WalterWallerson

https://youtu.be/g9WcOs1372Q https://youtu.be/9dZ__vq9IPQ https://youtu.be/LGdc1A1JmJ4 video links above to aftermath of whatever happened to Walter. This happened once before, Nov 2014, and it seemed like a very bad muscle cramp. This time was worse, it appeared to affect his whole body. He couldn't bend his legs to lay down, so he kept stumbling around (like he was drunk) he used the hallway to keep him up while he moved forward. He went head first into a cable jack in our bedroom and I saw him go head first into the wall of our living room. He wasn't able to lift his head, so his head/nose/snout was perpendicular to the floor, so he hit the wall with the "top" of his head. The second link is about 30 minutes after the incident (15 minutes after the end of the first video) and he starts panting. The third video is about 45 minutes of him resting on his couch

https://youtu.be/g9WcOs1372Q https://youtu.be/9dZ__vq9IPQ https://youtu.be/LGdc1A1JmJ4 video links above to aftermath of whatever happened to Walter. This happened once before, Nov 2014, and it seemed like a very bad muscle cramp. This time was worse, it appeared to affect his whole body. He couldn't bend his legs to lay down, so he kept stumbling around (like he was drunk) he used the hallway to keep him up while he moved forward. He went head first into a cable jack in our bedroom and I saw him go head first into the wall of our living room. He wasn't able to

https://youtu.be/g9WcOs1372Q https://youtu.be/9dZ__vq9IPQ https://youtu.be/LGdc1A1JmJ4 video links above to aftermath of whatever happened to Walter. This happened once before, Nov 2014, and it seemed like a very bad muscle cramp. This time was worse, it appeared to affect his whole body. He couldn't bend his legs to lay down, so he kept stumbling around (like he was drunk) he used the hallway to keep him up while he moved forward. He went head first into a cable jack in our bedroom and I saw him go head first into the wall of our living room. He wasn't able to

Boyfriend is a nice guy. He does come on hound walks from time to time, he joins us on our "around the neighborhood" walks from time to time as well. He nicknamed Ernie, "Ernesto Del Fuego" and "The Kracken". He sings to both boys, he makes up songs about them. I sing the songs sometimes, they are very catchy. He pets the boys, but he won't kiss them goodnight (yet). I made him read some greyhound literature before he moved in because while they are MY hounds and my responsibility etc, I refused to let him move in until he read certain chapters of the Dummies Greyhound book and the entire packet that NGAP gave me when I adopted Ernie. I've told him that the boys don't see him as part of the pack, and quite frankly I think Ernie may be "jockeying" for position in our pack however, Ernie ALWAYS greets Boyfriend at the door. To be super cheesey, Ernie & Boyfriend are cut from the same cloth. They get along well so it's particularly upsetting that Ernie is growling. Ernie has growled at me once when I moved him off a bed. I know he's attempting to communicate about his needs however, Boyfriend does not want hounds on the couch (I think it's cute but I'm honoring his wishes at this point). Tonight we only had a pee accident. I laughed when he told me, he said "It's only urine!" I mean, you know you have issues when you are excited that it's only pee!

I'm in an apartment. It is double the size of the previous apartment. The amount of time I'm gone from home is nearly identical to the previous location/apartment. They do not get let out during the middle of the day. This was not a problem prior to November. They (due to unforeseen circumstances) have been home and had to hold it longer. I had the blinds open, but I thought that was making things worse (they could see the UPS guy) so I stopped opening the blinds. This seemed to be ok for a day or two. Boyfriend set up a webcam and we discussed (at length) where to place it in the apartment. The current location is not that great but it's better than the rest. I teach so I don't have access to view it 24/7 but when I have "tuned" in, they are sleeping, almost always. It's like watching paint dry. Sometimes Walter gets up, shakes, gets a drink and goes back to sleep. I did watch the UPS guy deliver a package, and they reacted to the doorbell. I also saw them react to the home management system we have, so I asked Boyfriend to turn it off completely that night.

He was crated from July 2014 to Nov 20th-ish 2015. He LOVES the crate. Before all of this, Boyfriend used to give him a frozen peanut butter filled kong when he left for work (he leaves later than i do). Ernie gleefully waited for his kong. I can't kong anymore because now that both boys are uncrated, I muzzle them. This is for protection in case they decide it's PLAYTIME and Walter is the Fun Police and take his job very seriously. When I check in on the web cam, the most I've seen is Ernie on the couch. Before November, he was fine being alone in his crate. He used to get a frozen PB kong. Music channel is left on (its called Soundscapes). I changed as little of their routine as possible after we moved. I didn't wash the dog blankets for weeks before & after.

