MerseyGrey

So sorry to hear about Andy, and I hope you’re on the mend 💐🍇. Abu is certainly a handsome devil and I hope you make as many happy memories with him as you had with Andy

Happy birthday Sophie 🎂

Not on my home screen, but as my wallpaper on WhatsApp is this photo of my two favourite boys (Dan is in the picture on my phone, not cut off at the side). I love everyone’s pictures of their pooches 😍

This is quite a statement! Are you going to change your name to ‘BlackMarketOrganDealerPam’!?!?

You don’t have to use a crate, but finding him a corner that is out of the way might help. We have a bed between the end of a sofa and a cupboard, with a wall at the back so ours is enclosed on three sides and he can go there when he wants some alone time. Try not to worry about the nip to the other dog and chalk it up to experience. It sounds like it was just a warning from your boy, and we find ours does that when he gets a bit overwhelmed with other dogs. Introducing him to other dogs can come a bit later when he’s more confident that you’re his pack and you will protect him. Things will come together with time, you just have to let your dog dictate the pace. Good luck!

Happy birthday Lila! 14 is fabulous!

Our girls (GSDs) used to pee when they were excited - basically when my mum came home from work, because she was the one they loved the most! Not sure if it’s a submission thing in that case though. I haven’t known Buddy to do this, but then he doesn’t get that excited about his walks. (I think I would be the same as you as I love to see him get excited about something!)

Sorry to hear about your beloved boy. Hopefully your happy memories will give you some comfort

Hahaha! I think this is probably true and using long words the other dogs don’t understand. I also think that some other dogs are also just jerks too. However, I try to watch Buddy’s body language and very often when another dog approaches him, he doesn’t quite know how to react. He lifts his head, and his neck and back become very stiff, and although he often wags his tail, it’s clear he’s not comfortable. I wonder if this provokes other dogs to bark (at best) and become aggressive at worst. Some people whose dogs bark at Buddy say that their dogs react to other dogs who are on leads, some will say that they are just being friendly. I wish I spoke better dog, particularly greyhound dialect. While I have also wanted to kick a few dogs, it’s the owners I usually want to maim - especially the ones who yell ‘it’s ok, he’s friendly!’ as Buddy is having a nervous breakdown behind me trying to avoid the attention

😍

Hahaha be prepared to hear the tap of claws on floor wherever you go! Buddy, at two years past adoption, can just about cope when I leave the room, but usually if I’m out of his sight for more than a few minutes he will come and find me. I like to think that it’s mostly because he loves me so much but it’s just as likely to be because he is the nosiest dog that ever lived and can’t stand the thought of missing out on something. Anything. Eventually you will learn to ignore it and Ivy will learn that you moving around is no big deal. I second the previous posts - get her into a routine as quickly as you can with toilet breaks, and she will start to go when you want her to. When we first got Buddy, we used the same word each time he had a wee (‘wee wee!’) so he would start to know what we wanted him to do when we took him outside. His request to go out for a wee was so subtle in the first few days - a glance to the back door - that we missed our cue a couple of times and we would be roused from our seats a few seconds later by the sounds of a yellow torrent trickling on the floor. We were very lucky as Buddy’s an older boy and we think that he had been in a home before he came to us. At four, yours might be fresh off the track so you are starting from scratch but puppy training should do the trick. Good luck!

I used this to help with Buddy for reactivity and it does work. Buddy started to look to me before I could distract him when he saw another dog, and now he does it after he has a good interaction with another dog. It only took a few weeks but we had already got a noise we used which he associated with getting a treat (in place of ‘watch me’), so it’s entirely possible! Buddy has quite a high prey drive too, (squirrels, cats, rabbits, hedgehogs, small dogs and crisp packets!) and I wouldn’t trust him to chase a smaller dog in play. You will have to make that call yourself but (and you probably don’t need me to tell you this) I would have a very low threshold for intervening if you decide to let him chase other dogs. We learned that the hard way and I wouldn’t wish anyone to experience the way we felt after extracting another dog from Buddy’s jaws. Good luck!

I assume my dog stares at me because he loves me! He’s ten in November and is generally still and peaceful with bouts of play as described above. They all seem to have different personality quirks but the way I look at it is: he’s an old man. If I’m as lively as him when I’m knocking on 70 I shall be very happy. In the meantime, I am very happy I have got such a placid and undemanding dog (except when it comes to belly rubs 🙄). I hope my next greys are like him. Old dogs really are the best!

He sounds like a special dog, and he was a beauty to boot.

Here too!

Yes, this sounds like plenty of exercise for your pup. You can look at it one way, which is that you are getting your two 20 minute sessions in all at once in the morning and so you don’t have to worry about walking her again in the afternoon/evening. If she can go out to relieve herself later in the day, this should be enough. That ‘20 minutes twice a day’ is a guide, and each hound will vary on what they need. I think you’ll know if she needs more as she will be restless and letting you know that she wants to go out. I’ve found that Buddy is remarkably adaptable to fit in with our lifestyle, and recently there have been days where we haven’t been able to do our usual exercise routine because of the heat. He doesn’t care. The thing that makes him happiest is being near his humans - I gauge this by how much and how well he sleeps. I think a sleepy hound is a contented hound, and that’s the only way if I can tell if he’s happy. The perpetual sad face doesn’t help at all! I was a bit like you in the first year of having Buddy, constantly second-guessing my decisions and questioning whether he might be happier in another household. He’s currently sleeping at my feet as I type this after his morning walk and breakfast, and I know that although he might be happy elsewhere, he is just as happy here. If your girl is fed, watered and loved, she is happy. And there will come a time when you realise this yourself, and then you’ll wonder what you were ever worried about 😊.

If you live in a high rise you probably need to be more proactive. I wouldn’t wait until he starts peeing before I took him outside. Assuming that you are currently at home most of the day, start to get your boy into a routine that you are going to be able to maintain when life goes back to normal. Take him outside and wait with him until he has a wee. Give him treats. Eventually he will work out that the faster he pees, the quicker he gets his treat. Then he will get used to going at certain times. We have tried to maintain our pre-lockdown routine of early morning walk, followed by a wee before my husband leaves for work. Then Buddy holds on until I get home, and very often he doesn’t go straight away because he is too interested in cuddles and belly rubs. It might be another 20 minutes after I get home before he decides he needs a wee, so boys can hold it. You just need to get him into a routine, and that is the case, regardless of where you live. Good luck!

I’m sorry for your loss

He’s a handsome dude! You’ve got some fun times ahead 😍

We’re in the UK so travel here is a bit different as we don’t have to worry about crossing state boundaries. The longest journey we’ve done with ours is about five hours and he handled that no problem. I’m confident he could go for longer. Sometimes the only way to find out is to give it a try. It sounds like you’re planning on building up to that really big journey which will give you an idea of how well she handles it. Ours travels in the boot of our car, and as long as we keep the temperature at a good level for him, he’s perfectly comfortable, although we might have to wear an extra layer to stay warm! The boot is lined with veterinary bedding and with a thin memory foam bed on top of that and that seems to fine for him. We’ve never had to stop overnight but I would treat the hotel the same way as any new place that I would take him too with regards to security/escapology.

Welcome Sully and Graham! That face would get lots of kisses in my house

She is adorable and looks like testing both your cat and your other dog! Thanks for the pictures!

I think you’ve done the right thing. I hope I’m brave enough to do the same if I’m ever faced with this kind of tough decision

The ears were the only thing I could see when page loaded up on my iPad, and they are epic! She is beautiful, but I am very partial to a black dog with a frosty face 😍

Sorry for your loss 😢