Roo

Can you buy an ex-pen for your bedroom? That way no crate, no harness and leash to get tangled in, but he'll be contained so you don't have to worry about him wandering.

Maybe that's what's wrong with Tessa today. She's hungry and has so far kept down breakfast (and her poops were solid this morning and last night, after she threw up), but she's laying on her bed looking positively downtrodden. Just keeps staring at me like she wants something but won't get up to point me in the right direction (outside? kitchen? pets? what?). She'll shift between flat on her side and more upright, but she just seems...off. I gave her gentle cuddles for a while and she seemed quite pleased with the soft pets. Poor dear. I'll switch back to the Seresto collar and ask the vet about an alternative heartworm pill. We're probably due in soon anyway - in addition to the dental/bloodwork she needs, she has a strange bump under her skin next to her hip bone. It's soft and I can poke it and she doesn't seem to mind, so I'm assuming it's a cyst (she has a couple other cysts, but they're on her skin, not under), but figure since we're going in anyway, I might as well mention it A photo of the poor sad puppy yesterday before the pukies and sleepiness hit her: She's decided she loves carrots, so I figured it's only right I put ears on her

Tessa has been taking Nexgard Spectra (I got it from the kennel - it's what they use on the adoptables). The first time I gave it to her (after a full morning meal), she seemed fine all day, then threw up her dinner about two hours after eating. I didn't connect the timing of the pill and the puke. She was fine for the next couple of doses, but she had her fifth month of it yesterday with breakfast, seemed fine all day, then threw up her dinner about two hours after she ate it. I'm guessing it's a reaction to the flea/tick/heartworm pill, but I've always thought reactions would be more severe and less "one puke and done". (Not that I'm complaining!) Since I've never had a pup have a reaction, I wanted to run it by all you knowledgeable folks. Does it sound like too much of a coincidence for the two (the puke and the pill) to be unrelated? Also, if anyone has suggestions for flea/tick and heartworm pills that don't often to cause adverse reactions, I'm all ears I had a Seresto collar on her for a while and she was fine with it - I may go back to that - but what to do for heartworm?

I was actually really worried beforehand - I live in a three story townhouse and was running through all the "If she can't do stairs, how do I get her to xx room??" I've only ever lived in a ranch-style house with maximum three steps. I did a lot of reading on stair training and was all ready to hand out delicious treats for each step and use the leash as a harness to support her while I moved her feet up each step, and I ended up having to chase her up the stairs because she was like "Hey, cool, what's up here??" and wasn't about to wait for me

Tessa came right in and walked up the stairs like she'd been doing them her whole life. Some don't take any time at all to learn the stairs!

My first thought was megaesophagus (causes regurgitation/vomiting that leads to poor growth in youngsters), but I'm no vet. If I remember correctly, there are a few other esophageal problems that can present similarly. It might be worth reading up on these (find a reputable site if you can, something geared towards vets, not a blog on a website) and suggesting them to your vet if any fit her symptoms. How's her poop?

It's like humans and peanuts - either the problem was there but it didn't get as much coverage, or for some reason it's a new problem! At least, that's how I think about it... I don't know how well she did on the Pedigree - only that no one mentioned any adverse reactions. I was still living in Asheville and she was at the kennel while I packed up that house, bought my new house, fixed up my new house, etc... I wasn't able to really keep an eye on her. If the ProPlan lamb doesn't work, I may try the Pedigree again. The wet food she eats is Pure Balance and she loves it (then again, what's not to love about stinky canned food - yummy!). I tried their kibble for "I can't possibly eat anything" Daisy and she did alright on it. For some reason I'd forgotten all about it Thanks for reminding me! I'm so very familiar with scouring the ingredient lists Daisy got itchy on chicken (any amount of chicken at all!) so I'm used to reading through the lists for anything chicken-related. Tessa was on IAMs from September to January, then I switched to the ProPlan. We're on our second bag of the salmon sensitive stomach. I'll get a little further down this bag before I give the lamb recipe a try. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll give Pedigree another try. If that doesn't work, looks like it's on to an LID diet.

She also had a weird medical crisis in July while on Pedigree - I don't know if it was related to the food or not, but she had bloody diarrhea, lethargy, disorientation, internal bleeding, spots of necrosis on her liver... Antibiotics helped and she bounced back, but I've been kind of avoiding Pedigree since then just out of association I guess I could try it again. She had a fecal in September that came back negative for hooks, but you're right about negatives not always being negative... Would her poops be bad if she has hooks? She's pretty consistently solid!

When we switched from IAMs to ProPlan, it came after a few days of Benadryl that helped relieve the itchiness. I hoped the ProPlan Salmon would stop the itchiness entirely, but it hasn't! She's still getting yeast infections and ridiculously itchy ears/body. I'll give the ProPlan lamb a try next, but now I've started wondering if maybe she needs grain free, too. Wish she could just tell me

I didn't know there was a lamb version! Sheesh. I'll try that one next. I doubt it's spring allergies - I brought her home in September (with a yeast infection in one year - thus the Gentizol) and she's been itchy to various degrees since then

Tessa was on Pedigree before I brought her home and by all accounts did just fine. I switched her to IAMs and she liked it and did fairly well, but was very very itchy and kept getting yeast infections in her ears (vet gave us Gentizol and I start treating the problem ear as soon as I notice it start to get redder and itchier) and chewing at her butt. Ears and butt were very red and angry. I switched her to ProPlan Focus Sensitive Skin and Stomach. Her itchiness got better and her yeast infections became less frequent, but she still gets them. She doesn't chew at her butt as often or as intensely, but she still gnaws more than I'd consider normal. She also just kind of seems itchy all over. This past week, I've noticed more tummy gurgles and squeaks, as well as more poots. Her output is still looking good, but I'm wondering if maybe the squeaks are food-related. The only treats she gets are the occasional milkbone (usually only at grandma's ), the very occasional peanut, and chunks of carrot and banana, which she's totally happy with. She also gets a small-dog cup of wet food at night as a bedtime snack to ward off empty tummy unhappies. Where do I go from here? Should I try grain free and see if that helps the yeasties? If so, is 4Health a good option? Should I stop giving her the wet food at night? This feels like a strange conundrum of "She's doing well enough on her current food that a switch isn't totally necessary, but I feel like she could be doing better and be less itchy, so a switch might be good."

