XTRAWLD

Any update?

Have you tried to go for a long walk close to home since you don't have a car? Walking and getting them used to surroundings really can help.

missecho - Regarding the "treats from strangers". Years ago we had issues in Toronto with someone spiking hotdogs full of antifreeze and leaving them in parks for dogs to eat. The dogs were offleash in an area (I cannot recall if it was a dog park or just a grassy area where dogs technically shouldn't have been let loose anyway). The loser doing this obviously wasn't a dog person. Some people are crazy, the guy in the park you mention could have been a little loopy and loopy people are everywhere. To train a dog to refuse to eat ANYTHING offered by ANYONE would be quite the feat. I was however able to train my Pomeranian to only accept treats given by the right hand and not the left. But try to get a dog away from a piece of food left on the ground. The guy could have just left food on the ground a little here and a little over there and then what can you do? It would be gobbled down before you could get to the dog, I guarantee. The reason why the trainer did this exercise is for the dogs to be able to sit for anyone. They shouldn't jump up to greet someone, they shouldn't be standing there wagging and getting in your way. If anyone approaches a dog, the dog should sit, and this is done via treats because it is the easiest form of training. Eventually we will get the same response when asking for other "tricks" using clickers, or even toys and attention/praise as rewards. I would like to hope that by going to a training facility, that everyone AT the facility is there for the greater common good of having a relationship with their animals, and that they wouldn't be intentionally feeding harmful food to other dogs. Likely, people there are animal/dog people. I am of course hesitant about my boy getting "sick" from whatever else people are feeding (and how very little they are giving him I might add), but what he gains out of the socialization, outweighs a little bit of farting or a bit of D. I used hotdogs on Thursday and it worked incredibly well. He wasn't feeling fantastic the next morning though (I ended up going through almost 2 weiners) because we were encouraging something completely new, and he needed a lot of positive reinforcement. I think I'll be breaking up some dehydrated livers/lung that I got a hold of for next week to use instead. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Thanks Everyone. Nani - I find that Ryder looks very similar to a lot of other red dogs with the white "tuxedo" markings. He also has white on all four tips of his paws and end of tail. He's incredibly symmetrical! I fell in love with his looks the second I laid eyes on him. Dragontearz - If only we could teach them to sniff out the containers, we'd be all set huh.

Thanks Krissy for the tip! I don't have a lot of "one on one" time with him at the centre because there is a full class of 7. I did bring him up to the tunnel after class and he put half his body through one end when I was holding the treat, so I do think there is hope. Just have to be more patient. It wouldn't be fair for the class to just stand there and wait on me and Ryder trying endlessly without result. Plus it wasn't fun for Ryder and we wanted it to be a positive experience. We will see how my homework works at home. I would like to call the trainer though to 1. Apologize for being bitten, 2. Ask what to do with Kasey during training. I'm thinking I can utilize Kasey to go through our makeshift tunnel, cause it's usually monkey see, monkey do at my house with the brothers. Edit: I wanted to add that we are NOT doing agility training. It's basic obedience. The object of using the tunnel was to increase their self confidence by recalling under a "new and stressful" situation.

