cleptogrey

are you using the large breed hollistic select or the regular chicken? i have both of mine on it, large breed and duck&oatmeal- sensitive stomach. no complaints. do sign up for their montly newsletter, they include a dated coupon every month.

does travel hate the crate??? if not, i would keep a crate, a safe place erected in the living or family room with a bed, water pail hanging and toys and treats in it. she might just feel safe in it, keep the door open and let her go in. annie, our shy foster who bonded w/ felix(that's why she was adopted) initially hid. i did have a "safe crate" availabe at all times and limited the space she had to roam. i made my biggest break thru keeping her in the kitchen while i cooked. it's a small place and i was able to cook and focus on her and lots of treats were readily availabe. to this day she lies down plop in the middle of our 6x9ft kitchen relaxed while i open the fridge, oven, cabinets and chop away. she used to spook, jump and feak every time i opened the fridge or a drawer. i basically reconditioned her to tolerate sounds and movements thru positive reinfocement. she also used to hide in the yard. dh would go and find her,put her on lead, then run with her into the kitchen(now a positive place) when i called her. then i would feed her a hand full of kibble. we would do at least a dozen practice runs back and forth and repeated it daily until she figured out comming in was not so scarey.i had non-skid mats down to make the transition as secure as possible. sorry to hear about your losses. things will work out with time, space and patience.

batmom's advise will work. my "oh-no-i'm scared" dog went w/ us to a new setting. she saw the huge flight of stairs, (it was those mega steps at a beach house) and froze. with dog bed under my arm, pup on lead and a good push on the tush....in the pitch black night i managed to get her up the mega flight of open wooden stairs.if you are positive and not at all tentative in your actions you dog will follow. with in a day she mastered the open staircase. how about adding a bonus food reward when he makes it to the bedroom. it's good to have staches of dog treats to encourage his positive moves. relax!!!

in one of the really good obedience classes i took we worked on teaching a dog to behave when they are tied to a stationary object. it was probably the most useful class i ever took- 14 consecutive weeks of practical training. they learned sit/stay or stand/stay. it was not a matter of a dog being tied out for a long time. the object of the exercise was to teach a dog not to freak out, cry or panic if their owner left for a couple of minutes. we stood outside the door of the class for 3 minutes, the instructor watched. when the dog barked, pulled or acted anxious we came back, corrected them and then praised them for being quiet. it took no time for them to get the message that they we were returning. i will tie my dogs on a short lead, in a safe town, where i can watch from the window as i run in to get a cup of coffee on our walks.there are regular customers who i will ask to watch(not hold the leash) the dog if i have to run into use the bathroom, small town/village people tend to be pretty helpful. in the very begining felix did exactly what we were called back in to correct in class...yodels, crys, whimpers. a good shussss and my return w/ a bagel taught him that being quiet and waiting was well worth it.but beware, a dog can chew right thru a leash in no time. felix ate emily's new lead once, i returned- untied the dogs, emily was standing patiently and i had one dog and leash, one partial leash in hand. know your dogs, mine will follow me into a shop looking for treats before they will take off. i feel safer knowing that they know how to be tied and stand quietly. i even had to do a teather and leave the room as part of the therapy dog evaluation with good dog foundation. i would not just tie a dog who has not been conditioned and trained to wait. the wait command is a powerful command, wait for food, wait for a toy, wait for their owner to return. this all took lots of time and practice.

have you contacted tufts?(vet school?)- just off the top of my head. i am 3 hrs. south of you but there is the animal speciality center, a vca hospital, in yonkers who has TOP specialist. nothing of that sort in the boston area?

sobesmom had excellent advise, but i would include capri in at least one of the walks. the other walks can be training and conditiong to all the bustle of everyday life. i like having my dogs trained to walk next to each other, it easier, then i have one hand for an umbrella or a package. he will settle down, try using a treat bag and distract him when a truck comes rumbleing along, that will help- that's what i have done. now my dogs walk past anything(we walk pretty busy streets) and nothing phases them. annie also used to jump up and turn around when a strange loud sound came whizzing by, wouldn't enter the house if things looked a tad off and spooked every time a visitor came to the house. most of that is behind her, it took some time, 6 months, but the walking worked it's self out really quickly. have you thought of wetting capri down before a walk to keep her cool? my dogs love to get hosed down. it might perk her up a tad, she would be more comfortable.

