cleptogrey

allerpet d worked for me. throw the dog's bedding in the dryer for 10 min.daily to help reduce the dander and hair. he's just getting used to life in a home, dander does kick up when they are nervous. remember to wash your hands, no dog in the bedroom. vacuum diligently, all of this should pass. your dog will be blowing it's track coat, be patient. a new coat and less dander will come in a couple of months. try Zaditor eye drops (for you you) and a wet wash cloth- rung out very well w/ the allerpet d on it- wipe the dog down thoroughly- remember the belly and chest as well. good luck with your new pup and adjusting to the change. btw- i use an air purifier in my bedroom- it helps.

i found the drop recall most difficult to teach....especially when your dog is barreling at you 30mph! i've been knocked over more than once on a recall. i now run into it!

my niece did, her dog responded to the prescribed treatment which also included a medicated flea/tic bath of her vet's choice.

not all dogs come from the "kid friendly" mold. one of mine is fantastic with children of any age the other needs not to be with them. it's not your fault, not your daughter's fault. not all dogs are equal, make sure you check in and discuss this with your adoption group. i would eliminate all his prize items- bones,chewy toys, etc. he can have them in his crate. beds are for dogs, not kids,even though my last saluki gladly shared his dog bed with our daughter as a toddler, she napped on it. have you considered, once your dog is comfortable in his new home, taking your daughter to obedience classes w/ him? it's a win-win situation and she will learn how to handle him properly. i personally look for a dog- any breed- who can easily have something removed from their mouth when i had a child in the house. what kind of evaluation did your adoption group do? it sounds like if you can designate his space and control the flow of chew items your situation should work out. but they should be given when you can control them to avoid any incidents.

to me it's one of the MOST important things an owner can teach their dog. stay is the other- both can help in a dangerous situation. i've been working at making sure ALL of my dogs know it and that's their recall is reliable. RELIABLE is the key word. Obviously i teach and do it all the time. Each dog has had their own personal style of learning a recall. The most difficult dog was a saluki who just refused to pay attention when being called. a wise crew at obedience training fixed that. i stood still, did the recall- my stubborn dog Kata sat 25 feet away and was attached to a long line(a thin one) 30 feet long. I said,"KATA COME!" the gentleman behind me reeled him in. He quickly realized that he HAD to come and got with the program. Kata was the most difficult dog- not at all motivated by food, totally as aloof as salukis can be. The one time fishing event did not mar him, he just learned that I meant business. Upon testing at the end of the semester his score was 198 out of 200. I had 2 points taken off for handler errors. I always praise my dogs with a ridiculous amount of love and kisses when i practice recalls. one may not always have food on hand and i want them to expect affection. Methods, times and attitudes have changed in obedience training since the mid-70s. but i will say his recall was perfect after that and i'm sure it most likely would have saved his life if he was in a situation where i needed to use it for safety measures. he was a charm at the beach and parks after training.

strange, they wear coats at the track- the haelmar style fleece coats( http://www.halemar.com/Winter-Fall-Lined-Coat-107.htm]. i would use static guard, the spray, and put some on your hand as well as the interior of the coat. rub his back w/ it, not a lot, just enough to neutralize the static on his body. think of our hair and those dry winter days- how it stands on end when we pull a hat off! dogs get used to everything, just do it and give him a piece of cheese or something special before and after the coat is on. before when you call him, after it is fastened. this will change- he will see the coat and come running for the cheese.

interesting, forwarding this to a friend whose dog is always vomiting since his stomach is empty and lives on 3 different PPIs. and he eats 2-3x daily. this might be the answer for his problems.

annie split her toe webbing. my old school vet said- debris it, create scar tissue. which took around 10 days. he had us clean it w/ hydrogen peroxide 2xs daily and then dry and bandage. we gave up on the bandages after 5 or 6 days since annie was very diligent at eating them. i can't use a muzzle in the house since she scratches the walls. it's fine now, healed beautifully, just a PITA changing bandages. there needs to be a strip of adhesive tape to hold the bandage on- it's placed on the skin- runs up the leg then you flip the tape over to hold onto the gauze wrap. the hair on the leg grows back pretty quickly. if you don't do this the bandage falls right off.

