krissy

Another vote for sticky foam or moleskin. The last muzzle I ordered from the GEM store even came with already built in rubber padding in the same colour as the muzzle.

My dogs love mouthing. Not generally when we're getting ready for a walk, but I actually play "bitey face" with them with my hand. Kenna loves this game. I'll tap/slap the sides of her muzzle with my hand, and gently grab her whole muzzle in my hand - and she'll open her mouth and try to grab my hand or my fingers. It's very gentle and appropriate and we have no children that ever come around so it's a fun game we play. If you don't like it just ignore it by stopping what you're doing and turning your back for a few moments until he calms down. Reward calm behaviour with treats.

Some will, some won't. It's different and you need to do enough of them to get comfortable/proficient, and generally you just don't get as many of those cases as you do abdominal. We have a vet at our clinic that will do echos. The ultrasonographer I used to call in at my previous clinic would do them too. We also have access to a cardiologist to do them but boy is she hard to get a hold of... always so busy.

Low grade heart murmurs are common in greyhounds due to their higher red cell count (increases the viscocity of the blood), their larger heart size, and the increased power of the heart (increased velocity of blood). A murmur is just the sound of turbulent blood flow in the heart, which can happen for a variety of reasons. An ultrasound/echo will tell you specifically where the turbulence is, how bad it is, and whether there are any other more significant defects or changes to be aware of. Heart failure is uncommon in 3 yr old greyhounds but "normal" physiologic murmurs are reasonably common. My 5 yr old has had a murmur since she was a puppy. We checked it once at 7 months of age and again when she was about 3. She's an active agility dog and has had several anesthetics with no problems. An echo is just what an ultrasound of the heart is called, so it's really the same thing.

I wouldn't say that they're prone to "bleeding disorders" per se, in that any clotting "abnormalities" rarely lead to significant morbidity or mortality. Most of them bruise very easily. I pretty much just ignore bruises now as mine come home with bruises sometimes from running in the yard. Heck, they even bruise in the house from running into something or falling off the furniture. They also tend to bruise quite badly after surgery, and as mentioned above there are medications that can be given to help. This is different though from dogs like Dobbies that can suffer from hemophilia and are at risk of bleeding to death after major trauma or surgical procedures. The normal greyhound "bleeding disorder" rarely bleeds enough to require medical intervention. They can suffer from more serious bleeding disorders at the same rate as any other breed - autoimmune, platelet dysfunction, etc.

Careful not to put too much emphasis on this. There are lots of other reasons for abdominal surgery - foreign bodies, bladder stones, C-section.... Kili had a cystotomy at 7 months old to resolve her urinary issues but wasn't spayed until 2 years later... so she was intact even though she had a "spay scar".

I'll just speak to the ingesting of objects. My youngest is bad for eating things she shouldn't. She is never loose and unsupervised without a muzzle on. Even overnight I muzzle her because sometimes she'll get up in the middle of the night and I'm worried she might get into the laundry baskets. When she's not muzzled she's in an ex-pen with a couple of safe toys that she can't eat. Teaching a good "drop it" is also really helpful. If he's food motivated, keep a training bag attached to your waist at all times. If he grabs something he shouldn't, tell him "drop it" (or whatever you want to use for your cue, I use "off") and immediately throw a handful of yummy treats on the ground in front of him. Make sure they are reasonably high value treats (depending on his food drive vs. his interest in socks it might be kibble or it might be steak bits) so he will definitely drop the item to eat them. While he eats, praise him and pick up the item. Ideally you should also practice this with toys or other items that he likes to pick up but are safe to give back to him. In which case, once he finishes eating his treats, offer him the toy/item back and repeat a few times. This way he doesn't get wise to the idea that you will take away his item.

I have 3 and none that are a risk for sleep startle or aggression. Kili doesn't like to be touched/moved but she doesn't snap, she grumbles a little and then if she really can't stand it she'll get up and move to another couch or bed of her own accord (usually just to come crawling back about 30 seconds later, she's a funny one). Kenna is our only one that actually likes to snuggle and be held. Our very first foster was the only one that was bad for space aggression... you couldn't sit or lay down on the floor next to his bed. He was sweet as pie at all other times though. I would just let the adoption group know what you're looking for and pick a group that fosters their dogs first.

