sobesmom

Yep, use the rumor mill. I know that my neighbors that feel that they are "in the know" are fiercely protective. I've had so much interest in my greys, both good and bad, because people just don't know what they are. A few years ago when I had dogs get loose and 1 bolt across the road there were people standing near a mini-van who saw the mayhem and I screamed "OPEN THE CAR DOOR!". They did without any hesitation and my grey jumped right in. I finally got there (I can't keep up with a greyhound) to find my dog in a car with 2 small children in carseats, licking them. They not only did what a stranger (but neighbor) asked without hesitation to help out - they also let a BIG panicked dog in a car with their children! Now THAT's neighborly trust. Small towns have their very very good aspects.

Ahhhh... small town. That explains it. I also live in a very small town where everybody knows everything, or thinks they do. It sounds like you have a fabulous set-up for your dogs! I wish I could have a dog-door but I'm pretty sure my Diana would bring dead rabbits in it! Thank you for not being offended at my asking questions - I was just trying to get a handle on the situation. Most people don't live in small towns - but those of us that do understand "helpful" neighbors. I'm so glad the pups are feeling better.

Well.... make your choice. In our out? You humans have to agree. And you have to seriously decide and stick with it. I NEVER wanted a dog in my bed. My DH didn't mind. He let a dog sneak in, and I relented. I kinda don't mind, until I have no blankets or no room! But - I've decided - the dog is in the bed. If you and your DW decide NO DOG IN THE BED - just do it. Be vigilant. Say no and get him off - even if it means waking up in the night and putting him off.Never let him on there. Close the bedroom door during the day. He'll adapt, but it might take awhile because he's got a taste of the good life. Snuggling. If you give in, set rules. My Sobe slept at the bottom of the bed until DH went to work at 3 am, then he cuddled up with me. My Diana always sleeps with her head on my feet, but never on my DH's because he hates that. If you choose to let your dog in your bed - make sure he respects your comfort. Find a bed-spot for him. It's YOUR CHOICE. Make it, and do it. Either way is fine. Don't dither.

OK - it's a good sign you've got. But I have a question. And it's a question, not a criticism. How much are your dogs in the yard alone? A lot? Or just for "outs"? Do you leave them out when you're at work? I only ask, because if it's just for a little while I'd find it odd for people to notice enough to want to feed them. In the summer my dogs (only dog now) are in my fenced yard as much as they want to be. And no, they're not supervised. So don't think I'm going there, please. But my yard is in the back of my house so only my neighbors see my dogs. And yes, when we first got greyhounds my one neighbor wanted to "fatten them up". She also thought one died after a good run when he flopped over on his side to rest. We chatted, and all is good. Do you live on a busy street where a lot of people see your dogs out? I can understand that many people might think that greys are under-fed, but to randomly feed a dog in a yard? With a sign, especially? That's nuts. I hope your pups are OK. ETA: If you truly think it's a "concerned neighbor" that fed your dogs, you could add this to your sign "If you still think these dogs need help, please call: (vet's number, and name).

My Diana spent most of her life with me being that "oh my gosh your dog looks like she's starving" dog. She had Dragon-spines, and visible ribs for most of her life. I tried EVERYTHING to fatten her up for a while. The I gave up. Straight kibble, twice per day. Plus the occasional raw bone, raw that's on sale very occasionally, and dinner leftovers that we want to get rid of that I feed all greys. I quit bothering to add more than she would eat, because she wouldn't eat it. She ate what she needed. And she's been healthy, active, happy and outgoing for years and years being skinny. She went from age 2-9 as a scrawny dog. Now, she's rounded out to "normal" looking. Still thin, but not so many jutting bones. If there are no medical issues - she'll eat when she's hungry. Deal with it. You might just have that skinny dog. IT HAPPENS. Now - if you read a recent post of mine you'll call me a hypocrite. After YEARS of being an "eat it or leave it" person..... I'm starting to fuss a bit about Diana's eating. She's 10 now, and eating even less than normal. But after consulting GT I'm mostly sticking with "eat it or leave it". Except more add-ins of leftovers and some homecooked stuff. But only because she's older and if something happens and she drops weight quick that's not cool. But I would NOT do it for a younger dog. Heck, I wouldn't do it if we had another dog in the house. Stick to your guns. Eat it or leave it. If she's healthy, it's fine.

In no time at all you won't be worrying about it. She'll settle in and be FINE. Don't weigh her too often.

Thank you for being open-minded.

Grain free will definitely give less output. But - with a new foster if you've found a food that works, I'd stick with it. I would up the quantity a bit. A young foster is probably going to need more, at least for a while. Green bag is a mid-range food (IMHO). But I've had fosters that it worked great for when higher-quality foods didn't. If it ain't broke - don't fix it.

