Feisty49

OMG. More problems. Damn. I feed Annie Nutro Venison. Will check it out before jumping to conclusions, though. Web sites are usually not taken down so if somebody Googled, for instance, Problems with Nutro Dog Food, they could easily get a hit from years ago, when there might have been a problem, and then the rumor starts though it's no longer true. ETA: I just did a quick, 3-minute Google search and read, and found lots of hits for Nutro being recalled, all dating back to 2007 and 2009. I will do more research when I return from our Saturday M&G, but I'm leaning toward this is old news.

Have you had her checked for a UTI or other medical issues?

My suggestion is to not take her outside for a late-evening pee. I know most people take their dogs out pretty late in the evening, but my girl doesn't want to go out late. The latest Annie has her last potty of the day is 7:00ish. Very often it's only 6:30. The other night our schedule was screwy and she happened to be outside at 5:30 and peed while there. She never asked to go out again and wouldn't come to me when I called at 8 o'clock, "Potty, Annie. Let's go." Once she's upstairs in her bed, which she usually goes to after the 7 o'clock pee, I would have to physically force her downstairs. She goes all night without a problem. I'm up in the morning between 6 and 6:30, and that's when she gets her first P&P opportunity of the day. It wouldn't hurt to experiment by letting Sophie go all night without a before-bed chance to potty. If she can't make it, then you'll have to try something else. If she can go all night, as my girl does, then it's a win-win situation.

Annie can always be directed to a better place to poo. Just gotta interrupt the obvious I-gotta-go body language before the squat happens. I'm not as picky where she pees, especially in the middle of winter.

Is the book "The Dog's Mind" the one written by Bruce Fogle? Just wonderin' because on Amazon it's called a reference book and a new paperback costs $36.95. There are used ones from $6.88.

The circle walking was a suggestion from a trainer I talked to. I was so happy back then when it worked because it had reached the point where I didn't want to take her out the door! Another suggestion about motivation is to make sure you are in charge of the walk. By this I mean don't slow down just because he does In the beginning I unknowingly slowed down when Annie slowed down. I learned that If she had already P&Pd, not to slow down just cause she wanted to because it usually meant she was going to plant her feet and gaze around. We do want them to be able to check pee mail, but, as is often said on this board, nothing in life is free and before he earns the privilege of stopping and sniffing, he has to prove he'll move again when you want him to. Next time you walk him, be aware of how much you do what he wants instead of the other way around.

Good luck. I'm sure it will work because you want it to and have the confidence. I don't know if you have kids, but pretty much I treat Annie Bananie Whisker Face (her verryyy long "love" name) as I did my son: "Spoil" with lots of love and positive attention and with the expectation that rules and good behavior will be adhered to. I took to motherhood easily, but it took me a couple of months after adopting Annie in July 2011 to relax enough to treat her like a dog, not some fragile, breakable china figurine.

Jack's a beautiful big boy. I've grown to love black Greyhounds.

First, as you probably know, don't pull too much on the leash or the collar may slip off. It can also hurt his neck. My Annie did this planting frequently right after adoption and now does it occasionally. Ya gotta get his feet moving. What worked for me in the beginning was to hold her close to my knee, with the leash taut, and pushing with my knee against her shoulder, walk her in a circle and just keep on walking when the circle is complete. The other thing that I did and still do now is to give her a push on her shoulder with my hand or on her sides with my thighs. Annie can get quite stubborn if she doesn't want to return home, and she knows what she's doing and she knows she can't win, but she still tries it. It's gotten so that I don't even have to give her a push. I just have too walk up to her and she -- I swear -- smiles and starts trotting. It doesn't matter how you do it, but getting all the feet going is what should work, and if he gives you attitude (the first couple of times I did this with Annie she was very upset), use a firm voice and say, "Eh eh," or whatever works for you but keep on walking! Annie knows when I use the "Eh eh," thing, she's doing something she shouldn't.

