Feisty49

About once a week I see a new "mark" on Annie Bella and I never know where it comes from. She doesn't go to dog parks. She's an only dog. I don't have a fenced yard so we walk for exercise. But her marks are not anything like you describe. Regarding overreacting: I think you did by taking him to an e-vet. He had the bruise for at least a couple of days, if not longer, so I don't understand why waiting until your regular vet was available would have hurt. Just my opinion.

Two at once. You have my admiration. What fun you will have!! We need pics! My story about stairs (and we all have a different one): Annie Bella, adopted last July, would not do the stairs going to the second floor bedrooms. I tried treats. I tried paw/paw/paw/paw. She trembled and shook so much -- really worked herself up -- that I decided having her upstairs was for me and if she didn't care about being downstairs alone at night, so be it. FF to January (or maybe February?). Annie Bella starts rooing and barking in the middle of the night. Hmmm.. no special reason was apparent (she didn't have to go potty, there were no deer in the backyard). I decide she doesn't want to be downstairs by herself at the least and I KNOW I do not want to be woken up in the middle of the night. The next day I informed her that she's doing stairs. I did the paw/paw/paw/paw thing up and down the stairs three times, one after the other. I then informed her she could do stairs, and she did! LOL I assume because enough time had passed and we had bonded, as well as I was no longer insecure about how to treat her, it worked. My piece of advice about Greyhound parenthood: Trust yourself. Trust your gut feelings. Know that your relationship with the "kids" will change and become closer as time goes on. And perhaps the most important one, you will lose your tentativeness and become more confident about what to do and how to do it. It takes time, and even now at 11 months since adoption, Annie Bella and I are still learning about one another, but we have bonded and are very close, and I know she now trusts me and relies on me to be there for her. It's a Greyt feeling.

The company web page of Life Abundance sells a 40# bag for $63.09 if you choose auto shipping, meaning a bag is automatically shipped at the frequency the customer requests. With auto shipping, there is no charge for shipping, so the price is straight forward. That's about $17 less than what you're paying now. Still expensive but every $17 counts!

Iams Green Bag worked great for Annie Bella and her lower digestive issues, until it didn't. She caught something in April -- the vet said there was a bug going around the dog world, as it does in the human world, causing diarrhea -- and when that was over and done with and I went through the usual chicken/rice bland diet, then prescription kibble from the vet and then slowly adding Iams Green Bag, Annie Bella didn't get back decent poos and she eventually turned her nose up at her kibble once the amount of Iams got to a certain level. ::big sigh:: I'm not one who jumps around with food any more. I did my share of high-end stuff, which exacerbated her mushy poo into diarrhea after I adopted her last July. I was so glad to try the Iams because while not perfect, her poos were acceptable... until they weren't. Ok.. long story short: After wandering around the pet store for an hour last week, comparing ingredients and prices, I was down to two choices and the owner of the store recommended one of them -- Nutro Natural Choice Venison Meal & Whole Brown Rice Natural Dog Food. As Iams was once tossed into the cart, so went the Nutro. I figured a 5# bag was worth the try. The good news is it works! It works better than the Iams did. In the two days of introduction I gave, her poos were markedly improved. In for a penny, in for a pound, and as I often do with life in general, I said "Screw it," and went 100% on day #3. Within 36 hours her poos were the best they have ever been. I mean the best! I mean I can pick 'em up without having to take grass with it because it's so messy. And she loves the food. She's back to eating all her breakfast again and with enthusiasm. She is back to giving me stinky eye to remind me supper is due soon. Right now, I am a happy Greyhound parent.

She's a beauty!!!

I live in the country in a house built in 1792. Talk about places for mice to get in! The nooks and crannies have nooks and crannies There is no way, short of sealing the house in a bubble, that every place they get in can be found. My solution has been my cat, who is a good mouser, and the sticky traps. Once the initial rush of mice is caught (by cat and trap) in the fall when the weather turns chilly, I never see another one. So they can be controlled without sealing up every hole.

I brush Anna Bella's teeth every morning now. I was doing it 2 to 3 times a week but if I went as long as 3 days without brushing, the next time I brushed, there was pink on the toothbrush. No more pink ever with every day brushing.

Probably not many of us, but I put a lot of thought into what I feed Anna Bella because she gets diarrhea at the drop of a hat. Believe me, if she didn't, I'd buy a middle cost food and call it a day.

I was watching the noon news on a local TV station and they had a vet on who was talking about the dangers of Xylitol, the sweetener found in many sugar-free gums and mints. Xylitol is a natural sweetener found in plants, trees, fruits and vegetables. It's not harmful to humans but it can, and has, killed dogs. If not death, it can cause seizures, liver damage and blood clotting issues if ingested in a sufficient quantity. The issue is that a dog's body "reads" the sweetener as real sugar and produces huge amounts of insulin, which is not needed because Xylitol is not sugar, and the dog goes into hypoglycemic shock. It doesn't take much, especially for a small dog, for this additive to kill. For a big dog, such as our Greys, a pack of gum or mints could kill. For more info, here are a few links from my Google search: http://www.petmd.com...26#.T75j9sWwVRc http://yourlife.usat...ogs-/43576818/1 http://www.healthype...oxicity_in_dogs

Annie Bella's on a 'script food and from the looks of it, will be on it for the rest of her life. I pay $50 for 18#. To extend it, I give her a ratio of 2 to 1, that is 1 cup of prescription food and 1/2 cup of Iams Green Bag. If I increase the Iams, her poo, which is never bouncy, goes down hill quickly. I'd love to find something that cost $50 but gives me 30 pounds of food and that she can tolerate.

