Sambuca

Don't make a big deal of saying good bye. The bigger you make it, the more she'll realize something is wrong. Hand over the leash, give a quick kiss on the head, and let her go. Bring food and a bed or toy for her to be comfortable.

Neither of my dogs can handle lamb. When Sailor was a foster, we had been donated good. It was so bad I gave the free food away. It was horrendous.

I just tried switching foods. Same brand, different protein. Didn't work so well. Apparently Sailor doesn't do well with turkey. I was doing it slowly. Even a handful added to his salmon caused issues. Had we tried going cold turkey, it would have been a disaster.

Sailor was extremely reserved in class. It took him 3 weeks before he did anything but stand there and look around. (He was doing everything at home, but was too freaked to do anything in class) What I found worked for him was getting into the classroom a little early, even 5 minutes, and toss treats around and have him chase them around the room. The room became a fun place because of it. I also made sure we were always in a corner of the room. He doesn't do well if there's stuff happening behind him, so being in a corner took care of the problem. He never got rid of all his anxiety, but he seriously improved.

Yes!!!! He's fine if I use it, but anyone else and he runs. If they're holding it by their sides, he'll go up to them for pets until it's lifted then he bolts. If I'm holding it, he'll come over to me, gently grab it, walk off with it, give it a quick chew (1-2 bites), then lays on it so no one can use it again. He doesn't appear to like any sticks swinging. He was terrified of my dad's crutches at first, but got over that quickly enough, thankfully.

Sailors loose stools lasted about 2 days, but other than that, both dogs did fine on it.

I think the speed part comes in large down to knowing the prey drive of the dog. Mine have very low- no prey drive. Also, where I go is used for field trials, so there are no animals stupid enough to go there. I've never even seen a squirrel there and only occasional birds, so there's nothing to chase.

Greyhounds have thinner skin than most other dogs and some greyhounds are clumsier than others.

I agree with Krissy, in that greyhounds are undertrained. I can't tell you how many people with greyhounds have said they haven't taught their greyhounds anything but their name because they're so well behaved. I read an article from a sighthound adoption group about what to do if you're dog gets loose. No where did it even mention training the dogs recall to try to call the dog back. It automatically assumed that none if the dogs would come when called. It's sad that most people don't even attempt any training for these guys. I think that's where most of the problems come in. The other is that many people are paranoid and never even walk their dogs. Of course the dog is going to bolt at the first opportunity if it never leaves it's back yard. It's bored and under stimulated! My dogs go everywhere with me, they know what's out there. I can leave the door wide open when getting food delivered and they'll sniff the person and come back in. I do off leash them in specific safe spots. They are fantastic. I've done lots of training with them and they are better than 99% of the dogs we see. After exploring for a bit and peering and pooping, they come and walk next to or behind me. As in I can reach down and touch them or they're stepping on my heels (which is really fun on a hike). I don't think being off leash is suited for all dogs, but with training, some are fantastic candidates for it.

The Dale Edgar treats I mentioned also have magnesium sulfate 250 mg. it's $40.95 for 56 of them.

My off leash beach pictures are actually on a sand bar. We swam out there and then let him loose. He wasn't going to swim to shore on his own, so we were basically on an island.

http://www.daleedgarbrand.com/products/calm-nutri-wafer I like these. They look and smell like a large treat. Sailor loves eating them, Bu does not. So, for Bu, I break them into quarters and smother each piece in peanut butter. I give 1, but I think I can go up to 2. I'd have to check that though.

You've already gotten good advice. For training treats, I'll use meatloaf, brisket, canned fish, leftover pizza, bagels and cream cheese, cheese, McDs burgers, freeze dried meats, all kinds of treats that I can break. We all like Zukes here. At times I put liquidy type food into baby food jars and let them lick it out. I use baby food, peanut butter, canned fish, and wet dog food this way. If she's really food motivated, you may even be able to use her kibble as treats. Just like people, dogs have different preferences. Bu prefers my moms cooking, like brisket and meat loaf. Sailor prefers a bagel and cream cheese. While they'll both happily eat anything I've mentioned, they did much better in class when I brought what they preferred. On class days in particular , but any time I worked with the dogs, they got smaller meals to make up for the cookies.

I just started it yesterday! Sailor seems to have some loose stools, but nothing major and he could have gotten into something on our hike. Both dogs enjoyed eating it and Sailor tried stealing the wrapper from the trash. I spoke to my vet about my concern that it only mentions dog ticks. She actually spoke to the company about that and it also kills deer ticks, but they're still going through the long process of getting it approved.

We are putting off his laser treatments until after his dental and X-rays. We'll confirm it's arthritis and have base line X-rays for the future.

He's having a dental in April. I'll see if they can do X-rays while he's under.

How much exercise is he getting? Whatever it is, double or triple it. I know when Bu starts getting in trouble that he needs a good hike. Then he's good for a week or 2.

I agree with JJNg. A spot or 2 of blood never concerned me, but being covered on blood would. I'd get his mouth checked. When was the last time he had a dental?

While he hasn't had X-rays, I doubt it's osteo. He limps off and on and had for a couple years. Nothing has changed. He limps less than he doesn't limp. I just want to keep it that way.

I know not all of it is bad, but when I'm dry heaving in the holistic vets office because of what he's doing to the dog, there's a problem.

I'll look into it, but I've had some horrific experiences with holistic medicine and I'm not a believer.

As I said, his arthritis is minor at this point. He only limps occasionally. I think she said it's warm, but I'll read more into it. We're going twice a week for a couple weeks, then once a week for a while, then every other week, then she's hoping to get it down to once a month. I think that will end up being a long term thing. I'm ok with that if it helps him.

Has anyone tried it and has it been effective? Bu has some arthritis pain that acts up now and then. It's pretty minor and I'd like to keep it that way, so I discussed it with the vet today. She wants to start doing regular laser therapy on his achy joints. Namely his right elbow, right shoulder, and right hip. I've never heard of any negative side effects, so I'm happy to do this over medicating him.

I find that a very loud, firm "no" in as low as voice as I can get, works wonders. Especially if repeated. I put my arms away from my sides and lean into the direction of the dog. The only dog that's ignored that was an over friendly happy go lucky golden. Unfortunately I was walking an extremely dog aggressive pit bull. I kept the pit on a short leash and kept throwing myself between them. It was horrible.

I'd be a little concerned about the bloody discharge, but not the yellowish.