rsieg

Through the winter I see posts of AZ dogs enjoying the sun, and feel sorry I am in Ohio. Then I read this post, and I'm glad I'm in Ohio -- we mainly have garter snakes :-) I did do an internship in New Mexico about 15 years ago. Had no dog then, but I remember asking a co-worker who let her dogs run loose about whether she was concerned about rattlesnake bites. She told me that dogs are less affected by rattlesnake venom than people, and they usually get sick for a while but don't die from it. Is that true? Followup, even if it is for dogs generally, are GHs more sensitive to the venom (like they are to some flea/tick meds)?

Thanks again for the information. I now have a follow-up question: I planned to take Logan and Max for their checkup this morning and to get them back on worm preventative -- except that Mr. Max decided not to give me a stool sample on our morning walk. (Mind you, he ALWAYS drops on the morning walk -- except today -- extended walk, took more time in the back yard -- nothing). So, we didn't go (and of course I end up late for work). My question is: How long is the stool sample "good" for? I'm thinking I will collect the samples tonight on our evening walk, but that might make it close to 24 hours old by the time it is examined (and I kept the sample Logan gave, which would be maybe 48 hours old). Stored in a plastic doggie dropping bag, could keep it outside if necessary which according to the Cleveland forecast would keep it below 50 F. Thanks again for the information...

All, Thanks for the info. I did call the vet ahead of time and asked about going off the worm preventative, but maybe I got confused with the flea/tick. I'll have them do the blood test, as they will be going in for their annual check up anyway, hopefully this week.

Hi all, Just a sanity check. I took my hounds off worm preventative and flea/tick meds for the winter, and need to re-start them now. I picked up the Frontline Plus, but still need to goto the vet to have the stool sample check. My question is this: I don't need the stool check to restart the Frontline Plus, right? My understanding is the stool check is to make sure they did not get a worm infection over the winter since starting worm preventative when they have worms can be a problem. Thanks in advance for the confirmation (or correction if needed).

The real problem here is this: "Winnie and I get up around 5-5:15am most mornings." As a non-morning person, I have to agree with Winnie here. If God meant for people/dogs to get up that early, he would have put up the sun to light the way :-)

>>>I've taken to putting my hand back there and petting him/praising him when he lays down, hoping that will encourage him to know that I like what he's doing. Probably better off ignoring him when he is in the back. He will consider petting a good thing, worth getting up and moving toward the front, especially if he is getting bored back there. I mentioned earlier here, if the dog gets up (and it is safe to do so) I tend to tap the brakes, just enough so he gets the idea he needs to lay back down -- better he learn that way than during a true panic stop :-)

I have only done this once (adding Max), but here are my thoughts: -suggestions on how to make the transition as easy as possible for both dogs One thing I would mention is to make sure they get equal things, so if you give one dog a treat give the other one a treat at the same time. And keep them apart, toss one to the left and one to the right (if they fight at all, it will probably be over food). -how to go about house training the second dog while having Kramer who is already trained Should be easier, as the new dog will "see" the marked areas the old dog uses. -keeping them muzzled at home when were not there? For how long? I didn't muzzle much at all, even on the first meeting. Did use muzzles in the car (sedan, both in the back seat). -getting them in sync while walking together? Like their bathroom routines...does this actually happen Mine got into a routine very quickly. I always put Logan on the left, Max on the right, and they figure that out quick. (They can go out of position to sniff things and such, but should go back into position when you get moving again.) I mentioned this in a previous post, though, and got some replies that it doesn't always go so nicely. -do I treat Kramer the same while treating the new dog a little bit more "sternly" so she knows the rules. I tried to treat them equally. -is it really easier with 2 vs 1? Main things that are harder is walking as you mentioned, and driving both together if you have only a sedan. (No problem with a van/suv). Also feeding -- keep the bowls spaced apart (opposite sides of the kitchen for example) and you have to watch them otherwise if one leaves his food the other may have a double-meal. -any extra information that might be helpful Nothing comes to mind, but again I've only added a second dog one time.

