sobesmom

My Diana wouldn't go near water. Wouldn't get in a kiddie pool, wouldn't wade in the very shallow, slow moving creek. No way - no how. Diana was a very outgoing "do anything" kind of dog. No fears, no shyness, no phobias. But no water. No thanks.

Sigh..... it's too late for you now! You're a GONER! You've done your research, asked intelligent questions, have been open to suggestions and gracefully accepted having some of your "internet" info squashed. Now you're going to MEET some greys. You're a goner. You're a greyhound person! LOL! Welcome to the club.

In my opinion a supplement won't hurt a thing, and will help if he's even just starting a bit of arthritis. Some get it, some don't, some earlier, some later. I'd start at 12 even without symptoms. Not a heavy dose though. Maybe every other day? Just throwing out ideas.

Take him for walks. Feed him. Do exercise time, or fun training time with him. Make yourself an important, fun part of his life. Affection is not enough. Dogs are really simple creatures. Do things that matter to them, and you will matter to them. Don't do things that matter to them and you won't matter to them. It sounds to me me like you don't matter right now. To me it sounds like you're expecting a relationship without earning it. So - MAKE a relationship. Earn it by doing what the dog cares about.

Not all greys have SA. Ask for an older dog, and one that shows signs of ability to be an only pet. I had one with terrible SA, 14 fosters who didn't and 1 other of my own that didn't. It's not unreasonable to leave a greyhound alone while you work. Many of us do it every day.

It's totally great that you worry, and wonderful that you're asking questions! Welcome to GT and congrats on your new family member. This is NOT SA. Lucky you!!!!! This is normal "settling in" behavior. Whatever you're doing - keep doing it exactly the same. Your dog is FINE. FINE. Chill. You got really lucky here. Leave a tv or radio on - leave chew toys - it might change the "very minor" checking he does. If not - STILL FINE. There's nothing wrong with your dog. Your dog is NOT in distress. He's just "checking" for you occasionally - and that's FINE - because he's not obsessed with it. Don't make a big deal when you leave, or come home. Don't make him needy. You have a perfect dog right now. Raise a strong, independent dog. That's a GOOD thing. That said - you should know that many (not all) dogs' behavior changes after a month or so. Be ready for that. It's called "after the honeymoon". But you're asking questions, and obviously caring, so if/when that happens, just ask and we'll help you.

How does he look? Does he look healthy? Normal appearance, normal activity level? If so - he's probably fine. I'm just guessing here, but I'd guess he was a pro athlete before you got him, and I'm guessing he doesn't get the activity level he used to get (normal) so he's loosing muscle mass. If he looks and feels healthy I wouldn't worry about it. I'd bet he doesn't have the rock hard thighs he used to have. Normal. Some dogs gain weight in early pethood, and some loose weight through dropping muscle mass. It's 5 lb over 18 months. That's nothing to worry about. When your dog looses 5 lb in 2 weeks - then worry. Greys can shed weight super quickly when there's a problem. This does not sound like a problem. It's not wrong to ask - information is power - but your dog is probably totally fine. I'd be more concerned if you said he weighed 90 lb now.

You know, on further reflection, you're right. The moving poop (soooo gross) was round worms. Wrong foster. So many fosters, so many worms. I've had different ones with round, hook and tape over the years. Sorry OP for posting bad info!

It depends on the dog. My first grey suffered from terrible SA. We tried everything. Alone training, crating, gating, etc, etc. He destroyed doors, carpets, and broke off a tooth and got badly scraped up escaping from a wire crate. We had to dismantle a bed that he'd wedged himself under. It was a completely un-workable situation. My house was being destroyed, my dog was a hysterical mess, and I was at my wit's end. We got a foster - and overnight my dog was "fixed". I'm not saying that will work for everyone, but for MY Sobe, having another dog in the house immediately took ALL his SA away. We kept fosters for most of his life, until we decided to adopt a second. He NEVER had SA again. Of course, you have to be prepared for 2 dogs in the house, and whatever baggage the new dog brings with it.

Fist off - congratulations! Sasha is lovely, and she looks SO HAPPY! Her coat will change over the next 6 months. That's normal, especially if she's young. She'll probably blow the entire coat she came with and grow a new one. Brush daily. Feed good food. Don't worry about "products" at this point. But - I had a black grey. In MY experience, blacks can get "rusty" colored if their skin/hair gets dry. I noticed in one of your pic's that her belly is Orange/brown-ish. TOTALLY normal for a new dog. Going forward though, for MY black grey - I found that a fishoil cap per day, a tin of salmon or a bit of JackMack once per week, and a raw egg on the food every couple days did wonders for the coat. All VERY inexpensive. I had a long-term black foster that had a beautiful coat with that regimen, but his bald belly never did fill in. Some baldies just stay bald. Your pup will fill probably fill in the spots under her arms with time. Have FUN!

Is she picking up poop immediately? Hooks pooped out go into the ground, live there, and infect any dogs that steps there. She could be dealing with multiple re-infestation. And yes, hook can be visible in poop. I had a new foster spew nasty big-D poop on my livingroom floor, and it was MOVING. It was diagnosed as hook. HUGE pain to get rid of - takes forever.