Wow, that sucks to hear about the pennies. I never thought he would have ingested them! Yikes. You might just have to crate him until you are more comfortable with him in your home when you aren't there. Over the course of the week I worked with Ryder on his sit. It really was pointless in the house as he would sit all the time, and get food. I went OUTSIDE and tied him to a bench and sat that way - then he caught on - OH, this is where I go to put my butt on the ground and get food....and then he would do it there all the time. I had to resort to walking and asking for a sit on our walk. He was way less comfortable with that and that's where I worked him the most. I think it paid off due to yesterday's results! Ryder had his second class last night. I was armed with hotdogs cut up thinly and very little dinner. I had to feed him something when I got home from work, even though it's recommended not to. He has a terrible habit of throwing up yellow bile when his tummy is too empty and I just don't want to deal with that in the car. He got a handful of kibble. He worked PHENOMENAL for me. I was so happy. He sat every time I asked him too. He was more relaxed than the last time. In we went into the arena. We tethered them to the wall again and asked for sits. We visited the other dogs for socialization. Everyone sat - even RYDER SAT FOR PEOPLE. I'm so thrilled you have no idea! The next thing we worked on was recalls. The idea was to give the dog to Howard, get the dog super excited, run away and get the dog to follow. Ryder has never been off leash before so I requested we take the leash off the dog for him to run. I could barely give Ryder to Howard. Ryder was incredibly upset and trying to pull away. I ran and Ryder sorta chased after me. He eventually got to me via a walk. Big praise at the end. The dog wants to be focused on you, and be excited to go to you. Looks like we have some work to do. Next, Howard set up a big tube - the tube used for agility. It's a 20 ft regulation tube. He compressed it as small as it would go. We were to give the dog to Howard and we were to stand at the other end and encourage the dog to go through. I laughed. We were first. Ryder didn't want to have anything to do with Howard, and didn't want anything to do with the tube. So we just did recalls beside it. I would run to the end and call Ryder over and off he came. He did drag the leash with him. I know it's a risky thing for the dog to run with the leash, but he hardly ran! Howard actually draped the leash along his back and it stayed up for the most part, which was relieving. That's why I gave him my first request with him off leash completely. He extended the tube longer and longer each time. We only tried the tube thing the first three times. Ryder went ape on Howard one time and bit his hand! Ryder did come to me each and every time though. He once wandered but eventually made it over to me. I had to use my "loud mad tone" to get him to come over a couple times. If I use my excited pitch tone he doesn't listen. Next week we will be learning how to walk without pulling! I spoke to Howard a bit at the end about how Ryder "performed". He was thrilled that the dog did the recalls. He said, "why stress the dog out if he's not having any fun (with the tube)". I agreed. He said - he will eventually go through, it will just take time. I took Ryder over to the tube to investigate, and he went half way in with a treat....so.... My homework is to set up chairs and drape blankets over the chairs and get Ryder to go through it, and to practice recalls aside from that tunnel. This will be interesting!

Or unless I get hungry too LOL

Ooo, the cut up hot dog trick. Perfect! Thanks! I'll run out and get some and chop 'em up. Is there a maximum amount I should have? Is 1 whole wiener throughout the hour too much? (I'm talkin' about the cheapie no name small ones.)

Thanks. I did think the same thing, bring a bowl and leave it out of Ryder's reach for other people to use. However, one gentleman beside me who was the last visitor in the exercise was able to ALMOST coax Ryder into a sit. He had something incredibly yummy in his hand, and Ryder is food motivated. So I guess it goes both ways. He might be sick of whatever treats I want to give him, but wants to please so he can get a treat of a different sort. But yes, I should be able to control what he ingests - however I guess a little of something else isn't the end of the world LOL. To answer mcsheltie - Ryder is not allergic to anything - but Kasey is, which is why we are attempting raw.

Hmm, I'd say as long as the bleeding is under control, you can likely wait. As mentioned above, is a flesh tear involved? I could only imagine the "webbing" on the dew claw has been compromised. I often look at the boys dew claws and wonder, what if it ever got caught somewhere? Just ensure the wound is clean to prevent infection.

So here is my issue. Currently feeding kibble. Will be feeding raw soon, like in a week or two soon. I'm currently going through obedience training with Ryder. In our first class, I used kibble as the food treat. He's very food motivated, however the environment was just too much for him and he didn't give a rat's about me or the reward. That didn't go over as well as expected, so I will have to switch to treats that are yummy gooey and well - bad so to speak. LOL The problem I'm going to have - our class had "other" people giving treats to the dogs. In case you missed my thread regarding his Obedience Training, there was a part of the class involving socialization. The dogs were tethered to the wall and the humans went around the room and stopped in front of each dog to ask for a sit. If they sat they got a reward - a treat. Therefore, other people were feeding treats to my dog, and I was feeding kibble to theirs. While I don't really like the thought of that in general (I really do try to control what they eat), if this kind of training continues, and I'm feeding raw, what do I do? Can I still give regular treats as a reward for training? I'd more than likely just get some dehydrated treats as close to raw as possible for the training purposes, but he will likely be ingesting other kinds of treats from other people. Or, should I just buy the best treats possible from the local store (we buy the grain free, organic good for you blah blah stuff) and not worry about how those treats will be in his belly and if they will conflict with the raw diet? I'm leaning towards this but just wondering since I'm new to the whole raw diet thing.

