Feisty49

I have no idea whether it will or will not help Ruby, but I'd be hesitant to get an actual puppy. They need to be housebroken and learn all the other things we take for granted that our Greyhounds do or don't do. I know all Greyhounds aren't as easy going as Annie and Ruby, but I can guarantee a puppy will be a lot of work. Also, Ruby may not want to be around the activity and high energy a puppy is 100% guaranteed to have. Long story short, consider adopting a dog at least a year old, perhaps a mixed breed from a local shelter that has already been in a home but was "turned in" because the owners got tired of dog ownership. I sometimes think of getting another dog because Annie is sooo laid back it's often as if I don't have a dog at all. It's doubtful I ever will get a second dog, but if I did, I'd get an older, more-difficult-to-adopt dog, something at least 5 years old.

I used to be 100% for giving them a set time, such as 30 minutes, and then taking up the food. I've since altered that stance because my only dog Annie is often the same way. She'll eat a little bit when it's first put down and then return a couple of hours later to finish it. I can do this because no other animal will get into it. As much as we all say Greyhounds like routine and don't like changes, as my girl has aged, she herself shakes up her routine and schedule, and eating b'fast at the same time or dragging it out for a couple of hours is one of the many changes she makes over the course of time. This past winter, she did the drag-out-breakfast routine. As soon as warm weather arrived, she started gobbling breakfast when it was put down. My own personal opinion is do what works for you and your dog. Take it up. Leave it down. I don't think it matters one way or the other with an only dog.

Good luck and good wishes. He has an extraordinarily expressive face...so wonderful.

Some dog's teeth/gums bleed easily. If I miss/skip two days of not brushing Annie's teeth, the 3rd day there will be a bit of red on the toothbrush, and also a smell from her mouth. That's normal for her. She had her annual last month and except for tarter on her front teeth, which the vet scraped off, her teeth are fine, albeit yellow. Personally, I don't think that a teeth cleaning treat does a lot of good. Don't spam me -- just my personal opinion based on my history with Annie and other households with multiple hounds who don't brush. I wouldn't be worried but it's good Ruby has a vet appt soon so you can be assured all is well/normal.

He is beautiful! I fall in love again with my girl Annie every morning when I get up. Once your heart is captured, it is theirs forever.

I am so sorry for your loss. She is a blonde beauty who will always remain a gorgeous girl.

Headline reads: Purina - A Year to the Day After Being Sued, Blue Buffalo Finally Admits By-Product meal in a "Substantial" and "Material" Portion of Their Pet Food. Interesting read. Big Companies, as well as Big Brother, wonder why we question and doubt so much of what we're told. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purina-a-year-to-the-day-after-being-sued-blue-buffalo-finally-admits-by-product-meal-in-a-substantial-and-material-portion-of-their-pet-food-300079805.html

My first thought was maybe a bee or some other insect jabbed him enough to hurt but not enough to do the GSD. Hope he is back to himself this evening so you can settle in.

I concur; way too much food. I gasped when I read it thinking it must be a mistake. Regarding picky/inconsistent eating: Assuming it's a healthy dog, they will eat when they're hungry and IMO, they will jerk you around, so to speak, if they know you'll put extras in. Don't give in. They won't starve. If she does need to gain weight, it can be done slowly, perhaps giving her an extra quarter cup of food in each meal once you decide what she should have to maintain her weight where you want it. My girl Annie gets 2-3/4 cups of food a day, split between breakfast and supper plus a few low-calorie treats. She weighs 65-66 pounds. Her racing weight was 61. 2-3 ribs should be easily discernible as well as the outline of the hip bones. As far as the back, Annie's has a dinosaur back. Her spine sticks out like little knuckles. If that's all people notice, I'm sometimes asked if she's been sick because she's so thin. Annie often gets picky about eating her breakfast. Sometimes she eat all of it it. Sometimes she eats nothing. Sometimes she eats two bites. Sometimes she eats half. I've learned over the years not to worry about it because that's normal for her. She always eats supper. Do you put water on Murphy's kibble? That can slow her down so she doesn't gulp and vomit.

I've never seen it and always thought that dogs don't sweat. Are you sure it's not urine?

