a_daerr

Can't imagine what you're going through right now... very sorry for your loss. Lymphoma is a terrible, terrible thing to deal with. In May 2011, I lost my favorite cat to an undetermined type of lymphoma (she was only 4 years old). Same thing, it happened very quickly and she was gone within a matter of weeks. Her quick passing gave me a tiny, tiny bit of solace as I kept wondering about the "what ifs." Even if I tried chemo with her, the cancer was way too aggressive. It wouldn't have made a difference.

Totally unrelated to the original topic, but I just looked this up. CRAZY! The best explanation I could find is that when tested, one chemical compound that is unique to lamb (4-6-dimethyl-1,3-oxathiane) was associated with a stale/wet animal odor. I wonder if that could be plausible? Very, very odd.

The quick and dirty answer is yes. After they have been in the home for awhile and their bond with you grows, they can start feeling ultra anxious when you leave. But really, SA can spring from just about anything (a particular incident, a change in weather, a new schedule). I'm more inclined to guess SA because of the incident with the door frame. Either that or boredom. If you can rule out a medical reason, I might bump up the exercise, reintroduce the crate, and work on alone training.

I think these actually exist! The equivalent to belly bands for girls- they're called 'bad girl panties!'

The actual "training" to housebreak an adult dog can take as little as a week, but keep in mind that a dog isn't considered 100% housebroken until he's gone 30 days without an accident. The more vigilant you are about (1) supervising and (2) crating or confining when you can't supervise, the less time the entire process takes. If the dog has had many accidents in the house, it may take awhile to counter-condition that thinking. Everyone's time varies, because everyone's training method varies. Some dogs just seem to naturally "get it." But I would say most dogs need to be taught and gradually earn privileges before they can be allowed to roam free without supervision. Unfortunately, I didn't have great housebreaking experiences with either of my dogs. Henry took maybe 3 months to be considered reliable. This was mostly due to mistakes we made in the beginning- free feeding him, not putting him on a strict enough schedule, not supervising closely enough, giving him too much trust too soon. Other things to consider- NEVER punish your dog for going in the house unless you catch him in the act. Punishing only teaches the dog not to go in front of you. If you come home and find that your dog messed in the house, go get the newspaper, roll it up, and hit yourself on the head with it because that means you did something wrong in the training. My favorite housebreaking resource is "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days" by Shirlee Kalstone. Although it's easy to read (it's more like a lengthy pamphlet, you could read it cover to cover and maybe 2 hours), it's also extremely comprehensive.

They're not worth the money in my opinion. It's between $23-$30 for a large bag of the chlorhexadine chews, and I guess they work as well as can be expected (they're rawhide strips), but no miracles. I've had both the chlorhexadine strips and the veggie dent chews. My guys don't really like the veggie dents. I see better results with knee/knuckle bones.

If I don't supervise, Henry will come over and try to steal Truman's food. That's why he growls. Another thought, maybe your girl actually likes her new food and is trying to say, "Hey I like this stuff, so I REALLY don't want you to steal it!!"

Hmmm... the one thing that is a little weird about this article is that it freely compares domestic dogs and wild dogs. I imagine a domestic dog would not do well eating a diet comprised of 56% protein. I read another article recently that said unless your dog is competitively pulling a racing sled, the protein content should be somewhere between 18-24%. Otherwise, excess protein can lead to weight gain and kidney problems. ETA: That's not to say there aren't other benefits to raw- I really admire people who feed raw.

Certain raw foods like turkey necks and the marrow in bones can cause the poops to be TOO firm. Maybe that was the problem?

He's been on the Zonisamide for almost a week. No side effects. No seizures this week.

Same. Don't read too far into the rating system. The biggest factor to consider is what YOUR individual dog does well on. The adoption group where I got Henry runs a greyhound kennel / high-end doggie boarding and daycare business. They have exclusively fed Iams for 10+ years. The breeder where Truman came from breeds show quality AKC Championship dogs, and she feeds Kirklands (Costco brand). You can drive yourself crazy trying to find a quote unquote "good" food and neglect your dog's individual needs in the process. I went through four different boutique brands before switching to Iams (believe me, the only person who had any hang-ups about it was ME, not the dogs). Don't buy into all the hype regarding grain free, limited ingredient, organic, etc. It's just that- hype. What I'm trying to say is that many of our dogs do well on Iams, and they are all perfectly healthy. Unless you're having problems with her current food (diarrhea, gas, poor coat condition, allergies), my advice is don't fix what isn't broken. A food transition is stressful on any dog, especially an older dog. Why rock the boat for no reason?

