greysmom

I've never had any luck with melatonin either for calming or growing back butt fur. And you have to be really careful you get melatonin with no artificial sweeteners in it. If there's been no change in his thyroid values, no matter what testing you've been using, you may need to seek out the advice of a competent internist or endocrinologist. Or even a neurologist. Your dogs issues may be something entirely different than low thyroid. The hospital at OSU may be your closest option, but I don't know where you are, and am really unfamiliar with vets in the southern valley. As far as anti anxiety meds go, I'm a big advocate for Trazadone for many issues, though each dog reacts to different classes of meds differently and you may need to try several. If you want to go the natural route, you can try CBD calming chews or drops from a trusted manufacturer. Or there are many other calming products from various sources online. If you haven't tried a DAP diffuser and collar yet, it's worth a shot

Several thoughts, in no particular order: I doubt seriously if he suffered any sort of "abuse" anywhere. The behaviors your using to define it are all normal behaviors of dogs of many breeds and backgrounds. He sounds like a highly anxious individual, and flinching at unexpected contact and not liking his routine messed with are indications he's a dog who does best with a strict schedule and few surprises. It could be that your dog will need anti anxiety medication, along with his thyroid supplementation, to truly work through his SA and resource guarding issues. You might do a search for "spooks" here on the forum and see if those threads offer you any insights into his behavior. As Lucy stated above, it can be very scary when your dog barks and growls and lunges at you, but you need to take a step back in those times and try and remember that he's not doing it because he's "aggressive" per se. He has a medical condition that creates behavioral problems which exacerbates his underlying SA and resource guarding issues. It's not personal and it's not directed at you - he feels anxious and scared, and reacts to outside stimulus the only way he knows how. Low thyroid can definitely add on to his high anxiety reactions. It's well documented that low thyroid can cause a whole host of symptoms and behaviors that you wouldn't think would have anything to do with it, and anxiety and aggression are on that list. I would caution though about falling down the thyroid rabbit hole too far. I had a dog who's *normal* thyroid level was .2, which is barely registerable, and he was completely fine. As Dr Stack's article probably stated, the only way to truly know what his thyroid levels are is to have the full panel run and interpreted by MSU. So if your vet has just been doing regular T4 testing you don't know the whole story. Re the Soloxine vs thyro tabs - I would ask your pharmacist to clarify the exact ingredients in the tabs. It could be they are just generic soloxine. Like with people, individual dogs react differently to the different forms of thyroid supplementation, so you won't actually know if one is better than another unless you try them. I would also re-think his bed placement to areas that are quieter and less in the paths you have to travel frequently so he has less reason to react anxiously. If you have room for a crate I would also give that a try, even if it's in another room. Always call him to you for pets and attention, don't approach his bed or where he is laying down. If you're, say, both in the living room relaxing, and he's laying quietly and not reacting, say his name to have him look at you and throw him a small treat every once in a while, as long as he remains calm and non-reactive. Reward the behavior you want to encourage, ignore the behavior you don't want. Always make sure he's awake and aware whenever you need to move around close to him. Our first greyhound was terrible with sleep startling (she drew blood on us several times before we learned!), so we always call our dog's name if we need to move within snapping reach, even with dogs that don't resource guard/sleep startle. Lastly, I see you're in Oregon. Did you adopt Rusty through GPA-NW?? If so, you might post on their Facebook page about finding a greyhound savvy vet close to you. There's also a page for Eugene/south valley folks specifically, and an active page for Oregon Greyhound Adoption, though the adoption group doesn't exist anymore. Good luck!

I agree. She's doing fine. Keep her to her schedule as much as possible and encourage her to eat with some tasty treats. We fed Dude his pills in McD's cheeseburgers for a week after he came home. I'm sure the drive thru workers thought we were crazy!!

A harness might work better for her than a sling since she can just keep it on 24/7. Especially something like the RuffWear one. There's less fussing when she needs help moving around and the handle is always there for grabbing. {{{hugs}}}

Good news!!!

I'm so sorry Jan. She will be greatly missed....

Marchez!! Marchez!!

Sending all the positive thoughts and good vibes we have to you and Sweep for Monday!!!

