Sundrop

I'm so very sorry to hear of your boy's diagnosis. Our girl lost her vision due to a massive seizure, though she eventually regained much of her sight in one eye. She was unresponsive to stimuli in the other eye, but she compensated very quickly. I purchased a book titled, Living With Blind Dogs: A Resource Book and Training Guide for the Owners of Blind and Low-Vision Dogs, and it was very helpful. I'd highly recommend you read it, as it has a lot of advice on how to deal with it and there are things (as others have mentioned) you can do now to start training him and make his life easier. Our Tilly was so confused, as this happened overnight and she had no time to adjust - but she adjusted really well, and we started using more voice commands, leaving lights on for her, baby-gating stairs, etc.

Good news! Any updates after his appointment with the specialist?

Mine still manipulate me into getting up early sometimes, too, haha! And I know it's manipulation as I recently had to go overseas on a business trip and my husband said he had to set him alarm because the dogs didn't wake him every morning. Now, is that because he sleeps like the dead or because they knew I wasn't there? Who knows!

So sorry for your loss, it's never easy. In addition to spending as much time with him as possible and playdates as others have mentioned, do you have any good doggie daycares near that you could use? After we lost our Tilly last year, we weren't ready to adopt again as we had lost 2 in 10 months and it was just too much for us. But we had adopted again in between and our new boy was having a lot of panic, anxiety and confusion. We were able to take him to a great doggie daycare for half days a couple times per week and that seemed to help him a bit (if nothing else, it did tire him out!). Also, I wouldn't rule out having a vet check him to make sure nothing is physically wrong. Good luck to you both.

It's absolutely normal, as others have stated. We've had six greyhounds since 2004 (two at a time) and we've had a few that I bonded with immediately and others it took me months & months to feel bonded. For me, it's especially hard to bond with one after I've lost one, just as you have. At times I've thought it was because I didn't wait long enough, but honestly, I don't think it would matter if I waited 2 months or 12 months - I'd still miss the one I just lost. I would still need to teach the new hound all the rules. I'd still have to learn the new hound's personality and boundaries, and I would still have to adjust to life with a new soul in it. This was especially acute when I lost my boy, Deacon, back in April 2015. We had two easy hounds; sweet, gentle, funny, loving and both knew the rules and followed them. Deacon was a really special guy and we lost him so quickly and unexpectedly...but we both are committed to giving homes to as many ex-racers as possible, so we only waited around 2 months to adopt again. Our new boy, Finn, was right off the track, he was young (3), stubborn (ARG!) and a bit insecure which came out as being growly. Having him here only made me miss Deacon more. I felt guilty about it and didn't feel like we were bonding at all. It took a good long time until I felt like Finn was "our boy" - and it probably took him as long to adjust to us. We lost our girl, Tilly, the following February and I was resolute to wait longer until we adopted again. She went through so much and she never lost her sweet, gentle demeanor and I was just devastated. But...Finn starting having panic episodes - lasting hours - and that's when I realized that he was my boy. I was so worried about him. Don't worry if you don't "feel it" yet - just be patient, go on walks, do lots of training (with treats!), have lots of fun together and get a great brush so you can groom him a bit. Once your new hound starts to feel at home, he'll blossom and it will be such a rewarding experience. Good luck and welcome to the greyhound cult!

We've had lots of greyhound alarm clocks. My current two always get me up between 6:30-7:00, sometimes they'll start stirring around 6:00. I close all the blinds, which probably doesn't help. I never get up and pay any attention to them until they settle down for at least 5 minutes so they know I'm not getting up because of them - unless I'm dealing with an aging, ill or new hound. By getting up, you're conditioning them to continue bugging you! The worst is when daylight savings starts or ends and I have to either set my alarm because they wake up an hour late, or they wake me up an hour early because their time is all off! Normally the alarm clock helps with this, they start responding to that until I get them used to the time change.