here's my addition to the list: focus- dog learns to focus on owner,:eye contact , get steady and ready for a command how to hold a leash and use it. i see way too many greyhound owners who have the leash wrapped around their wrist- if the dog jerks- the wrist can easily be injured. also, folding a leash while walking and how to lenghten it when necessary. also what is a good easy to use lead and fitting a collar properly.( i find cotton webbed leashes the cheapest and easiest to use- for a more $$ leash 5/8" leather) wait/stay- a basic command used all the time which is easy to teach. a good safety measure for the car as well as when one is walking and needs to clean up after their dog, opening a garden gate, leaving a door. included is how to exit a building w/ your dog. most schools teach person first- i made my trainer aware of the greyhounds tail and we modified this activity. we also did tethering your dog and leaving the room, not that we are going to leave our dogs tied up, but it really worked on seperation anxiety and stand/stay. RECALL!!

i'm waiting for the dogs to get old to deal w/ our grassless yard. right now it's pine shavings and a rake for us (tried mulch, straw- this is the cheapest) and washable cotton runner going up the steps to the back door. beach towels work really well for the mud collection concept(yup- it's the thought that counts, only your broom or vacuum will really collect the mud). welcome to the dirt yard society.

in obedience classes the trainer/owner used the "magic carpet" technique with the greyhounds and IGs. she was hysterical running around grabbing the rubber backed bathmats we brought to class when she called a sit or down.

exhaustion will be your best friend. have you tried a vari-kennel. some greyhounds don't mind them and they are more difficult to slide out of. you are dealing w/ a pup in prime adolescence, very very trainable but they do need quite a bit of stimulation. personally i find the walls take a beating w/ muzzles and during the colder winter months the vari-kennel is very cozy.

it took annie quite a few tries to do the tunnel thing. she was pretty spooky when she first arrived. success is getting them to take the morsel/treat from your hand under your leg and for annie it was getting her near me- that's how timid she initially was. baby steps- it sounds like your going to get some exercise and stretching in yourself- have fun.

i don't add variety, just kibble and water that's it. dh will feel that the dogs don't get enough flavor- so he'll add 1 T of canned food or greek yogurt if we have some, but it's kibble and water at our house.years ago i had a saluki who used to suck the flavor off of his kibble and spit it out, that's when i went to no additives. over the past 40+ years i haven't run into a bored dog when it comes to food- when they are sick then they turn their nose up to food. just watch your dog's stools- too much of a tasty thing can throw it off.

you can try this, sit down on the edge of a kitchen chair- sit at the very very edge and let your legs make a 90degree angle. have your treat in your left hand- the dog will be near your right hand(i'll let you figure how to get your dog there on your own). scoot the treat under your legs from the left and bring attention to your dog so he will go for the treat. let him eat it while you are twisted, bent over and the arm is under your bent legs(thighs). once he becomes comfortable taking the treat from this awkward position start to move your hand w/ treat under your legs. essentially you have created a tunnel that your dog will eventually crawl under. this will not happen in one session, it can take as long as a week or more. when he is under your legs(sometime next week) use the word down and keep the treat on the floor and let him nimble it. and say good down- repeat a couple of times. at this point you should be able to just bing your hand under your legs and say down and the pup should go for the treat and lie down and eat it. teach him to crawl through the space under your lap. eventually just hold the treat to the floor- no sitting on a chair and use the word down. remember Rome wasn't built in a day and do this using your left or right hand- stand up and spread your legs apart, bend over and hold the treat to the floor- he should down in-between your legs while standing as well. and remember TO HAVE FUN and use a high quality treat- dehydrated liver or cheddar cheese- something special for this activity and only this activity. after writing all of this i remembered this http://neversaynevergreyhounds.blogspot.com/2009/07/greyhound-downs-101.html i find a chair easier-

it can take a while for the just off the track dogs to build up hardened pads. quick walks down the block or longer walks on grass will suit her while the callouses develop. her pads feel like velvet now, right? also, if it's not a deep slash a quick wash w/ saline solution cleans it out and it should heal w/ air helping dry it in a couple of days. basic first aid supplies saline solution triple antibiotic(use once) gauze adhesive tape vet wrap or for a quick cut- BABY SOCKS or cotton socks and some adhesive tape to hold it on.

