BandM

I read the same article and was quite astonished, I probably pay more attention to washing Bennie's food bowl after every meal than I do our own another vote for stainless steel bowls.

Another vote for the Ruffwear Webmaster. It's been a little trial and error for us, a shop let us try a couple on for size, but after one Houdini act too many I took the plunge on the webmaster. Bennie is a spook, with a very strong prey drive. This gives me much more control on him in busier areas, a handy loop handle to keep him close by for passing traffic (he's not a fan of tractors!) and he seems quite content with it on, too. Lots of adjustment with both straps to find a good fit, even with a coat on. The matching lead is good, too. Very long to give him some freedom, with a small loop should you need to reign it in.

Can only speak from experience with two Grey's who we rescued at the same time. I ignored the barking the first night in the hope it would settle. I had open sleeping arrangements downstairs for them, couldn't bring them upstairs because they hadn't yet figured these out, and we didn't really intend / plan on them sleeping upstairs. I appreciate you live in a single storey so it's not such a simple fix, but when I set them up a bed upstairs, they are much more content. They'll settle downstairs all day long, only go up to sleep at night. Maybe knowing where you are will ease things.

HeyRunDog, that's a lovely story. I am hoping this follows a similar pattern, Bennie is a nervous dog like your Grace. He and Minx just coexisted, you would never know to meet them that they lived under the same roof. She was definitely the alpha and he was content with that. To be honest, if we only had Minx, I would think twice about fostering as she was a fiery character, Bennie being the docile soul he is made for the ideal pairing. FostrMom, we will do our best not to give in after two weeks I think, besides being a rewarding experience for us, it will help our resident dog, too. His behaviour has been a little off the last couple of weeks, he's an awkward one socialising with other dogs, though the recent introduction to group walks with other sighthounds has been good for him. We get the best of both worlds- help the foster and give our resident dog some four legged company, and satisfy ourselves with having another dog. It's double the fun (and no doubt double the work initially!). I'm due to speak to the trust beginning of next week to arrange a meet and collection, so can get a better idea of their rules and guidance, all I've seen so far is a contract/disclaimer.

Thank you for the responses, some great suggestions and reaffirmed some of my own thoughts too, namely meeting on neutral ground and muzzling. I think the biggest challenge will be finding that balance of house rules and teaching them to live in one, without necessarily falling in to the routine that Bennie has, ie she is a dog but not "my" dog (at least that isn't the intention, but I'm well aware I could find it hard to let her go ). I remember the introduction to stairs, was quite an entertaining evening! I like the sound of the crate idea to keep them separated if left alone. These occasions would be rare as my partner works from home, which is a blessing for us. They are still dogs and strangers to each other, I wouldn't want to take any chances. The journal is a great idea also, as I know the centre require some form of feedback and it will be interesting to read back on, especially for any progress being made. I'll take a read of the blog, thank you. And yes, I'm UK based. I believe the racing industry is in decline the last ten or so years, but quite a number come in from Ireland, where the gambling industry in racing (namely horses) is massive. Minx, the Grey we recently lost came from Ireland with a strong racing background (which I think she ultimately paid the price for, but I appreciate this isn't the place to discuss it) and had a successful trainer who documentated a lot of their training on You Tube. Anyway, I'm rambling now, keep eyes peeled on the introductions thread in two weeks

Exciting, but apprehensive (in a good way!) times ahead. One of our two Grey's passed in March, we still and suspect will always miss her, but before rescuing another, we have made the decision to foster one. The rescue centre from where our two came are crying out for fosters, as the kennels are becoming too full. This feels like a good opportunity to give a little something back, without going straight in to adopting another... We meet and collect her (we mutually agreed with the centre a female would be best, initially at least) in a couple of weeks. This will be the first time taking another dog in to our home, Bennie will have been a lone dog for six weeks or so. Any general advice/guidance for those that may "own" one dog, but foster another? Behavioural traits are unknown so far, so I expect to be kept on my toes, much in the same way we took our two in. As a nervous dog, Bennie is quite content following another dogs lead on group walks and was always number two before Minx passed, but this is very much his territory now.

An awkward landing when she jumped/escaped out of a tub during a wash. On a side note, she was suffering with an auto immune disease and a potential side effect of the medication was a decrease in bone density. I didn't know this when she was prescribed the meds. We have since lost her and I do wonder how many potential underlying issues there were, I really hope you come to the bottom of your troubles.

On a slight side note, and not to hijack the thread, but why is there a lack of availability of greyhounds in the US? In the UK, I dare say I could enquire later today and adopt one before the weekend, and we live in a fairly isolated area, with only two trusts a reasonable driving distance away (though I appreciate what we consider reasonable differs from your reasonable!) Whippets on the other hand, seem harder to find as a rescue. Is the racing scene in such a decline? Especially after Covid? I'll be following this with interest, as MarkRo has a lot of questions that are on my mind re Whippets.

Bennie has his share of accidents, I couldn't leave the house for a couple of hours. But in true greyhound fashion, he likes a good snooze after a fast paced 40 minute walk and is content with this, allows for a thorough "emptying". If this means delaying his breakfast, so be it.

