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Very sorry you're going through this. No judgments at all for opting out of the chemo. Only you know what's best for your buddy.

Yes, too soon to tell if it's the food. Give it a few weeks, lay off the treats. If the poop improves, introduce treats back in one by one. The dewormer shouldn't have an effect either way unless she has a current worm infestation.

I freaked out after Henry's last round of bloodwork because, like Doolin, there was a lot of red. The vet reassured me that's fine. Unless the value is really out of the normal range, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I'm thinking the 5.2 goes with WBC, since it continues on the next page? Slightly low, but still normal.

Thinking about your boy today. How's he doing?

I do agree with this. You can make it work 99% of the time. Some will be bonded, some will just 'co-exist.' But very seldom have I seen ones that hate each other. It's a rare occasion that someone returns a greyhound because it didn't get along with the resident greyhound. I'm excited to find out who OP ends up with.

Maybe the reason why he's taken to going down instead of up is because he doesn't like all the touching and handling that's going on. Is there a way to give him time to try different things on his own without all the pressure? I tried a million different things to get my guys to learn the dog door. The easiest solution was giving them an opportunity to figure it out on their own.

We have two boys, and their dynamic is amazing. They do everything together- they're the best friends, brothers, playmates. They get upset when the other has to leave for obedience class or a vet appointment. One is very quiet and subdued and the other is a ball of energy, so their personalities are really a good juxtaposition to one another. I was reluctant at first to add another boy (as many people do recommend the male/female combo). But I don't think there's anything wrong with having two boys if their personalities are a good fit. I agree with what the others have mentioned. Focus less on gender and more on a good personality match.

If it was just the night restlessness by itself, I'd say maybe she needs more exercise or mental stimulation. But that, combined with the other nervous behaviors that are newly popping up make me think that she's having some anxiety with the adjustment. After three months, you'd expect those things to decrease. If you don't want to try meds, you might have luck with a DAP diffuser.

After starting seizure meds, my Henry started having a difficult time sleeping through the night. He also has a very bald butt and belly, so we tried Melatonin hoping it would help on both fronts. At a 3mg daily dose, the Melatonin had no discernable effect on his energy level. As for the hair, not only did it not work, he mysteriously came up with a bacterial skin infection (which may or may not have had anything to do with it, but it just seemed coincidental). So I'm not a huge fan of Melatonin for either issue, as our results were spotty at best. Although I do think it's normal for some greys to have a rocky adjustment period, it sounds like your girl has some issues that might need additional help. I would have a conversation with the adoption group and vet about possibly trying an anti-anxiety medication like Prozac or Clomicalm (at least temporarily). Psychotropic drugs are a hot button issue when it comes to dogs. But just like people, there are dogs that benefit tremendously from them. If her behaviors seem to be getting worse not better, it's definitely something to consider. Make sure she's getting lots of exercise throughout the day. And as always, give her lots of positive reinforcement, praise, and reassurance for every small improvement. Good luck!

This actually hits home because my sister's fiancé uses alpha/dominance to deal with their unruly boxer. It makes me very uncomfortable. Last weekend, she asked me if our dogs barked a lot. I said no, we never did any special training, they just don't bark much in general. Then she went on to say that their dog will get wound up before bed and start barking in their faces, so fiancé 'has to hold her down for a few seconds to get her to stop.' Evidently, that's 'what Cesar says.' Now, I try not to interfere with how people train their dogs, since it's easy to get offended (i.e. nobody wants to be told how to raise their kids). But I just lost it. Cesar Millan started this whole notion that dogs who have been domesticated for thousands of years somehow exhibit the same behavior as wild wolves in a pack. His methods and theories are completely made up, and he has no formal training in any type of animal behavior or veterinary science. Their dog receives so many mixed messages (alpha roll, rolled up magazine, proceeded by a treat). So I told her that 'Cesar's Way' is garbage and suggested that 80% of the dog's problems could be solved it she was actually exercised on a regular basis. The other 20% could be solved if she had some semblance of legitimate, consistent training,

I tend to agree. If I can see the road, Henry is leashed. The risk just seems way too great.

This reminds me of WhiteWave's Riddick. I believe she said he died suddenly of a heart defect. The vet said dogs with that condition can be fine, happy, playing one minute, then drop dead the next. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Poor thing. I've heard of two different combo meds being used, but never three. Thanks for clarifying. Do they have any idea what's causing the seizures for the doggie you mentioned? MRI?

