Brandiandwe

I've got mixed news. A friend had a grey who ended up needing to be put down at under 3 from kidney failure. Lovely dog. He ate the kidney diet, but hated it and based on her experience, she said that she would next time keep on feeding as normal. The grey couldn't really be exercised, so while the diet lengthened his life by about 9 months, his quality of life was appalling. One of my girls, who is nearly 8, has had kidney problems since we had her. They've stabilised, but she can't hold her pee for more than about 3.5 hours, so she is now litterbox trained. The vet and I discussed a kidney diet, but I've refused. She loves her raw diet and is happy and look great on it. She loves her food, and while this decision is probably shortening her life, she is full of energy and very happy, so I am aiming for quality over quantity. When she goes it will be quickly and I have made my peace with it. That said, it's been 6 years now, so it's by no means a death sentence.

My dominant bitch will sometimes do this as a sign of dominance, so will flag when standing over my other bitch or the two dogs. She allows them to sniff her than moves away. But I’d agree that a vet visit might be indicated.

Get him checked by a muscle man or physio. But none of mine wear jammies with legs. They all have house coats. Then they have a quilt and blankets to nest in. Pillows etc to snuggle against. Beds are out of drafts. They all survive.

Meh. I walk my four and they outweigh me considerably. One is very high prey (the smallest female) and another is tricky (the other female). My two boys are pretty good, and Hermon is outstanding. Mostly it comes down to practice and training. I've been pulled over once by all four of them, when they all went after a running cat when I was bent over picking up a poop. I've had multiple greys for over 6 years. I also had my mother walking my late greyhound boy. She is tiny, and managed him well. I'd go for personality and temperament. A smaller dog won't necessarily be easier.

He is 14. I think you need to ask yourself if you are looking for options for him or for you. I, personally, would sit down with him and ask him what he wants. And then listen. I did this with my Benny, and had to let him go at 11. He was ready, and he told me clearly. I'm sorry.

I’d also put him in a separate room away from Vicki. We have one who is fed completely separately and everyone is happy.

Keep her indoors in the heat. No hanging out outside. Ours don’t go walking at above 25 degrees, and are indoors all day.

Time and patience. If he can feed and walk her it will healp. Otherwise, he should leave her alone and let her come round. Baby gates in front of the front door are also an excellent idea.

The bitterant sprays have worked for me every time I've used them, so worth a try.

Bitterant spray?

Another Australian here. I leave our aircon at 23 - 24 degrees. Seems to work for all of ours. Otherwise, we have a fa on in our bedroom all the time, which is the pack den. It's tiled so it stays significantly cooler. Blinds are kept shut, water always available. Very early morning walks are our friend, as I'm sure you know. But in summer I do reduce their duration anyhow. They get pretty exhausted (particularly my black boy who seems to think that lying in full sun outside on 40 degree days is a sensible option. Just as well he's good looking because he isn't the brightest bulb in the room, bless him!).

I see your red foil and raise you red wax which was around Babybel cheese. The colour and texture were...... not pleasant......

Welcome to the forum. I wouldn’t assume that timid and skittish = abuse. We have two who are closely related and they are both skittish and wary of strangers. One of them, the bitch, didn’t allow my husband to handle her for six months, and it took two years before she really warmed up to him. Now she’s his little princess. It just took a long long time. He basically ignored her and let her come to him.

If she’s happy and enjoying it, then no judgement here! Life is to be enjoyed for our greys. They don’t know why they need the yucky food, and they don’t know they’re shortening their lives. That burden is ours to bear. Hugs. It’s a hard road.

Having watched a friend with a very young grey suffer kidney failure, I’ve done nothing. This sounds awful, but all of the kidney foods were pretty unpalatable, and, according to my friend, extended life for a few months, but the grey wasn’t happy. If she had to do it again, she’d let him eat what he wanted and enjoyed, and let him go happy. Which is what we’re doing with Brandi. We’ve accepted that continuing to feed her a balanced, raw diet rather than a kidney diet will shorten her life, but she looks great for now, loves her food and is happy.