I already listed in a previous post but on Sunday, Annie Bella showed she knows a lot more than I think. I was on the phone and said to my friend "OK. I'll be there about 6:30." Annie Bella went nuts, as she does when I say, "Walk?" She tossed her bed, she trashed her stuffies, she ran to the back door, she trashed her bed again, she snuffled the cat, and then she look at me and her eyes asked, "So when are we going?" I wasn't leaving for about an hour and she didn't settle down until we walked out the door and she was laying in the back of the SUV.

I use Interceptor for heartworm prevention. It also works against round worms, hook worms and whip worms. My vet has had problems getting it but got a supply in just last week and I won't need more until mid-September. Annie Bella gets it monthly on the 15th. For fleas and ticks I use K9 Advantix II 9 to 10 months a year. I apply it once a month on the 1st.

Annie Bella of course knows her name as well as a some nicknames, such as Long Dog, Girly Girl, Pretty Girl and probably she thinks Annie Walk! is a nickname. Also, in on particular order: Are ya hungry? Want breakfast/supper? Wait Take a nap Lay down Come Heel Hang on (which generally means stop what you're doing and see what I want) OK Get it Kisses! Treat Biscuit Potty? Pee!! (said in *that* tone of voice when she’s sky gazing but I know she has to go) Walk? Wanna go for a ride? Towel (I wipe her down after being out in the rain) Where’s the kitty? (We say “good-bye” to my cat before we go for walks. They get along by ignoring one another but I’d like to see them be cuddle friends.) Kennel up While she understands these words, and lots more I'm sure, she doesn't always follow those that are instructions. Lay down? Yah, right, Mom, when I've decided I can no longer get any more hugs and pets from you. Wait? Sure, but I'm gonn walk that extra foot or two just to make you wonder if I'm really gonna stop.

Yah, the emoticon order changed but I like it being displayed across the bottom though I admit that these old(er) eyes would like them a tad bit bigger.

::big sigh:: Again, I am envious. Annie Bella does well on one kibble, and I swear if I so much as *think* about changing, her poo deteriorates. Oh well...

I wonder why you would make such a sweeping statement regarding overfeeding, and I for one take exception to it. My dog has never been overfed, and unlike probably many people on here, she very seldom gets people food and even then, it's usually only when administering her monthly heart worm pill. Sounds mean? ::shrug:: She's a dog. She doesn't know, but I know what negatively affects her digestive system and keeping her pooing properly is my focus. BTW, she cannot tolerate high-end food. Within 24 hours she's pooing soft serve which deteriorates from there and it takes a solid week to get her back to normal using a 'script food from the vet.

I've got no comment on how good this is but I am wondering if you switch around food often? It sounds like it from your post. My assumption is that your pups are fine with it and never had intestinal issues. Sounds wonderful and I'm envious. I've given up on finding a "better" kibble -- whatever that might be -- because Annie Bella immediately has bad poo.

You are boarding this girl, right? What do her parents say about the situation and do they have any suggestions?

I am sooo sad to read about Crystal's passing. You did a wonderful wonderful thing by taking her into your heart and home so her last days - but who knew? -- were immersed in love and fun. She will indeed be missed.

I hope there is no issue with your girl, but I sorta laughed reading how you think of girlie parts as skeevy but we alll talk about poop as if it's not yucky. :lol Given a choice, I rather talk about female parts, which are not skeevy, than poop!

You definitely rock!! As adorable as Tessa is - and she is sooo adorable -- you could have clicked past her picture. How wonderful it will be to give her love for the rest of her life.

I hear your frustration and it may be that if you can get a couple of months with no health issues needing attention, you'll regret what you wrote, but right now it's what you feel. Frankly, I don't disagree with you. Many Greyhounds are high maintenance. I think a lot of people get used to it and, therefore, don't see it as anything unusual. I laughingly call Annie Bella neurotic, but sometimes it blows my mind that because, for instance, there is a rake laying on the terrace that has never been there before, she looks at it as if it's snake and walks waaayyy around it, looking over her shoulder to see if it's following her. That is so not normal. I love my girl, and am very glad I fulfilled my long-held desire to have a Greyhound in my life. I also gladly and willingly laugh and put up with her few neuroses, but I'll never have two Greyhounds at the same time because it's too expensive (most recent soft serve poop cost me $162) and one neurotic dog in the house at a time is plenty. Good luck with your pups and especially this new problem with the recall. Honestly, sometimes I think the Gravy Train my childhood dog was raised on was just fine.

I tried Blue Buffalo Freedom just to get Annie Bella on a "better" kibble than she was on and it gave her soft ice cream poop. She loved it, though! When will I learn to just let things rest? If she's doing fine on something, don't experiment!

Like someone else asked, how does she exhibit she's starving. I also wonder if you're relating her late evening crazies to being hungry and if so, why? My Annie Bella never gets the crazies so I can't relate, but if she did, I'd think it was because she was working off excess energy before bedtime. Annie Bella goes 68 to 69 pounds and gets 3 cups of food a day plus a few treats and she looks terrific. Two cups of food a day plus a few treats, doesn't sound like much but if your girl is not fat or thin, then it's working for her and you.