cleptogrey

annie, our new grey, moved into our house the first week in feb,she is 2.5yrs old. we have seen great strides in her development, she was initially pretty fearful of her new environment. but with lots of walks,playing soccer, catching tennis balls and frisbee, obedience training(our local school has a sensitive director who works well with rescues), another grey who she adores and lots of tlc was looking pretty stable until..... my daughter and her husband arrived. ignacio, is tall(6'1"- the rest of us under 5'6") and has a deep voice and heavy spanish accent(from spain). he's a real animal lover, felix our other grey goes CRAZY playing soccer with him, jogging and rough-housing. felix yodells and smiles at ignacio all the time and lies on-top of him when ever possible. our late gal emily also adored ignacio. ignacio and marisa(my daughter) will be in and out using the ny area as their home base as they travel to spain and various music festivals this summer. annie is totally freaked out, she runs to our bedroom and hides when he is in the house. we finally got her up on the deck and she joined us in wine and cheese- ate morsels of cheese and bread from ignacio's lap- yippee. but she will instincually hide from him and not return inside when he is in the house.i have to leash her up and lure her in with a treat, she freezes at the door as soon as she hears him. the kids w will be in and out all summer(that's basically when we get to see the kids- they live in south beach w/ new world symphony). the sound of the cello and viola have freaked her out as well- they both practice for hrs. a day. i have asked both to ignore her and to have high quality treats for when she comes up to them and reward annie. even felix greeting ignacio in his vivacious manner is too much for her. we are waiting to see how she does at class this week with the change. in the past she has been FANTASTIC, as the school director says,"the smartest greyhound she has met." any suggestions besides just giving her space and time?

i teach wait/stay, come and leave-it in that order. the three commands can save your dog's life. i reinforce each command until it's perfect. i start this on day one when a new dog enters my home.

I AGREE W/ SIGHTHOUNDS4ME 100%. YOU HAVE FAR MORE CONTROL W/ A THINNER COLLAR. GENERALLY I USE THE THINNER LUPINE MARTINGALES FOR TRAINING, THEY ARE UNDER AN 1". FOR DRESS A 1" AND FELIX IS 78LBS, I LIKE TO SEE AS MUCH NECK AS POSSIBLE AND LIKE THE QUICK RESPONSE THAT A THINNER COLLAR PROVIDES.

have you done a work up at the vet lately? sounds like something might be off. stange things can happen when their chemistry is not balanced properly.

i found my "ultimate puppy" kit from premire. would you like it? it was given to me when i adopted felix. even though i have house broken and trained 4 dogs it was greyt to have around i see what's new in house breaking and basic training. by the time i get another puppy i will be close to 70 and i am sure everything will be revised anyway!

MUZZLE AND A REAL DREMMEL, GO TO HOME DEPOT AND BUY THE REAL THING- ONE THAT YOU PLUG IN WITH LOTS OF DIFFERNT ATTACHMENTS. WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT. HAVE SOMEONE FEED HIM SPECIAL HIGH QUALITY TREATS THRU THE MUZZLE AND HOLD HIM, USE A BUCKLE COLLAR AND HOLD HIM FIRMLY. THIS PERSON NEEDS TO FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THIS OR THE PUP WILL PICK UP ON THEIR FEAR. DESENSITIZE HIM TO THE SOUND OF THE DREMMEL AND ONLY TOUCH A NAIL OR TWO. YOU NEED TO DO THIS DAILY IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THIS. EVENTUALLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DREMMEL ONE PAW. THEN THE OTHER, AND WORK YOUR WAY AROUND THE DOG. NAILS NEED TO BE TENDED TO WHEN DREMMELING MORE OFTEN, BUT IT WORKS. ALWAYS REWARD AFTER, AND USE THAT MUZZLE. WATCH OUT THOSE MUZZLES REALLY HURT WHEN YOU GET BANGED IN THE HEAD!

