a_daerr

Greyhounds like a routine. I always joke that my dogs are autistic, because changes in their schedule really throw them off. Your household sounds doable. I would just make sure that you make your hound's schedule as consistent as possible, especially regarding food, water, and elimination. Doing that will make the transition less stressful and also help immensely in the housebreaking department. Also, because your schedule is more regular, understand that you'll probably end up doing the lion's share of the work.

A week is a long time for diarrhea. Start her on a bland diet ASAP and try to replenish fluids as much as possible. Then your next step is to have a fecal done to rule out parasites. If everything is normal there, I might look at a possible food intolerance. One of my friend's greys did fine on a food from the time she adopted him until two months later. Then, he started having chronic diarrhea and losing weight.

I looked in and around his mouth and couldn't find any remaining evidence. But I know his track record, and I'm sure he was the culprit. I called the e-vet and they said it was fine. The only thing that might be worrisome with candles are the wicks.

Came home to find that all the wax in our tart burner was empty. My best guess is that Truman got on the counter top and licked up the wax. He doesn't appear to be sick (yet). I tried to read all the labels and looked around on the Yankee site, but I didn't really find any information. I imagine they don't bank on customers ingesting their candles. Should I go to the e-vet or wait it out? It wasn't a whole lot of wax, just the small disks that you get for tart burners.

Good advice. Here's my $0.02. Try to make playing with toys into a controlled activity, like fetch. Truman plays fetch with his stuffies. I won't throw the toy again until he drops it and sits. When he first got interested in fetching toys, he wanted to play tug of war and snatch the toy out of my hand. This led to rougher play where my hands would get the brunt of his energy. Then we started working on "drop it," and the game is now much more controlled. "Drop it" and "leave it" are also both really useful commands in general. If a situation comes up when the dog picks up something that is potentially harmful or dangerous, a solid "drop it" is nice to have. The second part to your post sort of confused me though. Is your dog is mouthy with hands (not just while playing with toys)? Is that why you're concerned he may bite another person or child? If so, it's possible that he has an immature bite inhibition. Some dogs, especially younger dogs and puppies will put their mouths on everything, not realizing that it's causing others pain. If you want your dog to understand that it is never acceptable to put his teeth on a human, try the Victoria Stillwell tactic. If he goes to put his teeth on you, let out a loud yelp like a puppy. This is a way dogs communicate to one another that the play is too rough, and they don't like it. If he thinks he's hurting you, he'll be less likely to keep doing it. If the only time he's mouthy is with toys, then it's his job to work on the training. It's also YOUR job to make sure guests in your home don't taunt him with toys. If he's known to get crazy, then the easiest solution is to just put the toys away.

My only advice is to wait until spring if possible. Obviously, people have adopted dogs in the winter, and it wasn't the end of the world. But if I had to do it all over again with my second grey, I would've waited until spring. He was adopted in December last year. I found it much harder to housetrain when there was snow on the ground and below-freezing temperatures. Also, it was harder for us to socialize and take him places when we had to constantly worry about the weather.

HGE sounds about right... it's just a temporary thing. Just a sudden onset of bad diarrhea with no real rhyme or reason. Colitis is more of a chronic condition. If he's done well on turkey necks before, it seems unlikely that it would suddenly start causing diarrhea. Is it possible that he got into something else on accident? Also, is he on Heartgard? I would continue with medication and the bland diet and slowly introducing kibble back only when the stools have firmed up. Hopefully it's just a fluke thing.

We do Nutro canned food as a mix-in. Noticed some diarrhea right when they changed the recipe, but I still kept buying it. We've been fine for at least 3-4 months.

No advice. Spoil your girl rotten.

One scary encounter, even if it doesn't seem like much to you or me, can be very traumatic for a dog. She doesn't yet understand the intentions of other dogs, especially if she's experienced ones that were barking and lunging. One of my boys had an incident at the dog park where I grabbed his collar to give him a time-out, and another dog who noticed his vulnerability came right up and lunged at us. Beforehand, his leash manners were great. Since then, he's been much more reactive on leash and does not want other dogs sniffing him a certain way. He's getting better because we're doing more positive interactions during training. But if it's a deep-rooted fear, a lot of time and re-training can be needed to reverse the behavior. I agree with the others that it's important to teach your dog "look" or "watch me" when passing other dogs. As you're walking past, pop some treats in her mouth. It's not only useful for fearful greys, but also for ones who are extremely friendly and want to greet every dog they see. When you're out in public, you never know how another dog is going to react. Most people will try to introduce the dogs nose to nose, which is considered confrontational in the "dog world" anyway. If you get your dog used to looking at you for direction, you can make introductions as controlled as possible.

