New Grey Owner, Have A Few Questions 😁

[1stGrey]

Hubby and I both grew up with dogs and have had our own dog before, but this is our first Greyhound! We adopted her a few days ago from a rescue group. She is such a good dog! She is great with the kids and we love her already.

I had a couple of questions/advice:

1. Bald spots and belly and thighs. I know the can be normal, and her foster said it looks like the thighs are starting to grow back. Her thighs have a some bumps to them. Could it be hair follicles? She had an all clear heartworm/fecal test in August from adoption group's vet, but I had to take her in today when I saw worms in her poo. She got a dewormer. Could the tapeworm inadvertently cause it (stealing nutrients, so diet isn't as good)? If I can figure out how to add a picture I will.

2. We have her on a grain free food (Costco) and have been mixing it with the food the foster gave us. My mom just gave us a huge box of Milk Bones, which had the main ingredient as wheat. Can she eat the treats, or is the non-grain for treats too?

3. We have the stairs almost down! Yay! We just started working on "lay down" today. She is smart, maybe a little stubborn. I did read Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies, but if anyone has any tricks, I would appreciate it!

Thank you all in advance! I've already found some great advice on here(helped a ton on the stairs)!

[KF_in_Georgia]

Going out of order:

2. I had a vet tell me not to worry about grain unless my dogs demonstrated a grain sensitivity. I had one boy who'd launch really stinky farts from wheat. Otherwise, none of mine have been grain sensitive. (Currently, I've got a boy who toots pure fish if he has a fish-based kibble or treat, but is fine with processed fish oil capsules.) I also had a boy who was lactose-intolerant, so cheese was off the menu. Just pay attention when you're changing ingredients and watch for trouble. (My guys adore Milk Bones.)

1, I have a boy with a periodically bald butt and belly. A girl with a nearly bald belly but only a little hair loss on her butt. But their skin is good, as is their diet, and the hair loss seems to vary with the seasons. The skin bumps could be hair follicles, but might be something else. (Dog often get blackheads on their bellies from lying on something hard. I assume that's not what you're seeing.)

3. Congratulations on the stairs! A local woman does agility and obedience with her greyhounds. She uses clicker training, and she's posted lots of information and videos on training. Check the left column for links to training topics: http://neversaynevergreyhounds.blogspot.com/

[greysmom]

All perfectly normal things that may work themselves out in time.

 

You can use a mild cleanser on the skin bumps - they may be an acne sort of thing - or a warm wash cloth with mild soap. Sometimes the hair comes back and sometimes it doesn't. Many people swear by many different "hair growing" products like melatonin and various supplements. I've never seen an appreciable difference with any of them. Some dogs will regrow hair when their winter coat comes in, and then lose it when they shed for summer.

 

I doubt the worms have a relationship to hairgrowth, though you are right that a heavy infestation can decrease nutritional value in feeding. Tape worms should be relatively easy to get rid of - make sure you test for hookworm as well as they are *everywhere* and very difficult to clear. Your girl should be on a good heart worm med, plus a broad spectrum wormer, and flea and tick protection.

 

The trick with training a greyhound is finding the proper treat or toy to motivate them. They have been bred for centuries to hunt and think independently, so they have no inherent desire to please humans and work interactively like other breeds do. You have to make training fun for them and worth their while! Repeated short sessions, and using behavior shaping techniques, seem to work the best.

 

Congratulations on your new family member!

[SanTanSnuggles]

