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sarabz

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Posts posted by sarabz

    Petflow.com Needs Your Help ...

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    I'm strongly considering signing up. With shipping and tax, the cost of the food we buy is within a couple of dollars, and we've had a very hard time getting it at the store around the corner from our apartment, which is where we first bought it :blink: They haven't had the large bags in stock for a couple of months now, so that's really getting OLD. Living in Manhattan I don't have easy access to a car to go elsewhere to pick it up (which is also why we haven't tried the Kirkland from Costco).

    Destructive Behavior When Alone & It's Dark Outside

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Bella has been great for the few months that we've had her. I'm noticing more and more, however, that if she's alone in the evening, she gets destructive (she doesn't during daylight). Shredding tissues, chewing pajamas, dumping the trash can in the bedroom (nope, it's no longer there), rumpling up our bed, moving an area rug.... I'm thinking she's going to have to go back in her crate, but with the time change and winter coming, this would mean all day and I'd really prefer not to do that.

     

    Walking at lunchtime doesn't work - this also happens if we come home, walk & feed and then leave again for a couple of hours.

     

    She's left with a frozen stuffed kong and the radio on, along with the curtains open (this was causing problems for a while). She has access to the bedroom during the day, which is where her crate is, and is baby-gated off from the rest of the apartment. She loves, loves, LOVES the sofa - she might be less destructive if left the run of the apartment but I really don't want to find that out the hard way......

     

    thanks for any thoughts!

    Am I Deluded?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I personally would not take time off work and would just get into a routine right off the bat so that you don't have SA-like issues when you do return to work.

     

    Thanks- I meant to comment on that, too. I was going to and then had a lot of people advise me not to, and it was fine. Of course, now it's even harder to go back to work on a Monday after spending a weekend with our girl, but that's another issue ;)

    Am I Deluded?

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    I will echo what others have said - with any dog (or human, for that matter), there is the expectation that there will at some point be something damaged, broken or have bodily fluids on it. That's life. Crating any dog for 20+/- hours isn't fair to the dog, so you'd have to think a little differently there.

     

    However - we have our first greyhound whom has been with us for just over 6 months. Bella's had one accident in the house because we weren't paying enough attention that first weekend. She goes generally from 8 in the morning to 5-6 at night without a potty break and is just fine. We were coming home those first couple of weeks and toward the end were waking her up to go outside, so stopped that pretty quickly.

     

    We did crate during the day at first until she started learning that not everything that she could pick up was hers and that the apartment wasn't the place to pee - ever since then, she's been baby-gated in the bedroom during the day more for our peace of mind that any problems on her part. We rarely crate her - it's usually only if we're traveling (in a hotel room) or if we need a good night's sleep and don't want her on the bed but she has her crate to use when she wants.

     

    Being honest with our adoption group about our lifestyle was key - our girl was not fostered before we got her but has been just perfect for us.

     

    Can't wait to hear what you decide!

    Am I Doing This Right?

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted · Edited by sarabz

    When we brought Bella home, we had her on a lot of things, too, after reading tons of threads on here.

     

    Here's what we found -

    Olive oil did nothing except give her loose stools

    Salmon oil helped her coat and gave her loose stools - in the end, I'm not sure what helped her coat the most - the kibble we chose, good brushings, or the salmon oil. When our last bottle of oil ran out, we didn't replace it - she still has a great coat and much, much better stools

     

    Pumpkin is something she loves but nothing that she seems to need

     

    We put some warm water in the kibble so she can lap it up and doesn't choke on the dry food - we also put a spoonful of plain yogurt because it really does seem to help with the gas. Case in point - on days that we've run out, we do notice a difference!

     

    For kibble - we feed Earthborn Holistic Adult Vantage. We started with ProPlan (which she was on when she came home), moved to Nutro (which she was perfectly fine on, unlike some others here) and now we've settled on Earthborn.

     

    I almost drove myself crazy reading about all of the foods, ratings, etc and we just had a store open around the corner that carries a lot of good brands (Taste of the Wild, among others) but Earthborn seems to be really working for us. At $48 for a 28 pound bag every 6 weeks, it better be! Although now that I just did the math it works out to about $0.50/meal (plus some in Kongs) - huh, when I look at it that way, it's perfectly fine!

