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Fasave, you are so right. Whenever I think of Coyote, I think of such a gentleman. I will miss his sweet face. I'm so sorry, Barbara.

Kris, I'm so sorry to hear of the passing of Cobb. I remember him well at the kennel - before he was adopted the first time and when he came back from that home. He truly did not like being in the kennel. When he first got to the kennel (before being adopted) he was well known for his high prey drive - staff couldn't even use the floor mop in front of his kennel! But other than that he was so sweet and, like you said, such a character. I was so pleased to hear you were willing to foster him and I was so thrilled when you decided he would stay with you. thank you for caring for him, Kris. He had a good life thanks to you. Pat

One of my three greyhounds does this. I've done what others here have suggested - giving her a snack in between meals. She gets a bedtime snack of a 1/2 cup of kibble and we try to give her a snack mid-day as well. This has taken care of it. It's interesting in how each dog is so different. My other two are fine on two meals a day with no snacks.

My girl, Joey, is a gnawer. We've had her almost a year now and she still occasionally does it. We've realized she tends to do this when we're out and she's alone. (We do have two other greyhounds to keep her company.) I think she gets bored and does this as an activity to keep herself occupied. She also does this if she hasn't had enough exercise to tire her out. We're working with her on it when we catch her, we're increasing her exercise routine, and I also use bitter apple on the places she's been attracted to before I leave her alone. She's getting much better. She's also a big toy destroyer - so far the only toy that has survived her is the Kong. Your girl is very new to her home - I agree - she'll get it with a little time. Pat

Hi Brie, I think you're doing the right thing in checking out the medical, even though she seems to be feeling okay. She may be tensing up with dogs get close because she could be a bit sore someplace and doesn't want to get bumped or jostled. If medical comes back okay, she may be just wanting more one on one time with you and your Mom as she gets older. Keep us posted. Pat

I'm doing some clicker training with my boy, Star. I've taught him "down" - he caught on quickly and now does a down on command for all his meals and treats. Now I'm working on teaching him to sit. I've tried luring him into a sit by placing a treat above his head and gradually moving it back so that he moves into a sit position. He just doesn't get it, even when he's near a wall or corner. He just keeps backing up or stops and jumps up. So, I'm working on training him to sit from a down position. He's getting it after only a training session or two - I'm very proud of him. So here's my question: Star's in a down position and I'm luring him up to a sitting position, clicking and treating as soon as he's sitting up. I haven't added the "sit" command yet - waiting a little bit longer until he's better at it. Once he sits reliably on command from a down position, how do I graduate him from doing a sit from a down position, to directly into a sit from a standing position? Thanks for any advice. Pat

I'm so sorry for your loss. That is so devastating. My girl, Faye, had HGE a few months ago - started vomiting in the early a.m. (around 3:00 a.m.). Began with bloody, explosive diarrhea by 6:00 a.m. I was on the way to the e-vet by 9:00 a.m. She spent two days at the emergency vet before being stabilized. It was all very sudden - no warning whatsoever. It was my first experience with it and we were not able to identify the cause.

My boy Star has colitis and is on metronidizol long term. He was on 1 & 1/2 pills (250 mg) twice a day. We were then able to wean him back to 1 &1/2 once a day. He's been on that dosage for almost year. Each time we tried to cut back to every other day, he'd have a flare up of bloody diarrhea. Just last week we began trying every other day again. So far it's working! Star will most likely be on some dosage of it for life. He is also on prescription food. He's only 3 1/2. He's doing well on this regimen. I love my internal medicine specialist! Pat

Oh Jordan, I'm so sorry to hear that Dandi is going through this relapse. No advice here for you, but know that I'm thinking of you both and hoping Dandi is better soon. IBD is terrible. Pat

With my boy, Star, who has colitis, his flare-ups sound much the same as Dustins. Star is on daily metronidizol. When he shows signs of a flare-up, I add the sulcrafate and if his stomach begins to act up as well, I add reglan. It usually takes a few days to quiet down. I agree with others, I'd fast him for a day to let his system settle down. Good luck. I hope he's feeling better soon. Pat

I use Flys Off spray for dogs - I get it from Amazon, but have also gotten it at Agway and now it's available at other such farm supply stores. It's worked well for me. Pat

Hi Meghan, My boy, Star, has colitis and was diagnosed when he was just under two years of age. We tried probiotics with him and they didn't help at all. After much trial and error, under the guidance of an internal medicine specialist, we found that what works best for Star is a diet of W/D dry food, mixed with some canned I/D (the W/D wasn't filling him up - he was always hungry on it when he had just the W/D), with cooked chicken and pasta added. He gets metronidizal daily. He does get occasional flare-ups which we treat with pepcid and reglan. He's three and a half now - so young for dealing with this. Good luck with Ari. Pat