For Kasey we have a Rubbermaid container that holds all the basic dogs stuff, and it's just high enough to use for feeding, fits two bowls and there is an edge so the bowls won't slide off the top. For Ryder we went out and bought a raised feeder. No storage under it though. I prefer the raised feeders because IMO I feel that the floor is just way too much of a stretch for them to reach.

I guess it would only be fair to post pics of the boys since I've introduced them! Mr. Kasey deciding it's his turn to drive Putting up with the cold weather Posing for a Geocaching Picture Crazy Roaching Poking his nose out of the sunroof and catching air! The brothers Posing Ryder loves to stick his tongue out Toy time Waiting for treats The ends

Isn't this something?! Kasey is missing a "flap" on his right ear, and he has little slices on the tops. Ryder's are perfect. Actually Ryder doesn't have a scratch on him anywhere. Kasey clearly has boo boos EVERYWHERE, including a huge scar on his left side.

Yay. Baby Steps! Frozen Kong with the Kong stuffing works well in our house, I'd imagine so would stuffing it full of peanut butter and kibble. Keeps him so busy! I even stuffed the Kong with the pieces that are "special" for the Kong. Those are annoying and Ryder's loses interest cause he just can't get it. At least the stuffing he can lick to his hearts content. I also bought a "food ball" to keep Ryder busy. Fill it will kibble and let him roll it and figure out kibble falls out of it and he can eat it. This keeps him busy too, but also creates a fixation for him.....he ends up scouring the whole house for more kibble on the floor....plus it can get lost under furniture and then he's got nothing. We only use that when we are home for those reasons....but if you could keep the food ball in one area accessible, it'd be awesome. Keep up the good work.

Sorry to hijack your post (very impressive, by the way), but how did you clear him of the nasty habit of jumping up? I've been having trouble with my hound that has been with me since Christmas. He never does it when I'm home, but clears things off every flat surface - even 5 feet off the ground! I've been muzzling him when I'm not home and that has helped with him ingesting everything he can get his mouth on. So far he hasn't 'killed' anything that can't be replaced, but it's only a matter of time... We addressed the jumping up part first. If he jumped up on people, we put a knee up in the air and he would come in contact with the knee right in his chest. We also followed this with a NO! at the same time. He tried that only twice, and caught on quick that it hurts! We ensured that we kept an eye on him as much as possible. When he would jump up on the counter (he was silent and sneaky). If he was suddenly missing from the room, he was probably in the kitchen trying to sniff. If we caught him on the counter, we gave a stern NO! because he learned this with the jumping up on us part. It really was that easy for us, thankfully! However, I was prepared for more drastic measures if he continued. You may want to try these two methods (what I've read - haven't had to practice). Get some duct tape. Invert the tape so sticky side is up (so make a loop). Put it along the edges of your counter. If the dog jumps up, paws will come in contact with the tape and that might be enough to make him wonder, hmmm, what is this? He might get freaked out enough and stop. You could only hope! Of course anytime you see him surfing, say NO! Don't use his name, say NO! loudly and firmly. I also make a loud CLAP! with my hands. Should that not work, the only other thing I've read is a scare tactic (which we were ready to do). Save up some pop cans. Line them up on your counter, close to the edge, and stack them. If he's brave enough to sniff with enough touching force on the cans, they will fall over and scare the daylights out of him. If just the cans don't work, put coins inside them, and then he will have a real mess of things falling. It's designed to make your dog NOT EVER want to try counter surfing again, however, I am concerned about him forever being afraid of things falling from above in general. (Kasey is fearful of things above his head in general, like grabbing bowls from the cabinets, and LOUD NOISES etc. So I think he at some point had something fall on him - and nothing ever happened with us. It must have happened at the track, cause he came like that). Like I said - I didn't try it, but that's what I read in the "All About Greyhounds For Dummies" book.

