GreytTerp

We're at the base of South Table Mountain in Golden, aka ground zero for this year's early May 'hail-mageddon'. We've only made it to two of the Bible Park walks so far, but we hope that the weekends with the walks will line up better with our schedules in the fall. We'll look for Tessie at the next one! We were amazed at the 40+ hounds at the ones we've been to...talk about showing all of the colors and sizes of greyhounds.

Welcome home, Tessie! Congratulations, and enjoy the new journey together! (Marvin's trying to sniff out where in Denver, so he can get in on this cheezeburger action!)

We use cornstarch or arrowroot powder as well. Styptic powder burns to me.

We ended up changing to the Virbac chews because our guy doesn't chew dental treats enough to pass through his digestive system. With the milk bone dental chews, he ate such big pieces that he would end up vomiting them back up the next morning.

When we adopted our guy, it was the first dog I had had on my own (no parents). I also grew up with a pug, so I really went for the total opposite in all but laziness. We also lived in a DC area high-rise, where Marvin had to take the elevator (he loves elevators). We have now lived in 6 places with Marv over the past 5 years, including a 700 sq.ft. apartment, and only one had a yard. Leash walking is just fine. Your adoption group will match you with a dog that is more laid back than one that requires a lot of exercise and a yard. Most greys like schedules, so keeping your hound on a schedule for going outside, whether it's with you or with a dog walker will be a big key, especially early on. There is a settling in period, so if you do decide to give it a go, I highly suggest going with a group that fosters dogs first. I would be upfront about your travel schedule as well. Some groups have great hound sitters, and this could be a great way for adopting to work for you. My dog used to commute from DC to Norfolk, VA with me every week. We would drive down Tuesday mornings, where I would drop him off with his/our favorite sitter, and then pick him up Thursdays after work to go home to DC with me. Not ideal, but we did it for over a year, and he came home a smidgen more of a real dog than the giant lazy tiger cat he was before. Some people on here will suggest that you don't adopt because of the travel and shifting work schedule, but I think you can make it work. It will be up to you to make sure you find a dog walker and sitter that you and your dog can build a good relationship with. I think you should be able to find someone in the MD/DC/NoVA area who would work with you on the dog sitting. For any days regularly over 9-10 hours, you will definitely need a dog walker, but it sounds like you have already thought that part out. Your situation isn't ideal, but hey, almost no one's is! It's about putting your new hound first, and to me, it sounds like you're willing and already planning on doing that. I'd talk with Greyhound Welfare and Great Expectations up there. Both have great networks of adopters near you.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's clear that your Beatrix had the most special life with you. Godspeed, beautiful girl.

Also not a vet here, but if she seems fine and is eating, drinking, going potty like usual, I'd wait it out. Here, if we know what Marvin ate and roughly how large it was, we either give him hydrogen peroxide or put towels down and mix some icy clean, bc we know it will be puked up between 5 and 6am the following morning. Marvin doesn't destroy things, but a few times a year, he randomly destroys and then consumed something he shouldn't... Good luck! My guess is that within a few days, she'll vomit it up.

We just started a brand new bag of Iams green bag last week, and Marvin has had no hesitation with it. With him, though, if he were refusing to eat, our first reaction would likely be to get him into the vet, not check the food... I will say that the new bag smelled slightly different from usual, so I would not be surprised if there was a change. We have used the Costco food before too, with good results, even if we weren't always getting 'bouncy' poops every time. Good luck! Glad to hear that your pups are eating well again!

Welcome! Our Starvin' Marvin answers to 'beast', 'stench', and 'stink', among other things Dory is lovely, and it sounds like she has been very lucky to be with you!

We've moved almost every year with our hound, and each time has been different. In some cases, we've had to start back at step zero with alone training. It goes much quicker than the very first time, but we still had to do it. One place, we needed to put up the baby gate for him to settle down, and the next, he howled if we did put the gate up. Try starting back at the beginning with alone training, and see if adjusting your routine leaving has any effect. We give Marvin a small treat each time we leave, and we are usually out the door before he's done crunching.

Be still, my heart, Ray! Welcome!

