[Help - Extreme Fear]

You've received some good advice and I have just a couple of things to add.

 

Ignore most of your father-in-law's advice. Tying a greyhound to a rope is a big NO-NO. A greyhound can hit top speed (45 mph) in 2-3 strides so you are just asking for a broken neck. Her instinct is to run if something scares her (or if she sees something that needs to be chased) so DO NOT DO IT. But his idea of just giving her some peaceful time out in the yard is a good one. Put on her leash, grab a book and go as far into the yard as she can go without dragging, and sit there. Let her just look around and get acquainted to the sounds and smells. Maybe give her some tasty treats.

 

We don't know her history, but clearly she wasn't raised in a home as a pet. She may have been bred to be a racer (does she have tattoos in her ears?) or to be a hunter. Either way she is now in a completely different environment and everything is new and terrifying. If she was a timid girl to start with, it will take lots of work and patience on your part to help her be the dog that she can be. If you decide you don't have the time, ability or patience to work with her, please consider returning her to a greyhound adoption group, not the shelter you got her from. Greyhounds have unique needs and behaviors--it doesn't sound like that shelter had the knowledge to deal with her. An adoption group would probably put her into an greyhound-experienced foster home where she can be worked with and have other greyhounds to be her role models. Let us know where you are located and we will recommend a group to you. Even if you decide to keep her, the group can offer you advice and be a support for you and Mollie. Best wishes to you both.

[Weakening Hindquarters And Falling.]

My old boy also has accidents when he can't make it to the door in time and has trouble slipping on the wood floors. I found small rubber backed rugs that are washable at my local Fred Meyers. They don't look very good, but they sure work well for my purposes. Maybe you can find something similar.

[Large Hound For A Petite Woman? Leash Pulling/prey Drive Concerns]

I think it has a lot to do with the dog's leash manners, how high it's prey drive is and how skittish it is. In my experience, older dogs ( four years and older) have better leash manners, but your adoption group can give you insight into individual dogs. I have a medium-sized female who has horrible manners although I have tried to train her. I would worry about a petite woman holding her when she want to go somewhere. (I am definitely not petite and can hold her with no trouble but she does pull when she wants to get to that dead squirrel in the road.) I knew going in that she was a wild thing. My big male (82 lbs) has impeccable manners and came that way. However he is a nervous boy and tried to bolt a couple times when he was new to the neighborhood. I only hit the ground once and that was when a moving branch scared him. The big thing is if you do fall because your dog bolts, DO NOT LET GO OF THE LEASH! It doesn't matter if your glasses are broken and you r knees are skinned--do not let go. Now several years later he is no longer skittish and I would trust him with a toddler holding his leash--he is that calm in the neighborhood. I know this is rambling, but what I want to say is talk to the adoption group and let them know your concerns.

[Doxepin For Lp]

I've been using it for about 6 months on my 12.5 yr old Henry. I haven't seen any side effects and it does help. He has started peeing in the house and I'm wondering if that is a side effect, but haven't done any research yet.

[My Grey Suddenly Refuses To Wear Coat Or Boots]

Also, make sure that her coat is not zapping her with static electricity.

[Help - Greyhound Won't Walk/freezes On Walks]

Ahhhh.... the joys of having a new dog and having it learn to walk. This is actually a fairly common problem that people have with dogs new to their home. People ahead have given you good information, but I do want to add one thing: Do not drag her by her collar. Even done gently, you can injure their throat or cause them to slip their collar. It is far better to nudge (push) them with your knee either in their rear or their shoulder.

 

As others have said this too shall pass. So have patience. Unfortunately my 12.5 year old Henry has started doing this again. But rather than being overwhelmed as he was when he was new, he has taken to deciding when he has walked far enough and wants to turn around. In this situation, I let him do what he wants to do.

[Mets To Right Femur]

Wonderful!

[Mets To Right Femur]

I have no experience with metastatic lesions, but if he were my dog, I would get him to a specialist and/or consult with Dr. Coutos.. I don't have his contact info, but I am sure someone else here can provide it. Don't give up.

[Bowl Height?]

As long as your dog isn't having to reach up to get his food, it is okay.

[Mobility Harness For Old Non-Grey]

My old boy, Henry, uses the Ruffwear harness. My vet recommended it.

