PrairieProf
-
Posts
2,957 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Store
Articles
Posts posted by PrairieProf
-
-
Welcome!
-
I have never stopped crating my greyhound when I go out. The cats aren't the main reason as she's never acted inappropriately and there are lots of places for them to escape (she is calm(er) and perfectly content in the crate, happily heads right in on her own when she sees me getting ready to leave, she has an occasional tendency to chew things if let unattended), but knowing the cats are 100% safe is a side benefit. That wasn't my initial plan, but I decided there was no need to mess with success.
-
It's not that hard to teach recall. Start with tiny steps 1) Call her from a few feet away "Izzy, come here!" in a happy voice, when she does, give her a treat. 2) Go further in the house 3) On leash 4) Fenced yard 5) Baseball diamond 6) Dog park. We work on recall every time we go to the diamond or dog park...about 3 times a week.
I would differ, I think it's VERY hard to teach a meaningful recall to many greyhounds. I'm not an expert (Beth is my first dog) but we have done a zillion training classes and Beth does the recall perfectly well in a class or when she knows we are playing the "recall game." When she is focused on the idea that that's what we're doing, she will recall fine in an open area. But if there is a sniffy spot on the grass or a pile of poop or something that catches her visual interest in the distance, she could. not. care. less. about coming to me, even if I am waving good treats. (There is no negative consequence for not obeying, after all.) So yeah we practice it regularly, but I am never optimistic it would actually work in an emergency. She definitely understands the command but obeys it only when she wants to. And I've never had any clue how to overcome that in an open area, though I presume a really experienced trainer could. (Admittedly I don't have a second person to work with in training practice, which might make it easier.) Fortunately she is not shy and is extremely people- and dog-friendly so I trust that would help if (God forbid) she ever got loose.
AND she has never seemed to give a crap about the squawker, either. I have one and she won't come to investigate the sound from even a moderate distance. So it's not universal among race-trained hounds, either. Someone recently suggested to me that good racers seem to respond better to it than lousy ones (Beth was a lousy one) though I have no idea if that's universally true, and FWIW we know being a good racer is not correlated with prey drive, which might also be a factor.
-
Beth is very people-oriented but not velcro. It is my cats who typically visit me in the bathroom, though Beth comes in on occasion for an ear rub if she is already on her feet. Actually, Beth velcros herself to any stranger willing to pet her.
-
She is not on metronidazole (Flagyl)?? I put my dog on that at the first sign of diarrhea now, as she's had some issues and we don't mess around. In my view you absolutely need that. I would have been at the vet days ago to get that and a quick check-over and maybe have a fecal run and/or a fecal culture started.
-
I'm so sorry for your losses. What a beautiful, happy picture and, I hope, memory.
-
That's one of the things that surprised me with Beth (my first greyhound) -- how very very scent-oriented she is as a sighthound. Well I guess all dogs are -- she's my first dog too -- but she seems more compulsive about it than many. So it's made me think of greyhounds as HOUNDS above all.
A training class will help you work with her on leash -- teaching "leave it" etc. But I've done a ton of classes and had Beth for 4.5 years and on our multiple walks a day I'm still hauling her away from sniffing spots. I let her sniff some, but not all the time -- the dog shouldn't get to decide when you walk on.
-
Welcome! Patsy looks so sweet! That first one of her snuggling the stuffie is
. -
Well, lots of greys don't play with toys at all, it doesn't mean anything is wrong. Being energetic when let out of the kennel and playing with other greys is a totally different thing. She may well be still adjusting but she may not ever play with toys, though she will probably warm up over time. My girl is happy as a clam but she won't ever play with a toy with me; once in a while she chomps a stuffie for a minute or so, but that's it.
Hard to say for sure about the dog park, but not all dogs/greys do well in it. Remember she hasn't been with non-greys at all prior to getting adopted, and non-greys are quite different in behavior. You might want to stay away for now or go at off-times where you can be alone or just with one or two other dogs there. Many on this board are very anti-dog park; I am not, BUT I really avoid busy times. Have you had her at a playdate with other greys? This may be easy or hard to find depending on where you live, but if you post in the Introduction section with your location in your subject line you'll turn up other GreyTalkers in your area and learn about what's going on.
-
Do you mean deep breathing at a slow pace or sort of intense breathing with panting? Is this something she does at rest or more after exercise? Does she do it outside as well as inside? How warm do you keep your house?