Did your dogs have an obvious sign that an adjustment was necessary? Chiropractic adjustments work on humans so it makes sense to me they would work on a dog. I'm just wondering if an older dog, even without obvious issues, would benefit from treatment. Annie is 7-1/2 and has slowed down a lot.. a lot lot. I've been putting it down to aging. She does have arthritis in her spine and is on Vetprofit for it, but I wonder if there are other issues.

The first thing I wondered is why you think she needs something to chew on. Maybe she's just not a chewer -- or is she chewing on things she shouldn't and you're trying to give her an alternative. I'm not fond of rawhide. I've heard a few stories of a dog choking because s/he didn't chew it well and have never given it to Annie. Lots of dogs aren't into toys of any kind or even chewy things. My girl Annie doesn't chew on things and most of the time she uses her toys for pillows when she has head bed fail. If I'm taking too long to get ready for our walk, she will toss around and play with a toy for 30 seconds to indicate her impatience. I haven't bought her a new toy in 2 years because nothing wears out. Two years ago I bought Annie an antler. It was beautiful. Just ready for her teeth. She barely sniffed it. Eventually she did chew on it once for less than a minute and decided it wasn't worth the energy, or whatever. LOL They're all different. Some destroy their toys. Some ignore them. Some love to chew. Some don't care for it. We like to enhance our dogs' lives by giving them something special but sometimes it's just a waste of energy and money.

In January 2014, Annie had a dental, no extractions. The cost for everything was just over $600. I had been given an estimate of $1,200 because the vet thought there would be extractions. Once the teeth were cleaned, turns out they were fine. As was stated, cost depends on location as well as what is done.

If we didn't love our Greyhounds so much, we'd tear our hair out with their inconsistencies. Oh wait, maybe we already do! My girl Annie does her last P&P at 7:30ish. She often goes 12 hours because she likes to sleep in, don't 'cha know. I often have to insist she get up and get her skinny butt outside. She's never had an accident in the house, but if she did during the night, her last outing of the evening would be much later than 7:30. My only suggestion to avoid any issue with a P&P, if you're going to let him be uncrated at night, is to insist he go out later in the evening, say 9 o'clock. Maybe his licking/slobbering will let up the longer it's been since his dental. Is that a possibility? Somebody else is sure to have a suggestion for alleviating that. Good luck!

How late do you let him out for his last chance to P&P? A healthy dog should be able to hold it for 7 or 8 hours overnight, and if he's doing it by the door maybe he's just not telling you at night he has to go. What kind of noise was he making when in your room? It sounds unusual to me that a Greyhound makes enough noise at night to keep someone awake. I'm thinking there was a reason. Was he cold? Did he have to go potty? Was he hungry? Some dogs need a treat in the evening to get through the night. It's pretty obvious he doesn't like being alone at night, which is the norm for Greyhounds. I'm surprised he didn't protest being alone at night before this. Now that he's been introduced to spending the night in your bedroom, I don't know if it can be undone. Maybe someone else will have an answer with that regard. ETA: The crying when he's separated during a party is because he knows there are lots of people downstairs. Greyhounds are sociable animals and he wants to be there. When you go to work, he is alone and, luckily, isn't unhappy about it.

This. Continuous and/or near constant licking would be a sign to me of an issue. Time for a trip to the vet.

Glad to read he's better. When they hurt, we hurt and feel so frustrated.

Welcome from another Upstate New Yorker -- the Albany area. Your girl is beautiful!

One of the things you can count on with a Greyhound is change. Whether it be where they sleep, what they eat, how they poo... they're always morphing. Greyhounds like routines but there's always something they like to switch around once in a while. The first thought I had was maybe he's not liking the crate as much. Many people always crate. Many don't. Something to think about.

It's what we all dread. Hang in.. love your guy.. give him lots of special treats.. remind him continually how much he is loved.. and pet him as much as you can. It's sad.

Excellent job, Hester.

I'm thinking that a sprain wouldn't cause her to bite/work at her foot. Maybe it was a bee sting.

And FYI: Ticks don't necessarily die off in the winter. When I lived in the country a couple of years ago, I saws ticks in the snow in the middle of January.

Greyhounds like to plant and freeze and not move. They become a lump of cement. You're doing a greyt job. Keep up the training. He'll soon learn the stairs and forget about the training.

I was thinking brain tumor also but she sight issue preceded the seizure by 10 months. That seems like a long time between the two incidents to be connected. The seizure was in December...4 months ago? Since then, she's been OK. That's good.