dlgwarner

All the advice given above is great. Your situation is similar to mine when I adopted my first boy nearly two years ago. My kids were 7 and 11 then, we had two cats and a husband who was NOT a dog person. We also had an unfenced acre lot (my adoption group insisted on having a fenced area since my 11-year old son, who is small for his age, was going to be first person home and responsible for that turn out. They were concerned that under the "right" circumstances, a greyhound could pull him over if very determined to chase something during a leash walk. Since about half my backyard is wooded and the other half grass (that I can get to grow under the shade, that is) with a "woodland border about 5-8 feet wide that creates a buffer between grass and woods. I decided to run the fence at the back edge of the woodland border. I did split rail with wire mesh (fits in with our neighborhood.) It was definately more costly than putting up a small run, but I'm really glad I did it. It looks really nice (almost blending in with the woods) but the best part is how much fun my boys have playing out there. Here's a I made of them running around. You can see what I'm trying to describe there. Also, one more book suggestion: The Best Finish: Adopting the Ritired Racing Greyhound by Carol Raeke. Finally, it sounds like you found a really good adoption group to work with. Work closely with them and they will find the right dog for your family and help you adjust to your lives together. Best of luck. I look forward to your post when you have a new ddition to your family to introduce.

Welcome from Phillie! I'm glad to hear Nike is settling well. I didn't know your pup, but she raced most of her career with Lester Raines Kennel at Orange Park Kennel Club in Jacksonville. Her career overlapped my Paul's (PAK Penny Lane) and they even raced against each other in a few races. She had a pretty successful racing career (as those things go) with140 career races with (20 wins, 17 2nd's, 23 3rd's and 20 4th's). Here is a link to her race page on the Orange Park web site. If you click on any date in blue, it will open the results of that specific race and you can even watch a replay, if you want to see her in action. (Her race on 3/13/08 was an exciting win for her. She was the #4 dog in that race.)

I'm so very sorry to read this news. I hope he tolerates and responds well to therapy. You and Andy are in our thoughts and prayers.

Welcome! I can't wait to see pictures of your family.

Welcome! What a beautiful girl you have. Sounds like the sleek physique is rubbing off on DH. Welcome to you and your beautiful girl Sounds like the sleek physique is rubbing off on DH. Good for him! I guess its a Breeze when you have good company for your walks.

Jey, I'm so sorry for your loss. May her memory be for a blessing. This beautiful girl has theft the world a more beautiful place. Run free angel. (P.S. sorry I missed this.)

I just saw this last night on Paul's groin area. I'm pretty sure it's new b/c he usually roaches in the morning for belly rubs and I hadn't seen it before. It's onboth sides. Looks like some kind of bite. (We live in the land of Lyme, but I don't think it's that kind of bull's eye). Paul doesn't seem to notice it. this morning, itseemed like there were a few more. I'll mark with a Sharpie to keep track. Any thoughts?

So sorry to hear about Lexie. I won't venture advise other than keeping it clean and trying to keep her from licking it. I (fortunately) don't have experience with torn pads. I have gone through similar tumbles on slick grass which ended up with a few staples in Ringo's knee.

Paulie moved in with us just over two weeks ago. He joins Ringo, his litter mate, who we have had for 18 months. They will be 5 at the end of August. Paul had a long racing career, retiring at the very end of December '09. He retired to Grey Haven and I brought him home from there at the end of March. While Ringo is a very laid back, social boy, Paul is very shy and takes a while to get comfortable with new people. He was very comfortable with me, almost right away. His shyness and fear show are apparent by his avoiding, backing off from new people and pacing in the house. No signs of aggression at all though, and he has no problem "telling Ringo off" with a bark if Ringo tries to help himself to Paul's food bowl. That said, he has made amazing progress in two short weeks. He has mastered the steps and sleeps in our room on his dog bed next to Ringo. Though his crate remains set up and open at all times, he has not set foot inside it for nearly a week. He no longer flees the room when my kids walk in. About 3-4 days after arriving at our home, Paul began barking as soon as he ran outside. I took this as a sign that he was starting to see the yard as his home/territory, and rather than running from strange sounds, he was "sounding an alarm", i.e. watch dog behavior. I don't see this as a problem, unless its very early or late and prolonged barking will wake the neighbors. (In those cases, I'll go out back and call him over to me, bring him inside as soon as he's potty'd.) That behavior has decreased during his second week at home, but he has "made up for it" by increasingly barking inside at seemingly random times. (Though I'm sure they're not random to him.) He might see or hear something that we don't and he appears to be "sounding an alarm." The problem with this is that everytime he suddenly starts barking, we all jump out of our skin from the startle of it. Ringo never barks unexpectedly, so we're not used to it. If he does it at night, then he wakes up the kids. Needless to say, he has DH on edge. (Imagine sitting enjoying your morning coffee and the sports page when someone sneaks up behind you and blows an air horn. Now repeat, at random 4-10 times throughout the day.) So far, I've tried calming and reassuring him the first few days, but as he get's more confident in the house the barking seems to be increasing. While I don't want to do anything to hinder his settling into his new home and adapting to pet life, I also want him to learn to use his "inside voice" and save the barking for the playgound. So, beginning last night, I began responding with a sharp "STOP!" which he does, but usually just starts right up again. DH is doing similar "KNOCK it OFF!" but I am concerned about DH's reaction being more of a set back for Paul learning to trust all the members of his new family. I know two weeks is a very short time for him to have been in a home environment, especially after a long race career. That is especially why I'd like to see what fellow GTers have to advise, because I really want to do right by Paulie and avoid a situation where family begins to get annoyed by him.