Maybe I'm mean, but I'd find a workable scenario for the stairs. Every place we've lived (save one, and we didn't live close enough to a group to foster) in the past 6 years has had stairs just to get in and out. Our first place was a basement apartment and our very first foster dog arrived straight from the track and had to negotiate a full flight of stairs 3-4 times per day just to get in and out of our apartment. It was a bit time consuming to go out for potty breaks the first couple of days, but by the time he went to his new home 3 weeks later he was a pro at stairs much to his new owners' delight. Our next place was a bungalow but had 3-4 steps to get in and out at both the front and back doors, so it was slightly better, but did still require some stair learning to get in and out. We had tonnes of fosters at that house. Once they mastered the in and out stairs I made them learn our basement stairs which were narrow but carpeted. Our current house (but we haven't had any fosters in it yet) is a bungalow but has almost a full flight of wooden stairs up to a deck/patio at both the front and back doors. We usually bring the dogs in through the back/side door and the steps there are slightly shorter, but there's still about 6 or 7 of them, so any new fosters will have to learn them right away. Fortunately for all of our fosters, once IN the house, they at least haven't had to do any stairs inside until we were ready to learn more (then we do basement stairs). I'd help the hound up and down the stairs morning and night so he can sleep with his family. Alternately, if house training is a significant problem, you may choose to sleep downstairs on the couch for a few nights and work on learning the stairs during the day/evening when you have a bit more leisure time and he's already been pottied.

Keep him on leash with you once you're in the house for about 5-10 minutes, or until he's calm and has elected to relax/lay down on his own. My dogs frequently get super excited after they come in from potty in the yard or going for a walk. It's basically just a warm up for them... doesn't do anything to alleviate any energy.

The two procedures are relatively equal, just different. Which one is done usually comes down to surgeon preference or what the circumstances were of their learning. For example, my boss does TPLOs, so that's what I'm learning. If he did TTAs I would be learning that instead. One of the orthopedic surgeons at our local referral told me he actually learned and performed both for quite some time, but for whatever reason in HIS hands he always got better results with TPLO so that's all he does now. He did stress to me that he didn't think it was because TPLO is inherently better, but that for some reason he personally gets better results with it. There are a couple of local vets that do TTAs with equal success to what others get with TPLO. I don't think the question is so much which procedure, as which surgeon. She should pick the surgeon or clinic that she is more comfortable with or that she has better access to in the post-operative period in case of complications.

I'm a relatively small woman (5'3, 110 lbs) and I've never had a major issue with a greyhound. I've been dragged around by poorly mannered giant breeds (mastiffs, danes... things that weigh the same or more than me), but never by a greyhound as they rarely weigh more than 90 lbs. I would also suggest that it isn't so much the size of the DOG as the size of its PREY DRIVE that you should concern yourself with. My male is my largest dog at 80 lbs (less now that he's almost 13) but has the lowest prey drive. He has literally never tried to take off after anything and as such as never jerked my arm or pulled me off my feet or dragged me down the sidewalk. My girls are both just under 60 lbs but have moderate prey drives. As a general rule they don't take off after stuff while on leash (they kind of take a couple of quick steps and do this excited dance on the spot and sometimes rear up on their hind legs) so it's still rare that I've gotten a jerk to the arm while walking them, but it I did it would definitely be one of them and not my big boy.

The incident with the cat is regrettable, but certainly not shocking. Any small creature outside is potentially fair game for most greyhounds. There are some with low prey drives (I've got one that has never done more than lift an ear for small creatures) but that isn't the norm. I have 2 greyhounds that were raised from 8 weeks old with my rabbits in the house, but will (and have) chased rabbits outside. Not sure what they would do with an outdoor cat, but I certainly wouldn't put it past them to chase it. Point being, that prey drive is totally normal and should be expected. As others have said, 2 years old is very much a puppy. I've raised two and they don't really learn a true off switch until about 3-4. Right now my dogs are on minimal exercise and training because I hurt my back (and it's the middle of winter in Edmonton), and Holy Hannah! my 23 month old is about to drive me nuts. The 5 yr old has settled enough now that if she doesn't get her exercise she can just chill. But yes, if you were looking for a calm, low energy retired racer, you were done a disservice being given a 2 year old. It is the rare dog that is calm and low energy at 2. Now that she's settled in and feels more comfortable you're likely to see more and more 2 yr old behaviour. I'd recommend obedience classes with a positive reinforcement trainer, and lots of free running time somewhere safe and fenced. Walks are nice, but you'd have to hike for hours to get the kind of physical exhaustion you'll get from running. When my first puppy was about 18 months old, Sunday was our big exercise day. We would go to agility class for an hour, then I'd take her for an off leash hike at the conservation for an hour, and then we'd stop at the dog park at the conservation and she'd play for an hour. Then we'd go home and she'd sleep for an hour and be raring to go again. Trust me when I say a 30-60 min walk is nothing for a dog that age. I personally love them around this age... I've put enough training into them that they're well behaved, but they're always ready to do something which matches my need to stay busy.

Most dogs do eventually transition out of a crate to being free roam. I take my cues from the dog. I recently stopped crating my 5 year old - she previously loved her kennel, but when we moved houses the only logical place for the kennels was in the basement and she just doesn't seem to like it even though her niece is crated right beside her. She still gets lots of practice in a crate at agility and other sports so that's fine. So now it's just Kenna crated in the basement and Kili and Summit free upstairs, though Kili has to wear a muzzle because she's not entirely trustworthy. I do think it's important to still periodically crate dogs though to make sure they retain their crate training. Every dog needs that skill to keep them safe in situations where they HAVE to be crated - at the vet, groomer, travel, etc.

