Feisty49

A terrifying ordeal for everybody. So glad it has a happy ending.

Welcome and I love his ears! He looks like a full-time sweetie. I bet you can't wait for July 12 to come.

As others above have said, off-leash for most Greys is a big no-no. There are some Greys, though, who have good enough recall that their parents are confident enough to let them run free. There are others who let their Greys off leash, even without good recall training, because they feel their dogs just won't leave them. This may work for some (dogs and people) but for most (again dogs and people) it won't. You said in your post that you won't be looking for a Greyhound sooner than 4 years down the line. Is that what you meant? That's a long time. You have plenty of time to read all sorts of information about owning Greyhounds and I think you'll find that sticking with Dobies may be best for you.

I've got a girl who, as a couple of others said above, only goes when she feels like it OR if I get the leash to trick her into thinking we're going for a walk. She's easily done 14 hours, which I hate, but knowing she can hold it until she feels like peeing makes me no longer feel guilty the very few times I leave her for more than 3 or 4 hours. I think if your guy was leaking you'd smell it. As far as cleaning his genitals: He's a guy! Cleaning may be the dog way of checking things out, as human guys do with what the think are subtle movements of their hands.

I'd go the lower dose if it were my dog and I used it, but I haven't seen a flea or tick on Annie in two years so I don't use anything.

I voted the kitchen/dining room because of the ease of cleaning it up. Just make sure you have one of his beds for him to sleep on.

My Annie was once startled by a rabbit in our backyard and ever since, has been afraid of the "wild" rabbits outside. I suspect if I had one in the house, Annie would be hiding more than the rabbit.

My Annie's back half will shudder and/or shake, but not as much as if she's tossing off water. She does it, though, when her anti-inflammatory/pain pill has worn off and the pressure on her spine, which has arthritis, hurts her.

So sorry to read this. Sending healing thoughts to both of you.

Dogs adjust and even change their own schedules. When Annie eats breakfast (and she goes off b'fast for a week or so about once a month), she eats about 6:30 AM. Supper is about 3:30. Yes, that's very early, but she starts pushing for supper at 2:30 so over the past 3 years since adoption, I went from feeding her at 4:30 to 4:00 to 3:30. So she goes from 3:30 PM until 6:30 AM the next morning, and she's fine. She does get treats during the day.

Generally I'm not a believer in coincidences. Your guy started an unusual behavior, peeing in the house, when a new, important person entered his life. IMO, it is cause and effect. As far as inquiring about what type of service you're getting: My goodness, you're a consumer paying for a service. It is your right and your responsibility for the well being of Hugs to inquire. It has nothing to do with it being "cool." If you took your car in for service and they didn't change the oil as requested, would you not ask why?

Nice!

Yes, it is the Proactive Health Adult.

Love the name Sky! One thing you'll learn as you read the forums here is that for as many Greyhounds out there is just about as many personalities there may be. Some are so easy going they are almost boring. This is my girl. Anybody can wrap their arms around her and she's fine. She actually 'requests' it by coming up to me, laying her head in the crook of my elbow and pressing down so the arm bends over her head. She never goes on furniture. She has no interest in my bed. She doesn't beg for food. Food can be left where she could get it if she wanted and she doesn't bother. Play with toys? Uhmmm.. not so much. Zoomies? Almost never. Run in the backyard? Again, almost never. I've had her almost 3 years and we occasionally visit one of her foster moms (who has 5 Greyhounds) and her foster mom says that except for having lost her shyness, she is the same dog now as she was then: laid back and boring. LOL

Try introducing the toothbrush to her with something on it that's really tasty such as peanut butter, Cheez Whiz, etc., and let her lick it off so she gets used to seeing the brush at her mouth as well as getting used to the feel of the bristles. With the good stuff still on it, after a few days try to introduce it into her mouth as she's licking. Eventually switch the good stuff out with a doggie toothpaste. With any luck, and persistence, she may learn to tolerate her teeth being brushed.

Welcome aboard to you and your girl. Re rubbing her belly and her growling: My first thought was that she'd had enough of being touched and, because she's a dog, added the low growl to her jumping up. Maybe you were rubbing the same spot over and over and it was irritating. I've had my girl for almost 3 years and I touch her as I want to be touched. It's all good unless it goes on and on and on, so I always pull back from rubbing her belly, etc., before I want to. If you literally rubbed her belly for a few minutes -- say for 3, 4, 5 minutes -- especially in the same spot, I suspect she had had enough. LOL Re twitching when being pet: It could be a lot of things. Maybe it makes her nervous. Maybe it's a bit painful (my girl has arthritis in her spine so I'm careful about where I pet and touch). Maybe it tickles her! I suspect you'll get different opinions about being a pack leader. Some don't subscribe to the idea. I personally have no opinion. I have one dog. She's literally an almost perfect dog. I'm the human, and she's the dog. In my house, as much as I love Annie Banannie, human rules apply, but I don't feel like a leader of the "pack." Finally, three weeks is a very short time in Greyhound ownership. Your girl -- and what is her name?? -- will change so much over the next few months and beyond. Oh... in addition to her name, we need a picture. :--)

Welcome. Ubet sounds wonderful. I'm not a good source for medical problems regarding feeties because, thankfully, Annie has none. I suggest you post your question, being more specific about the issue and including a picture, on the Health and Medical Discussion forum. We also like pictures of the whole dog -- not just feets! LOL