Winnie is BEAUTIFUL!!!! It's a bit of a dark picture but from what I can see her weight looks fine. It's fine to drop in at the vet once in a while for a quick weigh-check. What's I'd suggest you do is just run your hands all over her. Get a feel for what a good weight looks and feels like. Soon, you won't need scales at all. You'll see and feel if her weight changes. Drop her food a bit if you think it's the right thing to do. In a couple weeks, you may need to bump it back up. No biggie.

She's very pretty!

As long as we don't have another dog in the house, I think I'll just continue to feed her twice per day, and leave the food for her to eat when she wants to. Tonight she started fussing at me at exactly 6:30 and gulped down her food. I DID find out that my DH now puts "extras" on her morning meal, because she wasn't eating it. Spoiling. That's what that is. I totally disapprove. But.... as long as she's an only dog.... oh well, whatever. His extras are reasonable - a bit of beef or chicken or whatever from dinner. Apparently she quit eating breakfast with enthusiasm a month or so ago. It's probably a combination of aging and being spoiled with extras by DH. And maybe the taste buds are changing. That makes sense, too. I might go back to some doggie crock-pot food. Chicken, ground beef, rice and sweet potato. It's easy and cheap. I don't mind using that as a supplement. I won't go raw or totally home-cooked. That doesn't work for my house, but a bit of doggie stew is probably ok. Diana is so thin (always has been) that if she gets sick her weight gets really bad, really quick. So maybe catering to her a bit wouldn't be the worst thing. She's gone through fussy eating spells before - when the weather changes, etc. No biggie. I think this is different. I'm not worried. I just might relax my "NO SPECIAL TREATMENT" rules. She's due for shots soon. I'll have a full workup done. I don't think it's an issue but you're right, it can't hurt to check.

When Diana was young I always fussed about her weight because she was thin. Sobe was always big. Experience taught me that they have different builds and metabolisms. I went through a bunch of fosters and all the eating issues that new dogs have off the track. I don't cater to fussy eaters. I think it causes more issues. I know now that dogs go through spurts of not eating, or acting like they're starving , and that's not a biggie. When a dog a has a medical issue with food I will tend to that. Anyway - Diana is now 11. The oldest grey I've ever had in my house. Not "old" at all. But she's gotten goofy about her food. Sometimes she'll eat as soon as it's down. Sometimes not. I put out her dinner at 6:30 last night. She hadn't eaten it by morning so DH thought it was breakfast that I'd put out so he didn't replace it. She ate it at 6 tonight. I just gave her a half-serving and she gulped it down 4 hours after the last meal. I guess I'll just stick with our normal schedule and feed twice per day. She's fine, healthy, thin as always. Is it normal for slightly older greys to take it or leave it at mealtimes? When she was younger you could set a clock on her wanting her food. Except when I was trying to "fatten her up" and she'd have none of that. She's always eaten just what she needed.

You dog is VERY NEW. This is a super confusing time. You've actually done all the things I'd suggest with your DD - respect his space, have her feed him, walk him, etc. You've either done your research or you have amazing instincts. Those are all really great things to do. All the right things. You've done all the things that I tell new owners with kids to do. So - great job. You did it by the book. But - now you have to adjust. Doesn't it just stink when you try to set up everything for success and it don't work out perfect!?!!? I hate that! But life happens. Every dog is different. So now I'm going to give advice I've never given before. Ask you DD to back off. Greys are usually awesome with kids, and I'm sure your dog will be, but the fact is he doesn't really know what she is right now. She's a short human that he doesn't know how to take. Maybe it's too much for him. Back off on her involvement for right now until he gets comfortable with you as his leader, and comfort person. Maybe just have her feed him, and make sure it's a fun, happy experience. No pressure. Just - here's your supper! He might actually be freaking out a little that a small person is now a leader in his pack. Back off her involvement. Let him settle in for a couple weeks. Then get DD more involved. Some grey need some time to get used to kids. My Sobe was never a fan of them. But once he settled in, he was just fine. Relax. Don't push it. If the dog growls - get your kid away. Her safety is the first priority.

I'll be honest and tell you that I and a few grey owners that I know think true recall is a lost cause. We can get reasonable recall in reasonable situations - but if something bad happens - it's a fail. We've all had greys bolt and not even seem to hear us at all. Even after recall training. The ears shut off in a bad panic situation when you need recall the most. Like a dog that slips a collar, jumps a fence or goes bolting toward the road. I almost lost my Diana and a foster to a semi-truck when they got tangled in leashes and broke the clasps. They DIDN'T hear me as they bolted to the road. I tell you this just as a "know your audience" tip. Part of your audience is very skeptical about true recall for greys in an emergency situationd. Don't talk down to us or tell us we just didn't try hard enough. Teach us something new that we can believe in. I'm looking forward to your article. BTW - please don't take my comments as negative. They're not meant to be.

