3greytjoys
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When we're doing cat tests/intros with two people, the hounds are leashed and muzzled. The cat is harnessed, leashed and controlled by another person. The cat walks normally on the floor. Cat workable, muzzled hounds are permitted to sniff the cat's rear end (as a normal animal-to-animal introduction).
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Your hound, Sammy may excel a bit faster in his training since he's lived with cats before, but the important safety precautions below will help you too.
GreyTalk member, Greyt_dog_lover (Chad) was kind enough to write the following guidelines for new Greyhound adopters who live with cats.
Quoted from GT post April 9, 2015:
"First week:
1) Muzzle does not come off the hound unless the cats are behind closed door, or hound is in crate, PERIOD.
2) Cats will be put behind closed doors for more than half of the day the hound is awake and I am home.
3) When the cats are around, the hound will have a leash attached (as well as muzzle, see above).
4) to work on desensitization, get some good small bites of food, such as cheese. Have significant other/friend help with the next few steps
5) One person has hound with muzzle and leash on one side of room, second person gets cat and walks into room holding cat. Person with cat sits on floor on opposite side of room and allows the hound to see the cat. Person holding hound calls his/her name, once the hound looks, give treat. REPEAT for 5-10 minutes. DO NOT allow cat to move or otherwise stir and make noise. If the cat gets upset, remove the cat, do not allow the cat to run or make noise as this may excite the hound.
6) do this multiple times during the day. After each session, the cat should be placed in a room, do not allow interaction.
Second week:
1) Muzzle does not come off the hound unless the cats are behind closed door, or hound is in crate, PERIOD.
2) Again, two people. One brings cat into room, one holds the hound with muzzle and leash. Person with cat should sit much closer to hound. The hound can be allowed to approach the cat and sniff. All the while the person holding the hound should call his/her name and treat when the hound looks away from the cat. If the hound does not look away from the cat, the person holding the hound on the leash should move away from the cat and get the hounds attention, if needed show the treat to the hound to break the hounds' attention.
3) REPEAT for 5-10 minutes multiple times during the day.
4) After each session the cat should be placed in a room, do not allow interaction.
Third week:
1) Muzzle does not come off the hound unless the cats are behind closed door, or hound is in crate, PERIOD (see the trend?).
2) Again, two people. The hound still has muzzle and leash. By this time the hound should be nearly 100% reliable in looking away from the cat for a treat. If not, repeat second week until you have 100% reliability.
3) Second person brings cat into room, sets the cat down and allows the cat to move around the room. The person with the hound should be ready for the hound to try to move, do NOT allow the hound to follow or approach the cat when it is moving around. Instead call the hounds name and treat. If during this week the cat takes off or the hound starts to get anxious (barking, panting, drooling, excessive pulling) you need to go back a week.
4) If you can now distract the hound while the cat is moving around the room, good. Keep this training up for a week.
Fourth week:
1) Muzzle does not come off the hound unless the cats are behind closed door, or hound is in crate, PERIOD.
2) Two people, same drill (muzzle and leash).
3) Now you want to get the cat riled up when you have the cat and hound in the room together. If the cat is calm, then push the cat to run out of the room or otherwise get the kitty to make noise. Hold the leash and repeat treating when the hound looks at you. If you cannot get the hounds attention, go back a few weeks in the training.
4) Repeat daily.
Once you can have the cat in the room running around and making noise and be able to get the hound to look at you for treats, THEN you can allow the cat to have free run of the house. At this time, put up the baby gates at strategic places around the home (such as hallways and maybe doorways) about 6" above the ground. This will allow for the cats to move freely, but the hound cannot follow. Also as others have said, pull away the furniture from the walls to allow the cats to slide behind. At this time I may allow the cats and dogs to be able to move around at night, but have to see both how calm the cats are around the hound and vise versa. Before this I do not allow the cats and dogs to be able to be in the same room at night when I sleep, period.