Anything can happen to any dog (becoming lost, becoming ill) and if you think about that, you'd never adopt any animal. My girl doesn't rush the door. I have a 3-level split with the entry four steps below the living room. When I come home, she's standing in the living room, at the top of the stairs, waiting for me to greet her. When the doorbell rings, she usually walks into the living room to see who's at the door. She's a very calm, laid back, can't-be-bothered Greyhound. She can't even be bothered to go after bunnies and squirrels in the yard. She ignores them (makes me wonder how much she enjoyed the 88 races she was in LOL). Nevertheless, friends and family know we open the door and walk in. We don't stand there talking with the screen door open even an inch...just in case. This is a long-standing habit because I also have a cat that is strictly indoors and she would rush the door to get outside. If you really love Greyhounds and know in your heart it's the dog you must have, then you will find a way to work with doors.

I think she could use another couple of pounds. As far as what may be critical comments regarding her weight, if there's the time, I consider it an opportunity to educate people about Greyhounds and what's required to keep them healthy, which, IMO, starts with them being kept at a weight that makes them look skinny. I just don't find it necessary, or nice, to be rude to questions like that.

She's sooo pretty. Love B&W hounds.

My Annie doesn't get kongs because she doesn't like 'em. I've tried, though not recently, but decided since she doesn't like it why bother because she doesn't need the extra calories and I don't want the potential mess. She's also never needed anything to get her over my leaving the house. She doesn't care and I assume sleeps when I'm away.

So are you interested in just getting her to not freeze on your walks or do you want some advice about getting her to easily go outside? I had lots of experience with freezing or planting, as I call it. My Annie was an award-winning I'm-not-gonna-move Greyhound. I remember being in near tears because she'd just stop and there seemed to be nothing I could do. The solution is simple: You need to get the feet moving again. One way is to hold River's head close to your thigh via a very short leash and walk in a circle, pressing your thigh against her head to move her whole body. As you come out of the circle, keep on walking. Another way to get feet moving is to gently give a push on her shoulder so she has to sort of jump. When she moves, start walking briskly and in a firm voice say, "Come on," or whatever works for you. I know my Annie seemed to go into a trance when she decided to plant herself. As the trainer told me, gotta break the focus on whatever they are thinking and get their attention by moving them about. Something to think about: When you're walking, do you slow down when she slows down? I'm not talking about her slowing to sniff the grass and check pee mail. If you're walking on the sidewalk/road and she starts to hesitate, don't you slow down. Keep up the pace, maybe increase it a bit. We tend to let our dogs dictate the pace of the walk which means when they slowwww down and stop, you're stuck. You be the one to decide the pace and she'll soon learn to follow. Good luck!

IMO, working her up slowly to going out at a later time is fine. We've all had to make our dogs wait to go potty, whether it be in the morning or we got stuck in traffic coming home from work or we went to lunch and stayed longer than anticipated. Does she really have to go potty? Sure, probably, but she's not peeing in her crate so I'd start the training in 15 minute increments. A healthy dog won't be harmed by waiting and this can be the start of you training her for what fits your lifestyle. BTW, my girl Annie, who is 6-1/2 years old, has her last out for the day no later than 8 PM and she usually sleeps in until 7 the next morning, with pretty much the only reason she comes downstairs to go P&P at 7 is because I insist so we can start our day.

I think he's found a place that he really likes. Period. It was a haven during the storm, but while in there, he liked it! Putting his bed in there was nice. He's now probably more comfortable. Maybe you could get another bed and leave it in your bedroom where he slept previously. Then he'll have a choice. My girl changes her sleeping habits all the time. She went for weeks not coming up to the bedroom level (I have a split level with 3 floors) at night. She'd sleep in the living room. Now she can't bear to be in the living room and struggles to beat me up the stairs when I go to bed. Sometimes she sleeps on one of her three beds. Sometimes she sleeps on the carpet. I like to tell new Greyhound parents: Don't over think and relax. Your George has never lived in your house before. He's finding out all the neat things about it and will continue to do so for a very long time.

He's got a greyt life! We need not to transfer our human emotions to a dog. Having said that, I too sometimes think that Annie *must* often be bored but that's because I'd be bored if I laid around as much as she does, but I'm a human and she's a retired Greyhound. CJ sounds like he has a lot of fun. My Annie won't go out into the fenced yard unless I insist she go P&P. She doesn't run or play when her best friend, a lurcher named Daisy, visits. She seldom plays with her toys, no matter how much I try to engage her. She does like her walks but she definitely doesn't like it when I push for 1.5 miles on a walk. I also think we need to remember that as much as we love our Greyhounds (which is as much as any good dog parent loves their own breed or mutt) they are dogs, and if we're sick, or once in a while just don't want to bother, or have a child's softball game or a lunch date with a best friend, they will be just fine if they "miss out." They are not being neglected. You ask any of us who lived through this past winter when the wind chills were minus 20 to minus 30 and any walks we took were about 500 feet in length. Our dogs survived just fine. Finally, don't let anybody make you feel guilty because they do everything they think is necessary for their houndies. CJ is your dog. You know his personality. You know the limits of your family life. He's got a good life. He's got lots of love. He's got you all day, which, IMO, probably makes him the happiest of anything you offer him.