3greytjoys

Congratulations on your new boy! Thank you for asking this good question that may help others too. Unfortunately, salt toxicity is very dangerous to dogs, including death. Pool chemicals are not any safer. I believe this water intake habit will shorten your hound's life. I would encourage you to keep your hound away from the pool completely, unless you are there to supervise and prevent your hound from drinking pool water. Possibly fence off a separate and shaded space for your boy during his brief times when he is outside. (A couple of free-standing 4' tall exercise pens to create a U-shape using the side of the house or fence could help as a temporary solution.) (BTW, I understand you had a Greyhound before (I'm sorry for your loss). This comment is for readers new to Greys: Greyhounds (being short sprinters) are not strong swimmers, and don't have enough body fat to float. If they fall in water over their heads, they often panic and forget where stairs are located. Like small children, they can drown very quickly.) ASPCA's link is a good list of poisonous foods, and plants for pets: http://www.aspca.org...poison-control/

It seems she's trying to communicate something to you if she's attempting to look invisible and refusing to get off her bed. It may require more than a magic tip to encourage her up, especially of the leash trick, toys, and food won't work. If she's feeling well, and if her paw pads were successfully toughened slowly on cool sidewalks while her physical endurance was built up slowly to a 30 minute walk during the first few weeks, then continuing to build walk time slowly... then the first thing that comes to my mind is something could be happening occasionally outside in the mornings that is a little too much emotional stimulation/stress for her to feel comfortable yet. If your schedule (and cooler weather) permits to try a couple of short-term experiments, here are a few ideas... If she's well-behaved during the day, it might help to temporarily hold off on morning walks completely. She may become more alert/excited for an outside adventure after a restful (boring) day alone. Possibly try focusing on evening walks after the temperature and sidewalk(?) has cooled. If needed, change route or direction. Everything is so foreign to Greyhounds during their initial 6+ months of retirement, adjusting to traffic, garbage trucks, school buses etc. can be highly stressful experiences for hounds off the track or farm. If you and your husband go out to dinner, maybe a brief walk after you return home. Some hounds become very brave under the cover and quiet of darkness, and many hounds enjoy the exciting night time "suburban visual critter hunt" (watching for reflective eyes of outdoor cats, etc.). If that helps, it may give her the needed opportunity to build more confidence to retry morning walks with better success a few weeks later. Fijihound's tip works wonders for some hounds too... I've done that often with our hounds (and fosters) for various reasons: One hound refused routine cement sidewalk walks due to lingering paw soreness that required walks only on soft grass in a park. (Paw pad problems can take seemingly forever to heal. We've had one hound with a foreign body removal in a pad take over a year to heal! I've heard of other hounds whose pads were damaged on a hot sidewalk that took months to heal.) This year, one of our senior hounds (normally confident) was semi-freaked to go outside for two months after the month of July fireworks, combined with scary day time noises coming from neighbor's children playing with new pool toys. He decided awful scary things happen outside in our neighborhood day/night, but he was always absolutely thrilled to go for a 2 minute car ride to a different neighborhood to walk while investigating new smells and scenery. Sometimes it doesn't take much for a backslide. Yesterday, as we returned from a car outing, the neighborhood children were being typical noisy children playing with new loud toys. He started getting highly stressed again. He's still so hypersensitive from the extended summer noises that yesterday's noise made him feel uneasy every time we went outside today. Eventually, he will relax again. Thank you for your curiosity, and willingness to discover what will work best for your individual sighthound. Greyhounds are the best ever and blossom so much within the first couple of years. Maybe others will have other helpful ideas to try too.

How long are her morning walks? Does she usually walk more than once per day, if so how long is each walk? Is that the only way she can do her business or do you have a fenced yard? Did she have any racing injury of which you are aware? What kind of personality does she have? Does she appear fearful while she is being walked? Was she more excited about walking when she first arrived in your home? Was she fostered before you adopted her, and do you know if she was happy to go on walks then? Any slight limping? Do you walk on cement sidewalks, road pavement, grass, gravel, or other? I'd suggest to try checking her paw pads to see if they appear worn down or a little raw in certain spots. It usually takes a new hound quite a while to slowly build up pad toughness (sort of like children going barefoot with very tender feet in early spring). Secondarily, wetting a paper towel with water to rub over her pads frequently helps reveal a better look at pad condition, or to check for any small foreign body. If anything looks suspicious, digital photos are excellent to put on a computer to zoom in for a better look.

