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3greytjoys

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  1. Raw dog food recall: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/darwins-dog-food-recall-december-2017/ General list of recalled dog foods: https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/
  2. Bill, I'm so very sorry for your loss of sweet Tucker. Seems the hounds that need a little extra special care during their early adjustment period hold a uniquely special place in our hearts forever. Our thoughts are with you during this difficult month and beyond.
  3. I'm so glad she's doing better! Considering her last two negative fecal results, and if her stools are back to normal, I'd probably wait a while before reconsidering Panacur. Her gut might need a bit more healing time.
  4. How's Violet now? Hope she's fully recovered. If she's not improving yet, perhaps consider the more comprehensive PCR fecal test. It can reveal specific bacteria DNA, toxins, etc. (One of our hounds happens to have been fighting a life-threatening Clostridium Perfringens - alpha toxin. It's a rapidly generating anaerobic bacteria that creates toxic spores inside the body. This bacteria is often found in raw meat, under-cooked meat, foods not properly transported/stored/refrigerated, rotting vegetation, among other sources. If not treated in time, can cause gas gangrene, sepsis, and/or death.) Fingers crossed for a simple treatment and rapid recovery for Violet.
  5. Welcome to GreyTalk! Try to give your boy multiple opportunities to fully eliminate before your departure for work (e.g., potty upon awakening, potty after breakfast, potty 10 minutes before your departure). A morning walk helps tire some dogs. I agree to try to arrange for a dog walker or pet sitter to take your boy outside to eliminate mid-day while you're at work. Newly adopted dogs usually need more potty outings than long time settled pets. It's too much to ask any newly adopted dog to hold urine/bowel more than 4 hours maximum. (Brand new foster hounds at our house are given potty opportunities every 2-3 hours for the first several days in a home.) Your boy is likely scared and stressed being left alone in a strange place not knowing if or when you or anyone will return. It could be the first time in his life he's been removed from a Greyhound pack between racing kennels and/or a breeding farm. Their earliest days/weeks are their biggest adjustment. Ditto Greysmom's mention of trying veterinary prescribed Trazadone (temporarily) if your hound needs help to become more receptive to alone training. (Any pet medication should be tested first on a day you are home to evaluate the dog's reaction.) SanTanSnuggles post referred to a "Kong". The inside can be iced with natural plain peanut butter or plain (Greek) yogurt and filled with part of their meal of kibble or other dog safe food for alone training. A Greyhound plastic basket muzzle can be used to help prevent hounds from ingesting dangerous materials or breaking teeth on a crate. If he's a dangerous risk of bending the wire or breaking out of his crate, try placing a strong baby-gate in the doorway of one of your most used rooms (e.g., where you spend time together when you're home relaxing) to provide him limited space. Thoroughly dog-proof that room (remove remote controls, small electronics, important mail/checks, eye glasses, vitamin bottles, etc. Remember that Greyhounds can reach adult height when standing on their hind legs.) Ensure he has a cushy dog bed, water bowl, etc. Leave any window coverings/draperies/shades pulled up out of his reach. Close/lock windows. Puppy pads or hospital bed pads can be used on the floor if needed. This muzzle style allows Greyhounds to breathe safely, pant and drink water: http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/GEM-Store/kennel-muzzle/ (Males usually wear size large. Females size small.) Tip: Please be careful to not scold a dog for indoor potty accidents or other undesirable behaviors (chewing non-pet items, etc.) caused by fear/anxiety. It compounds dogs' fears tenfold and can damage their trust in humans. If a human is present when a dog has an accident, best to calmly rush the dog outside, then praise dog for eliminating outdoors. Otherwise, if walking into a room after the accident occurred, ignore the dog and quietly clean up the mess. The act of chewing is a stress-reliever for dogs. If needed, provide dog-safe items for chewing. Rawhide is dangerous, potentially causing choking, intestinal blockages, etc. Nylabones are safer but very eager chewers could potentially chip/break teeth. Nylabone's "Dura-bone" in a fist shape, "souper size" is an option for Greyhounds who really need a chewing outlet. A well-secured mirror that reaches floor level can help single hounds feel as if there is another dog in their presence.
  6. Additionally, runner rugs with rubber gripper mats placed underneath are really important to provide throughout all hard surface floor rooms and pathways that Chief and Chico use. Also, a full rug for standing at food/water bowls. Slips/falls on hard floors can cause serious injuries to our long-legged Greyhound breed. If Chief is jumping on furniture, perhaps consider encouraging him to stay on a thick dog bed on the floor during his recovery, or build a secure carpeted ramp, or stable short, wide carpeted steps leading to the sofa. I hope a radiologist and/or further testing will reveal Chief's painful injury. Positive healing thoughts for Chief.
  7. Agree. Also helps to begin catching and treat rewarding his natural good behaviors. Have treats ready and begin saying "down" whenever he begins to lie down naturally (after meals or outings, etc.). Then praise + treat reward immediately. After he learns the "down" cue really well, teach him "down" before leashing him near the door.
  8. 3greytjoys