First of all, I've been feeding Ku'a 3 times a day, whereas the adult dogs get fed twice a day. She gets the third meal late evening. She is 10 weeks old now (born March 15th). How long should I continue to feed her 3 times a day? I CONTINUE TO FEED A LARGE DOG 3 MEALS A DAY FOR A LONG, LONG TIME. AS THEY APPROACH 6 MONTHS AND GROWTH SPURTS CHANGE, NOT DAILY AS YOU ARE PRESENTLY WITNESSING, THEN I WILL TRY 2 MEALS. BUT DO REMEMBER FELIX NEEDING A MID-DAY MEAL AT 9MONTHS THRU 1.5 YEARS(I STOPPED WHEN HE REACHED 63LBS- HE NOW WEIGHS 79). I WENT WITH HIS NEED. HE DID GET INTO THE HABBIT OF GOING OUT AS SOON AS HE FINISHED EATING, SO THAT WAS NOT A PROBLEM HOUSE BREAKING WISE. Now on to the housebreaking issues. She is crated at night beside the bed and will sleep anywhere from 6-8 hours before she lets me know she has to go outside.EXCELLENT, WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK? HER SLEEP TIME WILL INCREASE IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS During the day, it's been a battle to keep her from pottying indoors. The mother dogs and pups were put outside in a pen 24/7 once the pups were about 3 weeks old, so it seems she thinks she can wet where ever, whenever. SHE IS STILL YOUNG AND HAS NOT FINISHED ALL OF HER TEETHING. I DO NOT TRY TO HOUSE BREAK A DOG UNTIL THEY HAVE ALL OF THEIR ADULT TEETH, THEN IT'S FAST AND SUCCESSFUL.SO, RIGHT NOW JUST IGNORE IT. WHEN YOU START WORKING ON IT, YOU WILL FINISH ALL THE HOUSE BREAKING WITHIN A WEEK. SHE CAN BE EASILY TRAINTED TO JINGLE BELLS ATTACHED TO THE DOOR KNOB SO YOU WILL KNOW SHE NEEDS TO GO OUT. REMEMBER PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE AND FOOD TREATS. Amber's two dogs come over during the day, and now Miss Dot has started wetting in the house, and I take all the dogs out at least every hour. Amber says there are no accidents at home with Miss Dot. MOST LIKELY EXCITMENT. I try to watch Ku'a if she's not napping just to catch her if it looks like she's going to wet on the floor, but I'm not always successful. I know as soon as she wakes up from a nap, I'd better get her outside right then and there!LIMIT HER FREEDOM, EITHER THE KTCHEN OR AN EXPEN(HA-HA- FELIX CLIMBED OUT OF HIS AT 8.5 WEEKS). CHECK OUT PREMIRE'S THE ULTIMATE PUPPY KIT, GOOD HINTS(ESPECIALLY ON HOUSE BREAKING). I WOULD TRY TO KEEP HER ON LEAD WITH YOU IN THE HOUSE. THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SUGGEST AND IT WORKS. I have school work to do, and I can't watch her every single moment of the day. EXERCISE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND, NEXT BEST IN THE CRATE(ONE IN THE BEDROOM, ONE IN THE MOST ACTIVE ROOM IN THE HOUSE) AND LEASH. GET HER TIRED, GIVE HER KONGS, FROZEN MARROW BONES, STUFF HOOFS AND FREEZE THEM, TOYS. TEACH HER HOW TO PLAY AND AMUSE HERSELF. FELIX IS NOW 3 AND RUNS AROUND PLAYING W/ HIS TOYS SINCE HE LEARNED THAT IS WHAT HE SHOULD DO WHEN BORED. As I said, it's not from lack of going outside. I think every hour is sufficient for the entire crew. SHE IS OLD ENOUGH TO START LEARNING HOW TO RETRIEVE A BALL. GET HER INVOLVED IN LOTS OF GAMES, THAT TUCKERS THEM OUT.SHE SHOULD BE DEVELOPING HER RUNNING LEGS AND ZOOMIES WILL START AND INCREASE. AROUND 12 WEEKS FELIX STARTED CATCHING LOW FLYING BIRDS! ALSO OBEDIENCE WORK, STARTING AFTER HER RABIES VAC. IS FUN AND EXHAUSTING. THE FOCUS AND PRACTICE REALLY KNOCKS THEM OUT. Any suggestion or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated before I lose what little mind I have left! EXERCISE, WALKS LEARING HOW TO HOLD A TOY. IT TAKES TIME BUT YOUR PUP WILL LEARN TO FOCUS ON YOU. I REMEMBER WALKS AT THAT AGE WERE A PANIC. I WAS EITHER BEING BIT OR FELIX WOULD CONK-OUT AFTER 20 MINUTES. I WOULD HAVE TO CARRY HIM BACK! LEARNING HOW TO AMUSE HERSELF DURING DOWN TIME IS MOST HELPFUL. I STARTED BY HOLDING A BONE OR SOMETHING TO CHEW AND TEACHING HIM TO CHEW AND KNOCK IT AROUND. HE DID LEARN TO DO IT HIMSELF. PLAY IS A WONDERFUL TOOL, ONCE YOU START THEM THERE IS NO STOPPING. SO GET SOME STUFFIES, SQUEAKY TOYS- I FOUND SOME STUFFED RUBBER TOYS THAT SEEM TO LAST AND GO FOR IT. OUR HOUSE LOOKED LIKE A DAY CARE CENTER. ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN, NATURE'S MIRACLE IS A GOD SEND. BUY LOTS OF PAPER TOWELS AND REMEMBER 16-20 WEEKS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. OUR SCHEDULE STARTED AT 5:30 WITH POTTY, PLAY, FOOD, PLAY, NAP. AND THEN WENT ON ALL DAY AND NIGHT LONG. I GUESS THAT IS WHY I TURNED DOWN THE LAST PUPPY THAT WAS AVAILABE AND ENDED UP ADOPTING A 2.5 YEAR OLD. ONCE EVER 12-15 YEARS IS ENOUGH FOR ME. P.M. ME IF YOU NEED SUPPORT DURING THESE TRYING TIMES. IT'S WORTH IT!

