amystella

Hi all, We've had our girl for 9 months now and of course she's gained some weight since getting off the track, I'd say 9-10 pounds increase. We can still see the outline of her back ribs, so I think she's a good weight. We usually make it out for a brisk walk in the evening or a high energy play in the yard. As far as food, she loves it and treats of course, so I do try to keep that in mind when it's feeding time. I'm a bit concerned about this rounder part of her low belly near her groin that I've noticed when she's lying down (she's lean while standing) and the other day I was sitting just gently petting her side and belly while she was resting- which she loves!- and I put both my hands on this rounder part and she immediately jumped up and growled, which was a total surprise because she usually loves gentle rubs right there. We lost our first Grey to a tumor which was spreading to his liver, which we had no idea about until he collapsed one night. Our girl is not even four and I'm already feeling afraid she could develop something similar. Does anyone else have experience with this?

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas, and I agree - this would have been better to start with right away and stick to it rather than change things now. I know that makes it harder on everyone, especially our girl. We wanted a solid plan in the beginning because we knew it would be difficult to adjust and we anticipated some hard nights. The combination of our girl getting used to a potty schedule and adjusting to the stairs up and down each night ended up taking lots of time. After spending sometimes 30 minutes or more to help her up and down the stairs and then a potty break at 3 am, the reality was that it was just easier to have her sleep with me in the guest room as my partner got sleep on his own. At this time also, I was taking time off work to help her get accustomed, so I was able to catch up on sleep in the late mornings. I am hoping to try the baby gate idea as many of you have suggested so she can see us and I can shush her if needed. It would be ideal if my partner wanted to try to have her in the room, as I really enjoy sleeping with both dogs in the room, but I think having them right outside the room together is a close alternative. Thank you again. I appreciate the time taken to help us all out!

We've had our 3 yo girl for about six weeks, and at first we weren't sure if we wanted her sleeping in our bedroom with us at night because my partner is a light sleeper. Her anxiety was bad the first few nights, so she has been sleeping with me in our spare room and my partner has been in our room so he can sleep through the night, and I get up with her because I get up earlier for work. We have tried having her in our room with us to see how he sleeps. If she gets up to move around or rustle at her bed at night and I wake up, I usually sleep through it or fall back asleep easily; but when we have had her in our bedroom together, my partner wakes up at these noises and is frustrated when he can't get back to sleep. Sometimes she will lick for a few minutes and this keeps him awake. I have suggested wearing ear plugs so he can sleep through it, but he wants to be able to hear if something actually happened outside or in the house that would require us to wake up and act; I understand his concern here. Last night we figured let's see how she does sleeping in the guest room with her bed, which is where she also likes to hang out during the day when we're away. We keep our bedroom door closed so she doesn't spend time in there except when we are all home. She was fine for the first hour and seemed to go right to sleep, but after an hour she began whining, pacing and pawing at the door. We would give a sharp "no" if she scratched at the door and we otherwise tried to just ignore it, but after two hours it was clear she was miserable and we don't want her to be uncomfortable. We all needed to sleep as well, so I went to sleep in the guest room but gave her zero attention when I went in, hoping to not reinforce her behavior but I'm sure it was reinforcing once I went in. She immediately calmed down and lay on her bed once I was there. So the question is - I would love to share the bed with my partner at night, but I am trying to figure out a solution so our girl is comfortable. I have to respect his needs for a good night's sleep, while also considering that our girl is adjusting and wants to sleep with us. We've watched her on a dog camera when we leave for work; she will sometimes whine and walk around but otherwise seems fine after the first 30 minutes or so. I leave a Kong for her and toys and this seems to keep her occupied. We also have an older Pekingese who keeps her company and they will play during the day, and then leave each other alone to take a nap. Our Pekingese is sharing the same sleeping space as her each night - last night we kept him in the guest room with her, although this wasn't enough to keep her comfortable. I'm curious if anyone has had a similar experience with a sensitive partner. Our former Grey was older and I had had him for years. He was fine sleeping downstairs without us. This is obviously a different situation and she is still getting settled, so I know it will take time. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I would love to sleep in my bed again while knowing she is OK too!

Thank you everyone for putting my mind at ease and sharing your stories with me! She has done great with several friends/family, both male and female. We wonder if she has had any experiences in the past where a male approached her in a way that caused her stress or harm. She seems genuinely interested in people unless they approach suddenly.

Our recently adopted girl has some hook and tapeworms; our area is hot and there's a lot of fleas this time of year. The topical treatment doesn't seem to be enough for her, so the vet recommended Credelio. Before using it however, my concern is the FDA warnings that some dogs have had averse neurological reactions from this and other oral prescriptions such as Nexgard. The foster parents who had our girl for her first week off the track use Trifexis on their Grey and love it. Has anyone had positive or negative experiences with either of these products? Hoping for some feedback from other Grey owners before I start a new treatment for her. Thank you so much!

Hi, all - we have had our 3 yo girl for three weeks now and we think she's done an amazing job fresh off the track. She's on a routine, gets along with our smaller dog and is OK when we leave the house. We go on walks every day, and lots of people want to say hi. She is still hesitant towards other people petting her or getting too close. Sudden noises from cars or other dogs make her jump at times. She doesn't like being approached by a jogger or biker. This was all to be expected and I just pat her, tell her "it's ok" and we keep going. We have had two human friends come to visit since we got her - the first friend, a female, came a week after we had her. She barked a few times, not aggressively, and did not go right up to her but she was interested. We gave her a few treats from my friend's hand and in a while she was laying in the grass with us getting pets from my friend. Enter our second friend a few days later, a male, whom she first met out on a walk in the neighborhood. She stood barking at him frequently, also not aggressively but not in a way that you want to approach the dog and try to pet her. We gave him a few treats to hold and she came up to take them, but didn't really want pets. After that she was fine. I was gone yesterday, but my partner was home. The same male friend came over for a bit and apparently as he came in, our girl started barking, growling, AND showing her teeth! My partner says it was a lot to calm her down and get her to go lay down, and our friend was nervous since she is big and has jumped up in excitement a few times. Obviously we want to control this and discontinue it ASAP. I wish I had been home, because I keep a spray bottle of water to use on her. My partner used a firm voice, but I think a spray would have been helpful too, which he didn't have on him. I reached out to the foster family who kept her for the first week as she still had her stitches in and they helped her adjust to a home/stairs, etc. The foster family had people over and never had any problems. We hope we aren't doing anything that has led to this behavior - we don't have people over very often, but we almost always walk by others on our walks. She is getting better at just walking by someone else. A note about our smaller dog- he is not good with strangers, so he is often kept in a separate room where he whines but is otherwise fine when people are over. He knows our male friend and is OK with him. We wondered if she was possibly picking up on any of his tension. Any ideas/suggestions are most welcome!! Thank you!