The first and most famous one is “Greyhound puppies are land sharks !” Okay. If you’ve only been to a racing Greyhound farm like Mike Strickland’s wonderful facility that we visited this morning, I can understand why you might believe that. Greyhound puppies reared with their littermates in traditional outdoor long runs are proper little hellions, no doubt about it. They haven’t yet had the civilizing influence of being transitioned into a training kennel and then a racing kennel to become the relatively well-behaved Greyhounds you’ve adopted as adults. Hobbyist-bred and home-reared Greyhound puppies, on the other hand, aren’t usually reared in long runs. They’re more usually reared in the breeder’s home or in a small kennel. And a good hobbyist breeder will have had them exposed to a number of people, various environmental stimuli, and other dogs (and possibly even cats) in the 8 – 12 weeks that they’re with the breeder. And once they’re in the new owner’s home, properly supervised and exercised, they’re no more “land sharks” than any other breed of puppy. In fact, I’ve had quite a few multi-breed people tell me that of all the breeds of puppies they’ve raised, the Greyhound puppies were among the easiest. The second misconception that we often see repeated on Greyhound Facebook groups goes something like, “Because of the way they’re raised and trained, former racing Greyhounds are unique and completely different as pets from Greyhounds who don’t have that background.” I used to believe that too – until I was given my first Greyhound puppy and home-reared him. Imagine my surprise when he grew up and was essentially indistinguishable from my adopted former racers in terms of temperament, biddability and his overall attributes as a pet and companion. Since that time, I’ve home-reared numerous Greyhound puppies from racing and coursing bloodlines, and the experience has been the same. I’ve seen the same result with numerous Greyhound friends who have home-reared their Greyhounds from a puppy. I’ve become convinced that “nature” – which is to say bloodlines – is just as important as “nurture” – form of rearing – in how a Greyhound turns out as an adult pet. So if you might be interested in joining that part of the Greyhound community which will support hobbyist Greyhound breeders at some point in the future, let’s talk a bit about those breeders. You often hear the fear expressed that as hobby breeders take the place of racing breeders to meet the demand for Greyhounds as pets, there may be “backyard breeders” who “get into breeding for the money.” I often ask people who use that term to tell me what it means, and they rarely seem to be able to articulate a workable definition. So rather than try to define (and thus avoid) the “backyard” Greyhound breeder, I think it’s more productive in terms of selecting a responsible Greyhound breeder to identify some of the “best practices” that responsible Greyhound breeders follow: SLIDE 4 1. Breeds only athletically-tested breeding stock 2. Participates in sighthound sports with their potential future breeding stock 3. Health tests their breeding stock – performance or clinical 4. Places breeding priorities equally on athletic ability, health and temperament in making breeding choices. 5. Provides lifetime owner support and requires return of the Greyhound, per written contract, if the owner no longer wants it or can’t keep it. 6. Allows puppies to go their homes no younger than 8 weeks of age (10 or 12 weeks better). 7. Doesn’t breed for color or other non-essential appearance factors 8. Provides puppies with socialization and enrichment experiences, and provides large fenced area for daily running and playing with littermates 9. Encourages visits to their facilities by prospective puppy homes Now, you may ask, where can I find these responsible Greyhound breeders ? Thanks to the advent of the internet and social media, your search is easier than ever. Here are some good resources: SLIDE 5 The Facebook group, “Greyhound Puppies” : www.facebook.com/groups/GreyhoundPuppies We started this group in 2014, and today it has almost 12,000 members. Most of the hobbyist Greyhound breeders in the U.S. and Canada are members, and will use the group to announce breeding plans, the whelping of litters and the availability of puppies. It’s also a good resource for people who are thinking about buying a Greyhound puppy and for people looking for advice on Greyhound puppy rearing. The Good Dog web site: www.gooddog.com I recently discovered this web site when I was contacted by them and asked if I wanted to be listed on their breeder directory. They screen prospective breeder members fairly thoroughly, and breeders can’t pay to be on it. There are a goodly number of hobbyist Greyhound breeders on their listing, though not all of them are breeding from racing and coursing bloodlines. Overall, it’s a good place to start your research, but of course it’s no substitute for doing your own due diligence on breeders and their breeding programs. The Greyhound Nation Podcast, Episode 5 -- https://greyhoundnation.dog/2020/hobby-breeder-roundtable-episode-5/ I’ll take a point of personal privilege to mention the Greyhound podcast that Michael Burns and I host – this episode features a useful roundtable discussion among several hobbyist Greyhound breeders with good tips on how to establish a dialogue with hobbyist Greyhound breeders whose breeding programs are of interest to you. And really that’s what you want to do – talk with several breeders about your goals in buying a Greyhound puppy and the breeders’ goals for their programs and the puppies they produce. Two final points on shopping for a hobbyist Greyhound breeder. First, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask a breeder about their puppy prices – just don’t make it your first question out of the gate. The typical current price range for hobbyist-bred Greyhound puppies from racing or coursing bloodlines is $1000 - $2000, and you will find some less than that if the breeder isn’t particularly focused on adding a mark-up over their out-of-pocket expenses. And remember that price isn’t necessarily an indicator of quality, or lack thereof. Second, most breeders will recommend that you cast your search net nationwide in looking for a Greyhound breeder. Unlike breeders of more numerous breeds, hobbyist Greyhound breeders are geographically fairly spread out across the U.S. and Canada. There’s not one in every state. But don’t let that discourage you – puppy road or air transport is widely available, and every responsible Greyhound breeder will know how to help you arrange transportation if you are unable to pick up your puppy yourself. So that’s who will, in my view, likely breed the American Greyhound and preserve racing bloodlines in the coming years. Now, let’s talk about who will test the athletic abilities of the American Greyhound in the future. In short, it will be the breeders and the people who acquire puppies from them. Of course, not everyone who buys a Greyhound puppy can or will compete in sighthound sports with their puppy when it becomes an adult, but it’s important to the preservation of the American Greyhound’s legacy of athletic excellence that a significant number of people take their Greyhounds out to test their athletic abilities in public competitions. It’s a matter of the old saying, “Use it or lose it.” If hobbyist Greyhound breeders don’t have homes who will commit to competing at least several puppies from each litter, then the breeder has no way of knowing whether he or she is continuing to produce athletically excellent Greyhounds and thus passing down one of the central traits that form the historical legacy of our breed. In the past, it was the work and commitment of the American racing breeders and racing owners that assured the continuation of that legacy. Now, that work and commitment must come from us in the community of Greyhound enthusiasts, or else the American Greyhound will become just a nice pet that’s a shadow of its former athletic self. Luckily, there are a variety of running opportunities for Greyhounds in amateur sports, and clubs hosting sighthound sports events are widely distributed around the country. Let’s look at those opportunities: SLIDE 6 Lure Coursing – ASFA, AKC , UKC, NLCC lure coursing SLIDE 7 Amateur racing – LGRA straight racing and NOTRA oval racing SLIDE 8 NOFCA open field coursing – western states of California, Texas and Wyoming SLIDE 9 Agility trials – sanctioned by AKC, CPE, USDAA, UKC and NADAC SLIDE 10 Dock Diving – NADD A word about FAST CAT events – be very circumspect in running a Greyhound in these events and choose your venues and host clubs carefully. To Close: As you can see there are plenty of opportunities to see Greyhounds run, and I hope that some of you who have faithfully gone to the Greyhound tracks over the years will continue the pleasure and enjoyment of watching Greyhounds run competitively by going to and supporting amateur sighthound sports. SLIDE 11

