MurphysMum

Hi Guys, I'm just looking for some advice to see if I'm doing the right thing. My greyhound Murphy, who is 5 and a half, has been having really bad breath the last few weeks. I thought it was something he was eating but took to the vet for a dental to be sure. The vet says it's probably periodontal (?) Disease. Murphy is booked in for a clean and possible removal of his affected teeth on Tuesday. The vet said he won't know for sure if they need to be removed or just cleaned. But I'm wondering if there's any alternatives to removal of the teeth? The vet was looking at his front teeth and one of his canines (the long pointy ones). Has anyone got any experience with this? Am I better just to let them remove the teeth or is there something else to be done? Thanks for any advice

Thanks for all the advice guys. We've contacted our local greyhound charity and will start looking. Still a few bits to sort out but lots to think about from above! And @greysmomunfortunately greyhounds are quite readily available here as the racing industry is still rampant here.

We had the same issue when we first got murphy. He destroyed my blinds and door frames and quite a few beds. The crate turned out to be our best option until he settled. It was safer for him too. Get a good crate though as he did manage to escape his first one. Take the time to train him to it so he'll like down in it by himself. We used it at night as well to allow him to settle into it. Within a few weeks he was much better in the crate and we could leave him safely for longer and longer periods. After about 2 months he was out of the crate and we've never gone back. Not something I ever wanted to do but really made a big difference.

Hi Guys, I'm just looking for some advice on the right time to adopt a second dog and how to know if this is maybe the right thing for my dog. My partner and I adopted Murphy 2 years ago. He had separation anxiety and took a while to toilet train, but other wise has settled in well. My parents have a collie and my sister has a German shepherd/ Labrador cross. We also live in an area with lots of small dogs and thankfully Murphy is fantastic with other dogs. He doesn't seem to have much of a prey drive and was really good with my guinea pigs when we had them. We've noticed however that Murphy reacts really different to other greyhounds compared to different dog breeds. He will sniff small dogs but shows no interest in playing with them and will quickly move on. With bigger dogs, like my sisters dog, he will play a bit but again quickly looses interest. When it comes to other greyhounds he gets to excited, he'll pull the lead to say hi and he is not a puller! He loves seeing other greyhounds and will run and play with them in a way different to other dogs. Because of his interest in other greyhounds, we have started talking about adopting a second dog. I am also concerned that his separation anxiety could return after the pandemic. Before all this started we both went off to work and Murphy was at home for most of the day and had settled into his routine well. Since last March, my partner has worked from home full time. Due to lockdown's Murphy hasn't been left on his own much in the last year. Max of probably 4-5 hours when we went out to dinner or drinks when things have been open. He has been completely fine when he has been left on his own, but going forward I would prefer he had company, but I'm not sure how to know if this is right for him/us or not. I have a few concerns I have listed below if anyone has any advice. 1. Finding the right dog for murphy and leaving them together. How does the introduction process work? How long before you can leave them alone and unmuzzled? We plan to go through the same rescue we got Murphy but just wanted some thoughts. 2. How long before you know if its working out? Like if they're ok and both settled after say 6 months is that settled? 3. Practically, is there much difference say about the house with 2 compared to one? Obviously we'd need say 2 food and water bowls, lots of beds and would expect to loose more sofa room. 4. Also any cars that are good for transporting 2? I have a honda civic, but Murphy takes up most of the boot so I don't think 2 dogs would comfortably fit, especially for long journeys. Could two dogs travel on the back passenger seats with seat belts or would that not be safe? Thanks for any advice

@HeyRunDogthanks. Yeah his feeding times have stayed the same. He's not a great eater so we do tend to leave his food out as late as possible. It used to be he'd finish his food before bed but since he started getting up we not take it off him at 830 even if he's not finished. Ignoring him doesn't work to well as my bedroom door doesn't close properly so he just barrels his way in (he sleeps on the landing) or will just head down himself despite our makeshift barrier. We have ordered a baby gate though to help with this then we will try ignoring him .

Really appreciate your reply @DocsDoctor. He's always either wearing a coat or tucked in - he won't lie down if he isn't! So don't think he's cold. And our house is quiet and in a quiet area so don't think it could be noises. He does seem to need to go when we let him out at 130-2 but generally not when he's up at 5. Most of the time we can get him back to bed at 5 by telling him to go but now always. We'll try not talking to him at night. Generally I'm not great at night anyway so I'd be fairly quiet anyway. And he definitely doesn't get positive attention at night. I'm not keen to use the crate but I'm just wondering would it help break the habit as I think it's well established at this stage. It would make it more possible to ignore him as he couldn't come in to the bedroom at night but I wonder if it would encourage him barking at night. I'll try doubling his walks and being stricter to him at night and see. Thank you for your advice!

Hi all. I am completely at the end of my tether and any help you can offer would be appreciated. I've had my greyhound for 2 years and he is 5 years old. Up until about 6 months ago he slept perfectly fine though the night. Then he started getting up to go out the odd night. And slowly this had just become his normal. We've been to the vet and had bloods, urine analysis and scans and they've told me all is normal. The vet said it is probably a habit now more than anything but I can't seem to break it. I actually think lockdown is what changed things. My partner is now working from home full time. I was home for about 3 months last March and then slowly went back to work and am now an essential worker. This seems to have been when the waking started. Generally we go to bed between 11-1130 and always put the dog out then. He then has us up between 1.30-2 and around 5 to go out again. Sometimes he'll go back to bed at 5 if we persist but often he'll get up again soon anyway. This is really interfering with everything at the moment..my relationship, work and my well being. We make sure he gets up in the morning to go out and have been as routine with that as possible. He gets a walk every day but is prone to statueing, particularly if you take him in the morning, so it is usually just the one. I have tried adding a second wall but that didn't make a difference to him sleeping through the night. Just hoping someone can help me? I don't think it's separation anxiety as sleeping in our room doesn't help. We did try some of those herbal diffusers but no difference. My last option at this point is to try crating him at night. We so have a crate for him as he was crate trained, but he's been fine without it. I thought maybe that might help him get back into a routine? Sorry for the long post and thank you to anyone who read it! Murphy's tired mum 🤞