PrairieProf

Pretty normal. How firm the poop is substantially dependent on how long it's been in the pipeline, so to speak. The morning poop is always the firmest. If he's going 3-4 times on a walk he last few he's probably just squeezing out to poop-mark with. (That does, however, sound like quite a lot of poop per day to me ... might be related to how much and what you're feeding him.)

I would also get a stool guard for your muzzle. You can order them online, they have them at GEM Greyhounds' online store I know. A grey can still grab a cat through a muzzle, but not as readily if there's a stool guard.

Beth has behaved appropriately with outdoor kitties she's met up close on leash (she lives with cats). I think that's fine (with muzzle) for your introduction. But I agree that off-leash is a whole different deal. I would also begin immediately training a command like "leave it!" or "no kitty!" and rewarding heavily when he shifts attention from the cat to look at you -- this is the same with indoor cats. Not that the command would stop him if he ever really started to go after a cat, but it might well work if he was just getting a bit too forward in his interest. Although I myself would not take the risk outdoors (I see how prey-driven my cat-safe Beth gets with outside cats she spots at a distance, and she was very excited the other day when one showed up by the outside of our fence), if you end up bringing this or another greyhound home I would not let him off-leash where he might encounter cats until he's met those same cats while on-leash many times and, hopefully, been smacked by them a few times. He'd have a better likelihood of seeing them as part of the family and as creatures to respect -- though once again, should instinct kick in.....

I dunno, Beth HATES gravel or stones of any kind, walks over them gingerly like "ow ow ow" and won't run on that surface (and she has no corns or any such problem). The dog park near where my parents live, which is covered with pea gravel, is pretty much useless to her unless there's a layer of snow. I would try your dogs out on any surface before you put it in and find they hate it.

I dunno, Beth HATES gravel or stones of any kind, walks over them gingerly like "ow ow ow" and won't run on that surface (and she has no corns or any such problem). The dog park near where my parents live, which is covered with pea gravel, is pretty much useless to her unless there's snow. I would try your dogs out on any surface before you put it in and find they hate it.

I am so sorry for your loss. How wonderful you have the pictures of him beautiful and happy.

I'm sure others will speak to this more, many here are very anti-dog park (I do use the park as I don't have much yard, but VERY cautiously and early in the morning with dogs I know). To start with, many greys are not safe with small dogs especially when they get running. (Beth, for example, is perfectly fine with small dogs on leash and with cats in a house but would not be trustworthy running after a small fluffy -- or even a medium-sized dog.) And greyhound play can be very intense, too much for many dogs -- chasing and often biting is a default greyhound style of play, and needless to say any dog a greyhound chases it catches. Plus greyhounds have super-thin skin so any altercation is likely to give them a major rip requiring lots of stitches or staples.

What Mychip1 said ... an eight year old dog isn't all that senior (they can live 11-14 years) but almost certainly won't be up for rollerblading or biking. Walks, and the occasional zoomie. You do know that greyhounds can only be off leash in a fenced area, right? And not all of them are candidates for a dog park. (It isn't clear from you your post what kind of park you're talking about near by.)

Welcome! Dylan is sooo handsome and clearly has a greyt life with you! I love taking my houndie places too. Now I can be out and about without Beth and strangers know I'm the lady with a greyhound and will ask about her -- it's a little disconcerting but fun.

Really glad for the good news!!

How terrifying -- and how bizarre! Good thoughts for Melody and for you and Ken -- you've been through much too much lately.

My friend Jamie's hound Dash lifts a leg (partway, not as high as a male dog) to pee at least some of the time. Beth sort of momentarily lifts a paw off the ground sometimes, like she feels an impulse to lift her leg but can't quite pull it off.

Beth recurrently gets sebaceous cysts. Some open on their own and crust a little (or are small and can be squeezed) -- these ones eventually go away on their own. Some are a bit larger and stay closed -- these have been removed surgically or (more recently) the vet was able to cut open and evacuate one and close it up with a staple or two under a local. One on her back got bigger while I was waiting to remove it surgically and it ruptured internally-- big mess. Now I am very proactive about having the vet remove them if they're the non-draining kind.

We walk first -- or go to the dog park for an early morning run first. (Well, in the morning Beth gets a heaping spoon of cottage cheese first, but that's just our little routine to get her up.) Even on leash she often gets crazy and on most walks leaps in the air a few times or sometimes tries to do on-leash zoomies. She's never had any problem "going" before she eats.

