TXRedbo

Hi from San Antonio (so close)! Queso looks awesome. Mine is also a CTW hound .

We've had Redbo on Nexgard for a year with no negative side effects. Topicals aren't enough for the crazy Texas fleas.

We're not doing afternoon walks here in Texas anymore. Redbo will go out on a walk around 9:30pm or 10pm, but that is it. When we lived in the apartment, afternoon walks were 15 minutes max depending on how hard he was panting and how far his tongue was sticking out of his mouth.

It could be the yard. Redbo tested positive for worms (hook and something else I can't remember) right after we moved into the house and I think it's because he had free range of the yard. Unfortunately, because our house had been vacant for awhile, the yard became a haven for stray cats, dogs, and random other vermin. There were also mites, so poor Redbo would roll around in the grass and then have bites and red marks all over. We ended up spraying the yard with Triazicide Insect Killer for the mites and sprayed bleach wherever he would potty.

How funny that she won't touch the canned food!! We mixed in a spoonful of the WEF wet food, and my hound almost passed out from delight. Sadly, he had horrible gas so no more canned food. Good luck with WEF!

Welcome from Texas! Jan looks like an expert greyhound already . Bed fail: check! Roaching: check! Goofy smile: check!

melonmagellangn, I saw you mentioned melatonin. It's funny because we tried it during the worst of Redbo's SA, and it didn't do a dang thing. But, we were giving him Benadryl for an allergic reaction, and it helped a little bit! He never slept but he would lay down in front of the door and whine softly rather than pace and howl.

Mine eats grass on a daily basis (not a lot, just a handful of blades here or there) but never throws up. He only eats one specific type of grass though... maybe he likes the freshness?

Redbo can't eat chicken products either, so we feed him Whole Earth Farms Grain Free Recipe with Pork, Beef & Lamb (Poultry-Free). We also used to feed him Merrick, but I couldn't justify the price. This food is under the Merrick/Purina umbrella, and Redbo loves it.

Welcome!! You'll love this forum! It's a great community of people who are experts at calming nervous new owners (myself included) who freak out over every little cut and scrape and mood swing. Let us know when you get your pup because we love pictures.

Aww he doesn't look stressed (or not any more stressed than any other greyhound adoption pic I've seen). Pretty sure my boy looked like that when we first saw him at the adoption event. And then he was flat on his side 15 minutes later when he got tired of everyone just standing around. I think having him practice on a few steps somewhere else might help. Maybe somewhere he likes going, like a park or a pet store. Then slowly increase the number of steps until you're getting closer the number of steps you have at your apartment.

Someone (thanks sobesmom!) on this board gave me the very wise advice of "This is not a retired racer looking for a couch. This is a young greyhound with his breeding coursing though his veins. Give him work. Give him a purpose. He'll love you for it. And then, he'll mellow out in time" when I posted about my dog being moody and crazy. I think this definitely applies in your situation. If don't already do this, try the training and agility with your puppy! Any puppy is kind of crazy, and greyhounds (lurchers too) are extra crazy sometimes. So much pent-up energy in their little bodies. For us, it was as easy as taking him to the dog park twice a week in the early hours so that he could run circles by himself. 30 minutes of park time twice a week was enough to get out any energy he had. Note: if you go to the park, it might be better to go when no one is there so that your pup has uninterrupted running or training time. If we went when there were people at the park, the other dog(s) would distract Redbo, and he wouldn't get the same benefit.

Just want to say everyone has given wonderful advice! I can't emphasize enough the need for routine, especially for the first 6 months to a year. These dogs are soooo routine oriented, and any disruption can lead to a meltdown. When we first got our greyhound, he had pretty bad SA. If we left him in his crate, he would chew on the bars. If we left him out, he would pace the whole time and howl. I'm sure our apartment neighbors loved that. I actually think working away from home might be better in the long run? My husband works at home, and I feel like it really dragged out the SA-recovery process for months longer. Daddy was home all day, and then suddenly he would be gone (gotta leave the house sometime). Routine disrupted. Meltdown ensued. Do you think an xpen would work? Not as confining as a crate but doesn't let Phil roam around and potentially hurt himself.

He's a beautiful boy (brindles 4eva)! It sounds like everything is going well and nothing sounds out of the ordinary at all! As far as playtime, mine rarely plays. Even after Redbo learned what those soft, squeaky things were, he never wanted to play tug of war or anything. I actually think he uses the toys as more of a security blanket. Whenever he's uncomfortable with all the renovations and movement around the house, he'll pull all the toys out and lay them on his bed. The only exception to his no-play rule is a blue rubber ball. He will play fetch with the blue rubber ball. Redbo refuses to poop with anything hanging over his tail. We got him a light fleece jacket for the (few) cold days here in Texas, and he would just walk around in circles when he had to poop. At that point we learned we had to flip the jacket up over his back and then he would go. Hilarious every time. Keep up the teeth brushing routine! We were not great in the beginning, and it's been super fun (not) getting both Redbo and ourselves back into the habit. You're doing great!

