jenn8

That is a really beautiful picture.

He's doing fine now. His mouth was a little bloody the first night and he was really out of it but back to his gooofy self the very next day. He misses you too (actually Holly, but you usually came along). Jenn

Oh joy, it looks like Bug had 6 extractions today, I can't wait to see the bill. I haven't experienced this with a dog before. Is Bug going to be in terrible pain and doing weird things with his mouth or anything else I should know about or have on hand? Jenn

This is called "habituation" and I agree that this is where many greyhounds are lacking as opposed to socialization with people and other greyhounds. Jenn

Richard, you must be a busy guy keeping tabs on all those greyhounds. Jenn

Robin, I'll be thinking about you and your boy. Jenn

How interesting. Bug's nose does look like Sprinkle's but it kind of comes and goes or at least it looks worse when it's drier maybe. What I have noticed that seems different is the color seems more pale right at the end and his gums seem to show more just like Sprinkle's. We were just at the vet a few days ago because Bug was starting to limp but the vet found the source to be in his neck on the left side. It was real obvious by his reaction to pressure there. We also made an appointment for a dental on March the 5th. They took a blood and urine sample which came out fine except for slightly low on the thyroid but he hadn't had his Soloxine since early that morning. I didn't think to ask her about his nose, dang it! I also have no clue what LUpus is but I have a hunch I'm gonna find out. Jenn

I used to own a yellow Volkswagen that looked kinda like it. I'll get a picture of Bug's nose and post it. Jenn

What can I put on it? Jenn

What meds are you giving him for pain? Onyx had arthritis and vocalized more at night when he was lying down than any other time of day. Like you, I couldn't tell if it meant he was in pain or something else. We tried different meds without much change. Then we added Tramadol and the noise stopped. He was moaning though, not crying. Hope this helps. Jenn

Ditching the crate would make the dog happier. House training him would teach him not to go in the spot. It's a win/win situation. :-) If you know your dog cannot hold it for 10 hours, it does not matter where you leave him. But I don't think this is something you can really know until after your dog learns what you want him to do. I have always had the best success by housetraining from the get go, in the house (not a crate), and letting the dogs be wherever they are most comfortable. 10 hours on a regular basis would worry me too much though. I would probably search the globe to find that one trustworthy letter-outer person. I am not trying to be critical. Just hoping to help. Jenn

A regular tape recorder would do the same thing. Jenn

Here comes the anti-crating troll. Ditch the awful thing and housetrain your dog instead. It is much easier than all this stuff you are going through. The crate is not working and could actually be the cause of all your problems. Also, if you set up a camera or tape recorder, you can get a better idea of how his day really goes. Jenn ETA: Oh, I see someone beat me to it.

She just likes to keep you on your toes. Jenn

I'll bet you're really looking forward to that. Jenn

House, leave the beds alone, you naughty boy! Jenn

Do you know about alone training? I like your idea for monitoring her. Jenn

She is beautiful. You have done a wonderful job taking care of her. Jenn

Bug slurps on his private parts endlessley or until I interrupt him. He also turns his head in the opposite direction every time I start to put his collar on. You would think he'd have that one figured out by now, but nooooo. Always has to give me a hard time. Jenn

Try whining back like you are having a conversation with her. A little reverse psychology. I had two greys who used to make these silly, oinky, whiny noises when we would pull up to the park. It was so funny that I brought a tape recorder and encouraged them to do it. The minute you want them to do something, they don't. So I am sitting there whining and oinking and they are looking at me like I'm nuts! Jenn

Hi there. Did your adoption group give you any instructions on alone training? If not, we can help. That is the most essential thing you can do for your dog in the very beginning. Aside from that, she may not be the crating type. There are alternatives that could be easier than trying to force her into her crate. Muzzling, baby gates, escape routes for the kitties, along with the training mentioned above. I have had greyhounds for over 15 years and never needed to crate any of them... knock on wood. I do realize it is necessary in some cases but mostly for dogs who find security and comfort in them and for injured or multiple dogs. Crates can also cause added stress for dogs with or without separation anxiety. The best way to know if this is the case is to try going without -BUT- using other safeguards and alone training at the same time. Jenn

It sounds like you may be confusing Hermes with all the different routines. Sometimes you let him sleep on the bed. Other times he is in the crate. If I remember right, you are home most of the time, so that probably means his daytime crating varies, depending on when you have to leave. You have a couple of recent accidents because he was left crated much longer than he is used to. So yeah, I think he may have learned that the crate is now the place to pee. If you are having to housetrain on an ongoing basis, something is wrong. It should only take a block of time but it requires all of your focus the entire time. You mentioned that you watched Hermes pee and you didn't bother to take him out because the mess was minimal. But the thing is, the real damage was what he learned from that. The more times he pees, the harder it will be to "un-teach" him. I also realize that those few times he was left too long in the crate were purely unintentional but probably took you several steps back in the housetraining. I think he has already proven that he can be a good boy outside of the crate and only needs the small amount of training in the house and consistency to ensure his trustworthines. Jenn

Have you tried house training him? Jenn

Poor Penny! I don't have any advice but I'm hoping you don't have too many over zealous Christmas decorators in you neighborhood. They are liable to send her over the deep end. Jenn

Sounds like a UTI to me too. At least worth checking out before you put too thought into all the other possibilities. Jenn