maak

I think we’ve made some progress. I went to the store before she went potty at least a couple of times. When I get back, she not only didn’t potty on the floor but she asked to go out to potty! So that means she actually held it until I got home. Yay! I’m so proud of her!

I thought 20mg of Prozac was pretty high but I looked on Google and that’s the dosage for a 30 lb dog. My girl is 55 lbs. I’m thinking she may be sensitive to it. I’m going to keep trying things I read here for awhile and then I’ll try a specialist. I don’t have pet insurance. Boy did I learn not to scold her harshly for having an accident! She reacted badly later when I said No to other things on the floor. Thankfully, she trusts me again. I think she remembers things a long time. I’ve observed that she won’t do things I’ve said No to but then she’ll do it when I’m gone! She knows she’s the one who peed on the floor because she gets that ashamed look on her face. I think she just keeps doing it because it’s a stress reaction and she can’t help it. It’s like scolding an old dog that can’t help it. She’s doing pretty good now. I still don’t leave her alone very long but I let her out many times a day whether she wants to or not. I say Good Girl each time. I’ve found that with an independent dog it’s easier to change MY behavior.

1. Her most used room is the living room where her bed is. But thats also where she messes. Shes not allowed in the bedrooms or the restroom. I keep the doors closed. Getting the mail is something we do together but trash and using the restroom we dont do together. 2. I gave away my big mirror. At first she looked at the glass in the fireplace but then she stop doing it. 3. Ill try the Nyla bone. 4. Ill look into the tuffy toys. 5. The vet started her on 20 mg Prozac. She was so sleepy. I then broke the capsules to get half dosage. She was still sleepy. 6. Trazodone sounds like a good thing. Ill ask the vet about it. 7. Ive managed to get up to a trip to Walmart. I found that doing a couple of potty trips beforehand helps with the pottying. I started off with just simply staying in the next room. 8. I started out scolding her loudly when I got home. Totally ineffective! I still say no in a softer voice but quietly clean up the mess. Unfortunately I think it will take a while to recover from that loud scolding. 9. Ive increased her pottying before and after being left alone. Its helped with the accidents. 10. Id just as soon give the old dog bed to Goodwill. She really loves her current dog bed. 11. The ASPCA article has lots of tips. Thanks for mentioning.

The shelter I adopted from welcomes greyhounds to play in their fenced in area with their dogs. Muzzle required. No little dogs!

Oh yea. Both poop and pee. She’ll destroy anything that can fit in her mouth so I don’t leave anything out. Except my old shoes to keep her attention away from other things. Some of these things are puppy things but she’s over 4 yrs old. She used to over groom thereby pulling a lot of hair out. Oh boy she cries and paces almost the whole time i’m gone. Having other humans in the house doesn’t help. I have her go outside every time before I leave the house. I watch to make sure she goes potty. She’s excellent at going outside when i’m home. She even goes out in the rain. The first night she was home she wouldn’t go in the crate. Not even a paw. She wouldn’t be tempted by treats so I had to push her in. She cried all night and pooped all over the place. I thought it was weird for one that had lived in a crate for 3 yrs. So I took the crate back to the pet store. I washed the dog bed and put it behind the chair. I’ve pulled it out to vacuum a few times and she’s really afraid of it. I didn’t know about the book. My alone training has been staying gone progressively longer. I don’t give her attention before I go. She’s too smart for me though. She can tell when i’m about to go (put coat and shoes on, get key, etc) I do give her attention when I come home though. I’ll certainly buy that book.

