amalexia

From the manufacturer website: "We recommend bathing BEFORE applying product. The product can be applied once the pet is towel dried. Shampooing 90 minutes after treatment does not reduce the effectiveness of Advantage Multi® for Dogs in the prevention of heartworm disease. Shampooing or water immersion 4 days after treatment does not reduce the effectiveness of Advantage Multi® for Dogs in the treatment of flea infestations. However, shampooing as often as once weekly may reduce the effectiveness of the product against fleas. Please use a pet shampoo that is soap-free." Personally, I found that the fur went back to normal 2 or 3 days after the application so haven't had the need to bathe her.

Thanks! That's the plan we have for tonight and going forward. Got some treats stashed in the bedroom so that he can do it himself.

For the past two weeks or so, our girl Cameron has a weird reaction when my husband gets up from the bed, but only within the first hour of so of going to bed. She quickly gets up, will bark at him and growl if he doesn't go back to bed. She does not react this way for me. A bit of context on this to help understand what happens: Every night, we go to do bed (Cameron sleeps in the living room right across from our room (so she sees us) but read in bed (so lights are still open). Usually, my husband gets up right before shutting the light to go to the bathroom. He also sometimes gets up soon after we close the lights if he can't fall asleep to go sleep in another so that he does not bother me. Normally, the entrance to that other room is gated so that Cameron doesn't go in at night to sleep on the futon (in case he needs to go sleep there) or join him if he's there (she does a bit of resource guarding with sofas so we don't want her on sofas/futon with us to avoid any issue). About two weeks ago, the room was not gated and my husband got up to go there. He picked up the baby gate to close off the room so Cameron wouldn't join him and that seemed to have triggered her. She got up super fast and growled if he tried to put up the gate. I used treats to distract her and then we all went back to sleep. The next night, when my husband got up to go to the bathroom before closing the lights, she got up and blocked his way. Chalking it up to what happened the night before, we didn't think much of it. Thing is, it's been two weeks and it keeps happening. It doesn't happen if I get up and it doesn't happen if either of us gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. She seems triggered by the close to bedtime/husband moving combo and I'm not sure how we can approach this so she'll stop. Any ideas or tips?

Heartguard doesn't protect against ticks so you will still need something for that (we use Nexguard).

To comment on the environment thing: Our girl Cameron tested positive for the hooks antigene last week (we've had her since June 2017 and she always tested negative for hooks on the usual larvae test, but the test started the antigene tests on GHs becasue of the recent issue with hooks and GHs). We live in Montreal and hooks don't exist here because of winter and the cooler weather (for example, you only give HG+ for 6 months starting in May and NG for 8 months starting in March/April). Most vets are not well versed about hooks. So it does not seem like it's an environmental thing (Cameron can't really have gotten infected in our non-hook environment so she most likely brought them over when adopted her). Our vet is very GH savy and has been reading up on the hooks issue. All new GHs he has seen in the past year have an issue with hooks which are not treatable with the usual deworming. Now this might be a controversy but he doesn't agree with the Prison Greyhound treatment plan. He's the professional and I trust him so, at this point, am not raising this with him as an issue. Cameron has barely been exhibiting signs of hooks (she'll get a softer stool here and there but we've always chalked it up to something else since her tests came back negative). At this point for us, I feel like we can trust him. In any case, he switched us from HG+ to Advantage Multi, monthly dose and he said we would keep that until she tests negative on the antigene test. My plan is to get a new test done in six months and see where we are at (unless she starts showing additional symptoms).

Yup, that's life with a new greyhound. Expect for other things to feel like they're going back and while you feel that, remember that it is a good sign: your dog is settling in and showing his personality more and more. I know it can be very frustrating sometimes, but try to keep focusing on the positive. And while I understand that it is not pleasant for anyone to lack sleep and get woken up by a dog, the best thing to do is play the ignore game. Ignore and don't move. It will probably make for a few rough mornings, but it will be worth it. It's the same with jumping on people, you ignore the behaviour and it goes away because the dog ends up understanding that the behaviour gets him nothing.

Yes, the trainer suggested complete separation for three days to allow both to relax and reset. Since we did this, Cameron has been sleeping deeply (more so than usual) so some tiredness might be playing into it for the recent incidents (especially yesterday when we had a few barking and growling incidents after I posted). We'll be moving ome furniture to create more room for the cat to walk around and will be removing one of the beds to try and help. The trainer did tell us that thi could go either way. Cameron might be fine or she might never be fine with the cat so we'll see how it goes for now.

Bringing this back up as this has continued to happen over the course of the last month and a half. It also seems to have expanded a bit. We have been letting it go until now, but we are starting to get concerned for the cat's safety. The trainer is coming tonight so we'll be able to discuss with her and we are also in touch with our adoption group. Still, it would be great to get some additional opinions on this issue. Cameron still focuses quite a bit on the cat when it moves around. We have been trying to divert her attention and it is somewhat working (I would say 3 out of 4 times). Every so often, she will get the urge to get up and chase the cat. A simple uh-uh seems to keep from going full chase. She often growls and snarls at the cat if she sees it coming within a certain distance and today has had the urge to go after the cat while growling and snarling. At this point, we just don't know if we should be concerned. The adoption group has broached the subject of rehoming (either the cat or Cameron; we don't even know how we would make a decision like this between the two), but we are all hoping this is something that we can relax about. Any opinions, tips, advice?

