Willowsmum

I'm sorry for your injury and your pain in returning a dog. After 6 months, lots of training and meducation, our first dog could NOT be left alone. Our groups's behaviorist said I'd done everything she would advise and flat out told me to return the dog. I was heartbroken. My husband wanted to give up on all greyhounds as spooky dogs. The behaviorist encouraged me to be open to an older male bounce, and taking him home was the best thing we ever did. He is the perfect dog for us. Fine alone, will whimper for us to come over and pet him on the floor or on his bed, and barely lookes up or flinches if he is accidentally bumped, kicked or stepped on. ( Small house, big dog who sprawls out in the middle of where everyone needs to be--we do try to walk over or around him without touching him but its hard. For a. huge dog, he also manages to "sneak" up behind us a great deal) With cheese, I've managed to train him to love pedi-paws time, and he tolerates ear and tooth cleaning with little complaint. The only two things that spook him now are fireworks and small foofy dogs. We are working on throwing a party and dispensing treats when we hear fireworks, and he's making a lot of progress with that. Breeds have a lot in common, but each dog is an individual. There are spooky or reactive greys. Can a determined and experienced owner deal with those dogs? Yes. Are there lower-maintence dogs for people without that expertise? Absolutely. I learned a lot from both dogs, and one of them is that I know myself and I'd probably be better off with a bounce or one that had been fostered rather than one right off the track. I also now have a love for big mooshy senior boys, and it breaks my heart that good dogs often get given up after years in a home due to owner illness or divorce . Take the time you need, but know that there probably is a grey who'd be perfect for you. You'd likely do better with one with a mellower disposition and less space issues. Good luck!

Wow, it never would occur to me to try to teach a dog to lick my face. I guess there is a right dog for everyone as my boy will sniff faces intently, and head butt when excited but does not kiss, and I am grateful for that. I like to kiss him on the middle of this bony head, but learned the hard way to brace one hand over the nose to keep him from spontaneoulsy head butting my face by accident. (Ouch!) One time he was licking my shirt, it turns out I had gotten food on it while cooking. The gesture I love is when he is relaxed, enjoying some lubbin' and gives me his foot to hold or rests his foot or nosey on my leg. :-)

It truly depends on the dog. Our first try at rescuing a grey did not go well, our group's behaviorist said we had done everything she would have suggested and the best thing was to returnn her to be with a pack of dogs so she would not. be alone. She just could not adjust to being an only. When we left the foster home heartbroken, they sent us back with an older, more confident bounce and he has been a happy only doggie ever since! He's more of a people dog. He gets worked up when we come home, but it seems he mostly naps or gnaws on s bones or kongs and then naps some more while we are gone. In fact, a neighbor's female grey has a crush on him, and gets a bounce in her step when we take walks together, but he seems largely indifferent if not annoyed by the fawning. What he wants is lubbin' from his "peeps" as all the human neighbors seem to know and love him!! For the record, we used caution, muzzles and suggested ways to introduce both greys to our guinea pig. She bit each one on the nose and established herself as the alpha cavy in the household, and both greys stayed far away from her after meeting. She is so fierce she refuses to believe she is snack-sized! Even still her home is up high and out of the way. Use caution to shield your bunny, but there are dogs with lower prey drives, we've met two!

I can't speak for the hound, but I had people's bell's palsy with same symptoms, except my left eye blinked out of sync ( slower than) my right. I thought I had had a stroke. It was caught early by a great nurse pratictioner and a course of antivirals (valtrex) and prednisone halted the progression and I made a full recovery. In humans it is often due to a virus attacking tthe facial nerve. I got it during cold season. Best wishes for your beastie, I hope the doc figures out what the cause is and can treat it however is best for a dog.

What do you drug your dog with?Our Shadow is the mellowest dog ever, except for fireworks. We live close enough he can hear the boardwalk displays and the neighbors have an impressive collection of illegal fireworks. Last year we felt under siege all fourth of July weekend! We had tried ACE with our previous dog, Willow and it made her a frightened drunken sailor. We were so afraid she'd fall down the stair and break a leg, we swore we would never use it again. It was horrible. For Shadow we tried benadryl, and instead of standing at attention and quaking, he sat down and shook. He has not other behavior issues, it broke my heart to see him like that. (He was fine the next day, is always fine until the next night when people shoot them off again) We went to the vet and I explained I wanted a short-acting drug like valium or xanax that we could give him just for fireworks, not every day. Our vet said he didn't think those would help him, didn't seem to think anything would. He sent us home with amitriptyline, which I get home and look up, and it's a trycyclic! I took people psychopharmacology as an undergrad, Elavil has to build up in the system, and does not seem to be used as an occasional med. I am assuming it isnsimilar for dogs? We gave him one tonight, and the only change we have noticed is he is a little more whiny and clingy than usual. Should we give him this drug dailiy until we are after the Fourth, or should I get another vet? Should I go with the Benadryl, since I know it is safe and calms him a little bit, even if he is still visibly scared? My dad invited us to see the fireworks from his boat for the first time in 8 years, and I am so worried about leaving the dog home alone, I might have to bow out. Any advice, greytalkers? I really can't bear to watch Shadow suffer, but he is a great and mellow dog 99% of the time, I feel guilty drugging him. I feel worse drugging him if it isn't even likely to help, and he could get side effects. Our vet seems otherwise capable and grey-savvy, but I feel frustrated that he didn't seem to listen to me. Does he know something I don't know, or just not seem to be up on soothing occasional anxiety in greys?

Shadow missed the memo as well. He is a very vocal hound. He roos at the coffee pot, barks when he is frisky and wants to play, walk, or be let out, he whimpers and whines almost every morning from 6 or 7 Am until we finally get up (Not desperate to potty, I think he just wants us to get up). He also emits an amusing assortment of sighs, groans and moans during the day while he readjusts his napping position. He also will bark if I am on the phone too long. I don't know if it is attention, or not liking a voice without a person to go with it in the room with me. Funny thing is he does NOT bark at other dogs, but they all bark at him and he ignores them. When we go on walks, we joke " his milkshake brings all the dogs to the yard". One neighbor was distressed her boston terrier goes NUTS whenever shadow prances by, and has started giving her dog treats and saying, " It's Shadow! It's only Shadow! Have treats!" It is so odd, it's not like he makes any noise when he goes by, he only barks in the house! I wonder now, if her trainer has her training him to bark at my dog now. ( Inadvertantly) Enjoy your silent hound.

Hi there, I just wanted to chime in that we had to return our first grey, Willow, and husband and I were just heartbroken. I cried for days. But we are an only dog family, and she was not confident enough to be an only dog. It was such a hard thing to do. BUT, she ran straight into the middle of the pack and took refuge there when we brought her to the foster home. That was almost as hard as leaving her, but it hit home our home wasn't the right one for her. We were debating giving up or trying again and we ended up taking home a bounce. He seemed so HUGE and un-dainty compared to Willow, and I wondered if I would ever stop. mentally comparing him to our first grey. We gave it a go and 3 month later I am SO happy we took him home! Shadow loves it here, and we adore him. He is a big, lovey, mushy boy, and has really bonded well with us. He has even charmed the pants off of almost every friend, relative or neighbor we have introduced him to. You aren't the first person to have a poor fit, and it isn't your fault or her fault, it's just a bad combination. It really is the pits, but there is probably a dog out there who would be a great fit for your pack. Most people I have met with a shy girlie hound seem to have fared well pairing her up with a happy-go-lucky boy, maybe that could work for you. Aside from a belly band to prevent marking in the house while you get him acclimated, having a male is not that much different. Good luck!

Hi there, I would definitely rule out a serious medical problem first with a vet. Our first dog was fresh off the track and started limping too. We checked her paws and we could see angry red and pink wear spots in the black of her paw pads. The sidewalk and street were too rough for her tender paws. Someone on a grehound board told us to buy Musher's Secret, and it did the trick. It is like chapstick for the paws. I got it from amazon.com. We used musher's frequently and made her walks shorter until e paws looked less angry, then gradually increased walk length and used the musher's only once a week or so, and her paws toughened up. (Joizey Paws! Everything in NJ is tougher! ) ;-) Baby socks or pawz boots might work, too. I think you want to protect the ouchie feet initially and gradually let them get used to your terrain, whatever method you use. My dogs barely let me mush them (serious stink eyes!) so I could not imagine fighting with socks or boots. Good luck!

Aha! Mystery solved. Amended question- Anyone use Vectra 3D?

I don't know. My google fu failed as well! Makes me wary.

Hi all, Those of you who use a flea tick topical on your hound, have any of you tried Simple Guard? It is new and the vet just had a " teach-in lunch" on it. The vet we saw was gung ho on the new stuff, and said it repels as well as kills, which the Front Line does not. I asked if it was safe for greys and he said the reps didn't give any warnings. I am wary, as it was the rep's job to sell the product, not give warnings for each breed's tolerance. Something that repels would obviously be better than one that kills them after they have been feasting a few days, (eeew) but I am also not one to pay more or take risks just for the new and shiny. Thanks!

You are so lucky! The behaviorist recommended by our vet cost $300 to start, and we could NOT afford it! The clomicalm is helping Willow, but we are hoping to see more improvement in the months to come.

First off, I feel your pain and send you hugs! It is hard and stressful. Our Willow has terrible SA and we tried everything short of voodoo before we went for the drugs. She doesn't puddle, knock on wood, but she has shredded drapes, blankets and toys and once chewed bars on her crate so bad she bled all over ( I think the saliva from drooling spread it around, so it looked like a horror movie set, but she wasn't mortlly wounded). The shaking and panting broke my heart. She also was to upset to be distracted by treats when we left. Her favorite peanut butter would be in the kong where I left it, untouched. we had no luck with DAP collar or spray, but the DAP diffuser actually seemed to work. Maybe it was the delivery method. She is 60 pounds and on the 80 mg, the recommended dose for her size. It has been almost two months, and she is making progress. Not able to be alone three hours yet, but we could have her unmuzzled in the house for shorter trips okay. She seems less fearful in general and seems to be learning some new behavior. We have had some smiles and romps in the snow on meds. She is now exhibiting what I thought would be brand new dog behaviors. I think when we got her she was too terrified to bark, growl, guard, jump or test limits, and we are just seeing that now. It is like she was re-booted and we are starting training all over from scratch. I have also noticed that either the clomicalm or the winter weather have her more thirsty and drinking more, and having to pee more often. Good luck with your boy, and hopefully more people who have gotten to the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel will comment too, but at least you know you're not the only one! Good luck!

Hello, I'm new here as well. Our Willow had terrible SA same as your dog, and we tried everything short of "voo-de-doo" before we broke down and went for the clomicalm. She is doing much better! We started alone training right away and had a DAP diffuser the first two weeks as well. We hand feed the pill hidden in peanut butter so we know it went down in one piece. The main side effect we have seen is she seems to drink more water and subsequently need to go out a few extra times to recycle it. It isn't magic- she still whimpers and clearly prefers neither of us leave, but (knock on wood) she has accepted it and gone back to sleep most times we go out. We are just over the 1 month mark. DH has a business trip this month, so we will keep her on it at least another month, depending on our vet's advice. (I hate when he travels, too bad I can't have some for myself as well!!! :0. ) Good luck!