Yesterday was our first class. Sorry for the novel, but I would like to document our training so I can look back and laugh eventually! LOL There were 7 of us in the class, each dog was a different breed. Majority were single people, another few were couples and 1 was a family of 5! They, of course had the Golden, and it of course was the most annoying dog there. He barked nearly the whole time, so much that the rest of us could barely hear our trainer! This was the first time I've seen a Griffon in person! There was also a white Labradoodle, a small black Lab puppy, an oddly, very shy and timid Jack Russel (could have been a bit of a mix too), and a small Aussie it looked like as well, but I think it's a mix. We tethered the dog to the wall, I know I already had my reservations. The tether was affixed to the wall rather low, enough that if Ryder panicked it could wrap around his legs. We were in a large domed building that had agility equipment set up in the middle. It was not heated. Boooo. I left Ryder's coat on, as I was told to be dressed for it ahead of time. We worked on sit. Ryder sat for the first 5 minutes of me asking him to. Then he stopped. He didn't want to have anything to do with being there, or the barking, or the loud guy talking.....he honestly shut down in hearing me. He asked us to work the sit for as long as possible and I asked the guy, his name is Howard so I won't always call him THE GUY, to come over. I indicated that this is a greyhound and they naturally don't sit, if very much at all. He understood, he is aware of the breed, and a few have been to his facility. Any dog can sit, whether they can for very long is all up to the training. I added, oh he'll do it at home, I could get him to sit for 30 seconds, a minute at home, in which case Howard then made an example of us. "She brings up a good point. She said the dog does fine at home, but won't cooperate here. Well "here" is where it has to work. This is where he has to sit for you. He should sit for you anywhere at anytime." OK....I got it. Now before the next exercise Howard informed the class of my shy greyhound. All dogs learn at different levels. The next exercise was fabulous. Everyone had to abandon their dog! We had to go around to eachothers dogs, and ask for a sit to the other dogs. If they sat, they got a treat and praise. This means, the dog should sit for ANYONE. In the case of Ryder, Howard mentioned that because he is shy, to keep your distance because he's not comfortable. But if you can get Ryder to react to you, sniff you, come up to you, you should reward that. We want a friendly, happy dog. Off we went as I left my tethered Ryder to the wall and left him to his own devices. We moved to the left, and hung around each dog for at least 5 minutes. Every dog I went up to sat for me! No one that went up to Ryder made him sit! There was one gentleman that was able to ALMOST get him to sit. He trusted him the most it seemed. He was curious and loved whatever treats were available. Howard pointed this out to the class. We turned to see Ryder sniffing his hand and accepting a treat. I said that's a big step to be comfortable with a man. I didn't notice a tucked tail either, and I was pleased. Our homework: Forego dinner for Ryder (as we had to do before class as well). For one hour every night I am to sit in front of the TV. I like this already! I have to tether Ryder nearby. At every commercial, I must ask him to sit and reward. Once the commercials are done, I watch my show. When the commercials are back, I train. In addition to this training, if on our walks or in our home, if ANYONE wants to pet Ryder, he has to sit first. So far, I like the class. It will be a challenge for me I think to work with Ryder in the environment, but I'm up for it. I know he has the smarts to do this, and the food motivation certainly helps. I will have to bring some more delectible treats to give him. I just have to call Howard today and ask about his thoughts regarding Kasey when I'm training. Kasey likes to join in/take over. So far, hubby has been able to make him sit on his walk, and sit for his treats. I was able to make him sit for a pet, and sit for breakfast. Sit Sit Sit Sit. I will live, breathe and think, SIT.