Hi Tim, I'm sorry about Bobby being ill from Giardia. It is difficult to see them suffering. It's hard on you as his caretaker to clean up those stinky diarrhea messes too. Please remember this unfortunate Giardia is only temporary. Once he's feeling better, you'll both be so relieved! It's certainly possible Bobby was first exposed to Giardia in your garden; however, he may have arrived with it. Giardia is seen in some Greyhounds when they retire from racing. As careful as caretakers are at tracks, kennels, and farms, Giardia can spread quickly through highly populated kennel settings. I'm not a licensed veterinarian (maybe a GT vet will see this and reply), but I have dealt with some heavy infestations of Giardia in Greyhounds. To answer your questions from my perspective: Panacur is often used as a treatment for Giardia, plus many worms, and I believe Diarsanyl Plus is used to treat diarrhea, etc.. I imagine your vet will require another fecal test after this current Panacur treatment. Hopefully, the result will be negative. If so, it's sometimes helpful to retest again within several months to confirm. (Ask your vet about timing.) If the Giardia is still active in Bobby's intestines, and shed in fecals your vet will likely continue another round of treatment. That would be a time to inquire about Flagyl or other treatment combinations preferred by your vet. Sometimes Giardia infestations can be resistant to one form of treatment, yet helped by another. Re: Disinfecting Giardia in the garden. That's so difficult in a garden setting that you will want to be as careful as possible about picking up every little bit of fecal matter as quickly as possible. While you're doing treatments for Giardia, it's really best to escort and watch the hound during each outing and pick-up immediately (if in dirt, scrape up a little dirt too). Some people place newspaper squares or large paper plates down to catch the stool before it hits grass or dirt, and dispose of the stool with the newspaper. The few things I know of that will kill Giardia: Boiling water, or steam is safest to use around pet traffic areas. Bleach/water solution or quaternary ammonium compounds which require several days before an animal can walk on that surface again. I'd need to refresh my memory re: the bleach/water solution amounts, but you wouldn't be able to do any of those things in a living garden with green grass and plant material anyway. Personally, I wouldn't go overboard worrying about disinfecting the garden since there's nothing environmentally friendly and plant safe (to my knowledge). Since Bobby's favorite business area/s could be infected, one idea is to block that area off from him for several months (temporary plastic gardening fencing could help). Giardia cysts live for weeks to months outside the host in wet, cold environments. I would recommend limiting Bobby's business elimination space while you are treating him. Once he's negative, you probably won't want him to have access to his previous business area for a while. Please try to ensure Bobby does not eat anything in the garden (wild animal excrement, cat feces, toxic plants etc.). As is common for everyone, please wash your hands after poop patrol. Not sure if this idea might help you (or other readers), but the following is what we did in our yard because we have visiting hounds periodically and wanted to make sure our own hounds didn't pick anything up from them. This has been 100% effective which is great considering some of our visitors have had hookworms, giardia, etc. First, we reduced the size of the yard by creating a limited "business elimination area" by using existing fencelines, house, and we blocked off the larger yard by opening up an ex-pen (freestanding dog exercise pen) to create an instant fenceline with it's own ready-made gate. The tallest ex-pens we found are 4' high, and we secured them with 5' tall metal fence posts (buried 1'). So far, the 4' ex-pen fence height has worked fine because it's only an interior yard divider, inside a 6' to 8' perimeter fence; otherwise, I would not expect a Greyhound to stay within a 4' tall fence. (I'd still prefer a taller height.) This project took about 30 minutes. Second, we spread small "tumbled" (no splinter problem) "playground bark" over the ground several inches deep. This bark is a light color so it's easy to see fecal matter. If a visitor hound has diarrhea, we can instantly scoop up every last drop of fecal matter and throw away some playground bark too. That's much easier than trying to dig infected diarrhea out of dirt or grass. We do monitor the hounds and pick-up excrement immediately (otherwise, it would seep into dirt). If we're dealing with a visiting hound's infected diarrhea, we don't rely on reusing a contaminated pooper scooper; instead, we pick-up with clean dog-poop bags. Other benefits to this limited elimination only space: It would be rare for a skunk or raccoon to get inside this double-protected space. The hounds are highly visible to us in this well-lit area at night so we know exactly what they're doing. After a rain or when grass is wet from heavy dew, we don't worry about hounds running zoomies on wet grass resulting in a potentially dangerous slip during a business outing. (This elimination area is not large enough for major play and zoomies. This playground bark material is very good for this elimination area; however, I would not recommend this ground material in a larger space where Greyhounds would be running. The tumbled bark pieces are only about 1" to 2" long which could damage hounds' paws traveling at high speeds.) (Caution: Please do NOT use cocoa mulch - It is TOXIC to dogs.) Good luck with Bobby's rapid and successful treatment. I imagine he will feel like a new hound very soon!

