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Belly bands are more for marking. Not a good idea if the dog is simply not housetrained. A belly band that sits saturated WILL cause a UTI. Go back to Housetraining 101. Take him out frequently, and reward profusely anytime he goes outside. If he's not crated, watch him like a hawk. Unfortunately, it becomes harder to housetrain once the dog has already had accidents in the house. A dog who has had a lot of accidents will be exponentially harder to train. The best thing you can do at this point is to prevent anymore accidents from happening (even if that means tethering him to your waist and taking him outside 10 times a day). Never punish unless you catch him in the act.

I'm really enjoying your posts. You should write a blog! It sounds like you are making excellent progress in such a short amount of time. And great job talking to Gracie, telling her stories, etc. I also did that with Henry and thought it was really helpful. Talk, sing, whatever you have to do!

Muzzle with a stool guard. Much more comfortable and convenient than an e-collar, and they can still drink water.

I'm sorry you and Spriet are going through this. She is one of my favorites. Fingers crossed for benign and more happy years together.

Wow, what a hard decision. The one thing I wanted to add is that parasite infestations, when severe, can do permanent damage to the intestinal wall. If he had long-term, reoccurring hooks at the track, the damage may already be done. In that case, there really isn't a cure and the prescription food might be your only choice. For some reason though, I thought you said you'd already tried the green bag. If not, that's certainly worth a shot first. That's the only food that cleared up soft stools in my guys... But they never were at the severity you're dealing with.

I agree with the others. For us, spending the money to hire a trainer/behaviorist would be a "last resort" option. You will probably be able to make just as much progress on your own or in a basic obedience class. Growling can definitely be scary, but resource guarding is a fairly common behavior. Chances of an actual bite are very slim if you're doing the training correctly.

No advice, just wanted to see if we could have an update on Henry the AKC? Still crazy?

As for the shyness, the best advice I can give is to be patient and try not to let your frustration show. There will be things that are more difficult in the beginning, and you might think to yourself, "I just wanted a normal dog!!" But trust me, it's a million times worth it in the end. Working through these issues and quirks will be the thing that bonds you together. I'm a little biased because my heart dog, Henry, started off extremely shy. He would cower, pant, shake, sometimes completely freak out at the slightest indiscretion. We had to work on hardwood floors, stairs, crate anxiety, statuing, getting into the car, the vet, other people, other dogs, cats, sharing space, loud noises. Then once he got 100% comfortable with our home and our daily routine, we started tackling more challenging things. Pet stores, obedience classes, hiking, dog parks, the groomers, the city, crowds of people, going on vacation. Sometimes we'd take three steps forward, only to take two steps back. He'd sometimes growl or snap at me, and that broke my heart. But I never gave up on him. And he never gave up on me! I made a ton of mistakes as a first-timer, and we just kept moving forward. Eventually, I learned his signals, and I became good at knowing just how far to push his comfort zone. Now, our relationship is so solid and trusting, he'd probably walk on hot coals if I asked him to. He'll probably always have certain quirks- for example, children still really freak him out. He tolerates my cats well, but he's never going to cuddle with them. But overall, I can't tell you how rewarding it was watching him learn to trust and come out of his shell, and I could know, "I made that happen." I still get a little choked up thinking about it. That first year with him was really just the best experience ever. I should mention that my other dog, Truman, is the "social butterfly." I've raised him from 15-weeks-old, and except for minor stuff, he's been fearless the entire time. I love Truman just as much, but the dynamic of our relationship is completely different. He's my funny, goofy, crazy boy, and he's got a great personality too... but I know he doesn't quite need me like Henry does. With Henry, we can communicate on a much deeper level. It's difficult to explain, but I think that's why I'll always gravitate to shy dogs in the future. I really hope you enjoy the "shy dog" experience as much as I did. Here's the biggest things to remember. Take it slow, don't push her to do too much, too soon. Give her a lot of patience and space. Hand-feed. Don't overdo it with eye contact or confrontational body language. Talk to her A LOT. Be the "giver of all things good." Allow each other to make mistakes. Don't pity her or coddle her. Don't assume that just because she's shy, she's been abused. And even if you realize she may always have certain issues or quirks, accept her for the progress she does make. The dog you have a year from now will be totally different from the one you brought home.

I also agree that at this point, a prescription food is a good place to start. If you're going to go that route, try Hill's I/D. It's an overall GI health food. It might be better than scouring the pet store trying to find low-fat, high-fiber, grain free, no rice, and the fifty million different things his diarrhea could be attributed to. I know several people from my training class that started I/D as a last resort and found it to be the only thing that worked. It's definitely more pricey, but if his issues really are a food problem, you should see a noticeable difference right away. Sorry you're still struggling with this.

A week is too soon to not be muzzling if the cat is accessible. I don't say this to scare you, but you should really muzzle ALL THE TIME-or at least for a few weeks or until you can get the chasing totally corrected. It only takes one second. I had a foster who was good with cats 99% of the time. I thought he was fine. Within days of ditching the muzzle, he killed one of my cats. This was after being in our home with perfect cat manners for almost three months. Once the cat is in their mouth, that's the end. Even if you're right there, there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. They get in the zone where it's like they can't even hear you. Just a terrible situation to be in, spoken from experience. I will never forgive myself for letting it happen to me.