Thanks for the caution, and the example of another hound. This does seem sudden in onset, though, and it's like the "ouch" stops the run. Beth tolerates Deramaxx well so I think a course of that and a week off running is worth trying (though, darn, this may be our last week or so without snow on the ground!). I'll definitely make sure she's not on painkiller before she runs again. Agree about this, too. My vet does acupuncture and that's something else I'll do.

Well, she's back. Was that super-quick service or what! Vet says everything is fine -- xrays completely symmetrical for both legs, no sign on pain or issues in range of motion with manipulation. So I'm going to try leash-walking and Deramaxx for a week. Still upset, because clearly something is wrong that never was before. He didn't see how a toe could pop out and back with no swelling, but I believe Kennelmom on this... I have a bad knee that dislocates on occasion and it doesn't swell afterwards. Edited to add: one of the inner wrist bones (bumps) on the affected leg seems a teeny bit more pronounced to me (I pointed it out to the vet but he didn't seem to see/feel anything different) -- I was just inspecting it. But anyway, if there was a problem I could see with my eye that would have shown up on the xray, right? And she doesn't do anything when you press hard on it.

My husband says the same thing about me ha ha, I swear I must shoot laser beams from my eyes or something because they're not lame for anyone else. I think I'm this way too. How I test myself: if I'm worrying about Beth limping on one leg, I see if I can stare long enough to make it appear she's limping on the opposite leg.

I am a total neurotic who notices everything , and sometimes feel like I spend 75% of our time on walks watching Beth for a limp (mostly her amputation foot, but now her left front leg as well) and I really didn't see anything that registered! But of course I'll be watching like a hawk.

The first (and only) time I've taken Primo lure coursing, he had 2-3 "off" strides (very subtle, not many people even noticed it), then stopped dead in his tracks and lifted his paw. Several of us manipulated him all over, including his toes, and found nothing (including one vet who happened to be there + several very experienced performance folks). The only reason I know it's was his toe is that it swelled slightly the next day, which I didn't even notice until we were at the vet in the waiting room. He still does it from time to time just free running in the yard. Sometimes the toe swells, sometimes it doesn't. Always the same - running, stops, lifts foot. Interesting -- and what do you do after this happens? Do you wrap if it is mostly in place? Use meds?

Hmm, interesting ... the vet manipulated all her toes so I think if one was loose he'd have noticed. She hasn't had toe issues except for the one giant one.

Twice late last week, Beth was running and suddenly stopped and held up her left front foot (no previous problems with this one; her toe amputation is left rear). She took a limping step or two but then seemed perfectly fine. No problems over the weekend though she did only a ocuple of very short easy runs Saturday, no perceptible limp at all walking or trotting, and I've been watching closely. Then this morning at the park, she held up her foot twice again when she ran. (I did notice she didn't seem as eager to run as she often does, but it's hard to read that -- nothing super exciting was happening.) My wonderful vet is right across the street from the park, so I took her right over. He came out and felt every bone in her leg carefully comparing it to the other and doesn't feel anything, but I decided to leave her for xrays of the leg this morning because, well, you know. I could wait, but I'd only worry. I'll report later today. Any insight into what could cause an otherwise non-limping dog to stop and pick up a foot when running? Her pads look OK as far as I can see though I didn't do a mega-close inspection.

Welcome! Wonderful pics, and your hounds are not only handsome but look so utterly happy!

Ha, those are the main training treats around here. Glad to get the virtual OK from Batmom. Freeze-dried stuff is nice because you can leave it in your coat pocket for use on walks, etc. I slice my hotdog into thin rounds and then those rounds into halves or generally even quarters. I think I got by with even less than a half hotdog! My understanding is that for actual training sessions you need tiny soft treats -- otherwise they're going to lose focus chomping at something. Beth used to LOVE Merrick dried beef lung, but they don't make it any more -- I've been hesitant to try the lamb, as I know she does fine with beef but am not so sure about lamb.

I would get her to the vet ASAP. It could be something very serious, like pancreatitis.

Beth has had near pancreatitis, and I use various freeze-dried pure meat treats for her for informal training. We recently began another training class and I have been using small amounts of fat-free hot dogs (yes, they make them!) or cut-up bits of fat-free cheese, for things that are extra high-value and soft and can be cut very small. I never heard of sodium as an issue for pancreatitis, only fat and, secondarily, protein -- and if you're really talking training treats, all you need is tiny bits, so even in an hour session they're really not getting that much. You could also use something like canned white-meat chicken, if you can stand the stink and wet. Or something like deli turkey breast would probably work. For regular treats, she likes Natural Balance biscuits and dried yam chews -- but she's not too picky!