Feisty49

She is beautiful.

I can't imagine not having Annie in my bedroom on her bed, or mine if she chose but she doesn't. You close your bedroom door at night, so in addition to your girl having her own bed, she'll need a bowl of water. I know my girl drinks water at night because the amount is much less every morning than when we went to bed.

Stomping of feet: I love that. My girl doesn't express much emotion so when I hear that, I know something's up. If I understand your post correctly, it appears you close your bedroom door when you go to bed at night. (" That lasted about 2 months before she decided she didn't want to be locked up in the room and she decided to sleep in the living room by herself.") If so, I suspect she wants to be in your room with you. Can you leave your door open? That way Kellie has a choice of her bed in your room and her bed in the living room or even sharing your bed with you.

Welcome. Your girl has a real cute name. Some believe in the 30-minute rule. Some let their dog graze by leaving food out all day. I say whatever works for the dog and the household, but I'm pretty laid back about such things. I do think, though, that 3.5 cups of food a day for a 59 pounder is too much, unless you're trying to put weight on her, so maybe she's not very hungry in the morning. My girl weighs 65 to 66 pounds and gets 3 cups of kibble a day plus treats. Shuffler certainly won't starve if she doesn't eat in the morning. She'll be hungry, but that's what happens and it's a lesson learned. Access to water is much more important than never missing a meal. Do you have a picture?

Biggest issue for me as Annie's mom is..... nothing. Wait, there are two things. I do get concerned when she refuses to go outside to pee, in the large, fenced yard, and it's been 5 or 6 hours since her last out. I wonder why she holds it if she doesn't have to. Because she's so easy about everything, I can forget about her needs, so I trained me and her to respond to the alarm on my cell. It's set for 2 PM, and if we haven't done our afternoon walk yet, the alarm goes off, reminding me, and I use my NO NONSENSE voice and she comes running to the door. If I use the NO NONSENSE voice any time before that, she ignores me. Also, the hour before supper she spends **staring** at me. She doesn't whine or cry. She doesn't come to me and push. She stares and stares and stares....for an hour.... those almost-black eyes looking at me... telling me how hungry she is. Drives me crazy because I hate the thought she's hungry but I know she's not starving and if she had her way, she'd eat all the time. Other than these, Annie is the most laid back, downright boring Greyhound I've ever known, and even friends who have been Greyhound people for 20+ years say they have never known a Greyhound as good as she is. Things I wish she would do: Share the queen size bed with me. Get on the couch with me. Come into the kitchen. Play with her stuffies more than the 30 seconds that precede a walk when she's excited about the prospect. Roach. Play in the fenced yard of the house I purchased FOR HER! I suppose another issue could be that with Annie, one has to look for her "I'm happy" personality. After 4-1/2 years, I know when she's pleased, excited, grumpy, tired, hungry, etc., but her moods are so subtle, they're not obvious to others.

I have only one Greyhound, for 4-1-2 years, so I have little experience compared to so many others here, but many people post here looking for advice about problems. Not that many of us post about our no-problem dogs. Annie was 3-1/2 when I adopted her. From day #1, she was a bit skittish about some things (small spaces such as a narrow hall) but never skittish about me, other people or the cat. I could pet her, take food from her, take a toy, give her a very small treat and she's gently take it with her lips, hug her, kiss her, fuss over her, go to her when she's laying down and scratch her belly. She never once, even when scared in a small space (or what she considered a narrow space, which by the way her anxiety about that is 100% better) showed any aggression. She's never growled in all the years I've had her. She barks maybe twice a year. So there are many Greyhounds who don't have any issues at all. There are many hounds that are laid back and have a real I-don't-care attitude: just love me, feed me, love me again, give me scritches and a comfy bed, and don't forget the treats, a few toys and lots of love. We'd like to see a picture of your girl!

I didn't have issues with Iams Green Bag, but last summer Annie stopped liking it, or so I assumed because she ate it apparenly under protest at supper time, having skipped breakfast, because she was hungry. I switched to Diamond Naturals, Whitefish and Sweet Potato flavor. She loves it and has good poos.