Thanks for the responses. Answering the questions: 1. A year 2. Just when I saw her at the shelter. She was a loner and got annoyed at the intact male dogs. Females hate her in general so I’d need to foster a male. She has a boyfriend in the neighborhood. 3. One human. 4. About a year ago. 5. Yes, I’m her first owner. 6. No. 7. After about a week. She was much better at first, then she got progressively worse. 8. Only a short time on Prozac. She got really sleepy in the evening and wouldn’t go out to potty so I took her off. 9. I’m always trying alone training but I took her off Prozac. 10. She’s left for an hour or two. I’m retired so it’s not easy to stay out all day. 11. I always take her out before I go but she still she still potty’s on the living room floor. She also turns over the trash can once in awhile. I’m thankful she always messes in the same room, too short to counter surf, and doesn’t chew on the furniture. She does eat everything she can get in her mouth so I have to careful not to leave things out. 12. I live in a house with a fenced in yard. I walk her on a leash a few times a week so she can smell what’s going on the neighborhood.

I actually had one person suggest that I put her down! I love her too much already to get rid of her. I hadn’t thought of fostering another greyhound but that sounds like a good idea!

Ive tried crate training, alone training, and Prozac. Would getting another dog to keep her busy, help?

My girl managed to get fleas while wearing a Seresto collar. The vet said sometimes they don’t work. I’ve put her on NexGard but I still see crawling fleas on her. I launder her bed and spray the carpet a few times per week. Any suggestions?

It’s not so much baldness as it is saliva stain. The hair on her butt and top of tail is grayish pinkish brown. The vet said today she keeps licking herself because she has dry skin. She gave me an antihistamine and some medicated shampoo. She does have areas where her hair is very thin from pulling it out. She looks pink. It seemed to be an anxiety thing but if it’s just dry skin, that would be a lot easier to cure! She’s biting her nails right now. Is that normal?

Thanks for all the advice. I think I’ll forget the crate and put it in the garage. I can gate the kitchen and dining areas off and confine her there if need be. So far I’ve been able to leave her alone for short trips with out any problems so I’m optimistic. I just need to be more patient with her acclimation process. She’s such a good sport. Thanks for letting me know about the photo bucket problem. When I figure out another way to post pictures, I’ll post the over-grooming problem in the health section.

Whoa!! I just tried my first Photobucket picture and it came out gigantic! Anyway, this is Tiers butt. Her hair is saliva stained. At the adoption place, they thought it was dirt so they gave her a bath. And then when I came back they just said well I dont know what it is. It was a vet that mentioned the saliva staining. Interesting that she could be fooling me on the muzzle thing. I wonder if shes also fooling me on the crate thing?

Tier won 1 out of 60 races. That could explain why she retired so early.

Thanks for the help. I’ll forget the dog park. I was just hoping it would be an option because I don’t have a fenced in yard. I’ll forget the muzzle for now too. I put her in the crate the first night and she cried the whole night. Since then I’ve left both doors open but she’ll only go in when I’ve put the food there and my head isn’t sticking in on the side. Maybe I’ll forget about it for now. I’ve been able to go grocery shopping so maybe I’ll just work on leaving her longer and longer times during the day. She picks up random things and chews on them. I let her have my flip-flops after she chewed them. Maybe I should just let her be a dog and be thankful that she doesn’t chew furniture. And continue to put things away of course. The vet checked her anal glands and for fleas. She said the coloring on her butt was saliva stains but didn’t have any advice. Tier has pulled a lot of hair. Some people have commented that she looks pink. There are seven dogs (from 3 families) that run free on my street so she’ll need some socializing. I always have her on a leash. Any ideas?

Ive had my new girl about a week and a half so far. I feel very lucky that there was no need for house training and she already knows come and stay. She doesnt chew much for a two-year-old and she doesnt run around all crazy around the house either. She likes me. A weird thing is, I have not been able to get her to go and stay in her crate. I even put her food in the crate but then she goes right out. She absolutely hates her muzzle which Ill need for the dog park. Its like she was never a racer! Shes very timid, submissive, and has anxiety problems. She has almost her whole butt chewed off from over grooming. Shes even afraid of the small dogs in the neighborhood! Im not kidding. Otherwise, shes perfect. Well except that she doesnt want to get in the car but were working on it. Does anyone have any advice regarding the crate, muzzle, timidness, and over grooming? Ive never had any kind of dog before.

I need a vet recommendation for Hickory, North Carolina. The ones listed in the vet directory are at least an hour away.