revamp

I don't think there's anything Costco could do to make me stop shopping there--certainly not something as trivial as changing credit card processors. I'm sorry to hear the change had a negative impact on you, but I fear you'd only be punishing yourself by looking for alternatives (and considering Sam's club *shiver*). I have fed Diamond foods (purchased at Menards) with good results.

Thanks, that's a really kind offer! I received the xpen I bought last week and I think it's going to work out perfect. I appreciate the thought, though!

Ok, you convinced me. I just picked up an xpen on amazon. (30" high, which i think is a good compromise for me between security and portability).

I have a seizure dog and also have a "rescue kit" of liquid valium at home, but the instructions I received from the vet were to only administer if the seizure won't stop (lasting longer than 2-3 minutes before they begin to recover), or if he goes into clusters of seizures one after the other. He has occasional breakthrough seizures even on a cocktail of Phenobarb and Zonisamide, but in 2 years we've never had to administer the valium. Either way, the emergency valium should, in my experience, always be followed up by an immediate visit with a vet. I'll have to check on the dosage we have when I get home from work.

Despite the crate being discontinued, your post was very helpful. In assessing how good Rocky would do with a soft-sided crate, I was about to respond with "You know, I could probably make a perimeter of shoeboxes around him and he would refuse to step over them". In all seriousness, that is pretty accurate--considering I could pen him in the corner with couch cushions, maybe I am overthinking the need for a whole new crate of some kind...lol

Thanks, everyone! Rocky is travelling with me to TN for thanksgiving and we'll be staying with my non-dog owning family. Rocky is sedate, but is used to sleeping in his crate (which weighs a million pounds and I don't want to haul with me). I just wanted to see what my options were for a highly-portable crate solution that Rocky can go to for some quiet from the holiday rush, and if I had to leave the house or what have you I would know that he was safe and not accidentally slipping out of a door or something. I appreciate everyone's input.

What do you guys use when it comes to portable crates (for travel, events, etc)? Do you prefer xpens? Play pens? Crates? Nothing? Got links?

This was a terrible tragedy and makes my heart ache, but that dog would still be alive if he was kept safe and restrained to his own property. It's a shame this dog spent his life keeping others safe and someone couldn't do the same for him. If that bicyclist wasn't truly afraid for his life, I hope karma gets him good! I have, however, been chased by dogs on both a bicycle (and even a motorcycle!) and it's terrifying. Dogs (as us greyhound owners know) can run very, very fast and two wheels often brings out the worst in even the most usually friendly dog.

Just thought I'd share this for those that are using forti-flora. I have a dog (non-grey) who after multiple bouts of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, has to be on probiotics for maintenance. The fortiflora was too expensive for me so I did research to see if there were other options and "Probios" was recommended. Rascal had had 3 HGE episodes in 4 months before probiotics, but none since I started him on the Probios powder (I think we're at about 8 months since the last attack). It's much cheaper than forti-flora but seems to be doing the job. I give it to my other dogs, too, since there doesn't seem to be any harm (and it's not expensive) http://www.amazon.com/Probios-CHR-404-PROBIOS%C2%A0POWDER%C2%A0CHR404-240-g/dp/B001BM1QRC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441370272&sr=8-3&keywords=probiotic+powder

I have a seizure dog who was on potassium bromide (tablets) for about a year. All it seemed to do for him is make him nauseated and frequently vomit and had the odd side-effect of discoloring his fur (he's white and the KBromide made his eyes and mouth feet and ears turn brown. Due to continued seizures he was changed to Zonisamide and Phenobarb and dropped the KBromide. The staining cleared up completely, the vomiting stopped, and his seizures are (mostly) now under control. I'm not personally a fan of the drug.

Honestly, I had just typed out a few paragraphs of my thoughts but then deleted them because ya know....there's just no way of knowing until you're in that moment. Every dog is different, every situation is different. I tried to describe a few guidelines or feelers, but even those aren't always applicable. It's a highly individual decision specific to a unique circumstance. I do feel, however, that one day too soon is far better than one day too late.

My non-grey had a bout of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis last week. Idiopathic. Course of a bunch of meds and subQ fluids and has bounced back fine. Came out of nowhere, went from uncontrolled watery diarrhea to bloody diarrhea over the course of a day, lethargy then set in. I have three dogs who all eat the same exact things and the dogs are crated when not supervised, so very little chance to have ingested something I wasn't aware of. The other dogs are fine and have showed no symptoms.

