Feisty49

Welcome. Lots of houndies! You and your family are amazing people.

The truth of what you're doing is in the success. If it works, go with it.

He is awesome. Good for you and him to have found each other.

He is wonderful! So glad that you all have another Grey to love on.

When she plants herself, you have to get her feet moving again. Give her shoulder a gentle, but firm, push with your thigh. Her feet/legs will move and sometimes that breaks the cycle. Another way is to hold the leash very close, with her head just about against your thigh, and move in a circle, pushing on her shoulder with your leg. When you come out of the circle, keep on moving. This may have to be done a couple of times, but the main thing to do is not let her slow you down. A lot of new owners let the dog set the pace of the walk, and if the dog starts to slow down, the human will also slow. Try not to do this -- you as the human be in charge of the walk. Slowing down leads to stopping. Obviously you'll have to be able to judge if she has to go P or P and stop for that, but once she's done, start walking with confidence and expect her to follow. I had a terrible time with Annie when I first adopted and a trainer gave me the tips of getting her feet moving. Occasionally even now Annie will just stop. I let her gaze into space for a little bit and say very firmly, "Annie come!" or just give her a gentle push on her shoulder with my hand. Either one gets her moving again.

I also use Olewo carrots which usually works to firm up what is Annie's normally very soft, not runny, poo. Annie gets it in her food once a day.

I am so sorry for your loss. Our Greys mean so much to us and to have them go is heartbreaking.

From your perspective, this sounds just about right, but while you can set some rules, she doesn't like going outside on the patio, and I doubt it will change. Her peeing is mostly from her perspective and she's not liking peeing there for whatever reason. Eight hours isn't a long time to hold it, unless there's a medical reason. My girl Annie, who can walk out the back door into a large, fenced backyard, takes her last pee at 7:30ish PM and doesn't get up until about 7:30ish AM, 12 hours later. That's her choice so I figure if she can do it, who am I to say otherwise. Don't panic. Have confidence in yourself and your girl (name and picture please), and don't lose patience. Your girl needs a confident human to bond with, someone who seems to know what's she doing (fake it if you don't) so she (your girl) can trust and feel safe.

Hmmm... maybe you're right. Maybe I'm thinking of the percent of reimbursement. I can go down to 80% reimbursement but not back up to 90%. Going up to a higher deductible would benefit the company, whereas going back up to a higher percentage of reimbursement wouldn't.

As said above, make sure the deductible is *not* per incident and go with as high a deductible as you can afford in a year. The higher the deductible, the lower the monthly premium will be, though I don't know how much less. With Healthy Paws, you can always change the deductible to a lower amount, but you can't go back to a higher amount after. I also endorse Healthy Paws Pet Insurance though the company has been slow in payments, IMO, the last few months.

You'll hear this from just about everybody: Your girl is lonely and needs to be with you. Greyhounds in particular need to be with their humans. Since birth, they have never been alone and Chloe is in another home (after being fostered) and alone. She hates it and is letting you know. I suspect if you put a bed in your bedroom with a soft blanket for her to cuddle with, she'll calm down. If you haven't read this article yet, it is highly recommended that you do. It will tell you about a Greyhound's life as a racer and then transitioning into being a pet. http://www.gpa-az.com/gilley.html Good luck and keep us posted.

This. Annie too is an only -- and loves it. We have a good size fenced backyard. She uses it to P&P at her first and last turn out of the day. She does not play. She does not do zoomies. She doesn't even like to lay on the grass in the sun. Even when we have Greyhound friends over, she won't play in the yard. During the day we take two long walks, and this is her greatest enjoyment and form of exercise. She walks, she sniffs, she meets people (she *loves* people). As the op says, walking is greyt for our hounds and us, and unless someone is very, very new to dog ownership, we all know it.

I am a fan of Healthy Paws Insurance. I pay $42 a month for Annie with a $250 deductible and a 90% reimbursement after meeting the deductible. It pays for everything except dentals, the vet's exam and routine vaccinations. It pays for meds, both prescriptions and OTC meds (such as glucosamine) if recommended by the vet. A representative is always available via email or on the phone. Claims can be submitted via a smart phone app. Easy peasy. The only negative, which isn't all that bad, is I don't get an EOB or reimbursement check as quickly as I used to. This started at the beginning of the summer. Before that an EOB would be received in just a few days with a check in another 3 or 4 days. Now the EOB is taking 7+ days with a check about the same amount of time. That's not a big deal, I know, but when a company dealing in finances starts to slow down on reimbursement, I always wonder why.