Here is my experience: Kasey has never had an accident in the house, ever. Ryder would pee in our house often when we first got him. He actually didn't learn a signal like Kasey. Our old house, when we first got Kasey, had a yard. Kasey eventually associated going out with that door, and he would tink the door handle if he had to go out and we weren't paying attention. It just seemed like Ryder ALWAYS had to go. We would take him out and a half hour later he'd pee on the floor. I didn't think however that it was marking, he just wasn't doing it "right" to be classified as marking. Could he be smelling Guiness? I was convinced he had some kind of UTI - but the vet said impossible. We didn't realize that his pacing around the house was the only signal we could learn from him. I really think that his peeing was a culmination of these items: We didn't pay enough attention to the amount of water he drank and when. We didn't realize that he had very little ability to hold his bladder and he needed to work on that. We didn't notice his pacing and a worried look just before he "went". He peed often enough that I bought a spot bot. And then we decided to throw out the whole carpet. LOL The self diagnosis of a UTI - well whatever it was eventually went away with some Vitamin C, salty water cleaning in the winky region, and believe it or not, more drinking so he could rid the infection. He used to pee in three streams and it would dribble, now it's one good steady one. We never had a poop problem from either dog. I am a crate believer. I think crating is a great tool. Accidents almost NEVER happen in there, and they learn that the home really is their crate eventually, and won't eliminate in the home. He also didn't understand that the house was his "crate" yet, and he shouldn't be going in it. Greys are creatures of routine and schedule. I can't begin to tell you how often we started taking Ryder out when we got him and we STILL had accidents. He's also only been with you a week, there will be some learning pains as he adjusts to his new home. The poop almost sounds like what was suggested earlier, (leave me alone here will you?) Spite. I know of many friends cats that do this LOL Keep us posted.

Kasey pulls out all the stops so he doesn't walk onto the scale.....legs full out - NO MOM. LOL Ryder just walks right on. I think it helps if the scale has a mat covering it. I noticed Kasey would panic more at scales that were ONLY stainless steel and not covered because he would have zero grip. Once we pick him up and put him on it he's fine, although he tries to sneak a leg or two off in either direction when we aren't looking.....sneaky bugger.

I recently learned about this with our Ryder about a week ago. It would seem like at least once a month he would wake us up anywhere from 3-6 am and just throw up yellow bile. I felt so bad, didn't know what was wrong. Did he eat something that upset him the day before? Odd that there wasn't any food mixed in the bile. A coworker mentioned "maybe he's hungry" and I thought, no way....and then I asked around and it was confirmed (Thanks Karen!). Ryder now gets an abundance of treats before bedtime to keep him full throughout the night. I felt horrible thinking he's starving (meanwhile if you look at his solid body there is no way he's been starving) He gets 2 squares a day...and Kasey has never wretched like that in all his years. So far the extra treats at night have worked. I couldn't believe it was that easy. Good luck with your girl. I'm sure you'll notice a difference!

My head is spinning! Will let you know how it all works out. I emailed about raw before going to bed, and I actually dreamed about it all night....YUCK LOL

Kasey was fed Iams (Chicken) for YEARS and he suddenly developed allergies. It happened, just like that. Kibble that I was pleased to buy him cause it looked GREAT on paper, just didn't work with his body. I'm sure you have a great list going already, so start there. With my experience, even trying to avoid grains, by-product, "meal", it just never worked because of how bad Kasey's allergies really are. Prednisone will likely be in his life, for life, we just try to make him as comfortable as possible. Best of luck and keep us updated.