So true! Vet gave him a dose of Drontal because he also has roundworms. I'm a little anxious because the vet was completely giving my husband the third degree about whether or not we've been giving him the Heartguard Plus. She was basically insinuating that we weren't really giving him his monthly doses because if we were, he wouldn't have gotten worms. It is a little frustrating knowing that he still has worms with the HG Plus.

Hi all, so we took Redbo for his check up, and his fecal turned up positive for hookworms. It's a little bizarre to me because: 1.) We de-wormed him with Drontal when we first adopted 2.) He's been on Heartguard Plus since we got him 3.) He has shown absolutely no symptoms since his initial deworming. His poops are solid (except maybe his last of the day), he gains weight normally, and there hasn't been any unusual gas or tummy sounds. I'm a little sad because I thought we would be on top of something like this, and I'm afraid he's had them since we got him last year. Have any of you had a positive fecal with no symptoms at all?

Welcome from Texas! Your Indy is so handsome! We used to have an elevated bowl which allowed our boy to inhale his food at ridiculous speeds. When we moved, the elevated bowls were mysteriously lost, so now he has a regular food bowl on the floor and he doesn't eat as fast. Not sure if there's a direct correlation, but we were glad. He would hock up whole pieces of food because he ate so fast!

Redbo also developed a nasty taste for cat poop, and it sucks because we have A LOT of neighborhood cats. As soon as we would go outside, he'd dart for the problem areas and start pawing at the ground obsessively. We ended up putting objects (our garbage cans, large rocks, etc.) on those problem areas to keep the cats away, and I would say it fixed about 50% of the problem. Then one day, Redbo stopped eating cat poop. I think it was because my husband would yank the poop out of his mouth (with bare hands... my hero) while telling him "drop it." Redbo is extremely sensitive to his dad getting angry, so I think he just didn't think eating cat poop was worth it anymore. Now he'll walk by the poop without even looking at it. We thought about getting one of those motion sensor animal repellent thingies, but we never got around to it. It's like this: http://www.amazon.com/ScareCrow-Motion-Activated-Animal-Repellent/dp/B000071NUS

Thanks for all the tips! We tried a mishmash of everything here and he successfully did his business BEFORE playing around... twice so far!

Ack thanks for the info. He LOVED peeing on the AC units around the apt complex (oops), so we'll definitely keep him away from there.

Thanks! Your suggestions make so much sense. I guess I just figured we had already done the hard part by training him to go on a leash, but now I'm realizing there's more training to be had! We'll definitely go back to the basics with rewards and commands. It's just so funny/sad to see him standing there like "What do you want me to do now?!" I love the idea of construction fence. Running to HD now. Oh another question! And if you do have a dedicated potty area in your yards, how big are they?

Hi all, so we just moved from an apartment to a house (with a yard!), and we've run into an issue with Redbo. At the apartment, he had going P&P down to a science. He would do his business in 8 minutes flat in the mornings and at night, with an hour walk in the afternoons. Now that we've moved to a house with a yard, we've continued the afternoon walk, but turn him out in the yard in the morning and at night. Unfortunately, he'll just lay in the grass or play around for 45 minutes without ever going potty. My husband takes him out during his breaks (works at home), but he can't stay out there forever until Redbo goes so they end simply going back inside. It's noon over here, and Redbo hasn't pooped since 10pm last night because he just won't go!! They're outside, but Redbo just goes to the door and tries to go back inside. He does have one spot in the yard where he poops every time, but getting him to go quickly is the problem. So what we should we do to train him to go in less than 20 minutes or so? We are going to create a turnout area for him with straw and stuff, but even then, how do we train him to go to that particular spot and actually "go?" Oh and he does go outside at other times that are not potty times. Whenever we're outside, he goes with us. Thanks! Edited to add info!

When we say "sit" to our hound, he automatically runs to his bed and sits. Or the nearest rug.

Hi all, So Redbo came to us with beautiful, white teefies, and we'd like to keep them that way. We try to brush, but I'm paranoid that we're not getting to all his teeth before he starts get angsty. A co-worker told me about a dental powder her vet recommended (sprinkle on food twice a day or something), and I vaguely remember someone responding to a post on GT with the name of a similar powder. Does anyone have any info about this? Thanks!

Trace, I know walks can be hard with a new hound, but like others have said, give it time. I second the walking in a park suggestion, if possible. At this point, Redbo is so bored of walking around our apartment complex; he statues out of sheer boredom. But a walk in the park, oh boy! He starts jumping around and acting like a goober. It's funny, I'm actually wary whenever mine wags his tail too much... I'm always afraid he's going to whack into something and start bleeding everywhere.