She left us March 2022

A beautiful post. We made the heart breaking call to put Minx to sleep after her already detoriating health took a further turn. We feel blessed to have given her a forever home after her early racing life, although two years just leaves us feeling a little empty... So many memories made, but so many more taken away. Run fast and run free my little girl ...🐾

I was thinking along the lines of a UTI, he doesn't show any signs of pain, but his peeing is so frequent... And come to think of it, he does have a tendency to lick down there! Which I believe is another symptom? He stops when I tell him, but will start again. There has been no change to his diet, it's consistent. We are at the vets for a change of dressing and check up on the other Grey tomorrow, so I'll ask about us taking a sample over the weekend. Your suggestions have confirmed my suspicions, thank you.

Reaching out before I take Bennie to the vets to see what may be triggering what I feel is excessive peeing, even by male dog standards. Brief background, Bennie is a 5 yr old rescue no with no racing background. He is a nervous, anxious dog but besides the occasional moment and need for encouragement, has grown in confidence and trust in us over the last two years. Although "house trained", he still does have the occasional accident, but his latest is concerning. About two hours after his dinner, when it would typically be time for his post dinner toilet trip, I found him laying in a big puddle of pee in his bed. He was completely oblivious to it, I had been sat next to him and there was nothing to suggest he needed to go, or was going... I guided him outside and he had a very long pee, stood there for what felt like an eternity. Took him for a 10/15 min walk to do his other buisness, and there were multiple long-ish pee's, these felt more prolonged than the usual scent marking. Is this something I should be alarmed about, or write off as an isolated incident? He is eating normal, and usual drinking routine is after a walk or feed. If it wasn't for paying over £200 for treatment for our other Grey yesterday, I'd probably be less hesitant to call a vet tomorrow!

Agree with the above in making reference to gradual changes, allow a week or so to see how she goes. There will be some trial and error until you determine what does and does not agree with her. Yoghurt has proven to be a good addition for our two, but fruit and veg can cause issues, so I tend to keep this to a minimum / treat. The addition of meat/fish opens up another topic of debate, but may be avoid for now and dial in the core of her diet to begin with. I am based in the UK and have settled with Purina kibble for our dry fed GH (other is raw, again a whole new topic!!), who offer a wide range tailored to specific "needs".

Ref not casting a surgical repair. Our grey broke fractured her humerus and was operated on. The vet was reluctant to use a cast post surgery due to increased risk of infection (if memory serves), so I took his advice.

Pleased to hear it sounds like their is some progress being made. I can't offer much advice, but we have been in a similar boat for almost 12 months now, when our 6 yr old GH presented the exact same symptoms you describe in your opening paragraph, with the diagnosis being an autoimmune disease Long story short, there have been ups and downs the last year and we fully expected to lose her. We (discussion between vet and I) have since settled on her dosage of predinsone which has been tapered down and recently added paracetamol to help manage pain. This will be reviewed next week. She has added and settled in bodyweight, though you wouldn't think so in her face, which looks gaunt and "boney". Walks are kept to a minimum, she really struggles after a few hundred metres, especially in colder weather. The feisty little character has certainly lost its edge, but you can see she is determined to do more, but body isn't willing. She does seem quite content with the lazy home life. Appetite is there, but she is now a slow eater. I have come to accept this is her life now, but she responds to us, wants for attention, has an appetite, all the signs are there that she is still with us, but physically she is limited. A broken humerus in September didn't help her cause, but she has remarkably made a full recovery from it. Sorry to not much offer in the way of advice and to waffle on a little, just want to share my experience of managing a similar case this last year. It is something we have to manage on a daily basis, wishing you and Lucas all the best on the road to what will hopefully be a full recovery!

Another Ruffwear user here. Pricey, but I'm glad of the investment, I trust we'll get some years out of it too. Bennie is a very nervous dog and had panicked and escaped from his previous harness multiple times, but the way the Ruffwear sits around his chest and front legs, I like to think it will now be impossible. There is the option to run two leads, but I tend to just grab the loop handle on his back if I need to. If ever I anticipate a confrontation with another dog, I've found there is a lot less drama and more control if I stop aside and take a firm grip of his harness. He hasn't show any signs of irritation with it, again previous harness would often rub his thigh which would get quite red. I took a punt on Ruffwear, and it paid off, but I think harnesses is trial and error. Where in the UK are you based, is there a greyhound club near you, or a pet shop where he can try some on? Our other grey is content with a £20 RAC harness, never had any issues so I bought two, but I no longer trust using one on Bennie.

This is an epic thread revival... We have lost two nails now, on the same dog. Rinse and clean with salt water was our vets advice, and I found vaseline to be a useful quick fix to stem any bleeding, too.

I had never heard of such a thing until Bennie went for a groom last week and had a complimentary ultrasonic clean, I was very impressed. He has a good set of teeth, the vet is happy with them, but the stubborn bit of plaque has cleaned nicely. I'm trying to upload a before and after photo, but having trouble editing the file....

What an unusual yet gorgeous colour he is. One of ours is from Ireland and was your typical jet black with a patch of white, but has overtime become very grey. He looks quite settled with retirement too

Probably not entirely helpful, but our Minx has her moments and will eat her own poo, or that of horses given half a chance. To my understanding, it is a sign they *may* be missing something in their diet, in the same way she will eat the long grass in the fields. I have found being a step ahead of her and teaching / encouraging her to avoid or drop it has helped. She will sniff around when I'm out picking it up at the end of a day, but since her phase of eating it, has so far restrained herself. Bennie has never shown an interest, whereby Minx is not very fussy and will eat anything she can get her (remaining) teeth on, so could be an individual thing.