I agree with the suggestion above. Belly bands (unless they're lined with a maxi pad or something) are breeding grounds for bacteria when they get wet. F

I'm going to say this as gently as possible because I think you're a good greyhound owner who just made a mistake. This is NOT an instance of space aggression. It likely has nothing to do with her trying to be 'alpha' or 'top dog' or trying to challenge you in any way. Accidents can happen when you get in a dog's face, which, from your description, is exactly what happened. It sounds like she was trying to give you a signal that she was uncomfortable with what you were doing. Either that, or she was playing with you like she would with another dog (growls and play biting are common forms of communication). If she really intended to bite you, she wouldn't have just grazed you- there would have been major damage. My advice is to just be careful and use common sense when playing. Yes, it's a good idea to discontinue furniture privileges for at least the time being. But in this case, I don't think the problem had anything to do with the furniture as much as she was just uncomfortable with your being in her face. And also, I should mention that it's not uncommon for a dog to allow you to do something 99 times, then snap on the 100th. That's why we as dog owners should set our dogs up for success by not intentionally testing their limits. It sounds like you and Bonnie had a good relationship before this, and that does not have to change. It is a little scary and upsetting, but hopefully you can chalk it up as a lesson learned.

Anytime you switch to a new food, there is the potential that you get a honeymoon period where it gets better before it gets worse. Or vice versa, it could get worse before it gets better. Contrary to what pet food companies will have you believe, only a small percentage of dogs have true 'food allergies.' So hopefully, it is just the rice, but I'd still gauge it for awhile before you go crazy trying to find a grain-free, hypoallergenic, $75 per bag food.

I sort of see what you guys are talking about. But the beauty of the WWW harness is the front-clip! If the dog starts pulling, it forces him to spin around to face you. It also has a regular clip above the shoulders, but the front clip works really well for serious pullers. Also, Giselle, I do agree with you 100%. Harnesses are just tools. The only way to truly eradicate the problem of hyper-arousal and pulling is to routinely practice heeling and calming exercises. OP, you can do this by reward the dog for being in the heel position. When he tries to pull, either stop or change directions. Though, I do think the harness does give more control while you're working on the training. In Truman's case, we started his first few class sessions with the harness on and leash clipped to the front... then the next few were harness still on but clipped at the shoulders... then harness on, but leash clipped on the martingale... then the final classes were no harness, only martingale. That seemed to work pretty well.

Sounds like your guy is a good candidate for a harness. We also have a WWW for Truman, and it made a dramatic difference.

Just wanted to add that squawkers are wonderful for emergencies, but using them all the time makes them less effective. I'd stick to high value treats or toys.

IAMS green bag! Tried five expensive, 'premium' brands before taking the advice of GT and trying IAMS. Roll down the hill poops! I'll never go back.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things! His anxiety seems very mild. There are dogs with severe SA that vocalize for hours, have accidents, become destructive, etc. So I'm not sure you need a next step if the only issue is a little whining and panting. That's something that will probably just go away over time.

This is my favorite thing. Any contact of teeth on hands = a loud yelp by you. It's a Victoria Stilwell technique. Don't be afraid to yelp like a dog in pain. If he thinks he's hurting you, he'll be less likely to do it.

It really does vary, but if he were my dog, I'd give him a little longer. At least a month or two. Going to an unfamiliar place with strange, other breeds present could be extremely stressful for a grey that's brand new. You'll know he's ready for obedience when he seems well-adjusted, is familiar with his routine, and is sufficiently bonded to you. It's better to give him more time than to rush it and create a lasting negative experience. You're ahead of the curve because he's been fostered, but he still needs some time to view you as "his person." For the time being, I'd start by researching certified trainers in your area who use positive reinforcement based training methods, preferably one who has experience with greyhounds. Many greys do wonderfully with obedience training, but they can be a little more challenging to train in some ways (compared to your Norwich and Aussie). One of my boys used to be painfully shy and fear aggressive in some ways. Now he's a therapy dog, and we do visits at a local hospice program. We didn't start formal traning until maybe six months in (although we did work on basic stuff at home right away like housetraining, trading up, leave it, sharing space, etc).

Have you considered trying an anti-anxiety medication like Clomicalm in the interim? At least until he gets more adjusted?

I agree with all the other suggestions. If you're looking for a mix-in to promote weight gain, I like IAMS "green can" a lot. You can get either the chicken and rice or lamb. I cut back a little on the kibble and give half a can at each meal. If you find that she's still hungry, try adding a bedtime snack to help get her through the night. Also, I wanted to mention that Missing Link is the best skin and coat supplement I've ever used. It makes an incredible difference in a very short amount of time.

If you're doing ground meat (turkey, beef, whatever), go ahead and rinse it.

Ahhh!! Terrible news!! I had the pleasure of meeting Freddy and Christine at GIG. Hoping he bounces back soon.