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I just wanted to add that it's important to always try to "trade" if you're taking something away. That way, you lessen the desire for the first object and it will be less likely that he'll feel the need to (1) guard the item or (2) seek it out again. At first, I made the mistake of just saying "NO!" to Truman and taking the item away. But then I noticed he would go out of his way to re-steal the same things.

Truman is the biggest theif in the world. He'll steal anything that's not nailed down. I've found that the only thing that helps is (1) giving plenty of appropriate things to chew on, (2) bumping up the exercise, and (3) training when you can find teachable moments. Inevitably, there will be a time when you'll catch Achilles grabbing something he's not supposed to have. When he does, say "trade," and replace it with something else. There's got to be something that he finds chew-worthy, you just might need to look harder to find out what it is. Truman could care less about Kongs. He prefers bones, rawhide rolls, bully sticks, chicken feet, etc. Exercise is really a big thing too, because destructive behavior often = bored behavior. I need to run Truman out off-leash at least twice a week, otherwise his chewing/destructiveness becomes noticeably worse.

I agree with this. Script food is definitely expensive, but if she's doing well on it, I'd just maintain.

Six weeks or so? It's hard to say because I buy two different types of Iams (adult formula for Henry, puppy formula for Truman). The bags come in two different sizes, so I refill at different times. I guess I haven't really been paying much attention.

Yikes, my 48-pound bag of Iams cost $38.99 at Sam's!

I thought it was funny and let it happen... until Truman bitey-faced me and bruised the bridge of my nose. Now, I let them play bitey-face with one another, but not me. I got too worried he'd break my nose or puncture my eye or something.

No advice, just hugs for Thunder. I hate seizues.

Oh wow... I can assure you, we too had a horrendous experience with happy tail. Post-amputation, it was months before the tail finally healed. We weren't able to e-collar Truman because we have a dog door, but for two months, we had him in a muzzle with a stool guard (he could undo his dressings with just a regular muzzle on). I tried everything after the plastic syringe cap failed, even resorting to self-adhesive pipe insulation. Although it's fully healed at this point, the hair grows back pure white due to all the continued trauma to the tail. We're hoping it stays healed, but if he ever gets happy tail again, I am fully prepared to have the thing docked.

After switching four times and going through every digestive upset imaginable, I've found that the easiest way is this: 1. Select a food that is the same protein source 2. Start by giving the new kibble as a treat to make sure he'll eat it (a handful per day for a few days) 3. Assuming he likes it, do a 75%-50%-25% transition over the next 10-14 days 4. Add in a probiotic like FortiFlora or Holistic Transition 5. Keep the canned food/mix-ins consistent

Jumping is a dog's way of getting closer to a person's face, which is how they communicate their willingness to greet you. The solution is to socialize him with people and teach appropriate ways to greet. I've found that the easiest way to do this is to turn your back to him when he's jumping. This is a Victoria Stillwell trick. When you have guests over, instruct your guests not to look at or touch him- ignore, ignore, ignore- until he is standly politely. If you work on this often, he'll soon realize that jumping does not get him the attention that he wants. Reinforce the behavior by giving him pets and telling him what a good boy he is when he's calmly standing or sitting. The trick is to be consistent. If you have one friend who excuses the jumping and says, "Oh, it's okay! I like dogs!" that can be a big setback. In Dillard's situation, I don't think crating him is going to help because it will likely make him more excited. Then, you run the risk that when the crate door opens, he's like a bat out of hell and the situation is out of control again. AFTER your guests come in and he's greeted them and subsequently calmed down, then you can put him in his crate with a kong, bone, etc. (something he can work on for awhile). In his case, I would make sure he's within eyeshot of you and the guests. Shutting him away in another room (while good for a dog who is fearful or nervous of strangers) is frustrating for a social dog who wants to know what is going on. Truman used to jump hardcore. Since training, he now does what we call "little hops."

Oh no... I can't believe it. So very sorry for your loss The Bean was one of my favorites here.

Agreed, that Q&A is mostly crap. Dogs are omnivores who do fine with grain under most circumstances. If dogs truly couldn't digest grain, then no domestic dog would've survived in the past 30 years before all the trendy diets came out.

I've fed four different kinds of kibble ranging from grain-free to limited ingredient with different protein sources and different grades. Poop content was all about the same except Iams seemed to produce bigger poops for a short period of time (most likely due to the added fiber). I think raw is just about the only thing that changes poop size.

Oh no... I was so hoping she would pull through. So very sorry for your loss

You can also try BONES! A nice-sized knee bone will keep my guys busy for hours.

