smurfette

Welcome from Germany. I have three greys from Ireland and I got your book this week, too. Now I just have to read it.

Welcome from Germany.

I do not use a crate either. The entire downstairs is open space without doors, except the kitchen. There are always more dogbeds than dogs so there is no need to fight over ressources. All of my greys just entered the house and promptly fell asleep on a dogbed or a couch. I give them time to adjust, observe and learn while I move through the house and do the daily things. It is exhausting enough for their little brains to just settle in, small walks around the neighbourhood and getting to know the glass doors is all we do. And of course much sleeping, sleeping, even more sleeping and eating...

We have lost several toenails in the last years. I used to keep the foot bandaged for a week and had a very ill greyhound... because... Look woman. I can't walk. I lost my foot and now there is something strange... 😕 But when I saw Paddy trying to race the stairs on three legs I decided to just let it unbandaged. I bath the foot after being outside with a mild antiseptic. And we are fine. And everytime the nail grew back, but it needed time.

Mine get rice waffles before bedtime.

I guess she needs more time to feel comfortable with you because she lost so many homes in such a short time. Eveytime she bonds with a human she has to leave. She does not seem like a confident dog so she has more trouble with the changes in her life. I would start with letting her be with you. She has to learn that she can trust you. It will take time. When I got Andy he had given himself up. I needed nearly 2 years for him to bond with me. He would walk with me, cuddle with me but always with an emotional distance. I even thouht he didn't know how to wag his tail. Boy was I wrong. He is a funny boy, all wiggly-waggly. But he needed his time.

He is a very sweet one. I can absolutely understand everyone who adopts black greys. I have two blacks and a blue one, but I always say he was black but then went to lay in the sun. 😉

His little brain has to work out all the new things in his life. That's a very demanding job. He just needs a little to adjust.

That's it. You are now an officially greyhound addict. Hello from Germany.

Welcome from smurfette with her little smurfs Colin, Andy and Paddy from Germany.

We moved to our new house with two hounds almost three years ago. I took them with me when I renovated the house. So they could get to know it. I walked them in the new neighbourhood before the actual move. When we came to live there they were comfortable with the area. I did not wash the dogbeds when we moved into our new house because I wanted the homey scent to move with us. They adjusted real quick once all our things, furniture and so on were moved to the house. On the day of the actual move I let them with my parents. So when they came to their new home their food and water bowls, their beds, their stuffies where already there. By the way, Andy had SA issues which suddenly stopped after the move. I have the feeling this the whole pack is relocating thing helped him to feel confident in his new environment. From one day to the others he could stay at home with Colin without whining, without accidents. And we also got our fence a few weeks later. No problem.

And sometimes it helps to give her something that smells of you, a worn t-shirt if you can't leave the crate open.

Imagine someone grabbed you, put you in an absolute strange environment and told you to have fun, but mind the rules. You would have to observe and get used to your new surroundings. It is like this for your grey, too. They are not used to that much thinking and need time to watch everything and to learn. I remember standing next to field for 15 minutes to watch a machine harvesting potatoes. Andy was completely transfixed by it.

I think starting with leaving the crate door open is a good idea. So he can choose if he likes to go in there. I never use a crate and my boys can roam the house freely. Andy moves to the bedroom as soon as I leave the house and will stay there until I get back. It can be that Zig will choose a place to sleep and hang out until you get back.

Good thoughts for Ruby from us, too.

There is nothing I could add that wasn't already written. I would never ever under any circumstances bann one of my hounds from our bedroom. They can roam the house and choose where they want to sleep and often change places during the night. They often need time to feel comfortable enough to sleep ontheir own. We always say that they need time to become confident and big boys. I would treat your hound to special treaties, real super yummies when he is in the garden and praise him when he walks through the backdoor. He learns that garden and yummie belong together.

Oh, thank you very much. But I fear I'm not even last year's news. Tonight everyone decided to sleep in the living-room and wander the house after midnight for a better place. Andy came to me and looked at me as if to say What is that strange thing doing in my favourite spot. I invited him in but he just turned around, lay down on his dogbed next to me and sighed. My hounds are a strange bunch.

My sister spend the night at our house and Paddy was very upset that someone slept in HIS bed in the spare bedroom. He stood in front of the door whined and banged the door with his paws. Of course, sis let him in and they shared the bed. He never wants to share a bed with me.

I am very sorry. He was a truely handome boy.

My boys show the same behaviour.When they were new they slept in our bedroom. The longer they live here the more confident they became to sleep where ever they want. Sometimes one of them sleeps in the bedroom for weeks and than suddenly chooses to sleep in the living-room or my office. I always say it's just them occupying the entire house.😉

Such a beautiful boy. Welcome

When Colin lost weight due to his age I added noodles, potatoes or rice to his raw, some vegetables and line seed oil. The oil is supposed to help building up muscles.

This is a wonderful story. I'm so very sorry for your loss and thankful for you sharing this beautiful hound with us.

I took ibuprofen, but I don't think that's appropriate for hounds. The longer I layed in one position the more it hurt. What really helped was walking. It kept my mind from the pain, mostly in my legs. Not fast and not far but I took my dogs and walked them a little.

The white bloodcells are build in the spinal cord and the in big bones like tigh and pelvic bones. It can be that his back hurts because of the increased production after the chemotherapy. I know that humans and dogs are different but from my own experiences I can tell you that it hurts like... to have the production of the white blood cells start up again. My best wishes for you and this brave little patient.