This method of desensitization is much more effective at getting hounds and cats to live together as it reinforces the behavior you want, as opposed to correcting the behavior you don't want. For correction to work, you have to be present.
Do not allow your cats and dogs to co-mingle while you are gone for at least the first 3-6 months, you never know what can happen when you are gone. The muzzle does not guarantee that your cat will not be harmed. A greyhound can still kill small animals with a muzzle on.
The thing you need to realize is that if you cannot break the stare of the hound, if the hound constantly hunts the cats in weeks 2 and 3 after the cat leaves the room, if your hound will not eat a treat when a cat is near, all these things add up to - NO cats for this hound. Good luck and be sure to keep your little one's safe at all times (as you already are doing).
Chad"
End Quote.
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Welcome to GreyTalk! Congratulations on your adoption of Sammy! So happy he's found a good home where he can be well-treated as your beloved family member.
Perhaps reconsider the idea of encouraging (or elevating, so to speak) Sammy up on humans' furniture so soon. Better for him to learn to use pet beds on the floor. It can take several months or longer for a dog to begin to reveal his true personality in a new home. It's too soon to see if he has (or will develop) protective resting space issues. Also, better to keep him off furniture to eliminate unnecessary territorial issues between the cat and dog trying to share humans' furniture.
Try not to worry too much about what happened today. It's a common reaction when an unfamiliar small animal is picked-up (moves unexpectedly, or runs), but you're very smart to reevaluate and implement introductory dog and cat safety measures. I absolutely agree to keep your hound muzzled when not crated. During this brief introductory period, briefly leashing your hound to your body (never tethered to an object) whenever the cat is roaming freely inside the house will help protect the cat, dog, and enable you to ensure house training gets off to a good start. Otherwise, crate the dog when the cat is not behind a fully closed/latched door. Even though Sammy lived with small animals, he's much more stressed being placed in another new environment. It will take time to settle in and for the cat and dog to adjust to each other. Be aware that muzzled Greyhounds can harm a cat with their muzzle or by pouncing on the cat with their long legs, even during play. Best to discourage any chasing of cats. You probably know that it's considered "game on" if a Greyhound is allowed outside in a fenced yard with any cat (whether it's your family cat, a neighbor's cat or stray, etc.). It's very likely (from what you've written) that Sammy will be able to learn fairly quickly that Mac is also a valued indoor family member.
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Agree with creating a smaller "potty only" space close to one of your house doors. I find it much easier to manage, and potty train eager new fosters (lacking any obedience knowledge) in a smaller space without critter distractions. We opened a 48" tall ex-pen (with it's ready-made gate) to use as a long-term, temporary fence, secured with 5' metal fence posts to enclose a side yard between house and existing fence. Current ex-pen has been in place for about a decade. (Last one was up for 15 -20 years.)
Generally, our hounds and fosters' overdrive critter radar has lessened over time as they become more accustomed to taking leashed walks in their neighborhood environment. Everything is so super exciting when they're newly retired. Good luck!
ETA: You're doing the right thing by ignoring animals during your walks. Try to prevent your hound from gaining the self-reward of being allowed to visually obsess over every passing critter. Quicken your pace as you pass animals. If needed, change directions to break hound's focus. While at home, helps to begin training "watch me" cues rewarded with treats. In time, you can use those cues to keep your hound's attention when needed during walks.
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We find it helpful to calmly capture a few photos of wounds that a hound isn't comfortable allowing close examination at home.
View and zoom in on photos on a large computer screen to inspect much more clearly.
We photograph dry paw pads, and then wet paw pads for best viewing results.
Photos may be forwarded to your vet, and are helpful to evaluate healing progress.
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Glad that Finn had a successful vet visit. Sorry about his infected wound.
Congratulations on your newly adopted hound.