an animal or human needs to repeatively eat their body weight in rodent poison for it to be effective. it's usually a blood thinner and they bleed to death. i know because i called poison control when my daughter was a toddler. we were doing laundry in the basement of the apt. building i lived in. the next thing i knew she had a rat poison tray in her hand. i don't remember if she had some in her mouth or not- i paniced and called poison control. my dogs eat birds all the time. no ill effects.

WITH THEIR KEEN EYE SIGHT, FANTASTIC AUDIOTORY SENSE, NATURAL PREY DRIVE GREYHOUNDS ARE MUCH MORE INTUNE TO NIGHT CRITTERS THAN WE ARE. BE AWARE OF EVERYTHING. REMEMBER SKUNKS AND RACOONS ARE NOCTURAL IT SOUNDS LIKE BORIS IS PRETTY NORMAL, REACTING TO THE WIND AS WELL AS ANYTHING THAT MOVES. HANG ON WHEN YOU WALK!

a freind of mine has a female who escapes from her crate. she was at my house, with my dog crated next to her, bounced up and down so much she unlatched the top and then squeezed out. when you use gates, remember your pup can jump. so elevate or double up on the gate, but those are not fool proof.my welsh terrier used to knock the tension gate down he was so persisitant. sounds like you will need to do some major dog proofing in the house. all important papers need to be put away, they love to eat paper..., tidy up wires from the computer, tv, etc. all cleaning goods locked up in a dog proof place- the top of the pantry or get a baby latch for under the sink. nothing on the counters and closet doors closed. then she will have less opportunities to get into trouble. i also leave my dogs with 4 stuffed kongs each, marrow bones, a pile of small dog biskets as well. premire makes a series of dog toys that hold food which might keep her interest until she takes a nap. exercise will be your best friend, try to to get your dog really tired before you leave. yikes, getting up earlier!!!!