    Rose 5

    From the album: Rose

    Yummy treat! Please hide again so I can seek another treat!
  9. 3greytjoys

    Rose

  10. 3greytjoys

    Rose 4

    From the album: Rose

    Playing hide and seek: I found you! Now where's my treat?
  11. 3greytjoys

    Rose 3

    From the album: Rose

    Treat cube fun on 10th birthday!
  12. 3greytjoys

    Rose 2

    From the album: Rose

    10th birthday puzzle treat game.
  13. to GreyTalk! Congratulations and welcome home handsome Bentley! Greyhounds are wonderful!
  14. Welcome home Saint! How is Myka enjoying her handsome new brother? Hope she's getting an abundance of extra attention.
  15. I'm so sorry for your untimely loss of Beauregard. I hope your years of happy memories with Beau will eventually help comfort your aching heart. Godspeed Beauregard. (I had a similar loss when one of my dogs was boarded at vet during a trip 30+ years ago. Still makes me sad.I try to focus on our 13-14 years of happiness together.) I can understand Milo feeling a little more free to blossom with you now. Greyhounds are a wonderfully sensitive breed.
  16. Wishing June a rapid recovery. If you happened to take photos of her thighs, any chance of posting here?
  17. Below is one of my previous posts re: potty bell training. It begins with rewarding a dog for "touching" something with their nose. After a new home adjustment period, all of my dogs have learned this cue fairly easily, especially with high value meat treat rewards. Generally, newly retired Greyhounds often need more frequent daytime potty outings like every 1-2 hours for the first few days in a new home, then gradually extending to 2-3 hours. After our hounds become fully settled, they typically need to go out every 4 hours during day and evening. 3greytjoys quote (revised): "After regular breakfast and dinner eliminations (soon after each meal/water intake), try to keep your hound on a 3-4 hour elimination schedule with your own alarm reminder. Newly retired hounds have never needed to "ask" to go outside in a racing kennel since kennel staff keep Greyhounds on schedule. Many retired hounds don't know to show a clear signal to "ask" to go outside. Many owners mistaken a hound walking over to them for affection/petting - when the hound really needs to go outside, or hound might walk over to sip from water bowl, stand or pace a little, or sniff or circle carpet/floor. Some hounds awaken from a nap and lie on their bed just watching and waiting for their human to offer a business outing! These are not clear indicators in human language. A medical issue could compound this with a strong urgency problem. It is possible to teach some Greyhounds to ring a bell to go outside, but requires patience, especially with a newly retired hound trying to learn everything about living in a home. (I would not recommend multiple small bells attached to a long fabric strip or leather strip - too dangerous. Many hounds would chew and ingest that type dangling item. It's not worth the potential deadly blockage risk.) A single (slightly larger) standard bell is safer, and is much less appealing to a dog as a potential item to chew. (Some specialty garden centers carry a nice single bell for doors.) Hang bell very short on door knob (keeping bell up high, close to door knob). Greyhounds are tall, and can ring a bell by nudging it with their nose. (I'd avoid teaching hound to use a paw; that's an invitation for scratched/damaged doors, car doors, a claw catching on something, pawing at human legs or anything else whenever dog wants something.) "I've taught all of our Greyhounds to "touch" target a door bell when they need to go potty. The key is to respond to the dog's bell ring immediately, so dog is assured it works (for their bodily function needs) every time. Method to teach dogs to ring a bell for elimination outings: (Do not exceed 3-5 minutes total per training session. Stop immediately if dog doesn't respond to any step; then try again another day.) If bell has any hard or sharp edges, cover edges with sticky-backed soft felt. 1. First, let dog only see/smell extra smelly high value treat (bonus if dog never tasted it before). 2. Let dog see you hide treat under bell (on floor, near exit door). Happily tell dog to find treat. Wait for dog to touch bell with nose = instantly reward with treat and praise. Repeat several times adding a verbal cue like "touch bell". 3. Then person holds bell (with hidden treat under bell) on flat open hand (near hound's nose level). Nose touch to bell = instantly reward with treat and exciting praise. Practice several times. 4. Then hang bell on door knob (or hold up in air near door knob level). Nose touch = instant reward with treat and exciting praise. Practice several times. Be prepared (leash dog if without fenced yard) so the last bell touch magically opens the door outside -- ending session with a fun outside reward party with a happy potty opportunity. 