[Fearful Greyhound After Traumatic Event]

Have you considered taking your greys to her house? In the fun of playing with them, she may forget her fears. Also she will see them going thru doorways and responding to your mom without fear. I think you need to arrange a sleepover at your mom's house--that's where her scary things are.

[Greyhound / Newborn Interactions]

Has your greyhound been around little children before? It may be that he has never seen a baby before and is curious as to what it is. I'm just guessing here as I've never had to introduce a grey to a baby. I think you are wise to use the muzzle until you are absolutely sure the grey is okay with your kid.

[Afraid Of Going Potty?]

My Bree does post poop zoomies when we are on our walks. She twirls, bows and growls. I call it her "Hey, look what I did!" dance.

[Low Kidney Function-What Food Does Your Dog Eat ?]

My Lizzie hated the Science Diet Kidney food as well. This was several years ago, but we found that Purina had a kidney diet food which had to be special ordered, but Lizzie would eat it until she got really sick.

[New Meds For Ruby - Where Do You Buy Them ?]

You might check GoodRX.com for the medicines.

[First Days Avoiding Sa]

I would start alone training the first day. Have everyone leave the home for a couple minutes. Don't make any fuss about it, just do it. Then don't make any fuss about coming back into the home. I think 10 minutes is too long to start. If he has no problem with a few minutes, increase the time. Try to never make it so long that he gets really upset.

 

I totally agree with having him sleep in your room when he is new (or you could sleep next to his bed in whatever room it is in). In a couple months, you can consider changing where he sleeps, but he needs to be where he can keep tabs on you. My dogs can sleep anywhere they want. They seem to like to sleep in my room if I am reading in bed, but when I turn off the lights they migrate to the living room. Why? I have no idea.

[Day One And Week One Advice Please!]

She will have never slept alone at night before. She will probably whine and be upset. If you can, move her bed/crate to your bedroom at bedtime. She will sleep better and so will you.

 

Above all have patience with her--this is all new and often scary to her. But in time you will have a wonderful pup.

 

And take time to stop worrying and just enjoy her!

[Need Exercise Help/ideas]

There are cheap mind game toys that you can make--try searching on Pininterest. One I know of is to take a muffin tin (thrift store find), put a little food in each section, then put a tennis ball on top. She needs to figure out how to move the ball to get to the food.

[Afraid Of A Big Red Ball Far Ahead?]

The ball was moving and moving in a strange way, therefore it was scary!

[New Greyhound, Resource Guarding? Or Uncomfortable?]

Yes, I think you handled it perfectly. Your roommate needs to be aware that leaning over and putting your head on his shoulder is very threatening. You are lucky that Mac only growled as that action was asking to be bitten. Mac was being very good by just growling! Remember greyhounds don't grow up with people doing things like hugging them and leaning over them. It is very hard for an adult dog to get used to these behaviors of their people.

[Dog Door Training With A Noise Sensitive Hound]

Give her time. If she is timid, these are very scary things. Sounds like you are doing everything right.

 

With the car, you might want to start giving her treats that she can reach while her feet are still on the ground. Then slowly move the treats further and further inside the car. If you need to take her somewhere in the meantime, just pick her up and gentle put her in the car.

[Training A Dog *not* To Do Something.]

I agree that your sister needs to be using Nature's Miracle to clean up where her pup pees. Bleach doesn't do it. (if her dog is having trouble because he is elderly and cannot hold it very long, she should get Pee Pads. wonderful invention and not very expensive if you get them in bulk from someplace like Chewy.com. I've covered the floor by my back door with them because of my old boy who trys but doesn't always make it out the door.)

 

When you catch the dog peeing, I won't worry about making a lot of noise. Just yell "No", grab her and carry, pull, push, whatever out the door to the yard, There, praise her like she's the smartest girl ever.

[Bedding]

Henry and Bree say "Get an extra couch!"

[Books On Aggression]

All of those books are available on Amazon.com.

 

or

 

Did you ask at your library if you could get them on loan from another library?

[Potential New Owner Question]

Broodies have a self-confidence about them that comes from having to deal with all those kids and being spoiled by their servants (kennel workers). My broodie, Mindy, was wonderful.