i support the squirt bottle. if done correctly you will not have to refill it for a really long time. felix who yodells, barks and makes tons of noise is not allowed to bark at me. as a wee pup he was awful and you couldn't get a word in edgewise- we had a crazy barking puppy (i got him at 7 weeks). i haven't had to fill it in quite some time(over a year). as a matter of fact he was barking at the door to come in last week. one squirt and now i get a soft polite woof and he waits patiently. no more jumping on the door or loud barking demanding me to RUN to the door to let him in(at 3 the pup in him is still there). try it, have your trusty little bottle w/ you at all times. only one squirt with the key words,"no bark". all the other squirts will be silent, the water is telling him to knock it off. unless he is one of those characters, like some crazy terriers who snap at and drink the squirted water, it should deter the noise.

i had to laugh when i went to your link, my late welsh terrier was a table dog. i think she still wants to sleep on the top bunk as the females do at the kennels. felix, my current male, LOVES his crate chews on it, it's just a bad habbit.when he was boarded once he cut the edge of his nose where it meets the fur, triple antibiotic ointment worked well. maybe some bitter apple on the crate, but i would not muzzle and crate her.i also heard that a paste of alum(you can buy it in the spice dept. at the supermaket) is a good chewing deterent. if she has a muzzle on then she can't collect things. if the chairs are up on the table, as the do in school, then she wouldn't have room to nest up there. does she have a comfy bed and maybe a blanket or two to nest in? if the blankets, towels,or laundry that smell like you thats even better. also these greys seem to be nesters in the beginning, it helps them settle into their home. some will also rearrange soft objects- pillows, towels, etc. and hoard them. it's all a matter of them making themself at home. cleptogrey....and i mean it. emily used to hoard my best shoes and pocketbooks and bras!!!

i had to cut florineff and predisone for 10 years for my addisonian pup. i used a sharp single edge razor blade on a smooth plate. kept the extra fractions of the pills on the plate until the next dosage. try cutting a teeny predisone in quarters....a sharp razor blade will do the trick every time. cheap and easy.

i never had any problems or difficulties teaching my daughter to respect our saluki who was 6.5 years old when she was born and never saw a baby before i brought her home. as a matter of fact my daughter's first word was GOOD-DOG she heard it soooo much. i contained my dog comfortably when i was not able to supervise. as a young creepy-crawly children are supervised as they wander thru the house and play. mine was with in sight- near me, playing w/ pots and pans and grapefruits in the kitchen, yarns and fabric in the studio, riding the vacuum cleaner when i cleaned, dusting w/ me, playing in her room- interacting with me, together at the park or out on long walks w/ the dog, sleeping- they take lots of naps, eating and lots of time in the bath.my faithful azim was watching all the action and looking for "fallout"food- remember kids spend hours eating and dropping food.(i remember he was starting to turn into a tub when she was first trying to feed herself and missed most of the time. he stayed under the high chair). so, organizing space for both baby and dog is a no-brainer. i wore out a stroller walking both my kid and dog so much- and rain, snow, sleet or high winds didn't stop the 3 of us. remember this baby will be brought up with a dog, it's not like teaching a visiting toddler how to interact with a pup. i hate to get on my soap box about some basic obedience training, but i think it will help both of you feel more comfortable and secure in the way you interact and do apply all the helpful tips that we have developed dealing with the varying degrees of sleep agression.

in humans the mouth/gums heals really quickly, i've had more stiches and oral surgery than you can imagine. hopefully it will be as fast for dogs. the basket muzzle sounds like the most protective device, sorta like having an aircast. excellent response to the emergency situation.