Yes to your last question. Forcefully handling a dog who is reacting that way is likely to increase aggression and damage your bond with your dog, as well as make it potentially more difficult to do things he tolerates now. You can use counter-conditioning and desensitization to get him more comfortable with handling, but the reality is he may need light sedation for certain things, especially when pain is involved.
Keep in mind too as you discuss with your vet how he reacts to procedures there that a muzzle is appropriate as a precaution for safety, but it shouldn't be used to put your dog in a situation you wouldn't otherwise put him into.
ETA: The muzzle with PB is worth trying at the vet - if things like nail clipping or blood draws are only mildly worrisome for him, but if it's something that's really going to agitate him, he's not going to eat. You're probably better off bringing something even higher value and just feeding it to him directly. I suggest meatballs.
Agree with NeylasMom.
My heart hound arrived with an extremely low tolerance for handling. I immediately began long-term counter-conditioning and desensitization. After earning his trust, he became more tolerant of having his paws handled, particularly after receiving gentle paw wipes after potty outings. (Paws were wiped with a towel. No chemicals / no baby wipes since pets absorb chemicals through pads/skin and ingest them from licking paws.) His initial rewards were treats + verbal praise, but quickly evolved into praise + his favorite reward of simply going back inside after outings.
Muzzled, standing nail trims were tolerated as one person dispensed non-stop special treats through muzzle holes.
I wore a head lamp to illuminate his nails for extra careful trimming. Head lamp was only turned on when pointed toward floor or his paws, not toward dog's face. (Dremel didn't work in his case, but works great for all our other hounds.)
Later, when he reached his teens, he was more accepting when standing on a flat surface while I carefully slipped the (scissor style) nail clippers around the tip of each nail to cut. His paws never left the ground with that method, but I only clipped a few nails at a time to ensure his comfort / tolerance.
BTW, smeared peanut butter in a muzzle cup works for some hounds, but not all. Peanut butter in our boy's muzzle backfired so badly that whenever he smelled a peanut butter jar being opened, he flew to the opposite side of the house.
The most important aspect of handling him was for him to feel like he had personal control in situations, and didn't feel trapped or forced into something. He was like a horse who was willing to participate and tolerate things if treated with respect, encouraged freely or gently guided.
Brief example: He tried to bite a vet tech who physically pushed his body while trying to move him onto a scale.
Instead, I took the leash, gently guided him in a circle and he happily stepped on the scale without hesitation.
His vet required him to be under anesthesia for medical tests or procedures.
Clotisol (liquid blood clotting formula) has been a lifesaver for our hounds, and is always stocked on our shelf. Depending on the location of the wound, it can be squirted on a dog without physical restraint. Helps stop bleeding well enough to have time to get to a veterinary hospital.
Our heart boy was a wonderful Greyhound. He just required a little extra creative care when being handled for medical reasons.
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I believe private messaging and profile picture inserts become available once members reach 50 posts.
GT member NQ3X is several posts shy of being able to receive private messages.
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Glad the Therapaw Dorsi-Flex Assist is helping Verdasco manage to take slow walks.
Just a thought: Since Greyhound muzzles on all hounds riding in one car together is a good safety measure, a bonus might be that Verdasco's muzzle may help save his Therapaw boot device(?).
Verdasco seems like a sweet boy who is trying his best to cope with this unexpected injury. Continued positive thoughts for him to regain physical control in time. Your thoughtful care means everything to him.
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Just curious about your hound's age, and how long you've had him?
I think the flip side of this scenario is that this dog could be exhibiting separation anxiety as opposed to crate anxiety. Transitioning out of the crate is a fine idea, however be open to the possibility that your dog may actually be more anxious about your absence than the crate, in which case noise may continue and destructive behaviour may begin.
I'd start with muzzling and baby gating...
Regardless of whether a dog is crated regularly at home, I think it's important to exercise occasional crating on a regular basis to maintain their confinement training. There are so many scenarios where dogs have to be crated - injury, surgery, hospitalization, etc - and it's really important that it's not a big deal. Summit is not routinely crated at home, but I do it sometimes just to maintain his tolerance for it.
