3greytjoys

I haven't read all the replies, but if it hasn't been mentioned yet... Quietly feeding her meals from your hands is an outstanding way to build trust. If there is more than one person in the home, all family members should take turns hand feeding her full meals. If you're uneasy about holding the food in your hands, at least hold the bowl in your hands as you sit on the floor on her level. Best to look away without eye contact. Learning to trust others: Guest can sit (or lie down) on floor away from dog, (if sitting, guest's back is towards dog). Guest is not making any eye contact, while tossing super high value treats on the ground (far away from themselves, like into the next room) for dog to eat. As she becomes comfortable enough with that game, over time the treats can be tossed closer and closer, as comfort increases, guest can try offering her a treat from his/her hand. (May take days/weeks.) Guest always looking away, not looking in dog's eyes. If dog will, allow dog to go to person from the back or side without person making eye or face to face contact. If person approaches, and touches dog - Person should approach from the side, not face to face. Only pet dog's side or back (not on the head or neck). These dogs are some of the best because you can help them blossom so much over time. It is very rewarding for your long-term relationship.

All replies to your post are excellent so far. I'll add/reiterate a few things. Please stop allowing Boo on the human furniture. That elevates dogs to humans level in hierarchy. I would encourage you to not allow her up for at least 6 months, if at all. Dog beds on the floor are excellent. Walking in the morning is great. You may need to clear counter tops until Boo learns not to "counter surf". (A search on GT may help.) Regarding potty accidents: Please keep in mind, an anxious (or fearful) dog can't help his/her reactions under stress. An anxious dog often needs to potty more urgently when stressed (i.e., being left past "alone" duration tolerance). They can't physically "hold it" as long as they normally would when all is calm in their world. Greyhounds are extremely gentle and sensitive. Please be careful not to punish any dog for doing something caused by anxiety or fear. Even raising a voice in anger can backfire magnifying anxiety problems tenfold. Just like with people, anger begets anger (which can actually create aggressive behavior in some dogs who were not aggressive before). BTW, I agree that your hound was resource guarding. The goal is always to build and strengthen trust. Greyhounds are always watching us, listening to our every breath, feeling our energy, and reading our moods. They are strongly affected by our energy. Positive patience goes a long way to help them adjust well into home life. Susan's comment is spot on: "Every thing you do, every day, is teaching her something." We communicate that we're trustworthy even through our gentle handling of their collar, gentle guide of their leash, etc. If Boo is feeling your hurried energy in the morning, she may be too stressed to relax enough to go potty, or she could be anxiously anticipating being left alone again. As mentioned, setting the alarm earlier for a longer morning exercise walk is an excellent suggestion to help... 1. Tire her enough for alone relaxation. 2. Reduce her desire to counter surf. 3. Help her fully eliminate outside before you leave. 4. Prevent or reduce inside accidents. 5. Help you all feel more relaxed and happy. As Chad mentioned, hand feeding is excellent to help hounds learn to trust. Very important for all people in hound's household to hand feed so she doesn't fixate on one human (you) as her only trusted human/food source. If you are the only one to hand feed, that might increase her desire to hyper-connect to you. Just my experience, in your case with Boo having difficulty with separation anxiety, I might shorten the duration of hand feeding to about a week. If you are feeding her kibble meal from her Kong, the dinner meals could be fed by hand. You didn't mention what kibble you're feeding, but loose stools or worms could be a factor in bowel potty accidents too. Getting her off the human furniture should help a lot. Good luck, and thank you for posting.

As mentioned, I agree with not reprimanding hound for growling. To clarify my previous post: I do not agree that every cat is smart enough to not push cat's own luck. Some cats are very dog-friendly, particularly if they've never had a bad experience with a dog. Some cats have no idea a dog can harm them (any dog breed). Many cats can push a dog beyond tolerable limits. (Just sharing decades of experience to be responsibly cautious when cats and dogs are first adjusting to each other.)

Oh, I am so deeply sorry for your heartbreaking loss of your handsome Berkeley. My heart hurts for you too.

Is it growing in size? Can you email pic (with ruler as size indicator) to the closest e-vet? If a neighbor isn't around, any other band buddies who might be able to feel their cell phone vibrating?

