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It all depends on the terminology that your specific group is using. After having the same two greys for 4 and 5 years, and being out of the adoption circuit for awhile, I recently adopted a new boy. I found that a lot of the groups are saying "cat trainable" and "cat workable" now instead of "cat safe." The group I ended up adopting from actually gives the dogs cat grades B, C, D, or F, depending on how they behave during the cat test. As Pam indicated, I think the point of that is that nothing is 100%. If the group tells you "this dog is cat-safe," and you take it home and it eats the cat, it could lead to a liability issue. If however, your group uses both terms "cat safe" and "cat workable," to describe its available dogs, there's going to be a pretty big difference. For "cat workable," you can expect to put some time in. My first greyhound was very easy to integrate with my cats. Barely looked twice at them. I never had to use the muzzle. He was the ultimate "cat safe" greyhound. My new guy is more in the gray area of "cat workable," meaning, he can be distracted from the cats, but he needs to be redirected more often. It's going to take some weeks/months for him to learn what's appropriate behavior. A dog like this is probably better suited for a more experienced owner, because it becomes a really delicate training operation, in which another animal's safety is on the line. Plus, once certain mistakes are made with small animals, they can become hard to reverse. Something as simple as holding the cat in your arms above their sightline, or doing the initial introduction from the other side of a babygate can frustrate the dog and bring out hyper-arousal that didn't exist before. Have an open dialogue with your adoption group about these types of things, and if they're worth their salt, they'll match you with a dog that's compatible with your household and the other critters who live there.

Oh, little Wolfman. We keep fielding questions like, "Is that one a puppy?" and "Is that one a girl?"

I'm following this thread intently. Very interested to see what you find out.

That looks VERY much like him! Even the picture in your siggie, with the ears straight up. He seems to do that one a lot. ETA: A few more "earsies" pics from GAO: Oh, of course! I'm already calling him Woofie.

They do, but I think only on a case-by-case basis. We have a shortage of cat-safe dogs (and foster homes) in the Pittsburgh groups, so it was going to be months before we could find an appropriate dog for our household. Our Truman was really lonely, and we didn't want to have to housetrain in the dead of winter. GAO was great to work with- very accommodating. They had A LOT of dogs to choose from too.

So far, so good! We're introducing them very gradually. He tested cat-tolerant through GAO, and he did well with his first few leashed + muzzled encounters. While he's definitely curious and wants to stare at the cats, he doesn't display any "inappropriate" behaviors (whining, barking, lunging, shaking), at least not yet. He can be distracted easily with a leash correction and a vocal cue. At this point, everything is so new, so I don't correct him for being interested. It seems more of a "what is that thing, and what does it do?" interest, rather than "I want to eat it" interest. This morning, I let him observe Boogie for a few minutes on leash. Then he managed to distract himself by glancing at his reflection in a mirror. Eventually, we had to put him back in the crate because he was so mesmerized by himself.

We have a new addition. I was convinced it was going to be a girl this time, but Truman picked a brother. This is Wolfgang, aka Wolf. We adopted him yesterday through GAO (Greyhound Adoptions of Ohio). He is a veeeery tiny boy (only 59 pounds). He is dwarfed by Truman, who is close to 80. Wolf is a young boy, only 18 months, a racing washout from Daytona. Surprisingly, he's very even tempered, not crazy or jumping off the walls like you might expect. He's curious about everthing and loves looking at himself in the mirror. He's got a dark muzzle and radar ears that almost never go down. He's one of those "never met a stranger" types of dogs. Helicopter tail and very sweet personality. Truman is elated to have a buddy again.

I'm going to come clean here. I made the exact same mistake with my greyhound Truman, except, I got him as a 15 week old puppy. I took him to the dog park almost every day thinking that the exercise and socialization was making him a more well-rounded dog. Fast forward a year or so. I noticed he started having more run-ins with certain dogs, and for whatever reason, those developed into fears and stayed with him. It got to the point where I couldn't take him to the dog park at all, and then he started lunging and barking on walks too. We did all kinds of training with him, but I could not un-ring the bell. He is four-years-old now, and he is quote/unquote "dog aggressive." I have to constantly manage his behavior everywhere we go. I know he's not a bad dog, but it can be really frustrating and embarrassing. There's a lot of different reasons why your dog could be acting this way, but the simplest explanation is to say, dog parks are unstable. It can be like a Hunger Games scenario. They're a group of dogs of different ages, different breeds, different energy levels, different play styles. Greyhounds generally like to engage in "chase and be chased" games, while some of the working breeds like to wrestle and engage in "rough and tumble" play. Maybe your dog is acting out because he finds that type of behavior impolite? Maybe other dogs are giving off bad vibes because they feel threatened about being chased? The "why" doesn't really matter. You have to weigh the reward versus the risk (where the risk is that someone's dog, possibly yours, will get severely hurt or killed). I would strongly, strongly caution you not to continue going to the dog park. A better idea would be to contact someone with your greyhound adoption group and see if they have organized greyhound meetup groups, where all the dogs can run together muzzled. Either that, or find a playmate that you know your dog is comfortable with, and arrange to meet up during off-peak dog park hours or on private property. Leash-walking is great exercise, plus it's a great way to bond with your dog. Especially if your dog's snarky tendencies are related to fear or anxiety, leash-walking provides a bit more structure and puts the leadership back on you. Hope this helps! Best of luck.

