New Retired Gh, How Am I Doing?

[Feisty49]

Stanis sounds like he's making himself at home. You'll get lots of good suggestions -- and very different ones too -- from this forum.

 

My girl is very very heat sensitive and pants quickly when the temp is 60 with the sun out. Our summer walks are done early and late and are shorter than in cooler weather. She loves the cold and is most happy trotting along when the temp is below 50. You won't need boots at 30 F but you'll probably need a light-weight coat, especially after coming off a hot summer. My Annie Bella does fine with a fleece coat for most of the winter unless it is very very cold and windy, when I switch to a heavier coat with a snood.

 

Stanis should be fine on your upcoming trip but of course never ever leave him alone in a car in the heat unless the AC is running. He'll probably sleep most of the trip on the bed or blankets you set up for him. Two hours isn't very long so there shouldn't be a need to stop for a pee break or to stretch.

 

Bad breath: He probably does need a cleaning but you can help a little by brushing his teeth every day.

 

We need pictures of your guy!

[Guest KsFrets]

Our greys don’t care what the temps are outside... they are fine in the car with the AC on for as long as we want to drive! They LOVE car rides. I give water during walks over 80 degrees. If I’m hot and thirsty, they are too! We stop every so often and take a drink form the canteen. We don’t walk on the asphalt when it’s hot, we walk in the grass of a local golf course. We’ve never had boots for our hounds, and we walk in the winter sometime near 0 degrees F. Below 30 F they have coats, especially when it’s windy.

[Tallgreydogmom]

We give our furkids soup bones (marrow bones) from the butcher shop to help clean there teeth. The racing kennels also give their greyhounds marrow bones to chew on.

[jamngrey]

Did you get him from calainte? If so there are several of us on greytalk that work with groups that get our dogs from there

[Tallgreydogmom]

I thought you might be interested in this newsletter.

 

https://ckm.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/greyhoundpublic/documents/About/Newsletters/GHWPSpring2012.pdf

[Guest ShanYu]

Congrats on your adoption . Nice to read that he is starting to settle in. Re boots: Nike never wears boots in the winter - and our temps get down to minus 20 C - so I doubt your guy will need them.

[TheFullHouse]

If he's really new to your home the panting can be due to stress. He may do it often until he settles in a bit and gets used to living in a home instead of at the track. Most of us here in the US measure our dogs food by cups instead of pounds. For an average size male, I usually feed 3 to 4 cups per day, usually two feedings, one in the morning and one in the evening either 1 1/2 to 2 cups per feeding. I'm not sure how that calculates into pounds to be honest.

 

My dogs do not wear boots and we live in the south where the temperature usually gets down into the low 30's and sometimes lower depending on the winter we're having. Unless you plan on walking him for a really long time, I don't think boots are necessary. Mine don't even wear coats because if they're outside they are running and playing and not for that long of a period of time.

[Guest Beernardo]

DAY 6

 

Hello everybody, thanks a lot for your input. Today we took Stanis to have his teeth cleaned, they took out a lot of plaque? and his bad breath went away dramatically, he still smells bad (as my sharp smelling sense wife tells me) but maybe his overall smell will improve with the new food (kibble), more teeth brushing and another shower (in a couple of months).

 

He still sleeps next to our room in the hallway inside his wire crate, he needs to keep us at sight to rest, otherwise he'll whine continiously. We are going to give him perhaps another week or two before making him spend the night in his crate but at the living room. Any tips on how to go about this? We move the crate to the living room during the day and he's happy to lay in there with the open door as long as he hears us in the kitchen or in the rooms, we also can shut the crate door and keep doing our business in the other areas of the house and he can take about 40 min. before starting to whine just a little bit.

 

He does have an area of about an inch wide in his right leg close to his foot (his wrist?) where I can see the bare skin, the vet told me that probably he suffered from anxiety in the kennels and he does it to himself. The vet also noticed from his fawns that he used to bite the metal doors of the track's kennels. Does this means I'll have problems making him stay by itself?

