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I am! This is such a great event!

My boy, Lucas, is now completely blind with PRA and also cataracts. When I brought him home 7.5 years ago, he had just begun to lose some of his sight. He now has my house and my dog yard completely mapped. As long as I don't move furniture or place things where they don't belong, he does well. I haven't used anything special around the house to guide him as he seems fine without anything like that. However, like you noticed with Argo, once in a while there are some times that Lucas gets disoriented on where he is. When that happens, I go to him and gently guide him to where it seems he wants to go. He has gotten used to me doing this for him and most times, he'll stand where he is and wait for me to come to him. If I'm across the room and in the middle of something, if I talk to him from where I am, it gives him a bit of confidence to figure out his situation. When we go for walks, I have a harness for him that works great and I highly recommend. It's a K-9 Julius harness that you can get with velcro patches that say Blind Dog. The harness has a top handle that works great in helping to direct your dog when he needs it, and the patches let people you may meet know your dog is blind and therefore approach carefully. https://usa.juliusk9.com/products/julius-k9-idc-powerharness. Chewy.com also carries these harnesses. For the velcro patches, I think K-9 Julius only has patches that say "I'm Blind". I had those originally, but people I met often thought I was blind, not my dog. So I got the "Blind Dog" patches from Amazon and they work great. They come in different sizes, so you just need to get the correct size patch. Good luck - it's a journey, but so rewarding.

My boy is now completely blind from PRA. Although I'm not dealing with the reactivity as you are with your boy, I've had some issues with him. I don't know if you are on facebook, but there is a blind dogs group on facebook that has been SO helpful to me. Many of the people there are experienced and they are all very supportive and helpful. I realize not everyone is on facebook, but if you are you may want to join. If you search "blind dogs" it will come up. In any event, good luck with Dune. He's lucky to have you.

I will be there and can't wait to get to the beach and see old and new friends. I'll being going dogless, so will need my greyhound fix every day.

I agree with this. My Lucas is completely blind now from PRA. Teaching him the "wait" cue has been so helpful and has saved him from an injury several times. I've used it in different intensities and he has realized that a very strident "wait" means to stop as something is not right.

Thank you for sharing this! I so hope it does help dogs as well as humans.

Sorry I'm a little late to this, but thought I'd chime in with what has worked for me. My Lucas is blind from PRA. I adopted him when he was about 3 years old, when he had been diagnosed with PRA by the vet of the adoption group. He still had a good amount of sight at that time. Lucas is 9 years old now and completely blind. I love him so much - he's a happy, confident boy. He has always been a "jumper" on people - even when he could see. He just loves people and visitors. Holding onto his collar when people came in the house didn't work well with him or for me (pulling my arm hard, twisting my wrist, etc). So I purchased a couple of short leashes (traffic leashes - which are about 12" long) and kept one by the door and one by the door to my dog yard. Whenever someone came to the house I quickly snapped the leash on and that gave me much better control over him, and it was easier to use than the usual 4' or 6' leash. I have another greyhound - female with full sight. She doesn't have sleep startle, but she doesn't want Lucas on her bed when she's napping and she tends to growl at him if he gets too close. Lucas will air snap at her if she comes too close to him when he's on his bed. During the day, they each seem to work it out with low growls saying, "I'm here on this bed" and the other walks to a different bed. But at night time if Sox is sound asleep and Lucas gets up, he'll sometimes get disoriented and once he actually stepped on her when she was sleeping. She was not happy. I did not want to crate either of them at night - neither would be happy with that. So, I purchased a "gate" that is free standing, only about 2 ft. tall, and can circle around a dog bed. I put this around the bed Sox prefers. It goes around about half of the bed in a semi-circle and allows Sox to get on the bed from either open end. This gate makes Sox feel secure from Lucas stepping on her unexpectedly and Lucas knows that it's there when he touches it with his nose when he gets too close. This has worked so well for my two. Sox now automatically goes to the semi-enclosed bed at bedtime. During the day I take the gate down as they are okay with calmly each other know where they are. I know the above may not work for you, but thought I'd share. Edited to add - I meant to include that I had the same issue of people letting their dogs run up to meet Lucas when we are on walks, and with strangers coming up and just reaching to pat him. I purchased a harness for him with a handle on top that I could grasp when needed (helps me guide him as needed) and had a place to attach a velcro sign that says "Blind Dog". That has really helped SO much!