This is an interesting article that has some ideas you may not have tried. The "time out" object seems to be brilliant to me. Tips for Attachment Issues The only thing that has worked for us is anti anxiety medication when I need to leave the house. Over the course of the last 6-8 months, she's finally gotten better about being without me and we are gradually reducing her dosage. It *has* been hard with the Pandemic and basically being housebound for so long. I used walks around the block, or short drives - at least daily - to try and desensitize our dog. The other thing that helps a bit is leaving an article of my clothing with her. As long as she can smell me she seems calmer.

Remember that barking and growling are simply forms of communication for dogs. Your perception of that as "aggressive" is just that - how *you* see it, not how the dog actually means it. I would say that you may not being doing something in her crating routine quite like she is expecting, and she's letting you know. I second talking with the owners to see if she does it with them, and perhaps have them describe their crating routine for you. If you are doing it in the correct order, try some REALLY YUMMY treat to give her after she's crated to reinforce that going in the crate for you is a good thing. A treat that has very high value (like roasted chicken or cheese or whatever the owners use), that can be eaten in a few chews, that you use *only* for this purpose.

It's called "leash reactivity" and it's pretty common. It's an expression of anxiety and NOT aggression. As said above, there's a great training booklet out by Patricia McConnell called "Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash Reactive Dog" that many people have found very helpful. It's also helpful to remember that greyhounds have likely never had *any* exposure to other dog breeds prior to being adopted. They don't understand that other dogs are dogs like them, and they don't recognize them at all. The other dogs they meet don't respond properly and don't speak their language. This causes some to have a high level of anxiety when they encounter other dogs whilst out and about. Your girl is settling into her new home finally and more and more of her true personality is beginning to emerge, along with her feelings of anxiety over these weird other creatures. Distraction and redirection, along with lots of yummy treats, will get you started. If you know some people with calm dogs of other breeds, walking *together* (everybody going the same way instead of head on meetings) can be helpful to get her used to being around other dogs. Start with dogs her size, and see how she does before walking with smaller or larger breeds. Be aware that she may never be super chummy with dogs that aren't greyhounds. Some will work through it and some won't, and the best you can hope for is for her to tolerate meeting and being around other breeds without being reactive.

A second dog may or may not help with this "problem." Usually you just end up with two judgemental fitness coaches!!!! Seriously, before you adopt another (unless you really want two!!! ) ask about fostering, or look after a friend's greyhound while they go on long weekend, just to see how your current dog reacts to having a companion. Greyhounds are used to living together in their training and racing kennels, but some really do fine (and prefer) being the only dogs in their home.

I am conscious that we have two packs (I am the overall pack leader and both seem to respect that) but I can’t intervene with who is their pack leader between themselves. Yes, you can. And yes, you should. If you're setting yourself up as "pack leader" BE the pack leader. You decide, not them. The dynamic you're describing is very common. Males are pretty much "get along" dogs - they get along with everyone without too much trouble. Females tend to want to be the boss. If you're OK with that, then reinforcing that relationship will help work things out. How your boy reacts to the new dog tells you a lot. He probably doesn't really care. Specifically about the beds, it's possible she likes the location, and not the actual bed, better than the one you have set up for her. It's probably more like a crate/kennel and feels more protected and safer to her. If you have room for an actual crate, you might try that for her and see if she will leave his bed alone. Otherwise you're going to have to decide if you're going to support your older dog or reinforce your younger dog in regards to who gets to lay on that bed. If you choose to let your boy remain in possession of the bed, the female needs to be moved out of it every time she lays in it, or requests it. Teach her to "go to her bed" as an actual command, and TREAT and PRAISE when she's on *her* bed. You need to make her bed more valuable to her than the other one. If you're going to reinforce the "pack order" wishes of the younger dog, the older one is the one that needs to move. It can work either way, but all humans in the house needs to agree and be absolutely consistent in your response. Greyhounds are excellent human trainers and will take advantage of perceived variations better than a 3 year old asking Mom and Dad for a cookie!!! Whichever way you decide, you need to remember that this is natural, instinctive behavior for both dogs. Yes, you can let them work it out - but then you need to let them work it all the way out. It looks and sounds aggressive and mean to us, but it's just dog communication and really normal for them. And don't punish the female for growling or barking - redirect and treat/praise when she complies, but involve yourself only when safety is involved.

