Time4ANap

Can Rocket and I come to your house?

We have a greyhound snob here too - and the funny part is that even though he likes other greyhounds, there are times he's not interested in playing with them either. Just not interested...would rather sniff the area, or walk, or hang with humans. He's pretty unpredictable - I think it's what makes him a greyhound.

We had almost 2 months of similar symptoms with Rocket. The I/D diet did not help him, and we ended up donating most of the bag to a shelter. After ruling out everything else, and taking a 6 week course of high dosage Flagyl with no real results, we turned to the people who run the Greyhound Boarding Facility that we use. They changed Rocket's food to Precise Foundation which they also use as the house food at the kennel. We really thought he wouldn't be able to eat it, as he did not do well on chicken based foods in the past. This food is a limited ingredient food. Wihin a few days his stools firmed up, and after a week to ten days he was completely back to normal. We have been using this food for about 11 weeks at this point, and he has done fantastic on it. His coat is softer than he's ever been, and he does not not shed anywhere near the amount he did on previous foods. According to the people at the boarding facility, they have yet to try this food with a dog having stomach issues and not have 100% improvement. The food has limited distribution, but seems to be in most distributor catalogs and can be ordered by the bag through most pet food stores. They also have a sensitive stomach food as well. I know you are still looking for the root of this problem. When Rocket was sick he got so skinny that I thought he was wasting away, and tried the new food after everything else had been ruled out. I realize that food may not be the issue, but if the I/D isn't helping, I figured you might be looking for another option, and wanted to let you know what worked for Rocket. Rocket and I hope Merlin is feeling better soon.

Have a feeling he's just tired of the crate. The same thing happened with Rocket after a while. We leave him out 24/7 whether we are here or not. We have continued to leave the crate in place with the door open, but it is now referred to as his "Tanning Booth," since it is where he catches sunbeams in the morning. We leave the door open and he does hang out in there sometimes. It also allows us to still crate him when needed, usually when there is a service person going in and out to their truck or other times when someone is working in the house and we need him out from under foot.

Very sorry for your loss.

We usually give Rocket some bread, usually white bread of some type or a roll when he gets the gurgles in the middle of the night. It will usually settle out after he eats it. Rocket had stomach issues for about a month in Feb/March, and there was some red blood that was from straining. There was also a gelatin-like substance that looked bloody, which our vet advised was the inflamed stomach lining. Apparently that's how they get rid of the inflammation. The poop bags actually had a lot of blood and water in them when he passed the stomach lining. We had to do 2 rounds of Flagyl at a high dose to get him straightened out, and ended up changing food to a limited ingredient food. The "good stuff" was just too rich for his stomach to tolerate. We also fed scrambled eggs and very sticky rice for about 2 weeks until he could tolerate kibble again. It worked better than Ground Beef and Rice which we also tried. Hope Merlin feels better and it's nothing serious.

I will second the Wobbler. Rocket is addicted to his. We reserve some of his breakfast kibble and give it to him in the wobbler in the early afternoon. One of us usually finds the empty wobbler at our feet if we haven;t thought about giving it to him yet on any given day. The only drawback is that it could be too heavy if the pup is weak, but they could still bat it around with a paw and it will dispense. We also play a game that we call "Paws" which is nothing more than a bunch of "high fives" in a row. I am currently alternating that with "Shake" and he is learning the difference in the two.

We are very sorry for your loss.

Ginger Snap Cookies will help with the stomach upset. One or two before the ride and take some along in case you need to re-administer the medication. I haven't met a Greyhound yet who will turn down a Ginger Snap.

Welcome Home Beaker!!!!!

Welcome from Central Illinois. The fun thing about these dogs is that the transition never ends. Just when you think you've seen it all and they are "settled," they do something they've never done before that either makes you laugh hysterically, cuss them, feel like they are now settled, or usually all 3. Don't be too nervous, they won't break but they do fold up small so you can fit more in your house and car.

We use the Tick Key for tick removal and it works! We have one in the house and one in Rocket's Travel Bag. I don't think I would use it on the Eye Lid since it is sort of a scraping action, but it is handy to have for those ticks that are deep into the skin. Not affiliated with the product - just a happy user.

Depending on how food motivated she is, she might like a Kong Wobbler. We save part of the kibble from the breakfast portion and give it to Rocket in the Wobbler to keep him occupied in the afternoon. He empties it fairly fast, but is content to sleep for a while after palying with the woobler. You might also try leaving some TV or radio on so there's some background noise and keep her from whining at noises outside.

Maybe this? 9% Fat. They have a ton of products and formulas on their site. Give Beth some extra ear rubs for us. Hope she's feeling better soon. .