I've had dogs with hook and it was nothing like that. I think it's more than hook.

Hang in there. It is frustrating. You'll get there.

Try taking her out immediately after breakfast, before she has a chance to lie down and get comfy. I don't know your schedule, but we had a strict wake up, out, eat, out routine here because work necessitated it.

I'd just like to say good luck to you. Also, please remember that most members are from the US, so things are done differently here. Please don't be offended if someone on here doesn't understand the things you do that are "normal" to you but "odd" to us. I'd suggesting gating her in some way so she can't get into things. Babygates or boards across doorways, etc, and baby-proof everything in the area she can access. Lots of exercise! LOTS!!! This is going to be a fabulous shape-up program for you! LOL! I had a destructive dog once. Smart, too. It was a mess. I also didn't crate (not an option for him). We managed, but it took making sure that the areas he could access didn't have anything he could get into (including the refrigerator which he could open) and a LOT of exercise and alone training. Good info, thanks for posting that. Just as a side-note, the US reason for not leaving dogs outside alone isn't danger from people. (Well, maybe in some really nasty areas). Mostly it's concern about the dog jumping the fence, getting into a tangle with an animal, or heat or cold issues.

I never had trouble with boys, but my Diana and several female fosters gave me issues with going on-leash. We had a fenced yard, so that was "the place" to go. Long leash, look away, and follow "the trot". I think on-leash in the yard is a good place to start.

Yeah, they do that. Not a bad question to ask - but nothing to worry about.

Avoid that dog. I don't think it has much to do with it being un-neutered, or a pit. Your dog has an issues with that dog, so avoid it. Redirection of aggression is super common.

OK, I lost a dog in January to kidney failure. Hers was pretty advanced when it was diagnosed, so if you're at early stage, others can offer you more info. In my experience. From my research. Make your meat as low-phosphorous, and as high-fat as possible. The cheapest ground beef available. Chicken thighs. Fat is your FRIEND!!! Your recipe looks fine to me. Be prepared to switch it up. Lack of appetite is HUGE for kidney dogs. They waste away. Do anything you can to temp appetite. Peanut putter. Yogurt. Bananas, etc. Keep the meat as low as possible, but in my experience, they won't eat without it. Crockpot different mixtures, and freeze them in 1 c baggies and switch them up to provide variety to temp the appetite. As far as how much to feed -as much as you possibly can. 5 or 6 times per day is completely reasonable. Diana did better with 6 1/2 c to 1 c meals per day. And she'd still only eat a bit of some of them. You CAN NOT over-feed a dog with kidney issues. What are you doing for water? Most well or city water has minerals in it that a kidney-compromised dog can't filter. I'd suggest buying distilled.

I used Premium Edge for years. It was a "non advertised" brand that nobody had ever heard of, but it worked really well for the dogs I had at the time. I had a chow hound that insisted he needed to eat more volume, and he did really poorly on the really good foods. He did fabulous on Premium Edge, and I started feeding it to my other grey, that was on a "better" food, and she did really well on it too. So I stuck with it for a really long time. I posted on GT about it several years ago, just to clue in people to an option that they may not have heard of. The pet store that carried it went out of business so I couldn't get it anymore, and after trying different foods, I found 4-Health, the Tractor Supply brand, and I was very happy with that, too. It's very similar to Premium Edge in price and quality. Mid grade, which works really well for some dogs. Side note - my Sobe -black grey with super-sensitive skin, had NO itching when he was on Premium Edge. And, his black coat was actually BLACK. No dull brownish like it was on other foods. And so soft. He had no allergies that we could pinpoint at all, but the right food made his skin and coat SO much nicer. The higher quality foods didn't help at all.

There's no difference that I can think of. Boiling is usually quicker so most people do that. Crockpots work just fine, too.

Yep. Nothing wrong with asking question though! It's quite normal behavior. Search "Fast Eater" and you'll find a bunch of discussions on the topic on this site.

If she's young and active, it's a fine amount. She's also super new, so I wouldn't rock the boat too much. Yes, she might act hungry, but that's not unusual. Wait a month, then adapt as needed. I had a small female foster (55 lb) that ate more than my 90 lb. male. She just had a high metabolism. She was 5 years old, not very active, and never gained a lb! The 90 lb. male (my Sobe), I had to watch constantly so he wouldn't get pudgy, eating 3 c. per day and would eat anything that didn't eat him first! He'd eat until he vomited if I'd let him. My Diana, was a skinny-minnie-ribs-sticking-out most of her life and I couldn't put weight on her in ANY way. She ate what she needed, and refused any more. Do what works for your dog. They're all different. Know what a healthy "look" is, for that dog. But don't get hung up on it right away. Transition is hard.

Ah - that's called "counter surfing" and it's a different issue. And we have help for that! Most of us have been there - done that. Start a new post for that one in T&B. She can, and will learn to not do that. It's easier to deal with than poo issues.

Yep. Rock, cookie sheet, bundt pan (that you already have). I wouldn't spend money on it. If the dog isn't choking, don't bother at all. Fast eating isn't an issue, unless it's an issue, and it usually isn't.