ChipstheGreyhou

Thank you so much @Rae!!

Hi Rae! I was just curious how things ended up working out for you and Jumper? We had a similar incident with our pup this week and would love to know! The posts and support on this thread was also very helpful.

There are so many thoughtful and reassuring posts here that I'm not sure I have much to add, but having been in your position I know how much every bit of feedback can help, so: I have been there!! Try to give yourself a break and give your pup a break. It's a big change and you both need to adjust, and don't stress about setting a strict precedent in these first few days or even weeks. Dogs are adaptable and we all know that they change so much over these first few months. You can start training in earnest in a week or so when you feel on more solid ground. As far as overnights, in my experience it's trial and error and depends on the individual dog. Our first greyhound HATED her crate at night despite what every other greyhound owner seemed to suggest... so we stopped putting her in there (though still keeping in an enclosed safe space) and she immediately became more relaxed and well-adjusted. Our second greyhound sleeps all night in his crate no problem -- as long as it's partially covered with a blanket and we only close the crate door when we're *really* going to bed (not when we're still brushing teeth/lights on etc). This is all to say that you might need to try a few different tactics to figure out what works best for him, and don't make too many changes at once. Good luck! It will be okay!

Thank you so much for your posts, I wanted to come back here and post in case anyone else is (like me) searching for reassuring threads in the future! It's been 1 month since we brought our new greyhound home and the 2 dogs are doing so well together. The first week was difficult b\ut it's been getting better and better as the days have passed and now they are very happy roommates (if not friends yet, lol). A few things helped us settle everyone in so I thought I'd share, of course I'm no expert and your mileage may vary. 1. We have plenty of beds and places for the dogs to be during the day so they are not in each other's space. 2. We held off on toys since the new dog is resource guarding and we didn't want to fan the flames. We also feed them in separate rooms (new dog in his crate) to avoid any issues. Hopefully that will become unnecessary in the long term but in the short term it's a minor inconvenience. 3. The new dog sleeps happily in his crate every night and our existing dog has free reign of our bedroom (including her bed and ours). We had to practice the bedtime routine until we figured out what worked best -- for him, it's the crate partially covered (he can see us from one side), give him a treat to put him in, and only close the door when we're REALLY going to sleep -- not when we're still brushing teeth, reading in bed, etc. Finally a nice long bedtime walk at 9:30PM to tire everybody out . 4. A tired dog is a happy dog. More walks = calmer, snoozier dogs when they're in closer quarters.

Thank you! That is so interesting -- ours is definitely doing audible clicking moreso than ever before. Poor baby! 24 teeth! It's amazing how they recover though.

Just wanted to post an update in case anyone stumbles upon this in the future and finds it helpful. Our greyhound went on gabapentin and an antibiotic in advance of her appointment with a dental specialist. She had nine extractions and her little face swelled up like a balloon. After a day or two she recovered well. But the spasms have continued in the months since, albeit very mildly and infrequently. Our vet has kept her on gabapentin and thinks it could be something she started doing in response to the severe dental issues and now has stuck around as a little tic at this point. I'll update this thread if anything changes but just wanted to post for future reference.

We've had our wonderful first greyhound, an 8/yo female, for almost 5 years. Can't believe we held out this long but we were finally ready this year to adopt a second greyhound. We brought our first dog with us to the kennel and introduced her to a bunch of greys, asked the staff's advice on their interactions, and found ourselves a very affectionate boy who is not even 2 and very recently off the track. He's a real sweetheart. They sniffed politely and then basically ignored each other calmly, which we figured was a good sign. It's been a few days and the new dog is settling into home life well, but our older dog has been growling or barking at him around the house, generally when she's lying down and he gets too close (a common behavior for her; she likes her personal space). She keeps an eye on him if he's walking around. A couple of times his tail has gone up and he gets a little excited towards her and she's growled and barked at him then too. He was only neutered a few weeks ago... we've never had a boy dog but have heard that's normal behavior on his part (and hers)? In all these situations he's been very responsive to her and backs off right away. I'm feeling so guilty and stressed about the change for her and hoping for some guidance on the adjustment period and warning signs. The dogs seem overall to be doing okay, but we've never had multiple greyhounds before and don't really know exactly what is normal vs. a problem. I'm afraid that we jumped into this decision too quickly, that we disrupted our older dog's comfortable lifestyle, and that (worst case) they fight and we have to return our wonderful new boy to the adoption group. Any tips on knowing what is normal or past stories of what this adjustment period is like would be welcome!

Hi everyone! My 8-year-old greyhound Chips was diagnosed with epilepsy about 3.5 years ago after three seizure episodes. Her seizures happened at night or in the early morning; she would stand up from sleeping and be completely unresponsive to us, panting and drooling heavily, one time she peed herself, and it would take a few minutes for her to reemerge after which she'd be disoriented and thirsty. Textbook! She has been on a consistent dose of phenobarbital and has not had any seizures since beginning that medication. Over the last three days, we have noticed an onset of extreme chattering that looks almost like a jaw spasm or tremor. It happens as she is licking her lips or swallowing, usually when lying down, happening throughout the day and night but not constantly, and she is responsive when it happens. We tried to brush her teeth and she ran away which is unusual since she loves the toothpaste flavor. So after about 36 hours we brought her to the ER vet last night (because of COVID, we couldn't get an appointment with her regular vet until next week or her neurologist until the end of the month). The ER vet suggested two possibilities: focal seizures or a response to dental pain. Chips's teeth are in bad shape and we have not gotten her a dental cleaning yet that we know she needs. You'll know from my description of her previous seizures that this would be a completely different type of seizure. Right now she is on a painkiller and an antibiotic with the hope of treating any dental pain to see if the spasms continue. So far, she has been drinking/peeing/pooping normally and eating much better (we are soaking her dry food in water and she scarfs it down; usually she's a slow and picky eater). Provided nothing changes, we hope to get a blood workup done next week at her regular vet to check the pheno levels. But I am curious if anyone else has seen this symptom? It's not regular greyhound chattering, which she also does -- this is something else.