GreytHoundPoet

All of my Greyhounds (including my home raised from 8-weeks-old girl) and my Galgo roo. One dogs starts it or, if I want them to sing, I start it. The majority of my fosters have done it too. I have not fostered or owned any AKC Greyhounds but I want to think that I have heard some of them at an event.

No. They are like puppy pads for adults.

How cool! Congrats!! I have a black and white parti Greyhound girl named Lorelei too.

I have a pack of incontinence pads that you can have. I had them for LG. I know that you guys are doing everything you can for your sweet boy. I'm here (and local) if you need some time to vent. ((hugs))

Not much has changed. Mine all still play a ton. My 9.5 year old still plays everyday, several times a day. Some play like my Beezers do (rough and tumble), some play individually with a toy, some tug happens, etc.

It varies by body type, genetics, etc. Some dogs, and lines, mature faster than others. It can be hard to put a precise age on it. I raised a Greyhound puppy. She was a walking rib age until she was about 16 months old. She was intact until almost 19 months old. She's a lure coursing dog so I keep her in coursing/racing condition so she's "skinnier" than most people keep their pets and show-only dogs, but she is very fit and active. She's small, about 26.5" and 52lbs. She developed nicely and filled out around 2. My Ibizan pup is from slow-maturing lines. I have his half-brother here and he is a 4-year-old, very elegant male. Finn should develop similarly. Nova fully matured and filled out right around turning 4, although his growth plates and everything were done growing by 2. Finn is a year old now, eats 7-8 cups of food a day, and is following in the same paw steps thus far. However, a friend of mine's recent Ibizan litter matured more quickly and, at only a few weeks older than Finn, they all look a lot more mature and put-together.

I'd take her with me. Just an FYI: they can still get kennel cough even if vaccinated. Just like the flu, there are various strains. I've known dogs who were vaccinated pick it up at shows. I had a foster break here with kennel cough and the only one who got it was my puppy, who was vaccinated. Older dogs, puppies, and dogs with compromised immune systems are more likely to catch it, according to the 3 vets that I use and the vet tech and a vet I am friends with (I called them all when the foster broke with it since I had a puppy and seniors here).

The problems with electric fences are: 1. If a dog crosses over it and gets out, what is their incentive to come back in and get shocked again? 2. Greyhounds in pursuit of prey won't let a little shock stop them. Dogs have run on broken legs, toes, etc. by sheer adrenaline and drive. 3. How do you keep other dogs, cats, people, etc. out? What if a stray dog came into your yard and attacked your hound? I would look into livestock wire and green metal posts. The posts can be put in and taken out (you don't need to cement them) so when you move again you can take the whole fence with you and it won't do anything permanent to the rental property.

Welcome! I'm Shannon, from South Carolina, USA. I have Greyhounds, Ibizan Hounds (Podenco Ibicenco), and a Galgo Espanol. We also lure course.

What a shame that they messed up his leg. That is all I will say about the situation. My broken hock boy never had surgery, and it healed crooked. He's extremely active and romps and plays, and enjoys walks, just like my other hounds. But, he has a permanent limp. He gets x-rays every year at his checkup so that I can keep an eye on it. He is extremely arthritic and sometimes needs medications to help.

Borzoi can blow serious coat at times. I know show folks that can only show some certain times of the year because they go "out of coat". If you are concerned, talk to his breeder. They will be able to tell you what is normal for their lines.

We're not giving up hope here.

Hey, I know you... Nova said to tell Clown that he is saving all the best squirrels for when his buddy feels better. :

You are going to get a lot of opinions. Brace yourself. Most Greyhounds respect boundaries and will not jump fences, although there are exceptions. A 4 foot fence is sufficient for the majority. I have a 6 foot fence but I also have breeds that are known jumpers in addition to my Greyhounds. However, like I said, exceptions exist. The only dog to ever jump my fence was a 7-year-old Greyhound brood mom. Go figure. If you are out there with the dog, that is excellent.

Yes! I very much agree. In fact, these are good practices even if people do not plan to let their dogs off leash. Accidents happen. I spent the 3 day Memorial Day weekend at a lure coursing trial in Georgia. It was on an 8,000 acre horse farm. In between runs I was walking on of my Ibizan hound boys, Finnegan, on an adjacent field. He has on a brand new collar. He was playing in a pond and jumped up at a bird. He hit the end of the leash and the collar broke (shoddy *&^% craftsmanship, despite being highly recommended!)! I don't know if he realized what happened but he started to trot out of the pond toward the field to continue hunting for field mice. I bent down and in my high pitched play voice called "FINNY FINNY FINNY FINNY FINNY", which I use during play time all the time. He ran to me happily, tail going a mile a minute. I was able to retrieve him and take him back to get a different collar. I call my dogs all the time, just to give them love. I also give them love when they come up to me. Sometimes I have treats. That practice saved the day when his collar broke. Later that weekend the lure broke mid field on my Greyhound. Same thing. I bent down and called her by her pet name and she trotted across the field to me. Before I called her she was looking for something else to chase. My hounds know that coming to me is very fun and it helps tremendously.

