deboosh

Robin, I'm so very sorry for the loss of your sweet girl.

Congratulations on your boy; he is gorgeous! Our Bonnie also shares Oswald Cobblepot and Gable Dodge as her grandparents too.

When we adopted our girl, the adoption group recommended limited ingredient or grain-free, but she had diarrhea that wouldn't clear up. After trial and error, Bonnie now eats 1 1/2 cups of brown rice that I mix with 1/3 can of green tripe which is followed by 1 cup of Nutro's Sensitive Skin & Stomach kibble. She eats this twice a day with no more bouts of diarrhea. Once her system was humming along, I gradually started adding in the extras~~canned salmon or sardines, dehydrated liver, frozen marrow bones, freeze-dried chicken feet, the occasional turkey neck.

Our girl has a sensitive tummy and we had quite a time of it trying to find the right food for her. She hasn't had any trouble with diarrhea or pudding poops since feeding her a diet of mainly brown rice. I give her 1 1/2 cups that I mix with 1/3 can of green tripe (excellent for tummy trouble and very nutritious) followed by 1 cup of kibble~~Nutro's Sensitive Skin and Stomach. She eats this twice a day and we haven't looked back since.

Prayers for good news on your Meana.

Thanks so much for sharing~~I will definitely bake some for my little miss tummy troubles.

Picking which category to write this post caused quite the family "discussion", lol. I wasn't sure whether this should go in "Food & Dietary" or "Health & Medical". I say "Health & Medical" since we have to worry about dehydration and heat stroke without water. Feel free to offer your support if you're so inclined, lol. Anyway, I've been on the hunt for a collapsible water bowl~~one that isn't too cumbersome/wide that will either hook onto a belt or fit inside my fanny pack. This morning, I came across this collapsible set of measuring cups, and it dawned on me that the 1-cup size would be perfect for those times when you're having too good a time to go home. (Bonnie has since tested it and approves it for use.) I got them at a liquidation warehouse (XS Cargo here is Toronto) for $6.99. I love those times when you unintentionally find what you're looking for. Here's the set:

We bought a no-pull harness, called an "Easy Walk", and it really helped with our girl's pulling, but I just noticed that there's a spot on her shoulder where one of the straps has irritated her skin. So I'm on the search again for a no-pull harness that will not chafe, and maybe even has some cushioning. Can anyone recommend one?

Thundershirt!!! I'd forgotten there was such a thing; it's on today's to-do list. I'd also like to try melatonin, but at one time it was banned by Health Canada~~any Canucks know if it still is? If it's available, how to calculate dosage? I will definitely talk to the vet about your acepromazine experiences. It sounds like torture to be physically zonked yet still have your fears unaffected. If we need to go the drug route, I will ask for something that does help alleviate the fear.

We discovered that Bonnie has a fear of thunder when we had a storm a few nights ago. At first I thought we had a medical emergency, as I had left the room for a few short minutes, but returned to one shaking, panting and pacing little girlie. While picking up our Peewee's (kitty) medication today, I mentioned Bonnie's thunder fear to the vet. He said we could try using a DAP diffuser, which I'm not very keen on. They have been tried at the shelter where I volunteer, but we're not impressed with their performance. The vet also mentioned acepromazine, but before I okayed the prescription, I remembered reading a few posts from some who are wary of how it performs. The vet I use is also the chief vet for one of our largest greyhound adoption groups, so he's very savvy; I've trusted him for many years. Although I would feel very uncomfortable about questioning his recommendation, I still think it wise we discuss all options. For those of you with hounds who suffer thunder fears, how do you help him/her through it?

I'm so happy to hear that your girlie is becoming a happy houndie again!

Sending and for Aly.

Bonnie will also skip a meal on occasion. Sometimes, if I've given her a really delectable treat, the little monkey will later turn her nose up at her meal.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Eeeewwww!!!! Glad I live up north. Reggie deserves a medal of honour!

What a terrible ordeal; it's THE nightmare all dog owners hope they will never have to go through. I am so sorry for both you and your baby girl. I will pray she heals quickly, both physically and emotionally. I walk my girl muzzled, as she is not small dog friendly; but your story has persuaded me to think proactively. I can't tell you how many times we've encountered off-leash dogs. Sometimes there are multiple occurrences during one walk. The risk of attack is just to high to justify use of a muzzle. It makes me so angry that some dog owners feel they are exempt from leash laws. The senseless attack your Leah endured would not have happened had that dirtbag neighbour just tethered his dog. The fact that this is even a issue is ridiculous! Thank you for posting your experience; no doubt it's given many of us pause for thought. Again, I'm so sorry for you and your Leah. Please give her many of these from me.

Good Lord! I hope that figure's was a typo. If not, that's what I call gouging!

Looks like it's disbanded, which is surprising as I know there's a lot of greys out your way; one of my oldest and dearest friends lives in Kitchener. If you hear of something starting up again, I'd definitely be interested in bringing my girl to a run. I'm not a fan of the 401 at the best of times, but going eastbound is a nightmare in the summer. I'll keep my eyes peeled on the GRA forum for any new start ups out your way. Thanks for trying though!

Your bond can't help but grow with each day that passes. I'm so sorry your girl was abused and it may take her a little longer to trust, but the bad days are over now and time has a way of healing the spirit. I hope my hound never had to know abuse, but I do see some positive changes in the 3 months we've had her. When taking our walks, I've noticed that my girl no longer statues, which to me means that she trusts me not to lead her to some scary far-off place. And party times are getting hardier (which I adore); apparently it's like winning the lottery when I come home. I just know the list will grow much longer, as will your own. It's very apparent that you love your Izzy and that's what really matters!

Thanks for the suggestion but I'm in the west end, at the Mississauga border. Rush hour traffic would make it a real pain to get to, but thanks for thinking of it!

We take our girl to a greyhound only run every other weekend. GGPG uses the ground's horse barn in winter, so It can be a little frightening when a pack comes barreling your way and you're wondering in which direction to run, lol, So yes, I certainly admire the courage of those more experienced members who never hesitate to get right in there and nip any questionable behaviour in the bud. And of course, the camaraderie and meeting other grey lovers is always fun! I'm looking forward to a SSGG run, but the mud factor's a problem right now~~our girlie's afraid of the bath tub.

We should all train and practice recalls; I'm not throwing it under the bus. All I'm saying is that it just has no place in dangerous or potentially life threatening situations. I'd hate to think that someone could develop a false sense of security if they have excellent practice recall, only to have it fail in a situation where it was needed the most. How's this for naïve: as a new first-time dog owner, I assumed that learning recall would guarantee that my dog would obey me 100% of the time. HA! Hence, my point.

If this is indeed the norm, then we should not rely on recall if the consequences of non-compliance could yield a tragic outcome.

Oops, I thought a dog's response to the sound of a squawker was instinctual as opposed to a learned response. Thanks for correcting such an important tidbit to know!

It's actually a little surprising that a city as large as Toronto doesn't have a greyhound only run. There must be enough of us to justify starting our own, where we could rent something for an hour once a week. It takes us about 75 minutes to get to the Oshawa playgroup, and close to that amount of time to get to the South Simcoe one. That's a bit of a hike, and the reason why we don't take Bonnie every weekend. Hmmm.............