AZGreyGirl

Oh no...poor boy. We'll be sending lots of prayers and good thoughts your way, Bullitt.

Olivia's left our cat alone ever since their first meeting where Cat clearly said to her "I'm off limits!" She likes to look at neighborhood cats on our walks but never pulls or tries to get at them. I can get her attention away, but she does like to watch. Strangely enough, the cats are more fun to watch then the chickens which strut right in front of her and at which she doesn't even bat an eyelash.

Welcome, fellow Arizonan! How exciting! I've seen Luci's picture on the website and she makes my heart go thumpity-thump! She's a beauty. I'll go check out your Al, but I'm sure he's a handsome fellow. I remember feeling exactly like you when I was waiting for Olivia to move in and now it's like she's been here forever (in a good way!). Congratuations on your exciting new journey!

He is a cutie! He looks happy doing that. Olivia doesn't do anything quite like that but I do find water that she's splashed into the food bowl - not sure if it's intentional or not. She does really like it when I add a little broth to her kibble and does a little happy dance. I"m guessing Vinnie just thinks it tastes better with water. Messy, but he's happy, right?

I have very little doggy medical experience, but for what it's worth... Here in the Southwest, Valley Fever is a common illness, caused by a fungus that lives in our soil. We found out Olivia had it when she began limping and not walking on her left rear leg, obviously in pain. It also made her very tired. The vet diagnosed it through a bloodtest. If there is any chance your dog was ever raced in or traveled through the SW, there is a possiblity she could have it. My understanding is that once they breathe it in, it can stay in the system for quite some time before it shows up. It is treatable through meds.

Welcome! What an amazing girl you have! She seems so easy to love - what a cutie!

Livs had many of the same problems with Blue Buffalo as mentioned -- room clearing farts and runny, runny poo (not fun to clean up on walks...yuck! Husband had to ask homeowner to borrow hose once it was so bad). Adding the yogurt and pumpkin didn't help. Switch food to something else (I forget), didn't help enough, then to SD Lamb and Chicken and she's been fine. On the other hand, a number of other brands made my cat fat (she's not an overeater, either) and then when I tried Blue Buffalo the weight gain stopped and she even lost a bit and has been maintaining. Gotta find what works for individuals.

He's so handsome! That second picture of his eyes...he's so cute! Congratuations! Here's to many walks, happy peanut butter moments, naps, and snackies!

Our neighborhood kids have already started them up. My husband was walking Olivia about a week ago (at night) and some kids set them off -- not in line of sight but definitely loud. She got really scared, nervous, jumpy, and bolty. It took about a week before she felt safe enough to walk in that direction again. I've heard lots of stories about lost dogs & fireworks -- I wouldn't risk it.

The words "teach" and "cat" are cracking me up--but my cat is actually a Tasmanian Devil in a cat suit. The idea of teaching him anything is just so..foreign! I had the same reaction to reading that! The cats are destined to have zero manners.... They aren't allowed in the counters but that sure doesn't mean they stay off! Okay, okay...I see the error of my ways. Let me rephrase:" I didn't want to let the cat think I was okay with her jumping onto counters, etc...to eat or for any other reason. She knows what I don't want her to do but does it anyway, looks at me to see if I see her being naughty, and continues with the behavior with a snooty attitude." I stand corrected.

My husband and I both work 8 hour days. We put up a baby gate in the kitchen so Olivia can still walk around, play with toys (but she doesn't play with toys), snooze, whatever. This keeps her and the cat separate, the floor is tile and easily cleaned, and she can't destroy much (but she's not into that anyway). She had one accident early on in the routine, but never since. At first, I came home on my lunch breaks to let her out to do her business, but she never did when I let her out so I quickly stopped coming home. At this point, I think I could trust her home alone for 8 hours, but as I'm a teacher, well, not an issue. But I know I will have to retrain her come August. I would never leave her outside for 8 hours unattended. The dangers outweigh the benefit of not having accidents in the house. If you can, you could start acclimating her to her new routine between now and then. Then it won't be such a surprise to her.

Good ideas on here. When I added Olivia to the household, I didn't want to teach the cat that it's okay to jump up onto counters/high places to eat, so we use the babygate method, combined with a kitchen table/chair "obstacle course" for the cat to feel totally safe. A whole section of the kitchen/ cat eating area is unreachable by the dog, because where the baby gate won't reach, the table and chairs do. The cat loves hanging out there in her little "furniture-leg jungle."

I'd rather have the microchip and the peace of mind that it gives me knowing that there is one more way for Olivia to be returned to me should she somehow get loose. These dogs are fast and single-minded once they are in pursuit. I have heard the good stories about how microchipping returned a pet to its owner, but never a story about a dog dying from cancer because of the microchip. Even if there is a chance it could cause cancer, I imagine it is quite small. To me, the pros outweigh the cons.

Thanks for the ideas and links. Livs likes to move around a little too much for my comfort level. I get very nervous about her being injured or thrown in an accident or if I have to brake too hard too quickly on the freeways here.

I've gotta stop reading these posts that bring tears to my eyes.... What a touching story. I am sorry for your loss and wish that that beautiful lady could have joined your family under happier circumstances. I am sure she is happy that she got to ease your friend's passing and is grateful to you for giving her a home and a new family.

Welcome! Al is a handsome lad -- congratuations on your first Grey! I know the excitement as another first timer learning all the ropes. Enjoy getting to know each other!

She's beautiful! I love the white markings on her face. Thinking back to another thread, I'm imagining little kids saying, "Look, Mom! It's a deer!" whenever they see her.

What a stunner! She is gorg-e-ous! Your boys are going to fighting for her attention!

Welcome! I love your "twin" action shots in your signature of the pups running. They're beautiful.

I used to not understand and make fun of (yikes!) people who worried about /missed their dogs. After all, it's just a dog, right? Now I am one of those people (and glad of it!). When we go on vacation, I don't worry about Livy because I know she's having fun at Doggy Day Care and knows I will be back, but I miss her. She's my girl. I miss The Cat, too, and despite what people believe about cats, I know she misses us, too. But she doesn't get to go play with friends (neighbor looks in on her) and so her feelings about us leaving her and returning are less than cordial. She punishes us before forgiving us.

What a good girl, Brees! I hope you got a cookie

Thanks for the idea about hosing down the dogs in hot weather before walks. We are in Arizona and even walking Olivia after the sun's been down a few hours it is still HOT and she drags and pants and drags on her walks (but she loves them and goes stir crazy without them). I'll try that and see if it helps her stay cool.

She's beautiful! Do you find yourself sneaking peeks at the pics at random times? I stalked my adoption group's website to look at Olivia's pictures when I was waiting for her . You will have so much fun shopping for her, I bet.

What handsome boys! I really like your last pic of the two new brothers standing side by side. Welcome from another newbie!

Another good book recommended to me by my adoption group is Cynthia Branigan's Adopting the Racing Greyhound. It's an easy read -- I read it about 3 times before bringing Olivia home. I was glad I did!