Thanks for posting, good question. I agree with Jayne re: growling. Growling is a dog's clear warning system. If dogs are reprimanded for growling, in their mind, they may skip that clear "communication" growl and react with a snap or bite next time. It's too soon to allow the cat close (invasive) contact with the Greyhound's resting space (if ever). I believe it is humans' responsibility to find a way to create a safe zone for the hound, while keeping the cat safe. Allowing hound to rest in a crate (open or closed door, as needed) in the most highly lived-in daytime room can help both animals safely adjust to seeing/living each other. Remember Greyhounds are used to living completely undisturbed in crates in kennels. Please try to find a way to safely allow hound space to watch family happenings in the well used daytime room. (I assume area rug paths have non-slip rug grips underneath, if not rubberized backing material is important. Runner rugs work great.) A quiet squirt of water to the cat just before it gets to the dog might help extensively curious cat learn to leave Greyhound alone, but extremely important not to miss cat target by getting hound by mistake. Hound should only have good things happen when cat is around (happy verbal praise, treats). Please don't tell the cat "no" because the dog will think you're talking to him. Hopefully, your hound is still wearing a muzzle while free in house with cat. (BTW, free cat and free hound should be supervised at all times.) It's okay to let both sniff each other to calm curiousity as long as hound is standing and muzzled. Better if cat is on slightly elevated level. Re: your comment: "It should be noted that if you (a person) give him more than a gentle pat while he is laying down (including laying down next to him) it can cue a growl as well, though that has subsided substantially since he came to us. The rescue actually were concerned about whether or not we had kids on the off chance that they wouldn't "get the hint." " Again, too soon for humans to pet hound when he's lying down, and way too soon to lie down near hound while hound is resting on "safe bed." Each hound is different in time needed to "trust" their new people, combined with major life environmental changes. New hounds need time (weeks/months) to safely watch all the home activity. Most have just been pulled from the only life they've ever known; living in crates in a kennel full of other large Greyhounds where all happenings are observed and known. Good luck.

It's so difficult how these painful losses linger. I'm sure they knew how much they were loved. I imagine they're both together watching over their beloved family from above. :f_red

Sounds like it will be a good food to try, especially going into hot months. Please let us know what you think about it after you switch. Thanks for the calorie info too. Re: "He is going to be 7 and he can outrun Rebel 2 yrs in a sprint race and Ronon keeps going and Rebel lays down!" This reminds me of our then 8 year old brood mom out running our 2 year old when she arrived. Guess that's why she was a brood mom!

NutriSource is on Whole Dog Journal's list of Approved Dry Foods of 2012.* (Published Feb. 2012) I haven't tried NutriSource personally, and I didn't notice the caloric content per cup on their Web site, but I believe average daily caloric need for "pet" Greyhounds at moderate activity level is approx. 27 calories per pound of dog. E.g., 65 pound Greyhound needs 1,755 calories per day. (Subject to increase/decrease with age and activity level. Healthy to see last 2 ribs.) One side comment since you mentioned having 3 dogs with food sensitivities. If your dogs have never had bison, it's sometimes helpful to reserve a less common protein meat (like bison) to use if a vet recommended elimination diet is needed to test for allergies, etc. Example: A dog with IBD who can't tolerate usual protein sources (chicken, lamb, fish, etc.) may benefit from veterinarian guided testing of eliminating all proteins the dog has ever tried to date, then starting new single unique proteins one-by-one. *Source: Approved Dry Foods of 2012: www.whole-dog-journal.com

Our hounds' favorites are hard "Durachew" made by Nylabone. "Souper" size is one of the safer sizes for Greyhounds. Chicken or bacon flavor. After much research and years of strong chewer testing, the top 2 Durachews in this link have been quite safe for Greyhounds (without any narrow parts potentially causing a choke hazard). http://entirelypets.ecomm-search.com/search?query=durachew+souper&x=29&y=14

The suspected Kirkland Lamb and Rice canned food problems were located in Orange County, (southern) California. This canned food would have been distributed from Washington State. As the original author wrote this week (copied and quoted in Jenbo's original post), FDA is investigating. (I don't feed this food anyway, but my closest Costco doesn't happen to carry this specific canned food. I didn't call Costco in Washington to learn this canned food's destination cities.) No FDA public recalls have been made to date. (I've been on FDA's daily recall alert list for years. If I see this canned dog food officially recalled, I'll post about it.)

