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Feisty49

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Posts posted by Feisty49

  1. Kissing sounds cute but I always take into consideration how anything my Annie does affects other people. I want a polite dog who is welcomed by others. Personally, I'm not big on being kissed by a dog. I put it in the same category as a dog who jumps. I find it annoying. Others don't mind, but I rather err on the side of caution and discourage it rather than encourage it.

  2. Annie B. loves to be pet, loved on and fondled, whether she's asleep, awake, laying down or standing, and she seeks it out from me a few times a day as well as I seek her out, but I don't consider her a cuddler/snuggler. She never gets on the couch or my bed to share space or be close or snuggle. She will, though, when I'm sitting down, bury her head between my knees and doze off while I scratch and rub her neck and shoulders, a favorite of hers.

  3. Mine does and she did it last week. For (only) 3 days in a row , she just did not eat breakfast. I was stunned! Like yours, b'fast and supper are met with lots of "Yeah, I am starving!!"

     

    In my opinion, I think that the change in Stan's morning routine put him off. I know my Annie Bella is a routine-crazy Greyhound and if something significant changes (such as not going to work as usual), she would not like it.

     

    I'm retired so am always here in the morning. The one thing that did change in Annie's life is that on the days prior to her turning up her nose at breakfast I was out of the house for several days in a row, sometimes for 4 or 5 hours, because of holiday things: shopping, dinners with friends, attending concerts, etc. This is very unusual for me. I'm a homebody and when I do go out, it's often to visit friends and Annie B. goes with me. Annie is simply never left alone for hours on end for 5 days in a row, so I think her lack of interest in breakfast was related to that. She started eating breakfast again when I returned to my normal schedule.

     

    ETA: You said he resists eating and there is a stand off. On these days when he's not eating, do you continually say things like, "Eat. Come on, Stan, eat your breakfast," etc. If so, maybe putting his dish down and leaving the room would work without saying anything to him. If it's still there in 30 or 40 minutes, then take it up.

  4. Like people, each dog, whether Greyhound or not, is different. My girl has no issues about resource guarding or sleep startle. She's a light sleeper and pretty much looks at me whenever I move around the room. If she's so sound asleep that my walking around doesn't wake her, I don't touch her because waking somebody -- person or dog -- from a sound sleep is just plain rude. I figure if she can sleep through the noise of the house, she's really tired.

  5. He is gorgeous. I agree with others who indicate you may be working on training too quickly. Six weeks isn't a long time to bond and learn to trust. I am not an expert, other than with my own hound, but if I were in your shoes, I'd work on a few non-threatening (to him) tasks before moving on to "give" or "drop it." Wait, stay, come, down, sit (if he will) are, IMO, easy and non-threatening. Give lots of treats and think about using a clicker. Using a clicker worked great with my not-interested, I'm-too-lazy-to-learn-anything girl.

  6. Annie Bella likes to play bitey with my fingers/hands when we're walking and she's feeling frisky. It's cute. She's smiling and prancing and happy, but I don't allow it because it's not a good idea, IMO, to allow/encourage dogs to use their teeth on people. Even though I know how to handle it and recognize when she's getting too frisky, I'm not the only person in the world with whom she comes in contact, and I'd never want her to play bitey too hard with another person and end up actually biting somebody.

  7. My girl, who turned 5 last month, does this in an area that has an open vista. Like you, I live in a rural area, though I do live right in the hamlet, but we don't have to go far before we see open fields. Annie will stop, lift her head, nose taking in the smells and her face having a very placid, I'm-enjoying-this look on her face. I've assumed she likes being able to use those beautiful brown eyes unheeded to look into the distance.

  8. My advice is to feed her at a set time in the morning and in the evening and if she's not done with her food within 30 minutes, take it up. She won't go hungry by missing out on part of one meal and will make it up the next meal.

     

    My girl eats about 6:30 in the morning and about 4 PM in the afternoon. She gets treats during the day. She is so regular with pooing I could almost set a clock. She does both P&P at 6 AM when we get up. She pees and poos again on our morning walk that starts about 8:30 this time of year. She pees and poos again about 2:30 when we take our second walk. She'll poo at these times even if for some reason we can't get out for both walks but she has to back in the woods behind my house.

  9. I have Healthy Paws. Legs' coverage is now $45/month, w/ the $250 deductible per year. I think if I did the math it wouldn't be worth it, however, I have been very happy with them. I email them the form & invoice from our vet visit, and have a check w/in the week for 90% of everything they cover (they don't cover any office visits/consults or routine stuff).

     

    I too have Healthy Paws. I got it for the same reason I carry health insurance on myself: Eventually there will be high, out-of-pocket expenses for which I won't have enough money to pay. Just reading about osteo and the thousands of dollars treatment can cost, if that route is chosen, confirms to me that having pet insurance is the right thing to do.

  10. I bought treads to put on my wooden stairs. I got them through Amazon. They are quality, deep plush treads and look terrific. Here is what I got.

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Carpet-Stair-Treads-Scrollworks/dp/B0030EK314/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1354724729&sr=8-9&keywords=premium+carpet+stair+treads

     

    And as said above, no need to nail them down. I use this carpet tape and it is **great**. The treads have never moved.

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Intertape-9970-Indoor-1-87-Inches-36-Yards/dp/B000I1EHK0/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1354724810&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Intertape+9970+Indoor

  11. I'm retired so am home a lot. I crated Annie when I went out, though, to the post office or store just because I was told it was the thing to do. She **hated** the crate and cried. On the third day post-adoption, I pretty much said, "Screw it," and let her have the run of the house, unmuzzled, and that's the way it's been ever since (she was adopted July 2011). I can be gone for 5 or 6 hours and though she's sad, she's always been fine. She doesn't chew, doesn't cruise the basket or counters and doesn't eat the cat. :--) It's the same way when I visit friends and family. She's never crated and never muzzled in anybody's house.

     

    I think I lucked out with Annie Bella but maybe not. The posts on here tend to be about problems, whether health or other things, so there may be a lot of Greys who are as easy as Annie is.

  12. Personally, I would just cut back on their regular food and up the exercise if you can. If they are getting overweight it likely just means they are eating too much. From my experience, lower fat foods often substitute in lower quality ingredients for meat. If your pups are hungry, try the green bean trick. :)

     

    I agree with the above about cutting back on regular food. Of course, the question is: how much do you feed them now, including treats? Do you look at the caloric content of dog food? It could be that 1.5 cups of "this" food has more calories (good or bad) than 1.5 cups of "that" food. I've never compared so I don't know. My girl weighs 67-68 pounds and she gets 1.5 cups of food twice a day plus a few mini-size biscuits and some small training treats when we do training. She very seldom gets people food in order to help keep her weight down. If I can't see those two back ribs and her hip bones, I play back in my mind what she's had the past week in the line of treats and cut back if necessary.

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