FedEx.... #_623___ UPS...... #__599___ Wal-Mart. #__421___ TOTAL.... #__1643__ Based on the number of trucks we shared highway with on our GUR from FL to PA, this gues might still be low, but it would probably be beat by the number of RVs driven by snowbirds heading north.

Hi Elizabeth! Thank you for serving our country. Can't wait to see your first greyhound intro post. Welcome from suburban Philadelphia.

I once saw on "It's Me of the Dog" Victoria used that fresh pineapple saying it gives the poop a bad flavor/smell. Of course, it also depends on whether your girl will eat the pineapple and it doesn't upset her stomach.

We saw the same thing with Ringo. We adopted the Florida boy to Phila right after Thanksgiving last year. I have to admit I was a little disappointed that he didn't seem to want to play in our newly fenced backyard. Nor was he especially playful inside. Well, within a couple of weeks, his morining routine included a vigorour romp in the family room before breakfast (not unlike how you described Al.) The backyard continued to hold little interest for him until March/April. The milder weather was just the ticket. Soon the evening routine, when I got home from work, included a mandatory (Ringo wouldn't let me relax until I took him out back) session of frisbee fetch (or rather keep-away.) Seeing that you're in balmy Minnesota, your pup might prefer to wait till spring too if he's not used to the cold. It's one I posted in the fall, (but I couldn't resist the opportunity to share again) of Ringo having a blast in the leaf pile.

A lot of great advise here. While conflicting advice can be confusing, it can also enable you more options to find what works best for your hound in your situation. Last year, I found myself in a similar situation and received lots of great advice, but one VERY VALUABLE piece of advice I haven't noticed in any of the previous replies. So I'll add it now (highlighted in red so it doesn't get lost in my brief story). In the first three months of adopting Ringo (who had never exhibited an aggressive hair on his body till that point) caused me some concern when he growled at my son for the first time (he happened to be enjoying "Ringo Crack", a fresh marrow bone at the time.) My initial reaction was to try to "correct" the aggressive behavior so it was clear to him that aggression towards people was not acceptable since my family's and visitor's safety was of paramount importance to me. I too, posted here and researched a lot and incorporating the great advice (especially from Batmon) we very successfully resolved things within a few days. Along the way, my adoption coordinator LF counselled me to NOT reprimand growling since it can create a "silent biter." Growling is a dogs way of communicating his dislike of something (taking food, touching a sensitive spot, crowding his space, etc.) If you train them not to growl, a dog could tolerate something they don't like (without letting you know) until they respond by snapping or biting. Her personal example was her foster flunkie (bridge angel) Big John. He HATES having his feet touched. Apparently though, when he was in the racing kennel he was taught not to growl when his feet are handled. John had originally been profiled as easy going and kid safe, until LF unwittingly went to clip John's nails and was bitten without any warning. Big John still became a wonderful sweet pet, very tolerent of kids and certified therapy dog. However, his was muzzled for every nail clipping from that point forward. I'm not writing this to alarm you, but rather to simply pass along what I consider sage advice. I appreciate growling as a meaningful communication tool and have taught my kids and DH the same. I fully endorse the advise of consistently demonstrating confident leadership for your dog, creating a space "he can call his own" and using various means of making it clear to him that aggression towards people is not acceptable. We've had Ringo for 18 months now and he rarely growls, (except during tug-of-war, which is part of the fun for him). The rare occaisions that he has, we acknowledge his message with a firm confident response like "okay Ringo, thanks for letting me know." Then giving him a little more space, but also a scratch behind the ear to let him know he got his point across, but to still maintain "loving dominance" (that's a term I just made up.)

I haven't had a chance to read the entire thread, so I apologize in advance if this has already been mentioned. While most any greyhound can learn the basics that you mention above, it is critical that you ALWAYS remember that "stay" and "come" with the best ever trained, most obedient greyhound is NEVER a substitute for a leash. Greyhounds are instinctive prey hunters and if something engages their instinct to chase, you can not expect a command learned months or years ago (even if practiced daily) to override a genetic trait that has been emphasized through hundres of years and thousands of generations of breeding. While I am "sure" that my greyhound is such a "velcro" dog with such a low prey drive that he would never venture far from me, I have read enough Greyhound Amber Alert heartbeaks to NEVER test that certainty. Aside from that, I'll just add that greyhounds are awonderful, but fairly unique breed. They are very smart and learn quite well. They will learn what you want if you engage them in their terms. They can be frustrating at times with their seeming independent mindedness, but its one of their endearing traits. I could not imagine wanting another breed more than I would want another greyhound.