Just for an alternate perspective We had to try something different than the very successful protocol from Dr Ng listed above due to one of my dogs having an extreme negative stomach reaction to oral meds for hooks. Our vet suggested we try the reformulated ProHeart 6/12 injections. It was initially for just heartworm protection/prevention, but it also has the meds for most internal parasite prevention. This has worked extremely well for her. So well that I have put all our dogs on it. We have had no issues whatsoever, everyone tolerates it perfectly, and all our hooks were gone in a few months and have not returned. Plus, I don't have to remember to give out pills every month. The cost is about the same, or a little less depending on your area, and you get a free heartworm test every year.

Oh dear... They have a greyhound named Batman!!!!

Yes, it could just be a matter of time. Or not. Everything you describe is *very* typical greyhound behavior, settled in or not. It goes back to hundreds of years of being bred to do a specific task - hunt and bring down small prey animals - completely on their own without any supervision or help from humans. They *are* independent. They *are* aloof. I always describe greyhounds as cats in dog suits because they are really more like cats in how they interact with the world than a dog breed like Goldens or Papillions. Hunting, herding, and companion breeds were bred to interact with people. Greyhounds, not so much. So... What now? You can keep going on as your are, living as roommates, and getting on with your lives. Your dog will be perfectly happy and healthy, and you'll have a basically low-maintenance companion animal. If that's acceptable to you, then problem solved. He may become more affectionate over time, or not. He probably won't play with toys, or even other dogs very much, because - greyhound. He may learn to play with you in your own way. If you want to increase your bonding activities, the easiest one is going for walks together. If you want to do more training, or amateur activities like racing or barnhunt or nose work, those can be fun if you find something that catches him. Finding what motivates a greyhound can be tricky - really yummy treats (like roasted chicken/liver, cheese), or squeaky toys - are all things to try. And several 5 minute sessions a day works better than one or two longer ones. For formal training small groups or private training are really better for greyhounds in general, but your guy might like the stimulation of a larger group. And, lastly, if you really feel like you made a mistake, and a greyhound just isn't the dog for you, return him to his adoption group. It's way better for a dog to be in a home that wants to love him, rather than tolerated someplace that doesn't. I guarantee you, he will be snatched up immediately!

A good protein percentage is really just the one your dog does best with. But - in general - greyhounds seem to do better (defined as better stools, less gass, easily holding weight and energy) on somewhere around 20%. Too high and they can knock you out of the house with gas emissions. Too low and their not getting good nutrition. If you have a typical companion dog laying around the house, something on the lower-ish end should be fine. If your doing work or training or some sort of amateur competition, something towards the high end-ish. That being said, we're on Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach Salmon (no chicken!) for kibble. My couch anchors just play in the yard, and it's 28% protein. We are all doing brilliantly on it (plus Olewho carrots once a day as we need some added fiber). So there is some wiggle room.

If I had a dog that was really super chill, loved new places and people, and was fine being away from home on their own for extended periods, I wouldn't hesitate. Our boy who had osteo, was like this and he LOVED going in for chemo since he was the center of attention of a whole gaggle of people for a whole entire day. Since your girl is pretty much the opposite of that, I would definitely consider the trade offs carefully. The value of the radiation treatment vs the possible extended lifespan. And if any other combination of oral chemo and/or radiation is possible. You might want to contact Dr Couto and ask his opinion. I also would think they would put a port in if she's going to need an IV that often. You still need to keep her from bothering at it, but it won't be having to be put in and taken out every other day. Also, I would really talk with them about out of the box alternatives to their "normal" routine. Most greyhounds will lay still for short periods of time under a combination of easily given injections and pills that is easily reversible (propofol and a fast acting anti anxiety drug for example), but this depends on her reaction time and how long she needs to be still. (As a side note, do not let them use acepromazine, which is an older drug often used for anxiety. Greyhounds can have very bad reactions to this drug.) I was so glad to hear about the success of her surgery. Hopefully, you can find a good way forward for her from here. {{{hugs}}}

My girl began having issues at 4 years old, so 8 isn't unusual.