Ten months... it's been that long already?! Here's to many, many more good months on three.

Sounds a lot like partial seizures. For a hound with epilepsy, 2-4 is right about the time when their seizures would begin. My last boy started having seizures on his third birthday. Epilepsy can manifest by way of grand mal (full out, on the ground, twitching, losing control of bladder and bowels) or partial (confusion, glazed over eyes, bumping into things, a twitchy back leg). Seizures look super scary, but if you get them under control with meds, most epi-dogs live normal, healthy lives. In younger dogs, epilepsy is often idiopathic, meaning, we have no idea what causes them or why. They're random "misfires" of the neural connections in your dog's brain, which means he has no memory of what he's doing when the seizure is taking place. So when he "snaps out of it," he will likely act like nothing happened. The crappy thing about epilepsy is that it's like making a path in the forest. When you cut down the branches and brush the first time, it's becomes easier to get through the next time, and even easier the next time after that. That is to say, the more often your dog has a seizure, the more often he's likely to keep having seizures in the future. It's best to get them well controlled sooner rather than later. There is no test for epilepsy, nor is there anything that will come up as a red flag on bloodwork or standard tests. The only way it can be diagnosed is by being vigilant about recording when they occur and how long they last. As Ducky said, it's also a good idea to take a video so that your vet can visually see what symptoms he's presenting. Seizure meds can have some unwanted side effects with longterm use, so vets typically wait until your dog is having at least 1-2 seizures per month before they'll start medicating. Some dogs have one or two, then may never have another one again. If you notice that your dog is getting these episodes on a regular basis (it's good to keep a notebook where you can write down the dates, times, and durations), I strongly recommend consulting with a veterinary neurologist on the newest types of seizure meds. There are many different types, and it can often be a delicate balance finding the right med or combination of meds that works best for your dog. Not all general practice vets are well-versed in the pharmacology for all the different types of antiepileptics. If you really wanted to be proactive, you could consult with a neurologist now. Best of luck, and hoping you get to the bottom of it!

This is probably how I'd move forward if she were my dog. They got the FNA, which didn't show anything. No sense in putting her through a biopsy if it could weaken the bone and hurt her more in the longterm. If TBDs and malignant cancers can be ruled out, you may be looking at a benign tumor. Osteochondroma wouldn't be unheard of in this case, considering her age and history. I could see an AKC dog being genetically more likely to develop something like that during bone development. I think osteochondromas are more likely to affect the long bones too (although I'm not 100% on that). ETA: I looked back at some of your original posts... first incident at 6 months old, then more incidents of limping in the first year. Definitely could be osteochondroma. I'm sending some more info along from UPenn's website: Osteochondroma is a cartilage-capped bony projection that may arise in any bone that develops from Cartilages The tumor may be either solitary, a monostotic osteochondroma, or multiple, polyostotic osteochondromas, also referred to as osteochondromatosis or multiple cartilaginous exostosis. Polyostotic osteochondromas are a heritable entity in dogs. Osteochondromas are found in young immature dogs during the period of active bone growth. They respond to the same trophic influence as the growth plate and cease growth at skeletal maturity.(14) No sex predilection has been noted. Great Danes, Saint Bernards, and Hounds may be affected more commonly than other breeds. The osteochondromas arise from the metaphyseal portions of long bones in the dog, particularly the femur and tibia (Fig. 75-7).(1,4,5,11,13) Vertebral involvement of cervical and thoracic vertebrae has also been found..(5,15) Tracheal involvement has been noted.

