Feisty49

I too have Healthy Paws and pay $34 a month for my almost 5-year-old girl. As said above, it does not cover pre-existing conditions, but I don't think any pet insurance does, preventative dental or well care. I switched from Trupanion to Healthy Paws because, as also said above, the deductible is a flat rate for the year, not per incident as it was with Trupanion, at least when I switched, and at the time, Trupanion had a maximum lifetime amount. I've submitted a couple of claims to Healthy Paws, the amounts of which went toward the $250 deductible. They covered tests for Annie B's diarrhea though in the end there was no definitive diagnosis.

Half of my Annie Bella's diet is Nutro Venison with Potatoes (the other half is green-bag Iams). When I bought a new bag of the Nutro last week I noticed the words "New and Improved" and my heart sank. Why oh why do manufacturers of anything, from dog food to makeup, make changes when things work just fine. I've noticed that Annie B has been getting hungry for supper earlier in the afternoon. Maybe the reduced calories is the reason. My girl has had no problems with gas or rumblings or loose stools but I think the Iams plus the couple of tablespoons of beet pulp are keeping her good.

Put a string, or two, of clean aluminum cans, with the string ends tucked in so the cans can't be pulled off. Put them close enough to make noise if they're disturbed. The noise may deter them and no doubt they won't want to lay on them. ETA: I'd be very upset too but like you, I'd be upset at the end result, not my girl. Annie B is a very easy going dog and I can't imagine her doing something to cause anger, but I know that no matter what she might do, I would understand and love her just as much.

I didn't know her until reading your post and I feel cheated that I didn't. She was, and will remain so in your heart, a wonderful dog. Indeed, one of a kind. I am so sorry she had to go.

Annie B gets fed 1.5 cups twice a day plus a few small dog biscuits during the day. She weighs 67 pounds and it's a perfect weight. IMO, the amount of food fed should be enough to keep them at a good weight; not too skinny and certainly not fat! I don't know how much calorie counts change from food to food, but if there's a great deal of difference, it could be that 4 cups a day could be too much or too little, depending on the food. As far as switching around food, I don't know. If I did that to my girl, she'd be having loose stools or diarrhea every day. I think that switching around can make and/or encourage a dog to be a picky eater.

So sorry.

It happened to me 2 times after adopting Annie B. in July 2011. Both times I was inexperienced at watching for signs of bolting and being prepared for the strength she has. Both times I went down, once in snow, which is what made her bolt because she loves snow. Neither time did she get away from me. Even old owners can learn new tricks, and I am now aware of what might set her off and I know her strength. Little runs are cute but bolting with their speed and weight pulling on the arm is scary.

Yes, I read and also heard on the news that it's rice grown in areas where cotton was grown all those years ago that have high arsenic levels. Arsenic was used as a pest control (boll weevils) way back when. It settled in the ground and is now leaching back into whatever is grown on that land.

This is the Dremel I use and it does the job. I use it every 2 to 3 days, so I never have to use it for long on any nail. My girl has a couple of dark nails and I never worry about hurting her with this piece of equipment.

Yah, Annie B. stares at me. She'll lay on her bed and I look at her, and she's watching me, her dark brown eyes not moving, unless I move. To be honest, though, this usually means she's hungry for supper, has to go to potty, wants a treat or thinks it's time to go upstairs to bed. Whatever the reason, until I address it she will stare and stare and stare.

So sad. I'm sorry he had to go.

You beat me to it. That's like walking a 12.5 minute mile, give or take. You must have been trotting too! Did you have any concerns about your boys being off leash?

A beautiful girl and it is so sad to let her go.

We have a "walker" too and sometimes it is hard to keep her from walking right onto the sidewalk during a poo. Usually just try to block her path with our bodies . Yes!!... about walking onto the sidewalk, and by then it's the squishiest.. plop..plop. Can't hide a brown stain on the sidewalk, no matter how much is picked up, so I do my best to keep her on the grass too.

I will get mice in the house, mostly in the cellar, as it gets colder, but my cat, Henny Penny, is a great mouser. The occasional mouse Annie has seen outside grabs her interest and she has actually killed two, before I could stop her, by STOMPING on them. Mind you, Annie Bella is always on a leash so I'm right there, but the movement of the mouse, followed immediately by Annie's stomping, happens in a split second so I couldn't stop the POUNCE! I did stop her from tasting though. My cat doesn't eat the mice; just smacks them around until dead. I would go all out to not let Annie eat a mouse because of the chances of some sort of parasite or worm getting in her gut.