I have one that would counter surf if given the opportunity and one that will destroy and potentially ingest things. They are both either muzzled, crated, or x-penned if they are unsupervised. I put a treat in the muzzle sometimes so that they kind of look forward to getting it put on in hopes of getting a goodie. They still don't love them, but they're quite used to them. They also wear them for turn out in the yard so it's really just a part of every day life for them. And then they get as much time as I can give them for exercise and training to keep them busy.

I don't walk my dogs below about -10. Even with full winter gear on they just don't enjoy it. We're in a cold snap right now and we've been -20 and below (this morning it was -30) for the past week. The girls do their business as quick as they can and come back in. Summit I can barely get to go out long enough to go to the bathroom. I had to bring him to work with me this morning because he absolutely would not stay out long enough to poop this morning. So he came with me and I took him out at lunch again. It's an annoying issue we have with him when the weather hits frigid, but he's almost 13 so to some extent he's allowed. For exercise we go to agility a couple times a week for about an hour, they'll wrestle a bit in the living room together and we can play some fetch and tug, sometimes if things get really bad I'll take them to the local doggy daycare which offers a treadmill service and I'll sit for an hour and run them on the treadmills, and then we also do a lot of tricks training in the evening.

So sorry for your loss. Run free sweet girl.

I use muzzles with stool guards for most problems. Usually works great, the dogs are already used to them, and there's no unwanted banging of the cone against furniture.

Protein in liver diets is restricted to ones with certain amino acid profiles. There is also no phosphorus restriction typically. There might be some other changes, but the protein profile is the main one I believe.

I'm confused. Was this your own cat outside in the backyard or a stray cat that wandered into your yard? And if it was your own cat, is he typically outside or was this an anomaly? A dog that is cat safe in the house is not the same as a dog that is cat safe in all scenarios. Lots of hounds live happily and safely with cats and small critters in the house, but outdoors can be a totally different ballgame. I have 3 hounds who live with 3 rabbits (and have lived on and off with the occasional foster cat/kittens). The oldest, my retired racer, is completely small animal safe in all scenarios... he barely even flicks an ear at cars, rabbits, birds, or squirrels outside and has never chased anything before. The younger two are safe with my indoor bunnies, but have strong chase drives outdoors when they see rabbits, birds and squirrels. They would probably only chase a cat until they realized it was a cat, but I'm not going to test that theory. They are fine with small, fluffy dogs, though I generally avoid them playing with those because of the size difference. Your dog may be just fine with the Yorkies. It would be helpful to know more about the situation with the cat. But if you're concerned, use a muzzle and don't put them outside in the yard at the same time since the most likely trigger for predatory behaviour is fast movement.

My question is... why benadryl? Kennel cough isn't an allergy, and it has no cough suppressant activity. At most if they're coughing so much they can't sleep it might help with that a little. My experience is it's extremely variable in terms of individual susceptibility. All 3 of my guys are vaccinated. Summit sticks close to home mostly now with the occasional trip to the dog friendly trails. The girls go to agility trials, dog shows, and (until recently when I changed jobs) to work with me. Kenna had KC twice before she was 10 months old, most likely picked up at a show or agility trial. Kili went to all the same shows and never got it. Summit was exposed to both girls and is old and he never got it either. The vaccine only covers Bordetella which is a bacteria that can cause KC, however there are a number of other bacterias and viruses that can be implicated. The vaccine companies will often pay for a respiratory swab for dogs that have been vaccinated with their product, and if the dog comes back positive for Bordetella they will also cover treatment. So far I haven't had one come back positive for Bordetella; the vaccine works, but it doesn't cover everything.

These are the other ones I know of that are UV protective and have the ski goggle shape. Not sure how they fit greyhounds though. https://www.rexspecs.com/

I use duct tape on the occasional corn that Summit gets. It takes awhile and is a bit maintenance heavy (you have to keep checking and replacing the tape) but has worked well for us over the years, though to be fair he has typically only ever had one corn at a time and they've never bothered him as much as what you're describing.

I bought Summit a pair long ago when he was diagnosed. I'll check and see what size they are. Honestly, we never really used them. They don't stay put very well because of the shape of the greyhound head. I honestly have never noticed any major issues with being out in the sun a lot for Summit. I do think he has a relatively mild case of pannus. So long as he gets his eye medication it doesn't seem to be a major issue how much sun exposure he has (usually not excessive anyway, just when he was younger maybe when we would go camping he'd be out in the sun for most of the day).

My experience with two pups is that it's somewhat intrinsic within their personality. Kili was never snuggly. She still isn't... in fact she likes to be close but can be grumpy about contact she doesn't initiate when she's laying down. Kenna on the other hand is much more snuggly, and has been right from the start. Both puppies had a similar upbringing in regards to handling.