lulah62

Thanks so much for the detail there @greysmom - his nails are an ongoing issue - we dremel them but he hates it so they are a little longer than they aught to be. That one in particular looks very odd though as he tore it out years ago running and it now grows out at a strange angle - that particular toe is cursed!! His last op was supposed to be a removal but the surgeon decided last minute to have a go at removing the bone shard we thought was causing the limp - needless to say it didn't work. I'm loathed to put him through another op (my childhood lurcher died on the operating table and he doesn't fair well with GA) as it doesn't seem to overly effect him (we walk him mainly on grass now, which he's fine on), but also keen to make sure we're doing everything to make sure it stays a minor inconvenience to him rather than a pain. I'll definitely look to getting something more moisturising on his pads too - as you say, they're a lot drier than our girls ever are.

Hullo! I know corns are a hot topic with greyhounds, so I'm hoping someone might be able to take a look at a picture and let me know if they think what I'm dealing with is indeed likely a corn. Backstory is that my boy has had numerous diagnoses and surgeries on one of his toes - every vet he goes to has a different diagnoses (corn / fragment of bone adrift in his toe causing pain / tendon damage etc etc). He has always limped on his front leg, and it comes and goes with severity (he fancies a run= no limp, when it's raining outside = very bad limp) and historically we've not *always* been able to see any problem on the surface of the pad. Recently, it's started to look a lot more like a classic corn so we've been treating is as such - a boot on hard ground, epsom salt soaks, mushers wax and dremelling. I'm not convinced it's making a difference to his comfort levels, and looking at other images of corns is making me wonder if it IS actually a corn after all https://ibb.co/z4MfmQS Here's a photo of before / after soaking and dremelling. The red dot in the centre makes me think it's maybe not a corn, as I've not seen any images of corns look like this before... It's also possible this is related to the numerous surgeries he's had on his pad to remove corns / retrieve bone shard etc. Grateful for any advice or opinions on his pads from someone who knows greyhounds and corns Thanks in advance

This feels like common sense but hadn't actually occurred to me to monitor! It was definitely one sided with the little dog, so I'm confident we did the right thing separating them (even if she wasn't about to eat him, it still was a bit uncool of her!) I hope so too! Good to know your girl calmed down so quickly. Dolly has gone from not being able to walk on lead, to walking very nicely within weeks - so she's definitely a quick learner. This is about the same time we've had our girl, so keep me posted how you get on! We joke that Dolly has "no manners" as she's so chaotic where our boy has always been very quiet and considered, but she's calmed down so much with other elements. Like you say, maybe it's a matter of desensitising them with managed exposure Thanks for everyones advice- it's so reassuring to hear other people's stories

Thanks Greysmom, that's so useful to see other greys playing! It was strange seeing her so keen to play and realising it's completely alien behaviour to me, so that video and your explanation really helped. Our girl is 4, but she is very puppyish - it's already been a steep learning curve for her and she's doing so well. She's a smart cookie!

Hullo, We've recently fostered a real live-wire of a girly, which has made me realise I have no experience with playful hounds. She's a poppet around the house and with people, but she LOVES to play and I have early concerns about her behaviour other dogs. We've started to slowly introduce her to our sliding scale of sedate-up-to-animated dogs, and she is very civil with them unless they are being playful. We have confirmed she's happy with calm dogs, however, if a dog is being playful (even if it's just playfully moving around the room) around she becomes very interested. When our older boy greyhound is quietly playing (he's a shy boy!), she is desperate to play with him - she will almost always push it too far for him (he has a v low tolerance for play) and he will growl and she will back off and leave him alone. This has been the same with another semi-playful dog we've introduced her to - wants to play, will play a little rough, will get told off, will leave alone. When we've introduced her to a more playful (also smaller) sighthound, again, she is desperate to play but her body language gives me cause for concern (stiff back, head up high, thrashing tail, noses the dog to get them to move). We've allowed her to play a little (supervised, muzzled etc), but the other dog quickly got uncomfortable and growled at her (again, this makes me think that the other dog is picking up on her possibly malevolent vibes). Initially, she is happy to be told off and will back off- but fairly quickly she wanted to go again. I believe the smaller, more scampering movements of the younger smaller dog are more triggering to her than the slow lumbering of the dogs we've already had success introducing her to. Incidentally, the owner of this dog suggested it was because his growl was less of a "I don't want to play with you ever" and more of a "Calm down and lets pick this up in a bit" (I'm not convinced..) We're not in a hurry to de-muzzle her or have playdates etc, and we know she will need very slow considered training, but I am curious about other peoples journeys with dogs showing this sort of behaviour in early days. I've always had / been around dogs, but they've generally been very nervous rescues with zero interest in playing with other dogs (or the 2 clearly dog aggressive dogs who always needed to be muzzled, kept away from dogs which at least was a clear directive!) , so when I see other dogs playing happily in a way that LOOKS incredibly aggressive (wrestling and biting), I'm curious about how people get to a point where they understand their dog might LOOK like crazed, but trusting that they're under control? I do appreciate this doesn't happen for all dogs so I don't need to be told some dogs will always need to be muzzled and supervised (as I say, my family had 2 rescue hunting lurchers who could be dog aggressive and needed careful management to ensure everyone was safe and happy) but I'm curious about other peoples processes to trust (or not trust!) their interested / playful hounds. ___ I should add that she's been very quick to learn other house rules about pushing around our older boy etc, which were initially concerns.

