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Another Dog With Sa


Guest Flysmom

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Guest Flysmom

I received a call from one of our Adopters ( she is having problems creating an account on GT due to her Yahoo address) and I gave them all the advice I can give. I am hoping that may be some of you have more ideas what they could do.

 

KJ's routine did not change since she was adopted in early October. She was crated with no problems. KJ is in a crate because she takes her muzzle off faster than they can get it on and she will tear down the blinds trying to get out thru a window.

She is alone for 4 hours in the morning, then her family is coming home for lunch, play with her, let her out and go back to work for another 4 hours. She is in the crate for 8 hours with a one hour break.

She gets exercised, she has the neighbors dogs to play with, toys, backyard, kongs. She was given Rescue Remedy or something similar in her water, she has a diffuser close to the crate. She is an only dog. She was a happy, loving girl until yesterday.

 

Yesterday she managed to open her crate door and destroyed more blinds. After her owners left after lunch they secured the crate door and KJ pushed the crate across the den into the kitchen and broke a tooth trying to get out. Her owners describe her as a tense, being on pins and needles, crazy look in her eyes Greyhound vs. the calm, loving Greyhound she was yesterday moring. I fostered KJ and she was very calm and loving here also.

Again, nothing in their daily routine changed, no construction near by, no thunderstorms. Nothing they could think off.

 

 

I and our director recommended to start the rescue remedy again, to have her Thyroid tested, Tickpanel and a complete CBC and may be some meds to help take the edge off. What else can they do? Are we missing something? Nope, a 2nd dog is out of the question for them right now.

 

Thank you all so much for your help.

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Guest Greyt_dog_lover

1) They need to start over and do SERIOUS alone training. Not, a half-attempt, but dedicate 2-4 days to work on the issue.

 

2) Do they make a big deal with the hound when they leave or return? That causes more issues.

 

3) As most know, I am a strong proponent of crating, but if a hound injures itself while attempting to get out of the crate, dont use the crate. Get 48" x-pen and block the areas they dont want her near, such as the widows.

 

4) "She gets to play with the neigbor dogs, toys ect. Does she really play? Honestly if they are other breeds then what kind of play do they do? How many greyhounds have you seen early in an adoption play with other breeds? Its not something I have ever seen. Or toys for that matter. If this hound is really stressed out, I doubt she even KNOWS what toys are.

 

5) Why test for thyroid? I dont see the correlation between separation anxiety and thyroid, unless there are other issues such as severe lethargy, severe hair loss, etc...

 

6) You said you fostered her, do you have other hounds? There are some hounds that simply cannot make the transition to being an only hound, she may very well be one. They seem to be in a bit of a tough spot, if they simply cannot have another hound, and cannot dedicate the time needed for alone training, maybe they need to return the hound for one better suited to being an only hound.

 

 

Chad

Edited by Greyt_dog_lover
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If all was well until yesterday, it makes me wonder if something happened while the family was away. No way of knowing though. You have to wonder about a hound that switches personality overnight. Sounds like you all are on the right track though.

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Guest Flysmom

1) They need to start over and do SERIOUS alone training. Not, a half-attempt, but dedicate 2-4 days to work on the issue.

 

I will recommend that again to them.

 

2) Do they make a big deal with the hound when they leave or return? That causes more issues.

 

Nope. KJ gets a treat when she goes into her kennel and they leave. No fussing over her. Same as I did, minus the kennel.

 

3) As most know, I am a strong proponent of crating, but if a hound injures itself while attempting to get out of the crate, dont use the crate. Get 48" x-pen and block the areas they dont want her near, such as the widows.

 

I have not thought about that. Thank you.

 

4) "She gets to play with the neigbor dogs, toys ect. Does she really play? Honestly if they are other breeds then what kind of play do they do? How many greyhounds have you seen early in an adoption play with other breeds? Its not something I have ever seen. Or toys for that matter. If this hound is really stressed out, I doubt she even KNOWS what toys are.

 

She played in my house with stuffies. Throwing them up in the air and running with them. According to her family she loves to run with the JRT and the Great Dane mix. The thing is she did not seem stressed out until yesterday, now she is tense and has the wild look, where before she was calm and loving.

 

5) Why test for thyroid? I dont see the correlation between separation anxiety and thyroid, unless there are other issues such as severe lethargy, severe hair loss, etc...

 

Thyroid was an idea, and the family will ask the vet. I thought of Thyroid because of her complete change in behaviour. I am grasping for straws here! I never had a Greyhound with SA.

