brindlehound

Does anyone have any suggestions for teaching Drop It? Joy has this knack for finding stuff on the ground while we're out walking. Today, she picked up a soft pretzel and wouldn't drop it even though I send in the VOG "Drop It." I carry cookies on walks but when I threw a cookie in front of her, she looked but didn't drop the pretzel. I even tried stopping and not moving until she dropped it but felt guilty because it's a cold day and Joy hates coats, so she was shivering. She didn't drop it until we got home and enticed her with a slice of bread. I know soft pretzels aren't bad but I'm not sure how long it had been there. I think the only reason she didn't eat it as we walked is because it was wrapped in plastic. Thank you.

Susan and Ducky, Thanks for your observations. I know she doesn't like other dogs. I'm working with her on having her pay attention to me and walking with as a loose leash as I feel comfortable. Even when we're on the sidewalk or a path with a lot of underbrush, I keep the leash fairly loose. It only tightens up when she goes further than I want her to. What's strange about this is that her foster home had 4 other dogs (2 greyhounds, 2 galgos) and when she was visiting last summer, there were 5 others. The only issue was when I met the rest of the pack, then Joy got upset. Her foster mom thought it was protection of me.

Thanks

In August of 2015, I took Joy to donate blood; and, much to the techs' surprise, she doesn't have the universal blood type that most greyhounds have. I can't remember what the opposite blood type was. I want to contact a local vet and let them know in case they have a dog who needs blood and they cannot acquire universal blood.

I found a couple of articles online: 2 on Victoria Stillwell's website and one on the Humane Society website. All 3 said that getting Joy's attention and treating in those situations is one thing. I used that this morning with a dog across the street. I had Joy look at me and then gave her a treat. I also used it when she saw something she wanted to pick up on the street. It worked there too. The articles also stated to use a looser leash. I did it but was prepared to pull up if Joy spotted something to eat. (Note: there is quite a bit of litter in my neighborhood). I'm hoping to eventually get Joy's attention and treat without pulling her up when she sees something she wants on the ground. Today was only day 1. Because of this, I was thinking about not going to Greyhounds in Gettysburg but I have over 3 months to work on this.

I hadn't thought of that. She does have resource guarding issues when she steals something. She's OK when I give something to her.

I'm not so sure it's fear. According to her foster mom, she was fine with the pack. When she first got there last summer, one of the hounds in the pack apparently got on Joy's nerves initially by getting in her face and just bugging her. Flash wasn't there when Joy was initially fostered but she was fine with the others. The off leash snarkiness occurred when the rest of the pack came to greet me.

I've had Joy for a year and a half; and, practically since the beginning, she has reacted to any dogs that have come up to us. It doesn't matter what breed or size the dog is. It also doesn't matter if Joy is on leash or off. This even happened with dogs she knows. She stayed with her former foster mom while I was in the process of moving. When I went to pick her up and met the rest of her foster mom's pack, she started snarking at the others (galgos and greyhounds). She knew all of them. The foster mom thought she felt she was protecting me. Could she be thinking she has to protect me from any other dog or could it be jealousy? Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't have a problem putting her muzzle on her when we're at places like GIG.

Today would have been my beloved Magic's 16th birthday and his 2nd birthday at the Bridge. We had some good times and some not so good times. He was my rock through the bad times and companion through the good times. I still miss my first greyhound. Happy Birthday to my "old man" who is now my "young man" and healthy. Love Mommy and Joy

I did what Ducky suggested. I put Joy's coat in my backpack. She sat down in the doorway and really didn't want to go out. She was shivering a lot. When we got to the sidewalk, I put her coat on her and she cooperated. She wasn't happy with it on but at least she wasn't cold.

Thanks for the advice. Magic loved his coats even though he was an Iowa boy. All I had to do was hold his coat out and he just put his head right through it. I think Joy is a Kansas girl. She doesn't seem bothered by the cold or the rain. The only thing that bothers me when she goes without a coat when it's raining is when she decided she needs to shake as we're crossing a street. I'm working on hustling her across the street so she understands that stopping in the middle of a street is not a good thing. She's doing well on that.

Go Tanzi! to Miss Mary Pat from Joy and mah mommy too.

Joy doesn't like wearing a coat. She runs when I try to put one on her and sometimes snarks or growls at me. It's not a big deal right now since it's not too cold but I'm concerned about her when it's much colder. Does anyone have any suggestions to get her to wear a coat or should I even worry about it since it obviously doesn't bother her to be cold.

Good update.

Miss Mary Pat, we're just seeing this. We hope Tanzi is doing well. from Mommy and me. Joy (and Mommy too)

Ducky, Could you add a human friend, Mary Charlotte Lyman-Gruber? She has been involved with greyhounds for quite a few years.

Joy is healthy. Apparently when she came off the track in March of 2015, she had some sort of respiratory problem but she's fine now. She has been at the vet a few times for eating what she shouldn't eat (wild mushroom, 2 bags of raisins, and a high protein human snack).

Joy is around 60 pounds. Thanks. The biggest problem is she growls when I put something on her that she doesn't want like her thundershirt and muzzle. I can give it a shot though

About a week after we moved, Joy stepped down wrong (on a stone I think) and has been limping off and on during our walks. The foot isn't swollen and wasn't cut. She limps only on pavement and even then only on some types of pavement. She seems fine when the pavement is smooth but limps on rougher pavement. I'm leaning toward a bruise on her foot rather a corn just starting to come up. She doesn't seem too bothered by it; and, even though I try to encourage her to stay on the grass where possible, she insists on walking on pavement unless she wants to sniff something or do her business. Any thoughts on treating it?

Ducky, could you add Joy's foster sister, Amirra, to the list? Thank you.

Could you please add Oliver. He was given up by his previous owner because he bit her while she was attempting to give him a pill. He was adopted after a trip from Ohio to New Jersey. A few days after he was adopted into a pack with 4 other greyhounds, he was mauled by the other dogs and ultimately went to the Bridge. There is much more to this story which probably would be better off being told in Soap Box

It was both legs so maybe she was licking any dry perspiration from my legs. I admit I found it quite relaxing.

Last night after Joy and I went to bed, she started licking my legs for no apparent reason. I had gone for a run earlier in the evening and hadn't taken a shower yet. I wasn't sweating at the time. Could this just be a cute and silly habit for Joy? I doubt it's physical because she had some blood drawn on Saturday and the results were in the vet's words "perfect". Thanks.

I thought about putting this in Cute and Funny but am putting it here. Ever since I adopted Joy a year ago, she has been obsessed with ripping apart plastic bags. She doesn't eat the plastic; just rips it up. Usually she waits until the bags are empty but I have been known to find the contents of a bag strewn along the hallway or on the stairs as she takes the bag downstairs. Does anyone else's hounds do this?

Lori, I'm so sorry Ginny had to leave you. from Joy and me. Run free sweet Ginny.