If you're not forced to take her outside the house for toileting, I would just stop. She's been with you such a short time (and with additional trauma) that she's still really just settling in and adjusting to her new life. Let her decompress for a bit longer before working her around to going out in the world. Remember, she's *never* seen a bus, or motorbike, or anything that makes loud noises on the street before in her life. Why wouldn't she be frightened by them??? And forcing her to be in the middle of all the noise and movement and commotion of even a quiet (to us) suburban street won't help at this point. You have a garden, so don't worry about taking her for exercise walks for a bit. Play with her outside, and let her get used to the noises from a distance for a while. Once she's truly settled in to home life, you can start to SLOWLY introduce her to street noises. Just stand inside the house (on leash, obviously) with the door open, giving her YUMMY treats! You may need to up your treat value significantly in the beginning, and/or use a very high value treat only for this training. Once she can do that step, stand outside on the stoop. Then down the walk. Then on the sidewalk. Etc, etc,etc! Until she can actually feel comfortable walking out the front door. Lots of time and patience!!!! And relax and enjoy each others company! Good luck!

Kidney failure is hard to negotiate, because you need to feed exactly the opposite of what a dog wants to eat. It's also important to remember that the cause of their inappetence isn't the food, it's the nausea that goes along with failing kidneys, and that you're really not attempting to "heal" your dog. Kidney failure doesn't get better, so your concern should be about quality of life. If that means tempting her along with higher protein foods that aren't as great for her kidneys, I think that's a call only you can make, balancing how fast her disease progresses with getting enough food into her to maintain weight and energy. But, unfortunately, at some point you'll come to a place where she's not enjoying eating at all. Then you'll be close to decision time between struggling on and letting her go. I've been there twice with dogs of mine, and it's heartbreaking to work so hard, only to lose them anyway. {{{hugs}}} for both you and Daisy!

This is what I've started using Double Padded Irish Coursing Muzzle It is padded very well, but it's also much lighter weight, so tends not to rub. And it seems to stay on a bit better than a US basket muzzle. Plus it has an integrated stool guard. You can also buy felt with adhesive backing, but I don't think that would stand up to washing and wear very well.

You know that saying about the difference between dogs and cats - Dogs have owners, cats have staff?? - Yeah, that's pretty much greyhounds!!! Most of them couldn't give a rip about what you want!!! They are, generally, more like a cat than a labrador. Plus, he's still getting settled into his new home life, which is very different from what he's experienced previously. I guarantee that the dog you see in your living room right now will not be the dog you see in 3 months. Or even 6 months or longer. Some of them take a very long time to unfold all the aspects of their personalities. As said above, start now as you mean to go on - repetition of daily activities will teach him a lot. But you still have to set boundaries and rules. He stands nicely for dinner, not jumping and crazy. He knows where to potty. He knows where to sleep. You'll know when his brain is ready to take on more. When it is, clicker training, or even just casually shaping/catching behaviors as he does them will teach him a lot. If you do want to go for more formal training, they respond best to many short sessions throughout the day rather than longer, class-type training once a week. And finding out what motivates him will be key - whether that's a YUMMY treat, or a toy, or even just praise and attention - getting and holding his attention is what's important. And you may need to rotate motivators if his attention begins to waiver. But for now, don't worry about what he is or isn't learning formally. He's taking in so much right now that he probably doesn't have the mental bandwidth to support much more. Congratulations on your adoption, and welcome to GT!!

Yes, puppy food will generally be higher calorie and smaller pieces. As long as it's not a large breed puppy food. Make sure it's a balanced food with protein and carbs. I would caution adding a lot of weight really quickly, especially since he's a front leg amp. Sighthounds carry most of their weight in their front half, and having only one leg to move that weight around is problematic. Plus, he's part Saluki, and they are naturally even skinnier/thinner than greyhounds. So be certain this is what he needs. Better by far to be *little* on the light side than be too heavy. You and your vet know best though! Adding a carb may help put on the pounds faster - cooked sweet potatoes, oatmeal, overcooked pasta, even bread soaked in broth might appeal to him. If you find a kibble he will consistently eat, adding that in might make it more appetizing. You might also think about switching to one of the other Kirkland flavors, as lamb can be problematic for many dogs. I know Sid and Kibo are doing well on it. It depends on how you feel about all of them being on the same food.