You can also use oatmeal instead of rice. We lost our girl last year to osteo and though her appetite was good, we knew she wouldn't be with us much longer and we wanted her appetite to be great and give her something we knew she'd love that wouldn't be hard on her stomach (w/ all the meds, it was tough on her). I boiled 2 chicken breasts and used the leftover "chicken water" to cook the oatmeal. While it was cooking, I ran the chicken through the food processor to mince it up and that I mixed it all together. I think I'd make 1-2 cups of dry oatmeal, can't remember exactly. I also reserved the whatever water I didn't use with the oatmeal and added that to the mix after it had been in the refrigerator, just to moisten it up for her. I always heated it up a bit for her to bring out the aroma. She loved it and it was super easy on her tummy. FYI - I also made her crockpot veggies - just throw them into the crockpot w/ chicken broth and set it for a few hours until mushy. She especially loved sweet potato and broccoli.

I completely understand your anxiety about this - my husband and I love to travel, typically overseas or on trips where we cannot take the dogs (e.g., we went on a 7-day rafting/hiking/camping trip in the Grand Canyon last year). Neither of us have any family close that can watch them and our one neighbor who used to help out recently moved across the country. Couple that with now having a greyhound that can easily jump a 4-foot fence AND doesn't like to "go" on leash and we have a tough situation. I looked into having someone come here a few times per day, but since I work from home they are used to having someone here almost all the time, and to subject them to 10-15 minute visits a few times per day made me even more anxious. I just can't imagine leaving them here with no supervision - especially since our girl is somewhat mischievous. With our previous 2 hounds, we used DogVacay & Rover and had them stay in someone else's home - but it was tough finding someone without kids or other pets (they almost all had cats or little dogs) and now it's impossible to find one with no kids, no cats/small dogs and a 6' fence. Our only option is boarding. I spent a lot of time researching, visiting facilities and we finally found one we liked that also has doggy cams so we can watch them while we're away. Even our very shy girl (we lost her last year) ended up being okay there - they would put her in a playgroup with the senior dogs, so it was super mellow and she got tons of attention. When I log into the doggy cams and they are outside playing, they honestly look like they are having a blast. I know they'd rather be at home, but they are in a Deluxe suite like you are getting, away from the other dogs with lots of beds (they allow us to bring beds & toys from home since they are separate) and webcams to watch them. Honestly, it bothers me when I see people saying greyhounds are too sensitive or "hate" boarding. I'm guessing most dogs would rather be at home with their families, but if you find the right facility, I think it's a safe, monitored environment. They have insurance and they have emergency medical care. They feed them exactly what I tell them to at exactly the times I ask and they administer any medications I need. They socialize and run and play and they are also monitored - if they don't seem to like playing, they are pulled out for one-on-one walks. It sounds like you have done your homework and your dogs will be safe and well-cared for. I was crazy-worried about the girl we lost last year - she was very shy and didn't love playing with other dogs, and she was a seizure dog on medication. I was very happy that they took very careful notes when I dropped them off the first time. They even documented exactly when they administered her medication (it had to be every 12 hours) and I was so glad they pulled her out of the "main" playgroup and put her with the seniors where she'd be happier. Do our greyhounds like it? I'm not sure, I can't ask them - but they are safe, get their meds, eat their food, are monitored 24/7 (we found a facility that has a care taker live here) and we watch them on webcams. Don't second-guess your decision to board them. The last two times we've boarded ours, there were other greyhounds there with them and the facility sent us photos of them all running around together! We've had to board our greyhounds, six of them spanning many years, numerous times. I always tear up a little leaving them - but they've always been okay.

Yeah, I was wondering about how long they'd stay on as well as any damage they might do to the pad. Wonder also if, once they fall off, there is a bunch of sticky residue left that'll just pick up dirt, grass, etc. Generally he's okay a home, but he clenches his feet in new situations (e.g., the non-carpeted floor at the vet) and it tends to make him slip, which tends to make him clench more, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

I just saw these on Pinterest and wondered if anyone else had tried them. Our boy doesn't do well on non-carpeted floors - we have rugs & runners down now to help him, but these looked interesting. He doesn't chew/lick his feet - so it seems like a good idea? https://wetnose.com/products/paw-pads

Our newest addition, Kira, does this all the time! She was 3 when we adopted her and she just turned 4 - she is such a bubbly personality and a very high prey drive, I think she just gets so excited being outside that she squats to go and then gets distracted. I've seen her do this in the backyard and on walks. I've taken 2 samples to our vet and taken her in once because I've also seen her squat and only a tiny trickle (or drops) comes out - but she totally checks out. Also, she was retired due to an injury on her back left leg and I've noticed that when she does squat, she kicks that leg out further than her right leg, so it might also be that's she's not 100% comfortable so she re-positions herself. I think it's a combination of excitement, distractions and her old injury.