We had to switch Rocket from TOTW due to digestive issues and watery poop. He has been on Precise Foundation Chicken Meal and Rice for over 5 weeks and is doing fantastic. It is a limited ingredient food and very digestible. He lost a great deal of weight on the I/D food, and is now back where he needs to be. We tried this food because it is the "house food" at the Greyhound Boarding facility we use. They only board greyhounds and have had great success with this food with their own dogs, and a number of their customers have changed to it. Rocket's coat is softer and fuller than it has ever been on this food. The only add-in he gets is a teaspoon of cottage cheese mixed with each meal just to add something to his kibble. No salmon oil or any other enhancement. This food can be hard to find, but it is now in the newest distributor catalogs, so your local supplier can order it if they don't carry it. Cost is about $ 44.00 for a 40 lb bag. The other thing I like about this food is that it's made by a family owned company in their own plant - not contracted out so they maintain control. I should also add that we had bad experiences with other chicken based foods and were leary of trying this, but as I said, no problems at all, and not a bad poop since we switched.

Our boy will lay on his back and make a motion for Belly Rubs much like the invitation you describe. Even then, he will on occasion snap or growl. I almost think that the belly rubs relax him and he falls asleep - then startles. Just wanted you to be on the lookout for startle signals from your pup, even when they initiate the play. It is very easy to let your guard down when they initiate the activity. We also found that using the "Nothing in Life is Free" method works well to let the pup know that you are in charge at all times. You can search that here on GT as well. One other thing that has been touched on here but not spelled out - do not let kids lounge or play in or around the crate or any dog bed that belongs to your hound. That is also an invasion of their space, even if they aren't using it at the time and can provoke a reaction from the pup. He needs to know that those are his spaces. Good luck, keep us posted, and make sure your post some pictures of your pup when things settle down - it's the here.

In a large percentage of the incidents you describe, there is a common theme. The person bitten was in the dog's space, or the dog was startled. Reaching into the crate, or petting on the floor can cause some Greyhounds to snap or bite. Some of them have space issues, and those areas are his space. He had his own space since he was 6 months old and went to track training, then he had only a week before he had to learn how to live in a house with people and all of the rules changed. We learned early-on that our Greyhound has space issues when similar things happened. These are not his fault. He was used to having his own space in his crate at the track or on his bed / floor in his new home. We have a rule that he has to be standing in order to get petted. By follwing this rule, we ensure that he is A) awake, and on our turf. We do not pet him on or near a dog bed or in his crate. If there is any doubt on our part as to how awake he is, we do not get in his space at all. With that being said, we still have a fun, friendly Mama and Daddy's boy who is spoiled rotten. 99% of the time, he is my best friend and my sidekick, and I can do anything I need to with him or touch him wherever we need to. But when in a bed or crate, or sleeping, he is left alone. He may be wagging his tail, asking for pets etc, but if he is in bed, lying down, or in a crate, the best rule is no pets. When you get close to him in those positions, you cross some line where he percieves you to be in his space, and he is reacting naturally. Hope this helps. I know others will chime in who are more qualified in this area to give advice, but I wanted to let you know how we handle a similar situation.

I thought the same thing, but figured there might be someone among us who uses it to make treats or other special items for their pups. Better safe than sorry.

Given how many of our pups love peanut butter, I figured this should probably be posted here. If a mod wants to move it to Off Topic or other area, feel free. There is a recall on certain types of Skippy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter. Details here.

Cottage cheese on kibble, baby carrots for snacks, ginger snaps instead of dog biscuits. Nothing strange here. Oh, and I almost forgot - Vanila ice Cream before bed.

Hope you're feeling better soon, Jeff.

Ours sleeps anywhere he wants. Really...some nights he sleeps in our room on a dog bed at the foot of the bed. Other nights he likes the rug by the front door or a dog bed in the living room. About 90% of the time he uses the dog bed in our room. Works for us, that way we can hear him if there's a problem or he needs to go out, which rarely happens.

:wub: :wub: ....Bijou....... Glad she's doing well after all that.

Good luck tomorrow Bijou (and Daddyman). Can't wait to see a picture of you flashing those pearly whites.

Stool sample definitely. Like the other post said, probably a round of Flagyl. if she continues not to eat, you might need to do the boiled chicken or boiled ground beef with rice or pasta. If your pup won't eat those, you may need to try some scrambled eggs or I/D food. Your vet will let you know the best course of action depending on any test results. Keep an eye on weight and hydration. They lose weight fast when they stop eating. Don;t try too many things at once, otherwise you won't know what worked. Usually it's a gradual process to get them eating again and get the tummy healed if there is irritation or a problem.