I've never heard of it. It's cool and a "toy" that I would use with Annie if there was something to track. LOL At almost 8-1/2, she's well into retirement, and other than our walks (most days 2-3 miles between two walks), she has no interest in doing anything except sleeping, eating and making sure she knows where I am in the house.

I smiled at reading about his adjustment to the elevator. I don't have one, but my son and family do in their apartment building. The first visit we made after adopting Annie 4-1/2 years ago, I had to push her into the elevator, and she'd shake and shake -- all three days. I felt bad but even dogs have to do what has to be done. The second visit, she still had to be pushed into the elevator but she didn't shake -- again for three days. The third visit, she carefully walked into the elevator, with no shaking, and now she goes into it as if walking into our front door. The only thing that made a blip in my mind was the number of hours you'll be away each day. You said you work 7-8 hours a day and then work out at the gym each night for 2 hours. I think that's a lot of time for your boy to be alone. He can hold his P&P for hours if necessary, that's not a problem, and I know there are many people who are gone 10+ hours a day with work, but for me, it's a lot of time for a social animal to be alone. Something to think about: You said you can walk home from work, as if indicating you can come home at lunch (?). Some people have found that the coming and going mid day can be more upsetting to a hound, even with the benefit of being able to pee, than if "mom" leaves for work and doesn't come until work is over. Good luck!

I dremel Annie's nails every other day. I do a quick 4-5 swipes on each nail and that's it. Any longer than that, and the nail gets too hot. Most of her nails are black and I can't see the quick. That is one of the reasons I dremel so often. It keeps the nails short without having to worry about hurting her.

I am so sorry for your loss. Every time one of us loses a hound, all our hearts break a little.

I don't know anything about PetPlan. Sorry. I've used Healthy Paws for 3 years and except for minor, and unusual, delays in payment this past summer, I have no complaints. I don't know why acknowledgement and reimbursement were delayed, but once summer was over, they went back to normal, with normal being acknowledgement of a claim within 24 hours and payment received within 7-10 days. Claims to Healthy Paws can be submitted via an app on a smart phone. It's easy peasy. Once the account is established, take a picture of the invoice and hit "submit." Healthy Paws representatives are always available, and if for some reason everybody is busy, someone takes your number and calls back within an hour or two. The company has choices for deductibles and percentage of repayment. I currently have a $250 annual deductible (*not* per incident) with a 90% reimbursement rate. The monthly premiums is $42 and change, which I considerable OK for my 8-year-old Annie. They don't cover previous/existing conditions, but I've never heard they try to get out of payment by linking something new to something old. It just doesn't sound like something this company would do. Annie had no previous conditions so I have no experience with this. A 20% discount sounds pretty good, I suppose, though honestly, if your monthly premium is, for example, $40, you'd be saving only $8 a month, which I don't consider much. If all other services are the same with other companies you are considering, then I'd go for it, but if another company is much better, I'd skip a discount.

I third? fourth? that she's telling you she doesn't like to be crated. My suggestion is instead of trying to get her to be "better" in the crate, work on her being less anxious when she's out of the crate.

Interesting idea to teach a dog to lick. I too am not a person who wants a dog licking. I don't buy the idea that their mouths are cleaner than ours. After all, they lick in places on their bodies I can't even see on myself! LOL If my dog did lick, I would not allow it. I'm wondering why you want your baby to do it? And if I ever meet you -- LOLOL -- please don't let her lick me.

My girl is just over 8 years old and I tend to look closely at the way she walks on our walks to make sure there's no limping. I have no idea if she'll get cancer, but I'm pragmatic. In the grand scheme of life, every living thing dies eventually, so if it's not cancer, it will be some other disease or general old age. I hope my girl lives for many many more years, but I know something will take her eventually. It's just the way it is, and I accept that over which I have no control.

I'm laid back about prep. I put about 2 Tbs of it in a small plastic container; fill the container with tap water (hot or cold doesn't make any difference); put on the top; and put it in the fridge. That makes up enough for at least two meals for Annie. I add enough water to her kibble to have the Olewo mixed in thoroughly. Annie won't eat her food if she - Goddess forbid -- sees it.