What an honorable memorial for your very special girl. What an amazing life she experienced from the moment she was born, and how fortunate that she lived her well deserved, enjoyable, meaningful and loving retirement with you. She will be remembered by many. May your hearts feel comfort as you remember so many wonderful days with your beautiful Rainy. Peach Rain, even a lovely name given to her from the start. I wish I could offer you peach roses, but these are close...

Here is a link about bandaging "Happy Tail" http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/happy_tail_bandaging.htm (For any confused newbie readers: Happy tail is a common term for a Greyhound's happy tail wagging and hitting hard surfaces, or unfortunately, getting caught in a door.) I've heard of a light weight cardboard tampon holder being used to help protect the very tip of a Greyhound's tail, but that adds more weight so I don't know how well it stays on. Grassmere encourages feather light bandage material. Houndtime's suggestion of EMT spray sounds good. I hope you were able to stop the bleeding for good. A friend had trouble with her hound's tail not healing after being closed in a car door. Vet visits were definitely required in their particular case. Good luck for Lexie's rapid healing.

Please don't leave a Greyhound (or any dog) unsupervised with Bully Sticks, or anything similar. They can be dangerous. Socks can also be very dangerous for dogs. I knew a Greyhound that died from grabbing a small sock from a laundry bin, chewed and ingested the sock very quickly which created a fatal intestinal blockage. Socks are NOT safe toys for dogs. Better options if leaving a toy with a hound: Stuffed Kongs, and some of the cube dispenser toys. Also, hard (not flexible or soft) "Durachews" made by Nylabone, in large ("souper" size) and impregnated with flavors like bacon, liver, or chicken for hounds who enjoy chewing to relieve boredom. I realized I need to clarify my original reply. When I mentioned feeding all meals in the crate, I do not mean to leave the dog in the crate for four hours thereafter. I mean feed at the hound's regular time, and let the hound out within a few minutes after Rhythm finishes eating. Feeding all meals in crate is simply an exercise in encouraging the hound that great and happy things happen inside the crate, and those crate visits result in a much faster release (than 4 hours), which encourages safe crate acceptance and relaxation faster. Rhythm is still brand new to your home, so this whining etc. is very common before beginning alone training. Great that you have this weekend to contine to work on shorter bits of alone training. Others mentioned veterinary prescribed drugs which can help as a last resort later if alone training isn't enough, but good to keep in mind that some of those drugs often take 4-6 weeks to begin working. Another option: If the time comes later, one SHORT term emergency option is naturally derived Melatonin tablets. (Just one example is Nature's Made brand.) If you find yourself (and neighbors) at wits end, you could try one 3 mg. tablet first, administered one hour before your departure. Next time, if that dosage isn't enough try 6 mg. (total), one hour before departure. This should not be used long term, but it may help in a pinch before asking for veterinary prescribed meds that take longer to kick in. At least until hound adjusts to the alone schedule. Please be careful not to mix medications and do let your vet know you are planning to try Melatonin. Good luck and let us know how he progresses. We understand the first weeks can be less than we'd hope, but it does get better. There is a lot of excellent advice in this thread. We've all been there.

I'm sincerely very sorry for your loss of Ferigin. He was such a handsome boy, and it sounds like he enjoyed a life full of adventure with you. Our thoughts and prayers for your strength through this difficult transition are with you. Godspeed Ferigin.