Background: I adopted Ernie July 2014. He took a long time to transition. I have another (established) hound, Walter. Walter is 4 years older than Ernie, Ernie is 4, Walter is 8. For context, I was single until July 2014 and Boyfriend moved in March 2015. We have ALL moved to Monmouth County as of Oct 15th 2015. We moved October 15th. Boarded the boys with a friend and the transition into our new apartment was similar to when I brought Ernie home, a couple of accidents but overall not a big deal to me. November 18th we had maintenance come in and change our batteries to the smoke detector and air filters. I had the boys meet one maintenance man. He was nice, everyone got along. There are two maintenance men, I don’t know which one was in the apartment and I only found out about the second guy a week ago. Ernie was crated and has messed his crate. First it started off with peeing. Then poop, then diarrhea and finally Ernie began eating his own poop and throwing it up. November 24th after work, Ernie peed, pooped and ate it and began vomiting. I took him to the e-vet and they tested his pee and found that he had crystals in his urine. December 4th we went to NGAP which is our normal vet and he was prescribed abx to kill the bacteria that is creating the crystals. An x-ray was taken, there are no bladder stones. Ernie has been on xanax since December 4th. He is still peeing and pooping in the house. It isn’t every day, but it's still pretty bad. Yesterday he tried to eat his poop in front of me through his muzzle. He stepped in the poop and tracked it around our apartment. I’ve called NGAP twice, and Dr Berman is putting him on prozac today, I should be picking it up after work. This is impacting me in every aspect of my life and I’m really struggling. Ernie is now barking more frequently and he thinks he owns the couch and has growled at my Boyfriend*. I’m in graduate school and I teach full time. I’m exhausted, overwhelmed and anxious walking into my own home every day. Yesterday it was so bad I told my Boyfriend not to come home while I cleaned. I cried, I cleaned and then I drank. (Crying & drinking are a bit extreme for me) Please help. I'm really struggling. *I don’t think Walter & Ernie think my Boyfriend is apart of our family or part of the pack. They occasionally listen to him but they are not consistent. At this point, it isn’t on my list of things to deal with because Ernie is probably pooping on the carpet as you read this.

Thanks! how's it going?

I adopted Walter from GFNJ and then took Walter with me twice to visit NGAP where he eventually picked out Ernie. I was interviewed which at first surprised me and the we moved on to figuring out who Walter liked.

I can't believe I missed this. I was wondering why you weren't posting as much on instagram. I'm so sorry but I'm also so thankful to hear about his prognosis!

thank you for this!

I have 2 boys. Walter I've had for 4 years, it took him about 6 months but I also did EVERYTHING with him. Ernie, I've had for a year. I think it took about 6-7 months. This was tested when he accidentally became unleashed on our walk and I managed to get him to come straight back to me. Walter is very aloof unless food is involved. Ernie demands snuggles and kisses and loves everyone he's ever met.

My guys poop twice a day, morning & night. we switched in the last couple months to the green bag of Iams and it has made a huge difference for Ernie. I also give my guys a heaping tablespoon of dehydrated carrots which has helped even more than Iams green bag. i really wanted to feed Walter the highest quality food I could afford, and I did for a long time until it just stopped agreeing with him and eventually with Ernie, he didn't even tolerate Costco brand(Kirkland) food so with a heavy heart I switched to Iams and quite frankly it has made all of our lives a lot easier, even though I'm sure it isn't what you want to do. but know that i was once in your position too and i switched.

Have another grey there is a good start. Plan to spend some time working on the stairs. Find a higher value treat and lead with that. Maybe even hang out at the bottom and read a magazine, show her it isn't a big deal and while you know this is a critical skill for her, I think you are going to require a lot of patience. Walter & I practiced a lot and Walter taught Ernie nearly a year ago. They spent some time at the bottom of the stairs with me at the top just sitting there, then I got bored and made lunch and Walter went up first, then Ernie followed. Same thing when Ernie was figuring out how to go down. Once he figured it out, he used to practice going up and down the stairs. It was so stinkin cute.

I think it's sleep barking and not startling. Walter had very vivid and loud dreams the first year I had him. These have decreased over time. He only slept on my bed once or twice when he was really cold and when I moved, he got upset and hopped off the bed. I wouldn't worry about it but I would continue monitoring. Ernie doesn't have very loud dreams and doesn't sleep on or near me.

for my sensitive stomach guy I did a small teaspoon and worked my way up to two heaping tablespoons. for my non-sensitive stomach guy, I just threw two heaping tablespoons on and called it a day. i really don't you can do anything wrong when they are getting carrots. the sensitive guy wasn't super excited about carrots at first so i add peanut butter to the mix. now everyone is excited about carrots! yay firm poo!

both of my guys scrape their feet. i was so concerned with walter that I made the vet check him out. I've never noticed the other greys doing it on our greywalks but I also tend to be a bit distracted with other things.

I would have it removed. If it were somewhere else like her ear or her leg, who cares but I think its impeding her sight and maybe its starting to hurt her, who knows. I try to come back to the question: is it impacting his/her life? is his/her quality of life diminished because of (insert thing here)? those two questions usually help me figure out where to go from there.

My Ernie may also have stress colitis . I got my first bag of carrots yesterday and gave it to him today. I'm hoping things firm up soon. Any advice?

There is more info provided by one of the commenters (her name is Dawn if you want to read for yourself) she included a link to the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/powassan/

I thought I read on here recently that aspirin is a huge no no?

yes. find out what the protocol is with the new vet, they may do it for you.

Ernie does this to Walter all the time! Sometimes I get worried because I thought it was a dominance thing but I watched it start to finish and it was nothing as far as I could tell.

What's a safe alternative to antlers? I need to promote chewing in my boys to help clean their teeth.

I don't know if this will be practical for you or not, but I have my boys sleep in my bedroom with me. Your guy may be upset that he isn't sleeping with the pack. I want to make it clear - sleeping arrangements do not equal alone time during the day. Ernie is crated when I leave for work, he gets a kong that is stuffed and frozen with peanut butter. Walter has semi-access to the rest of my apartment. I found that making the boys sleep in the bedroom cut down on Ernie's whining at night significantly.