It's important that a dog is trained to give up it's toys for a few reasons. 1. If a kid comes over and tries to play with the dog (very preventable, but still ease of mind knowing the dog won't get possessive) 2. If the dog starts to ingest a toy that isn't supposed to be ingested, you need to be able to get that toy. 3. If the dog finds something like a chicken bone ob a walk, this will train them that "drop it" covers everything, not just the things around the house. Also if you have a yard and the dog tries to take am inside toy out, then they can just tell him to drop it before he goes outside. Agree. Learning "drop it" and "leave it" are extremely important in emergency situations. As for the OP's question, try not to get too freaked out. This type of behavior is very common for any dog, not just greyhounds. In this situation, your hound was displaying a dominance-based signal to communicate that the toy was HIS. It's very easy to correct. "Trading up" is the process of using another toy or treat (same or higher value) to distract your dog so that you can take the other object away. You will get his attention with the second item, and give it to him while taking the first item away. Say "trade" in a calm and friendly voice. Always make sure you give the second item to the dog and give him sufficient time to play with or eat it. Simply distracting him with the second item and not giving it to him is counterproductive and will create mistrust. The goal is for your dog to learn that a human hand near his food or toys is positive and indicates something better is coming his way. Try this exercise with him for about five minutes a couple times a day. Pretty soon he'll realize that it's no big deal when you take something away. I would also work on establishing roles and rules in the house. Your dog should look to you as the alpha and leader. This is achievable through positive reinforcement training, NOT Caesar Millan style pain and punishment. You may want to think about an obedience class to help you with this. I like the NILF (nothing in life is free) approach for dominant dogs.

Progress! Try giving her 30 minutes tops to eat. The goal is to have her eat as soon as you put it down. An hour/hour and a half still gives her time to fart around (no pun intended )

I wonder why your girl won't poop in the yard?

Hi and welcome from Pittsburgh!

I have a coupler for walking my two, but they don't P&P on walks. I take them into our fenced yard first for potty, then walks are just for walking. I can imagine that trying to use a leash like that (or a coupler) when bathroom breaks are involved would be difficult. I think most people with multiple greys do just fine with two regular leashes.

Dogs do irrational things when they're in pain- things they would never do normally. I would NOT try to correct her until you get the meds under control. The biting is most likely due to a medical reason, not a behavioral problem.

I think I was maybe overreacting a little bit when I originally posted. He used the dog door for the past two days with no accidents. I've been praising him and telling him what a good boy he is when I've seen him going outside. The day he messed in the house, it had been raining steadily for two days. He also refused breakfast the following morning, so it may also have been a combination of the rain and having an upset stomach. I'm hoping it was just a momentary lapse in judgement, and now he's back to normal. If the accidents resume, I mentally catalogued your game with the treats. I'm also considering doggie daycare with him, since we don't do as much off-leash running because of the weather. To answer your other question, Truman is 15-months-old. He just turned one in August. Around 8-9 months, we were going crazy with him because it was like he all of a sudden forgot everything he learned. He started getting better, and now he's having a few behavioral quirks again. We're beginning our fifth obedience class in January, so we definitely plan to continue working with him. He's also a blue brindle, so that may also explain why he's "special."

My thought is that you're changing food too frequently. Four different kinds of food in 6 months is a lot, and it doesn't allow you to get an accurate picture of whether or not the food is working. It takes at least a month to be able to see the full effects. I'm not sure if you're doing a gradual switch or switching cold turkey, but that could also be your problem. It's probably not the food at all, but the frequent diet changes that are causing her to be irregular and have gas. Also, it's going to be hard to get her on a consistent bathroom schedule if you're free feeding (i.e. leaving the food out and letting her graze). Because she's having accidents in the house at this point, I would feed her at set times during the day, give her 15 minutes to eat, then take the bowl away. There may be a few meals where she doesn't understand and won't eat. That's okay- after a few days, she'll catch on that her food is only being given at mealtime. You'll get a lot of opinions here on what kind of food is best, and that's really going to depend on a few things (i.e. what protein source she is used to, how much you want to spend, what grade of food you want, and on and on). We use Iams green bag because it's the only food that has given us everything we were looking for in terms of non-diarrhea poops, no gas, shiny coats, and good teeth. Whatever food you choose, buy the big bag and stick with it for awhile. Buying the small bags and going back and forth is counteractive. If it's been more than a month and you're still not happy with the food, gradually switch on a 25%-50%-75% transition.

Jilly Bean is one of my favorites! Sorry to hear about her health problems, but happy to know she's still alive and kicking

Well, congratulations on Lily making it to the ripe old age of 16! That's quite an accomplishment. IMHO, this behavior has to be attributed to arthritis and pain. I would definitely have her on some type of pain management not only for her wellbeing, but for the safety and wellbeing of your family and other pets. There is a lot of build-up happening before a dog actually snaps/bites, which makes me think she must be in a lot of pain. If she doesn't like taking pills, try giving them to her inside a mini (cooked) ravioli. You can also get liverwurst/braunschweiger (I get the Oscar Meyer brand from the grocery store) and make little pill pockets. The smell is very strong and the consistency is like paste, so you just roll it into little balls and put the pills inside. If all else fails, you can get the liquid version of the medication and mix it with a little canned food.