scullysmum

. Remember the good times you shared. Four months is no time at all.

Oh that is much better news . Long may it continue.

It must be the Commonwealth Games that made the sun show up in your part of the world...it worked like that for us down here with the Olympics Funny that you should call it his David Bowie coat....when I tried it on him DH said....ooh look, Ziggy Stardust!

Hello Hannah, Do tell us more about your new dog, and we love photos .... Oh, and ask as many questions as you like. Look forward to hearing and seeing more of you Mel (from Hastings, East Sussex)

of course I remember the "pigs in space" muppets skit....I just kept having that Babylon Zoo song http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xdta4_babylon-zoo-spaceman_news in my head all day long! Thanks for the info, that is the coat...at least it will make a good mac

With permission from Peter (Peppersdad) I would like to share some of the pics that DH (mostly) and I have taken of that crazy boy over the years. It wasn't until I started looking back at the pics that I realised that I had known Pep for 10 years, that is longer than I actually owned any of my own dogs, so I hope you can understand how special he was to me too. This is the first time that we met, I saw this tall, lanky thing walking towards us...then I saw his dog sorry Peter.....and I had to ask if he was all or part Greyhound I'm not sure that dear old Scully knew quite what to make of him, but they became good friends. We would often meet Gwen and her pack, so Pepper would get to show off with Ra This is not a great image, but even Scully would join in sometimes! We will miss the sight of Pep loping along Stay tuned for part two.....

I'm so sorry. After reading your lovely tribute every time that Johnny barks at me for something he wants I will think of your lovely girl

Thanks for the info, the cooling coat is a very good price

Will do

That's what I thought too, but it will still make a lovely rain mac. Your homemade coat seems like a good idea, and like you said they do seem to be very expensive. We also tend to have very high humidity when it's hot here which may make any sort of cooling coat a non starter.

Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. Keeping him in my thoughts.

I have just bought Johnny a lightweight rain mac for those typically rainy summer days here, it is much thinner than his lined winter coat which he would get too hot in. It is actually supposed to double up as a "cooling" coat for hot weather as it is made from a reflective material which is supposed to deflect heat away from the body. Does anybody have any experience with this kind of coat (as opposed to the ones that you wet that cool by evaporation). I have searched online for reviews to no avail. I am just wondering at what point would the cooling effect of the deflection of outside heat be overridden by the heat build up under the coat? I intend to use it as a rain mac.....but just wonder if it would help keep him cool, what with him being black and having a very thin coat. Btw. He does look like an adorable "space dog" in the coat

Any updates? Keeping your pup in my thoughts.

I've had Johnny nearly four months and most days he poops at about 5pm and then not again until about 7am, and his poops are often quite soft but he manages to hang onto them! They're fun to pick up when he does go, he's not keen to go if it's raining either, I have walked up and down the street in the pouring rain during his first couple of weeks convinced that he had to need to go eventually, but to no avail. I suppose they are all just different.

It's usually easy enough to "post" small treats through holes in a basket muzzle.

I am so sorry Peter. I know it is something often said, but in Pep's case it was the absolute truth....he was one of a kind. I never knew another dog like him. I know that your heart is broken but I also know that he had a wonderful life with you all, I know that because we shared so many walks with you. He will be missed more than you can ever know. My Scully and Sadi will be waiting with wagging tails to greet their friend. Chris and I are both thinking of you all.

I am so sorry Peter, Chris and I both know exactly how you are feeling, hang in there just a bit longer for your fantastic, funny boy

Oh no, poor Pep. I hope the vet can make him more comfortable....but I know how you must be feeling. Hugs to all Eta: I was looking at the pics I took of when Pep met Johnny as I was downloading them onto my iPad to post here sometime, he always makes me smile when I see his pics.

