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Oh dear, this is not good. The crate should be a place to retreat where your grey is comfortable and happy. It will not work if it feels like a punishment. Unfortunately, now that he's gained a little freedom and went crazy un-crated, crate training is going to be a process. Make it a positive place where he gets treats, kongs, and bones. Another big mistake is to only crate the dog when you leave- he will start to believe going in the crate = my people are leaving = OMG! I don't like this!! Put him in the crate occasionally when you're home (always reward with treats). Start with five minutes, then fifteen. Work up gradually. When you get home, leave him in the crate for a few minutes until he settles down. Don't make a big deal about comings and goings. It could take a week or so until he gets more comfortable. Good luck!

Are you doing most of the daily duties, training, and interactions with Dillard? It's possible that he is not quite comfortable yet with your husband. Also, men tend to be a little more confrontational and rough with dogs, which doesn't always work with greys. Make sure your husband isn't grabbing or leaning over him. Make sure he's not raising his hands and reaching for the dog head-on. Given the fact that Dillard has snapped and actually made contact, my guess is that he's VERY fearful at this point. This doesn't make him "unpredictable." I would say it makes him more predictable, since he's clearly telling your husband what makes him uncomfortable. I would recommend that your husband spend more time participating in the duties and training (if he isn't already). If possible, allow your husband to feed Dillard his meals and take him on walks. If Dillard is laying on the floor being calm, have your husband sit in the general proximity, offering treats for calm behavior. Desensitize Dillard to being touched by your husband by giving treats for accepting petting on different parts of his body. Forget about the coat right now. Just take it very slow and allow Dillard time to bond with your husband.

I agree with this regarding the furniture situation. However, a dog who has an aversion to having their feet touched isn't necessarily testing boundaries. He could genuinely be fearful and not accustomed to anyone else touching his feet. IMHO, the best was to handle this is desensitization training. If you just start grabbing feet and the dog is upset, you're asking to get bit.

Since he's already sitting on his own, the easiest way is to start with him in a down (sphinx) position, then slowly lure him up into a sit. Take the treat in front of his nose and lure him up. When his butt touches the floor, give him the treat. The trick is to do it slow and move the treat back. If you just bring it straight up, he'll most likely go into a stand. After he gets used to the motion, you can start asking him to sit from a stand. The more you practice it with him, the more fluid and fast the sit will be. But be prepared that while many greys readily sit for treats, it's difficult to get them to hold the sit for more than a couple seconds. It just doesn't seem to be the most comfortable position for them.

Oh, neat. Henry came from Tri-State too. Low stakes track, not too many great racers. Lots of young drop-outs.

Don't assume he was abused. He's demonstrating a very normal behavior for the situations you described. Some dogs just do not like having their feet handled. Very common. Especially if your husband was leaning over him and grabbing for his feet, it's likely he felt threatened and had a freak-out. This can be remedied by desensitization training- gradually work up to touching his feet so much that he learns it's no big deal. Start with a handful of treats. When he's lying down, touch a toe, then give him a treat. Let him see everything you're doing. Do this a couple times a day and work up to handling his feet while standing up, then wiping with a towel. Take it slow, and soon he'll start to associate good things with having his feet touched. As for the couch incident, his growling sounds like resource guarding. He is starting to think that the couch is "his space" and he doesn't want anybody else in it. For a grey that is guarding furniture, it's necessary that restrict his privileges to that area first. If you're the type of person who likes having your dog on the bed/couch with you, then you will need to work on training him to understand that the space is yours. My dogs are allowed on the furniture, but it's by invitation only. They know the commands "off" and "on your bed" and will quickly comply when I ask them to leave. If during the training, your guy exhibits any snarky behavior, immediately remove him from the furniture. You are lucky that he is giving you a warning by growling. I wouldn't characterize this behavior as aggression, but would definitely suggest you work on some training. Otherwise, he's going to learn that he gets what he wants when he growls, and will start growling as a default response. Good luck.

If Mason is hiding behind you and is clearly not enjoying that type of play, it's time for you to get involved. Henry would try to bully Truman (back when he was a puppy and smaller than him), and I had to give Henry time-outs. Anytime she starts with these behaviors, I would take her by the collar and separate for 1-2 minutes. Let her go, and if she starts again, then she gets another time out. Put her on a leash if you have to. If you do this half a dozen times or so, and she's still demonstrating the same behaviors, then it's time to separate them until she calms down.

Glad she's home... how is she doing on the hydromorphone? I've heard of dogs having horrible reactions to it, so when I see the word "hydromorphone," I always flinch! I agree with the others that a few more tests are probably in order. It just doesn't seem right that she would collapse like that but have absolutely nothing wrong.