I agree with Greysmom. Here are two toys that you may be able to allow him longer access: Tuffie Toys are great for hounds that kill stuffies. They have squeakers but are made much, much tougher than regular stuffies. http://www.tuffietoys.com/ultimate-series (Our Tuffie Toys have lasted many years with hounds/fosters, still in excellent condition.) Hard "Durachew" made by Nylabone. Souper size (flat and wide shapes are good). Bacon or chicken flavor (not original flavor = no flavor). Hard Durachews last a long time and help keep teeth much cleaner. www.entirelypets.com Search: "Durachew Souper size" (Peanut butter smeared on bone helps interest.) Greyhounds have not been taught obedience/family life commands. It's fine to let them settle into their new environment first, and begin to build trust with new humans slowly. Your boy is trying to figure out so much right now. I wouldn't expect much eye-to-eye contact. Being sighthounds, they naturally visually scan their surroundings during walks. Other actions to try for now: Try a quick turn or U-turn walking the opposite direction to break his vision of another dog, or keep moving forward very quickly. Play "find it" game: Toss treats on ground several feet in front of hound (only if other dog is far enough away not to intercept treats, like across a street). Hound's focus is on finding special high value treats instead of other dog. Greyhounds are very intelligent and learn new things well when repeated in natural daily life. It's always helpful to try to catch hound doing an action naturally, add word and treat. When hound happens to make eye contact naturally at home, reward with treat instantly. Clicker training: Hold treat near eye, upon eye contact, click and treat instantly. Another option: While heeling, hold treat from teeth to encourage facial focus. Enjoy your new boy!

Godspeed Lexi. I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for all you did to help her when she needed it most. What a story.

I'm so sorry about your loss of your beloved Dawn. You and your family are in our thoughts during this terribly difficult time.

I'm glad he's feeling better. By the way, good indication of healthy Greyhound pet weight is to be able to see the last 2 ribs, and feel the 3rd to last rib. (Generally, up to about 5 pounds over "racing weight" is usually a healthy pet weight.)

I'm so very sorry for your crushingly painful loss of Dino. Our thoughts are with you.

I'm just seeing your recent post. My sincere sympathy to you and your wife during this difficult time of loss... of all days... how very sad to lose your kitty on that date too. Guinness was such a special hound to have touched so deeply. Memories of your heart boy continue to touch many of us too. (This thread still brings tears.) You are such a caring fur-parent. Obie is a lucky boy to have you and your wife as his family. I'm glad he is enjoying life with you now.

I'm sorry you are in this difficult situation. I would urge you to contact your adoption group to inquire about a professional behaviorist with whom you could discuss your situation ASAP. For now, I would suggest you monitor Timmy very carefully: Please muzzle him whenever your child or other young children are awake and active nearby. Give Timmy "protected" space where he can continue to feel part of family activities and is able to watch happenings, but is safely protected from young children. Examples: Baby-gate him in the room right next to the main daytime activity room so he has freedom, can watch happenings and still feel "part of the family" but there is no chance of him being knocked into, stepped on, etc. If he likes his crate, crates can be a good brief "safe zone" for dogs while young children are awake and playing nearby. This is not to punish him in any way, but to protect Timmy and the children before anything progresses. In fact, dogs should not be punished by putting them in a crate or baby-gated area. It's very important for those areas remain safe, happy zones. Timmy is giving many clear warnings of his unease around children. I'm glad you are noticing and asking about this now. You can do a search on this subject on Greytalk. Also, please search "calming signals" and/or "Turid Rugaas" on Greytalk so you can have a better reading of Timmy's canine language before he growls and snaps. (BTW, a warning growl is good. If growls are "corrected" by humans, he may not growl next time and go directly to a bite.) Some retired racers haven't been around young children much, especially if their farm and kennels were child-free. Most are used to having completely undisturbed and respected resting space in the "safe zone" of their crates on their farms and racing kennels. BTW, odd as it seems, many dogs don't like being petted on top of their heads. Reaching over the dog (even by a small arm) is considered dominate behavior in dog language. Also approaching a dog directly head-on, face-to-face can be threatening. Dogs are usually more agreeable to petting their side or shoulder while awake and standing. Please be very careful in managing whereabouts of children and Timmy. Avoid allowing children near his side of the room on floor level. He is clearly uncomfortable around small children. A dog reacts faster than a human, the muzzle is very important for now. Hopefully, a behaviorist may be able to help. Otherwise, Timmy may be more comfortable in an adult home. Good luck. ETA: Well written Silverfish... Sorry I didn't see your response before I posted.