What they all said above and probably more. My own experience has only been with my one Greyhound, Annie Bella, who I adopted 15 months ago. She will be 5 in November. Pretty much we don't do dog parks unless it's with other Greyhounds and they're muzzled. I wanted to be able to do dog parks. I wanted Annie to have friends. I wanted to see her run and play and I wanted to feel good about it all. That's a lot of "I" reasons, but as a good dog owner, one needs to get beyond "I" and look at it from the point of view, "Is it good for my Greyhound?" with the operative word being "my." Owners 1 and 10 may be able to do dog parks every day at any time. Owners 2 and 4 only when there are five or fewer dogs. Other Greyhounds parents may never be able to take their hounds to a dog park because it is not safe for (1) their own dog and (2) other dogs. I would cut off one of my fingers before I would deliberately put Annie Bella in a situation that could cause her physical harm, and for me -- and I hope for all of us -- that's the bottom line. I think your boy is in danger of serious injury and that is something I hope I never have to have on my conscious with regard to my girl. As far as needing the dog park.....I don't buy it. I suggest your boy's exercise needs be met in ways other than dog parks.

Yeah!!!!!!!! And as the months go by, he will reveal more and more of himself. After 15 months of having adopted Annie Bella, she is still growing and changing as she understands and believes that this is her Forever Home. The most recent change is her diminished anxiety in riding in the car. I figure she finally understands that no matter where we go and no matter how long the ride, we always come back here, together.

I've used this every month since adopting Annie in July 2011 and have had no problems. Yes, I did use it through last winter because it never got cold enough to kill ticks. I was finding ticks on her every few days in February.

No real suggestion but just wondering if his barking, which you rightfully have a concern might bother the golfers, is louder than your lawn mower? Not that you want him upset and barking barking barking, but in the summer at least, maybe an xpen would work with a kong tossed in for fun while you mow the lawn.

Yah, rain isn't a favorite here either, especially if it's dark or even remotely not totally daylight. The brakes go on the minute we leave the door and are on the covered part of the terrace, that is if she hasn't looked out the window and seen the rain, then the body doesn't even get off her bed. I'll let Annie Bella be picky for a couple of hours, because I don't like getting wet either, but I eventually get us geared up and out the door. If she brakes then, I give her a gentle push on her shoulders and that gets her going.

Grass is a veggie of sorts. Our dogs like green beans, spinach, corn, broccoli, peas, etc. I consider eating grass an extension of that.

My girl's racing name was PG Digger. Somewhere along the way after retiring, she was renamed Annie, a name I kept along with adding a middle name of Bella. PG Digger is not a pretty name for a pretty girl. I would have renamed her. She's a dog. Call her whatever you want, except probably late for dinner. :--)

As mychip said, it takes time. My girl didn't like the stairs going up to the bedrooms so spent the first 7 months of adoption alone on her bed downstairs at night. It bothered me -- after all, it seemed that every other Greyhound wanted to be with their humans in the same room if not on their bed!! -- but I realized that it was what *she* wanted and adopting Annie Bella was about both of us, not just what I wanted. As it turned out, after 7 months she didn't like being alone downstairs at night and, after a successful stair training session, she hasn't slept one night alone downstairs since February. I'm just adding agreement that right now, the best way to figure out how to get him to spend more time with you is to not stress about it and let him move at his own pace. He's probably never had a human or humans all his own. There were plenty of people around him during his life up to adoption, but probably nobody thought he was as special and wonderful as you do. Another "this is what my dog does" example: Annie Bella loves to be pet, scratched, given treats, brushed, fussed over, yada yada, but until about a month ago -- 13 months after adoption -- she didn't often seek out this attention. It was all me, or other humans, going to her and fussing. Who knows why after living with me for 13 months she started coming up to me and pushing that cold, wet nose into my arm to get attention or just standing next to me, slowly leaning her entire weight against my thigh. It's just her Greyhound thing and pretty much when it comes to behavior like this, I go with the flow.

Just to add to above: Not all Greys are into stuffies. My Annie Bella very seldom looks at her stuffies, let alone play with them. My 6-year-old granddaughter, who visits often, can leave her stuffed animals out and Annie never bothers them. (Annie Bella does steal socks, t-shirts, hand towels, slippers and other small articles of clothing, but she uses them to pad her already well-padded bed. She never chews on them.) Sleep Startle: My girl is bomb proof with most things, and this is one of them. I can go to her while she's sleeping and scratch her belly, gently run my hands up her soft ears and even start dremeling her nails if I wanted, but my granddaughter knows not to touch her unless she's obviously awake, meaning her head isn't on the floor and she's paying attention to the activity around her. Having said this, though, the room in which we spend most of our leisure time isn't all that big and Annie Bella's (big) bed is right in the middle of it. Most of the time, nobody can pass by Annie without coming within a foot or two of her, especially because Annie has serious bed fail with her head and shoulders hanging off. Annie still doesn't twitch an ear tip. She just doesn't care what's happening around and to her.

Probably not, but if it were me with my girl, I'd still give a lot of "good girl" talk and praise her anyway because I do not ignore her at all when I return from being out. There's never been a need for it. What your boy will understand is lots of praise when he pees outside -- reinforced by a treat.