i am so sorry to hear that your husband have experience sleep agression first hand. this is a delicate situation especially since you are expecting(congrats!) your first child. have you contacted your adoption rep and/or the group you adopted from? i think that would be the first step. if you look up sleep agression in the g/t index there are plenty of conversations. i dealt w/ sleep agression it w/ my male- who is a total mush w/ everyone while he is awake. we always wake him w/ a loud clap and lure him once he is awake w/ a food treat.he is much better, but we let him sleep in the living room. he can't even sleep near another dog- even when crated. you need to talk to someone in person and work things out so you will feel comfortable in the future. yes, there is a lot that can be done. also, in bringing an infant into the house there are lots of steps to take to prepare the pup for the new-comer. i had my daughter when my saluki was 6.5yrs old. it's possible, but there is work to be done. i also would not put your crate away, it could be a helpful in the future, so keep him used to using it as his bed. good luck, be diligent and careful. quick healing for your husband and the scarey emontional scars you have both endured.

I have worked my dogs in classes w/ both small and noisey dogs. I stay at the other end of the line or away from the noisy dogs or in the circle when walking.You have the ability to change your position in the class as needed. I find it helpful to have realistic distractions and "bait" as those tiny white things appear to be. You will learn to deal w/ the situation and keep your pup focused on you and not that tiny white thing that is bouncing around. I ran into my older gal trying to litteraly pick up a skipperke on diagonal recalls; there were 4 of us doing recalls at the same time. Yes she responded to "drop it" and the poor skipperkee(the instuctor's dog) has never been the same. but it was a demonstration of control and response. so i believe in mixed classes. Also, do remember to talk to your instructor after class if there seems to be a situation and that you are not comfortable with.

most obedience instructors do not have experience w/ greys, but many do have experience w/ RESCUE dogs. that's what you want. they will know that there is an unsure past w/ a resuce, one really does not know what they have been subjected to and will approach training gently. look for positive reinforcement and a class that will teach your dog to focus on YOU. let the instructor know you want to make a connection w/ the dog as well as teach basic manners. the connection is the basic key to training a pup. explain that the cold floors are uncomfortable and ask if a rug or blanket is o.k. my teacher use to get annie's blanket when we first started training. now she is fine sitting and lying on anything, she is so comfortable in class. remember that the greyhound has a short attention span, ask about that and what to do during down time. the labs and goldens will be working away and your pup will be boerd stiff. i always play w/ a toy and practice little things while the other dogs are repeating the task that my grey is boerd with. if your instructor will accept a dog who thinks for themself(that's what sighthounds need to do) and will give you guidance and room to deal w/ an ultra bright dog who boers easily then go with it. but remember, no one knows what any of the handlers or trainers were like in your pup's past, make sure that is very clear. enjoy obedience and boil up and slice some hot dogs for treats. a grey will NOT work with out a food reward, anyway the greys i know!

i started working felix in basic obedience at 12 weeks(puppy classes) and did a wide variety of classes from basic 1,2,3, rally back to basic 3 and then a short break of a couple of months. we needed to apply all the information to everyday life and he needed time to process it. then after a 4-5 month break we went back to rally and basic 3 for a review and then started agility. we went back to basic 3 for a review again, then more agility. one of the things i do, which has kept felix's as happy as can be is i always play with him during down time in class. if he gets it, or doesn't then i reward him with fun play. the instructors that i have worked with believe in keeping your dog "glad". they encourage lots of breaks and even using a soft rug or blanket for a sight hound. in all of the classes we always did short, short training periods with each task. the other class participants were busy working away while we played and cuddled. he just could not work that long. i do know that for a while we ran into a mental barrier w/ the tunnel. we just stopped it and then when training resumed 3 months later he flew thru the tunnel. it sounds like your pup needs to find his "place" mentally and start enjoying life.from what i remember reading in controll unleashed, the author had one dog she purchased for obedience work and it just was not it's thing, right? take your pup for who he is and run with it. be it a companion gardening(digging holes by your side), hiking or playing ball, that's all fine, as long as the two of you are happy. it's sorta like giving a kid music lessons when they are really physical or visa versa, skating lessons when they need to be in art clases.