Agree.
Dogs being used to crates as happy and safe places is important (helpful if crate's door is left open for them to enter to retrieve treats or eat meals and rest inside at their leisure). In addition to encouraging periodic crate comfort for future surgery and hospitalization purposes, it's important if you ever want to take your dog to multi-day events, or on dog-friendly vacations, or to visit friends/family, if you need to board your dog in an emergency, etc.
Most importantly, please be especially cautious regarding your hound's access to your sister's cat. Just because your hound has not displayed a prey drive to date doesn't mean he will never show a prey drive. Greyhounds (sighthounds) are hunting dogs and their deeply ingrained instinct might surface when least expected.
Ensure the cat has multiple escape routes: e.g., install a baby-gate about 6" above floor level so the cat has a better chance to escape; pull large furniture/sofa away from the wall just enough for the cat to run behind and turn around, without the dog being able to squeeze through. Remember that a muzzled hound can still capture and seriously harm a cat either by mouth or pouncing on a cat -- whether play or prey intent.
(All of our Greyhounds are cat tolerant; however, all have attempted to chase our indoor cats at times, including our now 14 year old hound. I would not leave hounds and cats free and alone together unsupervised, especially not a new hound or fosters.)
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to GreyTalk!Many GT members have flying experience with Greyhounds. My Greyhound flight planning is limited to the USA, but our adoption groups have had young hounds flown in from Spain, Guam, Korea, etc. Commercial airlines that fly animals have strict animal safety regulations. Transporting live animals in cargo requires their larger jets, plus destination airports that can accommodate larger jets. Dogs' veterinary check-ups and health certificates are required before flying, plus vaccinations required by airlines and the destination's animal laws. Travel crate sizes are very important. Dogs must be able to stand up, turn around, lie down comfortably, and have a certain number of excess inches above head, back, etc. Dogs are measured standing in their crate before being placed on plane. If crates are not large enough for their air safety regulations, airlines will refuse to accept the dogs before loading/take off. IME, airlines will not allow animals to have pre-flight medications (no anti-anxiety medications, etc.).
If possible, non-stop flights are safest for dogs' safety, otherwise a very brief layover without any change of planes is desired.
Some smaller aviation businesses are willing to fly dogs, but it's usually more expensive.
Perhaps GreyTalk member "NQ3X" will see and respond to your post.
If not, you might consider posting a separate thread in "Everything Else Greyhound" section (for greater visual traffic).
Here's a link to the 2012 thread: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/285967-air-travel-input/?hl=%2Btravel+%2Binput
Good luck, and please let us know how it went after you're all settled!
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Welcome to GreyTalk!
Sorry about your boy's situation.Quote: "He's panting constantly, refusing food, vomited twice (vet says most likely from the antibiotic), nose is making so many puddles everywhere, won't lay still, and refuses to come home after walks. And then refuses to get in the crate. Now, even with the trazodone, he is whining and trying to break out of the crate again.
He starting to be self harming again and destructive. He paces, pants, whines, and refuses to eat or come home after walks. When we get in the front door of our unit, he tries to sneak back out around us and runs down the hall. It's so bizarre! He was so comfortable last week until he got bit. I know it's traumatizing, but how do we create the safe space at home again?!"End quote.
Actually, this is not too surprising. Hank is likely frightened of being left alone for extended periods again. Any movement against the crate may hurt his surged area. His feelings of abandonment are greatly intensified after his recent traumatic experiences: all-breed dog park bite, emergency hospital and surgery stresses (more new people), ongoing injury pain stresses, possibly not having access to eliminate appropriately often enough during work days, feeling strange on medications, upset tummy from medication/s and/or from not eating meals -- all while still trying to adjust to a completely new world. Stresses can compound and last for extended periods.
