Feisty49

Pumpkin can have two effects: It can firm and it can also make poo loose. You need to have him and his stool checked by the vet. It's necessary to establish yourself with a Greyhound-savvy vet before an emergency arises. How much food is he getting? If he's getting too much, the excess might just be going through him. What kind? Some dogs react negatively to what is considered high-end food, that is those with no grain, etc. Many of us think that's a bunch of crap -- no pun intended. Many people and their dogs have great output using Iams in the Green Bag. It's not considered high end but we mostly agree that whatever works is the best. There is a product that some of us use called Olewo. It's available on Amazon. It can firm up poo very nicely, but I wouldn't use it until you've established he's free of worms and it's not the food causing the issue. Regarding a sign that he has to go poo: I'm laughing a little bit because I've had Annie for almost 5 years and she has never had a sign. I'm retired so am home most of the time, and I have to remember to put her out every 5 hours or so because she'd hold it for 10 hours! In extreme cases, where she's had to go very, very bad, she will come to me and stare into my face, but that happens only every couple of months. ETA: I see you have a vet appt.

Yes, a good treat and the use of consistent words to get his attention. I tell Annie, "Time for your meds," and she always gets up from her bed and stands in a certain place, looking at my hand to see what treat I'm giving her this time. I also taught her, "Head up," and about 90% of the time, she'll raise her head to the height needed to do the drops.

He is gorgeous. Love his tilted head. Have you tried to leave the house without crating him? All retired racers come from an environment where they were crated, but IMO that doesn't mean they liked it. I know my girl *hated* the crate in my house and less than two days after adoption, I stopped using it. If there's no reason to confine him, why bother. If you want him confined to just one or two rooms, use gates, as suggested above.

I'm retired and most days I'm home more than not so can let my girl Annie out any time she wants. She almost never asks. In fact, she's so laid back about going potty, that I have my cell alarm set for 1:30 PM, which is 5-6 hours after our morning walk, to remind me to have her go potty because I forget. She's gone 8 or 9 hours with me in the house, on a day when I've turned off the alarm for whatever reason, and never asked to go out and obviously had no issue about holding it. Many people use crates to ease a new dog into living in a house. Many people always have a crate up with the door open long after it's needed, if it was ever needed, because the dog likes to use it for sleeping or a get-away place. Annie *hated* the crate. Less than 2 days after I adopted her, I stopped making her go into the crate, though I left it up, door open, for the rest of the week. She never went in it. She is one of those dogs who can be trusted. Never had SA. Never chewed on anything. Never tore apart anything. Never went into the garbage. Never bothered the cat, actually went out of her way to avoid the cat. You may find your hound doesn't have separation anxiety. Mine never did. I think, though, that if you spend more time at home on your vacation than not, it could precipitate SA. If possible, it might be better to take only a couple of days off, then head back to work.

My girl Annie has nodular granulomatous episcleritis in her left eye, which her ophthalmologist says is a cousin of pannus. She too is on Tacrolimus 0.02%, one drop in each eye twice a day. Though her right eye is disease free (except for an atrophied optic nerve), drops are administered in both eyes to prevent the disease spreading. She was diagnosed two years ago when she was just over 6 years old. Annie doesn't have to wear doggles and the drops have not stained her fur. Her vision doesn't seem to be affected, though how can one really tell. On our walks, she often stops and stares off in the distance, ears up, as if seeing something interesting, something I can't see. Her up-close vision is fine, from what I can tell. The disease was diagnosed and she was on meds within 3 weeks of me noticing the bloodshot look in the eye. Thankfully my vet recognized that the condition of Annie's eye needed a specialist and referred us immediately.

Welcome from Upstate New York. Gabby sounds like a sweetheart. It's easy to fall in love with them, isn't it.

Welcome! So glad you're loving Alfred. Now we need a picture.. or two.. or three. A suggestion: Put something on the sliding door so he knows it's there, though it may be he learned a lesson. Nonetheless, Greyhounds often don't know about glass so a decal, a piece of paper, something big enough so he knows that there is something solid there is necessary. I have princess fairy decals from my granddaughter on my French door though I've had Annie for almost 5 years and she knows by now it's glass. As far as accidents, are you taking him outside frequently to get a chance to P&P? Once he's settled in and there are no more accidents, he can go for a long time without needing to go out but until then, take him out often and praise him every time he pees outside. Good luck!

It appears he does eventually get up on his own so perhaps if you can get up earlier than necessary for your schedule, it will give him the idea he'll have to get up in, for instance, 15 minutes, and maybe the time will even out. If your boy is used to you getting up and within a certain amount of time, getting him up but he needs more time, you getting up a bit earlier will give him that extra time.