We are on our fifth and sixth greyhound. Previously we only had one at a time, but have found that having two is no more of a problem then having one but double the fun. I have a friend who has about five, plus two others of a different breed. He likes to feed his dogs a raw natural diet and they are very healthy. I cook chicken, turkey, beef, and fish for our guys and buy sales and freeze. Saves time. They also get some milk bones, but mostly Costco Kirkland dog bones and they LOVE them. They also get Nylabone chicken natural from Costco when on sale. I get about a dozen bags at a time as they only go on sale twice a year. They love the apple/chicken round dog treats from costco also. My boy has a beautiful heavy black coat and thick. My girl had bald thighs when I got her, she was two, but with our diet, she has a nice layer of hair there. I had one boy, called Stormy and he was a really big boy. He was very healthy, but never did get any hair on his butt. Some are just like that. Whole Dog Journal has a lot of info on dogs. Also greyhounds are different medically than a lot of other breeds.I too grew up with many different breeds, but was surprised to learn just how different greyhounds are. I only give my greyhounds shots that are required by law and are associated with the area where we live. When they get their shots, it is only one of a kind at a time. I belong to the Greyhound Initiative. We also go to various greyhound events so they can socialize. There are many organizations to be a part of, it depends where you are. Did you check out the Vet page for greyhounds in this site. It is very good. We use the Seresto Flea and Tick Collars made by Bayer. We have used other collars and the spot on, but our dogs got pretty sick from the spot on, even when we use only half at a time. Since I put the Seresto Collars on them, we have not had one tick and we live in a park area where there are lots of deer, etc. and they have no bad reactions. We choose to get Healthy Paws Insurance for our girl. We love being owned by our greyhounds. We got addicted to them back in 1989 and its been greyhounds since. I love this site as everyone has been so very helpful when my guys have had issues and they are very compassionate and very caring. I have learned that each have a beautiful unique personality to be appreciated, different needs and playful ways. I go on cause I just love them so much. I am so happy to see that another greyhound has found a greyt home and too want to congratulate you as you enjoy your journey.

[1stGrey]

Thank you for all the replies so far!

I created a photobucket account, so let's see if the pictures work

Edited October 3, 2017 by 1stGrey

[GeorgeofNE]

Those are blackheads.

 

They're very common in greyhounds. As are bald thighs. Your vet should know that. The fur may grow back, or it may not. My dog has a totally bare butt, chest, and belly. He also had a terrible patch of blackheads, but with diligent applications of warm compresses, witch hazel, and Biore pore cleansing strips (yup! Just like on your own nose!), they're gone now. The hair hasn't grown back on my dog, but it's purely cosmetic and nothing to worry about.

 

Grain free is a trend and frankly a scam (for most dogs). If your dog is doing well on the kibble you have, great. Don't worry about the Milk Bones. There is nothing evil about wheat, and no reason dogs can't eat it. My dog happens to eat a grain free kibble, but only because he likes it, he does well on it, and I see no reason to change it if it's working. But I didn't pick it because it was grain free.

 

Millions of dogs have done quite well on dog food that has contained grain for as long as commercial dog food has been made.

 

Good luck with your new pal!

[greysmom]

FYI - Photobucket recently change it's operating model and no longer supports free accounts for third party hosting - that allows you to post your photos on other sites. There are a couple of recent threads discussing alternatives if you search for "third party hosting" and "I hate photobucket."

[1stGrey]

Photobucket won't link anymore Thanks greysmom for the search ideas! I'm attempting to share from Flickr.

 

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Edited October 5, 2017 by 1stGrey

[greysmom]

Those are both totally normal presentations for greyhounds coming into adoption. Nothing to worry about at all, IMO. Like I said above - some mild cleanser or acne product will help with the bumps.

[1stGrey]

Thanks! I tried a light wash on her thighs today, and they already look a little better!

[EllenEveBaz]

Welcome to you and your hound! My hounds' fur has varied much like posted above. Racing greyhounds evidently are not bred for coat quality. The sides of the thighs seem to grow back fur the most, and the belly the least. I don't even notice it anymore, except when some stranger asks me if my dog has mange.

 

Also -- don't be surprised if your hound's skin color on the belly and legs changes noticeably through the seasons -- darker, lighter, pinker, purple-lier.

[mychip1]

Best wishes...sounds like you've got yourself a pretty "normal" greyhound - whatever that means in our world!

 

If she figured out stairs that fast, agility might be the way to go. I was just wishing today I had done that with Dustin. He was the slowest of my hounds - completely failed racing and never got past schooling races, but he launches around the yard like a gymnast and he's the one who mastered stairs faster than any. My JJ could run - but he still, seven years later, runs up the stairs like he's scrambling to survive - as opposed to Dustin who lightly touches each foot on each step.

 

Enjoy your hound!