     

    You will hear a lot on GT about grains/grain-free. Bella is just fine with grains so we haven't investigated any foods without them. She also gets cooked oatmeal in her Kongs and seems to be doing just fine.

     

    Some of it's trial and error, as others have mentioned, but I'll second the thought that you might want to cut out all of the "extras" as a starting point.

     

    Good luck!

     

    PS - GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS pup!!!!

    Bald Butt

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by sarabz

    We've been giving Bella the 3mg/day almost since we adopted her and have noticed a little difference but not much. I'm about ready to give up because I really don't care if she has a bald butt, but DH is sort of obsessed with getting her hair regrown :rolleyes: She does have a pretty thin coat all over anyway.

     

    I'm wondering if it's worth it to raise the dose for a few weeks to see if there is a change - but then, if we stop, does any regrown hair go away? Hadn't thought that one through, really.

    Pumpkin, Pumpkin

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    We were giving Bella pumpkin for a while - and then discovered that once we ran out of salmon oil, we didn't need to give her pumpkin! (Seems obvious now). So, she's on Earthborn Holistic Adult Vantage with a spoonful of yogurt ('cause we just don't enjoy the smell of greyhound farts) and has consistantly good poops.

     

    I know a lot of people don't give their dogs any grains, but Bella also gets kongs with oatmeal, peanut butter, kibble, bananas and a couple of cookies and is doing great. She loves the oatmeal, seems to agree with her, it fills up her kong cheaply (10 lbs of oatmeal at costco for $6!)so why not.

     

    I did get some feedback here on the board that giving greys supplements masks symptoms of problems and agree with that to some extent. However, if you've ruled out worms & other problems, tried different foods, etc and your pup is just not solid, well, why not use a little something to help. If only for your convenience :)

    The Honeymoon Is Over

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    We went through something similar with Bella. Once she discovered toys, it was as though she made the connection that anything she could reach and pick up was also hers. She would bring everything into her crate - slippers, books, even tried the dustbuster once. I dog-proofed better for a couple of weeks and she stopped. We've now had her 6 months and she hasn't destroyed anything in at least 4 - well, other than accidentally, that is, but not by chewing.

     

    Hang in there!!

    Tranced-Out Licking

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Ooh! So glad you asked this! I've been noticing Bella starting to do the same thing - not to the point of licking an area raw, but if I interrupt her, she'll kind of roll her eyes up at me, tongue still hanging out with sort of a "what, mom?" look? Gotta get a picture of that one day!

    Vitamin B Complex

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Ok, now that I've calmed down and heard back from DH...

     

    Apparently nothing in the vitamins worried the person he spoke to at poison control except the iron. The most she would have had would have been about 70 mg, but she did throw up and isn't showing distress. Looks like she's going to be ok.

     

    At least I did one smart think- printed all Bella-related emergency numbers on a printable magnet (available at office supply stores) and stuck it on the fridge.

    Vitamin B Complex

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I'm traveling and dh just called me with the news that Bella got into a bottle of b-complex vitamins (b12, b6, etc). He's calling ASPCA poison and E-vet.

     

    I'm really scared and beating myself up that she was able to get to the vitamins.

     

    I'm sure with the wealth of experience someone else's grey has been through this.... And been fine, right? Right?

     

    Thanks GT

    Shaking Head, Favoring One Ear

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by sarabz

    Bella has all of a sudden (today) started shaking her head a lot and favoring her left ear. I had a Cocker Spaniel so I'm well attuned to ear problems. However, there's no redness, no swelling, no odor, no discharge. I cleaned as recommended, and just hate to see our girl in discomfort :(

     

    Thanks GTers....

     

     

    UPDATE -

    I took Bella to the vet today, and of course this afternoon she wasn't shaking her head at all. She has the beginning of infection in one ear and a small scratch in the other (the one she was favoring), so we're treating the infection, and the vet thinks that perhaps she did have something get in the other ear that she dislodged herself. The vet said the clinic was seeing a lot of ear problems lately because of the incredibly humid weather. Bella's ears don't stand up, so there's never a chance for any air to get in there and circulate, so just something for us to keep an eye on and keep up with the cleaning. I did get a good lesson in ear cleaning, so that will help, I'm sure.

     

    Glad I trusted my gut and took her before it turned into anything serious.

    Thanks GT!

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