I'm glad Star is eating better. The transition phase is worrisome but ti will pass. Enjoy her! Keep asking questions!

Thanks all. Wait and see and do nothing seems to be working well. It looks good - no swelling, bleeding or infection. She's not messing with it at all. She's only doing short "outs" right now with no walks and minimal in-house rough-housing and she's starting to get antsy again! I've got to pick up a puzzle-ball or something. I tried socking and vet-wrapping when she went out a couple times, but gave up. She made such a drama of it - it wasn't worth it. She doesn't seem to mind the cold on it. Whatever! I'll do some research on SLO but she gets her nails trimmed by the vet so I hope he'd notice if there was an issue. She needs them trimmed now but I don't want to mess with her until her boo-boo heals a bit. It's gotta hurt like heck!

I'd stick with feeding her with what the trainer did. It's not unusual for a new dog to not eat much, or play much, or interact much. Just be patient. Also "collecting" is a common greyhound trait. Lots of new greys steal thing and take them to their beds. I think it's a bit of a self-comfort thing, and is really quite cute. What do you mean by "mince"? Ignorant American here! Does she seem very stressed? Panting and pacing or whining? Is she drinking water?

Yay!

I do the same. I have a fenced yard but it used to be a HUGE challenge to get Diana to go out if it was around 0F and/or sleeting. She held it for nearly 24 hours one time while I kept trying to get her out and wait her out. I finally shoved her out the door and didn't let her in until she went (right on the doorstep, no problem) and let her in IMMEDIATELY and praised her (of course the warmth and empty bladder was probably the biggest reward). She figure out pretty quickly - get out - do your business - and get back in!!! I never force her to be outside in really bad weather any longer than is absolutely necessary. Other greys I've had - totally different. They didn't mind as much. But Diana would rather explode her bladder than be out longer than necessary in the cold or sleet. I personally don't think "allowing" pottying in the house is a good idea. It sets a bad precedent. Of course, if an accident happens, it happens. But I'd really try to avoid it. Short distance walks - like just a few yards around in a circle or whatever works. And zoom IN immediately after! Glad it's working out! Welcome to GT and thanks for asking questions!

Wow - I learn the most amazing things on GT! I'm glad others posted before I saw this because I'd have said there's no way the smell of meat cooking could freak a dog out. Huh. Guess I have a lot to learn. I've never cooked lamb but now I kind want to test it out! A lot of dogfood has lamb in it but I'm assuming that once it's fully cooked the issue is gone, so no biggie from cooked-elsewhere lamb, or cooked and dried in dogfood? We've used lamb dogfood without issue.

I don't know her food history so this might not work. Can you try rice and bland chicken for a couple days to let her stomach settle? Is it possible she ate something she shouldn't have? And maybe just has an upset tummy from it?

I think she might have gotten it caught in the area rug in the livingroom. She didn't make a peep, came in to bed shortly after I did last night, and I heard her licking. She licks a lot when she goes to sleep so I didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later my DH came in the bedroom to say that he found a blood-spot trail from the livingroom to the bedroom. Sure enough, missing nail. A bit of blood on the bedspread and a trail of blood spots. It wasn't actively bleeding at that time, so I just left her alone to sleep. I've seen her lick it a couple times since, nothing excessive. I really don't want to bandage it because when I've done that before she obsesses over the bandage and usually things take longer to heal. So - I'm thinking I'll just leave it alone and keep a close eye on her. If she bugs it too much I'll soft-wrap and sock her. If it looks like it's swelling or inflamed we'll go to the vet. She's walking on it fine, except for when I pick up her leg to look at it, then she gimps for a minute. What do you think? BTW - not the first time this has happened here. I'm still kinda baffled how it happened. The area-rug isn't even the loopy kind. I guess it could've happened another way but danged if I can figure it out. If it happened outside - she'd just been in the fenced yard - there should've been blood from the door. Dunno.

My first grey, Sobe was a terror. He broke a tooth off and got scraped up badly breaking out of a sturdy wire crate. Muzzles were a joke to be destroyed. When we tried to close him in bedroom he ate the carpet, and the doorknob. And yes, I did alone training. And he was 5 years old. Babygating him in the kitchen with a kong worked. As long as we 100% dog-proofed it. The only thing that "fixed" Sobe - was getting another greyhound. We started fostering because of his issues. As soon as he had another grey in the house - he was fine. Some greys just NEED a companion. As soon as we got a foster, after the initial get-to-know all dogs were free range in the house, no issues. No crates, no muzzles, no issues. Sobe NEEDED another dog around. Your dog is younger .. so it might be different.

Just play music occasionally, not too loud. He'll get used to it.

I think that recall is one of the hardest things to train a grey. With a shy grey I'd work on smaller skills first. Train little things that she'll gain confidence through success.