Hi Feefee147, I was just wondering how you were getting on with the small furries issue? Our foster girl is starting to show errr interest in small dogs - she's not food orientated, so we are struggling with "leave it" training too (as nothing we have to offer is as fun as little squirmy dog)

Good info on the harness! Also, amazing name - Samson! Such an appropriate grey name

Just to agree with the other posters really! My boy was the most shy thing you could imagine - he still doesn't jump up or ask for cuddles, and his emotional displays are very much there but they are invisible to the average human eye. We've had him almost 4 years and even now, if he's playing with his toys and you LOOK at him, he stops as if he's ashamed. They can be very sensitive and their body language isn't like other dogs. I found mine really picks up on my emotions - if I'm frustrated with him (it happens) he automatically becomes harder to handle. It's hard to remember that in the moment, but I try to remember we're in the same boat me and him - we both want to be happy and have easy lives! Another thing is that if they're nervous, they can often respond well if you show them confidence. Definitely not raising your voice or anything at all like that, but projecting a "everything is OK, we've got this" vibe helped no end for me. At first I very much felt "Oh no, how do I keep this creature safe" and his response was "You mean I'm not safe?!?!?" Have you tried providing her a crate? It can seem cruel, but you don't need to shut her in it, but just keep the door open and a blanket over the top so she has her own special safe place just for her to go to when the world feels a bit much (I can understand wanting one of those!)

Thank you, FeeFee147! And congratulations on your new grey I see you're London based too, shame Sighthound Sundays are on hiatus My boy is the apple of my eye - he's had such a journey and I'm very protective over his happiness as it didn't come to him easy. It's lovely to see the other side of rehomed racers, where she's so enthusiastic and has no fear at all - so I know she will find a loving home one way or another- but my boy is the other half of my soul! He has his own issues but I couldn't be without him- the awkward, anxious, singing, endlessly paw-wounded, baldy butted weirdo that he is. When I collected our boy from Battersea, they told me "all greyhounds are basically the same" and every time I meet a new one I wonder how on earth they could imagine that!

Thanks Time4ANap. That's absolutely on mind. I know our boy is very happy with other older dominant girls (all of whom have at various times told him off for understandable infractions and immediately settled into a good understanding of each other), but I am aware our foster is currently a lot more puppyish and (to him and us) seems unpredictable. She doesn't seem dangerous at all (as she calms down as soon as he backs off from whatever's upset her), but I don't want my boys confidence eroded because he will not stand up for himself when he's just trying to drink from his same old water bowl, or is just having a little sing because he's happy. That being said, I do keep thinking how I would react if someone removed me from my home, plonked me in a weird place, went "this is your brother, he looks like someone who used to bully you, he sings out of tune and you must love him", all your routine is different - and you must be NICE!" I would probably be a bit of an a**hole for a little while. I think we need to give her the time to settle, but I want to make sure we're giving everyone the best shot at being happy