IMO, Hank needs enough stability to be able to relax, eat meals, and recover from his injury. A dog sitter in your own home could help for the time being. If your vet isn't Greyhound savvy, perhaps consider one who treats more Greyhounds. If combined medications aren't working effectively (without vomiting, to curb his pain, reduce current anxiety, and have an appetite) seems time to reevaluate medications. Also very important to have a back-up food source to ensure he's not being administered pills on an empty stomach. Canned meat dog food is great to give as a separate "meat only" special meal (when recovering dogs refuse kibble). Also, offer him a potty break immediately before (and after) meal times since many dogs refuse to eat if they need to eliminate.
Please be careful to ensure his martingale collar is properly fitted (so he can't back out of it with his narrow head),and keep his leash attached and hold him until he's safely inside your own condo with the door closed. Otherwise, he's at risk of flight/escape if anyone unexpectedly opens a hallway exit door.
Dogs feeling anxious can benefit from an extra potty break or two shortly before human departures. (BTW, please do not encourage any fanfare during your departures or returns. Your presence should be considered ho-hum/boring during his alone training.) Dogs who are feeling separation anxiety often can't physically hold urine/bowel for lengthy periods of time. (Ignore potty accidents caused by anxiety/fear; praise highly for their eliminations outside.) Some groups require all adopters provide potty outings a minimum of every 4 hours during day/evening for the dogs' health and well-being. Some people who don't work close to home arrange for someone stop in mid-day to provide a dog potty outing.
Greysmom's suggestion of finding a certified veterinary behaviorist is excellent. (A licensed veterinarian who specializes in animal behavior.)
Good luck, and positive healing thoughts for Hank.
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You've had your boy for only a week. He is on sensory overload - new smells, noises, people. Don't rush him in to being exposed to "all the craziness in the neighborhood."
Yes, baby steps during early weeks/months to allow your new Greyhound to adjust to his new home while your family works to earn Alfred's trust.
Every animal is an individual with a history. Many dogs will give a warning growl (often after other subtle signs like head turning away, averting eyes, lip licking, yawning, etc.); however, if a dog feels extremely threatened, or was scolded for growling previously, they might be more likely to resort to a bite. Any animal has the potential to bite without a growl first.
Depending on a hound's temperament, when I'm working with a newly retired foster from the track, I don't allow children to approach the dog during neighborhood walks/outings. (A lot of children around here too.) Most newly retired hounds have never even taken walks in a neighborhood, or seen other dog breeds, cats, etc. and may not have seen or interacted with children. Better for hounds to simply focus on walking (passing children from a distance) for a while. Treats might help, but some dogs feel too overwhelmed/stressed/anxious to eat treats. (One fearful foster was so scared of children that the hound couldn't even walk past a playground, school or park from across the street. If a child attempted to approach the dog, dog tried to back out of a collar and bolt away (fight or flight reaction). I use a collar + harness for new fosters. Fortunately, most dogs are not nearly that fearful.)
Eventually, after Alfred has settled comfortably into his new environment, ask a calm child to stand sideways (facing away from Alfred) without making direct eye contact. Then, from afar, child slowly tosses treats on the ground towards Alfred while Alfred is standing up. Once Alfred begins eating those treats without showing fear, a next step is for child to hold treats in his/her flat, open hand for Alfred to approach the child (vs. child approaching Alfred). Again, child stands sideways and looks away from Alfred's face (non-threatening position in dogs' language). Thereafter, child can briefly pet Alfred's chin, neck or shoulder (in same direction as fur growth) for a few seconds. Then child stops petting, and Alfred gets another treat reward, and Alfred's walk or other fun activity is resumed.
Avoid direct front face-to-face positions, reaching overhead, or leaning over dog since those are considered threatening behaviors in dogs' language.
Golden rule: Let resting dogs lie undisturbed. Wait for dog to stand up and approach a human for attention.