once annie figured out how to sit, i lured her into a sit position from a down, she sits when ever she wants a treat! i call the pups, she runs up and sits, hand in the cookie jar...she is sitting in front. any reason she can sit, there she is .....sitting. i thought she was never going to learn it....HA!

one of the most important exercises that i always do in obedience is "leave it!". it will save their life. one toxic mushroom and that's it! i am serious. to start learning leave it, try this first inside- with out distraction take a couple of plates with chopped hot dog morsels and place them in an area where you can walk your dog thru and around them(obedience classes are held in large rooms, so this is easy). with your dog on lead walk past and don't let her head drop snatch them. there are so many different opinions of training your pup on greytalk that i almost fear to say- give the collar a gentle pop- so you can let her know not to go for the bait. at the same time you need to say, in a direct firm way,"leave it". (if you are just distracting the pup w/ an other item they never learn what "leave it" means since they are not going for the item. i am sure there will be other optinins in future post about maneuvering your dog away from food) when they leave it you praise and say , "good leave it" in a very positive happy tone. i don't treat or reward since i have seen dogs go after the unwanted so they can eventually do it right and then get the reward-food. i practice this w/ not only food, but toys, tennis balls, marshmallows or anything else my dog loves. we do it initially as i said inside, move to a controlled area outside- the yard, the street behind my house and practice "leave it" so much that when my pups pass a forbidden item they look at me as they think, "yeah, i better leave it" learning leave it will save their life. greys just ingest the entire item in one gulp, so trying to get your hand into their mouth is almost useless. keep your pup on a shorter lead until this is mastered, it will help you have more control.

it's the drug, either use a diaper or keep her in the kitchen where it is easy to clean up.i presume she will be wearing panties....unless you have a great room/kichen w/ tiled floors. unzip the cover of the dog bed and insert a baby size waterproof mattress pad. all of this will pass once she is off the pred. i had a scottie who needed it for his addison's disease, i know....nature's miracle is not that harsh on the floors and most likely her usine is so diluted it doesn't smell.

some boys are tidy, some aren't just like skin-kids. jetcitywoman, they all clean themself, some more than others- with a boy dog you learn to ignore! as to adopting one and the olives, lipstick, mung that's minor. they are big mushes, major loves and stay young forever.....they're boys!

looks expensive, why not use a q-tip and a dental cleanser, then brush? boy is howard stern's wife beautiful!

do you have a friend or someone who you can pay or barter with to take italy part of the time? or hire a dog walker? my freind who left the area had a grey w/ horrid seperation anxiety. she even broke the door & it's window and cut herself quite badly trying to get out one time. other times she managed to turn the key and open the door and wander. i picked her up on one of the wandering ventures. i ended up helping by taking the pup for part of the day when she was really bad and electrical storms made things even worse. she was able to really get tired and then go back and sleep when i left for work. my friend tried dap diffuser,xanax(sp?) harp music(it slows the heart), rescue remedy. what seemed to help were chinese herbs that my acupuncturist gave her. a good acupuncturist will be able to associate specific deficincies(sp?) w/ behaviors. yes, chinese medicine is very different, they look at your tounge and take your pulses and don't even need to hear your complaints. they are trained to figure things out very specific series of inquiries that show organs and their functions, heat or cold or deficient. i think it might be worth while looking for an acupuncturist who deals w/ dogs or someone who is pretty savy,as mine is, and trying that route. does she get to really RUN and tucker herself out daily? a good stiff walk will not do the trick, you need to find a way to really exhaust her. also working with an experienced trainer might help. mental stimulation is as exhausting as a good run, but not a subsitiute.