 

6) You said you fostered her, do you have other hounds? There are some hounds that simply cannot make the transition to being an only hound, she may very well be one. They seem to be in a bit of a tough spot, if they simply cannot have another hound, and cannot dedicate the time needed for alone training, maybe they need to return the hound for one better suited to being an only hound.

 

Yes, I have 2 other Greyhounds, a pug puppy, a cat and 2 kids. Yes, she might be one of those Greyhounds that cannot be alone. The family wants to do what is best for KJ, they told me yesterday that blinds can be replaced but KJ cannot. They want to make it work and make her happy.

 

 

Chad

 

If all was well until yesterday, it makes me wonder if something happened while the family was away. No way of knowing though. You have to wonder about a hound that switches personality overnight. Sounds like you all are on the right track though.

 

Thank you. I talked to her family again and they are still trying to figure out what happened yesterday but we will never know.

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Do NOT leave a dog in an x-pen unattended unless you have made SURE you cannot knock it over yourself. It is so easy to knock one over it's not even funny. My old dog was confined to an x-pen for MONTHS and I found out the first day how darned dangerous they can be.

 

I had to put all kinds of weighted things at the bottom inside to prevent the pen from collapsing.

 

I would also not spend my money on thyroid tests. The primary symptoms of thyroid problems are skin and coat issues; not behavior issues.

 

My guess is the crate is actually causing the problem here.

 

I agree with the alone training--and frankly, if the incident was after their visit at lunch, I'd suggest they're just interrupting her day and probably causing double the anxiety; leaving her twice each day instead of just once!

 

I had hired a dog walker for George, and it didn't help him a bit.

 

Is the dog getting a good long, brisk walk every morning? A Kong with peanut butter ONLY when they leave? Music playing?

 

These are all things I tried, and the only thing that really made a difference is stopping the crate! Once I did that, he was fine!


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Guest twhitehouse

I agree with everything Chad said. I also agree that it could have been a loud noise, someone coming to the door, etc that may have set her off....

 

Do some serious alone training and don't make a big deal of the comings and goings. Give her a frozen kong in the crate before they leave. She seems to focus on the blinds and window, right? Our SA dog, Lexi, did this as well. Do they leave the blinds up so she can see out? That seemed to help Lexi....

 

Also, if crating does continue to be an issue, they could certainly try leaving her out and muzzled...they'd just need to get a muzzle keeper. They can be purchased at http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/gem_store/muzzles.htm. We had to do this with Lexii as she too could not be crated and could get her muzzle off in a flash.

 

Edited To Add: Sometimes they do just get sick of the crate and will let you know when it time to get rid of it! :P

Edited by twhitehouse
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Guest happygrey

My suggestion would be to definitely try the meds and definitely work on alone training as well as desensitization to cues that they are leaving. I agree with the other poster, it needs to be a dedicated attempt not a couple of tries here and there. And obviously no crate. And I'm sure they feel bad they can't get another dog, but please let them know that a second is not always a magic bullet. Bentley (our 2nd grey) is the one with SA here (though it's much better than when he first came to us!) not our first. He doesn't care that he's left with another grey, he wants his people.

 

I'd also recommend basic obedience training. It's great for the bond.

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How does your dog behave when you are home? If she has a wild-eyed look and is on pins and needles while you're home, my first guess would be that she might be in pain -- especially since it seems to have come on suddenly. Panting when the dog is not hot is also a symptom of pain. (My second guess would be that something happened while she was in the crate. When I was a child I had a dog who slept in the kitchen with the doors shut. One night she barked and cried like crazy, which was completely unusual for her. Turns out there was a huge black snake that had found its way into the pantry by her bed.)

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Guest Flysmom

Thank you all for the advice. I gave KJ's family the advice I received here for them.

 

KJ had a tooth extracted yesterday, she broke it when she tried to get out of the crate. Her family had her Thyroid checked and it came back as very low. She will be put on Thyroid meds.

They are working on alone training again, they will baby gate her in a safe area and work with her on her SA.

We have some great minds working with them to try to help them and KJ.

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Guest Greyt_dog_lover

Thank you all for the advice. I gave KJ's family the advice I received here for them.

 

KJ had a tooth extracted yesterday, she broke it when she tried to get out of the crate. Her family had her Thyroid checked and it came back as very low. She will be put on Thyroid meds.

They are working on alone training again, they will baby gate her in a safe area and work with her on her SA.

We have some great minds working with them to try to help them and KJ.