I take my two for morning and evening walks of about 45 min-1 hour each. One is 4.5 yo, the other 10.5 yo. On weekends we may go for 4-5 hours total per day, though broken up over two or three walks. We go very slow, 1.5-2.0 mph usually (and that is not counting potty breaks). BTW, if you want to track your walks, there is a free phone app called "Walk for a dog" that tracks distance and time, and also let's you set up to make donations per mile to an animal shelter. I would use it even without the donation feature, as its fun to see the walk mapped out. Just keep in mind that if it is below about 20 degrees Fahrenheit they have a tendency to have their feet freeze up so need to shorten it. (I've noticed the Canadians on this board seem to keep going in a lot colder weather, not sure if their dogs wear boots or if Canadian GHs are just tougher :-) Also, in the summer they are very heat-sensitive, mine start slowing down even in the mid 70 degree range and by the 80s we need to be really shortening the walks up.

One thing that might help is lots of exercise, especially before you leave for work. If he is tired out, he won't run around as much inside, and might (maybe) sleep more when you are out. Can you take him for a walk in the morning before going to work, maybe 30 minutes or more?

Sporadically, however, he exhibits very strange, almost manic behaviour like he is possessed. He gets extremely agitated and starts bolting around the apartment, ears cocked, barking, growling and chasing at nothing. What is most alarming to be is that a)these incidents are not provoked by anything from what I can tell. It doesn't seem to be a matter of territorial aggression or social aggression either they usually only occur only for a minute or so and then he "relaxes" but still cases the apartment panting. Sounds like "zoomies" which are perfectly normal. They do it about once a day, usually for a minute or so, usually they will end up doing it at a particular time of day. As I understand it (could be wrong here), greyhounds have more "fast twitch" muscles than most dogs and zoomies blow off the fast twitch muscle energy. If you have a fenced in backyard hopefully you can get him to do it outside, though in the winter here in the north that isn't always an option. Zoomies are usually completely safe, except that my guy (Logan) has taken to grabbing a shoe and doing a "hammer throw" by the shoe lace -- he punched a hole in my drywall this weekend :-( . It was a good throw though, from the middle of the great room into the hall, with a heavy work boot.

If it is a vision problem, would you be willing to have a nightlight on for the dog? The other thing I thought of while reading your description (I have no vet or medical training, just came to mind) is that it sounds a lot like stories I have read about sleepwalking people.

I went through this a while back when I got a second dog, and got a lot of good advice: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/309777-two-greyhounds-in-the-car/ Ended up going with the back seat down. As far as the dog getting up and moving around, I have gone with a "tough love" approach. The first two or three times out, I get onto a side street, go slow, and hit the brakes hard enough to jostle the dog when standing (hopefully not enough to actually make the dog fall down, but if you are on a side street and only going a couple miles per hour a slip into the footwell isn't too bad, esp if it has some pillows :-) I have had three dogs so far (two of them greyhounds), and all three figured out pretty quickly they need to lie down in the car and don't get up while the care is moving. Max still tends to get up if we are at a long traffic light, so then I creep the car forward and hit the brakes -- he gets back down.

I have been adding some tuna to the food on some days, going with "human-grade" low sodium tuna packets in water. Both dogs love it. Not sure if there are any issues with tuna as an additive, but I figure if it is low sodium it should be ok. I usually go with the smallest sealed pouch variety, put half in each dog's food, so they are not actually getting that much. And of course it is super-convenient :-)

All, Thanks for the input, very helpful. KF_in_Georgia, I am wondering about that. Max does have some cataracts, I believe, and I don't think the garage was well-lit, so maybe he could not see well and became afraid. He did not have a problem getting up into the car in the garage, but that may be less scary than jumping down, and of course it was outdoors and well lit at the park so it makes sense he would have no problem there. That said, he's not blind as I have seen him spot cats at night that I missed :-) I can turn the lights on in the garage next time and see if that helps. GeorgeofNE, that is exactly my concern. I know keeping him walking is good both mentally and physically for him, I just don't want to overdo it and not realize if he is in pain. Based on the other comments here I do think he is doing ok right now, as he jumps onto the couch and into the car with no problem, and I have not seen any panting or heavy breathing from him on longer walks. Thanks again,

Hi all, This is a very general question on my 10 yo greyhound Max . Some background: I usually walk him with Logan (4 yo) morning and night, total of usually 2-3 miles over a total time of about 1.5 hours or so (works out to 1.5-2 miles per hour according to the walk a dog app). He is always eager to go, usually leads throughout the walk, and when we go down in the park (usually on weekends, not every day) he jumps into and out of the back seat of my car with little hesitation. In short, he seems to be in good physical shape for a 10 yo. However, this weekend on Saturday he was hesitant to jump out of the back seat when we got back from the park. He eventually did so after about 5 minutes, but he had to work himself up to do it. My guess is that at his age he has some arthritis that was flaring up enough after the walk to be bothering him. We have walked several times since then and he has had no problems, so I am not concerned about him right now. But this brings me to my question: Are there particular things I should be looking for to tell if he is in arthritic pain or having some other "old age" issue? I look for the obvious, like limping (not so far) or hesitance to do something (just noted one isolated occurrence above), but are there other things I should be watching for? I like to take him for walks, and he really enjoys them, but I expect he will be slowing down over the next 2-3 years and I want to know when we need to take it more easy. Thanks in advance for any experiences/thoughts on this.