5. Thereafter, keep treats handy to reinforce daily by telling dog to "touch bell" once before the door is opened for elimination outings. Dog is now receiving a double+ reward for each bell touch. First reward is a treat + praise, combined with the door magically opening every time dog touches bell. After the bell ring is well ingrained in the dog's mind (often within a week or two), you can gradually halt the food treats, then simply offer verbal praise with door opening instantly (and dog relieving her/himself) the dog's reward. Keep training sessions short, happy and fun, fun for the dog! Again, training takes time, so please keep yourself on a schedule to let your hound outside every 3-4 hours. It's important to thoroughly treat any previous accident area with an enzymatic pet odor remover (e.g., Nature's Miracle Advanced Formula, or whatever) to help keep dog from revisiting previous accident area. A baby-gate in a most used family room helps limit a dog's space in house while house-training. It's worth the time investment to help your hound develop a solid foundation of good habits now. :)" End quote.
  18. I'm so sorry for your loss. Higgins must have been a wonderful Greyhound ambassahound to benefit many. Seems he was deeply loved in your family.
  19. I'm so very sorry for your loss of Wendy. I was sad to see her name in the remembrance section. She will be missed on GT. May your happy memories of Wendy help comfort you in time.
  20. It's fairly likely he may have seen other Greyhounds do this behavior on his breeding farm or in a kennel environment. As others mentioned, it is considered scent marking the ground as a double marker (in addition to leaving pee-mail or stool) in the territory. I've had female/male fosters do the same behavior upon arrival, but I'm usually able to redirect their behavior. Perhaps our Greyhounds just give up since they're on an equal playing field (so to speak). Their stool is picked up instantly.
  21. Seems you're aware that it takes time for Prozac to build up daily in the dog's system and for the dog's body to safely adjust before it's fully effective. IIRC, our vet started our hound on 10 mg, daily and very slowly increased dosage over 2 - 3 months to a maximum adult dose of 40 mg. for our similar weight female Greyhound (for extremely severe separation anxiety). 40 mgs. was too much so we dropped the dose back down to an effective management dosage. I would consider holding off on any increased dosage to first evaluate your hound's body reaction to the drug. Since some Greyhounds are more sensitive to normal breed drug dosages, it's a balancing act because higher dosages might be too much for her body and kill her appetite, increase sleep too much, etc. Xanax is for periodic short-term use and each dose doesn't last as long. It's often used for short-term issues like storms, noise, etc. but some dogs' anxiety increases on Xanax (as our case), so it's recommended to test a dog's reaction first on a day when noise is of no concern, and she can be watched carefully. A few cautions just FYI: Don't mix any new drugs with Prozac without your vet's prior approval. Prozac should not be stopped cold turkey. A gradual decrease is needed. Another short-term anti-anxiety option is Trazadone BUT it might not be safe with Prozac (without a full washout period), or with Xanax. Your vet could advise. As our geriatric hounds' sight deteriorated, they became more sensitive to their environment. Best of luck.
  22. A friend's Boston Terrier was on a Flexi-lead when her human mistakenly dropped it. The terrifying noise of the Flexi's plastic case bouncing behind her scared her into a busy 4-lane road. It was a miracle she wasn't hit by a car. After searching for many hours, she was finally found strangled from the long corded Flexi-lead being caught and entangled in bushes. Our Greyhounds have been attacked (repeatedly) by dogs whose owners accidentally lost grip and dropped their dogs' Flexi-lead. Some owners can't reel-in their dogs fast enough, so their dog approaches others and starts a fight. Cyclists have crashed while riding directly into Flexi-leads when the human and dog appeared too far separated from each other, or dogs were out of cyclists' sight completely. Flexi-leads have caused serious entanglement injuries with the cyclist, dog and their human. Skateborders are also at risk. As mentioned in posts above, Flexi's are definitely not for retired racing Greyhounds, who can propel into full racing speed in 3-5 strides. Too many broken neck, spinal, and internal injury deaths in Greyhounds from Flexi-leads, not to mention injured humans from the Flexi's cord snapping back towards the humans and other dogs. Thanks for asking this important question.
  23. Thank you. Considering both our Greyhounds were 15 years old, we're very fortunate that they lived quite well into their mid 90's in human years.
  24. Soylette - You've been in my thoughts. Thank you for sharing your beloved Suki with us. (Having recently lost our 15 1/2 year old, and our 14 year old, and just beginning to nurse my 13 year old, I'm raw with emotions right along side of you... I so wish they could remain healthy forever.)
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