A couple things: 1. Is it a grain-free food? Many of the grain free foods are also low in carbs, which may explain why he's hungry. 2. Has he been wormed recently? And are poops normal? 3. Are you able to feed three smaller meals per day? If the food isn't grain free and you've adjusted the feeding schedule and ruled out any medical issue, the one other trick is frozen green beans.

I wouldn't let the speed of the adoption be a huge influence on which group you go with. There are 5 adoption groups in my area that I'm familiar with, and the ones who move dogs the fastest also get the most returns. As a first timer, I think it's going to be important that you allow the group time to help come up with the appropriate matches for your home and lifestyle. Three months isn't going to seem like a huge amount of time in the grand scheme of things.

Yep, we have a few indoor parks in Pittsburgh. Some have K9 Grass, which is like turf, but has a plumbing system underneath that absorbs the pee and allows you to just hose the poop off. We don't use them too much because the closest one is still 45 minutes away. But I think you're right. This would be a wonderful and very profitable idea for areas that experience the winter season.

Because these dogs will be your FIRST greyhounds and you're getting TWO at the same time, I would recommend dogs that have been fostered. Their foster families will work on basic stuff with them, like housetraining and using stairs. Dogs who are fostered are generally a little more adjusted than ones who are fresh off the track or come from a kennel setting. IMHO, it just seems like it would fit your particular situation better. As others said, greys are extremely adaptable. Fostering doesn't prevent them from establishing new bonds in their forever family. Never heard of one "missing" their foster family so much that they couldn't adapt in their new one. P.S. Not to say there's anything wrong with dogs who haven't been fostered! My retired racer, Henry, came from a group who kept all their pre-adopts in a kennel. But as a first timer, I will admit that it was hard starting from square one. We had to lift him into the car for awhile, guide him up stairs, crate train him, etc. I'd read every book I could find, but I was still inexperienced. I can't imagine me back then doing all those things with two. P.S. It sounds like the other group is saying this because they're in competition with the other group. I don't see any validity in this statement.

My advice is to skip all the quote unquote "training treats" from the pet store. They're usually overpriced, too big/crunchy, or not high value enough. Plus, there's usually not enough in terms of quantity. I see people in class go through an entire bag of BilJac in one class. Every trainer I've had over the years recommends stuff like this: 1. Hot dogs- I just get the cheapo $0.99 packages at the grocery store. I cut two perpendicular slices through, then chop them so they end up in small quarters. Then, I put them on a paper towel and microwave for a minute, towel off the moisture, and voila! Probably the easiest and cheapest treat you can find. 2. Cheese- You can buy regular blocks of cheese and cut them yourself. I LOVE these the Kraft Colby and Cheddar crumbles. No work! 3. Chicken- Boil a thawed boneless/skiness chicken breast. I have a rice cooker with a rack, so I steam the chicken that way. Cut it into small pieces, and if you really want to go nuts, pop it on the stove for a few minutes in a pan with some garlic powder. 4. Natural Balance- It comes in huge rolls at the pet store in the refrigerated section. You can just cut it into slices, then break it up into smaller pieces. I've also used liverwurst and beef tips, but those are a little harder to cook. If I'm really in a hurry and don't have any time to prepare treats myself, I like Milo's Kitchen chicken meatballs and sausage slices (be careful, some of the varieties had a recent recall, but these two weren't included) or Pupperoni. Those are really the only commercial treats I use. I still usually cut them up into smaller pieces with a knife, and if I really have no time, I'll break them up by hand before class. When considering traning treats, you want the treat to be small, about the size of a raisin. It should be soft and easy to swallow, because you want to reward the behavior, then move on. It's also good to train with at least two different types, so if you guy gets tired of one, you can move on to something else. Unless your greyhound has an issue with his weight, I wouldn't worry too much about calories. If I'm training, I only give half their dinner. If I'm training A LOT that day, like days when we have class and Truman gets treats for an hour straight, I give smaller portions for both breakfast and dinner.

No advice, just thoughts for your girl. Amazing how they can be affected by grief just like us.

I admire both of you! After we got Henry, we made it all of four months before putting up a fence. Henry was fine, but I'd had enough!

We have a Siamese kitten (five months old) that is obsessed with the dogs. He wants to be near them at all times. He sleeps on their beds when one of them is at class or the vet's. He follows them around the house. At first, the dogs were pretty sketchy about it. But now they've pretty much resigned to the fact that the meezer isn't going anywhere. If you can't beat em, join em.

It's usually used as a supplement for equine. Usually a feed store, or a place like Tractor Supply or Agway.

