Feisty49

Does she pant just on trips around the city or does she also pant on long rides. My girl is *always* excited to go for a ride and jumps in my SUV easily and then lays down....but she pants all the time if we're doing city driving, with a lot of stops at traffic lights, etc. If we're taking a trip on the open road with no stops, she pants occasionally, and in between sleeps.

Now that she's been alone in the lounge and has discovered she doesn't like it, perhaps it will work out if you let Chase back in the bedroom. Though many Greyhounds don't want to bother to learn "tricks," they are very smart and she might get it now that being in the bedroom requires relative silence. My girl half wakes me up a couple of times a night when she changes position and, as usual, has to paw and scrape at the bed to make it just right. If she keeps it up too long, I say, "Annie, enough!" and she stops. I think that over time, it will all work out for you. Good luck!

My Annie poos often... 4 times a day. She poos when she deigns to go outside in the morning (7 to 8 AM, though I'm up at 6). She poos on our morning walk, usually twice. She poos again about 6 PM, when we take our evening walk. She's been this way forever. The more distance we cover on our walks, the more output she puts out. She weighs 65-66 pounds, gets 1.5 cups of kibble twice a day, and a few treats.

Whew. This is heart-felt writing and reading. Thanks to Brian for sharing this. I wish I had more words to express how this has touched me.

As said above, this sounds completely normal. Your girl (name and picture?) may follow you forever from room to room or may decide that it's OK to be in "this" room when you go into "that" room. My Annie wants to be on the same level I'm on (3-level house) but doesn't need to be in the same room, mostly because she can see me wherever we are on any particular level. Your girl sounds terrific and it appears it's going to be an easy transition for her. My advice: Relax and don't sweat the small stuff.

My first thought is how long has she been on the two drugs she's currently taking. If it's years, has she been reevaluated? At her age, seems to me she should be calming down a lot. If she can be taken off one of the drugs, then it might be an even swap money wise to put her on an incontinence drug. Also, if Leia has an ailment that can be diagnosed and medicated, she deserves that treatment if at all possible. IMO, letting nature take its course might apply to a cancer that is totally out of control, but IF a pill can help her, it's worth it. I believe that even with diapers, she's going to smell.

Three years ago I sold my then current house but didn't close on my new house for 31 days. In between, we stayed 200 miles away at my sister and BIL's place. Annie had been there previously, but only for a 3-day visit at the most. The day I closed on the new house, she had quite a trip. She went to the attorney's office with me. To the bank. To the final inspection of the new house. To the offices of the mortgage company, then finally to our new house. She stuck to me like glue for a solid 2 weeks, slowly loosening her grip as she realized? decided? trusted? that this was where we would be. She never exhibited true anxiety. She didn't pant or wander around or cry. She just didn't want me out of her sight, and my girl has always been an independent type Greyhound. After about 4 weeks+/-, she settled down and no longer followed me from family room up the stairs to the bedrooms and back down. I think your girl needs time and more than usual because she hurt herself. Give her lots of love and kisses, or whatever attention she likes the most. Good luck.

Congrats!

It's an individual thing. My Annie poos at least 3 times a day and if we get in an extra walk, she always manages to squeeze something else out bringing the total to 4. If it looks good and is firm, or as long as it's not diarrhea, no worries. My girl has formed poos but they squish so I can't say they are firm.

I was turned off by the claim that many of their dogs live twice the normal life span. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, though wouldn't it be nice to have our Greys around for 20-25 years?

If you have to, I bet she'd understand what to do. A week from today, I start dog sitting the Greyhound of a friend's son and DIL here at my house, and Penny-the-Greyhound's mom gave me a detailed list of how and when Penny eats. I thought MY dog was bad! LOL If your sitter is a Greyhound person, she'll get it. Question: What type of oatmeal do you use -- instant or have-to-cook? How much do you use? Do you actually cook it or add the flakes to the food? I ask because Annie doesn't have the best poo, especially as the day goes on. Olewo sometimes helps, but not always. Also, she doesn't like it so I have to add a lot of water to her kibble and mix up the Olewo as best as I can.

Annie likes lakes, rivers and creeks, but will not go in a play pool, even with other Greys around to show her the ropes. It is what it is and it's her loss.

Does she get kibble that's moistened with water? Annie drinks less water when her kibble is wet, and I wet it more than just moisten it. She has to do a couple of laps of water to start on the food. I don't moisten her breakfast (because she likes to graze dry kibble until noon) and she drinks a good amount of water in the morning.

Hi from Upstate New York.

I liken dogs to kids when it comes to acceptable behavior. What your girl is doing is not acceptable and just like with children, you have to do what's best for your dog, even if it makes you sad. As said above, being muzzled for the time being is better than being hurt or dead.