You may find this article helpful: https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/how-to-greet-a-dog/
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A Greyhound specific muzzle would be a helpful safety tool for Dancer to wear when you have visitors. http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/GEM-Store/category/muzzle/(Greyhounds can still pant and drink water with this type of muzzle.)A large crate (or covered exercise pen) with a thick dog bed set-up in a far corner of the most used family room could provide Dancer a temporary, protected, safe space while feeling part of the family when it's not noisy. (Practice by leaving crate/pen door open for easy access and feed meals in crate so Dancer begins to associate that space as a positive, happy, comfortable space when visitors are not present.)Just like with people, aches, pains, cloudy vision, etc. are common reasons for changing behaviors. Some medications meant to calm dogs result in the opposite affect in individual Greyhounds, making them more sensitive to their environment. If pain is an issue, pain medications can help a lot.Ultimately, if you're unable to provide Dancer a safe, healthy home environment, please do reach out to retired racing Greyhound adoption groups in your area. There WILL be a Greyhound group who will accept and safely rehome Dancer into a sighthound educated family.Here is a complete list of adoption groups in your area: http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.org/directory/list.cfm?usState=paIf needed as a last resort, Greyhound groups outside of your region could help too.Personally, having our eldest 12, 13 and 14 year old Greyhounds, we think in terms of their natural lifespan lasting in days, weeks or months vs. years. Valuing each day as a temporary gift helps us handle their changing needs with loving patience. Our eldest Greyhounds are not as comfortable with many visitors, so we temporarily limit visitors to reduce the hounds' stress level. We know our slight inconvenience won't last long... A 13 year old hound is equivalent to an 82 year old human. A hound's 14th birthday = 88 year old human. Each month thereafter equates to approx. 5 months in human time. Greyhounds reaching 15 (+) are not as common as we'd hope.
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Yes, Giardia is not uncommon in new fosters, or other dogs. Dogs get Giardia easily from raw or under-cooked meats, or if allowed to drink water from bird baths, garden fountains, creeks, lakes, rain puddles, even outdoor fresh water bowls that aren't cleaned and changed regularly.
A previous dog (different breed) was infected during a weekend vacation while swimming at a beach in a very large, clear lake (since dogs intake water while swimming). Took a long time to treat successfully.
One of our adopted hounds arrived with a heavy infestation (horrible smelly diarrhea). Giardia can be difficult to fully eliminate both from the dog and from his/her environment since it can live for weeks/months on ground. We were careful to clean up hound's stools instantly, and scrape up every little bit so it didn't infect the garden soil. Some people carry newspaper or large paper plates to help capture stool messes during walks. We added a thick layer of tumbled playground bark into the hounds' potty yard, so every bit of stool can be removed easily (with playground bark) before it touches dirt.
Agree to keep treating per your vet's plan as long as it takes, and repeat fecal tests to confirm successful treatment.
Here's a link to Center for Disease Control for Giardia in pets:
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/prevention-control-pets.html
Good luck with Lou.
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Yea, welcome home Jake! Seems his veterinary team must have done good work to prepare him for discharge. Positive healing thoughts for his home recovery. Extra hugs to his devoted home care nurse/s!
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So relieved to see that Jake's surgery was successful.
Just a comment re: ex-pens. Helps to secure the ex-pen since they can collapse if the dog tries to jump or hits the pen's side too hard. Some people wedge ex-pens against walls, low heavy furniture, etc. Some use Bungee cords to gently secure ex-pens. Although we're extremely careful when doing this, for hounds' leg injuries, we use the entire gate panel as the entry/exit to avoid the hound dealing with a narrow gate + step over. That said, using the actual gate is safer to keep the ex-pen properly balanced.
Positive healing thoughts for Jake's recovery.
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Do you happen to have a close-up photo of that spot before just Brees scratched it raw?