Welcome! We have an NGAPer too! Rogue is gorgeous!

Godspeed, Paddy ALVIN Mayhem. He truly did burn too bright to stay here long, and I'm shocked to hear this today. I'm so sorry

After determining that Marvin's early waking was not anything he needed (to go out, etc.) but rather thinking that he could wake up at any wee hour for breakfast, we had to let him tough it out. It was unpleasant for us to ignore him, since we were now also awake, but he did eventually get the idea that he would be on our schedule for breakfast, which means no breakfast before 7. Dark curtains to block out the early sun helped, as did leaving the bedroom door open to allow him to go out to the living room and lay down out there instead of whining in my face. It does get better fairly quickly if you can try to provide some boundaries on what will not happen immediately upon you waking (i.e. eating or going out unless it is necessary). Now, Marvin only whines at us in the middle of the night or super early if he desperately needs to go out (big-D, etc.). Hang in there!

Just following this thread, as we're starting to see some of the same types of things many of your have mentioned in our just-turned-eight Marvin. Thank you all for sharing what has worked and not worked for you. Marvin will likely be headed in for a general old-man wellness check and leave with some of the above after we move next week. He was fine at his annual visit in January, where we declined any meds for him, but he has been showing his age on and off the past few weeks. He will seem uncomfortable and not want to walk, and then the next day, or even just two hours later, will walk so fast almost 2 miles that I'm almost jogging with him to keep up. It's hard to tell when he's playing me (he will only want to go someone where he thinks he will find 'food' outside sometimes, and I can't move him easily in any other direction), and when he just isn't feeling well physically. We would like to be prepared for days when we know that he isn't feeling his best.

Welcome! We're moving to Golden, CO in about two weeks with our red brindle guy, so see you around!

Agreed with starting with a lower value trade-up before tackling the delicious consumables. Worst case for us, when it was critical that we got the item from Marvin, was tossing something very tasty and having to go in with big silicone oven mitts on. Getting the fuzzy wire angel wings from a halloween costume off of him was much more important than him getting nasty with me in that instant. We had no more trouble after a couple of his first months with us, and now, I can almost always take away anything Marvin has with one request. We also only give him consumable things that he can finish in one sitting (kong, virbac dental chew, treats) to set him up for success. It sounds like you are making great progress!

I'm dealing with this recently, but with our guy who turns 8 in a few days. Some days, I can't get him to slow down or turn for home, and we end up walking over 2 miles. Other days, he wants to just go out the door, do what he needs to do, and then wants only to go back home. His schedule and routine do not vary by more than 30 minutes day to day. He has gone through phases previously where he'll freeze and only want to go in his preferred direction, so I'm not surprised or assuming anything is out of sorts. We don't have a yard, so I walk Marvin 3-4 times a day (more if he seems like he's having 'cabin fever'). Some mornings are 5-10 minutes, other mornings he wants to do a mile or more. He eats when we get home from work and then goes right outside, where we'll walk anywhere from around the back of the building to all the way around the fort (0.2 mi to 2+miles). The 3rd and 4th outings are similar, with anywhere from a quick pee across the street to us running through the orchard field at 11pm I think Marvin is slowing down a bit as he has gotten older, and he does have a little bit of stiffness after a big walk the next day sometimes. Otherwise, we have not noticed much of a pattern. We are moving to Colorado in two weeks, and I do think doing steps and not-perfectly-flat walking will be good for him. I have noticed that since we started taking longer walks and climbing the walking ramps at the fort, Marvin's occasional mild hind end weakness has greatly improved (i.e. gone away completely). "The fort" = Fort Monroe, the national monument in Virginia. I like seeing the full star pattern on Walk for a Dog after we do the whole wall.