I'm very sorry about your loss of your first hound. Ten years is a long time to spend with a beloved Greyhound companion. Yes, it may take some time, but your Greyhound boy should be able to transition his bonding over to you. In your case, if you are able to begin encouraging that transition towards you more now, I would encourage that. It's heart-warming to read that your son is a great Greyhound person, and your son may enjoy your hound shadowing him, but it may not be doing your hound as much good. As you know, Greyhounds are so sensitive and have had so many challenging transitions during their racing life before they even reach their forever homes. The loss of the people to whom they bond leave an imprint on their personality and behavior. Since you already know your son and his fiancé will be moving soon, I truly believe it would help your hound if you begin inviting your hound to sleep in your room now (instead of your son's room) to help lessen your hound's future mourning of the upcoming loss of your son and his fiancé. Your hound already considers them his "pack" so he will be losing 2/3 of his pack at one time. A baby-gate can help prevent a hound from following his people when they move from room-to-room. I completely understand it's sweet and feels wonderful to have a hound follow your (son's) every move, but I believe it's much better for the hound to teach him more self-confidence and independence so he feels comfortable when he is left alone. It's very important for a new hound to relax and feel assured that he will be okay when his person/people are out of sight, and that they will eventually return to him. A separate note... Our "male bonding" case: One of our hounds was only interested in his human daddy (or any other men) from Day 1, even though I was his primary caretaker. He had been clearly more used to male trainers, etc. This independent and indifferent male Greyhound was not the least bit interested in relating with me, or any other women. It took him many months but eventually he did begin to trust and bond closely with me. He wasn't a kisser hound, so when he gave me a little kiss on the face after well over a year, I melted in delight that he finally truly bonded with me, a female! Yea! Now, years later, he is my best boy "heart hound." (Oh, and he gives me more affection than his dad now.) Good luck with your new boy. He sounds like a sweetie!

One of our more independent hounds didn't give me (or any other women) the time of day for many months. Actually, he was indifferent to everyone, except he seemed to like his human daddy from Day 1. Now, years later he's my oh so special heart boy. Greyhounds are usually so sensitive anyway, but this boy has always been extremely sensitive to the TV volume. If the TV gets too loud (for him), he will leave the room. We frequently turn down the volume throughout movies so he can feel comfortable enough to stay in the same room. I don't know where your foster hound's bed is located in that room but there may be some uncomfortable physical vibrations from speakers, bright light, etc. Moving his bed to another more quiet and dark spot might help. We have a couple of open door crates in the family room that we keep about 2/3 covered with fabric. The crate "caves" are usually the first beds to be snagged by the hounds. The other hounds are left with all the other open cushy dog beds. Also, one of our girl's dog bed is in the center of the master bedroom. If the TV is turned on even very low, she much prefers resting in the darker and more quiet master bath area. Our wonderful boy was hypersensitive to his human daddy's voice too. If his daddy spoke to him in a really deep (yet loving) voice, this hound's perception of that very deep voice was that he must have done something wrong. Once his human daddy realized our hound's sensitivity, he began speaking to him in a higher, happy tone, which helped him feel much better. All this family home stuff sounds like it's still fairly new to your foster hound. He may simply feel more sensitive to his new environment and feel more comfortable sleeping away from the activity. (Next time he goes to the vet, it might help to check his ears too.) I agree with others, I'd count my blessings for a hound that feels self-confident enough to walk away from your sides for a few hours. .

Bumping in response to a different thread.