Did the X-rays show anything weird with her esophagus? Does she only vomit right after eating a meal, or does it happen randomly at various times of day?

If GFNC people don't respond in time, the Project Racing Home Greyhounds page is usually pretty active and has members from all over NC! https://www.facebook.com/groups/PRHhounds/

Yep - dogproof yourself and your house. If you have to leave food on the counter, baby-gate him out of the kitchen. If you can stop leaving food out, that's the better solution. In my case, Tessa tried countersurfing once, slipped on the hardwood floors, fell over, and has been too afraid to try again. Self-correcting!

While the size of the hound does play some part in your ability to control them should they want to chase something, it isn't the be all and end all. I have a 55 pound female who has taken off after cats and dogs and caused me to stumble and nearly fall (and I have many years of experience walking out of control dogs!). She doesn't do it often anymore, but she's still perfectly capable of knocking me off balance. Our 50 pound female before her was the same way and once did all sorts of gymnastics while trying to slip her leash and get a beagle. Dad held on for dear life (and it all ended just fine! ). On the other hand, the 78 pound male we had when I was 7 years old would walk perfectly beside me and only rarely get interested enough in something to pull ahead (and this "pull" resulted in a just barely taut leash). Any dog (with or without a high prey drive) can bolt after something, but a dog with a lower prey drive tends to be less likely to do so. When you're looking at hounds, look for hounds who have a lower prey drive and may be able to live with cats and small dogs. Although do keep in mind that if you fall in love with a hound who does have a high prey drive, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll try to take off after everything while on walks. If the group you're working with will let you, take your candidates on a walk (preferably where there are squirrels!) to see if you can get a feel for their tendencies.

Your best bet may be to tell your group you're looking for a bounce who has lived with small kids before (and done well!). That way, the grey will have experience with children and with living in a home, and should make for a fairly easy transition. Our first greyhound was a double bounce - he had two homes before us - one good and one not good. I assume he lived with kids at one point, because when he saw me at the kennel he came running up and glued himself to my side for the rest of the time we were there. I was terrified of dogs at the time, but this gentle giant changed my mind. He only ever growled at me once, and it was when I snuck up behind him - taught me not to sneak up on dogs! He was the most patient dog and let me do almost anything - dress him up, play "agility" with him, use him as an extra in stupid little movies I filmed... Greyhounds who love kids and are great with kids definitely exist! I'm curious about why you can't use the group again?

Have you tried taking her coat off? Some of them get stubborn with coats on. If that doesn't help, just stand out there with her until she goes. Try walking her where she usually goes, and if that doesn't work, walk her where other neighborhood dogs pee. Sometimes that'll trigger it! And be sure to clean your carpet really well with something that'll get the smell out - Nature's Miracle, for instance.

Definitely - and mine's a drama queen! Gives me GSODs regularly for very minor things.

It sounds like he's nearly house-trained, but settling into the routine of a new home will almost always require re-housetraining. A refresher course, if you will. Set your alarm a little earlier, or be prepared with boots and a coat and rush him outside when he wakes you up. I started my girl at 6:30 am when I first got her - she was definitely ready to go out by then but was (thankfully) able to hold it till I got her outside! Over the past couple of months, I've pushed our wake up time back a bit at a time, and now we're sleeping in till 7:30. Your boy will adjust - he just needs time and patience to get on your schedule.

A brood is a female who has had puppies - typically they're a little older when they're up for adoption (anywhere from 5-9 usually) and have really special personalities!

I love Sprocket! She's a fun girl. I'll actually be volunteering on Saturday, so I'll probably see you and Frito there!

Did you get Frito from PRH? He seems familiar! We do have a couple brood mamas at the moment, so thought I'd ask! Typically, a second grey will help with SA. Sometimes the SA is about being away from his humans and not because he's all alone, but you won't know that for sure until you try bringing another grey in.

That cave bed would be good. Will she sleep in a crate? You could cover half the crate with a blanket to keep some of the heat in. If nothing else works, keep trying pajamas. There are many different styles and you might find something that works. You could also try human clothes - flannel shirt, human sweatshirt, etc - which could be more cost-effective if you take a trip to Goodwill. Are you crafty? If so, you might try making something for her yourself - if you can figure out how she manages to slip out of her PJs, you can probably figure out a way to keep them on her.

So cute!

I grew up with a grey who absolutely would not drink water out of a bowl (it could be sweltering in the middle of summer and she still wouldn't drink!). We soaked her kibble in a reasonable amount of water (enough to make it float) and she never got dehydrated. Agreed! Pictures please And yeah, Tessa doesn't appear to be allergic to anything - just had a bit of a yeast problem when I got her. She's been yeast-infection-free for a couple months now and I haven't changed anything (other than treating her yeast infection!).