-
Sure, frequently. My vet is near my house and right across the street from the dog park, and the step-on scale is right out in the waiting area. We do it more in the warm months since wearing a coat complicates the procedure.
-
I would contact the company and ask. But I would not use it, myself.
-
I don't have a lot of experience in this area except dog park interactions, but I will note that greyhound play is intense and I find some other dogs (even large dogs) are intimidated by Beth when she is "ramped up." Remember all that "mellow, low-energy" business is history for the brief periods when the greyhound's "on" switch is flipped! Dogs who like to wrestle-play don't seem a good match with greyhounds who want to play by running and chasing (and catch any dog they chase and like to play-bite at that dog) -- they don't get the wrestling thing very well and even if they do their skin is so thin it isn't too safe a way for them to play. I have seen Beth and a similarly assertive greyhound bark at wrestling dogs who are wrestling in frustration because they want them to run so they can chase them. I've also seen both a huge St. Bernard and a Deerhound get nervous and submissive when chased hard by Beth, who is NOT overall a high-prey hound (lives with cats) and is fine with any dog in the house or on leash -- she's very dog-friendly and well-behaved. That said, some of her best buddies are some Dobermans she knows well -- they are confident, assertive dogs in their own right and match well with my confident, occasionally somewhat dominating greyhound.
My view is that reasonably fit, active retired racer in "chase mode" is more dog than most pet dogs have ever encountered. Other breeds which like to run and are fast are good play buddies (I'm thinking of something like a Weimeraner). In the home, it probably doesn't matter too much.
-
So sorry for your loss. But it inspires me to see a dog of her age looking so active and happy.
-
So sorry for your loss. I'm glad Harold's long life was a happy one at the end.
-
That's great! I've been out of touch for a few days and am happy to hear such good news (well not so good for the human who has going to eat that waffle, but anyway....).
-
I don't know, to me the OP's photo just looks like a tiny little puncture in the toe pad from stepping on a sharp bit of gravel or whatever. The dog isn't limping or showing any signs of discomfort. You can make yourself crazy micro-inspecting a hound's pads looking for a problem when there isn't any, or reading descriptions of medical problems and then thinking you have them. I would just wait -- I bet that little dit is just going to go away.
-
So glad he is doing well all things considered -- just catching up with the updates. And while I am not an expert it looks like the vet did a beautiful job closing his wounds -- I mean they look awful in terms of what happened to him but they look like they are going to heal really well.
-
Beth had a histiocytoma this year at 6. They can totally get them at that age. But I agree, why wonder when you can do a cytology? My vet did it right in-house while I waited. If it's a histiocytoma it will go away without surgery. I'm the biggest worrier in the world but I'm glad I waited Beth's out once cytology established what it was.
-
Glad you joined, friend! Hope you post lots of Izzy's pictures and doings here. You will find a most appreciative audience!
-
Saw this on Facebook last night and I have been thinking about Chevy all the time since. I can't imagine seeing this happen to your precious boy.
-
I know nothing about Nutro currently (I have seen some evidence of old stuff being recycled), but the idea of petfood companies using euthanized shelter animals has been thoroughly investigated and is a total myth.
Read something reliable like Nestle and Nesheim's "Feed Your Pet Right" for a reliable, researched, scientific study of practices and standards in pet food manufacture.
Really, the crap people think is true just because they read it online somewhere is more and more evident to me.
-
Yep, all sugar alcohols are totally known to produce D in humans if you eat enough. Would be easy and obvious to eliminate the Biotene for a week or so and see what difference it makes.
-
Good luck from me and Beth, another three-toed hound following a running injury (not coursing, just had a foot slip on some wet grass clippings). Is Nash losing a weight-bearing toe or a side one? Beth lost a weight-bearing one and while she does run fine and runs hard at the dog park I will say I would never do athletic events with her now and am also very careful about footing -- that foot is much too fragile. Also really restrict activity during the healing process -- Beth got bad abrasions from the foot wrap, then the sutures ripped, and it was generally a mess. Now that my vet has it I would absolutely do laser therapy for faster wound healing if we were going through this again -- it really helps.
.
Weight Gain, How Can I Put Weight On My Grey!
in Food and dietary discussion
Posted
Um, have you started by feeding him some more of what he already eats, or giving him an extra snack at midday? Seems the obvious step before you think you need to mess around with all sorts of additions, not that those are necessarily bad.