Thanks, everyone, I really appreciate hearing from you. I've noted the info on the Tylan powder (great idea to add it to empty capsules!). I had not heard of Owelo carrot product, but I am going to read more about it. Sox had her bloodwork done this morning. I'll have the results on Monday. Her diarrhea is back most of the time now so the probiotic did not help. She's on metronidazole over the weekend while we wait for blood work results. Once we get that info, we'll make the plan for the next step(s).

Thanks so much, Greysmom. This is so helpful to me. She has been doing well, but this morning had a stool that started out formed but then turned to liquid, so I would guess, based on past experience, that it will continue to go down hill today. But we'll see - maybe it was just a blip. I'm so glad we have the bloodwork scheduled for tomorrow. I had been thinking about the ultrasound and my vet suggested it as a next step, but hearing your thoughts has helped me to decide to move forward with it. I will keep you (and everyone who has offered their thoughts) posted. Thanks again.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experience. It's so helpful. I'll add some more info here based on your input (that I probably should have included with the initial post) - thankfully, her stool sample came back clear so no hookworms or other parasites. My vet and I talked about changing her food - which we decided against doing as she is already on a prescription urinary diet due to recurring UTIs a few years ago. Once on the prescription urinary diet, the UTIs stopped. So, I have not changed her diet recently either. We did a food trial on her when she was having some skin inflammation around her neck and shoulders a couple of years ago to check for allergies and intolerances. The tests didn't show anything. (As you can tell, Sox has had several health issues over the years.) When she started with the diarrhea, I did fast her for 24 hours and then started her on a bland diet. It did help the diarrhea and I very slowly started her back on her regular food, but the diarrhea started again. (I used pasta and boiled hamburg). But I only did it that once. Doing it again with a different protein is a good idea. I will remember that. Greysmom - I did not know that about metronidazole and the probiotic. I wonder why my vet prescribed that. I will talk with him about it. Thank you for the recommendation of seeing a gastroenterologist if my vet runs out of options and the issue continues. I will most definitely do that. The last day or so, with her being on the probiotic and pure pumpkin, so far no diarrhea. (I'm not giving her the metronidazole.) We'll see how this continues. Fingers crossed. Even if she continues to do well these next few days, I will still do the blood work on Friday. Thank you everyone. I so appreciate it.

I have a Honda Odyssey. I love it! It's low enough on the side doors for my blind greyhound to get in and out without him being anxious/scared. I keep the last row seats up so that I can carry things (groceries, etc.) in the way back and the dogs in the middle area. Of course, with kids coming, you'd want to do the reverse. Good luck!

Posting this to get thoughts and hear similar experiences. Sox is my 8 year old female greyhound. A few months ago she started having occasional bouts of liquid diarrhea. She'd have one liquid stool and then later that same day, she'd be back to normal. This would happen once a week or so. These occasional bouts began to increase until a few weeks back she was having liquid diarrhea all the time. We've been to he vets. Stool sample came back clear - no parasites of any kind. She was put on metronidazole, a probiotic, and pumpkin. Her stools returned to normal. She finished the course of metronidazole and the probiotic, and the liquid diarrhea returned. I talked with my vet last night - we're putting her back on the probiotic and will continue the pumpkin to see if that helps the diarrhea. (He's giving my additional metronidazole to have on hand in case this doesn't work.) She's scheduled for blood work on Friday morning. If the blood work comes back normal and the liquid diarrhea returns even with being on the probiotic and pumpkin, we'll most likely be doing an ultrasound. Has anyone had a similar experience? It's worrisome to me.

I am going! Can't wait to go - seeing friends, spending time with dogs, listening to speakers, shopping, visiting historic sites. I so enjoy this event. We're going on the Wednesday, returning on Sunday.

Carol Becker of Gods Greyts (on facebook and also has a website) makes these tag collars - different colors, very soft. I believe they are deerskin - if not, they are a very soft leather.