I haven't been on greytalk as much lately, but I just popped in today and this thread was the first thing I saw. I am so very sorry for your loss, but so very very glad you've shared so much of Jilly with the forum. She is such a bigger than life personality and you've done such a wonderful job of allowing us on the internet to know her that I think of her often outside of this forum, and will continue to do so.

I'm so sorry to hear this, but very glad it turned out alright. Thank goodness you were watching him!

In my thoughts.

Don't be worried--I wouldn't consider this an emergency situation as long as your dog is otherwise acting ok (eating, drinking, voiding). but.... EWW EWW EWW!

I think you've got a whole thread of parents eagerly awaiting your wisdom on how you simply "teach" a 1 year old anything related to impulse control. I mean, who needs to baby-proof a house if anyone would have thought to just teach their baby to keep their hands out of power outlets and to not open kitchen cabinets, or to not pull themselves up via the television. Teaching is an ongoing process, but I think the best method to protecting a toddler and dogs is supervision and containment.

I have kids. It sucks to have to separate the dogs into different areas, but that's what you need to do right now. You're doing the right thing. The good news is, kids develop and grow so quickly that this situation will not last forever--I promise. Right now it's important to protect your dogs from your toddler, so then as your daughter turns 2 and 3 and begins to develop impulse control and will respond to your rules and corrections, the dogs can be re-integrated and everyone will get a fresh start vs the dogs being traumatized. It makes you feel worse than anything to see the dogs whining behind a gate, but they'll get used to it and get over it. Your daughter still takes at least one nap a day, I'm guessing, plus goes to bed early so there is plenty of time for the dogs to have the run of the house.

I don't think wearing the bellyband during the times he's home unattended is necessarily a bad thing, but I would absolutely not have it on him at any time where you are at home. Your sole purpose in life should be watching him and anticipating his needs in terms of potty times. He shouldn't be out of your sight and the belly band might make you a little too comfortable and therefore not be watching as closely for his subtle signals of needing to go (pacing, laying down and getting back up, looking out a window or a door, looking at you, whining, etc...)

Based on your time schedule (which, by the way, is excellent information to have and is great to keep track of) I think the issue is less wearing/not wearing the bellyband and more the timing. Most dogs are hardwired to have to p&p after waking up, after eating, and sometimes after playing. Especially during housebreaking, care should be taken to walk the dog *immediately* after feedings. I think the "oops" here was not walking him right after he finished eating dinner. PS--your dogs are gorgeous

he's only three. Dogs spontaneously break their legs running all the time (as the number of broken leg dogs in my local adoption group can attest to). It's far from unusual to see a broken leg on a dog that jumps on an off furniture all crazy-like. He could have landed wrong, tripped, or got his paw stuck in a blanket or cushion when he jumped. There's no need to be alarmist and scare an owner for no reason when the dog has been properly tended to by skilled vets. He was operated on and had pins placed, for goodness sakes. Pin placement requires drilling into existing bone. If there were abnormalities in the bone of any kind, it would have been noticed.

Sounds like you tried everything within reason you could do for him. So glad he had a home to spend his time in and people who cared for him, versus being frightened and alone in a kennel somewhere.

Was this swelling a sign of what was going on with poor Zip?

What a wonderful thing you did for him. Glad he had some time with you.

My dear greyhound Rocky is about as sharp as a box of rocks. I've had him a year and there is just no teaching him anything. He stands and blinks, and that's the extent of it. Even when he lays down, he plops down with his legs all sticking straight out so he's basically in a standing position but laying on his side. And he blinks. This makes it very very hard to try and mark/form the behaviors I'm looking for (mostly down, but a sit would be great too). Right now I am mainly working on "wait" to get him to stay in one spot until I release him. He does come when I call for him, although I have found he also comes running when I call, "Here kitty kitty kitty". My other non-hound knows a whole repertoire of parlor tricks in addition to basic obedience. He can even turn a light switch off and on, so I've got some successes under my belt. I've also successfully taken three separate dogs (two labs and a german shephard) through the basic obedience and socialization stages of seeing-eye dog training. I'm far from a dog training expert, but I've got a good deal of experience and have worked with a few different professional trainers. My take? Some greyhounds just aren't all that well suited to training--like my precious Rocky. I think any animal can be trained with enough skill, time, and effort...but for some dogs, unless you want to make it a full time job your "bag of tricks" and ability to certify for obedience levels may be limited.