This is the last thing I'm going to say about it, as not to derail this topic any further. You're right. I don't think there is any dog that is "untrainable." When I see undesirable behaviors in my dogs, I don't just write it off and say, "Well, that's just the way he is." I train it out. My goal is to have dogs that are well-adjusted, responsible, members of society. I have very high expectations of my dogs, and that's okay. This actually makes me mad. Whatever you do with your own dogs is your choice. But don't discount the work of someone who has put in years of time and practice to be accredited by nationally accepted training organizations. These methods are time-tested and have been used on MANY dogs with great success.

I'm not going to get into the debate of "who knows more about dog training." I have a therapy dog who is often touched and handled while lying down (by children and adults). It's not a big deal. The bottom line is that if an owner wants to put in the time and training to be able to touch or approach their dog while lying down, it's their choice. I don't understand what's so wrong about that.

Realize that some people want to be able to approach/touch their dog when its lying down. Especially if young children involved, it becomes a safety issue. To the OP, I understand that you are very upset over this whole thing. But if/when you ever decide to adopt again, here is my favorite article on this type of training. It's very easy to do. We started by throwing some balled up socks in Henry's direction when he was sleeping. If he didn't freak out, he got a treat. Gradually, we worked up to training while he was awake, increasing proximity and giving lots of praise and treats everytime. Now, I can do whatever I want to him when he's lying down. We play a game called "pig on a spit" (which he loves), where I flip him on his back by the feet and rub his belly. This training has also helped me on more than one occasion where Henry's had a seizure or wipe-out and I needed to physically lie him down.

I'm very sorry you had to go through this experience. Very traumatic and sad anyway you look at it. I'm going to go out on a limb by saying this, but I don't think a lot of adoption groups do a very good job at educating new adopters about behavior problems. They just say, "Here, read Greyhounds for Dummies" and you should be fine. It's easy for experienced grey owners to look at this situation and deduce that the dog snapped on at least three occasions before the bite. There was clearly some underlying problem with space/sleep aggression which required training before the behavior escalated out of control. But from the owner's point of view, I can see why she didn't think it was a big deal. As a first-timer, you see the well-adjusted, bombproof greys standing around at meet and greets, and you don't realize they're capable of having these kinds of issues. I'm not saying that greyhounds as a breed are less desirable. Every breed of dogs come with their own behavior challenges. But I find that there's very little done to educate adopters about some of the more commonalities among greyhounds like space aggression, sleep aggression, resource guarding, separation anxiety, statuing, etc. Although most groups are supportive after the fact, it doesn't really help in situations like this where the damage has already been done. The saddest part about this, is that I don't believe Faye is an "aggressive dog." If OP had been informed about space aggression before the adoption, she could've desensitization training after the very first snapping incident. Then, the entire situation could have likely been avoided. Just my $0.02. Also, I just want to point out that the issue isn't simply the OP inability to, "let sleeping dogs lie." No one wants a dog you have to walk on eggshells around, and being approached on the bed is not an unreasonable thing to expect from your dog. For many dogs, it just requires training and consistency.

The seizures likely have nothing to do with the flea/tick preventative. So I'd probably continue doing whatever you've been doing. It'd be ten times worse to have him contract fleas or a tick-borne disease on top of the seizures.

Yep, I do. The vet advised that unless he's ever had a seizure within 24 hours of administration, Frontline is fine to use.

Yep, never underestimate the power of a good water additive! We use Dental Fresh.

Henry's behavior is always very "off" for a ling time after he has a seizure. The vet explained to me once that after a seizure, it feels like you just ran a marathon. It's apparently very exhausting. So when he's acting mopey or excessively tired (or if there's pee or vomit on the floor) I know he's probably had one that day. Also, like you, I really wanted to be able to narrow the seizures down to some concrete reason- weather, food, Heartgard, cleaning products, etc. It drove me crazy, and eventually I stopped searching for those kinds of answers. The neurologist compared seizures to walking into a forest. The first time, you have to slice down a bunch of brush and weeds, but each time after that it gets easier and easier. Same with the brain. Seizures tend to gradually increase in frequency as it becomes easier for the brain's neurons to revisit particular pathways. Sometimes seizures can be attributed to concrete causes (environmental factors, brain tumors, thyroid problems, other illnesses). But the majority are idiopathic, and there's really no explanation.

I doubt it. But to be perfectly honest, you're probably not going to find one "miracle product." I've looked high and low and spent a great deal of money trying. We do a combination of knee bones, CET chews, and a water additive. My almost 6 year old has never had a dental, and he gets lots of compliments on his teeth.

My heart sank a little when I read his name here... Very, very sorry for your loss.

Agree... and the epi-list really is a great resource.

I've used it with mediocre results, but I've heard rave reviews from other people on GT. So it probably depends on the dog and the combination of other products you're using. I tried both the gel and spray- the spray was much easier to use and less of a hassle.