I've had 11 greyhounds total, most were retired racers. The youngest NGA-bred was 18 mos old (training dropout). The oldest was a 9 year old bounce (from a loving situation, but her owner had to travel for work and wasn't home enough to care for a pet). I've also had two siblings (NGA) from the same litter - one adopted at 12 weeks and one at 13 mos - and another puppy adopted at 12 weeks. She was ostensibly from Irish racing parents, imported to Canada for farm vermin control. I've never owned any AKC dogs, but I've met quite a few at amateur racing events and have friends who are breeders, so I've been around young AKC puppies. There is really no appreciable difference in temperament between retired racers and NGA-bred puppies. Their temperaments have been genetically fixed through targeted breeding for hundreds of years. They have always needed to be trainable, workable, people-oriented dogs to do their job - working in packs or solo to hunt down game that runs really fast. And unlike other breeds, they have continued to be bred to do exactly the same job better and better throughout the hundreds of years they have been a distinct breed. They aren't naturally cooperative workers - like a hunting or herding breed - but they all love and need the companionship of people. They are, in many respects, the ultimate expression of a purpose-bred dog. So there are many aspects of temperament between NGA dogs and AKC dogs that are exactly the same too. Show dogs have the same history behind their breeding as racing dogs - there wasn't any separation until the last, probably, 50-75 years. That's a lot of dog generations, but a drop in the bucket for a breed that's a 1000 years old (or more). They are all sweet and people oriented. If anything the AKC dogs I've met are a little more flexible, and accepting of other breeds due to extra puppy socialization and raising techniques from attentive breeders. And many AKC breeders out-cross and in-cross NGA bloodlines regularly to produce what they call "performance bred" dogs. While these puppies can be NGA registered due to their parentage, they are usually either AKC or have dual registries. They compete in all sorts of AKC and amateur racing sports. These breeders are attempting to keep the ability to do their job locked in the greyhound's genetic code. We've been spoiled by having access to lots of (relatively) cheap, easily available, well-trained companion animals. The days of low adoption fees and kennels full of sweet natured dogs in every color are really over. What I really dread is the proliferation of backyard breeders who manage to get a hold of unaltered dogs, or who purchase them from unethical breeders/farmers getting out of the business, so there's a glut of overbred and over priced inferior dogs and useless crosses. Breeders who breed for color or some other useless thing they get focused on and forget what greyhounds were - and are, and should always be - bred to do. Sorry. This got kind of long. The short version is a greyhound is a greyhound, no matter where they come from! End of rant!!

The whole carbs thing has never been proven, in dogs or people. It's a cancer myth! Feed her whatever she'll eat, whenever she'll eat it!!

For many years we fostered dogs for our group that needed medical supervision and/or time to heal. We had expertise and ability and someone was always home. Some were harder than others, though we never complained - and obviously we ended up adopting nearly all of them!! As these were all fosters they were chosen to come to our house by the foster coordinator, we only chose the first greyhound!! The next...8 dogs were foster fails. Until we chose Whiskey and Lilly. And we did deliberately choose dogs that had no overt medical or behavioral issues on purpose. We put in our time rehabbing and felt we deserved to just have "easy" for a while after nursing two dogs through life-ending illnesses at the same time. So don't worry about choosing the "easy" way. Every dog needs adopting by someone and it might as well be YOU!! And if you can't decide, well, two are twice the fun!