arandomchic

Maybe she just doesn't have to go when the dog walker is there. Have you tried changing the dog walker's time to be a little later? We noticed lately that with our Molly, my DH doesn't have to take her out for her potty break until sometimes 1:30 - 2:00pm (she goes out in the AM around 6:00am). She doesn't even get up when he tries to take her at the normal noon time. Luckily, since he's home at that time we have the ability to be flexible.

When Molly came to us, she had been in another home (we call it her starter home) for about 3 weeks. She was house-trained and pretty mellow. She'd get into a few things (like chew on the remotes), but we learned pretty quickly what could stay out and what had to be tucked away! We tried to crate Molly overnight at first (the starter owners did), but she barked, cried and whined something awful even when we slept out on the couch with her the first couple of nights. Super tired and frustrated, I decided to remove one of our bedside tables and tuck her bed there next to my side of the bed --- I needed some sleep! That was probably the 4th night we had her. She slept through the night and didn't move except to rearrange her bedding. She slept in our room from then on. Now after her evening potty, she heads straight to the bedroom to go to sleep. As for loose in the house when we aren't there...she was crated for the first couple of weeks. Then one day my DH forgot to close the door to the crate before he left for class (naughty DH). I came home three hours later and she greeted me at the door happy as can be. Nothing was damaged and both cats were fine (they have a Molly-safe room to hang out in if they want). After that, we just sorta let her stay out all the time. She loves her crate though, and spends plenty of time in there when the door is open. So that behemoth is still taking up a chunk of our living room. I figure we'll keep it up as long as she spends time in there.

Do you give Zero a Kong when you go out to do yard work? If not, it should keep him occupied...especially if you follow the exact same routine as when you leave for work.

We were worried too at first! We brush with a zoom groom and a furminator and that helps A LOT...but poor Molly's got a nekkid belly and butt now:rolleyes:

Just want to clarify --- there were two separate instances, correct? One week Sophie growled at a jumpy dog, and the next week another dog growled at Sophie? I just want to make sure I followed the post correctly. You should be able to pull Sophie from another dog without yanking enough to hurt when wearing a martingale. If she doesn't respond to yummy treats, try to identify something else she love, love loves like a favorite stuffy or squeaky toy to use as a lure or distractor. For us Molly loves food and is highly motivated by all things edible, but a squeaky toy would work just as well for her. In general, I think it takes some time to get to know your grey's body language and to know when they've had enough. Plus, I think some of their body language is a little different than other breeds of dogs. Their movements and reactions can be really subtle! So if you're at all unsure, you could always muzzle until you've got it down pat.

Sorry you have to make such a hard decision. I know how attached you can get in just a couple of months. Just know that there's another home for Caroline that will be the perfect match, and another dog is waiting just for you guys to find, too! Don't be nervous, it's obvious you care about your pets or you wouldn't have tried so hard to make it work with Caroline. Our Molly came to us as a bounce --- at her starter home, it wasn't working out with their cat, but she worked out perfectly in ours from day one (with our two cats). Sometimes it's a matter of finding the right match.

My first thought was maybe he needs more exercise? I don't see any walks in the schedule. I know that with our girl she tends to hold her bladder a little and dole it out over the course of a walk --- so on a 30 minute walk she may actually pee/mark 4+ times. By the last time, she's usually straining to leave her mark. Also, when she walks she'll poop twice, once right away and then a smaller one later during the walk. I'm wondering if your guy could be the same --- a pee/poo horder. It might be that letting him out into the yard isn't enough to empty him out before you leave for the day or last thing at night.

Someone once posted a link to "calming signals" dogs use to communicate to other dogs. I'm not sure if this was the link or not. Dogs often do things to basically say "It's okay, I'm no threat!" I know turning the head away slightly was a common signal as was moving slowly, yawning or licking lips (the last three our Molly does when she sees other dogs coming near or if she is approaching something she is unsure of). I almost wonder if the whining is Lucie's calming signal? Or her way of communicating she's submissive? My suggestion would be that if she's in a training class already, it's probably something you could ask the instructor for help with.

Is it only during the day when you are gone? What's the morning schedule --- feeding, walks, turnouts and the approximate times? Does it go into his crate freely? Does he get a Kong or something when you leave? Is he crated at night? Does he soil his crate at night? I think as the others said to be able to give good advice, we'd need some specific details on his schedule and behaviors. These folks have seen it all and can usually give a lot of great advice.

Much like desensitizing a dog, you might want to give really yummy treats to the kittens ONLY when the dogs are around. That could help move things along. Otherwise, I think mostly it will just take time for the kittens to realize the really big furry animals aren't going to hurt them. Remember, your greyhounds may be 10+ times the size of the kittens --- that's gotta be a little scary to a kitten who hasn't experienced much yet.

