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New owner and a lot of questions!!!


Laser1

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Hello everyone! What a great site! Information everywhere. We adopted Laser in early fall but did not get a chance for him to go through normal training (prison type) here in Ohio. Due to virus we had to take him right off of the track. Seems like that was probably not the best start!! I have a few questions, thought I would post them here and then move up into the category specific sections if needed.

  1. Steps, we have large two story house. We have walked him up and down, step by step moving his legs to each step. Shows zero interest in steps. We have done this 4-5 days in a row, still no desire to go up or down. Just keep working on it like this or any other wonderful ideas that have worked.?
  2. Constant urination. Have had him checked a couple times, no UTI. Is it normal for them to go pee 10-15 times a day? He eats or drinks and immediately has to go outside or on the floor!?!?!? Has been pretty good about not doing either inside, but that is if you keep him on a schedule of sorts. Not always convenient when everyone is working. Biggest issue is that he needs to go out once or twice during the night. Makes everyone else a little tired in the morning!
  3. Diarrhea - I read about Owello carrots and have ordered those. Vet put him on chicken/rice diet due to constant diarrhea (dehydrated and weight loss) but that has not really worked, consistently. Vet has us using Science Diet dog food for sensitive stomachs, but I think that is making it worse?
  4. He is great with kids and other dogs in the neighborhood, everybody love Laser! My oldest son is home from school and brought his small dog with him. Mozart and Laser play but Laser wants to bite his neck at some point every time they play. Gets a little scary. Normal?

 

Any and all thoughts, input or assistance is appreciated.

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Hi Laser1 and welcome! I am nowhere near as knowledgeable as many of the people on this forum, being on my first greyhound, who has been with us for two and half years. I can maybe help a little with the peeing - Buddy tends to mark a lot (outside, only once or twice inside), so I don’t really register these short pees very much and probably does 10-15 per walk. He’s not doing it because he needs a wee, he’s doing it because he’s a boy. Not sure if you’re currently working from home, but if so, it’s the perfect time to initiate a schedule for him. Take him into the garden for toilet breaks when you wake up, when you feed him and just before bed as a bare minimum. He will mostly empty out his chambers when he walks. He should be able to last all night without needing a wee (ours does easily). It almost doesn’t matter what your schedule is, as long as you are consistent.

have you had him checked for worms? That’s probably your first stop with the diarrhoea before you do anything else. Mine is also on Olewo carrots and it helped him produce firmer poops, although the third on his walks is usually soft/runny - simply because (I think) that it moves through his system too quickly to absorb water. This is our baseline to work from so it sounds like you still need to establish yours before you know what’s normal for Laser and what’s not.

Steps - ours also has no interest in going upstairs. As long as your dog doesn’t need to use stairs to exit the house (in case of emergencies) it’s probably not a problem. The only other decision is whether or not you want to share you bedroom (or bed!) with your dog, but if he’s not bothered, and you’re not bothered, let it go.

Laser looks like he’s fallen on is feet! Lovely boy!

Buddy Molly 🌈 5/11/10-10/10/23

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Welcome!  One of my dogs, Milo, came from southern Ohio.  We're in SW Virginia.  I'm not an accomplished dog trainer, but here are some of my ideas.  

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Steps ... Just keep working on it like this or any other wonderful ideas that have worked.?

My first hound not only didn't have any experience with steps, but her first family banned her from steps because they wanted their 2nd floor to be dog-free.  Two things that helped was her having to use shorter flights of outdoor steps every day to get in and out of the house.  3-4 steps at a time of a non-slippery surface built her confidence.  (And that's another thing -- are your steps that scary, slide-y polished wood?)  For a longer interior flight of stairs, I put a harness on her, held her next to me like a suitcase, and went up and down with her several times over several days.  That way, SHE had to move her legs on the steps.  But the true key was motivation.  We were on one floor of the house, and she was on another.  And she really, really wanted to be with us.  And ... she ... DID IT!  The look on her face -- she was so amazed and proud of herself!  And of course, we held a party for her.  Good girl!  So smart!  So brave!  Treats!  

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Laser wants to bite his neck at some point every time they play

Stop and correct him every time you see it.  It would be good to associate a command with it, such as "Easy." It's hard to tell from your description whether it's a true possible danger or not, but if it makes you uneasy, teach him to be more gentle.  One of my hounds would get a little too wound up playing with small dogs at first, and I would stop the play session.  The behavior quickly stopped.  She had no problems hanging out with cats, just when she was playing with small dogs.

 

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Ellen, with brindle Milo and the blonde ballerina, Gelsey

remembering Eve, Baz, Scout, Romie, Nutmeg, and Jeter

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Down is way harder than up when it comes to steps.  Sometimes it takes two people.  Can you borrow a step savvy dog for an afternoon?  Sometimes that works well.
Broken record saying green bag Iams for the runs. In general most greys seem to do well on mid grade foods.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Laser,

 

Our first greyhound that we adopted 10 years ago learned steps in 2 days. She passed last summer, and we just adopted another grey in mid-November. It took her a good 3 weeks to kinda get it, and she's still a little uncertain in certain situations (going downstairs at night). It can be a slog, and every dog is different. We used treats on the step to get her interested in moving in either direction, and then moved her legs/paws for her. Eventually she'd get momentum and do the rest but it took a while. Now she's generally really good but like I said, still not perfect. I will say though, it felt like no progress for a long time, and then boom! one time she just went and did them herself. Like a lightbulb goes on in their little heads. 

Good luck!

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Good advice for most, but I want to highlight that you need to get him tested and treated for hookworm asap, even if the adoption group told you they treated him.  The greyhound community nationwide is currently dealing with a super resistant strain of parasite that can take months of treatments to really clear completely.  There are several similar protocols available for you to use that have had success, so do a search in the H&M section for threads on hookworm.

You really need to get them under control before trying to mess around with his food.  It won't make any difference in his diarrhea if he still has hooks.  And, they don't call them "hookworm" for nothing - they can destroy a dog's digestive tract in short order.

For potty training - put him on a strict schedule and keep him on it.  Same time every day for everything.  This is what he's known his whole life and what he will be most comfortable with.  In general, a dog needs to eliminate after they wake up, after they eat, after they play/move around, so consider your work schedule and what your dog will need and adjust thing accordingly.  If you have a crate for him it's great tool to help with potty training.

If you need a bit more guidance, get the book "Way to Go!" by Patricia McConnell for step by step help.  She also has many other books that are great guides for getting along with your dog.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/16/2020 at 10:10 AM, Laser1 said:

Diarrhea - I read about Owello carrots and have ordered those. Vet put him on chicken/rice diet due to constant diarrhea (dehydrated and weight loss) but that has not really worked, consistently. Vet has us using Science Diet dog food for sensitive stomachs, but I think that is making it worse?

If you are still having digestive issues, I recommend having a blood test for more obscure parasites. I tried everything with my grey and every time it got better it would go back to being bad again. Found out he had cryptosporidium, a relatively rare parasite that is virtually undetectable and is commonly found in cattle which disrupts the whole digestive tract. After a week long treatment (which was not fun, it cleared out everything in his system) and the addition of a probiotic for a month he was back to having solid (but soft) poops and feeling so much better. I now have little additives in his meals to keep him regular and support his microbiome such as kefir, bone broth, fish stock, etc.

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