karinj

This just happened to my Mia last night! So glad for the advice. I called the vet and they said just to keep clean and dry and not to let her lick it (always a challenge with any dog!!). Like the earlier post, she didn't even react to it coming off! I put her to bed in her crate and I always go back right before I go to bed to give extra kisses and tummy rubs to my pups...thankfully because there she was with puddles of blood everywhere!! I was shocked! We cleaned and wrapped it for the night. I think I will leave it wrapped most of today just to be sure bleeding holds off and then let it get air this evening when I can watch her. Then I will do the sock idea. I will also put Vetricin on it a few times daily. I LOVE that stuff. Mia gets lots of little cysts and they pop open frequently and the Vetricin really helps with healing and keeping infection at bay.

I want to thank everyone for all the greyt advice. Thank you for all your understanding and your kind words of compassion for my pups and my situation. We did decide to surrender Nora back to the rescue group. They were very understanding and she is in a foster with two males now. I don't know what the future holds for her. It was a really hard decision. I only had her 3 months, so I don't know how anyone can make a similar choice after having your dog even longer. We are all rescue people here, so surrendering is a hard choice for us! But, in the end, I had to do what I felt was best for my other two greys and for my cats.

Batmom--Could you explain why muzzle all? Thanks!

I would love to hear how things are going in this situation. I just wrote a long post myself about dealing with a new adoptee and tragic biting situations. I am in the struggle of the decision of what to do myself. I have contacted my group and my husband and I are discussing options. It is so hard. I am not one to give up either, but the comments above are so true. And I want to also thank those who commented and who gave "permission" to re-surrender. To many of us, I know this is just a horrible thought. It does feel shameful. It does feel like failure. We are rescuers...not surrenders. So hard.....

I am writing in tears and deep sorrow. I have 3 greys at this time. My first girl, Penny, I have had for over 7 years, my second is Mia who I have had for three (gosh, maybe four!) years and I just adopted Nora 3 months ago. All three are 9 years old. Nora was a re-surrender to the group I got her from. I have the understanding that her owners had financial problems as to why they could not keep her. It was said that she does well with other dogs and prefers to be with them. We cat tested her, as I have 3 cats, and her prey drive is basically zero. She is very sweet and very loving and has demonstrated much comfort being with my other two, and is especially fond of Mia. From what I have seen in her, I would consider her obedient and submissive. Here's where the problem comes in: Although she is does not have a prey drive and just ignores the cats, one of my cats thinks she's one of the dogs and really likes to be a part of their group. She loves to rub on them and my Mia (who is so sweet and gentle) even lets her lick her ears and face. Nora does not take well to her rubbing on her. Her general approach is totally ignoring the cats, but when the one tries to rub on her she gets very tense and has snapped at her twice. Once she was standing and the other time she was lying on the floor. There were two occasions where she snapped at my husband and I when she was on the floor and we kind put our heads over her head. We have since stopped approaching her that way and just do tummy rubs and such without kissing on her. She has snapped at Mia twice on walks. She did so when Mia was barking at a passing dog and a cat. They walk side by side. Then she snapped at my neighbors dog through the fence. They were running the fence together, the neighbors dog stopped, they sniffed each others noses and then "snap". Now to the REALLY bad parts....about 6 weeks ago, my Penny was eating. Penny always eats after the other two are done. When she eats she drops kibble on the floor. None of the three show any signs of food aggression, but they do get interested when that kibble falls. We always stay with Penny until she is done. Well, I got busy one evening and left the room (oh to turn back time...). The next thing I hear is a dog fight. I come out and Nora bit Penny in the face. She tore a huge portion of her scalp open and an area by her eye. It required major stitches. We went through two absolutely awful weeks as she had major infection in both wounds. It was traumatic. I didn't want to give up on Nora because she is literally an angel despite of these moments. Then...it happened again. Last night, Mia and Nora ate their dinner and I let them out as usual and then began to feed Penny. This time, I heard a fight outside. I ran out and both trotted up to me like nothing happened but, looking down at Mia, the entire top length of her nose was tore open with flesh hanging from it. Many stitches later, we are praying that she doesn't get an infection like Penny did. My only thought on what conspired between the two is that Nora went on a run (unusual for that time of day) and Mia did her normal "dart" at her playfulness and Nora didn't like it. I know what some of you are thinking.....why didn't you have her muzzled? Good question. It is so hard to have a dog who shows NO signs of aggression and then out the blue has decided to bite. It feels like it escalated from the initial adoption. Started with some snaps, down to a severe bite, add in a few more snaps, and then another bite. I thought I was doing a good thing by adopting an elderly dog who needed a forever home. Her disposition seemed so fitting. What happened? And how can she be so gentle 99% of the time, but have these trigger moments? I have had several opinions: surrender her back, euthanize, muzzle, separate. Thank you for taking time to read my long story....and thank you in advance for any thoughts on this.