You're actually better off going back to work sooner than later. It's harder at first for all concerned, but it's much better for a hound to learn the new normal routine sooner than later. When people are home 24/7 for too long, a hound can become too attached to their human/s which makes it much harder for them to temporarily detach when their people do finally need to leave/return to work. I agree: A tired dog is a happy dog. Also, many new hounds need to potty more often during their first week or two. You might try to give him a few potty opportunities before leaving for work (and watch him for success). Some hounds hold back a reserve in their tanks (especially boys). If he's on a new food, his poops may be less formed and more frequent than normal too. This could lead to discomfort/whining later in crate. Please try not to worry too much about Rhythm not wanting to walk into the crate right away. That's very common with most hounds in a new environment. If Rhythm is lying down (as you mentioned) after you put him in the crate. That's excellent! If you're not already doing this, it would help to begin feeding all his meals in the crate. Also good to continue leaving the crate door open some while you are home. This weekend (and beyond) would be important to put him inside the closed door crate for brief periods while you are still in the same room watching TV, reading, or whatever. The crate needs to become his safe and happy place vs. only a place where he is left alone for hours. (Caution: Please don't punish him by putting him in his crate. That backfires big time.) A low mirror placed several feet away but within view of the crate sometimes helps a brand new hound feel like he/she has another Greyhound buddy nearby. (Make sure the mirror will not get any direct sun.) BTW, try to wait to open the crate door when Rhythm is quiet for at least 10-15 seconds. Otherwise, if he gets rewarded with what he wants for whining/barking, that encourages more whining/barking. If he continues to have problems in the crate, you might consider asking your group if you can borrow a free-standing ex-pen. They are larger than a crate and most ex-pens have an open top. Feels less restrictive to the hound (but also less secure to keep a hound in if Rhythm happens to be a jumper). I agree with you that I would not leave a brand new dog alone free in a new environment for hours. The crate is for his protection too. This is such a new and different life for him being away from Greyhounds for the first time, and in a new home with new people. It's great to encourage him to develop strong confidence while being independent. (If possible, it's better not to let him shadow your every move when you are home during this early transition. Separate him by baby-gate, door, crate or whatever so he learns he will survive when you are out of sight going from room to room, and that you always return. When your dbf returns, it's usually helpful to share feeding and walking so Rhythm isn't too focused on only one person. Good luck, and please ask for help any time along the way. We've all been there before.

What a horrific shock. I am so very sorry for your loss of your sweet girl, Blast. That happened soo fast. She was very fortunate to have had you as her momma. It sounds like Blast was a special blessing to you, and that you will always keep a treasured place in your heart for your memory of her. (Your tribute brought me to tears too.)

I'm so very sorry about Rainy's devastating illness. You and your beautiful girl will be in our thoughts and prayers for Rainy to have a peaceful crossing. May her spirit help wrap you in comfort and love.

Since each hound's metabolism and activity level is different, I watch hounds visually and adjust their intake accordingly. Generally, a healthy "pet" Greyhound weight is being about to see the last 2 ribs, plus feel the 3rd to last rib. We feed a greater quantity to new hounds off the race track so they can gain weight slowly. Our varieties of kibble range from 350 calories per cup, up to approx. 504 calories per cup. For the most part, we follow manufacturers' feeding charts, but we definitely need to feed a greater quantity of the lower 350 calorie kibble to keep enough weight on the hounds. The poop quantity increases substantially with the lower calorie foods. I much prefer feeding the high quality, more dense 400+ to 500+ calorie foods. One of our inhaler hounds landed in the ER choking on a piece of dry kibble. That was a $200.00 piece of kibble! Like many others, we do add water to kibble. Now, I am more careful to swirl the water around to make sure all the kibble is moistened. Our hounds rest from walks a minimum of 1 hour before meals, and 1 hour after. (2 hours before/after meals if running.)

Our largest veterinary 24/7 emergency hospital (complete with the most highly respected "board certified surgeons") used to sell Bully Sticks, but they pulled them from their shelves and no longer carry them due to dangerous and excessive dog chokings and internal damage. Personally, we've had excellent experiences for many years with "Durachew" hard chews (made by Nylabone). The hard Durachew bones seem to be one of the safer chews to offer. Durachews help keep teeth cleaner, and help relieve boredom. (I do not recommend the softer, flexible Nylabones which can break off in chunks larger than a grain of rice causing internal damage.) Greyhounds seem to do well with the large "souper" size hard Durachew. They come in bacon, chicken or liver flavors. (The "original" is no flavor which is less enticing to the hounds.) If a typical chewer hound isn't interested in the flavored Durachew bones immediately, give the hound more time with the bone, it might take a while for them to pick up the bones to begin chewing. Smearing peanut butter on the bone can help increase their interest and teach them that it's okay to chew. Here is a shape most hounds enjoy. The hounds usually chew the ends, and this slightly flatter shape is more comfortable (than the giant, round monster ends) for Greyhounds to fit their molars around to chew. Durachews last a long, long time. http://www.entirelypets.com/durachewplussouper.html Good luck with whatever you decide.

