turbotaina

Keep in mind that dogs fresh off the track aren't trained to potty on lead either (though many do), so just treat her like a dog off the track and walk her until she goes. When she does it, throw her a huge party (great treats, etc.).

Chris raises good points. Every dog is different. Personally, I prefer a higher protein content - at least 25%. My old boy was on a food that was 42% and he maintained good muscle tone, etc. Also - how is her temperament? I find dogs that are nervous tend to fart more. I've got one who's a regular farter (every time he stretches, he lets 'em rip, though he's doing better with a different food I changed to) and one who only farts when he's nervous.

Your best bet for a dog without anxiety issues is, as someone else mentioned, to adopt a dog that has been fostered in a home. It's still not fool-proof, but you'll have a MUCH better idea than just pulling a dog from the kennel. BTW, I've had 3 male greyhounds and none has ever lifted a leg in my house

Wow

You could try spraying the cat with a hose to see if that discourages him from coming into your yard. Unpleasant for the cat, but ultimately not harmful and may save its life.

I don't know where either of those towns are, but at any rate, while it's less likely than in the Southern US, but yes, it does exist in the Pacific Northwest, so I would give preventatives.

FWIW, many Veterinary Behaviorists will do in home consultations.

Agreed.

Don't wait to walk him - you can start that now. It's a good way to bond I used to have a white boy with a thin coat, too. He did much better in the heat than my current brindle and black boys. I did have doggie sunscreen for him for those rare occasions he thought he ought to lie out in the middle of the yard on the hottest/sunniest days, but otherwise he was fine without it. Congrats on your new boy

Give her a nice long walk before you leave, and leave her with a tasty frozen kong to work on while you're gone. I'll also second the recommendation of "I'll Be Home Soon" by Dr. Patricia McConnell. You'll want to nip any separation anxiety in the bud, and that booklet gives lots of great advice.

Yes, I think it's time to transition him out of the crate. And yes, start for shorter times, but you'll likely be able to work up to a full day pretty quickly. Even better if you can set up a webcam so you can see what he does while you're gone. Because we have two uncrated dogs, we have Nest cameras set up in our living room and our bedroom so we can check in on them to make sure they don't get into trouble While we were transitioning the older of the two, we used my netbook and live streamed through Ustream (I had cats at the time, so it was necessary that he be monitored). I'd leave him in your room with a kong, a comfie bed (if he doesn't use your bed) and the radio on. I'd probably also use a babygate, not a closed door as many dogs don't like closed doors. Do some practice runs over the weekend. With my first greyhound (Turbo), my room mate couldn't get him back in the crate before he left for work, so he just left him out. He had potty accidents by the back door for a couple of weeks (on Thursdays only, because those were his longest days), then I moved his water dish there and he never had another accident (until a very upset tummy many years later ). So he was out of the crate before I was ready for it, but he did great. I'd had him about 2 months. He was not a fan of the crate at any rate. Second greyhound (Heyokha) had to be crated for about a year because he's VERY active (he's not a "just go and sleep" kind of dog) and he wasn't cat safe and I had two senior kitties. When he finally and reliably ignored the cats entirely (as Chad mentions above), we could let him go free. Third greyhound (Crow) was out of the crate within two months. He has never so much as stepped wrong since he walked in the door, but Heyokha was having some adjustment issues with Crow, so Crow was crated for his own safety. We'll now tune into the Nest cam and see them on the couch together It's a very good thing to have a dog who can be crated (or x-penned) safely - for example, Heyokha had to have major abdominal surgery earlier this year and had to have strict crate rest. He didn't fuss at all. So even after your dog has been uncrated, it's always a good idea to keep the crate up if you have space and occasionally put him in there with a tasty chew or something so he keeps up good associations with it. After Turbo graduated from his crate, I didn't do that and as a result he couldn't be crated at all later, even when he needed to be for health reasons Oh, and I'll add one other thing to my novel Turbo was a lot like your dog. He was fine when left alone during the work day, but even late in life, he'd get upset when I was gone at "non-authorized" times. The way he expressed his displeasure was to bring out my shoes and throw them all over the living room

Yep. Search this forum for "trading up" and you'll get lots of advice. The basic idea is that you "trade" her something really good for what she currently has (i.e., give her some good stinky cheese, hotdog piece, etc.) in exchange for the stolen item. Good luck

About 8-10 years ago, my friends' greyhound was diagnosed with GME. He was on pred and cyclosporine and some sort of chemo drug at one point. He was diagnosed after he suddenly went blind (brain swelling pressed down on optical nerve). He got his sight back pretty quickly and would do fairly well for stretches of time. Unfortunately, he was on a high dose of pred and would get skin lesions and infections. It also gave him behavioral problems, including aggression. He would go into remission and they would cycle off the drugs, but then the symptoms would return again and they'd have to go back on. They maintained him for a year or so, but the periods of remission became shorter and shorter and they couldn't live with his aggression as they had an infant at the time (it had gotten really bad and he once went after my friend while she had the baby in her arms), so they made the decision to let him go. Now, all this being said, it appears that treatment options have improved a lot (e.g., this dog was never on gabapentin, etc.) since my friends' dog was diagnosed. I see you are in Mt. Airy. If you're not already on board with a neuro, I can highly recommend Bush over at The Life Centre in Leesburg (I don't think they have Maryland offices). Everyone I know who has used them has sung their praises (and I'm a fan of TLC itself for emergency care). Best of luck in managing your pup's condition.

In a hypothyroid dog, the TSH should be ELEVATED, not low.

The nibbling is called "nitting". It's normally a playful thing and some dogs will do it to humans, too. That, together with the mounting behavior, makes me think she's very excited and doesn't know how control herself. It's not a dominance thing, but over-arousal. Think of it like a little kid who gets an awesome gift and he can't control his emotions, so he stamps his feet and screams gleefully. Your pup got excited to see this dog, nitted her, then mounted her because she didn't have an appropriate way to express her excitement (a playbow would have been a good start )

Some greyhounds, particularly young ones, have A LOT of energy. I have one and he's 6 now and not really slowing down much Keep doing what you're doing, giving him lots of opportunities to run and play. Maybe get a lure pole and let him chase a stuffy around. Teach him fetch and wear him out that way. You can also do some training with him and tire his brain out. Enjoy!

See if you can find a non-vet behaviorist (i.e., an animal behaviorist who is not a veterinarian - might be less expensive and again, find one who uses positive reinforcement/force-free methods; get thee far, far away from anyone who uses language such as dominance, alpha, etc.). If that is also not possible for you, you're in a bit of a quandary. What we perceive as aggression is pretty much always rooted in a fear of some sort (unless there's a neurological issue going on). Your dog sounds an awful lot like my friend's (now sadly deceased) greyhound. She was a fear-biter and sometimes quite sneaky about it. My friend (who is on this board and will perhaps give you her experiences) did A LOT of work with her dog and also used some anti-anxiety meds, if I recall correctly. If you are committed to working through this with your dog, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have someone well versed in animal behavior to assist you. None of us here on the internet can see your dog's body language or really know what's going on, so it's pretty hard to give appropriate advice and, of course, we cannot see your interactions and responses to his behavior. Best of luck to you, whatever your decision may be

Please seek out a qualified behaviorist who uses reward based/positive reinforcement techniques. You need a professional to observe and advise. Good luck!

Yep, what Scouts_mom said. Up the exercise if you can or do training.

Can't hurt, might help. You can also try melatonin.

Yep, that's what I did:)

Judy, I'm so sorry. What a lovely boy he was

Oh, Carol, I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry, Anne