He'll keep changing for a while. We're eight months in and we still see changes from week to week. And sometimes, it feels like for each three steps forward, there is a step back (and even more on occasion). I have come to understand that this is normal. I have been told multiple times that anything under a year is considered still settling in and that even after one year, they continue to change. Cameron used to take a lot of time at night for the last pee. At first, I kept a treat with me and gave it to her as soon as she was done with her business (if you do this, you have to stay close to him to make sure he actually does his business). She doesn't need it anymore and now goes super fast at night. She knows if she wants to go back to bed (and get her peanut butter sandwich) quickly, she might as well pee right away. I wouldn't worry too much about the poop. He is still very new and probably does not understand the concept of asking for the door. Even after eight months, Cameron can be very subtle about her need to go out. On the early days, it's a lot about anticipating their needs (hence the more frequent potty outings) and TONS of praise when they do their business outside (I have been known to almost do a happy dance when Cameron would go).

I would advise against trying to physically make him get up. He is new and therefore might be silently accepting that behaviour. After a while, he will settle in and could end up growling and snapping for the same thing you've been doing (similar thing happened to my husband). Cameron doesn't like getting up past a certain time (especially in the winter when it gets super dark early). We've learned that she can do a last out around 8pm and she won't need to pee until around 7am the next day (she really has a camel bladder). Unless we go out at night and come back late (for which we take her out when we arrive and she is up and excited to see us), we do last out between 8 and 9pm. If she won't willingly get up, we use her favourite treats to get her up from the bed, put the leash on and get her out. She gets a treat every single time she gets out (as soon as we are out) in the evening (she now even sits on the balcony as we close the door). One thing that did help was to not take her out too much during the day. She simply does not need it as much as we thought. We would try to take her out every 3-4 hours during the day when we were home, but realized she prefers 6-8 hours during the day and the longer 10-12 (we've had 14 once) for the night time. When we first tried it that way, we decided to do 8pm out (in an attempt to get her up in the morning, which worked) and went with it. Worst case scenario was either a wake up call in the middle of the night or a puddle in the hallway. Neither happened (keeping in mind all dogs are different and new dogs need to be taken out a bit more to establish clear housebreaking).

Cameron was also not very food motivated at first. Now, she'll do just about anything for a but of popped beef. What worked best for us at first were treats made entirely from meats (chicken jerky, popped beef, dehydrated duck feet, salmon skin, etc.) and anything very smelly. Now, she's a bit less picky. We use small marshmallows for emergency recall training. She loooooves those. These were used as treats in the kennel and she goes nuts for those (which is great to train that strong recall that we would use only in emergency situations (i.e., if she manages to get out of the yard or we drop the leash)).

Take it from someone who was right where you are (different issues, but same feelings) about two months ago: this will pass and, in retrospect, it will seem quite minor bumps in the road. It's also easy to feel like the others are not going through issues with their dogs; doesn't mean it's the actual case. Best advice I got here: you need to relax, everything will be ok.

Get a belly band. This should at least get the marking under control.

I would also say that all stairs are not created equal for all dogs. Cameron is fine with the five stairs to go in and out the house and has been from day one. I was expecting a big fuss but she just went right up. Sometimes, it seems like she gets into thinking too much about those stairs and gets kind of stuck at the bottom. I encourage her and she gets up slowly as if she is not sure how to do them anymore. It's hilarious to me as I know she will do them just fine a few hours later. Indoor stairs going to a second floor seem fine most of the time (we don't have them but one of dog sitter does and she goes up just fine). However, indoor stairwell with no backing a very scary to her. Indoor stairs with backing to go to an apartment (so kind of hallway stairs) are usually fine, but not a favourite. The worst: the evil stairs (I should add that these are with backing and super wide) that lead to the evil basement where the evil cat spends time are very scary for Cameron. This translates to all basement stairs are scary. We are not fussed about it because we don't need her to do those stairs. We'll eventually get there in her training, but it's way down the priority list. All that to say that one dog can have various reactions to stairs.

When we first got Cameron, we had her sleep in our room with a baby gate to stop her going anywhere else in the house. We kept at it until we felt she was fine with being in the house. She now sleeps in the living area right across from our door so she can keep an eye on us (you know, just to be sure we don't disappear in the middle of the night). The first night, she woke us around 2 am for a potty break. I got her out for a quick pee and then back in. She then wanted to get up at 5 am. We set the alarm for 10 minutes later than what she wanted and ignored her (and silently wait) until the alarm went off. We did that for a few days and got the message to wait for the alarm. Once she picked up on the alarm, we proceeded to make it a little later everyday until our preferred wake time of 6 am. We can now do even later (usually not much more than 8 am). In the morning, I still get up at 6 am. She gets up for some scratchies and then goes right back to bed until later (miss Cameron doesn't like to walk when it's still dark outside). On the weekends, we sometimes get her out for potty and then back in to bed until we are ready to get up for the walk. All of that to say that you can get your dog on your schedule (just make it consistent). If you don't want the dog to go potty at 4 am, just don't take the dog out at that time. If you want to do the 4 am potty but bed after for a while, just do this. Whatever your routine is, the dog will adapt (keeping in mind that the first few weeks we be adjusting between the two routines).

