Feisty49

A wonderful gift is so true. A slowly-opened gift where every week or two more is revealed. Annie is not particularly demonstrative about her feelings, other than that cold nose being pushed into my hand or elbow, and I remember the first time she actually wagged her tail and sorta wiggled with a slight smile when she saw me after I had been out of the house for half an hour. I actually got tears in my eyes because to me it was another piece of our bonding experience -- and showed that she missed me! She still demonstrates "Glad your back," by a wagging tail, a slight wiggle in her hind end, and a smile, as well as standing in my way until I give her love. It's all very understated and gentle. Each Grey is different. The temp foster Greyhound boy I had for a week last month went nuts with excitement from the very first day. He was GLAD to see me walking out of the bathroom! He wiggled, he jumped, his tail helicoptered and he sniveled my hands and did a little bit of nipping (which I did not tolerate). Even though there will be personality changes with Annie over the upcoming months, I doubt she'll ever be that demonstrative. It's just not a part of who she is.

Chesney sounds very similar to Annie Bella, who I adopted mid-July of this year, except Annie was affectionate from the first time I met her at a M&G. If approached too fast, i.e. just a regular walk through the house, Annie would turn tail and race back to her bed. If anybody, including the cat, came near her when she was eating, she immediately returned to her bed, until it was "all clear." It is only the past 4 weeks that she doesn't run to her bed when I walk by her as she's eating, though she still walks away from the food until I'm at least 6 feet away from her. That will get better as time goes on. She too scuttled past me when she walked to the kitchen to get a drink. She doesn't do that any more, but it took a few weeks. Now when she walks by me, she often stops and pushes her cold nose into my hand for some love. She has always avoided eye contact and it's not much better than it was from the first day home. It's just the way she is, as weird as it is. LOL She still gets extremely startled and runs to her bed if she sees me with a wooden spoon or if I open a certain plastic container that makes a very sharp noise, but it doesn't interfere with her life and if she never gets over it, no big deal. It took weeks of me approaching her slowly and ignoring her, until I was right next to her, before she stopped running back to her bed. Even now, I don't walk quite as fast in the house around her as I do when she's not around. Another thing she didn't like was confining spaces. She *hated* her crate. Hated it hated it (and it was a big crate). I stopped using it 3 days after adoption. She also would not approach a door to the outside until it and the screen/storm door were both open. She had to see that there was a place to go that was open. She didn't like narrow hallways, unless they were very bright and she could see that there was an end to it. All these "issues" are much better but it took weeks and weeks of treating her as if there were no issues but at the same time, working on her very slowly and allowing her to become accustomed to the rhythms of her new home. She will now go to the back door when it's closed and I have to push her back to open it. She'll walk down hallways (even those she's never been in before) with no problem. It takes lots of time for some things, lots of praise, lots of treats, and lots of affection, when he will tolerate it.

No advice here. Just relating about Annie Bella and stairs. I adopted Annie Bella in July of this year. She will do the 9, uneven blue stone slab steps to the back door with no issue but won't do the stairs to the bedrooms on the second floor. She has done them with great fear and shaking, while I do the paw-paw-push-push, many times, but no amount of tempting foodies has changed her mind that they are unfriendly (they are carpeted). Since she can do stairs, I know she'll go up to the second floor if she wants so I don't push it, and until then, she sleeps downstairs by herself. She came to me housebroken, and I didn't crate her after the first night (for which she was glad 'cause she HATES the crate). I felt bad at first, for me and her, leaving her alone down here (on her very comfy bed with warm blankets and stuffies), but then stopped transferring my people emotions onto a dog. It is her choice. It may be that once your boy is housebroken, you'll be able to do the same: leave him alone downstairs without issues.

A rep from my adoption organization (Forever Home Greyhound Adoptions) recommended not using Advantage or Advantix but to use Advantix II. It could be that someone else from this organization would have said something different. There is so much discussion and opinion over what manufacturers should make simple for us dog owners. It is what it is, though, so we have to live with what's offered. It also proves that in the end each of us -- no matter how new we are to owning a Grey -- has to make our own decision based upon advice, opinions, research and knowledge of our individual animal.

I use Advantix II (don't know the difference between the two). My girl did not scratch at all from it. Actually, she wasn't scratching when I put it on, but I saw a few fleas on her. I too dislike the greasy spots it leaves on the hair but they do eventually go away.

You described me with your post. I'm not fond of droolers, lickers, barkers, etc., etc. I also prefer dogs with short hair. I just like the look of a Greyhound. They're beautiful and interesting. Also, how many breeds stand patiently and oh-so-easily for a tooth brushing, ear cleaning, nail clipping, etc., at least right at the start? Walking Annie Bella is always a treat. She gets attention wherever we go and people find out what a wonderful pet Greyhounds make.

I don't know if it causes poo problems. I just want to say he sure is a handsome boy!

Well, I thought about this, but I don't think this is the case. I say that because I clearly remember that the medicine originally took 6 weeks to build up in his system before we started seeing behavioral changes. (That sticks out in my mind because the vet told us 6 weeks and I thought it was interesting that, in the sixth week, he actually did quit tinkling/pooping in the house.) Knowing that 6 weeks was the time frame to build up in his system, I assume that 6 weeks is also the time frame that the new, lower dose would take effect. Right? If that is correct, then the 6 week point would have been some time in August. Just during the past two weeks has he shown the negative behavior. That makes sense, though a call to the vet could confirm. I totally understand not wanting him to have to continue on the higher dosage. I hope this resolves itself quickly.

Is it possible that it takes a few months for the beneficial effects of 2X a day of Clomipramine to dissipate so that it's only now you're seeing the response to 1X a day?