Last year I had to trade in my SUV for a mini-van as my Lucas just could not get into the back of the SUV and the side door was even higher than the rear door when the seats were folded down. I agree - the size of the mini-van feels large, but it was well worth it for me and my dogs.

I use TropiClean Fresh Breath Dental Health Solution Dog Dental Water Additive. (I get it from Chew.com). I don't know if it makes a big difference, but I figure it won't hurt. I also brush my dogs' teeth daily. TropiClean also makes a gel - I put the gel on their teeth at bed time so it stays on longer. Again - don't know if it makes a huge difference or not but it's worth it to me. Sox is 8 and Lucas is 9 - both just recently had a dental for the first time.

I went through this a few months ago with my girl, Sox. She would regurgitate her food mostly about 4 or so hours after eating. She would always want to re-eat what she regurgitated. She had no other symptoms - always ready to eat, usual activity level, etc. We went to the vets and did all kinds of tests, all of which came back normal. My vet suggested treated her for acid reflux and giving her famotidine (Pepcid) before her meals (she gets fed twice a day). She gets 30 mg twice a day. She has not regurgitated since we started the famotidine.

This happened to me too a few years ago. I was starting to look around for another vet that was not "corporate" owned, but decided to wait and see how things played out because of how convenient the vet office was to me. It's been a couple of years now it has worked out okay, thankfully. There are 2 permanent vets in the practice and 1 "roving" that covers as needed. I really like one of the permanent vets and the other one is okay - very young and obviously still learning - but that is fine. The roving vet, I don't care much for so I avoid scheduling with him. (Unless it's an emergency). I hate that is happening, but understand why.

Thanks, FiveRoooers and HeyRunDog. Getting thoughts from you and others who have responded helps me so much as I think this through. I'll see how things progress and may indeed get a webcam. Several of my friends have them and like them. The utility room is not sunny but it's a nice temperature and there are fluffy rugs there so I know Lucas is comfortable there. Plus being there lets him be ready to go on a moment's notice....