Cameron's racing weight was 62 pounds. We maintain around 61 pounds. More importantly, we make sure she looks like she is at the proper weight: proper waist tuck and muscle definition, along with the muscle curve on the back (as described in this post: https://www.facebook.com/dennis.mckeon.33/posts/10154756116326829).

Our girl Cameron does the same on both counts. For the sofa, we just don't let her come on the sofa if we're using it. She can have it when we're not home or if we're not in the living room, but if we are, she goes down. We are going to keep it like that until she stops growling because we move on the sofa. For the nose thing, no advice really. She smells everything and everywhere. I just let her do it; it's good for them. Sometimes, she'll even smell my feet while I am walking around (especially if I just got back home).

Thanks Susan! This really puts my mind at ease. At least we're doing great on the human side!

There could have been some light brushing. There is a bit of a bottleneck effect there and Cameron had shifted her bed a bit during the evening while playing which made the bottleneck worse added to her actually having her head on the floor instead of on her bed. Static is definitely an option as the house is rampant with it (thanks winter) and the cat is long haired (so plenty of static there). We moved the bed back to where it normally is and we're looking into getting a smaller TV bench so that there is more room in that particular spot. I wish I could just tell my cat not to go by there when the dog is sleeping. That would make things a lot easier!

Last night, we had a situation with Cameron and the cat. Cameron was definitely sleeping (somewhat deeply as it was evening) and, as a good greyhound, was doing a bit of a bed fail and had her head lying on the floor. The cat passed by her (she has options to go around the other way but seems to prefer walking that way out of the living room) and Cameron startled awake snarling and snapping at the cat. It was quite scary and it got close to her grabbing the cat. Afterwards, you could tell Cameron was stressed and a little nervous so, to me, she was definitely startled awake. I just don't know if this is sleep startle as it will continue to happen or if this just happened because the circumstances led to it in that particular instance. We've never had sleep startling issues with Cameron although we always make sure she is awake if we need to come close to her (we don't have the biggest house so sometimes we do have to walk near her bed). There has been times when we could see that she jumped a little by waking up, but it never came to snarling and snapping. Anything in particular we can be doing? I want to keep both Cameron and the cat comfortable and safe. And to be clear, they are separated at all times if we are not home.

Pawz advises against using their booties indoors as they are completely waterproof and the sweat from the pads creates a humid environment ripe for breeding bacteria and fungus.

You've had him for only a short period of time (heck, we've had our girl for only short period of time also) so you might find that he will do some of those things later on. It took months before Cameron showed any kind of interest in food (either on the counter, the floor or in our hands). Now, she eats very quickly whatever food she finds on the floor (we need laser focus when we walk her in a park). She also used not to play with us, now she does. Two weeks ago, she learned that she can whine for attention so it's been a whine-fest at home whenever she wants scratches. And for the growling at other dogs on the walk, you can see if he is reactive or just not comfortable for now (as he is till quite new). Reactive dogs can be trained so if he is reactive, you can work with a trainer to help on that front. Cameron growls when she meets new dogs, but it's her play growl. Freaks the other dog's owner half of the time, but we've learned to make the difference as she growls quite a bit when playing.

Thanks for the ideas! These are great. It's funny you mention food puzzles and nosework as we've just started upping mental stimulation for Cameron (through various treat dispensing toys) and we want to add the puzzles in. I had also been looking at nosework classes for her. We have a trainer coming to our home to help us on certain things, but it is quite clear that she would do poorly in an obedience class. With the trainer, we have moved away from basic obedience and more towards things we feel are important (focus on us, go to your bed, emergency recall, etc.). Since she loves her snuffle mat, I've figured nosework might be fun for her and it turns out the trainer we use has nosework classes.

Thanks all for your input! We'll see with time if we have a true grumpy dog or if her personal bubble will continue to shrink. In any case, we love to bits and that won't change anything. We do plenty of eye rolls though when we hear her growl for the silliest (to us) things. It's so fascinating seeing her personality change over the weeks and months!

I figured as much (but it's good to hear that other people are reading this the same way). She is doing tons better than when we first got her. We could not even pet her if she was lying down, but now she will gladly accept scratches when lying down if she's in the mood (especially after a good walk outside). The bubble is definitely smaller than it was. I just got to get my husband to brush up on doggie language and stop making the same mistakes. I also want to find them an activity for them to bond a bit more. She is very attached to me and less so to my husband (which is funny as she only wanted him when she adopted us).