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I'm sending good thoughts, Brie. Give Mira a hug from me. Pat

Poor Razzy (and poor you!) - I hope it all comes out okay - literally! Keep us posted, Jen. Pat

Melissa, When I switched Tally from Rimadyl to Previcox my vet made me do a two week wash-out period. Pat

I'll chime in here - my boy, Star, who is only 2 1/2, does this in the house when he hasn't gotten enough exercise. He's my first greyhound that really requires a LOT of exercise - he's such a youngster. (I have two other greyhounds, one of which is only 3, that don't need as much exercise. But Star definitely does.) He needs to be able to run at least once, if not twice, a day in order to stay calm and well behaved. When he hasn't been able to run in his yard due to weather or whatever, as soon as I can get him out, I put him in the yard with his favorite rubber toy. I throw the toy for him to get him started, and off he goes. He runs like a maniac. When he comes in, he's much nicer to be around. We do this either early in the morning or in the early evening - or both. It really does help. It seems some of these guys need lots more exercise - running and play time - than others. Good luck. Pat

Poor Erin. She and you have been through so much. I hope she's better soon and the doxy helps. Pat

Hi Naty, A few years back when Toby was with us, we gave him the Lyme vaccine and did not have any side effects at all. However, I only had him receive it once and did not continue it. I haven't used it on any of my greys since. Have you tried it with Erin or Bailey? Pat

Nancy - she's adorable! Thanks for directing me to this thread. I'm so glad she and Harry are doing so well together. It sounds like she's going to liven your house up a bit! It will be great to see her reaction to Dewey Beach! Pat

A friend just gave me this book. I haven't read it yet, but definitely will now. Thanks.

It's interesting to hear all these variations on poop covering. These guys sure are inventive! Joey does cover it with her nose - not with her feet and scratching - moves the dirt with her nose and completely covers the poop. The first time I saw her do it, I couldn't believe it as I've never had a dog do it that way before.

My newest girl, Joey, has an interesting behavior that I haven't seen before. She covers any poop that is in the yard with dirt. She pushes the dirt over it with her nose. I pick up the poop in the yard every morning, so any that she finds hasn't been there that long (I have her and two other greyhounds). Has anyone else had a grey who has done this? It's definitely better than poop-eating! But I'm curious as to why she does this. Pat

Brie, I'm so sorry that you still don't have the solution for Doolin. I know how frustrating and discouraging it can be. Please let me know what you hear from the vet today. Pat

It's a great site. I've been in touch with Debbie, the owner of the site, and have actually been to a seminar she presented. She's a valuable source of knowledge for shy dogs. Pat

Thanks, Batmom, for your input! I appreciate it! Pat

thanks so much for all the suggestions and input on this. Jjng - thanks for sharing what worked with you. That similar to what I had in mind. It helps so much to hear from others on things like this. Pat

My boy, Star, has started barking at dogs when we drive by them in our van. This is fairly new behavior (maybe a month or so) and I’d like to hear thoughts on how to stop this. Star is 2 ½ years old and is a very outgoing, active greyhound. He gets along great with other dogs – both greyhound and non-greyhound. He’s done meet & greets, he walks regularly with a small group of non-greyhounds, and walks with greyhounds – no issues whatsoever. But when we drive by other dogs, he’ll bark and bark at the dogs. It’s not an aggressive bark, but high excitement. Even when it happens I can take him out of the van, and he’s fine with the dogs we drove by. So it seems like it’s related to being enclosed in the van. (He’ll bark at dogs if they approach the van while he’s in it and it’s parked – but again, if I take him out of the van to meet the dog, he’s fine.) As a way to get him to stop, I’m thinking about having some good treats with me in the van and being watchful for dogs – trying to spot them before Star does. If I see dogs, I’d get Star’s attention on the treats, so that he’ll begin associating seeing dogs outside of the van means getting good treats. But I’d love to hear of any other suggestions/recommendations. Thanks. Pat