Thank you so much to you both! I like the idea of teaching Lucas a command for leaving the utility room and will work on that! I also like the idea of mixing things up! We can go out through the garage to get into the van, or from the dog yard too. (We can't use the other door from the house as it has higher steps and Lucas can't do them due to his blindness). It helps me to get your thoughts and feedback so much. I was thinking that it isn't so bad if he stays out there - he is safe and he likes it there - but it is very re-assuring to me to hear others say that too. Thank you again!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the latest challenge that Lucas is giving me. (Lucas is my 8 year old greyhound. He's blind, but has adapted well and I don't believe his blindness is affecting this behavior that I'm seeing. I've had Lucas for 5 years.) Also - some background on me - I've had greyhounds for about 25 years now so understand the breed, and have been on Greytalk for a long time. I respect the advice I've been given here over the years. Here is what’s happening: Lucas loves my van and loves to ride. Over the last few months since the weather has been a little better, I’ve been taking him and Sox (my other greyhound) with me when I go out to do errands. This has been several times a week. Since I’ve been retired (retired last summer) I’m with them most of the time and take them with me when I go places whenever I can. Lucas has figured out that when I have errands to do, we usually go out in the morning. So now, in the morning after he and Sox go out to pee and poop, Lucas refuses to come into the house from the utility room. (Quick layout description – kitchen leads out to utility room, utility room leads to attached garage, door in garage leads to fenced dog yard. Everything is enclosed.) He will lay down in the utility room and just wait for me to go to the van (which is in the garage). He will even go to sleep there while he waits for me. I’ve tried: · luring him with extra extra high value treats (liverwurst, ham, cheese, boiled chicken, etc.) · rewarding him with high value treats when he comes into the garage and rewarding again when he comes into the utility room from the garage. But that’s as far as he will go. Nothing will convince him. For him, there is no higher value reward than the possibility of going for a ride, so I don’t think any treat will help. He does this even when I don’t have errands to do and we are staying home, so I don’t think he is necessarily keying off my preparations as I get ready to leave the house. I think it's all routine. This morning I tried doing something to break the routine - when he was in the utility room waiting, I decided to try taking him and Sox for a walk. I harnessed them up and started out. Lucas was trying to figure out if the van was in the driveway - he was sniffing and walking toward it would usually be parked - but we just kept walking. We got to the end of the driveway and he would not walk further. After trying to entice/encourage him to continue the walk, we went back home and he stayed in the utility room. A few days ago I had a couple of appointments in the morning so I had to leave at a certain time and the dogs could not come with me. Lucas would not come in from the utility room so I left him there. I made sure the door to the outside was locked and everything was secure. I was gone from about 8:30-11:30. He was absolutely fine when I got home. Not stressed. He was happy to come into the house with me then and he was fine going in and out the rest of the day as I went into the garage and the dog yard, etc. (This is the normal routine – once we get to mid-day, he stops waiting expectantly to go with me). Yesterday morning was the same. I had a dentist appointment and then went to do some volunteer work at a Greyhound adoption group. I invited Lucas in before I left. He would not come in so I left him there again. Since I was going to be out for a number of hours, I had my dog care person come by and let him and Sox out into the fenced yard. (She knew Lucas would be in the utility room.) When she came a few hours after I left, he was happy to see her and went into the yard then into the house. However, my neighbor told me as she drove out of her driveway, she could hear him crying. I think this was because he could hear her car, as when my dog walker arrived a little later, he was quiet. My neighbor told me that if in the future I have to leave him in the utility room and she hears him crying, she'd go over and see if he'd go inside the house. Lucas is very determined, stubborn at times, and is very smart (too smart for his own good!). Those are things that I really love about him and that have made it possible for him to adapt so well to his blindness. He is not a dog that I can forcefully bring into the house – nor would I ever do that with any dog unless it was a safety issue. My questions: I’m thinking that it’s fine to just leave him in the utility room when I need to go out and he can’t come with me as long as I make sure everything is secure. Especially with my neighbor being willing to listen for him. Do you agree? I'm thinking while we work through this, I should stop taking Lucas and Sox for rides in the car. Will it be rewarding Lucas’s behavior by taking him for a ride in the car after he’s been waiting in the utility room? Or should I just continue doing what we’ve been doing – taking them with me in the car while I do errands whenever I can – and just managing Lucas’s behavior when I can't bring him with me in the van by leaving him in the utility room? I appreciate any brainstorming we can do.

I've stayed at the Eisenhower and now always stay at the Aspire (right next to the Eisenhower - they are connected by a enclosed walkway - I stay at the Aspire now because I don't bring my dogs). I always like staying there because it's right there within walking of the GIG events. Plus other activities happen after the vendors close - the bonfire in the evening, the party on Friday night, etc. The Eisenhower has gone through a lot of changes and there were issues during the major renovation times, but I think of it as a good basic hotel. Not the fanciest, but the location seals it for me. Another plus is if you have your dogs with you and they get tired out, it's easy to bring them to the room to rest for a little while before heading back to the events, or, if your dogs are good being alone in the room, you can leave them there to rest and go to the activities without them for a short time - you can easily go back and forth to the events, or to check on them with a 5 minute walk. Friends of mine really prefer staying in town close to all the town sights and activities. So it really comes down to your preference. My time at GIG is really dedicated to the greyhound things and don't really do a lot of other Gettysburg things (except for lunches in town and occasionally dinner) but if you are someone who will want to do lots of Gettysburg "stuff", see the town, etc. staying in town might be your preference. Good luck - no matter where you stay, you'll have a blast.

I will be there! I'm staying at the Aspire since I will be going, once again, dogless. (Sox, being nervous and a bit fearful, would hate it. Lucas, being blind, would not handle the different environment well). I will definitely need to get my greyhound fix from those of you bringing your greyhounds!

I know that ShannonO'Reilly Designs and Dignified Greyhound Designs are both going to be in the Fire Hall. I don't know what others.

I think he's just unsure and tentative about you. My girl hated to have anyone walking behind her when I first brought her home. Even now, after 5 years, she does not like people she doesn't know walking behind her. On group walks we take up the rear. She also would not take treats from my hand for quite a while after I brought her home. She now takes them happily except for from a stranger. If everything else seems to make him a good match for you, I would just give him time and a lot of patience.