The description for this reads similar to Musher's Secret, which I've purchased for Annie Bella's paws because we use a lot of rock salt in this area. I've read, though, that Musher's Secret can stain carpeting if it's not totally absorbed/rubbed in. I haven't used it yet so I don't know.

This is the first winter for Annie Bella, who I adopted in July. I live near Albany, NY. Our winters are never the same, but we can always count on at least a few days with near or below zero weather and many days zero to 10 above. Since I walk Annie for our exercise, I bought her a winter coat for these extremely cold days. I use a lot of rock salt on the 9 stone steps leading from the terrace down to ground level so to protect her feet I bought Musher's Secret, which is a substance put on the dog's feet. It protects from rock salt though it won't protect from the cold. (BTW, I knew I'd have to have a coat for Annie just in case the cold bothers her, but I am not one of those dog people who put her in clothes. Not my thing.)

I recently switched to Darford, imported from Canada, on the recommendation of the president of the adoption org through which I adopted Annie. It's a bit expensive but her stools are the most firm they've ever been.

A fairly new owner of a Greyhound here but like with children, you can lead them to the dinner table, but you can't make them eat. If he was totally off food for a couple of days, I would be concerned, but it seems he knows what works for him. If only us people knew that! I judge Annie Bella's weight by her ribs and hip bones. When she had diarrhea, it was obvious she lost weight because I could see all her ribs. When her weight came back up, only the last 3 ribs could be seen with little points at her hips. Did you make a typo when you typed his weight was 67.4 pounds? That's a minimal loss from his previous weight. A long drink could put .8 of a pound back on him. Thanks to OwnedbySummer for info about Trackinfo. If the weight is different from Greyhound-Data, which one is more likely to be correct?

So nice to be laughed at. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. NOT!

I adopted Annie Bella 3 months ago today. She didn't like to be toweled off coming in from the rain. I too think it was because it reminded her of the track. I eased her into liking it by brushing her with a very soft brush (she loves to be brushed) when she was wet and slowly replacing the brush with a small towel. You might try a hand towel to start. It's less threatening. It took one day of rain and doing this each time we went out for P&P before she would run to the towel to be dried. I was very gentle with it and would also include a bit of massage-like pressure on her shoulders. If she were a cat, she would purr from her pleasure. I'm in Upstate New York and winters vary from easy to very hard. I bought a waterproof winter coat just in case it's needed. I visited a relative earlier this month and the temp at 6 AM for first-morning P&P was 30 degrees. Annie shivered in the chill so I'll know when she's cold. I've put the coat on her only once. She didn't like it. She ran away, but I calmed her down and with lots of petting and being firm in my resolve, put it on her. I can be a pushover for her likes and dislikes, but when it comes to something important, I'm in charge. If you want to use a coat on your baby, think of it as giving her medicine. It's got to be done so work on it. She'll get used to it after a while.

I adopted my girl 3 months ago. She was *very* shy and spooked by strange things. Now she's a total people person. Every person she sees is a potential new best friend. The same with dogs. Since I don't have a fenced yard we always walk, and people just love to oooh and ahhh over her, making a big fuss, which I'm sure helped tremendously in her giving up being shy. She has never licked me...not on the hand, the chin or my face and that suits me. Do you *know* where that tongue has been? Not for me, thank you.

I'm far from an expert, but it looks to me that he's panting because he's hot. I'm basing this on why and how my Annie Bella pants. Others who have had Greys far longer than I will be better able to give an assessment. My Greyhound pants very easily. It doesn't take much distance on a walk before she's panting, even on a cool day like today.

Love the ears! She is a pretty girl..a very lovely face.

Awwwwwwwwwww....

I agree: Does it matter where she sleeps. It's kinda like having children: We have to pick our battles. If your girl is happy sleeping, that isn't something about which to be concerned. If she got nasty and started biting people, that's a concern. My Annie Bella won't do a lot of stairs so does not climb the 14 stairs up to the bedrooms. In the beginning I wished she would, but the positive side is I'm not woken by her playing in the middle of the night (the evidence is there in the morning when I get up) and she's never asked me to go pee at 3 AM!

He is a gorgeous boy! What is his name? I love the picture of him half on and half off his bed. That's so Greyhound. Being food motivated can be a positive because I imagine he'll learn quicker/easier with the reward of food. My Annie Bella is not food motivated so teaching her anything is a difficult task.

Annie Bella is family and nobody hurts my family. Hitting my dog is the exact same thing as if he had hit my granddaughter (or son when he was a child). My heart is pounding thinking of my Annie being in Beckett's place and me being you and what I would have done. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about a person like that man who thinks it's acceptable to hurt animals, whether his own or others. My God, how can anybody hit an animal in the face?? A person with deep issues, that's for sure. Good for you for calling the police!

I am so sorry to read your heartbreaking story. My heart is hurting for you. How absolutely terrible that you had to give up your lovely companions. You're a good person to do so to protect them. I hope someone can find out for you what happened to them. Can you contact the adoption group in the U.S.? They most likely will have a trail.

Instructions on the Advantix II advises to do multiple spots. I used half the tube on the advice of my vet. She has two Greys herself and never gives the full tube because in her opinion, it's overkill and as we all know our Greys don't need more meds than necessary.

My adoption organization recommended K9 Advantix II for Extra Large Dogs. It treats ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, biting flies and lice. It is a bit greasy but I assume that's part and parcel of an applied treatment. I don't use an entire tube. I use half, maybe a bit less, and put it on her neck/back in four spots. That amount works and creates smaller grease spots.