 

 

Another question, Stanis is missing hair on his thighs and a little bit (about 3/4") but not as bad behind his ears but not right next to them. Will this be Thryoid realted? diet? laying down on hard surfaces? The vet told me he's sure it is hyperthyroidism. Sorry for the porn shot:

 

@Tallgreydogmom Wow, I didn't know about that site, is pretty exciting to have that much info about him. So our dogs arerelatives

I also found two videos of him racing, here's the # 6:

http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gtu%2420110901e02

http://www.trackinfo.com/video-box.jsp?raceid=gtu%2420110826e02

 

@brandimom Yes, I'm working on getting him a sandpit, in the meantine he's doing his thing in the park without a problem. Yes, I got him from the 'Caliente" racetrack in TIjuana, where I live. So you are a volunteer at fast friends? I've been wanting to get in touch with this organization to use them as a support group. Caliente just put me in contact vie e-mail with Tom McRorie.

 

@Charla JillysFullHouse I was feeding him about 3 cups a day in two sessions of 1.5 each, but I can see almost all of his ribs, I know upped the dose to 4 cups and I'll give it a few days. My goal is to cover all of his ribs except for the last two.

 

@LindsaySFThanks!

@Feisty49 We get temperatures from 0°C (32F) only a few days in the winter to 45°C (113F) in the summer. They kennel boy from the tracks told me they never whore anything, not even a fleece. I guess the kennels were warm enough with all of the greyhounds living inside. Working on those pictures I'll sure post some.

 

@KsFrets Got it, I'll look for a canteen if I see him having a hard time during walks. Will it be harmfull if I let him drink all the water he wants just after a 30 min brisk walk?

@jamngrey yes I did, glad to hear that!

[o_rooly]

Congratulations on getting your boy!

 

My hound Aston (Coldwater Barzee) has a bald butt and tummy at the moment. It seems to be seasonal -- he sometimes gets a little bit more hair over his bare parts in winter, but not always. Seems to be a common phenomenon among greyhounds.

I gave Aston 3mg of melatonin daily last year in the fall to get him some more fur for winter (CA winter -- ha, ha), but as soon as I stopped giving the melatonin, his butt and tummy hair fell out again..

[Guest KsFrets]

I’ve always let my dogs drink as much as they want before during and after walks, no problems. Our Greyhound Magnus was bald like that on his butt. We give him 3 mg of melatonin every day, and he’s nice a furry now.

[Feisty49]

DAY 6

 

Hello everybody, thanks a lot for your input. Today we took Stanis to have his teeth cleaned, they took out a lot of plaque? and his bad breath went away dramatically, he still smells bad (as my sharp smelling sense wife tells me) but maybe his overall smell will improve with the new food (kibble), more teeth brushing and another shower (in a couple of months).

 

He still sleeps next to our room in the hallway inside his wire crate, he needs to keep us at sight to rest, otherwise he'll whine continiously. We are going to give him perhaps another week or two before making him spend the night in his crate but at the living room. Any tips on how to go about this? We move the crate to the living room during the day and he's happy to lay in there with the open door as long as he hears us in the kitchen or in the rooms, we also can shut the crate door and keep doing our business in the other areas of the house and he can take about 40 min. before starting to whine just a little bit.

 

Is there a special or significant reason why Stanis can't stay near you at night? Dogs are social animals and Greyhounds especially need to be with their pack. Remember, they have never been alone from the day they were whelped. I would not separate him from you at night. He will be very unhappy and I think the bond you're forming will slow down dramatically. It can take months for a Greyhound to settle in and feel totally secure. Separating him from you at night won't help that feeling of security.

[Batmom]

Baldness: It's a greyhound thing, not related to thyroid function. Some greyhounds get furry butts (and tummy, neck, ears) in the colder months and go bald again in summer. Some grow more fur as they are in the home longer. Some stay pretty hairless in those areas. Just how they are.

