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We use the large breed... here's a photo of what our bag looks like. On the right it says 1-5. Henry's going to be 6 in December... I could care less though. I could get him a senior supplement if it comes down to that.

I was wondering if that made a difference. Thanks!

I know! Thanks to everybody for your advice and input. Very reassuring that I'm not a terrible greyhound-owner.

That's why I prefaced it with "no judgments"! To be honest, I don't even think Henry realized he was off leash. He never strayed within six feet of us, except when I let them splash around in the lake. Also, our lake is in a remote location surrounded by acres and acres of woods, so this is probably one of the only places that I consider "safe." There are calculated risks in just about everything you do... I take them to the dog park. Truman will be lure coursing in a few months (also not fenced). I get that they're greyhounds, but they're also still dogs. I'm willing to take certain risks to give them a higher quality of life. Chad, this is exactly how they learned. Truman was never race trained, so we had an easier time with a whistle vs. squawker.

Last night, I took Henry and Truman to the lake. They walk at different paces, and as usual, they kept crossing their leashes. After fixing their leashes about a half dozen times, (gasp!) I made the decison to let Henry off his leash. This is the first time I've ever ventured to try this with him. Here's the bottom line. Henry has been with me for over three years. His recall is excellent. His prey drive is minimal. We have worked extensively on obedience training, and he's both CGC/TDI certified. I wanted to see if I could trust him, and to no surprise, he did marvelously. He stayed by my side the entire time. Anytime he got too far behind for my liking, I just said his name, and he trotted back to the heel position. A few people passed by us (runners, other dogs and their owners), and Henry showed zero interest. At the end of the hike, I put Truman on a long-line (Henry still off-leash), and let them both splash around in the lake. They had such a great time. I know many of you hike off-leash with your hounds (Krissy, WhiteWave... I hope you guys can chime in here). I just want to know... how did you know they were ready? And how long before you stopped feeling like a nervous wreck? By the way, I'm just talking about Henry, not Truman because I know for certain he can't be trusted yet. But if I continue to allow Henry to hike off-leash, are there any precautions I should take? I carry their recall whistle for emergencies anyway. But is there any type of other training I should consider? Am I overthinking this?

Very pretty girl. And I love the name! "Peg" by Steely Dan is one of my all time favorite songs!

Yep, another vote for the heat. In our house, the upstairs is a few degrees hotter. Lately, one or both of my guys has been going downstairs to sleep.

Lots of good advice in these topics. My favorite trick is to use HIGH value treats and get a running start. http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/297572-getting-into-the-car/ http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/251217-getting-hound-to-jump-in-the-car/ http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/196612-refusing-to-jump-in-car/

Henry started off the same way- terrifed of children. I can totally understand why. They have zero volume control and they jump and run around like lunatics! Honestly, the best type of training for us was bringing (well behaved) children into a controlled environment and allowing them to be the "giver of all things good." We were fortunate enough to have a greyhound-specific training class where we could do this in a neutral environment with other greys present. First, we just started with the kids slowly walking around the room and handing the dogs high-value treats in a nonchalaunt way (no eye contract, no threatening body movements). Then, once they were comfortable with that, we had the kids pet the dogs while giving treats. Eventually, we worked up to having the kids skip around the room, pass soccer balls, yell, fall down, etc. Every one of the dogs was fine by the end of the class, and they all passed their CGC and Therapy Dog tests with flying colors. Henry still does not prefer kids, but he'll "tolerate" them like a perfect gentleman. For us, that's fine, because we don't have kids and he doesn't have to see them very often. If you're consistent enough with the desensitization and counter-conditioning, I'm sure Lila will get there too. Good luck!

This might be the root of the "poop output" problem. You'll probably see a difference once you scale the food back.

That's an EXCELLENT IDEA!! I'm definitely going to do this. Thanks!

Not to my knowledge... I know you absolutely have to keep it refrigerated though. ETA: Their website says "for maximum effectiveness, it should be used in 90 days." So I sent customer service an email to ask what that means. I don't know if past 90 days there's a possibility it could spoil and be harmful, or if it just won't be as effective? I'm waiting for a response. Thanks for the heads up.

Do you free feed... or is he given a certain time limit? One of my guys started putzing around with food. Taking his bowl up after 20 minutes solved the problem.

Wow, interesting! There is another formula. I just looked it up, and I've never seen that one at any of our stores.

Hmmm... I hadn't been doing anything else previously. The last we did fish oil was maybe three months ago.

I've been doing Missing Link with EXCELLENT results. I actually just made a post on Health and Medical about it.

Which kind do you usually buy? I didn't know they made any other green bag than mini chunks and large breed.

I've tried a bunch of different things. First was Nutri-Vet multi-vitamin chews, then generic fish oil capsules from the drug store, then Plato Pets brand wild salmon oil. The salmon oil made decent difference but seemed to give Truman diarrhea. So right now, the only thing we're doing is the kibble and Missing Link. I got a five-pound bag of the "Ultimate Skin and Coat" formula through Amazon. It will probably last me a year.

Henry had a recent bacterial infection that caused some issues with his coat- mainly dry skin and several little patches of hair loss. At the recommendation of the vet, I decided to try Missing Link. Whoa!! It's only been a week, but what a difference! His fur is noticeably softer and thicker, with no dry patches. I've never had results like these with fish oil or any other supplement. There's no telling whether or not it will help re-grow hair on his belly or butt, but I'm pleased so far. Two thumbs up.

We do Greek here. No particular reason though.

This is embarrassing, but I once tried to wind the window up in my car while Truman had his head hanging out. Even though there was no outward bruising, he was doing the same thing as your guy- coughing and such. I just softened his kibble with warm water, but otherwise, he was back to normal in a few days.

One thing you can try is a spritzing her with a water bottle filled with cold water and ice cubes. That might help her to cool down a little quicker.

I thought we were normal until I started reading the other responses. Our central AC is currently set to 70, and we're also running a window unit in the bedroom. You guys would probably have icicles hanging off your noses.

I guess I'm a minority here... but I'm used to that. I do use a coupler for walking, and I love it. It was an invaluable tool for teaching my puppy to walk nicely on leash (i.e. he was more reluctant to pull big, mean older brother than me). But for us, walks are exclusively for walking. No bathroom breaks. My guys have a fenced in yard, so I turn them out to potty prior to the walk. That way, I don't have to deal with a million stop and sniffs, and it's easier for me to manage them. So bottom line, if you're leash walking your dogs to go to the bathroom, the coupler isn't ideal. But for regular walking, it's great. Nope. Anytime there is the slightest hint of a tangle, they stop dead in their tracks and wait for mom to fix it.

Okay, I understand now. I was trying to figure out where you learned that two was the magic number! FWIW, my guys go at least three or four times a day a piece. They're big dogs- both around 80 pounds. So I don't think there's anything wrong with Brady or his food (especially if he pops more than one squat on a single walk). It probably has less to do with the food and more with your individual dog. I would 100% advise against switching food in an attempt to get less poops. It can result in disastrous consequences, as you can see from the copious amount of poop posts on this board. I'd worry less about the number and more about the consistency. If the poops are solid, it's probably best to leave well enough alone. We switched five times before finding Iams, and every time prior to that was a diarrhea-laden disasten. Iams is a fine company, by the way. They've been around forever, and their kibble is not loaded with fillers. Ask your vet. All the hoopla regarding "grain free," "limited ingredient," "organic," "wholistic," etc. is mostly a fad and marketing scheme to get you to fork out $70 a bag. (And it probably won't get you any less poops anyway.) Also, keep in mind that Waterdog's Audrey is a female and weighs significantly less than Brady, so comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges.