sobesmom

I'd probably try 2 evening meals. Immedialy when you get home - and just before bed and walk. Once a day is certainly ok. You could also try a small morning meal - maybe you're feeding too much - and a walk to make sure she has a BM before work. Good luck. Coming home to poop every day is NOT cool. Side note- are they runny poops? Maybe the food isn't agreeing with her and you may want to change brands?

I think they're fine to give right off the deer (if you can get them away from the hunter ). I'm looking forward to deer season here to get good raw bones for my pups. The "trash" after they're done butchering. I grab it up! I never get antlers though - they don't part with those! Lovely raw venison bones, with marrow and scraps of meat attached - woo hoo! Divvied up into freezer bags, and it's good protein and chewing for months to come. Deer leg bones aren't nearly as dense as cow - so no worries about chipped teeth. (I DO give my dogs cow marrow bones though with no issue, but some don't). Ribs are great too - pretty much anything is fine. Go grab that hunting garbage! Your dogs will LOVE you!

A little bit of anything is fine! Too much of a good thing - is too much.

My first grey was 85 lbs. straight track muscle - 4 years old - RACER. PREY drive to extreme. So. I established that I run the show but I'm no bully. To him - I'm the favorite - I play - I have the treats - I give the food - I'm the FAVORITE. AND... most important - I'm the boss. I KNOW what's going on. I give the diretions - I take care of things. I NEVER intimidate, treaten or push. I just lead, confidently. So - in the dogs' mind - I'm not only "cool" but..... "the one who knows what to do"...the LEADER. So - after you've done that - when walking a high-prey dog, wrap the leash around your waist - and proceed with confidence. Start out with small walks. Correct immediately. And go home. Work up to bigger walks when the dog "gets" it. In my house - no dog will make an idiot of me in public. A dog acting out - is a dog that I should've worked with more. SMALL SMALL steps.

When I got my first grey, I wanted to feed the "best" food I could - I did a ton of reasearch, and tried EVO. The "best" food available to me. My dog was a MESS. It was just awful - and expensive. He lost weight, pooped puddles, looked terrible. So - I tried Premium Edge, not a lot of people have heard of it, they don't advertise much - but the ingredients are good - and MY DOG DID GREAT on it. And - it was a price I could live with. Now - my 2nd grey, and all my fosters eat it. And all do well on it. Nice weight, shiney coats, good energy. I've also done Diamond Naturals when I can't get Premium Edge, and they all do well on that too. I also supplement with raw a couple times per week, and appropriate leftovers. I think that helps balance it all out. Do what works for your dog.

A little bit of anything is fine.

Our dogs are allowed on furniture - except DD's bed - her room is off-limits, and fosters are not allowed on beds. There are comfy dog-beds all over the house. But - when we're all hanging out in the livingroom, "prime" space becomes a premium. All humans, and greys want on the furniture. Humans get first dibs, greys fit in where they can, or have to "gasp" lay on a dogbed! Our grey, Diana, has cornered the market on a piece of prime furniture - the rocking recliner. Every grey has tried it - our other grey and a dozen fosters - and all have jumped off immediately in fear as it rocks crazily after they jump on. Diana somehow learned to just lay down - the rocking subsides - and she's is hog heaven. She's actually learned not to "jump" onto it, just "walk" up into it, and it doesn't rock as much. We got new furniture recently, and now have 2 rocking recliners - Diana's the queen now. She has 2 options, that NO OTHER DOG will DARE to try! When DH and DD are taking up the couch, and I'm in one of the recliners, Diana takes over the other rocking recliner and nearly smirks when the "poor" foster has to take the nice dogbed because he's too scared of the rocking recliner. She's quite cheeky about herself!

I'd contact the person that organizes the group, and remind them that a small dog at a greyhound run is a BAD idea. It's definately dangerous for the IG. Even if all greys are muzzled, IG's have daintly little legs, and as part of a fun romp (if none of the greys got pack-ish) it could still get hurt just running underfoot. Then there's the obvious point that the most docile greys in the world WILL PACK UP when running in a group. Thousands of years of breeding CAN NOT be trained out of them. Your sweet couch potato WILL turn into a killing machine when it's in a pack and that ancient instinct kicks in. That's the way it works. If JUST ONE grey gets a bit aggressive toward a smaller animal, every grey there WILL join in, and try to kill it. If it "yips" once, it's toast. Not pretty, but that's just how it works. It's a bad, bad idea. I would go - but not let my dog in if the IG was in. I wouldn't make a stink about it - but I wouldn't let my dogs in until the IG was out. The "big dog" ALWAYS gets the blame. I don't care if waivers are signed - if my big dog hurts a smaller dog - no matter the situation - the BIG dog - is ALWAYS at fault. I would never knowingly endanger someone's dog. So - I would never let my dogs run with other greys if a small dog was there. Period. No options.

Can you tell by body language? Are both tails wagging? Do they hang out together comfortably? Is Shelby "posturing" standing still over Gigi? Is Gigi showing fearful behavior? If Gigi won't approach Shelby's bed, that may just be respect of sleeping terriroy, which is a good thing. Is Shelby also respectful of Gigi's sleeping space, or does she tromp over her when she's sleeping? That would be a sign of disrespect in the dog world, and not ok. When they're "playing" if you watch you can probably tell if it's play or not. Are they both having fun - give and take - or is it one-sided? Lots of times, dogs will make a heirarchy - one will be the boss, one will be a follower, but it's a situation they both will be happy with. It's NOT always the biggest dog that runs the show either. But that shouldn't include any sort of bullying or aggression or intimidation - that's NOT a good pack dynamic, and shouldn't be allowed. Until you figure it out - you're probably wise to not leave them unattended together. Good luck, let us know how things progress.

I've said it before - I'll say it again - Greys are quirky! That's the only way I can define it. If you want to be nice about it - you could say that they "notice" new things more than other dogs do. They pay more attention to their environment. My big, tough, prey-drive-to-the-max no-fear of anything - greys have spooked at ..... balllons...ceiling fans.... bubbles. Just laugh it off. Oh it's FINE, you're FINE. Move on. Don't get too hung up about it, and the dog won't either. Don't let him turn it into a phobia - by you showing CONFIDENCE, not fuss-budgetness. Happy voice, pay no attention, everything is FINE. The dog may show an initial fearful reaction - but it's next move is to look to YOU - to see if there's a reason for the concern. Show him that NO, there is NOT. You're fine, happy, unconcerned - he will be too.

I tried the pylon too, because I'd read on here that they were used in the turnout pens, so I thought it might work in my fenced yard. I thought the boy fosters would "get" the association and pee on the pylon. I was wrong. I soon realized that it only works in turnouts because it's the only "thing" to pee on. Males want a "thing" to pee on. In my yard there are a LOT of "things" to pee on (trees, fenceposts, swingset legs, flowerpots, etc). The pylon has no special draw. So - skip trying that trick. ETA: I posted before reading any responses, then went back and read. I guess the cone didn't work for me because I'd already had a male in the yard for a long time before I tried it, so he set it up for failure - his scent was already everywhere else. Maybe it would work if you used it the first thing in a new place. Jillysmom usually knows what she's talking about! Regardless, start where you want to finish. I agree with taking dogs in a new place on lead to do their business, then that will become "the spot" - for pee at least - poop.... may be different.

One more thing I want to throw in there - if the poster is considering the $$- as I think we ALL are in this economy - Pergo is awesome for sure. But when we did our first room, we couldn't afford it. So - we went with a different brand, on sale at .99/sq ft. It was still a "decent" brand - but not Pergo quality. 10 years later, it's starting to show a bit of wear, and could be replaced. But we are HARD on that floor. My DD roller-bladed on it a lot, it was the entrance from the swimming pool for many dripping kids, and the dogs ran circles over it -we definately didn't baby the flooring. I've DEFINATELY gotten my money's worth out of it. Ten years on a $300 floor in the main entrance, and main hang-out room of our house (the kitchen) - yep. Pergo is truly the best IMHO - but if it's not in the budget - other brands are, and again IMHO - a MUCH better alternative than dirty carpeting.

It sounds like she's gotten a bit fruited out about all the ruckus lately, and isn't quite sure of herself. Remember to always respond to her nervousness in a calm, reassuring manner. YOU are her leader - when she's nervous - you act confident, nonchalant, in control. Don't fuss and hover - she doesn't need you showing her that there IS actually something to worry about! You could also work on some confidence-building stuff. Just simple training, every day - work on her with sit, down, look at me, find your toy, whatever. Teaching engages the dog's brain, makes her feel focused, enforces that YOU know what's what, and grows confidence from the praise when she performs. Keep it short - 10-15 minutes tops, and easy. Baby steps that always end on a good note. If nothing else works in a training session - end with "look at me" and when she does - praise like crazy and treat! That's an easy one. She may never learn the "trick" but the act of engaging her - asking her to focus, and rewarding a lot for even attention when asked for, will remind her that there is a "center" to her universe - and that's what dogs crave. The goal is to get her legs under her as confident and strong.

With your issues, and his - would you consider replacing the carpet an option? We've room- by- room elimated all the carpeting in our house except for DD's bedroom. Laminate flooring is pretty inexpensive, and you can install it yourself quite easily with only a few tools. That's what we've gone to (would've loved hardwood - but the $$ didn't permit it right now). If you price it out - replacing a room with laminate is about the same as a few carpet cleanings. I love it - I KNOW it's clean when it's swept and mopped, no hidden grossness below the surface. And when the occasionaly pee, poop or puke occurs - it's EASY to clean up. Consider it. It's not that expensive, or that hard. My mom and I ripped up carpeting, and installed the laminate in my livingroom in a day - for $450.

I don't have ANY experience with Italian Greyhounds, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about. But - my question is - how much are you crating? At night, and during the day when you're at work, and when you're home and cleaning? It seems like A LOT of crating to me. I'm not Anti-crate, I'm just wondering if you can do some other things part of the time instead - like babygate in the kitchen during the day, or close your door and not crate at night? I guess I'd like to know the reasons for crating first.

That's exactly how we do it here. Even with a mix of circumstances - all dogs are allowed on furniture, or one is, one isn't (fosters don't get couch privelages for a bit). Growling at another dog for simply being NEAR a couch is an automic OFF - that's possessiveness, and the bill I receive every month tells me that "I" bought the couch - so NO. I also won't tolerate if one dog is one the couch and another tries to bully it's way on and intimidate the first off. NO. Still - MY couch. I'll share with everyone, but nobody gets to act like they own it. It seems to work - and generally everyone gets along fine and piles all over the couches being NICE. We rarely have furniture issues after a couple simple corrections. Rules work. Stick to them.

My DD has had many gerbils, hamsters, dwarf hamsters, etc over the past 6 years. Then - she got these 2 awesome dwarf hammies that she TOTALLY ADORED - they were SO cool - so nice - so handleable. She kept them in her bedroom. She only had them for a feew days then - the door was left open - and our Diana made short work of them- she knocked down their tubes and got them. DD was a wreck, I felt terrible, and Diana didn't care a bit. It sucks when one pet EATS another! But - stuff happens. Blame is easy to do - but really - serves no purpose.

The running joke among my dog-owning frieds is that the greys don't "get" dog playtime. Or "greys are dog-snobs". When we get a mixed-breed group together, there's the requisite butt-sniffing all arond. Then all the other dogs run about and play - the greys either lay down, or go pee on everything. They really don't socialize too much with the other dogs. But - bring a new grey around - and they totally recognize it, and are very interested. If you want to have fun at the park - engage your dog yourself. Run , play chase, throw stuff. Don't expect your grey to buddy up with stranger non-greys, many of them just don't.