What an awesome topic! I loved reading everyones stories! I just added my third about a month ago! I now have three 9 year olds. I tell everyone I have a retirement home for retired greyhounds! They get along great. I have had my first grey, Penny, for 7 years and my second, Mia, we have had for three. I don't know why I kept feeling like I wanted three. I think it was because God knew that my third, Nora, was going to need a home after her family could no longer keep her. It won't be easy having three seniors, but I love them so much, it will be worth it!

Thank you! These are all helpful! I think I am going to try the cotton and vet wrap and keep her on low activity for a few weeks! It will be so hard not to walk her! Not only a greyt part of her day...but of mine too! And to walk her sister without her knowing it...oh boy! Just going to have to increase belly rubs for now!

My Mia dislocated her outside toe on her back right foot. We had it x-rayed, so we know it is not broken. The vet was able to put it back into place and then just put her on a pain/inflammation med. Within two days after her injury, her toe and has diplaced four times and I was able to pop it back each time. The vet said if it keeps doing that, they will need to splint it or that I should NOT put it back in place and let it heal as is. (I thought the latter was not good advice). So, I was trying to decide if I should try to "splint" it myself by wrapping it, or have a vet splint put on that they said will stay on for 6 weeks. Thoughts??

I had the same thing happen with my Mia. She had some pretty bad wounds under her chin! I swear by Vetricin. It is a spray and is an awesome wound healer!

So sorry about your beautiful Grace. Thank you for sharing your story.

This morning it is only 7 degrees, not much wind and about an inch of fresh snow. Of course the dogs want to walk (well, one more than the other!), but is it too cold? They have really nice winter jackets, but i worry about their feet and legs. I have done short walks in about 12 to 15 degrees, but under 10 concerns me. Would love any thoughts on this! Also, does any one use booties? My one grey gets bloody feet easliy when they are out running in the back yard with the icey snow. Her feet seem very fragile compared to my other grey. Thanks!!

Hi! My new greyhounds is just off the track as of early July. When I first brought her home she had a lot of scabs and flakey skin at her hind. She was treated for fleas. I worked with it and it started to look so much better! Now, she is flakey all over! And it just started to flake heavily this past week. Seborrhea? Allergies?? I was reading that seborrhea can be caused by hormones, which I know they recieve hormones on the track. Any thoughts? She has a vet visit tomorrow for a followup from adoption, but wanted to check with the "experts" out there first!! Thanks!

Thanks! Have you tried feeding it to them also? They claim this very healthy for them.

"Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love...they depart to teach us about loss. a new dog never replaces and an old dog, it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big!" Read this today...to allysmom...I know how you feel as many others do here too. It is so hard to say goodbye, but not so hard to fall in love with another dog!! I hesitated to adopt after losing two dogs this past spring. I am now the proud mom of another grey who is a silly, quirky, loving little girl!! Best wishes!

Has anyone tried diatomatious earth (food grade) externally and internally on your greys? It's safe for animals (and people) and can be used for worms, fleas, digestive health and more. Greys are so sensitive, so i am concerned to try it, but i prefer holistic options like this.