Thanks for the input - this is good information and exactly what I was looking for. I've started the list - if anyone has any additions, just let me know. Pat

For the group I work with, I keep a list of greyhound-savy vets in our area for reference for new adopters or for people moving into our area. I'd like to add a list of behaviorists (to work with adopters on minor behavior issues). If you know and recommend any in Massachusetts that have experience working with greyhounds, please let me know the name and phone number or address. Thanks. Pat

Barbara, Star often takes Pepcid - he gets 20 mg as well. He takes it once a day. For Star, it's about 30 minutes before eating. I hope Akon is feeling better. Pat

A number of years ago when our sweet girl, Sara, was with us, she would do this. When she first came home to us at age 8 (she was a bounce), she started doing this. Nothing could convince her to go out - treats, bribes for rides in the car, putting her leash on and dragging her out, etc. Finally, I decided to see what would happen if I didn't put her out for last call. (Most times she had been out earlier in the evening). She never, never had an accident in the house. I left it to her - if she really didn't want to go out this last time, I didn't force her. It was never a problem. Pat

Thanks for the info. When at the vet, Star's heart rate was 130-140. At home yesterday I listened to it three times while he was at rest - meaning laying flat out almost asleep - (and had not been out playing, running, etc. for a long time) and his rate was 120. This morning I just took it and it was 80-84 - much better and I'm a bit relieved. I'll continue to monitor it over the weekend. Pat

Star just had his 6 month check up with his internal medicine specialist for his colitis (which is nicely under control right now). While there, the vet said his heart rate was very high - higher than it's been in all of his past visits to the hospital when he was stressed. I'm assuming it was still just the stress of the visit and the ultrasound he had undergone, as is my vet, so we're just monitoring it over the next few days. What's the normal heart rate for a young greyhound (Star is 3)? My vet said his heart rate should not be above 100 beats per minute. Thanks. Pat

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and guidance on this. You've given me some good products to check out. I'll be talking to my vet more about this later today. In the meantime, keep the recommendations coming. Pat Hey Greygeek - thanks for your input on what you give Merlin. We've met on a few of the Greyhound Adventures walks, so I know a little of what you deal with Merlin. (You may remember me as the owner of Star - my big, goofy boy who is into everything). Joey is my other grey (along with Faye). Pat I second the recommendation for Vetri-Probiotics - we give Merlin the Everyday Softchews for maintenance and they seem to work well for him. Our vet highly recommends both FortiFlora and the Vetri-Probiotics and has suggested that we try rotating between the two, so we've started doing that. (NeylasMom, thanks for the info on the Vetri BD formula - I've been thinking of trying that for flare-ups.) FWIW, here's the best price I've found for Vetri Chews, and the FortiFlora is reasonable there too.

My three year old girl, Joey, has had ongoing loose stools and a finicky stomach. After bloodwork and fecal tests that came back okay, my vet and I have decided to try putting her on a probiotic. My vet offers Proviable, but I'd like to get recommendations from others who have used probiotics on their greys. If you've used a probiotic that you like and worked well on your grey, please let me know what it is. Thanks. Pat

I'm so sorry Merlin is still not doing well. It's so hard to go through this. In Star's diet he gets some pasta and cooked (boiled) white chicken along with his I/D and W/D. When Star has had bad flare-ups like this and won't eat anything, I can sometimes get him to eat a few pieces of the boiled chicken. If I can get him to eat just a few bites (hand-feeding them), I'd then go back and try a few more bites in a half hour or so and continue this throughout the day until he gradually would eat a little more each time. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but thought I'd share it just in case. Pat

My boy, Star, has colitis and has been on metronidizol for the last year or so with no problems. It seems to work very well for him. Initially he was taking it 3 times a day (along with sulfasazine), but we've been able to wean him down to once a day on the metro and no sulfasazine at all. (I tried to go every other day with the metro, but he started having flare-ups so for now once a day will continue.) When we first got Star before he was diagnosed with colitis, we tried EN. He did not do well on that. He's been on I/D canned food and W/D kibble now for almost a year and he does very well with it. I add cooked chicken and cooked pasta to his food. It's a balancing act, for sure. Star is a big boy - 82 pounds and he's thin. He eats a lot! It amazed me when we brought him home - he eats 7-8 cups of food a day and is still thin! I hope Merlin is feeling better. Pat

Jordan, I'm so sorry that Dandi and you have had such a time. I'm glad he's home with you and hope that today he's better. I'll bet being home with you and the pack will help him a great deal. I'm thinking of you. Pat

Jordan, I'm thinking of you and Dandi. I remember when he came over from Spain and went home with you. He's a tough boy and that will help him get through this. Keep us posted. Pat

Oh Melissa, I'm so sorry to hear this news. I'll be thinking of you and Ave and hoping that he gets better and comes home soon. Pat