check out this web site: http://www.naturmix.com/pages/products/olewo.html the dehydrated olewo carrots are excellent and the dogs love them. just add water, let them soak and a tad in the food is a tasty treat. the woman who runs this shop gets all sorts of interesting european products in and will help you choose what is right for your pup. yougart and cottage cheese are my big treats,if any. oh, i known the saluki syndrome very well, they won't waste away, it looks scarey but that's the build. i used to have people stop me and threaten to call the humane society since my dogs were so thin. thin for a saluki- no, thin for a lab- yes.

have you ever noticed that they always know the way home? no matter what route you have taken?

years ago i used baking soda and peroxide, that was when i was going thru periodontal disease(yulk and ouch). later studies prooved that it wasn't such a good idea, the baking soda was too abrasive for teeth. i have used diluted peroxide for brushing the pups(not me)and then i wipe their teeth w/ a paper towel after. right now i am giving petzlife a try, reviews on gt have been excellent, so why not? the dogs love the taste. the last time i had my teeth cleaned i asked about the tooth polish they use. i was given a couple of portions(i pay enough for cleaning and goe 2xs a year) but was told to use it maxium 2xs a year and use very little. it really brightens the pups teeth up, but it must be used sparingly and rinsed(wet paper towel) after applied. an electric toothbrush seems to work the best and i use a teeny tiny amount.

i was looking thru the pet supply dept. at costco on line and noticed the best pet health wild alaskan salmon oil, 2x 32oz for a wopping $32.99!!! i have succesfully used the lakse kronch salmon oil for years. i currently pay $55+ or - for 88oz. of LK OIL, this looks like a bargain....if it's as good and if it works. i know, if it's not broke- don't fix it, but the savings are substancial. so, if anyone out there uses this product please share your comments.

oh, now that i have clearly read that you are trying to get all three of your hounds to stand quietly when other dogs approach,(not just reggie- i thought you had one grey). i now say you are dealing w/ pack mentality and they are reacting towards both other breeds as well as protecting their territory. the pair of salukis i had decades ago did that all the time. my current male will try to protect the female grey when we walk, yet when he is by himself it's a totally different story. practice your stays, long downs and always think twice when you see another dog. read all of the dog's body language- the outsider and your pack's, it will help.

when i use the stay command during a recall, which we have done in obedience classes it was after many, many different variation of stay and the dog really knows what it means. to start teaching a good stay one needs to go through many many baby steps and perfect ALL of them. you can start teaching stay on lead first. try the standard sit,stand or down stay and walk around your dog, then leave them and return. try as many variations of stay as possible. one instructor had us doing jumping jacks and bouncing balls, throwing toys, bait(food) ect. just reinforcing the stay. can your dog do a 3 minute down stay? that's a start, also a 15 min to 30 min down stay? it isn't that hard, the long stays are easier, do it while you are watching t.v. or reading a book. but do time them and wake them up at the end of the 30 minutes and remember the reward. that really reinforces what you want. also if they break a stay, start all over again. once the stay is really mastered then you can consider trying to add it in to a recall. the 30 minute down stays need to be practiced at least 3xs a week to penetrate.the is a major difference in their stays after the exercises mentioned above are practiced. i had difficulty adding stay to the recall since felix comes back to me at full speed (he loves recalls tooo much and loves me as much- every recall is ,"oh, i haven't seen you in such a long time!"and i literally have to run into him so i don't get knocked down. but i did add the stop/stay in. i do a really quite "felix come" and a shhhhh....sound/ sloooowwww..... and he will walk back to me. then i throw in the stay...not stop. but this was after quite a few rounds of organized obedience training. you also have to have your recall polished as well as the stay command. in a situation where dogs are interacting it's a different story. animal instinct comes into play. there are many different opinions out there. i personally am very careful about letting ANY dog interact w/ another unknown dog. i have witness too many dogs who became totally spooked after negative interactions at dog parks. i hope some of my instructions help.

i have used the same vet for 30+ years and love his style and home remedies and he is an excellent diagnositican. but when something pops up greyhound wise that i have a gut feeling about i will take my greys in for a second opinion with an excellent greyhound savy vet. the reason i don't use the greyhound savy vet all the time....economics. she works for a firm who bills big time and i would never be able to afford dogs if that was my primary healthcare provider.