Kathy, I cannot express how sorry I am for your loss. Breeze has always been one of my Greytalk favorites. I remember first meeting her a few years ago at the play run at Gettysburg. I was thinking, "How unusual that one's color is..." and then I heard your husband saying, "Breeze! Come here, Breeze!" I was awestruck. I went up and said, "Wait, I think I know your dog from Greytalk, can I meet her?" She must've been 10 or 11 at the time, and I specifically remember telling Jim how great she looked- that I would never have guessed she was that age. She really did love life, and it was obvious she had a very full one with you.

Jan makes a really great point here. If the only choice he gets is a "neutral day" or a "tense day," it begs the question, when does he get a "happy day?" Don't keep the dog just because you feel guilty, or because you're afraid of what the alternative will be. As you can see, there are lots of very devoted greyhound people who would be happy to give a boy like this a home.

Thanks, guys. It's been a month, and I still can't believe Henry is gone. I miss him more than I could ever say.

I agree with the others. Nothing about this situation sounds overly concerning or "unworkable." I'm actually a little confused, because it doesn't sound like he's done anything inappropriate in regard to the baby? The issue, from what you've described, is that your wife doesn't want a dog. If she is so on edge that she's annoyed with the way the dog lies down, I can't imagine that he's getting the positive interaction he needs all day long while you're at work. Don't feel like you have to keep this dog on principle alone. If it's not working, the kindest thing you might be able to do is to rehome him.

Beautiful tribute. I loved the photos of you and Ben together. He was so loved.

Oh, Jan... I am devastated read this. Sending you hugs across the miles. I feel so privileged to have met Ben. What a beautiful soul, I'm glad you got to have those treasured memories in his final months and days. He had a wonderful thirteen (and a half) years... gotta count that half. Hoping Henry met him at the bridge.

Looks like it's healing up pretty nicely to me. It does look bruised, but that's kind of relative. Sometimes it looks worse before it gets better. Unless you're dealing with fluid seeping out, areas that are hot to the touch, noticeable swelling that gets bigger in a short amount of time, funky smells, pus. etc. I wouldn't worry.

I'm right there with you. I'm still waiting for it to get better.

Can you post a photo?

Hmmm... here's my two cents, I've had two greyhounds. One is a 4-year-old, healthy AKC boy. My other boy was a retired racer, and DID have a fibrosarcoma tumor, which is a type of bone cancer. So I've had some experience from both sides. When something mysterious comes up on x-ray and it's a greyhound, nine times out of ten, your vet is going to default to a cancer diagnosis. But given that your girl comes from an AKC line and she's only 3-years-old, I'd be inclined to believe yours is that one out of ten that isn't. Unfortunately, the only way you'll be able to know for sure is to test that mass. I would definitely encourage you to follow Dr. Couto's recommendation. In the meantime, I'd take her to be seen at a specialty vet or a clinic that is equipped with an oncology division. Ask for a FNA (fine needle aspirate). That type of test will extract cells from this mass, and tell you for starters, if it's cancer, and two, if it's malignant. An actual biopsy of the bone is painful and requires heavy sedation. FNAs aren't bad. If your dog will tolerate it, they can be done with light sedative and local anasthetic. Then hopefully, you'll have some answers on what you need to do moving forward. Anything can happen, but it's exceedingly unlikely that a three-year-old AKC greyhound would have OSA. I'd try not to worry too much. Yet.

AKC pups are far less likely to have OS (I have one myself). Given her young age as well, I'm inclined to think something else is going on. I'd definitely have the joint tapped and a full tick panel done to rule out Valley Fever.

Just wanted to pop in and say I'm so sorry for what you're going through. When my Henry was diagnosed with cancer and required special food, we started feeding our dogs in two separate rooms- I just babygated one in our bedroom and left my other downstairs. That way, they didn't really know what each other was eating, so we didn't have to worry about jealousy issues. They were on a feeding schedule, so they got 15 minutes to eat twice a day. Sometimes I'd sneak Henry treats when Truman was outside in the yard. This went on for almost 2 years! Just kind of became part of our routine.

So incredibly sorry for your loss. I'm right there with you.

IMHO, when the conversation comes to the point where we're talking about correction collars, it's probably time to admit that this isn't the right dog (maybe not even the right breed) for you. What you have is essentially an adolescent, who needs a TON of training, socialization, and exercise before she'll start acting half-way normal. What you need is an older, independent dog who is cat-bombproof and can be crated 8+ hours a day. Or a puppy. Don't count it as a failure, but it's probaby time to reevaluate. Your wife sounds like she's a nervous wreck!