[Guest Beernardo]

DAY 7

 

Today we built him a sand pit hoping he uses it to go and make his business. I made him go in after our walk and he choose to laydown and relax instead (my wife and I laughed a little), I said NO and made him get up, thinking that he might make it some sort of house extension and refuse to use it as a toilet, did I do the right thing? do you think he'll get that he can pee in there? I'll won't take him to the usual spots until he relieves himself in the sand pit in one of our attempts.

 

 

 

@ o_rooly Tom from fast friends told me they use Soloxine, which work better than Thyroxine to help with the Hypothyroid baldness. I'll have to a blood test and see if he comes out positive first.

 

@Feisty49 My wife has a really sharp sense of smell, and she would prefer to have him sleeping in the living room, when we took him we was really smelly, we gave him a shower the next day and yesterday we took him to the vet to remove all of the plaque from his teeth, which helped dramatically to his bad breath. The other thing is that the crate in the hallway obstructs the way to the bathroom. We spend all day with him though, we take him to the office and just hang around sleeping all day. Anyways, we are still working out things and I'm sure we'll find a way to make everybody happy

[Feisty49]

Great looking back yard and sandbox. I have no idea if he'll ever use it. Being that sometimes it has shade, he may think it's a great place to be outside but be out of the sun! LOL I doubt I could get my Annie Bella to pee/poo in one spot. She likes to walk, sniff, turn, sniff, walk some more to find just the right spot and then do her thing.

 

I suspect any odor he has will fade as he spends more time in his new environment, especially now that his teeth have been cleaned and you're attending to brushing them regularly so I'm wondering if once Stanis is used to the house and being your boy, will you still crate him at night? I think most of us don't crate at night, or if we do, the door is left open. I stopped using the crate with my girl 3 days after I got her because she didn't need it. Somebody else with more crate experience will have to give you advice as to whether he'll calm down out of sight of you and in the crate. If I had to make a bet, I'd bet he won't, but who knows.

[Guest Beernardo]

Thanks Feisty, Stannis thought the same as he didn't wait for more than 10 seconds before making himself comfortable. Tom from fastfriends recommended me to wash some of his stools in the sand, I'll report the results.

 

After doing the "leaving and come back" training I'm going to put a webcam while I'm at work and see how he spends the time by itself. I just have to teach him how to play with his toys first so he has something to do. Any ideas on how to teach him how to play? I have no other dogs were he could pick this up from, perhaps from the TV? or I'll have to wear a dog costume and play catch?

[Feisty49]

LOL about dog costume. Let us know how it works out teaching Stanis to play. My girl does not play with her stuffies except for the 30 seconds before we walk out the door for a walk or a car ride. That's when she expresses her excitement about going out. Other than that, she doesn't even look at them. I've tried playing with her. Hiding them. Running around with them and coaxing her to run after me. I've tossed them to her. I've piled them on her bed. She has no interest and from what I've read here, sometimes this is the way it is. She also does not much like a kong or any other object that requires a lot of work. She doesn't even roach! She takes retirement seriously, which isn't bad because she also never goes in the garbage, never cruises counter tops, and if I drop food on the floor, she doesn't go after it, unless it's within reach of her tongue.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Feisty49

[Beachbum1]

Good luck with the toys. If I get 30 seconds of toy play time out of Taylor every few days, I am surprised.

 

I have a rubber squeaky toy that I leave outside and I gave up tossing it to him. If he reacts to it at all, it's usually to run around like a lunatic (never grabbing the toy) for a a few seconds, or if I toss it in the air, it usually bonks him in the nose and then he looks at me with sad eyes, LOL.

 

Taylor conserves his energy, as you can see from the pictures I post.