Agree with this. During their racing careers, greys are kenneled in a space that is the same size or smaller than the commercial crates used at home. While some greys have genuine crate anxiety, the majority are very accustomed to being crated. What they're not accustomed to is the privilege of coming and going as they please. So when they get a little taste of that freedom, some have a hard time going back to the crate. If you're going to crate train, it's crucial that you are consistent about crating the dog at certain intervals during the day- whether you're home or not. If your hound only goes in his crate when you leave, then it's likely he will make a negative association that treats can't counteract. If it feels like you are "forcing" him to be crated, then more positive reinforcement and desensitization is needed. Remember, crying and whining is not the end of the world. It's very normal at first! It's perfectly okay to let him cry it out. Once he realizes he gains no attention from crying, he'll stop. One chewed up blanket isn't a huge deal. It most likely meant that your guy is bored and/or a little stressed when you leave. If he were my dog, I would continue working on the crate training for this reason: if you switch now, it's going to be extremely difficult to go back. What I mean is this. Say you change your method and start babygating him to one room. When you come home, you find that instead of chewing up a blanket, he chews everything in your closet. Or maybe he starts having accidents in one corner of the room. So you decide okay, that didn't work. At that point, it will be extremely difficult to go back to the crate, because then you are taking away privileges that he had before. There are lots of threads in T&B about people having 10x more difficulty retraining their grey to use the crate (and almost always, the solution is a good pair of earplugs). I find that it's easier to just nail it the first time. Because everything in your dog's life has changed in the past 10 days, he needs consistency right now. Whatever you do, try to resist the urge to keeping trying different things. The more you change his routine, the more stress and confusion, the more likely bad behaviors will start to crop up. Good luck!

I sympathize! I adopted Truman, a 15-week-old puppy around this same time last year. When he came home, there was snow on the ground and temps were frigid. I kicked myself for adopting a new dog (let alone a puppy!) in the middle of winter. As expected, he was very difficult to housetrain because he would literally just stand outside shivering, then pee five minutes after we got back inside. I did copious amounts of research on housetraining, but unfortunately, there really isn't an alternative. Just persistence and a warm coat. When a dog has an accident in the house, it's like a snowball effect. They begin to prefer going in the house (and who could blame them in this weather?) So it's going to be really important over the next few days that you supervise her very closely. Only reprimand if you catch her in the act (clap your hands to get her attention and give a clear "No!") If you can't be there to supervise, make sure she's either crated or confined. Reward like crazy when she pees outside. And try to keep exercise as consistent as possible. Good luck getting through winter!

I disagree about belly bands... they are fine for dogs who mark. But for a dog who is emptying his bladder, the belly band will just become saturated and create more problems. A wet belly band is a breeding ground for bacteria (makes UTIs more likely) and he's still probably going to lie on your carpet and furniture with the band on. In his case, it sounds like the problem is (1) he's never been reliably housetrained, and (2) he may have some separation anxiety issues. Some dogs just "get it" when it comes to housetraining. Most of them need to be taught. It's going to be necessary that you choose a housetraining method. You can either try to counter-condition his aversion to the crate, or try a confining method where he is limited to a smaller area of the house (i.e. babygating him to an area like the kitchen or an area that is easy to clean). I might try the latter, since it sounds like he might hurt himself if left alone in the crate. You can also tailor the size of the space based on his needs, so if he still has accidents when confined to the kitchen, then use an x-pen to make the area smaller. Once he's been accident free for a week, then you can expand his area. The idea is that he gradually earns privileges after he's been accident free for a period of time. Remember, a dog is not considered "housetrained" until they have been accident free for at least 30 days. Try to resist giving him the run of the house and allowing too many privileges until he's been accident free for at least that long. As for the SA issue, it's going to be important that you work on alone training with him. Leave music or the TV playing when you're gone. Don't make a big deal about hellos and goodbyes. Give him a frozen kong, marrow bone, or something that he can work on for awhile to distract from the fact that you're gone. If all else fails, you can discuss anti-anxiety meds with your vet as a last resort. ETA: My favorite housebreaking resource is How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days by Shirlee Kalstone. Very informative!

It sounds like idiopathic head tremors. They are similar, but different from focal seizures. I would definitely do a consult with a neurologist before putting him on ANY anti-seizure meds. Sometimes vets assume epilepsy and prescribe meds willy nilly.

I'd usually say more fiber, but if you're already feeding green bag and giving pumpkin, I don't know what else you could do. A friend of mine switched to raw because her grey had megacolon. I wonder if that could be a possibility? What does your vet say?