Hello! Apologies for the long message! We are super keen on taking in a second greyhound full time, and decided on a stint of fostering so we could decide if it was the right thing for us and our 7 yr old greyhound boy. We've had him almost 5 years - he's a nervous chap and when I bought him home he was terrified of everything. He didn't understand affection, was petrified of stairs, of walks, aeroplanes etc. Just about everything you could imagine! Our challenge with him was to build his confidence and make sure he felt safe. He's now a very happy lad but very deferential - he has separation anxiety when left alone, but will settle well when left with various friends and families more assertive girl greyhounds (seen with multiple dogs) We are still in the first week with our first foster girl (4 years old) so I am VERY aware that her world has been turned upside down and she's not quite herself. She comes across as very confident, but I think some of the 'issues' are really down to the understandable stress of being uprooted. She is wonderful with us, very affectionate, excitable and playful, (currently very velcro) but there are a couple things I wanted to check in on if we need to nip in the bud / accept as just settling in. I've included if we've noticed things getting better or worse, but as it's only over the course of a week this may not be relevant. Also, we know she was kennelled with a boy (also a large black boy, like ours) who was dominant over her 1) She is extremely assertive - she will happily throw herself up and down the stairs and tripping and falling doesn't bother her in the slightest. She is very "rude" whereas he is very "polite" (I know these are humanisations, but they help explain the dynamic!) She will barge anyone out of her way, and is desperate to lead the walks. Our boy "sings" when he's excited, chirping and chattering his teeth and she HATES this, growling and bearing her teeth at him. Her growling at his singing has lessened a little but still happens WE THINK if she doesn't understand why he's excited, as otherwise her own excitement distracts her from chastising him. 2) Resource guarding - they get fed separately, but she will occasionally growl initially at our boy if he approaches their main water bowl. This immediately causes him to back off and go hide. He is greedy but not a bully - he has tried his luck taking one treat off her and she responded appropriately and he backed off and has not tried anything since. Guarding the main water bowl has got worse over a few days 3) Overall bonding - she is very people orientated, and constantly and enthusiastically asks for fusses. Our boy is a lot more shy, and will only come sit with you if you're sat quietly. Currently there is a big divide, with our girl bouncing around and trying to get on laps, monopolising attention etc, while our boy sits quietly alone in another room. 4) Pulling on the lead - she's currently got the rescue centre-issue fishtail collar but will strain SO HARD against the lead, we often spend the first 10 mins of the walk stop-starting with her trying to walk on her back legs and gagging (we do not let her continue this, but it's slow progress and each lunge must be awful for her throat). She will calm down a little eventually and walk (but still pulling) By the end of each walk (after a lot of correction) she generally walks acceptably. As mentioned above, she likes to be at the front of the pack and will pull less up front, but we are not allowing her to do this. She pulls regardless of if our boy is on or off lead, but pulls most when my partner and hound are walking too far ahead when she seems to be panicking about being left behind. We understand that this is extremely early days and she is settling in and much of this will change as she settles, but we are feeling like our boy currently feels as thought we've bought a terrible barbarian into his nice quiet home. They completely ignore each other, other than her growls. Normally he is very relaxed and friendly with other girls in his house (we joke that he goes "ohh phew, someone who knows what they're doing!") So far, our plans are a) Make it clear she is not the boss. Our boy gets fed first, leaves the house first, gets cuddled most and is not to be growled at. A firm NO to her, and a cuddle for him if he gets growled at for an unacceptable reason (he did try steal a treat from her the other day, which she growled at him for and we deemed that acceptable). We have also added another water bowl, close to the one she's been protective over, so she doesn't feel she's guarding a scarce resource. Is this a fair approach, or are we humanising them too much? We've had such a journey with our boy, I may be being protective of his hard earnt confidence. b) Nothing-in-life-is-free training. We are attempting this, but she is not food motivated. She will come when called for a fuss, but anything that requires her to be calm is proving much harder to instill! Any tips for excitable non-food motivated sighthounds would be ace c) When do we need to consider a harness for her? I am worried she is doing damage to her throat, as she REALLY strains, but also she does eventually calm down? Again, just to press that we don't LET her continue pulling, but she will lunge forward and gag repeatedly for the first 10 mins of the walk. d) We do let our boy off lead on walks as his recall is good and prey drive low. He walks calmly with us, but may occasionally burst into a zoomy, coming when he's called etc. She won't lunge to join in, but she does get worked up by this, bouncing on the spot. Do we need to keep him on lead to keep her calm, or is his good off lead behaviour useful for her to see? Like I say, we weren't expecting everything to be easy and I know she's had a lot happen in the last week - I'm just keen to understand what we need to shrug off and what we need to address, and if there are any modifications to our behaviour that might ease her settling. Thanks for any tips and advice :)

@MerseyGrey Thanks for the heads up! It hadn’t occurred to me about the nasties and fragile hound skin! I hear you on vets bills that top their adoption fees too.. sigh we’re sort of assuming he’ll be ok with the motion as he’s a regular train and car traveler, and as long as his bed is down he will sleep through anything, but we can cut the trip short if it’s not workable. Also, of course prosecco- I shan’t be doing any navigating either

Hello! We’re planning on going on a canal boating weekend in a few weeks, and aware we need to invest in a life jacket for Ghillie. does anyone have any recommendations for brands? They seems to range hugely in price and the one I see most regularly recommended is Ruffwear (top end of the price range, but I know their coats are excellent) the main thing would be a back-handle so that we could haul him out should the worst happen and he goes overboard- he’s a right lump of a hound! It’s super unlikely as he’s likely to spend the entire weekend asleep in his bed, but just to be on the safe side any advice or recommendations would be gratefully received :)

Hi FiveRoooooers! Ghillie's had his op to remove a wedge from his toe (containing a potential corn / callous, and - they had hoped - the foreign body they spotted on the x rays) Unfortunately x rays this morning have shown the foreign object still there, and likely within the ligament-dense area of his toe where they can't cut it out. They're talking about referring him for potentially having the toe amputated which seems like a very serious escalation. Do you know if the object you worked out with the suture loop was in this danger zone?

Mini update - my boy had his op on Tuesday and is doing OK. The vets aren't currently sure if they removed whatever it was that was causing him grief so he's got biweekly check ups and bandage changes for a little while to monitor his progress. I'll post any updates I get in case anyone else has similar problems in the future. As expected, the anaesthetic was pretty traumatic for him - he's not a brave boy and did himself some damage panicking as he came round. Fingers crossed that's the last time he has to go through that!