[Guest Beernardo]

Sand pit update: I placed some stools around the sandpit to trick his mind into thinking he's done it there before, but he just stood there frozen like thinking "who did this to my super lounge area??!" I took him out and back in like 5 times in 30 minutes, I gave him time to relax, nothing, all of a sudden I was cleaning stuff under my shoe and he went number 1 on the gravel right aside the sand pit. Weird dude.

[Tallgreydogmom]

Many times people have one of those orange construction cones for the boys to go on. We have a white 5 galllon pail upside down in their potty area. The boys like to go on that.

 

Just an idea.

[jamngrey]

This is ALL new to him. He has lead a really structured life with lots of hounds up to this point. (There is a really good article about this.... Hopefully some one will post it). Just wondering if you are planning on neutering him?

[Guest Beernardo]

Ok he just doesnt wants to do it in the sand pit, he just stands there and now he goes to the gravel area to roam a little bit then he's back in the concrete. Yesterday night I made him stay for about 20 min pointing with my finger to the sand, coming in and out, nothing, then I leave him outside for a bit and I se him through the window doing #2 in the concrete, almost as he waited until nobody sees him to go. This morning I had no success either (I didn't leave him out of sight), so I took him for the daily morning walk and he peed in the usual small park we walk through without any hassle. And then he went #2 after a couple of blocks.

 

I'm affraid that if I let him loose in the patio he'll pick random spots to pee and poo and the smell will be too much. Am I asking for too much? I hope I'll find a solution soon. Will avoiding him to do it in the streets help in the process? I'll try the upside down bucket and the construction cone.

 

I don't think we'll neuter him, I can't think of a reason to do so. He's pretty laid back right now, will neutering him convert him into a statue??

 

 

[Guest Beernardo]

Now he just went #1 in the patio floor right in front of my door 6ft away from where he eats and drinks, is that normal?

[TheFullHouse]

Here is one Kathleen Gilley's article:

 

This breed has never been asked to do anything for itself, make any decisions or answer any questions. It has been waited on, paw and tail. The only prohibition in a racing Greyhound's life is not to get into a fight--or eat certain stuff in the turn out pen.

 

Let us review a little. From weaning until you go away for schooling, at probably a year and a half, you eat, grow and run around with your siblings. When you go away to begin your racing career, you get your own "apartment," in a large housing development. No one is allowed in your bed but you, and when you are in there, no one can touch you, without plenty of warning.

 

Someone hears a vehicle drive up, or the kennel door being unlocked. The light switches are flipped on. The loud mouths in residence, and there always are some, begin to bark or howl. You are wide awake by the time the human opens your door to turn you out. A Greyhound has never been touched while he was asleep.

 

You eat when you are fed, usually on a strict schedule. No one asks if you are hungry or what you want to eat. You are never told not to eat any food within your reach. No one ever touches your bowl while you are eating. You are not to be disturbed because it is important you clean your plate.

 

You are not asked if you have to "go outside." You are placed in a turn out pen and it isn't long before you get the idea of what you are supposed to do while you are out there. Unless you really get out of hand, you may chase, rough house and put your feet on everyone and every thing else. The only humans you know are the "waiters" who feed you, and the "restroom attendants" who turn you out to go to the bathroom. Respect people? Surely you jest.

 

No one comes into or goes out of your kennel without your knowledge. You are all seeing; all knowing. There are no surprises, day in and day out. The only thing it is ever hoped you will do is win, place or show, and that you don't have much control over. It is in your blood, it is in your heart, it is in your fate--or it is not.

 

And when it is not, then suddenly you are expected to be a civilized person in a fur coat. But people don't realize you may not even speak English. Some of you don't even know your names, because you didn't need to. You were not asked or told to do anything as an individual; you were always part of the "condo association"; the sorority or fraternity and everyone did everything together, as a group or pack. The only time you did anything as an individual is when you schooled or raced, and even then, You Were Not Alone.