My boy, Star did this. It turned out he was hungry. I'd give him a quick snack when he woke up - 1/2 cup kibble - he'd go back to bed. Now I give him a snack at 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. (half can of food and 1/2 cup kibble) and he sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. (That's sleeping in for me!). Good luck. Pat

Nancy, I'm so so sorry! Lottie tried so hard - I know what you mean by her spirit was willing but her body just wasn't. It's heartbreaking. My thoughts are with you - you have my deepest sympathy. Pat

I would give Sookie more time. I've had a number of shy greyhounds (I'm just drawn to them and currently have one). Each dog is different in how quickly they adjust. My current shy girl is very fearful of my husband. We've had her about two months now and we don't expect any big changes in that behavior for a while. I would continue to have your husband completely ignore her except to occasionally walk by her crate when she's in it and toss her a really good treat. Even in doing that, he wouldn't look at her, talk to her or do any kind of acknowledgement to her. He wouldn't even stop - just toss the treat as he walks by. In time she should associate him walking by with good things and you can then begin to make very slight changes - stopping briefly or a few words, but only one thing at a time. It's a very slow process. A couple of invaluable resources for you - www.fearfuldogs.com. Plus, there is a Yahoo group for owners of shy dogs. The people there are exraordinary and so willing to help. They have lots and lots of experience - to learn more about the group, visit http:///groups.yahoo.com/group/shy-k9s. The shy ones are a challenge, but so very rewarding. Good luck. Pat

Thanks for posting this, Brie. I've been thinking about Manny. I'm sorry that the results weren't more conclusive. Thank you for helping him to enjoy the time he had. Pat

Yeah - I have a poop eater too. I have a muzzle that his mostly solid but with round holes in the sides to let in air (can't remember the name of it, but I really like it). However, my girl is so dedicated to her poop eating that she has learned if she turns her head to the side and squashes it down on a pile of poop, it will mush into her muzzle and she can eat it. YUCK! So I now put duct tape on the lower part of the muzzles.....sigh... Pat

Sorry to hear that Sonie lost her appetite again, Carolyn. How frustrating! I don't have any advice, but I'm hoping she's back to normal again soon. I know the Prozac was helping her with that exception. Keep me posted. Pat

Brie, If you and your vet want you to see an internal medicine specialist for Doolin, let me know and I will give you the name and contact information of the person I use. She's great and I trust her completely. Pat

Brie, How is Doolin this morning? Did he settle down at all last night? Was there any blood in his stool? How he is acting is very similar to what we went through with Star with his colitis - the discomfort, getting up at night, etc. We did have x-rays and an ultrasound done to help us diagnose this. The internal medicine specialist we see originally suggested a colonoscopy (can't remember the name when it's for dogs) but the prep for it is the same as for humans and because of the stress we would be putting Star through, we opted to go the more conservative route of diet and medication. Let us know how he is today. Pat

I use ivomec for my three greyhounds and it works well for us. It is given orally. However, before I started using this instead of Heartguard plus, I talked with my vet about it. I brought the catalog I was going to purchase it from with me to see her and showed it to her, asked her if it would be okay to use, and asked her if she'd confirm the correct dosage for my dogs. She gave me the okay, explained how careful I had to be re: the dosage, and gave me the syringe (without needle) and exact dosing amounts. Pat

Brie, I hope Doolin is doing better. It does sound concerning, especially with the blood in his stool. We had something similar with Star when we brought him home last May, but with some differences from what your seeing with Doolin. Star had the gurgly stomach and the blood in his stool. But he also had diarrhea and some mucous in his stool. After many months of tests, ultrasounds, diet changes, etc. he is finally doing well. He has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. There were times when we found blood in the house without it being with stool (once or twice small pools about the size of a dollar bill cut in half). Star was on sulfur, metronidizol, metamucil, and a prescription diet. Over the months, once he stabilized, we've been able to wean him back to only metronidizol and a prescription diet. We've worked with an internal medicine specialist and she's been great in getting my boy to feeling good. Let us know how Doolin is doing and what your vet says. Pat