I don't have references for you, sorry. I've just always relied on good old common sense. In my house, there is a heirarchy...but we really don't work too hard at it. People first, then dogs. Dogs have a heirarchy amongst themselves - and they usually work it out. I've never felt the need to do anything special to be "Dominant" above my dogs - because to me, that's just normal. Dogs want a leader - "pick me"! I've got the food, and I show them what is expected. Dogs crave knowing what is expected of them. I'm NOT a bully. I lead. They follow. Most dogs love to follow someone that is willing to lead. I have deal with several dogs that tried to push into running the show - heck, not a biggie - who wouldn't try to take over if it's your personality and you were new in the place? Those dogs get corrected. NO - you can't own the couch and growl at humans - OFF the couch. They learn. They're all just looking for their place in the pack. ETA: my experience is ONLY with greyhounds. If you're in an all-breed class, there ARE breeds of dogs that need different incentives and corrections.... just make SURE that you're comfortable doing what makes SENSE for YOUR dog.

You definately need to work on teaching her not to jump on people - you'll get good advice for that here. In the meantime, while you're working on fixing the issue - I'll give you a tip to save yourself from embarassment when meeting people on walks. Use a 6ft leash. Cinch it up to nothing if needed when just passing by someone. But - if you stop to visit with someone, drop th length of the leash on the ground (keeping the end of it of course) and step on the slack that's on the ground. If she tries to jump, she can't.

One of the nice things about a better food - is that you feed less of it - so it lasts longer. I'm a big fan of throwing meat at my dogs as opportunity arises. Chicken on sale for 39 cents per pound - they're getting it added in. (I just give meat raw usually). I also believe in giving my dogs dinner leftovers if it's appropriate food for them (meat or veggies or pasta) not something crazy to digest. They love fridge clean-out day each week - they get a leftover extravaganza! And - I've been known to find a roast in the freezer that looks like it got a corner freezer-burnt, hack off the corner - and the dogs get beef add-ins for days. Most dogs can eat a lot of different stuff that you might have leftover. As an add-in to their "regular" diet. Leftovers are ok to feed - but if you're looking for quality on a regular basis to stretch your dollar - chicken on sale is awesome.

OK... thanks for all the responses. I'm surprised to hear that not many people have ever tried tying their grey - on a harness - for a short period of time - in their full sight. I would like to hear stories of where people tried this. BTW- I'm thinking of using a 12 foot line. ETA: I think X-pens are an awesome idea. Worked great for my other grey, and all of our fosters. The grey in question - jumps over them like they're not there. Short of bringing a 7 foot X pen - not an option for this girlie.

I'd have probably said "thank you for the thought... but we don't dare feed our dogs cooked bones". HOWEVER - "If you de-bone meat before cooking it - our dogs would LOVE to have the RAW bones". Being vegetarians, you probably don't get a lot of meat bones in your house. If your neighbor has them to offer - take them! They probably do-bone chicken, or beef, regularly - TAKE THE BONES!!!! It'll be great for your dogs, and also show that you appreciate your neighbor's gesture. Obviously - they were trying to do a "nice" thing. If you see them outside in the yard - you have a chance to make the connection. They were trying to be nice - be nice back with something that works for all of you.

Throw a bunch of it in a crockpot. If you're feedlng frisky- add in some sweet potatoe and stuff. You don't have to mess with it. Just scoop and serve. Put the rest in the fridge, scoop and microwave. Dinner for a week.

I'm never going to put a collar on my grey and tie it to a post. But - there are circumstance when I'm somewhere with my grey that it would be nice to be able to tie her for a while. Family picnic for example. So - I'm think of putting a harness on my grey, and hooking a long lead on her harness (a horse lunge-line). I'll be in sight the whole time. I'd like to have her there, but not tethered to me the whole time. What do you think?