 

Suddenly, he is expected to behave himself in places he's never been taught how to act. He is expected to take responsibility for saying when he needs to go outside, to come when he is called, not to get on some or all of the furniture, and to not eat food off counters and tables. He is dropped in a world that is not his, and totally without warning, at that.

 

Almost everything he does is wrong. Suddenly he is a minority. Now he is just a pet. He is unemployed, in a place where people expect him to know the rules and the schedule, even when there aren't any. (How many times have you heard someone say, "He won't tell me when he has to go out." What kind of schedule is that?) Have you heard the joke about the dog who says, "My name is No-No Bad Dog. What's yours?" To me that is not even funny. All the protective barriers are gone. There is no more warning before something happens. There is no more strength in numbers. He wakes up with a monster human face two inches from his. (With some people's breath, this could scare Godzilla.) Why should he not, believe that this "someone," who has crept up on him, isn't going to eat him for lunch? (I really do have to ask you ladies to consider how you would react if someone you barely knew crawled up on you while you were asleep?) No, I will not ask for any male input.

 

Now he is left alone, for the first time in his life, in a strange place, with no idea of what will happen or how long it will be before someone comes to him again. If he is not crated, he may go though walls, windows or over fences, desperately seeking something familiar, something with which to reconnect his life. If he does get free, he will find the familiarity, within himself: the adrenaline high, the wind in his ears, the blood pulsing and racing though his heart once again--until he crashes into a car.

 

Often, the first contact with his new family is punishment, something he's never had before, something he doesn't understand now, especially in the middle of the rest of the chaos. And worst of all, what are the most common human reactions to misbehavior? We live in a violent society, where the answer to any irritation is a slap, punch, kick, whip, or rub your nose in it. Under these circumstances, sometimes I think any successful adoption is a miracle.

 

He is, in effect, expected to have all the manners of at least a six-year old child. But, how many of you would leave an unfamiliar six-year old human alone and loose in your home for hours at a time and not expect to find who knows what when you got back? Consider that if you did, you could be brought up on charges of child abuse, neglect and endangerment. Yet, people do this to Greyhounds and this is often the reason for so many returns.

 

How many dogs have been returned because they did not know how to tell the adoptor when they had to go out? How many for jumping on people, getting on furniture, counter surfing, separation anxiety, or defensive actions due to being startled or hurt (aka growling or biting)? So, let's understand: Sometimes it is the dog's "fault" he cannot fit in. He is not equipped with the social skills of a six-year old human. But you can help him.

[Guest Beernardo]

Thanks for te article Jillys, I think I understand how everything going on in his life right now is new, and the question I have is HOW can I communicate with him to let him know it is ok to go in the area I want made for him or if it will be possible in the long run. There's something about his nature that I don't understand, whenever we are walking he chooses a spot and bam, no problem, he does it in open grass, dirt, sidewalks, etc. He did use that area on his first days like 4 times, so it isn't completely new for him, I don't get how he doesn't likes that spot and prefers the other areas of the patio where I've already said no to him (firmly but not paranoic).

 

Where and how does the rest if your gh's do their business?

 

[Feisty49]

My girl pretty much does her business wherever she wants, as long as it's not on the backyard grass. I have almost 12 acres of land, most of which is woods and none of which is fenced. Because she's on a leash, I lead her to the back of the driveway, about 500 feet, to the barn and she'll go along there. If we're walking on a sidewalk in the neighborhood, I don't mind where she pees because it's never the same lawn twice so there's no permanent burn. For poo, though, if we're walking off the property, I do lead her to the grassy area between the road and sidewalk, thus keeping the grass close to someone's home clean and less likely someone will step in any leftovers. (I always pick up but if it's a "soft" moment, something is always left behind.) It's very obvious when Annie Bella's gotta go poo. She has a certain walk (like she's got a load in a diaper.. LOL) and her head starts swinging back and forth looking for just the right spot. So I guess I have no advice as to how to "make" him go in just one area.