Jump to content

krissy

Members
  • Posts

    2,587
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    Edmonton, Alberta

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

krissy's Achievements

Greyaholic

Greyaholic (9/9)

  1. Welcome back! Great to hear all the wonderful updates/changes in your life, and all the things that are still the same!
  2. Knowing more about your dog would be helpful. Age, sex, why you took her to the vet in the first place, etc. Greyhounds rarely tear cruciate ligaments because of the slope of their tibia. However, that doesn't mean it is impossible. One of the tech assistants who worked at my last clinic had a greyhound/whippet mix who tore both her cruciate ligaments in a year and had bilateral TPLOs. If your dog is 9 years old and didn't start limping significantly and suddenly (usually after a minor trauma - running, jumping, a tumble/fall) then osteo is a likely differential. If your dog is 5 years old and came up lame after chasing a squirrel in the backyard... cruciate is probably more likely. Regardless, if you're uncertain it's probably worth a getting some x-rays done, or a second opinion since none of us here can tell you what's going on.
  3. We have Chilly Dogs, Hurtta, and Sofa Dog Wear here.
  4. Littermate syndrome is real. It's definitely more of a concern/hazard with getting two similarly aged puppies at the same time, but I don't think it's wildly inappropriate to think that it could happen at other ages. Recognize that dogs are a different species from us. Just like we love dogs, we do tend to have an easier time (most of us) communicating with other humans than with canines. It takes a little longer and it takes a little more effort. That's why most dog people will recommend one dog at a time. It gives you a chance to focus and bond with the dog before you have to divert your attention to another, newer dog. Puppies absolutely have been shown to bond strongly to each other rather than their human family when they are bought/adopted in pairs. Many good breeders and rescues will not allow people to take home littermates. I've seen it turn out okay in very dog savvy, dedicated homes. This is because each puppy is worked with individually (walked, fed, trained, played with, potty trained) and the time the puppies spend together is controlled (they are not together all of the time). Consider also, that if you have one dog with separation anxiety, a second dog doesn't necessarily do anything to alleviate that stress. In fact, the second dog who may have been okay may be influenced by the anxiety of the one with separation anxiety and also begin to struggle. It's different if you bring home a dog with separation anxiety to an established dog who is comfortable with being left alone. My group does adopt out pairs. I think greyhounds are a breed where there are fewer concerns with pairs being adopted. They tend to be laid back, if coming out of foster homes we can make sure to choose dogs that are appropriate for the home they are going to and for the other dog, and in general greyhounds do not require a lot of mental and physical stimulation which makes having a strong connection with their human as important. It sounds like you have concerns with bringing in a new dog, and that's totally fair. I personally don't want a separation anxiety dog. I've worked with enough of them to know how stressful that is. I think your best bet is to wait for the right dog. I've fostered many dogs, and although most have some mild anxiety for the first week or two as they adjust to their new life, we have not found separation anxiety to be rampant in ex-racers. In fact, we've probably fostered a dozen or so dogs over the past 5 years and none of them have had true separation anxiety. Personally, I think you just need to wait for the right dog to come along. If you want two dogs just because you want two dogs (and none of us can/will judge you for that!) then go for it. But I think if the only reason you're considering two is the separation anxiety issue... I'm not sure it's the smoking gun you're hoping it is.
  5. Here and now you need to make a decision on what you want, and stick with it. Most dogs can learn to sleep alone at night. If that's the route you're going to go then you need to go forth boldly and decisively. Use a baby gate, or crate her in the appropriate room where you want her to sleep and then ignore all attention seeking. It will be sad, upsetting, and super frustrating for probably 1-2 weeks, maybe more depending on how much you've unintentionally rewarded her attention seeking behaviour already. It will probably get worse before it gets better. But she will learn and adjust. On the flip side, maybe your partner can adjust. I am an incredibly light sleeper. I wake up for all sorts of things, including nothing at all. I sometimes have trouble getting to sleep, or if I wake up in the night I sometimes have trouble getting back to sleep. And yet, the one who complains the most about the dogs... is my boyfriend, who I joke would sleep through me being murdered with a chainsaw in bed next to him... almost nothing disturbs his sleep. Our dogs sleep in our bedroom, and typically Kenna starts out in bed with us, and then partway through the night she and Kili will trade. And then early morning about the time that my boyfriend gets up for work, they might trade again or both end up in bed. I've adjusted to this and I often don't even wake up when the dogs get in and out of the bed, or if I do I fall asleep again once they've settled. I'm not saying your partner needs to be the one to adjust. I'm just saying that both parties are potentially capable of an adjustment, and the only question is who is going to make the change. For us, it's very important to me that the dogs sleep in the bedroom with us, and since it's me that's the lighter sleeper it hasn't been an issue. Your family may decide you want the dog to sleep elsewhere, and that's fine too, but just remember that dogs are pack animals and what you are asking her to do goes against her natural inclination. There's nothing wrong with that, but realize when you embark that you will have a couple of weeks where you get far less sleep.
  6. Happy birthday! 13 looks good on you!
  7. Summit was completely renamed. We have no idea what he was called at the kennel, but he was in a home for several years before having to be rehomed due to owner illness. His original owners called him Dexter and he knew the name, but I don't do common names for my pets so it had to go. He lived to almost 14 and he was never bothered by the name change. It's like if someone suddenly started calling you Mary when your name is Christine. You'd figure it out pretty quick. Difference between humans and dogs is we tie our identity to our names, dogs don't.
  8. Kili's sister is a black and white parti colour with a full mask over each eye. She was almost completely grey by 12 months. Kili started to lose her half mask noticeably at about 2.5-3. When I picked Kenna up, her mother (who is also a brindle) was about 3.5 years old and had significant amounts of white over her eyebrows and muzzle. Kenna turned 3 in March and I'm just starting to see the white creeping in around her eyes. Greyhound are known for going grey young, but certain lines and individuals are earlier than others.
  9. I know you were kind of joking, but not necessarily. My dogs high jump for SuperDogs shows, but don't challenge our 3.5' fence. If I asked them to jump it, they could and would. If there was a rabbit on the other side they could and would. But as a general rule... no interest.
  10. I have a rubber brush. It's almost like a hound glove but the bristles are longer and more flexible/softer. It's big and oval almost like a brush for a horse. I've never really seen another one like it - mine is a Martha Stewart brand I believe.
  11. krissy