Right now he's on a duck formula, but he's okay with pork and venison, too. Might try kangaroo next time.

So sorry for your loss. When we lost our Tilly last February, our boy (Finn) seemed to be okay at first. They had only been together for a little over 8 months, as we lost our other boy, Deacon, 10 months before losing Tilly. I was still grieving both Deacon and Tilly and wasn't ready to adopt again. However, we started noticing changes in Finn's personality - he wasn't moping, but rather getting more and more anxious. We had a few episodes where he would run up & down the stairs and from window to window, frantically, for hours & hours. It was heart-breaking. Even though I wasn't really ready, we adopted about 3 months after losing Tilly and it did wonders for Finn. Honestly, it was tough on me in the beginning, but I wouldn't trade this little girl for anything. When I get too sad about losing one of mine (we've lost 4 altogether) I just remember that without losing the last one, we wouldn't have adopted the next one, and I've been 100% in love with all of them.

We've had 6, and lost 4 of them. Only 1 (@ 8 years old) was to osteo - two were different cancers (@ 13.5 and 10 years old) and the other was to a heart attack while sleeping (just shy of his 9th birthday).

I'm so very, very sorry. When I read your initial post, it made me tear-up, as we had this happen to us the week before Christmas of 2015. Our girl began limping, I took her to the vet, they did x-rays and found nothing. No sign of osteo, but she kept getting worse & worse, and after only a couple of weeks, was no longer walking on the leg at all. We went through a very expensive neuro appointment where she got a head-to-toe MRI. Still, they found nothing. Then she developed severe lymphedema in the leg and again, we took her back to the vet where they did another round of x-rays and found the osteo. Our poor girl suffered through this for 4 weeks before we got the awful diagnosis, and we were told at that point, it was likely too late to have surgery. She was only 8 years old, and we had to say goodbye a little over a week later. She was still eating, still rolling to her back to sleep and still loving, sweet and gentle to the very end. We, too, called Lap of Love and they came to our home where it would be less stressful for her (and us). It is very clear you love Nattie. I hope your last few days together are filled with love. I refused to leave Tilly's side and we all slept downstairs together, on the floor, the day before. I still miss that little girl.

You might try and find a group that fosters greyhounds so they can give you opinions on cuddle-ability (haha!). You can either foster-to-adopt to see if the hound is a match, or better yet, find one that fosters their own hounds so you can speak with foster parents to ask them if the hound is a cuddler (or shows any signs of space aggression or sleep startling). I, too, must have at least one hound at all times that will cuddle with me. When we lost our sweet Tilly last year, I spoke with the adoption group and told them we wanted a girl and she had to cuddle, lol. I'm guessing it's not unusual to hear such requests.

This ma This made me chuckle, too. I'll never forget after we adopted our 2nd greyhound (three months after the first) and he had to go in for a teeth cleaning. Being a scared mom, the day after, I didn't want him to be alone so I asked my dad to come dog-sit for the day while I went to work. A little after lunch, he called me worried because, "Keota has just been sleeping all day and I think something is wrong!" I replied, "Go downstairs and rustle the treat bag." A minute later, "Oh yeah, he's fine, he just ran down like a bolt of lightning and ate 3 treats!" As others have said, it is totally 100% normal for a new greyhound to not play with toys or with you. Looking back, I feel kind of bad at how much I probably smothered our first greyhound with love and affection when we first got her, lol. In the end, she was the most gentle, awesome, amazing, sweet girl on the planet and she adored the attention - but now when we bring a new adoptee home, we give them space and time, as well as an opportunity to get to know us, the house, the other greyhound, the schedule, the neighborhood, etc., etc. - it's really overwhelming for some. Some of adjusted right away, playing with toys and sleeping on their backs within a day, and others have taken months to settle in. Good luck! (And feel free to post photos!)