I agree with Greyhead re: fecal tests. California Natural is good for firming up stools, and eliminating excessive gas. We've always had good results with California Natural Lamb and Rice. It depends on which protein is digested well by your particular hound... a few other protein sources available: California Natural Chicken and Rice Herring and Sweet Potato Venison (California Natural is listed on Whole Dog Journal's annual list of approved foods.)

Happened to one of my hounds recently. Animal Control's advice to me was not to expect sprays to work for any dog with a serious intent to bite. Here is an example of various sizes of catch poles, snares, and bite poles: http://www.discountwildlifesupplies.com/store/AnimalHandling/CatchPolesAnimalGraspers/ Telescoping poles are nice if time allows for opening to full length. In a pinch, I like the previous suggestion of a lightweight PVC pipe. (I tried a golf club, but found it too cumbersome to hold with multiple hounds.) In our recent case, a stun device might have helped get the attacking dog off my hound's neck, if he stopped bouncing around so much. I do keep animal control's # programmed in my cell phone. (We don't have a pet ambulance in our area, but good idea for those who do.)

If the "all-in-ones" aren't pictured on her Web site yet, the owner does make them. Feel free to call in a custom request: www.fancyk9s.com

"Sense-ation" harness helps slow pullers down nicely: http://www.softouchconcepts.com/product/sense-ation-harness I agree with HoundHeavenAZ re: holding leashes shorter with multiple hounds. It's much safer (even with one harder to handle hound). I'm not a tall person so I like keeping hounds closer to me (their shoulder near my thigh) so no tangling ever occurs while were moving forward in mass. I use waist leashes, but I don't recommend those for high prey driven hounds, better to keep those hounds under control with your strongest arm with a standard leash around a wrist, and held with a hand. I also walk hounds at a fairly rapid pace for heart healthy exercise, and usually slow down for longer leash sniffing and business at certain dog-friendly places (trying to avoid people's green lawns). Good luck...

Yes! Also, walking our hounds cuts our own human medical expenses, reduces weight, helps keep our bones stronger, and lengthens our lives for ourselves and our families!

Too funny... I agree with Greysmom. I have seen other breeds do this too. My sweet Rottie girl was a frequent trancer. She really enjoyed it. It was as if she enjoyed the branches tickling her back. All the hounds I've seen do this are usually very calm, relaxed, and happy. I wish they could talk!

Welcome to GT (as an official member)! Thank you so much for fostering! As you know, fostering is so valuable for adoption groups to help place more retiring Greyhounds in forever homes. I agree that greyhounds are one of the easiest breeds to incorporate into a home. Shogun sounds like a special boy. Hope you enjoy him as long as he is with you.

I am so very sorry for your loss. Jasey-Kasey was a lovely girl who was clearly oozing with personality from all those wonderful photo memories. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Batmom offered you an excellent answer re: Roger. On the flip side just for educational purposes: For any other readers' Greyhounds who might fall into a very rough estimate 25% range of Greyhounds who bleed excessively and have trouble clotting well, it doesn't hurt to be proactive before any surgeries. You might consider asking your vet if "Aminocaproic Acid" could help. I ask my vet to call in a prescription for Aminocaproic Acid to a human "compounding pharmacy" about one week before any of our hounds' surgeries (even minor surgeries and dentals with extractions). The compounded liquid form is very cheap (approx. $25 to $35. for a 5-day treatment supply on the west coast). Dr.Couto from OSU often recommends Aminocaproic Acid (also used in people) to help prevent excessive bleeding post surgery in Greyhounds. Greyhounds can potentially start internal bleeding anytime within about 4 days post surgery. I know of a few cases where surgery day was a challenge for vets to stop their Greyhound patients' bleeding on the operating table, they finally got it stopped, then hounds started bleeding internally again many hours later. (In one of our hound's case, internal bleeding started again 30 hours post-op from a tiny - less than 1/4" surged area where a tiny benign growth was removed.) If your vet has questions about whether Aminocaproic Acid can help clot excessive bleeding in Greyhounds, here are a couple of informative articles from OSU: The Aminocaproic Acid is mentioned in this article under "Treatment and Prognosis" section: https://greyhound.osu.edu/resources/freeresources/bonecancer/index.cfm Greyhound Bleeders article from OSU: (Caution: pictures of post-operative internal bleeding in this article.)https://greyhound.osu.edu/resources/freeresources/greyhoundbleeders/index.cfm