    River

    So sorry for your loss. It is never easy to love a dog so deeply, knowing that one day too soon they will be gone.
  12. Last weekend Kenna and I competed at the Alberta/Northwest Territories Regional Agility Championships. This was my third time at a Regionals competition, but it was Kenna's first. I knew we likely wouldn't have any trouble qualifying for Nationals (requires 350 points), but we had an absolutely stellar weekend with 9 perfect runs. 3 of those were Steeplechase (not part of the Regionals competition, just for fun and money) and then Regionals consists of a Jumpers, Standard and Gamble run on both Saturday and Sunday. Check out my blog post if you want to know more about how points are awarded. Long story short, Kenna won the Steeplechase final (and re-paid me for her entry fees! ) and was also the overall Champion for the 24" Regular class. The most competitive class is the one below us, but all the larger border collies and the ones that need to up jump to Worlds competition height are in our class so it's certainly no small feat. The dog that came second is an absolutely amazing border collie... I would definitely put her as one of the very top dogs, she's been to worlds multiple times and medalled. We're off to Nationals in a month and a half and will be trying out for the World team as well, just for fun. Enjoy!
  13. Remember that water is a poison in sufficient quantity, and has a chemical formula despite being natural. Natural things are not always safe. Chemicals are not always unsafe. Would I give my dogs heartworm or tick meds if there was no risk of getting diseases that could be life threatening or life altering? No, of course not. These medications are chemicals and although very safe and well researched, they do have some risks. However, when I weigh out the risks of these conditions against the risks of the medications, I'm going to pick medications. There are no safer, equally efficacious alternatives, otherwise we'd be using them. It basically comes down to personal risk assessment. Your choice may be that heartworm and ticks are less of a concern to you than giving the medications, but if heartworm and ticks ARE a big concern to you then unfortunately your effective options are to move somewhere with lower risk, or use medications like Bravecto, Simparica, Nexgard, Seresto, etc. The reality is you assume some risk to your dog regardless of your choice, you just have to decide which choice you're most comfortable with.
  14. Yes, but plenty of people aren't home for this duration of time. Pretty normal if you work a standard 8-9 hour work day to be gone almost 10 hours after you factor in even a relatively short commute. A greyhound is perhaps one of the better suited dogs for this kind of lifestyle because their exercise needs are not extreme. I am typically gone 8-9 hours per day, but arguably I spend more hands on time with my dogs than some people who work shorter days. Most of my free time is spent with the dogs, but not all as I also have sports that don't involve the dogs. I don't think anyone would argue that my dogs are under exercised or under stimulated, particularly by greyhound standards. For the OP: if you stretch past the 9-10 hour mark you will definitely need some sort of arrangement for a mid-day potty break and leg stretch. If you plan to come home to your dog and spend your evening with him/her and a good chunk of your time on weekends with the dog/around the house, then I don't see any problem with this. Just make sure you are up front with your adoption group so they can choose an appropriate individual for you... probably something 3-4+ years old and on the lower side of the energy scale... also a dog that doesn't have any separation anxiety. Personally I would probably adopt from a group that fosters their dogs so they can get an idea of these things, as well as a dog that has been exposed to elevators (or who is very confident and will likely accept an elevator with little hesitation).
×
×
  • Create New...