HeyRunDog

Another vote for kibble. I add a spoonful of porridge oats and a little hot water, which I let cool down, to her food to help with Grace's bald thighs. I second MersyGrey in keeping him on the same diet as he's used to and gradually move to your preferred diet. Whatever you decide keep the protein level at 19 to 20 percent as any higher can cause health problems and a hyperactive dog. You might see recommendations to feed a diet with 28 percent but that is when they are racing.

Tulip dark side of greyhound walking is you taking. Tulip trained you soon shall be.

Not always true that being afraid of thunderstorms means separation anxiety. Grace is afraid of thunderstorms, fireworks and the sound of footballs being kicked but has no problems with being left on her own. But that just shows greyhounds are contrary animals and have the habit of proving you wrong

The blue could be bruising. Might be worth a phone call to your vet to see if they injected a sedative into his neck before giving him the general anaesthetic?

Or Leo-nose-do Da Vinci

Grace was having a nap outside on the lawn in the shade after our morning walk so I thought I'd give her her breakfast outside. She got up, walked past her feeding bowl totally ignoring it and stood in the kitchen where she is normally fed waiting for me to get her breakfast.

That is a difficult one because they change that much once they are adopted and as you've had such a perfect greyhound before you are always going to compare the two and it's going to be difficult to find a direct replacement. Have a word with your adoption agency about your lifestyle, whether you want a male or female, quiet or lively hound and let them find you one. Have an open mind with plenty of patience and humour and you'll be rewarded with a great companion. None of us have the perfect greyhound we dreamed of but we all have a great four legged friends.

There are two breeds of greyhounds. Those that are in your face fuss junkies who won't leave you alone and become your second shadow and the ones like Grace, Pablo and Buddy who are just happy to be in the same home as their owners and are that chilled nothing fazes them apart from, in Grace's case, screaming children, thunder, fireworks and the sound of a football being kicked. Why put the effort into climbing onto the sofa or going upstairs when it takes less energy to collapse onto the floor? Why worry where your servant is? They'll turn up and feed you. Why get excited about going for a walk? It's either raining, to cold, to hot and you always end up back where you started. And you know what? I wouldn't have my Grace any other way

Happy Gotcha Day Buddy. I'm in Grace's bad books. I forgot it was her second Gotcha Day on Wednesday last week Going to make up for it tomorrow though when it's her sixth birthday

Well done It sounds like you and her are making good progress. It could be that there are certain sounds that only occur in the day that she doesn't like but she will get used to them. As your behaviourist advised, if you stay confident and don't react before the problem happens and as she continues to bond with you, she'll see that you aren't worried so she won't be. It took Grace two months not to be spooked by traffic and nearly two years not to come running inside when the neighbours children are playing and screaming in their gardens, and we're still working on the sound of a football being kicked, but with time, patience and humour we'll overcome that as well.

Has anything happened while you were walking him solo? A sudden loud noise or movement for example? Do you always go the same way and is it the same point that he stops? You could try both of you taking him for a walk and then after a while your wife goes her separate way and you and your greyhound continue your walk. As with all greyhound behavioural problems it takes time and patience.

I agree and it's going to take time and patience. With these contrary hounds it could be the feel of rain landing on her or she doesn't like wet feet or even the noise of it. As long as she is going out to wee and poo I wouldn't worry about her not exercising for a few days.

It is going to be hard on your part to get him used to being left alone whilst you go upstairs to sleep, shower etc. He doesn't want to be left alone and he's scared that this nice human isn't going to come back so he cries and like magic they return. You've got to be hard hearted and not return when he does but only when he's quiet. The first few nights I had Grace she cried when I left her to go to bed then would go quiet for an hour then start up again. Shouting down to her would quieten her for a bit until she realised I wasn't coming down so off she would go again. I tried coming down and taking her out for a wee in case that was the problem, but no, she had tricked me to be with her again. In the end I remembered how my father got our Labrador to be quiet through the night. I said goodnight to her and shut the door as if I was going to bed. I then stood quietly by the door and waited for her to start. After a couple of minutes of whining I burst through the door, told her to be quiet in a firm loud voice, shut the door and went to bed. It was the first nights sleep for a week. Try spraying the area he's chewing with bitter apple.

I agree with giving him a treat when you go out. Grace gets a Kong filled with kibble and a small plug of peanut butter, and like MerseyGrey's hound, she looks forward to me leaving her so she can have her treat and get back to undisturbed snoozing. Crating and dogs sleeping upstairs in bedrooms is more prevalent with our American friends. Grace sleeps downstairs and has the run of the main room but hardly moves off her blanket on the sofa so don't feel your boy has to sleep upstairs. It can take some hounds a couple of years to shake off their racing days so with time, patience and a good sense of humour your handsome looking boy will develop into a wonderful companion

Has she been spayed? If not perhaps it's something worth considering.

Unless you know any small dog owner who is prepared to help with his socialising I think all you can do is keep on with the leave it training. It took Grace several months to learn that everything small and furry isn't prey. Now she even ignores cats

I think you've got to be hard and ignore her crying because at the moment you leave, she cries, you come back which is a result as far as she's concerned. You need to get her to trust and accept you that you are coming back no matter how long you leave her.

He's probably wondering where these distorted voices are coming from. The first couple of time I watched a YouTube video with Grace in the same room she wasn't happy until I showed her where the strange sounds were coming from by showing her the screen and was the same with a WhatsApp conference call. Now she shows total indifference.

Now there's a challenge

36.5% is very high for a retired greyhound. I think the recommended level is about 20% otherwise it can cause health problems

Lovely looking hound and her weight is OK by the look of her. She might be loosing a bit of muscle mass now she's out of training and greyhounds always look very thin next to other dogs. If you go onto http://www.greyhound-data.com/index.htm and enter your dogs racing name or ear tattoos and look at the racing stats it might tell you her racing weight. My Grace's racing weight varied between 24.5kg and 25kg and she still weighs the same.

Does anyone else turn their dogs food bowl round so their hound can get the last bits? Does anyone else carry their hound 50+ yards over a piece of particularly sharp stoned pathway? In my defence Grace suffers with corns and even with boots she doesn't like walking on sharp stones. Does anyone else stop mid walk just to give an ear rub? Or is it just me?

I agree with the others, don't keep bathing her and book a check-up by the vet just to check everything is OK and to put your mind at rest. It could be what she has or is being fed on causing her to smell. Grace smelled of the kennel when I first got her which wasn't helped by the smell of the flea treatment they had put on the back of her neck. I had to wait a fortnight before I could bath her and when I did what a bedraggled sorry looking hound she looked until she had dried off. I think the last time I bathed her was 18 months ago to help with flaky skin.

Annie's dreaming of roaching Lambie with mint sauce and new potatoes mmmm....

I don't know whether like is the word I'd use but I don't dislike mine. I insured Grace with Bought By Many when I first had her and like most of the other insurers there is a 14 day wait before you can make a claim. On the 15th day she developed an abscess between 2 toes caused by grit from her racing days. Several visits to the vet and two operations later and the bill came to just over £2000 which they paid up with no problems. I also get free video access to a 24 hour online emergency vet and get 20% of my premium back each year I don't claim.