There are a lot of people who hike and open field course with off leash sighthounds. People tend to forget that the breeds were developed as independent coursers and hunters who had to return to their owners. In the Medieval and Renaissance ages fewterers would control their hounds coming back by controlling the food and water resources. Today, we can do that but we also have GPS collars with handheld devices, squawkers, whistles, training collars, etc. I do not hike with my hounds off leash (they are only off leash in unfenced areas at lure coursing trials) but I know a lot of people who do. Their observations make sense. Dogs who are used to being off leash tend to be less likely to bolt in "OMG! I'm free and can chase things and run, run, run!" excitement. We had an informal poll recently at a lure trial. The dogs who were the hardest to catch and get back were ones who are always on leash or in small yards. The ones who were easy to catch and had good recall were the ones who were used to large areas to run and roam (even fenced). It just loses that excitement and becomes the norm. A lot of people say that running them in a pack helps keep them together and close by, especially if a few of them have really great recall. Are there exceptions? Yes! But you know that already. If you are on Facebook you can join some of the groups that have open field coursing people. They can help you tremendously with off leash work. Of course, the key is recall, recall, recall, knowing your dog, always being alert (the 1st time and the 30th time), going to safe places, and being prepared for anything. A friend off leash hikes with a pack of dogs, including an Ibizan Hound (one of my boys' littermates). She has come across deer, rabbits, boar, etc. on her hikes. He is a lure coursing fiend and a great hunter and yet she can still call him off prey and keep him close. The moral of the story is: Greyhounds are dogs. Dogs can be trained. Just, be sure that you know your dog and make the best decision for him first and foremost, and for yourself. Also, make sure you aren't breaking a contract and causing issues for yourself. I know first hand that the Greyhound community can be great but it can also cause you a lot of strife, especially when posting on forums.

Sending good thoughts!

You do need to get it checked out soon. Dislocated and broken toes can cause ligament avulsions, a soft tissue injury. Keep her calm and don't let her try to run or anything. Good luck.

I have 6 hounds that sleep in my bedroom and one who prefers to sleep in the living room. She is not a trouble maker and is happy so I let her.

I crated fosters and puppies overnight. A few fosters earned the right to sleep out but it took some time.

A lot of the mentality about not adopting 2 dogs of the same gender comes from dogs with same sex aggression issues (a legitimate concern in quite a few breeds and lines). The reasoning behind people being more hesitant to place 2 females over 2 males is that female fights tend to be worse in many cases. Of course, human female fights can be nasty to see as well. It is not a common concern in all breeds but there are enough out there that it became something to focus the public eye on, and then it went from being a smaller scale issue to the general public believing it is a golden rule. Things tend to do that in the dog world (and life in general). That being said, I have 5 males (2 intact) and 2 females and no issues. In fact, most turnouts feature just the 5 boys together since they all play so well together and my girls tend to do their own thing. I have had one female greyhound foster who was simply nasty to all other females and I almost adopted a boy that turned out to be very dog aggressive (not going to work here), but, in general, Greyhounds don't tend to have same sex aggression issues. There are individuals in every breed that don't fit the mold. My advice would be to worry more about individual temperaments and personalities than gender and age. Incidentally, my Greyhound males are 9.5 and 7, my Greyhound females are 3 and 5, my Galgo is 7, and my Ibizan Hound boys are 1 and 4.

Soft tissue injuries take a LONG time to heal properly and if you let them push it too soon you will end up with worse injuries. One of mine suffered a ligament avulsion and was on 9 weeks of crate rest and only outside long enough to do her business. Then we had 2 weeks of walking on leash (building up to 30 minutes towards the end) and 2 weeks of light jogging. After 13 weeks of restriction she was able to return to running. You might be walking too far too soon. The tests can help you determine what kind of injury this is and how to best deal with it.

What has her breeder said/recommended? I hate that you have had all these issues. I don't really have any advice. Both of my puppies and all of my adults have been firm, well-formed poopers. The only time we had runny stool was if we tried a treat or something that did not agree with them but, for the most part, we have iron stomachs here.

My oldest former racer used to be like this. It drove me nuts. I teach my hounds the difference between a hug (gentle and only when invited) and jumping. Anyways, he just jumped and knocked me over. He enjoys playing with toys when he is excited. So, I started keeping toys by the door and as soon as I walked in I tossed the toy away from me. He'd lunge after it and start bouncing around playing. After a while I was able to stop throwing the toy because, as soon as he got excited, he'd grab a toy and start bouncing all over by himself. All I did was redirect him from jumping (inappropriate) to showing his excitement by playing (appropriate). He is 9 and still does this. When people come over they think that he doesn't care that they are there since they are greeted by 6 hounds at the kid gate and a show: Lucius bouncing all over the place with a toy. I just tell them he's showing his excitement, which he is. My Ibizans both "hug" and "give kisses". I would turn from them and pointedly ignore their rambunctious jumping (sometimes give them a loud disapproving noise). I also taught them an appropriate time to jump up, gently. I would push them off me and turn if they jumped too hard. I would praise them when they were gentle. I give them a signal by putting my hands, palm up, in front of me to catch their paws and saying "YAY!" (don't ask....it is a Beezer thing ). We dance and hug that way.