No matter of cat test result, cats are new creatures to newly retired hounds, so hound's reactions can be unpredictable. (Three cat tests could show 3 different results depending on hound's circumstance, and environment.) They can surprise us if cat runs, and hound's chase/prey instinct kicks in, or if cat scares dog and dog snaps in fear. Like Trihounds posted, please keep a muzzle on the foster dog as long as needed (days or more) until you can be sure. Even a young, playful hound can harm a cat by pouncing on it with long legs and paws. Your foster could being seeing the cat as prey. They do whine and growl when they can't get to prey. Also, it's good to keep muzzled hound leashed to you inside at first until you have a better indication of reactions with smaller animals. Dogs are faster than a human trying to run interception. Make sure cats have escape routes, and don't leave cat alone with foster dog at all. When hound is reacting that way towards cat, are you able to verbally call dog's attention away from cat? If not, keep hound crated or otherwise safely separated from cat by secure doors until you can contact your adoption group to evaluate your situation. Usually, a hound fearful of cats is ultimately okay living with cats, but best to plan for safety first. Other hounds are considered "cat workable" and can learn to live with cats over time. Others are non-cat workable.

Melatonin tablets often help with sleeping (I believe it's considered a side-effect), but in an ideal situation, best to give about 1 hour before expected noises begin. After hound is nervous and hyped up, it's harder to get them to settle. I've given up to 7.5 mg to our largest male (up to 78 pounds) with excellent results, along with lots of inside calming noise like smooth jazz, and white noise (TV helps but has a lot of silent breaks between words). Also helpful if hound can stay in an inner center room of the house (not against outside walls/windows/upper roof).

Chad and others covered the normal snapping issue: Leaning over dogs (standing or lying down) is dominate behavior in dog language. Let sleeping dogs lie. Pet dog after they are standing up fully alert, etc. I agree to ask your boyfriend to quietly hand-feed meals while he sits on the floor feeding Doug for a few days. Food is so important for dogs, it speeds up trust bond on both sides. Best to feed kibble meal from hands (if you're comfortable with it, otherwise second best is holding bowl in hands). Doug actually seems to be doing remarkably well being with you for such a short time, and being mostly comfortable being alone for 45 minutes. Usually the first 30 minutes of outings is a comfort key many hounds strive to reach. It can take from seconds to minutes for some hounds to "build-up" to that 30 minute time goal. Count yourselves fortunate. It's also possible that he needs to go potty after 45 minutes. Some hounds hold a reserve in their tank (especially boys), good to give ample potty opportiunities before departures. (Sometimes they pee a greater quantity in their own yard vs. out walking leaving many small pee-mails.) I strongly agree to install a baby-gate to build Doug's confidence of you being out of his sight daily and frequently for short durations while you're inside the home. Especially important if human is often home with dog. Dogs don't like being completely cut-off from their people by solid closed doors, a baby gate is a nice solution. (Another great sign is that Doug relaxed enough to lie down away from the closed door.) It's common for Greys to follow new owners room to room. They don't want to miss anything, but this can backfire later for some hounds becoming too attached. Try not to "overly touch/pet" the hound during his first couple of months with you. (This helps hounds adjust to new "environment" first, without hyper-attaching, and it helps hound safely "watch" while learning to trust that these strange new people will not harm him/her. Greyhounds are very sensitive, some need more time to simply watch to get to know new people.) The more shared dog duties between you and your boyfriend the better for Doug to learn he is cared for by more than one person = much less hyper-attachment. Later, more physical affection can be offered, after good alone habits are strengthened. Many hounds like non-frozen Kongs much better than frozen Kongs. Try room temperature peanut butter filled Kongs. Personally, I would not leave a hound alone with a Bully Stick. They can be a choking hazard. Others covered the trade-up technique well. If Doug enjoys chewing to relieve boredom: A hard "Durachew" bone made by Nylabone (bacon or chicken flavored) "Souper" size is good for Greyhounds in a semi-flat shape (not a round ball shape) that they can comfortably get their back teeth around. You can smear peanut butter on a Durabone to help encourage interest. Bonus: Durachews are great to help keep teeth much cleaner. Again the hard Durachews that last for many months, not the edible products.

Important to call your vet first, and offer names of any other current medications. Xanax can be dangerous to mix with other meds. I agree about testing Xanax at home first. It can create the opposite of the desired affect in certain hound patients.