Thanks for the info, ramonaghan.

What is bad about xylitol? Is it common in yogurts? Reason I ask is that I usually let my dog lick out the bottom of the yogurt container, never thought to check for any "bad" ingredients. Usually go with Dannon Light, but I sometimes go with a greek yogurt (don't recall which).

Hi again, Logan seems to have recovered. He was still limping yesterday but is walking normally today, except every once in a while favoring the right rear leg. Took him for short walks with Max both this morning and evening (about 30 min each, very slow) and he did fine. Thanks again for the help,

Hi all, Logan is still limping tonight, but he is barely letting it slow him down. Let him out to go potty and he started running -- not full speed, but definitely moving, part-tripod style. But when he is standing he still holds it up. He wants to go for his evening walk, as does Max of course, but I'm not taking either out tonight except to let them in the backyard. I don't think I need any more input at this point, just wanted to give everyone an update. Thanks again for your help.

Thanks for the quick replies. Logan really doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain right now, so I don't think he needs pain meds, but good to know to avoid the aspirin. He is limping equally on the carpet and hard floor so that argues against a corn. My last dog was prescribed Rymadyl for arthritis, so I suspect that might be my vet's first choice if it gets to needing pain meds. I seem to recall seeing some posts on GT about problems with Rymadyl, so should I avoid that as well? Thanks again,

Hello, Logan (4 yo) woke up limping on his right rear leg this morning. I am pretty sure it is just a sprain (or mucle strain). He showed no limping last night, and we walked for 2+ hours yesterday so he definitely had the opportunity to stress it and I'm thinking it took overnight to get bad. I looked at the pad and did not see anything that looks like a corn, though not sure I would be able to identify one -- but that would not come full on overnight, would it? I can manipulate the leg without him crying. He ate this morning, and wanted to go for his usual walk, even convinced me to put his coat on and get him out -- but then he stopped holding up the foot, so only Max went for a short walk. (Aside - Max seemed confused at first that Logan was not next to him on the walk :-) I'm in the living room now, and Logan just climbed into a chair, so I don't think he is in too much pain. My thinking is to give it two or three days to see if it goes away on its own, and if not then go to the vet to have it checked out. My questions are: (1) Is there any significant risk to waiting to see the vet? (2) Can I give him aspirin or any other painkiller (and/or maybe antiinflammatory)? Thanks in advance for any advice,

I usually don't cook, but this last week I have been trying to use the crock pot, idea being to set it up before work and it should be done when I get home. The dogs don't go nuts when I am making it in the morning (not sure what they do during the day :-) but tonight they wouldn't eat their food (even with BilJac) until I put some leftover chicken from the crock pot on top. I may have created a monster...

Logan came through great, thanks for asking. No extractions, he was done by 11 am and I picked him up at 2 pm, and he jumped into the car. He even went for a walk that evening. The vet did say he had a lot of tartar buildup. Good luck on yours... - Rob

I just went through a six day period where my new dog, Max would not eat. I think a lot of it was mental, being in a new house, but he would not even eat cooked ground turkey. The thing that finally got him eating was Bil-Jac. The frozen stuff in the yellow bag, put it in the refrigerator overnight to let it thaw before feeding, and keep it refrigerated. First ingredient is tripe, which I think is what made it work (but it doesn't smell too bad). I've seen mixed reviews on nutritional quality, and it is mushy so not good for the teeth, but I have Max down to 1-cup real kibble and 1/2 cup Bil-Jac, and that seems to be working. Every dog is different, but you might try it. - Rob

Logan is the master at stinkeye, especially when he wants to go a different direction on a walk: I've thought about filling the footwells. I have pillows and blankets there, but not enough to get it level with the back seat. Not sure what would give a surface sturdy enough for the dogs to trust laying on it. - Rob