Brandiandwe

My experience has been that it's the change in protein source which causes the most issues.

I do have a release command for my greys when eating. But that's because there are four of them. So they need to wait for me to put food down before lunging at it. Otherwise it is chaos. But once the food is down, it's theirs. I don't think negative reinforcement works with these dogs. I've watched DH try it with ours and my way works best, including with growling, snapping and sleep startle. The only times my dogs hear the VOG are when they are in danger (Brandi trying to get the steak off the stove) or are playing too intensely with each other. They then get treats. Nothing physical, no in their face. They have all growled at me. Two have snapped with intent. One has connected with DH. All valid means of communication. None aggressive. Go back to the beginning. Get the physical stuff sorted out. Think about what you can change. My skitty dog who is food aggressive at times (Brandi) is fed by herself in the laundry. No one else except me goes in there and I guard the door. I don't touch her food unless I need to add something to it. I don't go in there except to drop a different bowl off. When I do, I touch her butt or back lightly to let her know I'm there. She guards her bowl when I do it. But after three years there is no further reaction. All my dogs have been taught leave it and know about trading up - they never have food taken away from them, they voluntarily drop it when told to because they know I'll give them a treat. I think people get very tangled up about being in charge. I prefer to think of myself as being in partnership with my dogs. Sometimes they get their way. Mostly I get mine, because my relationship with them is such that what want has become what they want, because positive reinforcement teaches them that doing what I want is rewarding. This builds confidence in them.

Ooooooh! Another Australian! Welcome from Sydney. What I've learned from this forum. Lots of good information. Seriously the best place anywhere for information and advice. But. Not Australian. So, as you've discovered, not everything suggested is available. Personally, I agree with Sobesmom but would go with the chicken and rice with perhaps some probiotic to start. You might also need to go get a weeks worth of panacur to worm him properly. His coat will improve with diet and time, and remember he's shedding his winter coat too. My little black girl is currently dandruffy because of this. And there's enough fur round the house to make a fifth greyhound. Kibble-wise, I did the Canidae thing, then shifted to Taste if the Wild, but ended up with Costco instead. Unfortunately supply can be quite sporadic. Eventually I've moved to raw, and white meat only thanks to intolerances. Make friends with your butcher.

Paige and Brandi both do it, with legs lifted. Paige is generally quite accurate. Brandi tends to mark at about 90 degrees off and on one of the others. Sigh.

I just saw on Facebook...... What a great loss to the world!

Brandi loves raw broccoli. They all enjoy cooked till mushy veg.

It's going to take time. Are your stairs enclosed or open? Carpeted? Do you have a harness? It took Brandi a week to learn the stairs. She weighs 32 kg and we carried her till then. We found that moving her physically one foot at a time helped, but in the end we used her harness. I supported her like a suitcase and moved her up supporting her all the way. Lots of treats and praise. We also practiced outside at the park.

UTI? Food intolerance? Brandi had ongoing UTIs which were eventually linked to diet. She's now on a raw diet and the problem has all been eliminated.

If the kitty room is gated off from Piper when you aren't there, can't you just give her a Truly Excellent Bed in that room for when you're all there and leave the kennel where it is?

Just saw this. I'm so sorry.

Thank you for sharing this tribute. Run free, Bear, over the Bridge. You've left a big hole in your home.

Thinking of you!

I'm just going to post.... don't panic. The Advantix will kick in relatively quickly, and it is what I use (the ONLY thing that kills paralysis ticks, which are an Australian thing, so don't google them and panic. Sonic does NOT have a paralysis tick). To speed things up, a bath in flea medicated shampoo might work, but check with others on here about which ones work for greys. The ones here will be different

Salt-Dawg, ask away!

I don't know either, but hope you will accept my condolences.

Back to food. I've tried transitioning, and I've tried cold turkey switches. In all four cases, the fast switch worked best. But I don't know if this is because dog 1 has guts of iron, dog 2 was so intolerant to everything that nothing was going to make matters worse, dog 3just wouldn't improve till we went to raw and dog 4 came from the pound, wouldn't eat for days and then got stuck straight onto what the others were having. For the last two, we were transitioning onto kibble, kibble-raw and raw diet, but the first two were kibble only. When I finally made the switch to only raw it was cold turket because once they began being fed what they preferred, no kibble was touched. So, this is not a post about raw but rather about the time its taken.

It's been ten days. This is a long term project. And there is no shame in rehoming him through a reputable group. I don't understand why you find him staring at you frightening, but if you do, a greyhound might not be the breed for you. All if mine stare at me. They enjoy the contact and communication.

I'll just add about it being the new dog. I've found with my lot it is the most insecure of them all who does the most grumbling, posturing, growling and even snapping about resources. She is better when she feels secure in her place and knows she won't be bullied, pushed around, made to move when she's gotten comfortable, or has managed to claim the bed which is beside me (which is where Paige usually sleeps but Brandi, given the choice, occasionally needs). I let the growling happen but also try to not move Brandi unless it's absolutely necessary ( if Paige is sick, for instance, or I am, she doesn't settle if she isn't with me. Otherwise, she settles elsewhere no problems).

If it were me, I'd probably fast him for 24 hours to try to give his system a break. Keep up the water obviously, but no food for a bit.

I'm so sorry! I can't make any suggestions about what to do, but I will offer support. Would your girl eat Vegemite (or Bovril, Marmite)? Strong tasting and smelling, yeasty and a bit salty? What about water from tuna or mackerel or sardines over her food? Or some fish? For feeding, could you maybe try like you feed a puppy? Three or four (or more) small meals spaced throughout the day so she's not eating as much all at once to give her tummy a chance to adjust.

It might depend on the dog, but when Paige has had stitches or cuts anywhere, we haven't bothered with an e-collar at all. She seems to only scratch when it needs to be cleaned but otherwise leaves it alone. Would yours be the same?

I have four greys. None are, or ever will be, cat safe. One we got from the pound who ended up there because of cat issues. You need to put your existing animals first so I'm with the others. You need to find a group who can take Lordie on and help you find a hound who is cat safe/ workable. The behaviour you are describing is what my high prey hound does and it has taken literally years of work to settle her.

I know she's now walking better (thankfully!) but would a doubled up towel under her belly allow you to give her a little more support when she needs it?

I can't speak to a chicken intolerance, but Brandi's inappropriate urination has been linked to diet. We've found that Zeel tablets have worked very well to reduce the inflammation of her entire system along with a raw diet (of chicken because none do well on lamb and Paige is intolerant to red meat). So I mention this only as something to consider which might help. I've also found that being ruthless about Boo's diet has been critical to her management. So I'd be trying to eliminate chicken completely if possible.

I use Zeel tablets for my guys which really seem to help. Hermon has a bit of arthritis. He's 6.