Molly is afraid of any ball being held, thrown, or bounced --- especially if by a child. She'll try to run/hide and won't go one inch closer in that direction.

I wonder if one of those under-the-bed plastic storage boxes would work? They are kinda big, but low and long.

I have the same issue with Molly some days. During our 45 min morning walk, she usually poops twice. The first is perfect, and usually the 2nd time, it varies between slightly less firm to pretty mushy. She's also on TOTW (wetlands). After awhile, I just chalked it up to the walks moving things through her system a little too quickly to firm up appropriately. I don't know if any additives would really make a difference.

To desensitize her, you could make sure that all visitors give her a treat upon entering your house. That way visitors equal yummy things, not scary things. Unless of course you don't mind the guard dog thing, which can be useful, too.

Just an FYI --- I had read that one of the potential side affects with Melatonin can be increased urination. Which in your case might hurt the situation more than help it. It affected Molly that way. Since side affects are so particular for every dog, you may want to just keep that in mind for Uri.

Glad Houdini made it through her surgery and dental. Sending good thoughts for good X-ray results!

Total side note --- some of the pictures of off-leash hounds have been retouched to remove the leashes I remember some GTs talking about in a post a few months ago.

I was thinking along the lines of what Chad mentioned. When we first brought Molly home we had to do some Alone Training, and we used our webcam from the laptop to see what she was doing while we were gone (it helped us to know when we could add more time). You can even set it up to view remotely (someone posted instructions here awhile ago on how to do that if you search for it). You might be able to see if there's something specific that's setting him off.

We're pretty new to this too (Molly's been with us just about 2 months) --- and we always wonder if her weight is okay, too. Our vet recommended that we try to pop in every few weeks just to check her weight if we're unsure. Of course, we're lucky enough to be within walking distance of our vet, so it's easy. But until we get a better handle on what her healthy weight looks like for her, we're doing that. As we get more comfortable, we'll only go in to weigh if we feel like she's gone up or down. ETA - Molly's first family kept her just below racing weight for the month they had her (not sure why). Since she's been with us, she's added about 4 pounds (about 2 over her racing weight), which is what our vet said is ideal for her and her build. Her build is a little stocky in general even when she was under her racing weight --- . Now we can see a shadow of ribs, a little ridge on her back and a bit of hip bone.

Oh boy, this is an issue with Molly too! We laugh that our amazingly athletic greyhound needs to be picked up to get in the car. Though we had success this weekend with two things. I pushed the front seat way up so she could hop up onto the floor, not the seat I used her new squeaky toy that she picked out from the pet store to lure her (I'll try chicken next time!) And she hopped right in, then crawled up onto the seat. It's also easier for her if we park near a curb, so if I can do that, I will to make it easier for her until she gets it down pat. ETA --- Molly rides in the back seat, not the very back of the SUV. Though we think it might be easier for her to jump in the back. We wonder if the enclosed feeling with the side door there spooks her a bit.

The ultimate raw diet! *shudder* Though seriously, so many people swear by raw feeding so I'd think it'd be fine with the IBD. The worms and stuff are another story *double shudder* Btw, if it makes you feel better our Molly tried to go after a chipmunk that I'm pretty sure was suicidal since it just sat in an old dog house in our yard (which we've been meaning to remove for years) and stared at Molly. I'm just lucky my reflexes were quicker than Molly's in that moment.

Adding our prayers and good thoughts for you and Neyla to all the others....

I would've never known this! I haven't seen any in our area, but will be more vigilant when we're out and about at parks.

Like Batmom is asking, If you provide a general schedule and a lot of details, you'll get some awesome advice Also, have you talked to the group you adopted her from? We also got Molly as a bounce, and she had some separation anxiety related to that. We followed the alone training schedule in the Patricia McConnell book, and we've gotten to the point where we can leave her for 3-4 hours pretty easily now without any problems (granted her SA wasn't horrible). Some steps we were able to move quickly past, others we had to take more time on. But if you follow the plan (really follow it)...it seems to work. Have patience. Be consistent. And good luck!

What I as told was that you might want to feed exclusively bland for a couple of days to let the tummy/digestive track settle. Then start adding in the kibble again --- going slowly almost like you were switching foods. We followed the bland diet recipe in the "Greyhound for Dummies" book (combination ground beef, rice, egg, yogurt). The only change we made was to do half rice / half oatmeal. I was told by my adoption group that oatmeal works better for some dogs. The mixture cleared Molly up in just a couple of days. However, when we started to add back in her regular food she got sick again. So we returned that bag (which was new) and got a new bag with a different expiration date per the Company's suggestion. Still the Big-D. They must've changed something that didn't agree with her. So I decided to switch to TOTW --- since we've been adding that in (slowly adding more kibble, less rice mixture) she's had no problems at all. Good luck!