PrairieProf

Welcome from northern Iowa!

You might also be interested to know about a major annual summer greyhound event in Kansas (Abilene), Greyhound America -- http://www.racethewind.org/ -- I'm going to be going this June!

Welcome to GT from another academic, current Midwesterner, cat person, and mom to a white and brindle girl! All three of yours are wonderfully sweet looking. You're in a very exciting time waiting for Penny to come home. You'll find fabulous resources on this site and in its members for any question or issue that could possibly arise. What are you studying?

Not a dog suggestion per se, but on the other end -- do you have your roof raked after it snows? (Well you could do it yourself... I pay a handyman!) At least that might leave less to slide off, and it helps prevent ice damming or too much weight on the roof too. I guess you'd want to take Lexi out while it was being done ... though it also might be a perfect opportunity to do counter-conditioning to that kind of noise.

I don't have anything to add to the good advice here, but I wanted to say welcome, and Molly is sooo cute and pretty! What a lovely shot to have taken of her already.

What a terrible way to lose your boy. I am so very sorry.

Where do you live, and what are the weather conditions? Is he actually straining or just semi-squatting and then moving on? My girl gets really picky about finding a spot when the grass is covered up with crusty snow, and sometimes she'll look about to go but then seem to think "Nah, not here...". So I'm just wondering if it's possible that the issue isn't pooping per se but finding a spot... it certainly might be medical but I'm just offering another possibility.

Urrgh, Beth is a poopsicle fan too. She knows the "leave it" command perfectly well but gets completely "la la la I can't hear you!" when poopsicles are involved. Actually, they're a good way to exercise her because I come over to stop her and she picks one up and races far away from me to eat it -- it becomes a big game for her! (She can only get into them at the dog park, I pick up all of hers instantly.) I think she just likes it ... and evidently it's only some that are really desirable, others she ignores!

I'm very sorry, Cully! She looks like a really sweet girl. So hard for her parents too to miss what turned out to be her final week.

I just read the story of what happened ... I am so terribly sorry for your loss. Smiley was a beautiful boy.

Welcome to GT! Danger and Grayce are both just gorgeous -- I think Weims are so beautiful. And they should be great running buddies, too -- nobody can keep up with greyhounds but the weimeraners I've seen come closer than most!

Welcome to you and handsome Hack! I was a lifelong cat person too before I got my grey (I didn't even grow up with dogs). I love my new life ... except in awful weather when I miss those good ol' litter box days.

Welcome to you and your gorgeous cowdoggie!

Welcome at last -- and excellent job with the pics! Hope you'll keep posting!

Welcome! Eager to see pictures of Beaker (great greyhound name -- they're kind of beaky!)

Welcome to GT! Sereno is a lovely name. Beth and I come right by Scranton on our trips between Iowa and NY.

I am so sorry. What a very sad loss.

Great news! Beth had three of those last year along her side and lower back (or something very similar -- the vet seemed to keep changing what he called them, though he was never concerned). They fluctuated a bit in size and oozed/crusted a bit periodically (OK, I admit I tended to pick at them when they did that) but after six months or so they went away completely and she's been bump-free since early summer.

These are very common issues ... try a search and you will find umpty-gazillion threads addressing all aspects of these issues. The bald butt is not necessarily a sign of a problem, some greyhounds are just that way. Some people use fish oil to help (or not). Diarrhea can be from countless things, including food that's not agreeing with him. Did you just get him? Has he been wormed? What was he eating before? People will be able to give you more advice if they know more about your situation. And welcome to GT!

Welcome! We look forward to hearing more about Lyla -- and seeing pictures of course! I'm glad she had such an easy adjustment -- I got lucky that way too.

Welcome to GT! My grey was recently approved as a therapy dog through our local organization and we're going to start visits this winter, as soon as I figure out which sites seem like the best match for us. Beth absolutely adores seniors and kids (and everyone, really). I'm the shyer/less social one and so I know it's going to be more of a challenge for me than for her. I look forward to hearing more about Missy and Eddie (and all of us here love to see pictures!).

Welcome to you and your beautiful hounds! I look forward to hearing more about them (and seeing pictures of course!)

My greyhound is my first dog ever, I have no experience training dogs, and still within a year or so after adoption Beth and I graduated from Advanced Obedience at Petsmart and are continuing on with a new local trainer; there too Beth absolutely holds her own with many other breeds of dog. She isn't as super-attentive as a Lab, say, but she did absolutely as well as any other dog in the classes (and yes, she sits on command, though holding a sit for extended periods on a hard floor is difficult for her). Greyhound laziness makes her great at down-stays! From what I can see, every dog in our classes has its strengths and weaknesses in trainability; Beth gets bored and distracted more easily than some (greys don't like a lot of repetition), but on the other hand she is calm and confident pretty much all the time, while other dogs may be wiggling all around or clinging to their owners. She's pretty independent, so her recall outdoors (in an enclosed area of course) isn't what I'd wish unless she knows we're practicing with high-value treats. I'm sure if I had more experience I'd be working with her even more effectively, but I love having a dog I can communicate with and find positive-reinforcement training an utterly fascinating process.

Aieee, what a way to start the morning! And that it was your sweet little girls... I think I read something on a previous rabbit-killing thread about fleas as a possible issue? No experience with this myself (yet!) however.

Lately I typically have to bribe Beth (age 3 1/2) off the bed with dairy products to get her off the bed to go out for a walk, especially for the last pee of the night. Call her name, clap my hands, put on my coat . . . nothing. The noise of my opening the lid of the cottage cheese or yogurt seems to do the trick, however. She's quite energetic once we're actually out, though (well most of the time).