Sadly I think that the demise of the cat was probably unavoidable, as sad as it is. The chicken incident should be looked upon as a lesson well learnt. Predatory drive is such a difficult subject because every dog is different. I have owned four Greyhounds, two from puppies and two ex racers, my current boy I have had just over three months. He is a high prey drive dog, during one of our early off leash training sessions in a fenced field he caught a fox, luckily it got away, and even more luckily it didn't do him any damage. It seemed to really "hype up" his prey drive for a while though which has set back his off leash training for a bit. I think it was a salutary lesson for me though to remind me what these dogs are capable of. My last grey lived to be fourteen and had pretty much given up chasing anything apart from her food bowl by the time she was ten so I had needed that reminder. As DocsDoctor said, you do learn to be super vigilant and much of the time are able to avert disaster by spotting potential problems before they occur. I have found that in all but one of the Greyhounds I have known (both mine and those belonging to friends) the prey drive does seem to lessen over time, and in many cases they seem to spend more time thinking about the chase before actually running, giving you time to distract. Work hard on getting a good close bond with your dog so that his recall is very good. If that means spending more time on leash for a while then it is worth it in the long run. I think that the kill instinct may always be there beneath the surface but with diligent obedience training it can be managed. I have to say that I know many greys that have caught rabbits and squirrels and birds, but not many that have hurt or killed cats or small dogs and I am sure this is due to the training they have received. Three months is not long, keep working on that training and keep us posted on your progress.

I just use plain boiled potato, cheap and does what I want it to do. Also my dog is Irish so he's bound to love potatoes right? Eta: when my bridge kid Scully went onto Pheno his taste in food didn't change at all, he did get the munchies though and once he even tried to drink my bath water! He must have really loved me

Scully was five when he had his first seizure, the vets consider the usual period for idiopathic epilepsy to start is between two and five, so he was right at what they would consider the upper limit, he also didn't have his second seizure for a whole year so I don't think that by any means it is completely possible to rule out idiopathic causes, particularly as Pru's age is not certain. Also presumably, without going for expensive MRI scans surely the conservative treatment option would be much the same? I'm sorry if I seem like I'm "banging on" with the age issue, but my Scully went very grey very early in life and as a result he looked much older than he really was, the vets and nurses almost didn't believe me when I told them his age, like it was just wishful thinking on my part, until it pointed out to them that I had owned him since he was six weeks old! When he was booked in for what turned out to be his last surgery to remove the growth on his throat the nurse actually had written eleven for his age on the form which I had to ask for her to correct to nine. I even have found myself wondering if when it all started to go badly wrong during his op if they might have not fought so hard to save him thinking he was an older dog and would have less chance of survival. I suppose I'm just fighting for the doggies that look old before their time, for what it's worth.

Oh no, sorry to hear that Pru has had another seizure. Everything you describe is textbook as to what Scully had. Don't be downhearted, as you said the treatment would appear to be the same regardless of the cause then you should probably pursue the drug route. I was really scared about putting Scully on the drugs as I had heard some really negative things about them but it has been nearly fifteen years since Scully's diagnosis and I know from what I have read here that seizure treatment has moved on. Knowing what I know I would move forward and see what treatment is available for Pru, don't let the vets put you off because of a presumed advanced age, whatever age she is she deserves to be as well as she can be. Wishing you all the very best. Keep us posted.

It doesn't sound to me like you've been a bad Mom, it sounds like you and Poodle had a wonderful (if slightly nerve wracking) life together. I am so sorry that you have lost your dear friend, but glad that you have so many memories to enjoy.

I'm not sure that any trial period is long enough. Had Johnny just over three months and he is still surprising me every day, and probably will for some time to come. I think that it puts people under undue pressure to take the dog because of course they fall in love with it (at least most of the time!) and then they are torn if the dog presents problems after the trial period because it is as though they must have known what to expect, when many problems do not show up until later and many that do show up early can be ironed out in the long or short term.

After your previous update re. Visiting the dog park I think your boy is making tremendous progress and I would certainly not stop letting have the chance to meet and socialise with other dogs of all shapes and sizes. After all he did not get to do this when he was a puppy like most pet dogs do. Just keep in mind what he is capable of and don't let yourself get too complacent. Sounds like he might be a good fit for you after all. I look forward to hearing his progress. Btw. I have had my latest Grey (my 4th) for just over 3 months he is here to stay....but we are still on a steep learning curve so I can relate to your situation.