My fascination with lure coursing predates my adopting Ringo. ESPN aired an event that I watched with my DH and kids while I was still trying to convince him (not a dog person by birth)to adopt a grey. I would love to learn more about how to get involved as I think my boy would love it. A group of GreyTalkers meets about once a month at a dog resort where we rent a 2 acre fenced field for a 2-hour greys only play date. I've brought a squawker and we've done some fun straight runs and he loves it. It woud be really helpful and welcome for those of you with more experience would post links to useful sites where I, and others, can find out how to participate. I've made note of the book and will order that. Thanks a bunch!

Welcome to GT and congrats on your new family member. I've had Ringo for 13 months now and I can remember some of my early posts. Advice often came with "hasn't been that long..." "still getting adjusted..." "be patient...", etc. While I knew they were right, it still was a little frustrating because it felt like we already knew him so well and I had really done my homework. Thirteen months later I can honestly say, they were all right. Thing is, they keep changing, even after a year. Here's the funny part. Ringo never used to bark, unless he wanteded to go out or needed water and we missed his more subtle cues. But recently (last 6 weeks or so) he has been barking at me whenever he is not eating or sleeping and I'm not paying attention to him. Well, thats a little exaggerated, but not much. I've been putting my findgers in my ears (he's really loud" and ignoring him. after anout a minute or so, he lays down and waits. after he has been quiet like that for a short while(30-90 seconds) I go over and give him belly rubs etc. It started when iwhen we were atching the playoff and World Series (big Phillies fns), but it has recently gotten worse. I was going to post when I read your posting, so I figured I'd add on. I'm sure that things were a little exacerbated by my being home on vacation for two weeks and then suddenly going back to work. I think its also made a little worse because its been miserably cold lately and we haven't spent much time outside walking or playing. So I think he's getting a little stir crazy. As for barking a lot while you are gone, it sound ike a bit of separation anxiety. The crate is a good idea, to keep him from damaging your house or hurting himself. I've read that greys, because they are sight hounds, are more secure when they can see their surroundings. So covering his crate may actually worsen his anxiety. There are some good techniques for desensitizing your dog to your being gone (just search separation anxiety and you'll find greyt advice from many with more experience than me. The other thing that helps a lot is something to keep him busy. greys are smart, alert dogs and can get easily bored. Ringo loves to chew, but won't chew a Kong for very long. I give him a frozen (raw) beef marrow bone every so often. He loves them and one large one (about 4-6 inches long from the meat case in the grocery store) keeps him busy for hours. Once he's gotten all the marrow out, I fill it with peanut butter and freeze it. I strongly recommend you don't leave him with one unsupervized initially. They can splinter and be a choking hazard. Also, some hounds tummies are sensitive. I'd give him one for about a half hour, while you are around to keep an eye on him. When you take it away, have a "trade-up" ready for an immediate exchange (warm hotdog works well)because they can be very defensive of special treats. Until you know him VERY well, its important to respect the fundamental nature of dogs. I just put the bone in a plastic bag and stick it back in the freezer till next time. Hope this is helpful. It sounds like you're doing a greyt job getting to know TB and helping him adapt to life as a pet.

I add ground flaxseed to Ringo's food when I make it. Try mixing in about 1/2 Table spoon, along with the fish oils and see if that helps. His skin is great and his coat is super shiny. I don't need to use any topical. Last time I bathed him though (twice a year whether he needs it or not ), I made a homemade conditioner for him. I ground up oatmeal (traditional, not instant)in the food processor and then added an egg, flax oil, canola oil, water and some mild high end human hair conditioner and slathered that all over him. Boy was his coat soft after that!

Welcome home Momo. What a beautiful lady you are!

Hi from West Chester! Welcome to Greytalk. If you don't mind a bit of a drive, 45MPHK9 has been coordinating a monthly GH only playdate at Applebrook Farms. Lots of fun, usually 8-15 hounds and their people. Here's a link to the post. West Chester area Greyhound Only Playdate

Welcome from Phila, Pa! My condolences go out to you and you family for your grandmother. Eagle is a very handsome guy! I am a recent first time adopter as well and completely appreciate your excitement. I waited 18 years to get my husband past "over my dead body" about a dog. When he finally had a change of heart, I put in the adoption application in August with a greyt foster-based adoption group up my way. We waited (as patiently as possible) through a recent GUR of hounds filling the foster capacity that didn't match our situation (only dog, cat & kid friendly), a tropical storm, the unfortunate death of my adoption coordinators mother, and babesiosis scare. But finally, November 28, Ringo moved home. He is a red brindle with similar markings to Eagle, and I have been smitten ever since! It just keeps getting better! GreyTalk is a wonderful forum that has really enhanced my experience having a GH part of my family. Keep the pictures coming. I'm a proud Momma, so here's a pic of my boy: