XTRAWLD

We had Ryder crated when we got him and Kasey had roam of the house during that time. This happened for 8 monhts. When I uncrated Ryder after 8 months, I closed off our bedrooms and slowly Ryder gained privileges to the rest of the house, however this also prevented Kasey from sleeping on our bed when we weren't home much to his dismay. I was limiting Kasey, a dog that hadn't been crated for years because Ryder didn't have run of the whole house yet. So they both went through changes and had to cope with those changes at the same time. You are in a tight spot because Tipton has SA. I would lean towards crating the new dog and letting Tipton roam free. Maybe put a bed beside the crate for him to hang out beside his new friend. If you decide to crate both, I would recommend the crates being close to eachother so Tipton can see and smell his new friend during the day. That might be calming enough for him not to destroy his bed, you never know.

Ya, I'd agree with a little bit of tummy pain. Glad she is feeling, seemingly, better.

I hate open back stairs, and my hounds do too. I would recommend putting some sticky strips if possible, but I don't have any further training tips to help. My experience: I have two different stair walkers. Kasey JUMPS up the stairs, 1 flight in 3 bounds. Ryder takes one stair individually. If the greyhound is an individual stair climber it might not be too bad of an issue, but the flight jumpers are the ones that worry me because they just bound up them with full force. I'm so scared Kasey will one day put his paw right through on the odd times we've had to deal with them. I know Ryder got tripped up with open back stairs, and there were only 2 stairs to go from my parents back deck to the ground. Now he just stretches to jump right on the deck and doesn't take any stair at all.

Been there done that. Kasey is allergic to everything. We visited numerous vets, tried numerous things, trial and error through the wazoo. When we first realized something was wrong, Kasey developed incredibly red bleeding sores on his head and ears. At first it was diagnosed simply as hot spots. I wasn't satisfied with that. Later we thought perhaps he had a severe case of scabies. Negative there. You really have to rule out what those spots are first. He scratched incessantly, so much that he would make himself bleed. Then it would heal for a day and he'd open it up again, potentially opening the site for infection. First, while blood testing is less accurate than skin testing, but it will give you an idea of the kind of things she is allergic to. I would recommend starting there first once you have ruled out any other reasons for the spots. Thankfully, meds can be given and she can still be tested. Kasey would need to be off all meds for up to 6 weeks prior to skin testing. That was not something I was willing to put him through because at the point we started discovering these problems, he couldn't go for more than a couple days without a med to help control his itching. So that's the first thing to consider. Secondly, the dog will need to be sedated to do this. Not sure how you feel about sedation, but for us, the less the dog is sedated in general, the better and safer we feel. It was discovered earlier this year at Kasey's dental that he had trouble coming back after sedation - it is a risk you will have to weigh as well. We briefly visited the Atopica situation. Super expensive, and a bit of a PITA but you of course need to go through skin testing first. You also get a new formula ever 3 months I believe, so lots of extra visits for that too. Again, no meds I believe for a certain time before first administering it. I was also not comfortable with injecting. Sure I could learn, or I could bring him 1.5 hours to the special vet clinic to have them do it. We tried a slew of meds to make him feel more comfortable. It really was try this and try that. We got pills to help increase circulation to the skin to create a better barrier against the environmental allergens. We tried hair growth, we tried shampooing often (find a soothing shampoo without oatmeal!), we tried creams, heavier steroids, mild ones, etc. Benadryl did squat. A combination med of steroid and benadryl did squat. But your dog might react to those meds better and/or different than mine. That's the crappy thing of it all, it takes time to learn what works and what doesn't. He would have unwanted side effects on one drug, and not the other, and I just didn't want him on 5 different pills for this and that. I will admit after getting the blood test done we really did make a huge effort to make his life more comfortable. Vacuumed more regularly, trial with food, wash bedding/coats more often, we even moved, and the latest effort - changed out all the carpet in the house to laminate (he has a dust allergy too). I scour all consumable foods to make sure even the tiniest amount of chicken (I don't care if they say poultry fat isn't discernable, I'm not giving him an ounce!). After all of our efforts, Kasey's food and environmental allergies are controlled with 10 mg of prednisone in as little as 7-10 day doses. He will be on pred for life, however we are comfortable with the fact that a low dose is making him comfortable and it is cheap to buy and give. Now seemingly, he's on Pepcid to control acid since he's been on pred for the last 4 years and has likely developed small ulcers etc from the pills, but again a small price. Feel free to PM me for anything. We've been through a lot and seems like you will just be on your way with it soon. It really does suck, but eventually you'll get there. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you find a great team of vets and dermatologists to help you.

What a happy looking boy!!!!

Yup. They are showing their dominance. Kasey tries to do it to Ryder (both neutered).

The worst feeling is you know the house is quiet, but can still hear them. Very sorry.

I hate when things are in control (seemingly) and then are not. Stay strong. I have no experience but offer my praise and thoughts.

Awh, poor boy is still having accidents in the house. That's not good. Hopefully this will clear up sooner rather than later.

My Kasey doesn't take a lot of crap from little dogs, and he's a boy, although I think he's more likely to swat at them with paws than put them in his mouth. (Thankfully I haven't had to experience the difference!) He very often puts Ryder in his place. I really do think it's personality and also their level of assertiveness that would compel a dog to teach another that enough is enough. Although I think it might be more common for a broodie to do this behaviour than any other, and perhaps to do this "correcting" behaviour without actually breaking any skin.

Thanks guys. I have experience raw feeding with chicken backs, turkey backs, ribs, etc....it's the more "odd" stuff I'm unsure of. I'm actually a little worried about how the hocks will fare in Ryder's molarless mouth (both massive molars on the top are removed). He made ok work on ribs, but the hocks might be a different story? Anyone know if pig hock is a softer bone than a pork rib? I have some regular tripe (not the white version, but not the green version either) from our raw feeding days that I throw in now and again.

FYI - Ours are Size LARGE for both boys. I remember buying 2 sizes and I took them home to test fit, obviously the smaller one (which would be medium in this case) was sent back.

Awh. It's an adjustment period for sure. Try to play, try walks, try chewies.....he'll be himself soon. It takes up to a year for the full personality to shine through.

I've "walked" Kasey's legs before to make him go when he didn't want to. What an amazing sight to see for sure. Car drives by while I'm with my greyhound, crouched down, picking up his legs and making him walk LOL. Take one front leg and physically move it. Take the next front leg and move it forward as well. Now pick up the back leg and move it forward, again with the other. I've had this method jump start Kasey before, I think because he's thought I've humiliated myself enough, and put me out of my misery!

There are a few threads on this matter, and I have personally struggled with a statue Kasey and a stubborn walker Ryder. Sometimes a change in direction helps, sometimes food helps but usually they are too "frightened" or "distracted" to take them. You do need to be aware that this takes a bit of training on your part to help fix. I will never forget Kasey stopping on me for 20-30 minutes....it took a fellow walking other dogs towards us to jump start him. I found that if I kept up a quick pace, he was less likely to stop and shut down on me. Statuing like this seems to be a greyhound trait.

My boys wear Muttluks, but I don't recall they getting abrasions where Otis has them. Certainly they have not bled. I wonder if you you are one size, or maybe two sizes too small? I'll check what size my boys have when I get home. What about putting Vaseline on his abrasion before putting the boot back on the foot? You shouldn't if it is still an open wound, and I don't know if you should put the wounded foot back in a boot. To be honest, they haven't worn them yet this year, so I'm thinking back to last year. I know the only rough part they have is that wearing the boots puts pressure on their nails to go against their toes and the skin there gets red, but that's about it to be honest. I made the move to Muttluks FROM Therapaws...which actually hurt Kasey even though they were an expensive and phenomenal boot.

I did see that thread about the Goat Leg....let me to prep this thread for my boys. I find that wet dog food and Kasey don't get along very well. He almost always has messy stool. Whatever the additives in there don't work well for him, plus his allergy list just sucks and it's hard to find anything that doesn't have a little something in there he's allergic to. Anything raw on the other hand, we have never had an issue. Pork heart was by and large the worst stuff, it gave both my boys the runs, so I'm not touching that again.

The new supermarket we go to has lots of fresh pigs ears packaged up (a big pair for under $2), pig hocks are very common too. They also have pig skin, (we've recently discovered a smoked/dried version of rolled skin that they just love and works pretty well on the teeth). I even found lamb organs yesterday...I've never seen those out in other supermarkets I've been to (5 organs for $5 -yikes). They also have little white pieces of beef tripe under $1 for the package. While I only feed bones irregularly now, they both have previous raw diet experience, and they do get meat/fat trimmings when I cook. I would like to give them stuff once or twice a week. Why I'd like to do this I'm not sure, I just think it would be nice for them and break the boring kibble cycle day in and day out. Are the ears and tripe ok to feed fresh like that, just add to their kibble meal? (Kasey is allergic to chicken so I have to pass on the organs I see there).

My first guess is a UTI in the very least, but it may have progressed further to something more. I dunno if blood means any kind of kidney stones? Others will likely have more ideas to help you. Poor guy. Does he struggle to pee? Glad you are heading to the vet. Very alarming for certain. Keep us updated. Hugs.

Kasey would lick and swallow a lot like something was caught in his throat. Vet said to give him Pepcid for acid reflux. Its pretty safe as long as you give the right dose for weight and stay away from the chewable kind. He did not however have any vomiting episodes. Ryder was the bile thrower-upper and he needed a nausea med to break the cycle but since then no issues. As you can see, similar symptoms but 2 different greyhounds and 2 different diagnosis. I'd say it would be worth a vet visit to diagnose. The excessively drippy nose thing (to me) is anxiety....so better to get it all checked out at once. I don't think the symptoms you describe are bloat at least....

My boys live for bread. I think the crusts of Rye bread are what lead to the longevity of my Pomeranian.

I don't think daily brushing of a greyhound is necessary. I wonder if some of the oils have been stripped away from his skin and he has become dry, or perhaps his skin is abraised from how often he's been brushed. Take a break from brushing and see what happens. Try brushing your skin every day for a few minutes I bet in a few days you might not want to anymore. There is some great stuff called Dermoscent you can get from your vet that helps repair skin and inhibits hair growth. It's a topical ointment and I swear by it, but it really is expensive. You could try that and see if it's soothes him and makes him better.

I have one of these days every once in a while and it is never fun. Maybe we should print out copies of what you wrote, carry them around and pass to those people that we see on our walks? Deal?

This sounds like sleep startling to me. New greys often come home with this and IMO grow out of it, but some are worse than others and do need a bit of training. You know the adage, "let sleeping dogs lie"? Why are folks waking them up in the first place? I can understand if you are walking by their bed and they are awake and growl at you - that is uncalled for, but if you know they are sleeping, why bug them?