sarabz

Hugs to you. We had to rehome our boy after 8 months - it was an agonizing decision and it hurts still, but it was the right thing as he's much happier.

I can't imagine going through all of that - many hugs to all of you. Recently our girl (who will be 12 this month) became less interested in food, less energetic, just generally "blah". We ran tests, xrays, etc and came back with low thyroid function. Well - a lot of people are quick to jump on "are you sure? greyhounds are different". Yes. However- she had almost zero function, almost nothing was registering on the panel. Within 4 days of starting meds, her old personality is back. So, go to the vet, do more tests and hang in there. Hopefully it's something simple.

Our group does both - adopts right off the track, and any that aren't adopted immediately go into foster care or the prison foster program. We adopted our first girl right off the track. When we adopt again, I'd go with a foster since we have a young child and I'd need more of a known quantity.

Great video!!! I'll be following this thread with interest as many of the things you are describing we went through. We have had a female grey for several years, and then had a baby. No issues, but then again, our first grey is the most laid-back, easy dog ever. Said baby was 2.5 when we adopted a second grey, a non-cat safe young male. (Definitely not even close to cat-workable - he went after small dogs on our walks). We had him for 8 months before we made the very hard decision to return him to the group. It was a combination of SA (even with another greyhound, he really just wanted to be around people every minute of every day) and interactions with our son. Our son did not pat him when he was lying down somewhere other than his bed, did not go on his bed, did not take things from him, did not chase him, etc but the dog was starting to chase my son in our small house. Because they both had to live in the same space, continually baby-gating the dog away from our son was creating more SA issues. We tried crating, but he was hurting himself in the crate because he hated to be crated - that meant crating during the day when we were at work wasn't really an option, and not fair to him to be crated all the time when his people were around. We opted to return him to the group to find a better fitting home rather than set him up for a worse incident, which I feel is where we were headed with our son as he was getting more reactive to the toddler rather than less - everything seemed to be escalating versus scaling back. (Side note - after 2 weeks in foster care, he was adopted with another same-age male, to a retired gentleman - perfect situation). I'm not saying that this is what you should do, just that I've been where you are and feel for you.

Yay!

Nan, I'm so sorry.

We had our girl in midtown Manhattan for several years, leash walking only. The couple of times we took her to dog parks for meetups and what not, she sniffed and peed and never ran. Occasionally she'll do a zoomie or two in our backyard now but generally doesn't bother. Walking for exercise and mental stimulation is enough.

Congrats! That much time on a hauler takes a toll. We adopted a boy who had come off of a haul a day before and it took him a good week to get all of the stiffness out of his body. Keep in mind that your boy has absolutely no idea what is going on. Agree with a vet check, then give him some time and patience.

We were working on allergies with our guy and tried Apoquel - immediate difference. Essentially our vet wanted us to try Apoquel until seasonal allergies could be noted as a factor, then do a Hills Z/D diet to rule out food allergies, then go to a specialist for skin testing. We ended up having to return him before we could do all of that, but there is no easy fix, unfortunately.

I'm so sorry.

Dude won't eat rice, so on top of all of this he's the pickiest darn eater I've ever had and will routinely walk away from his food Thanks - will read this more in-depth later, but appreciate it!

We're having similar issues with our boy Kirby whom we adopted in May. He is not, and has not, been allowed on the sofa or any other furniture but he is space aggressive. However, with a 3 year old and a small house, we can't respect the 5-10 feet that Kirby would prefer so there's a lot of growling and snarking at the boy, at us, at our other grey. Interestingly, if Kirby is not on his bed, he's fine - he often chooses to lie in the kitchen where I'm stepping over and around him, putting down the washing machine door on him, etc and he doesn't react at all. Kirby HATES his crate and will whine, rub his face raw trying to get out, will poo and pee in it - it is very definitely not his happy place, even when we are not in the house. Our older girl Bella LOVES her crate and voluntarily goes in there for naps.

Thanks, but same issues as raw - essentially any diet that isn't kibble isn't a workable solution right now.

Yep, we went through at least 5-6 foods before we found that Iams (which is chicken based) worked pretty well. We tried several grain-free single protein sources before trying the green bag.

Thanks! As much as I love the idea of raw, it's not an option for me right now - I just can't take it on with working full time and a toddler. I'd worry about meeting nutritional needs, keeping a steady supply when I don't have much freezer space, etc. My vet did come back with more info which is good.

So Kirby has allergies - to what we are not sure. We finally found a food that agrees with him and produces decent stools - Iams green bag large breed (large breed because Costco has 50# bags for $42). He's been on Apoquel to manage itching. We've just completed almost a month off of it and the itching is back. Not as badly as this summer when he was scratching his shoulders raw, but it's back. Vet is recommending 12 weeks on Hills Z/D diet with Apoquel only as needed to rule out food allergies (he's a picky eater so I guess he'll eat if hungry enough. What happens if his stools go back to mush? Forgot to ask the vet that question). I don't know really anything about allergies so here is what I asked the vet and would love your thoughts, too - If we do the Hills Z/D and determine that he has allergies other than food, and go with the allergy tests, what are the treatment options? Does it depend on the allergy type? I'm just wondering if after we spend $250+/- for the new food (for the 12 weeks) plus $95 for Apoquel to have as needed plus $300+/- for the allergy testing, are we back to a daily med anyway? Obviously the ideal is finding out what exactly the trigger is but I'm also looking at whether the end result/treatment is going to be vastly different if we know what the trigger is. So that's the question - do we pour several hundred dollars into finding out what he's allergic to if he's going to end up on a daily med anyway because he's allergic to, say, mold spores and we live in a 90 year old house that is never going to be totally without them? (We don't have a mold problem per se but we all know that houses can be full of allergens, that's just an example). Thanks GT

I am so sorry for your loss - what a beautiful tribute.

Too wide to stictch, not major, he just scraped to top layer of fur and skin off and then licked it for a few hours.

Hah hah hah - love the visual! Many toddler pants have non-working drawstrings. Luckily I have a few pairs with working drawstrings! Otherwise, I'd say find a pair with belt loops and use string/ribbon?

Thanks I can keep the tongue off now that I focused on it, it's keeping the spot covered so that it can heal that's the problem. Will try a pair of toddler pants tonight - I have lots around the house but mostly too small for this giant lunk. The yellow spot here indicates approximate location. It's not quite quarter-sized, so not huge, but big enough that it should have some ointment and a bandage.

I really wish I could find something that shows a greyhound outline and recommended techniques and supplies for patching up any place. I have a big klutz now who constantly hurts himself. Right now he's got an ugly gash part way between his hock and hip. The sock with the toe cut out with vet wrap should stay on tonight but have no idea how to keep it covered tomorrow when he can move around. Crating won't work and a muzzle get won't stop him (maybe if I had a poop guard but if I had one, can he drink if it's on all day?).

Sending healing thoughts.

I treat the dogs same as my toddler - if they don't want to put on a coat, it's not a battle I'm having, but I do carry one with me I'm not sure how my big boy, Kirby, lived in Iowa for so long - he's a big wimp and shivers if it's less than 55 degrees outside. And no, we don't keep the house super-warm!