OwnedBySummer

Why crate him at all then? I rented a crate just before I got Summer, in case she really wanted one. But I returned it after the first week because she didn't have any attachment or desire to be crated, she was quite happy on the couch or the bed. If he doesn't like the crate... why crate him?

Pictures pictures pictures!

You can send bloodwork directly to Dr. Dodds at Hemopets. Her website has instructions. I would trust what she concludes.

I have a fabulous .pdf document outlining all the greyhound values for a full blood panel. I'll PM you for your email and send it to you.

Welcome, Fernando!!!! I absolutely love the idea of the prison dog program. I will be looking into that in the future. Did you get to meet him while he was in the program, so you could choose him?

Awwww! Another one taken too young!

What a gorgeous boy! I'm so sorry for your loss!

Our fingers are crossed here, too. Scritches to Phantom!

Welcome from Canada!

Well, here's a temporary email address you can use for this. Just email me at it and I'll email the documents back to you. Use "rainbrighton@hotmail.com".

If you PM me your email address, I will send you a .pdf file from Dr. Dodds at Hemopets, showing the correct blood values that a greyhound's full blood chemistry should have. This should really help your vet.

These dogs are such chickens.

I don't have this particular problem with Summer but, with my previous non-grey dog, she tried that when she was young. A firm "no" a few times and she didn't do that again. I don't tolerate mouths on me in this way. Summer did a jumping thing when I first got her, not frequently and only if she thought you had a treat. Again, a firm "no" at the very first instance and, of course, any subsequent instance and she doesn't do it any more. I have done both the "go out the door first" alpha thing and "open the door, whoever is there first goes out first". My conclusion is it is potentially helpful with a strong-minded dog, such as my non-grey heart dog. She was part pitbull/part pointer and I was always the dominant alpha. With Summer? -- it doesn't seem to matter about the whole door and bed and furniture thing. Maybe she's just a natural omega?

I'm not sure why she was "allowed" to join in the first place? Our group won't accept a new member who doesn't have a greyhound. We also post, right on our home page, that the group is for retired racing greyhounds ONLY. People do have other breeds in the same house as the greys but they do not bring them to the runs. There is nothing, however, to stop them bringing them to a run, along with another adult, and the extra adult can stay outside the fence with the off-breed on a leash (although I've not yet seen that done). But never would the off-breed be allowed to enter the run enclosure. The administrator or whomever should contact this person before they come to the run and explain the rules, it just can't occur.

Aaaaah, the Furminator! I love my Furminator!

I "assumed" it was patchy. If it's all over and they still have a coat... I'd go with Batmom and say it's probably the fall shed.

New dog? Could be an allergy? Losing a poor quality kennel coat? Mine recently lost a whackload of fur, from the back of her hind legs and under her neck, and the sides of her back legs and shoulders had been starting to thin. I took away her cedar-infused Costco bed and switched her to grain-free food. So I don't know which was the problem, however, her fur has now grown back. It has been suggested to me that it may just have been a natural shedding of her kennel coat (I got her May 1, 2010 and the bare spots and thinning were obvious by mid July-August). I did put her on melatonin for about 3 or 4 weeks but she got very lethargic, as some do. So melatonin wasn't for her. I found she did better with a daily teaspoon of human-grade fish oil from a natural food store. Her coat is beautiful and lush and shiny now. Good luck with your pup!

Sounds like Tarmac "blazed" his way to your heart. What a gorgeous, glossy boy!

OMG! My thoughts are with you. I'm sorry I'm not any help for anything else. But the great white north is chiming in with good, strong thoughts! I find it weird that it could be this, that or the other. Wouldn't they be able to tell some of those things, like a collapsed esophagus? And would I want to leave my dog in there overnight? No, but I think I would. At least if something dire suddenly happened, there would be a quick response. I wouldn't want to risk the 35 minutes.

Yeah, the tail thing is important. All their bits need to end up in the right place. It looks very painful to me when they do the "kangaroo tail" (I like that phrase, it's perfect!). Summer does it when she's sitting for a treat because the sit is very short but when she's sitting for any length of time, she tucks it to the side.

I agree. Assuming the vet has cleared her for everything and it's just a pull or sprain...

We'll be thinking of him. Good luck and I'm sure everything will be fine.

I read somewhere that you should thoroughly clean the house and wash everything you can, including their butts after they poop. Eggs can cling and fall off. Pleasant!

I've wondered the same thing in the past but just opted to treat the hooks in the dog(with Drontal Plus and diatomaceous earth)and to promptly pick up ALL poops. But I did a google search for you and this are a couple of things I found: If the pets have a run or kennel, it should be cleaned of all feces and treated with a product to control hookworm juveniles if one can be located. Several treatments, including common salt brine (1.5 lb common salt per gallon of water, applied at 1 pt per sq ft) or borax, can be used successfully on bare ground, gravel or concrete. However, there is at present no available product that is known to be both effective for control of infective larvae on/in living turf or other plants and safe for plants. Treating the Environment: The larvae of hookworms can live several weeks in cool, moist soil, but die rapidly in freezing or hot, dry conditions. Yards and kennels should be cleaned daily. Floors in kennels and dog runs should be impervious, so they are easier to clean. All fecal material should be removed, since organic material will decrease the effectiveness of cleaning solutions. A bleach solution of 3 cups of household bleach to a gallon of cool water should be sprayed or mopped on the area. Any feces in yards should be picked up on a daily basis. Flaming the surface soil can kill the larvae. Gravel runs are best treated with sodium borate applied at the rate of 10 lbs/100 sq. ft. (Sodium borate will kill vegetation.)"

Summer sits nicely. I tried all the conventional methods of teaching her but she would not be coaxed. So I put my weight across her hips and firmly and relentlessly (yet gently, paying attention to where her legs and things were going at ALL times) shoved her down. I had to do this only TWICE and she learned. She was so thrilled when she realized that she could do what I was asking and that she'd joined the dots! To teach her to lie down was a snap after that as she knew the command had something to do with her body. And every greyhound I've met who has parents who have taught them to sit... Oh, they're funny! They sit here and sit there and sit everywhere... all in the hopes of getting a random treat!