you can use a mild human eye drop- i've administered opticon to annie or a cotton ball w/ warm water and let the water drip into the eye to flush it out. i have allergies & dry eye from taking antihistamines, so i have lots of drops and my vet approved the mild allergy drop. but water will help so, you really don't have to run out. you can wait until regular hrs. after christmas and make an appointment. annie had an irritation and i had it checked. nothing was evident at first, but a couple of months later an ulcer showed up. it's a slow haul healing wise, but it can wait. enjoy your holiday celebrations....

just keep on looking and it's easy to change as long as you stick w/ lamb and rice. but that might be the problem.....trial and error....just raid the veggie dept. and get lots of plastic bags- or better yet- eat lots of fruit and veggies if your a very honest person.

sneak preview of work in progress.....36"x48" oil on canvas

i am doing a combo of http://www.holisticselect.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog- the lamb and rice- 15% fat and 22% protein and http://blueseal.com/files/feeding-and-mgmt/dog-cat/LifeStages_LambRiceDog.pdf- lamb and rice 12% fat and 22% protein for economics. felix seems to need what ever the holistic select has to maintain his weight. he's eating 2 c - blue seal, 1.5 c holistic select and there is a marked difference. 3.5 c of blue seal for annie- she can eat ground tires and still look fantastic. i think the fromm might be more expensive than HS- but it's a good food, it just didn't agree w/ felix. HS has a fish food- and monthly $5 coupons on Facebook.

thin skinned dogs seem to need a fat content around 14% and protein around 22-24% to maintain good coat and skin. i think the change will not affect anything except elimination. they can only process so much- you might need a cold pressed salmon oil for the coat. but rocket fuel- the high protein food isn't really necessary for an indoor- non-working dog. with the fish based kibble you are changing to there shouldn't be any problems, maybe farts, but fish based foods can be excellent.

i live 12 miles north of nyc and we have traffic and i take my dogs to flea markets in the city. annie used to jump and was totally insecure when a bus/truck/garbage truck/fire truck rumbled by and we walk on overpasses over the highways and parkways. but we walk a lot and just kept on walking. we also are missing quite a few sidewalks in our neighborhood- go know but the builders got away w/ it in the 50s & 60s. so, i walk her on the inside- away from traffic on a short lead(i find i have more control out of a 5/8"leather or 1"cotton web lead- no nylon for me). i prefer using a thinner martingale on her since i feel like i have more control(lupine 5/8" med. size) and away we go. 5 years later it takes a lot to rattle her- but in the beginning we had a dog who jumped and startled.

didn't your adoption group mention that you needed a slush fund for collars and coats when you adopted?

the same way you stopped one drug you can stop another. all drugs seem to have side effects unfortunately. it seems as if you are in tune w/ your hound so just relax and read the signs. hopefully there won't be any. but you did mention chemo,mmmmm...... can the incontience be a result of that? stay in touch w/ your vet and do as your are doing.

welcome to the world of buying dog coats! do talk to your adoption group and see what they suggest- they might even be selling some. we started w/ the group recommended voyager coat and their tummy warmer. a little costly, but the coats do not wear out- the tummy warmer was worn to death, so we got our $$s worth. i find the Halemar track coat- fleece lined a real workhorse, fits well http://www.halemar.com/Winter-Fall-Lined-Coat-107.htm you can talk to them and give them your dog's length i will layer P.J.s or a tummy warmer underneath and a snood until it hits single digits. sueshappytails pajamas are the only p.j.s that my dogs don't get twisted in at night. they are very versatile and i always take them camping. sue also makes mega warm coats as pictured below- b&w plaid, the red and gray is a voyager. the temp. the day the last pic was taken was a balmy 7degrees.