Short answer- yes. He's learned that barking gets him the attention he wants, which is you getting up to check on him and let him out several times through the night. An adult dog is capable of holding it for 8-10 hours. So here is the answer. Let him out at normal time for his last P&P. Then be prepared to endure some noise for a few nights. Because you already caved in several times and gave him what he wanted, he will probably get upset and throw a tantrum. You now have to counter-condition the behavior so that his noise is no longer rewarded. Don't worry, you're not the first or the last person to do this. Happens to the best of us.

WARNING! Do some research on this forum and think long and hard before changing food!! In Food and Dietary, there are countless threads where people have greyhounds with chronic diarrhea and GI problems due to a food switch gone bad. A lot of GT'ers (including myself) recommend Iams because it seems to universally work for greyhounds due to of the combination of probiotics and fiber content. I switched to Iams only after trying four other expensive, grain-free, limited ingredient, organic foods. My retired racer had diarrhea, gas, and/or allergy issues with of them. I will NEVER go back. Please believe, there is nothing wrong with dogs having grain in their diet. They are omnivores- unless the dog is overweight, grain free does not always equate better quality. Both vets I've used in the past 5 years have related to me that grain-free is a fad and that marketing companies use this as a scare-tactic (OMG! I'm feeding my dog grocery store food with... CORN!!) to get you to open your wallet for food that is $60 a bag. If your dog is doing relatively well on the Iams and you want to make sure she's still having all her nutritional needs met, supplement the kibble by adding in other foods (oatmeal, rice, yogurt, cottage cheese, hamburger, chicken, sweet potatoes, vegetables). Also consider that a food switch is a process. It's not as simple as buying a new food and feeding it. For whatever reason you feel like you MUST switch, it's important to do it gradually over 10-14 days with a 25%-50%-75% transition. Resist the urge to buy a small bag just to "try it." Switching a dog's food cold turkey is almost guaranteed to create problems that didn't exist beforehand.

I think your vet made a good call. If she yelped when he palpated her bladder, she's probably in pain. She could even have bladder stones, in which case ABTs should be started now instead of waiting to get the urinalysis and bloodwork back from the lab. I agree that ABTs are overrused though.

Glad to hear Peggy is making progress! She looks like such a sweetie.

Truman growls and barks if he even hears Henry's footsteps in another room. His is resource guarding. What is her body language like? Tense, reluctant, excited?

I got really lucky with Henry. They had a whole series of greyhound-only classes (basic, advanced, and CGC/TDI). It was great because some dogs were high-prey, and you didn't really want to take the risk of paying $90 for a class, then having your dog stare down a fluffy for the entire thing. Unfortunately, they stopped doing them because the woman who is considered the expert on greyhound training had other time commitments for her business and wasn't able to keep teaching. Now they only do "greyhound basic," so we are venturing out into the world of other dogs. I guess it's good in ways, but the greyhound owners had a real nice comaraderie going. Hadn't ever considered the tail. His tail is always, flat and straight back. I'll see if he'll allow me to move it to one side.

Just wanted to add that maybe walking them together would be a good bonding experience. Your greyhound may be having confusion understanding she's actually a dog because she's so small and you're carrying her in a purse.

You never know. Lots of people still bring towels or blankets for their greyhounds. I have a travel bed that I take to class.

For the people who don't use crates... I'm just wondering for my own curiosity, what housetraining method do you use? Confining? Sorry to hijack the thread.

No advice, just positive thoughts. It's a hard decision to make. Sounds like you've done everything possible... I wouldn't blame you if you decided to rehome.

You (and your two black eyes) are probably not going to want to hear this, but the best way to remedy the situation is more exposure. Truman started having some aggression-based issues on leash, and what really seemed to help is more on-leash introductions with other dogs. That, and LOTS of treats. It helps if you have friends with well-behaved dogs. We are working through Truman's issues in an obedience class. Put as much distance between the two dogs as you need to (BEFORE the point where he's spazzing out, any closer and it's no good). Then give him treats for being calm. If he starts freaking out, turn in the other direction and walk away. Over time, the idea is to gradually get closer until the two dogs are able to greet each other without incident. I might put a harness on Dallas, since he is on the large side and there might be a safety issue. P.S. He's adorable. Is it just the pics, or is his fur really that long?

When Henry tested for his CGC/TDI, he had to sit. But I think it varies based on the evaluator.

Free feeding creates "picky" dogs. If you want her to eat, you gotta pick the bowl up after 15 minutes. While I agree that she needs good nutrition (and is an older gal, so mix-ins are great), she also needs to eat during a set period of time. It usually only takes once or twice before they understand that if they don't eat when the food is offered, they don't eat period.

That video was the first time I ever saw a greyhound smile. I love it! Dotty seemed like such a dear. I hope she's still doing well.