I've already posted but seeing that it's still an ongoing thread thought I'd toss in that I know what the president of my group would say if this was presented to her: "Give her a good push and don't take no for an answer. She'll get over it." She's a bit more abrupt than I am but, IMO, sometimes we go overboard treating them as if they're going to break or have egos that will deflate. I think Greyhounds are relatively intelligent -- but there are many more breeds who are quicker and brighter -- but I think Greyhounds are very clever and, though many will not agree with me, will not do what you want just because they don't want to, with the best example being how so many plant themselves on a walk. When Annie used to plant herself frequently in the beginning (and occasionally now) I learned pretty quickly that sweet talk and treats didn't work. She wasn't going to move if she didn't want to move. Ya think? I'm the human; you're the dog. What worked was getting firm and giving a push on her side to get her feet moving. She used to give me BIG stink eye, but oh well. It got her moving. Same with learning the stairs. She shook. She whined. She hung her head. She held back. But she didn't want to stay downstairs at night by herself so there was no choice in the matter. She learned them because I got firm, instead of being wishy washy as I was right after adoption, and made her do them. Within 10 minutes she was a pro, and I think my no-nonsense attitude helped a lot.

Yes, as you pointed out, that's what I said, and what I realize now, having re-read my post, is what I meant to question and ask -- without pointing fingers for personal choices -- why does anybody take their Greyhound to a dog park where dogs are not muzzled, i.e., a mixed-dog park. That's the reason I don't take Annie to dog parks with non-Greyhounds. I don't want to chance her being injured.

It was a pleasure to read your post, though the content was disturbing. You write so well. Are you an author? While a pleasure to read, your distress was evident and you are very giving to share your experience. My Annie is an easygoing, calm, loves people dog who also has a non-existent prey drive. Small dogs, cats, squirrels, etc., barely catch her attention, and she remains a bit afraid of my cat. Nonetheless, like you said, we never really know what's going on inside -- just like a person who does something horrible and everybody says, "I would never have believed it." That's one reason I don't generally do dog parks, though honestly it's mostly because I don't want to expose Annie to getting hurt, and it's the main reason that when we approach/are approached by another dog I immediately put Annie right next to my knee with no slack in the leash so she can't do anything unexpected. It also, hopefully, gives the other dog parent the idea to do the same (it doesn't usually work out that way). It's not just Greyhounds, though, that need to be "watched." My respect for any dog to inflict harm, even an ankle biter, is high, and I never assume a dog is friendly no matter what the owner says, and therefore approach slowly and never reach out until the dog lets me know it's OK. I've always wondered why, when most people muzzle their Greyhounds when with other Greys in an enclosed, outdoor play area, they don't muzzle when in an every-type-of dog play area. Of course it is a great disadvantage to a Greyhound, or any dog, to be muzzled when other dogs are not, which is probably why people don't muzzle at dog parks but -- and forgive me if I'm not understanding -- why muzzle with other Greys but at the same time allow a Greyhound into a dog park unmuzzled because no other dog is? I'm not pointing fingers. I'm not being critical. It's just something I've thought about.

Handsome boy. What fun you're going to have.

OHhh. she's B&W, one of my favorites. Looks like she's thinking, "You shouldn't share family problems with outsiders!" LOL

I think she's trying to see how much she can get away with. In other words, I think she's being stubborn. I've got one of those. Even after all this time she sometimes plants herself at the bottom of the stairs leading to the terrace. What gets her moving? Making her move. Gotta get their feeties/body moving. Most of the time she knows that when I say very firmly, "Come now, Annie!" she comes, but not always. Sometimes I have to give a gentle push on her neck. If that doesn't work, I use my thighs to push on her side. A gentle push usually does it but sometimes it takes 2 of them, with meaning behind them. Once her feet are unplanted, she always comes.

Yikes!! I love B&W dogs. He is really cute! Another thought, but not about his whining. Do you leave his Martingale on him all the time? Most of us, if not all, consider it a choking hazard. There are a couple of people here who can relate stories of their hounds almost choking to death because their collars got caught on something.

My suggestion is to not crate him at night, but you say that currently you need to use the crate because of his history of messing in the house. Do you know if he still does that? Maybe it's time to give him a second chance. You've had him for a year and he's 2 years old. That's enough time and he's old enough to not P&P in the house. My second suggestion is to try again ignoring him. He may whine and carry on, but you're reinforcing his unwanted behavior (whining) by responding to it with letting him out. I think any dog let out in the middle of the night will pee. They will also hold it if they don't get the opportunity to go out. My Annie goes 10 to 12 hours at night without going outside. As far as water in the crate, when I adopted my girl in July 2011, my group told me to have water in the crate. It wasn't a big deal, though, because Annie hated the crate, never slept it in day or night so it was put away in the first week.