annie has a thing for rubber. first she attacked new red funky wedgie shoes- not even out of the bag- they were ha-ha- hidden in the closet, she sniffed them out. then she moved on to all my tevas. old, new , just broken in. dh's rubber soled sandels, anything w/ a rubbery sole and maybe a taste of that nice nylon sturdy fabric that those teva straps are made of. for jupiter....add some water and olive oil to the bread, sorta like a soup. when emily ate the ace bandage that's what i used to help her pass it.it was fun helping that out!~ just wait and see what until your baby turns into a toddler....duh...crayons- jupiter will enjoy those as well.

fantastic ideas for halloween costumes !!!! but i'm really itchy now...

it's a real gamble. i didn't insure emily, basically until she needed shoulder and lung xrays otherwise her upkeep was minimal. i knew from the very begining that if i ever had a dog w/ cancer i would medicate and that was it. so, in the 5 years of owning her the one big bill was around $900(xrays and pain meds) and standard shots and minor injuries, which i now feel more comfortable cleaning up and bandaging.my late welsh terrier also ran up one big bill- went to a speciality center/hospital and he used up all of his sick allowance in one day. i do have accident insurance for crazy felix....but i pay it in full, once a year it's only $130 annually. yeah, it's a gamble, but having to shell out $1130 per month for health care for dh and myself has made us rethink our monthly expeniences. if something catastrophic happens, i'll cross that bridge when i get to it. just looked up trupanion, in the nyc area it's $32.xx per month, aspca- $27, vpi-$37. the quote was for a neutered 3 year old male grey.

eureuka, the boss washable filter, good for carpets and hard wood floors, only down fall is a short cord, i use w/ an extension cord and CHEAP! works really well and light weight. i just used my friend's oreck and like the job the boss did better and it was easier to use.

when i travel i use bottled water not to upset my dog's system- an that was even for terriers. we always have a cooler for dh's soda and food, so, how about putting the regular rations of canned dog food in a plastic container and keeping it on ice w/ your own food. i agree, don't change things around during a trip- unless it's a charbroiled burger you are treating you and your pup to.

portchester obedience club has just opened their registration for fall classes. the trainer i mentioned, mary elizabeth simpson, teaches monday nights and there are quite a few classes for dogs who have behavioral issues. check out their web site, the club is located in white plains, ny just off of rt. 287 and it should take you around 45 minutes to get there. well worth the trip- since you have a rescue dog there is a one time discount( read the paper work). it sounds like many of the concerns will be deal with in a profesionally led class situation. did you ever contact mary elizabeth at simcorgi@aol.com ????

the once a day option sounds like a good fit. you can always give her a couple of large dog biskets in the morning or when you leave the house. lots of dogs are not "chow hounds" and it's better to get one good meal in when they are really hungry.

very cute boxer, i love it!

if he is leashed watch out for tangled legs, very dangerous, especially with our long legged friends. also, if it's a nice group of dogs there should not be a need for a muzzle, socialize him-dogs become very familar w/ other dogs in a matter of minutes. that's what all that butt sniffing is about.

i have observed the same changes on all of my greyhounds pads. they were not exposed to anything and did not have any trouble walking- no irritation, no licking- just blotchy pink pads, which returned to the usual black. go, know....if it ain't broke, don't fix it(left it alone). hope this helps.

sounds like he wants to be near you. if you don't have allergies, give it a shot in your bedroom. try a dog bed in the corner or next to your bed. felix was a royal pain when it came to sleeping the night alone. finally after walking around like a zombie i asked the owner of his littermate how she was doing. "oh, just fine, sadie sleeps until 8 am"(and that was at 12 weeks.....the secret...............in bed! so, we kept felix in bed for a while. then the crate next to the bed. we tried a leash and dog bed, he ate the leashes. eventually the crate was moved to the living room and now a bed in the living room. but we have a gate in the hall way so he doesn't come back to bed- 80lbs is just too much weight on top of me. he makes sure he sleep on you. what do you have to loose? nothing, maybe you'll sleep the night. i would put a kiddie gate up at the door to the bedroom since i hate closed doors(clostrophobic i guess) oh, i let the noisy fosters sleep in a crate in the bedroom, anything for a good night's sleep.

i agree with chad 100%. also if you are having trouble with recalls, then why is scotch running loose? recalls take a while to build up. first they need to come to you in controlled environments, then outside in a controlled enviroment and even when you are walking on not such a long lead. the pup needs to associated his name and looking at you, then comming up to you and you have to be able to hold his collar. slow and easy, take your time in teaching your pup and socializing him. it's easier to go slow than to undo a negative experiences. as to muzzeling your pup, all the other dogs need to be muzzled as well. it's only fair and safer- especially when it's a group of greyhounds.