I've seen this article before, but it's always good to re-read something like this. Annie is so accepting and laid back she probably has 500 spoons on most days, but I am so in tune with her, how and where she sleeps, what her body language is, how her eyes look at the world, etc., that I know there are days where she has only 50 spoons.

Getting too many recommendations can be a pain. Nonetheless, if you're still floundering, I suggest trying Diamond Naturals Grain-Free Whitefish and Sweet Potato flavor (don't know if it's true, but I'm told that whitefish is gentle on the digestive system). I'm not saying that grain free is the way to go. I don't buy into that hype. This was recommended by another GTer a while ago and just happened to be grain free. Annie had been on Iams Green Bag and was not liking it much as well as it stopped doing the job of firming up her poos. She *loves* the Diamond Naturals and her poos are good, except for the last one of the day which comes out ice cream coney but can still be picked up.

Welcome. I'm in Upstate New York so do experience cold winters -- usually -- not so much (yet) this year. Each dog is different when it comes to tolerating the cold. Annie's first winter with me in 2011-12, she was cold all the time and wore coats outside and was under blankets inside. Each year since then, she's needed bundling less and less to a point where this year, even with a temp of 20 degrees, she doesn't want a coat, unless it's windy, which is when I insist. Even then she's not happy with it over her bottom so I fold it up so she'll walk. There are lots of places on line that sell coats for Greyhounds. Do a Google search and they'll come up. I started out with expensive coats, and they are very nice, but found that I liked those I got from http://www.kriskoats.com/ just as well and they are less costly. Good luck in your search!

Wow. Wonderful, and sad, story. You've had your house full of goofy, beautiful, silly, heart warming animals but to lose them, and some so quickly, is heart breaking. They were and are lucky pups to have your love.

Brush every day the best you can. I do this with Annie and figure that over the course of a week, every tooth gets a decent brushing 3 or 4 times.

So much fun and she's so pretty.

As said above, I think you'll be a greyt Greyhound mom. Also, I just want to chime in about not needing to go potty every 4 hours. I'm retired and most days I'm home or run errands so am not gone long. Therefore, on most days, Annie could go outside every hour if she wanted. But even if I had a crow bar, I wouldn't be able to get her to go outside in our fenced yard to go potty every 4 hours. She just doesn't have to go, though like most dogs, if we're on a walk, she can squat and mark every 50 feet if she feels the need. At night, she goes 10 to 12 hours without needing to go potty. She can also do that during the day if I am gone for a long time. BTW, my girl is 8 years old and I'm aware that in the future, she may have P&P issues, but right now, she's fine. Dog parks: Some of us do them; some don't. I'm in the don't column. I have taken my Annie to them, but she doesn't enjoy them and there is no benefit for her, though there are a few negatives, so we just don't go. Walking: Even though I have a fenced yard, Annie and I walk most days at least 3 miles, split between two walks, so I'm in the column that encourages walking. It's a good way to bond with a pup and I also find it fun. I love to look at my girl sniff, stop and listen, look around and walk. They have such a cute, springy walk. It's good exercise too because Annie uses the backyard just for P&Ping, though it's plenty big enough to do zoomies in. Annie definitely has arthritis. Her back gives her pain if she's not on Vetprofin, so she takes a pill every day. It does the trick and she's always raring to go for a walk or follow me around the three levels of the house. Good luck! Hope to see you back here with pictures.

I don't count nearly as much as the others because I have only one Greyhound but Annie has never had sleep startle or any negative responses to anything where she growled, snapped or bit (she runs and hides). A good friend has 5 houndies, and only one has sleep startle but only to the extent of growling.

As said above by most, I don't put boots on Annie. I might put a balm of some sort on her feet but that's not often and honestly, if the weather is so bad that I think I should do that, then it's too bad for me/us to be out walking. Annie sometimes gets a snowball between her toes. She stops, picks up the offending foot, gives me "that" look and I remove it.