 

I am sure you already know about the blood values and such of greyhounds, are you sure that the vet's office that they are taking their hound to knows to do a full thyroid panel and send it off to MSU? If not, well then of course they are going to think there is a thyroid problem, all greyhounds have low thyroid values.

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Guest Flysmom

Thank you all for the advice. I gave KJ's family the advice I received here for them.

 

KJ had a tooth extracted yesterday, she broke it when she tried to get out of the crate. Her family had her Thyroid checked and it came back as very low. She will be put on Thyroid meds.

They are working on alone training again, they will baby gate her in a safe area and work with her on her SA.

We have some great minds working with them to try to help them and KJ.

 

I am sure you already know about the blood values and such of greyhounds, are you sure that the vet's office that they are taking their hound to knows to do a full thyroid panel and send it off to MSU? If not, well then of course they are going to think there is a thyroid problem, all greyhounds have low thyroid values.

 

 

Yes, they know about the differences between a Greyhounds and a 'normal' dogs blood values. Don't know about sending it to MSU, but I can ask.

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If they got thyroid results back in a day or two, that would be just a T4 which is not useful for diagnosing hypothyroidism. Not useful because: -1- it can fluctuate enormously from day to day; -2- a greyhound can have a T4 of zero and be normal; -3- stress, hookworms, other illness, you name it can cause the reading to be low.

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Guest Flysmom

If they got thyroid results back in a day or two, that would be just a T4 which is not useful for diagnosing hypothyroidism. Not useful because: -1- it can fluctuate enormously from day to day; -2- a greyhound can have a T4 of zero and be normal; -3- stress, hookworms, other illness, you name it can cause the reading to be low.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the info. I sent them what you wrote, I did not know this either. Something new learned! They have the Greyhound info on blood values, I sent them the info Burpdog sent me a long time ago, and KJ's mom told me that they had that one.

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I am just tuning in to this discussion, so if I have missed something or am stating the obvious, apologies up front.

But I would definitely suggest that the family NOT replace the mini-blinds for now. (Can they put a towel or sheet up temporarily?) KJ has now destroyed blinds in two homes, correct? It could just be that the blinds are in the way of the window. Or that there is something about the blinds themselves that freaks her out. Hey, we still have one who runs away from the sight of any sort of cord (phone, blind, extension)-- and he has been off the track for 8+ years.

 

We also have one who decided he did not like his crate one evening, so he destroyed it. We have not closed the door on the crate when he will be alone since that night (he sleeps in it with the door open). We agree with the assessment about "no crate". But no strong recommendation on what to do beyond that. If she is by herself, is there any harm in letting her roam the house? Is she a chewer?

 

Poor girl.

 

Carol

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Guest Flysmom

I am just tuning in to this discussion, so if I have missed something or am stating the obvious, apologies up front.

But I would definitely suggest that the family NOT replace the mini-blinds for now. (Can they put a towel or sheet up temporarily?) KJ has now destroyed blinds in two homes, correct? It could just be that the blinds are in the way of the window. Or that there is something about the blinds themselves that freaks her out. Hey, we still have one who runs away from the sight of any sort of cord (phone, blind, extension)-- and he has been off the track for 8+ years.

 

We also have one who decided he did not like his crate one evening, so he destroyed it. We have not closed the door on the crate when he will be alone since that night (he sleeps in it with the door open). We agree with the assessment about "no crate". But no strong recommendation on what to do beyond that. If she is by herself, is there any harm in letting her roam the house? Is she a chewer?

 

Poor girl.

 

Carol

 

Carol,

thanks for your input! I am thankful for any input, to learn and to be able to help KJ. I personally never had an SA dog. She only destroyed the blinds in her new home. At my house she only counter surfed for bananas and left our blinds alone.

Her family is no longer crating her, they baby gate her in the den, where she seems most comfortable and they had no problems in the last 2 days. They started her on her Thyroid meds, they are also sending the Thyroid test info and meds info to our director, who will talk to the Groups vet. She is also on Clomicalm (sp) for now to take the edge off. The are working on alone training also. I really hope that we can help KJ, she is a sweet little girl and with lots of patience we will get there.

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Guest LindsaySF

I agree with Chad's post.

 

If she is getting her muzzle off that easily it is either too loose or they need a muzzle keeper strap.

 

I would give her more than a treat to occupy her when they leave. Try a kong with frozen peanut butter and/or a kibble-dispensing treat.

 

Also, if they are having problems after the lunchtime visit, it may be doing more harm than good, as Susan touched on in her post.

 

Good luck.

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