Just a couple of suggestions but as said above, people with more experience will give you additional info. First, do not muzzle him. If something *should* ever happen where another dog gets to yours, your boy (name?) needs to be able to defend himself. Just as important, IMO, is do not let other dogs get near him. It's pretty simple: If he doesn't want to be near other animals, don't put him in that situation. This may mean you'll have to turn around on a walk and/or very firmly tell owners of other dogs that they need to keep their dogs away from your boy because your boy gets upsets and/or is afraid. I don't think your boy is aggressive. It's his way of saying he's afraid, upset, concerned, etc. You said, "We cannot let him off the lead so this is part of the problem but it seems to occur more when the other dog tries to play." I don't understand why you think you should be letting him off lead. If you're in the U.S., you know that letting a Greyhound off leash is not something many of us do, unless in a dog park. If you are talking about being in a dog park, IMO he's too new to you to be taken there. Also, many of us don't even do dog parks because of bad situations that can occur. Regarding the growling: I have no experience with this. My girl has never growled at anything. From reading this forum for a few years, I know that you will be told NOT to tell him "No" when he growls. Growling is a form of communication and a warning given by dogs. You want him to do a warning growl, instead of immediately biting, so you know he is unhappy about something. Many Greyhounds have issues about being approached when they are laying down in that they don't want people to get in their space. If your boy was laying down when he growled, make it a house rule for everybody that they do not attempt to pet "Fido" unless he's standing up. In this situation, you don't want to change the dog's behavior. You want to change the behavior of people in the house. Five weeks is a very short time for him to adjust to his new home. Greyhounds continue to morph for months and even years. It's a wonderful experience but it takes understanding and patience on the part of the humans and remembering that some of the rules will be set by your boy. Rules such as "I don't like other dogs" or "Don't get in my space," are reasonable. If he tries to set a rule "I want to surf the counter for food" then you change his behavior while also leaving no food out for him to get. We need a picture and a name because I'm sure it's not Fido.

Wow........he is gorgeous!

This is so sad. I hate it when someone loses their sweet hounds. My sympathy.

This happens a lot. Happened to me with Annie when first adopted. She'd walk and then stop and plant herself. I remember being in tears because she would... not... move. Regarding planting herself when walking: The advice I was given was I had to get her moving. Walk in her in a circle by holding her on a very short leash, her head next to your thighs and gently but firmly push on her neck as you walk in a circle. It can take two times around but as you come out of the circle, keep walking at a good speed. Another way to get planted feet to move is to again have the dog on a very short leash and gently but firmly push on the shoulder/neck area so they have to jump sideways, and then start walking. Another suggestion is to be in control of the walk. Don't let her wander off on a long leash. Keep her close, keep your pace steady and remember you're the human and she's the dog. If she slows down, you keep up the same pace, unless you think she wants to potty. She'll learn her name quickly if you use it all the time. Whenever you speak to her, use her name. "Want a treat, Rosey?" "Let's go for a walk, Rosey." "Rosey's a good girl!!"

Healthy Paws always covers submitted claims without a fuss. Submitting via the smart phone app is easy. I have noticed over the summer, though, that the company is taking longer to pay claims and pretty much my claims are the same: monthly submissions of two medicines Annie's been taking for over a year, so there is no need for claims to be held up. This new "time lag" isn't a problem but it does make me wonder if the company is having financial difficulties.

Wow! I don't care how likely it is a dog will be OK, it is a scary thing -- and obviously expensive -- to have a beloved animal bit. Poor guy. He looks like he has the mumps. So glad he's OK.

Poor guy and poor you! Just the thought of his pain makes me cringe. Positive thoughts for quick healing.

Rowdy's adorable, and she's got the bestest ears!

They are beautiful. Thinking good thoughts for all of you.

Welcome from the Albany, New York, area in the U.S. I hope you can figure out how to post a picture. In the meantime, please share a description and his name.

Your girl (name?) sounds like a sweet, little thing who loves life. I don't have a recommendation to protect her, other than not going to that dog park, which probably isn't what you want to hear, but I can say that I would not put any jacket on her when it's as hot as it is now. Greyhounds heat up fast and can go into heatstroke if you're unaware of the symptoms. Wearing a coat in warm weather, let alone hot weather, is asking for problems. I live in Upstate New York and because my girl prefers chilly over hot, she won't have a coat on her until the temp is less than 40, and more likely less than 30, depending on the wind and humidity. I don't know much about TX weather in the winter, but there are others here who live in TX. They'll tell you what is advisable for winter, and I'm sure it won't be a heavy coat with a snood. We need pictures of your baby!

I imagine many if not most of us were like you re being afraid to hurt our Greyhounds when we adopted our first one. I know I was concerned I'd do something wrong. I wasn't afraid I'd break her, but my girl was so not like other dogs that I didn't know what to do. It took me a few weeks, but I finally realized that she is a dog who happens to be a Greyhound, and I am the person whose responsibility it is to let her know what I expect. Like any dog, and actually I think better than most dogs, Greyhounds learn quickly how to work us. It's like a 4-year-old child. Kids will try anything to get their way. If parents didn't insist on certain rules being followed, every kid would be out of control. If we didn't let our Greys know what rules we expect to be followed, they'd run our lives -- well, more than they already do.