I just wanted to share that we seem to have finally found a way to manage Marvin's bad breath: Virbac C.E.T. chews! Marvin had a regular dental in August 2016, and his teeth and gums are in great shape, minus the row of little bottom teeth in the front, which are all broken. They don't cause him any pain directly, but I can't brush them. The vet did not want to remove them, as they aren't broken below the gumline and have never cause any infections. They do, however, contribute to some killer stink face, even with almost daily brushing. Since his dental, he loves to chew for a few minutes a day on his nylabones again, so we picked up a bag of the Virbac C.E.T. large chews (not the hex or veggie variety) from our vet. We are giving him one every other evening, and after just 3 chews, his bad breath is gone. I'm about to be confined in a car with his handsome face for 26 hours of driving to move to Colorado in a few weeks, so we are perhaps a bit more excited about this than we should be. Has anyone had any negative experiences with giving these chews periodically?

We had a one-off with a full anal gland on Marv. Twice in a row actually. The vet expressed it, and it's never recurred. With every penny if the $12 cost for the vet to do it!

We didn't even bother with the crate route in our case, with broken teeth from crate chewing and a known history of not being happy crated. We have had a lot of luck with what others have suggested - dog-proof a room or two and use baby gates. Marvin can absolutely jump higher (he nearly cleared a 6 ft fence once), and I used to take him to agility, but he has zero motivation to jump gates now. In fact, we just lean them against the doorways, and he leaves them be. Our routine when leaving is the roughly the same, not the time of leaving or anything else. Marvin has to go lay down, and we give him a little treat and head straight out the door. Having lost some miniblinds to dog teeth, I suggest raising blinds or curtains in the area as well. Practice just putting your shoes on, coat on, picking up keys, putting a belt on, etc., anything that would normally indicate that you are leaving, but don't leave every time. You'll have some times where you have to back up and restart the alone training periodically, but there are some great posts on here if you search for Alone Training.

Can your vet induce vomiting, where your dog would be supervised just to make sure everything comes out alright? We were ready to do this with a swiffer duster that we knew was in Marv's stomach (watched him down it while running across the room yelling 'Noooooooo'), and it was not blocking anything and not showing up on x-rays. Our vet palpated his tummy one last time, and up it came. Knowing exactly what he ate, we agreed with our vet to try to induce vomiting first before going in after it. We have had to induce vomiting on our own with peroxide a few times due to Marvin's ability to go after things he shouldn't just completely out of the blue. Canned pumpkin has also worked for us to help move things along and out the rear route. Given her history, I'd trust your vet's recommendation and your experience. We completely understand a dog that will do this even when fully supervised and at random. Good luck!

I think we also went though almost everything on your list when we brought Marvin home. He was our first grey and my first big dog. The resource guarding was an issue initially, but it is no longer an issue at all. It was so bad at first that we could not trade anything, and I had to get the oven mitts out to grab the item quick when he was distracted momentarily by my husband. In general, we try to avoid giving Marvin anything he can't finish in one sitting. The growling is a good thing, and it's even better that Stanley already knows to just remove himself from a situation that makes him uncomfortable. Marvin immediately has to get down off of the couch if he gets grouchy about sharing space (when he was the one initiating the space sharing by wedging himself up there in the first place). The "statueing" happens, even after 5 years, though not very often. Just changing direction or taking the leash up near his collar solves the issue most of the time. We use baby gates to separate Marvin from our nephews and their friends when we're at family functions. We've had a few incidents, but all that resulted was a scared kid and a slight black eye when Marvin bonked one of our nephews in the face with his own face when trying to get up and away. Note: our nephews have not been properly instructed on how to behave around dogs, despite having their own. Stanley sounds awesome, and I think that you'll see a further reduction in everything you mention over the next couple of months as he becomes more settled.

I get a sharable link from Google Photos to post photos here now. It seems to be the easiest way, especially if your pictures are on a smartphone.

We've only had a yard in one place of the 5 in which we have lived since adopting Marvin. He does love to run when he can, but he also is fine with leash walks every day. If the weather is not to his liking, he's an 'out and right back in' kinda guy. He did not cuddle at all for the first 3 years or so of 5 with us. He's still not big on it, and if he gets cranky, he has to get off the couch/bed/etc. and go lay by himself. At present, when he's having one of his 'angsty' days, Marvin plays with his toys in short bursts and does tight zoomies on a 6'x6' rug in our living room. You didn't say 'must be ok with my cats', so you're already primed for a big pool of potential greyhounds!