I would say to definitely engage the adoption group and ask them what they think as these interactions occur, as they see these types of meetings on a daily basis and they have the added benefit of knowing each of the greyhounds up for adoption. I'm always jealous when I see people here on GreyTalk who have houndies that cuddle together - we've never had hounds that would cuddle with each other! Our 3 girls have all been "people" cuddlers, and probably would've done so with our boys, but none of the boys would allow it, lol. BUT - we've never had 2 that didn't get along and we've never had any fights. A couple of warning barks here and there, but never an altercation in 13 years. Honestly, I tend to like it when the two hounds somewhat ignore one another when they meet. They sniff each other and then kind of go their own way - I dunno if that's the best approach, but since I've never seen two that will start playing immediately or follow each other around (especially in the 10-15 minute window we typically have when choosing one). Normally it seems that the hound you are meeting is more interested in sniffing the yard, peeing on stuff, etc. since they have likely been kenneled that day. They don't particularly care about meeting you or your other greyhound, they just want to explore and stretch their legs. I also wouldn't really worry too much if there is some snippiness - again, they just want to be out of the kennel. A full-on fight would be a red flag, but snipping when another dog gets too personal isn't a fight. If you can go back and spend longer, that would be ideal. We live about 2 hours away from the group we have used for the last 3 hounds, so it's not very feasible - but we spend as much time as possible and meet as many different hounds as we can - and we ask as many people there as we can what they think about the reactions they see.

I've had 6 greyhounds over the past 13 years and none of them really needed space to run. We committed to walking twice per day (morning/evening) unless it's raining or whatever - normally 10-20 minutes walks. Some of the hounds wanted longer walks, or needed longer walks due to energy level, some only wanted 5-10 minutes. We had one boy who adored chasing balls in our backyard - and we've had a couple that would chase/play with others. I've never had a greyhound that went outside and just ran around - ever. Maybe in the snow? We also found a local greyhound play-date that utilizes a huge yard @ a local boarding place and it's loads of fun. Our girl runs all over the place, while our boy goes from person to person for love & ear scritches. He's only 4 years old, ran over 100 races and couldn't care less about running now that he's retired. Honestly, I'm not sure where the "supposed to let them run" myth came from, but it's just not true. Our current girl is the highest energy greyhound we've ever had, but the only time she runs in the backyard is when she spots a squirrel or when our boy spots a squirrel and she chases him. They've all liked their toys indoors, and enjoy playing, but it is normally very short spurts and then they want to sleep, lol. Honestly, they are all pretty low energy. Like...L.O.W.E.N.E.R.G.Y. I would always recommend taking your greyhound for daily walks. Not only does it provide exercise for both of you, but it also gives them a break from the 4 walls of your home and it socializes them to meet neighbors (and sometimes other dogs, if I know it is safe). It also provides an opportunity to practice obedience skills, as we always teach leash manners. FYI - not every greyhound is a cuddler. In fact, all of our girls have been - but one of our boys was space aggressive (NEVER did we touch him while he was lying down) and our other two boys experienced sleep startling (i.e., not safe to wake them from a deep sleep by touching them). If you decide to adopt a greyhound, work with your greyhound group to help find one that doesn't have space issues. They are used to having their own space that no one else enters while they are racers, so it's not always a good idea, or even safe, to assume they want to cuddle with you. Greyhounds are an amazing breed and I adore them, even the ones we've had that have needed more "work" - in the end, I've fallen head over heels for all 6 of ours. Just work closely with a good adoption group to find one that really matches your personality and gets along with your current dog and be patient.

Thanks so much! I totally forgot I could watch replays on Trackinfo - so funny, I watched a few of Kira's races and they continually mention her as "high-energy," and "hyperactive" haha! That pretty much describes her in retirement, too!

Awesome, thanks! I've had 6 greyhounds in my life and presume to be no expert, but out of her 25 races, she came in 1st 12x, 2nd 2x and 3rd 2x - that seems pretty unusually good? Was she just so early in her career when she was injured that they wouldn't have kept a dog like this for breeding? Not that I'm complaining - she's an awesome little girl and we're so happy to have adopted her so young.