Positive thoughts being sent your way. It is scary having to wait.

I'm sorry but I have no suggestions. Those with more knowledge about this situation gave good responses above. The only thing I would add is that until he's trained to "drop it," don't let him sniff on your walks. I assume when you refer above to walks, you're talking about a leash walk. It's a tough stance to take -- no sniffing -- but since he picks up everything, he can't be trusted. Or if you let him sniff, keep him close to you with the leash just long enough for him to bend his head, and watch exactly what he does. My girl wouldn't pick up anything from the ground that I didn't give her, but I still don't let her wander at the end of the leash. She pretty much heels next to my thigh or just a foot or two away from it.

They do like to poo. The more often and/or longer distance I walk Annie, the more she can squeeze out. Annie weighs 65-66 pounds and gets just under 3 cups of kibble a day plus a few treats. If she starts looking chunky monkey, I cut back on treats. If your girl's poos are good, as it seems they are, I would count my blessings and not change her food. Annie's poos are mostly OK, except for later in the day when they are soft serve.

Good news re osteo. Good news from the expert is always a wonderful thing. Good luck to whatever decision is made to repair.

Annie's appetite revolves around the weather. She always eats her supper, but as the weather warms up, she'll either skip her breakfast or eat half of it, give or take. She goes off treats too, wanting fewer of them. My house has AC so it's not like she's always in a hot environment.

Annie's first winter up north (Albany, NY area) was 2011-12. She shivered if I so much as opened the door and she was standing near it. I bundled her up well so our walks were OK. By the following winter, she had hardened up I guess because she didn't shiver. After winter #2, she was an old hand at handling the cold, loving to run through the snow bare nekkid. LOL She hates being covered with a blanket. She hates PJs. She's so warm that when my hands are cold, I stick them in one of her pits to warm them up. Like you, I can't believe that the years are already showing on my girl, but with any luck, there are many more left!

Annie, who is 8-1/2, is showing aging signs. She loves our walks, but slows down sooner than previously. Of course, she loves cold weather -- anything above 20 degrees on a sunny day is hot to her -- so the temps we've had this month in the 50s to 80s are not to her liking so we take shorter walks but more frequently. She also sleeps more, if that's possible, and deeper. It used to be that every time I walked around the house within her sight, she'd at least open her eyes and watch me. (I love the way they watch us just with their eyes, never moving the head.) Now sometimes she'll stay asleep even when I walk within 10 feet of her bed. I know she has arthritis in her spine for which she is being treated. I know she has an auto-immune eye disease, again getting treatment. Her annual physical is in a couple of weeks so I'll find out if the vet thinks there's anything more happening. I can't believe it's been 5 years since she retired and almost 5 years since I adopted her.

I don't often have sleeping issues, but when I do, I take one Tylenol PM to sort of reset my sleep habit. It works very well for me.

What is this food that she likes so much? Glad you figured out the problem.

Thanks so much! I don't have the first one so am glad to have this. I'm traveling next week and will add this info to the amount I already carry when we go away.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Grief can be overwhelming in the silence that is there.

Just thought I'd toss out that at 2 PM today I submitted a claim to Healthy Paws via the smart phone app. Two hours later I received an email stating my claim had been approved and my check will be in the mail tomorrow. That's service!

I'm so sorry for his passing. We love our hounds -- always.

He is gorgeous.

Congratulations! He sounds *wonderful*, and I am very envious. We need a name and a picture.

Got 'cha. I've got a dog who doesn't even approach the door unless she's on a leash. People ring the doorbell and she stands at the top of the stairs from the hallway, wagging her tail, but won't come down to greet them. Just her way.

Your dog is beautiful. Two weeks for a Greyhound in a new place is nothing. I'm sure you've read a lot about Greyhounds and know that settling into a real home can take many weeks or even months. As much as she feels at home, her real personality hasn't begun to show itself. Greyhounds continually morph, though it slows down, for as long as we own them, IMO. I had a negative reaction to you saying you've taught her that you go through the door first. That's nice but it sounds like you need to be in charge. Greyhounds are gentle spirits and need lots of love and positive reinforcement, as well as knowing they are safe and secure as exhibited by a household that protects them. Please just be careful how you take charge. As an aside, my girl Annie Banannie Whisker Face has issues with narrow spaces. She doesn't like them and feels safe going out the front door only when I hold the storm door open as wide as it will go and let her go first. I don't care that she goes first. She respects me and needs me and that's all I care about. Good luck. You will love being a Greyhound dad.