Your outstanding devotion to help Joe is remarkable. Thank you for everything you are doing to help him medically. (I wanted to send a private message, but the system requires 50 messages (I believe) before you can accept PMs.) In short, I understand you are being very careful with Joe and your baby. I wonder if Joe's attack on your sister looking under the bed was in response to Joe trying to protect you and the baby from your sister's unusual (and in his eyes, uneasy and erratic) movement. The lunging with contact behavior from a standing position was different from the common, yet very important "let sleeping dogs lie" issue. I know you're working with specialists. I hope you're working with a veterinary behavioral specialist. I know some medications have side effects that can magnify a dog's aggressive behavior too. Please don't let your guard down around your baby. Dogs can move faster than humans. I was taught that dogs' brains are similar to a 2 year old child. As a young child, I lived with an unpredictable large dog (different needlenose breed without any seizure issues) for many years. He developed a progressive pattern. One of his incidents was charging an infant who was left in a child carrier on the dining room carpet (next to our fully occupied dining table). The baby (frequent visitor) was being perfectly quiet. Fortunately, the baby's father intervened in time to stop the dog before dog reached the baby. (Poor decision on the infant's parents' part to place a baby on floor level with a resident dog present. Poor decision on my parents' part for not securing the dog in a safe area when a visiting baby was in the house.) A muzzle could have been a wonderful safety tool in our dog's case. Please be careful to ensure Joe wears his muzzle whenever he is around any other dog/s too. I agree with keeping an open crate available for Joe to have his own private resting space. Our pack always heads for the crates before the wide open beds. They love the cave-like feeling of the crates. (Our crates are partially covered on back 1/2 since our hounds don't try to chew the material.) I understand you are struggling with this difficult situation. I'm glad you posted for others' insight. Please let us know how things progress with Joe.

Your plan of 8'x8' should be fine. We have multiple Greyhounds, and have a designated fully fenced potty area (20' long x 15' wide). Exterior fence happens to be 8-9'. Single-side inner secondary fence is 4' tall (ex-pen creates instant inner fence with gate, secured with fenced poles). In my opinion, 4' is too low to leave any Greyhound unattended (even as an inner fence). Humans accompany dogs outside here. I have yet to find the absolute perfect ground material but I'm happy with ours. Since we foster hounds who often arrive with parasites/worms/diarrhea, we need to keep our resident hounds safe. We like a thick base of "tumbled playground bark" (tumbled bark = almost no splinters). It's sooo important to pick up every drop of stool if infected with parasites before it enters ground to multiply. The playground bark is small enough to pick up with every trace of poop/diarrhea/vomit. (Playground bark is easily/cheaply replaced. I keep a few extra bags.) I would NOT recommend tumbled playground bark in a larger space where hounds do zoomies. It could damage paws during full speed zoomies. The only environmentally safe product I've found (so far) to eliminate outside urine odor is K.O.E. (Kennel Odor Eliminator). It does work on the playground bark. **Caution: Please NEVER use "cocoa mulch" around dogs. It is toxic and can be deadly if ingested.** Sand is used in Greyhound kennels. Nice that it's softer, but sand is more easily tracked inside the house, and may be used by neighborhood cats. (I wouldn't be too comfortable using a chemical rubberized material around dogs without extensive research. If dog ingests rubber it could cause serious internal problems or worse. Seems odor might eventually become a problem too(?).) Years ago, we had a custom-made dog potty built outside for one female dog (not a Greyhound): 4' long cement with drainage pipe, filled with pea gravel. She was easily trained to use it. Even though it was easily hosed/washed every day or two, over years, I found it much more difficult to keep odor under control with environmentally safe products. Urine permeating the cement and pea gravel eventually made the smell too overwhelming to continue using it. (That was before I found K.O.E., so not sure the difference it would make after it was absorbed into the cement and pea gravel.) Good luck with whatever you decide.

As others replied, many hounds do this in happy delight during play. Two suggestions if you're concerned about being nipped inadvertently by an air-snap: Muzzle your hound during outside zoomie time when people are present, or try to stand in a safer protected zone (if there is one). Many people with multiple hounds muzzle their hounds during play outings because many hounds run with their mouths open, or play like mouthy puppies, which can include happy air-snaps. Their teeth might inadvertently catch on hound (or human) skin simply by accident while they're having fun. A muzzle allows them to enjoy themselves and keep bystanders safer. (If more than one dog (e.g., in a Greyhound play group), all dogs get muzzled.)