IMO, whether my mention of ringworm is on target or if it's something else, I'd still get a culture since it was from a cat's bite/scratch. Too many other possibilities to not culture. I'd consider calling your vet's office early Wed. morning to ask if Lotrimin should be stopped before a culture sample is taken, or if it might be detrimental to Brees lesion if ends up being a different diagnoses. Sorry that Joe has a similar lesion. If it happens to be ringworm, it's not fun and could be worse if combined with infection. Good luck.
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Agree about asking your vet for a culture. Ringworm fungus might be a possibility, especially after a cat bite and nail scratch. Until you have her diagnosis, might help to wash your hands after handling Brees' face. (I assume you don't have any new skin irritations on yourself.)
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Oh, I'm so very sorry about Bea's passing much too soon.
Bea's lovely photo reflects a beautiful, bright, happy girl.
In time, I hope happy memories bring some comfort to you, and those who loved her so dearly.
May she always remain close in your hearts...
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Thank you for this update. We so hope this boy will improve with rehabilitation!
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... to GreyTalk!
Congratulations on your adoption of handsome Blu! We wish you many happy years together.
We hope to see more photos as Blu blossoms into his new forever home.
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Probably a combination of Zeppelin's fear, feeling vulnerable and threatened, attempting self-protection, his automatic reaction to being startled awake, not realizing where he was right away, and not recognizing the advancing, potentially threatening scary man.
A good thing to do in that situation is stop (the perceived threat) immediately. Then slowly back up or turn slightly sideways from the dog while avoiding direct eye contact. (Direct eye contact is threatening in dog language.) The threatening person should leave the room until the dog feels relaxed, calm and secure.
Typically, Greyhounds aren't considered protection or guard dogs but some may become more watchful than others.
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I believe this other foster hound will be trying one very soon: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/316788-reaction-to-shot/
ETA: Here's the Therapaw link if you'd like to clarify the specific item you have in mind: http://www.therapaw.com/Assistive-Rehabilitative.aspx
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Someone even mentioned putting a mirror near his crate so he can see himself and think it's another dog so he won't feel alone.
That was my recommendation. It can be helpful for certain newly retired hounds whose anxiety can be eased by the sight of another Greyhound. I'm careful to recommend that the mirror be safely secured at floor level across (room) from crate, but not placed where it might reflect direct sun (direct sun is dangerous to a crated dog: overheating/hyperthermia, solar cancer, etc.).
OP: It's an excellent sign that your hound is chewing/working the Kong now. The act of chewing (a dog-safe Kong) relieves stress/anxiety, and helps create a calming affect.
Looking forward to reading about your girl's behavior when Prozac is used as the sole drug for training, without Xanax. (Xanax can have the opposite of desired affect on some hounds, including panting and shaking. Xanax worsened our hound's severe separation anxiety.)
I assume your hound's Prozac is administered early enough (before your daily departure) to be effective during your (calm) pre-departure/departure routine.
Just to echo Greysmom's posts that pre-departure desensitization, and alone training is extremely important to practice daily while a hound is temporarily on medication.
It helps to keep a consistent daily schedule routine, routine, routine. No fanfare from human during departures or returns. Good to ignore her for at least 30 seconds (after she's quiet) before quietly opening her crate door to let her out for a potty break.
In addition to alone training, it helps to encourage her self-confidence by activating her cerebral brain: teaching obedience cues with a clicker tool (when clicker is timed very carefully to mark targeted action). Capturing and rewarding Greyhounds' natural behaviors work best. Several good cues to capture/teach are "down", "wait" (before offering food bowl or going through doors), "come", "heel" (dog's shoulder next to your leg during leashed walks), "go to place" or "bed" (e.g., direct dog to her "place" while you're cooking, or getting ready for school). Puzzles or nose work (scents in cardboard boxes hidden around room/s, or treats covered by empty cups) activates a dog's brain too.
to GreyTalk!
Squirrel Bite/scratch Question
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
Antibiotics may help prevent infection from wild animal scratches and bites.