We didn't realize how "dominant" our Kasey would be until we got another grey in the house. Call it denial or we frankly couldn't see it, but Ryder brought out the "butthole" in Kasey. We fostered a grey for a couple weeks years ago, and Kasey didn't like her. We thought, now that he's older maybe he'd be more mellow and accepting. Nope. We brought Ryder home and Kasey was very rude, and could care less towards Ryder. 10 months in and he's finally better, but he had to stake his turf, showing that he was alpha to Ryder. They do not play, they are not best buds. At best, Kasey "tolerates" Ryder. Don't go into getting a second dog thinking they will be best of friends....I did and it was a huge let down. We nearly regretted the decision. If Ryder wasn't such a great, fantastic, well rounded grey (who honestly I think Kasey helped to shape) we would have returned Ryder to the kennel. That's how bad it actually was. Upon their introduction when we brought Ryder home, we took Ryder to a neutral area outside of the home, and brought Kasey up there to meet him. Both had muzzles on and off we walked. Butt sniffing, pee mail, the whole bit. When we got back into the house, we left the muzzles on and Ryder didn't know what to do. Kasey was very bossy, and we felt so bad for Ryder but we knew the dominance thing had to be done. Ryder took to toys very quick, and started to play, and Kasey came out running full growl right beside his head to stop. He was the party pooper. Kasey didn't care that he was using his toys, he cared that he was having fun and doing something that he doesn't do, and that makes mommy and daddy get up and go play and pay attention. He was jealous too. Oh you are petting Ryder? Well I'm just gonna come and sit right in front of him, or step on him.....that kind of thing. This has a bit to do with Kasey being 8 and has been there done that, and Ryder is a young 3 year old, spunky and everything is new. We had Ryder crated during the day when we weren't home (for both of their protection), and crated at night. The night crating stopped within a couple weeks, but we kept up with the day crating until a few months ago. Until I felt I could trust the two of them alone together. Ryder learned that this is his home too, and I finally trusted Kasey not to kill him. I've walked home every day since Ryder's freedom to roam the house, no blood or pee or poo to be found anywhere. The dogs will have to work the dominance thing out on their own. You never know, the dog you might bring home might stand up to your current dog and the tables might turn. You will have to support the dog that is alpha and not feel bad for your old favorite standby. Once they work their issues out, you will have a stable pack.

We still struggle for a couple years now trying to get Kasey's allergies under control. My recommendation if you think it is an allergy, is get it confirmed - we were only able to do a blood testing version, because Kasey wasn't able to stay off meds long enough to do the skin testing. Once the blood is examined (while it is not as sure fire reliable as a skin test) you at least know what major triggers your dog has and you should "try" to avoid those. Clearly being allergic to grass - yup, Kasey is - it's hard to get away from. The only thing you can control is the food, environmental is incredibly tricky...dust...ya he's allergic to that too. We got him onto a Limited Ingredient Diet, like others have suggested Natural Balance - they have a fantastic variety, the quality is decent, and honestly is less expensive than some others sold at the vet. He would tolerate the Sweet Potato and Fish the best. It really is trial and error even on that stuff. Venison went right through him and Lamb gives him incredible gas, you just have to try and see. After being on it for a while, I noticed his weight loss, and I got really concerned. We did take him to the vet and he told us to monitor his weight - well no kidding - but he did take a look at the ingredient listing and admitted - "you could add a leather shoe to this and get the percentages for crude max/mins, etc". Nice huh? He added however, that Natural Balance was a fantastic brand. Not only is Kasey on prednisone to control the allergies, he's on LID I then finally found a food, off of his preferred listing, and he's on that now. I was worried that the LID was SO limited that he wasn't getting enough nutrients which is why he lost weight. That's just my belief anyway. We really have run the gammut with different bags - it's all trial and error. If your dog isn't doing well on the food after about a week (for me, not doing well is just constantly bad bowel movements - take the manufacter/retailer up on the return policy. Most will let you return the unused portion if your dog isn't doing well on it, and get your money back. But be careful about switching foods frequently, i.e. give it at least a good 1 or 2 weeks for their system to get accustomed to the change, before giving up on that brand and starting a new bag. He seems to have stabilized now on the Holistic Blend he's currently on - but I'm considering raw because of everything we've been through with this poor guy. What's another change now that we are so far along anyway

Question: You want to feed 2-3% of your dogs IDEAL adult body weight. Is this per meal or per day?