My vet's office has hand written notes. Also, I don't have to do any of the work except sign a filled-in form that I download from my account area on Healthy Paw's web site. The vet's office submits the claim, and I usually get an email within 3 days from the company.

You may have to experiment, slowly I suppose, though there are some people who think otherwise. I have no firm opinion about length of time to decide if a new food is going to do the trick. Whatever works for your dog is what to do. Annie had pudding poo issues on and off for the first two months after adoption in July 2011. Long story short is I discovered for her that if there wasn't improvement in her poo within 3 or 4 days after introduction of a new food, it wasn't going to do any good. I tried a few food suggestions I read about on here. I finally read about Iams in Green Bag and while it helped, it didn't give great poos. She also didn't like it on its own. The final recipe of kibble she eats is half Iams and half Nutro venison with brown rice. That made her poo much better, acceptable even, but what really firmed her up was a month on FortiFlora and a couple of tablespoons of beet pulp put in her food every day. Most of the time she now has perfect poos (as most of us will testify, as the day goes on, poos often get softer) and she eats it up most of the time. Ha! Just realized that I used the word "most" a lot but we all know how our houndies can be. Today breakfast is great; tomorrow "I'm not in the mood to eat it, mom." The day after that, b'fast gets chowed down like it's ice cream.

In my case, Healthy Paws insisted on the vet's hand written notes. My vet's office faxed them print outs and they were refused. Why? Who knows. It is what the company requires. My vet is cooperative for which I'm thankful. Annie's policy with Healthy Paws has its one-year purchase anniversary on April 6. I got an email from the company today that the premium will go up $3.06 on that date. I only wish my personal health insurance went up that low an amount.

Yepper, overboard but it is what it is and I work with what life presents without much complaint.

I said above I thought it was a pain, but I meant for my vet office, not for me. I have no difficulty dealing with the company. I've talked to reps from Healthy Paws a few times since signing up last April, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. BTW, Nobody told me in advance to submit every vet visit, whether or not covered, but it made sense to me that if they wanted to see Annie's entire medical record, which includes non-covered events, then they'd want to see everything going forward. To confirm this, I called, and as usual, talked to a very nice rep who confirmed that paperwork for every vet visit should be faxed to the company. It's a problem that your vet is uncooperative but that's not Healthy Paw's problem. It is what it is, and I hope you can work around the issue and get your vet to write notes. If you're the only client asking for this service, perhaps s/he'll be willing. Another choice is to switch to an insurance company that doesn't require written notes. No, I don't think. I think they want a complete medical record of the animals they insure. It makes perfect sense to me!!

Healthy Paws does require all vet records and will not accept a computer-generated sheet of paper, even on the vet's letterhead. The company wants the hand written notes of the vet and I too thought it was a pain and a bother for my vet's office but the staff, who does the work of pulling records and faxing, was very amicable. I still think that requiring the hand written notes is going overboard, but it is what it is and I am happy I am with Healthy Paws. BTW, I want my vet to write and keep notes, even for routine visits, on everything that the office does to/for Annie. Also, in my experience, Healthy Paws wants every visit to the vet submitted to them. Even if the submission is for something not covered, such as a well visit or a pre-existing condition, I was told to submit it. Yah, they'll reject the submission but they want complete records.

If it were me, I'd first assume my girl didn't like the new brand. If it wasn't a different brand, I would assume she's just off them for a few days, like she goes off her breakfast every few weeks for a few days. I imagine that not all fish oil capsules are the same (just like in people food not all potato chips are the same though they're all called potato chips), and the introduction of the new capsule is probably the reason she turned up her nose.

My only suggestion is to not use the same delivery treat too many days in a row, if she will take pills hidden in a treat. If you can find half a dozen treats she likes, even with a pill in them, switch off so she's always surprised. I admit I've never had to give Annie a pill, but if the need arises to pill her on a regular basis, I'd do the alternate-treat thing.