Oh dear, these are the exact reasons why I would not recommend the OP leave her dog roam free unsupervised at this point. I find it's just easier to work on a crating/confining method in the beginning. It's definitely an adjustment, but it's easier to pick one method and stick with it, than to keep trying a bunch of different things and confusing the dog (and yourself!) in the process. I made similar mistakes with both my dogs because I started thinking too much with my emotions. "Oh no! He doesn't like this! Let me try something else!" Looking back, I wish I would've practiced crate training more and stuck with it. Then, I probably wouldn't have needed to spend $1900 pulling up all my carpet and installing new floors. I'm not yet convinced that this particular dog has SA, which usually develops after a period of time. I definitely think he's stressed with his new routine, considering his entire world has changed within the past week and a half. My advice for the OP at this point is to contact your adoption coordinator and see if they can help you in person. FWIW, I would not move forward with the baby-gates. If he's trying to knock them down and jump over them, he could seriously hurt himself.

A lot of things changed in the past ten years... and all the dogs in it were adopted by Iams employees. I'd hate to think people would judge me over the stupid crap I did ten years ago

I doubt it, but there are crusaders who believe that every commercial pet company is evil and feeds ground up tires and flea-collars. They'll take molehill and turn it into a mountain. IAMS has their own website to try to de-bunk all the bad publicity (www.iamstruth.com)

How long have you had your guy? When we brought Truman home, he was NOT used to wearing a collar. He was greatly bothered, and it took him a long time to get used to it. Even after a few months, I took him to a training class and people kept asking why he kept bringing his leg up to scratch at his neck. It did look quite silly for awhile, but he eventually stopped once he realized that the collar wasn't coming off.

I definitely wouldn't block access to her space if she feels comfortable and wants to retreat there. If she comes out to visit you, praise and treat. Otherwise, leave her be. It sounds like she still needs some time. Unfortunately, there aren't very many benchmarks where you can say, "By X number of weeks, she should be doing A, B, and C." Every dog is unique. It sounds like she has already made some progress though. Keep up the good work!

Sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be doing. Crying and whining for the first few nights is normal. I would look to alternatives if she's really freaking out, biting the bars of the crate, immediately having accidents after entering the crate, etc. Whatever you do, try to resist the urge to give in and let her out of the crate when she cries. And maybe think about investing in a good pair of ear plugs.

Dogs usually don't growl and snap for no reason. I would observe the behavior closely, and try to get an idea of what is precipitating this. As Jennifer suggested, observe. Take notes if you have to. How close together are they? Lying down or standing up? Body language (position of lips, teeth, tail)? Try to determine if she's guarding something- space, bed, toys, bones. In the meantime, it's probably a good idea to muzzle both. Even though she hasn't made contact yet, it's possible that you'll have a fight on your hands if the behavior escalates. How old is Mimi? Is it possible that she has arthritis or some type of medical issue that is causing her to be grouchy?

Agree with all of this. Someone else mentioned using a diaper. A lot of people look to belly bands and doggie diapers as quick fixes. While they do have appropriate uses (marking, incontinence), they aren't a substitute for good training. More harm than good IMHO.

Agree 100%.

I'd like to put Henry on Denamarin because his new seizure meds metabolize in the liver. I went on Amazon today and found out that it's expensive! Like $75 for a one-month supply. Is there a cheaper alternative?

Wheeling uses a high-protein pro kibble, I want to say it's 4Health.

Hmm... dogs with food allergies usually lick the base of their tail, paws, and bum. If he's currently doing well on the food and not having other issues (gas, diarrhea, swelling, ear issues) then I probably wouldn't assume food allergy. Flea allergies are usually accompanied by hair loss. If your sure there is no injury, it's possible that it's an anxiety-related behavior. You can try putting Bitter Apple on the area to see if that deters him. You may also want to try Iams green bag for the diarrhea. We used it as a last resort for Henry and saw an immediate improvement.

Henry has split his webbing several times. It didn't bleed or require sutures. Just kept the area clean and wrapped for a few days. We also love Vetericyn wound spray. It's amazing!

I would try to get the thyroid issue worked out before starting on an anti-seizure med like Pb. You may find that once the thyroid is under control, the seizures stop. I also really recommend a consult with a neurologist to talk more about meds if/when you get there. Pb is usually the first-line treatment for epilepsy, but it's not always appropriate for every dog. Some anti-convulsant meds have acute side effects that can be worse than the seizures themselves. Unless your guy is regularly having 3-4 weeks apart or having clusters, medication may not even be necessary.

I'd probably try Purina Pro Plan. There's a pink bag that uses a fish-based protein.

Don't believe everything you hear. Most dog food companies have experienced recalls. It's a quality control issue, not a reflection of the food in general. Many grey owners, including myself, love Iams and swear by it.

Everyone's different, but we had bad results with TOTW High Prairie. Gas, dull coats, and Henry developed some type of allergic reaction that caused him to constantly lick his paws and bum. In our case, the hounds ate the same amount of TOTW as they do Iams. So I wouldn't count on the same sized bag lasting much longer.