Hi there! Just thought I'd jump in as we've had a couple of hounds w/ issues like this. I had to put our newest boy, Finn, through a complete elimination diet because of soft stool and chronic itching. Turns out his system doesn't like grains/wheat/corn, any kind of fish (including fish oil), chicken, turkey or beef and any dairy (we tried giving him a tablespoon of yogurt). We've had to go to more exotic proteins and feed him a limited ingredient diet. He tolerates the Olewo carrots (meaning, he tries to eat around it, lol). It took me months to get his itching to stop and his poop to firm up. Also, you really have to give each thing a good 8 weeks to see if it's "working" and be vigilant about food & treats. We switch his food now every 6 months or so (very slowly) to hopefully prevent boredom and future sensitivities.

Hi all - I just love this thread. I have a question about our newest addition, I have some detail about her and know she was retired due to a severe muscle injury in her back left leg - not sure the extent of it, but was wondering if it was in a race or training, etc. and if there was any way to know what it was. I've seen her racing records and it looks like she was pretty darn fast - I cannot imagine she would've been retired if there was any possible way for her to recover - but I know nothing of the industry so I thought I'd ask. Here is her info: Racing name: CTW Olayinka http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?d=CTW+Olayinka&x=12&y=13 Does anyone have access to Greyhound Data to add her retired name of Kira? Should probably get a photo out there, too - she's cute as a button.

I have to totally disagree with anyone saying a greyhound isn't a good first dog. Our first was a greyhound and she was E.A.S.Y. They can be quirky because of what they were born into - a home is totally foreign to them and some just take more time to adjust. We've had 6 and they've all adjusted... That said, our current girl absolutely needed a fenced yard to do her business. She will pee on walks - but it took a lot of gentle training to get her to walk normally on leash. She'll pee numerous times (I think she's so excited to walk that she only goes in short bursts). We've had her since April and she's just now starting to poop regularly on leash. In fact, it also took me a couple months of yard training to make sure she'd fully go out there. I'd also strongly suggest getting a harness for your boy - it makes it easier to direct the dog and you don't have to worry about hurting his neck/throat if you have to tug a little. Definitely also bring treats out to the yard and give lots of praise & treats when he goes. Also reinforce the behavior with the words, "Potty! Good potty!" (or whatever) so he learns the words & behavior. Once our girl learned this, I can easily direct her out to the yard and she goes right away. Treats on walks, also. I'd suggest watching Victoria Stillwell's video on loose leash training: https://positively.com/video/?video=Loose-Leash-Walking-Inside-1jVjFnlS -- this video helped us tremendously with our girl (she was nuts on a leash when we got her!). She practices indoors first, which we didn't have anywhere inside large enough to do this so we practiced in our yard. It will also help with turning and directing your grey when he wants to pretend to be a statue. I'm not sure what you're planning on, but don't think he's a lost cause just yet! It's only been a week and he's probably still a bit nervous/scared and very unsure what you want from him. We did "short walks" in our yard (see above video) with tons of praise & treats until she stopped bouncing and jumping around like a flea, and then we graduated to short walks. Once she was good on short walks, we went longer and longer. And seriously, get a harness. It helped our girl tremendously to have her body directed and to take pressure off her head & neck. FYI - all our boys have LOVED peeing & pooping on people's plants. We have a neighbor with monkey grass and they will pull trying to get to it. Sometimes they'll sneak one in on us, but we just gently redirect and try very hard not to let them go on people's plants. We don't want to be "those" dog owners, ya know? We actually have a tree with monkey grass in our yard and we let them go there and that always makes them happy. That stuff is indestructible, haha! Good luck and try to be patient and gentle. Once you get past this hump and he learns that he is a pet and you are his human...you won't believe the love and devotion you are in for.

I'm really very sorry you're going through this and I know it is heart wrenching. I have to agree with others to return her to the adoption group at this point. To me, it almost doesn't matter why this happened - give the details to the adoption group and let them sort it out. If it were just the two of you, I think a case could be made for an animal behaviorist, further medical test, etc. - but there will be a newborn involved soon. Perhaps you can ask the adoption group to put you in contact with the next adopters so you can visit and keep in touch? You obviously love your girl and I cannot imagine having to give up one of mine, so I know it's heart breaking. But if this happens again, you might be facing a situation where she'd get confiscated (depending on the laws in your state) and I have a feeling you'd never fully trust her around your child. Again, very sorry this happened.