You'll get good advice here, but I have a couple of questions and how I taught Annie. Do you allow Molly to walk all the way out on her leash? Do you keep her close to you for better leverage? Have you attempted to teach her "heel," or whatever word you prefer? When I first adopted Annie, she too liked to be out there and pulling. Our trainer told me, "You're giving her too much freedom at this point. You're the human. She's the dog. She needs to learn." Here are a few things she told me to do. Hold her close, right next to my knee/thigh. If she pulls, stop and when she's calm, start walking very slowly, using the word heel and immediately give a treat! When she starts pulling again, stop, and repeat. Give small, yummy treats the second you start walking and she's not yet pulling, along with the word heel. It took a while, but Annie learned to stay close to me and not pull, though once in a while, she'll pull, and I immediately rein her back in, stop and walk verrrryyy slowly saying "heel" and giving treats. I don't mind if she's out there on the leash a few feet, as long as she's not pulling or wandering around others' lawns.

Haven't tried coconut oil. It does sound better. Now that Annie's back on Diamond Natural White Fish and Sweet Potato, her coat is healthy and soft again.

I tried the beef flavor of RR Nutrish. In about 3 weeks, Annie's coat got dull and lifeless looking. I put her back on the previous foodie, which she had gotten picky about, and everything is back to normal. Before switching, I used fish oil in the RR food, but Annie wouldn't eat it. She doesn't like fish oil.

I've never heard of Tylan. Am filing this info in the back of my mind in case it's ever necessary. Question: Does anybody use it for just plain old soft poo that is messy to pick up? Annie's poo is never bouncy hard, but it's usually pickable (new word). Every once in a while, though, it gets real soft and messy, though nothing has changed in her diet.

I think my girl would be shivering, after being watered down, with a towel and ice cubes. IMO, either being wet down or a towel would suffice.

Good advice about taking precautions but when the weather is cooler, I'd start up again with walks -- starting off slowly and with short distances. Walking is good exercise for people and dogs. My Annie *hates* the heat but loves to walk. I too hate the heat but love to walk. Even on the hottest days (90+ with high humidity and dew point), we get out in the morning and evening, but only walk a few hundred feet because the weather dictates it. Thankfully, we've got a lot of trees where I live so we usually can do at least half a mile in the morning because we're out early, with the sun still low in the sky, and we're in the shade. I hate to wish days of my life away (when one is 67, there are a lot fewer in front than behind), but I love Autumn and walking when it's cool. Annie jumps for joy when it's cool and hustles that skinny butt down the street as if she were a puppy instead of almost 9 years old.

Love this story. They have their ways, not often as direct as Baz but they let us know.

This is a great group with many people having lots of experience in all fields of Greyhound parenthood. Therefore, you'll get a lot of opinions. Good luck! I can't offer advice because my dog has no issues whatsoever about anything and never has (not counting fireworks and thunderstorms). I'm a lucky one. I will reiterate, though, that we don't want or have to be dominate over our dogs. (Forget Cesar what's his name.) Sure, there are rules we want followed, but as with children, we teach them to our dogs, and it may take time, as to what's acceptable and what's not. We don't dominate our skin kids. We don't dominate our fur kids. Do you have pictures to share with us?

Oh dear. This is sad. Good luck with the diagnosis and especially handling his pain.

I think your household would be greyt for a Greyhound, but I'm saying that from my own experience, which is all anyone can do. My girl is an only and likes it that way. Annie prefers a calm environment, but has no problem when my 10-year-old granddaughter visits and loves her up (my GD, though, isn't a boisterous, loud kid). She loves to walk and would go out again and again, immediately after returning from a walk, if I asked, "Want to go for a walk?" She loves people and hesitates or stops at the driveways of the houses where her friends live, hoping to see them. She loves car rides and jumps in the back of my SUV with no problem. I live in Upstate New York, and we get hot, humid, hazy days in the summer. Like most Greys, Annie doesn't do well in hot weather so I have to limit our walks to a mile or less twice a day. In not-hot weather, we walk at least 1.5 to 2 miles twice a day, and sometimes toss in a third walk. As said above, Annie prefers cold weather. 30 degrees or less is when she's almost frisky (my girl could never be described as frisky) and walks with a big smile on her face. Yep, she sleeps a lot but IMO, it's because there's nothing else for her to do. She doesn't play with stuffies. She doesn't roach. She doesn't get on furniture. She doesn't even like to go out in the backyard except to P&P. I've decided that she thinks the backyard is a big toilet, though she only uses the back quarter for P&Ping, and one doesn't lay or play in one's toilet, don't 'cha know. If you adopt a Greyhound, you will fall in love and wonder how your household managed to be without one.