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cardigans4life posted:Anyone have thoughts about grain free food and it's relationship to anxiety? I've been thinking about switching from Purina Pro Plan Chicken and arrive to the Kirkland grain-free kibble as I've heard from a few people that they've felt like their pup's anxiety has been better off grain/gluten. I generally don't subscribe to the whole "gluten is the root of all evil" but I would do just about anything at this point to alleviate some of our boy's issues. He's been to a behaviorist and is currently on Prozac twice a day if that gives you an idea of our progression... I'm actually off out to buy a bag of Burns Pork and Potato Sensitive tonight to trial our houndie on due to some up and down behavioural weirdness (which is coupled with a few reasonably mild symptoms that are quite possibly related). Essentially in our case, we're getting some evenings when we get in from work where our guy has a mad hour or so, then is pretty chill the rest of the evening, but some evenings, he seems really restless and has to constantly chew something or get kind of hyper and throw toys around. Walking/giving him a good run in the garden doesn't seem to help much when he's got "the beans" as we call it. Like, I'm aware a dog that is home all day (albeit, with a dog walker for a midday break) is going to need human interaction in the evening, but he's taking it to a rather different level than the descriptions of greyhound behaviour led me to imagine he'd behave and it kind of sucks as I'm not getting to enjoy just being around him as he's in one room for 5 mins, then off he goes to my husband in the study to chew and throw an antler for a short while, then back in again etc etc. If sensitive food doesn't have an effect, next stop is the vet. Ours is chomping down dirt/grass every chance he gets, which is supporting my idea that it's his food. While I'm talking about restlessness that is likely down to some level of gastrointestinal discomfort here, if you google something like "James Wellbeloved hyper" you'll start to find some interesting threads on dogs seemingly entirely different beasts on the right or wrong diets, so it's definitely worth looking into if you've not done a lot of playing around with the diet yet. Also, quick infodump since I just broke out from lurking the whole thread: We adopted our first grey on new year's eve, specifically looking for a dog that would be able to adapt to living with cats. We ended up with a 2 year old fawn ex-racer who only ran 14 times and has a really low prey drive. No separation anxiety to speak of, he's settled amazingly well into our household in a general sense; sleeps happily in the lounge downstairs, which leaves the cats with the upstairs to themselves, travels fantastically well in the car and loves everyone he meets, dog and human alike. The only downside thus far is the aforementioned hyperactivity/restlessness, but I'm really hoping we can clear that up with diet changes. The cats also aren't super keen on him, but I think the restlessness isn't helping that. Our tuxedo cat will come downstairs occassionally, and was originally laying down the law with him, but now seems to have become more concerned, maybe he's sensing the extra energy pup is emanating?
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Feb 23, 2018 16:42
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He’s only two! He’s barely out of puppyhood. I’m glad he’s getting lots of opportunity and space to play. Mental workouts can tire a pupper out just as much as running around. Have you looked into things like puzzle feeders, nightly trick teaching, snuffle mats, stuff like that?
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Feb 23, 2018 17:02
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Puzzles/trick feeders are something I'm planning to look into, it's just tough finding things that will actually keep him occupied for long enough without A) just frustrating him to the point he gives up B) frustrating him to the point he whacks whatever it is hard against stuff because he knows that's how he gets the last bits out of his rubber kong (these two are mainly a problem for his kong wobbler which smaller stuff falls out of very quickly, but larger stuff that barely fits through the hole ends up frustrating him). A deer antler seems to have been the best thing so far for keeping him occupied for a while. One long rubber bone toy lasted a good while, but he did eventually dismantle it and he goes through rope toys at a rate of knots. I could just keep refilling his kong, but I feel like we'd go way past what his daily food amount is supposed to be. Snuffle mats do look like a good option, I'll see about getting one of those.
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Feb 23, 2018 17:29
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A muffin tin and a dozen tennis balls are a great puzzle E: until your dog figures out it’s quicker to just tip the whole thing over. Fortunately Bonnie is dumb as a sack of rocks 
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Feb 23, 2018 17:32
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Sparty got significantly better after we switched to a sweet potato and fish recipe. We did it because he was having trouble with incontinence, being unable to go three hours without peeing. We figured his anxiety was due to not knowing if he’d be able to get outside in time but he’s definitely chilled out since then too.
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Feb 23, 2018 17:43
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Josie loves hers, it’s the only food toy she’s understood so far. I made hers out of a couple cheap ikea fleece blankets and a hexagon-hole rubber door mat. Longer strips of fabric makes for more snuffling, and the size of the mat means she can’t just mess it up to get the treats out.
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Feb 23, 2018 22:08
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Plate posted:I'm actually off out to buy a bag of Burns Pork and Potato Sensitive tonight to trial our houndie on due to some up and down behavioural weirdness (which is coupled with a few reasonably mild symptoms that are quite possibly related). Essentially in our case, we're getting some evenings when we get in from work where our guy has a mad hour or so, then is pretty chill the rest of the evening, but some evenings, he seems really restless and has to constantly chew something or get kind of hyper and throw toys around. Walking/giving him a good run in the garden doesn't seem to help much when he's got "the beans" as we call it. Like, I'm aware a dog that is home all day (albeit, with a dog walker for a midday break) is going to need human interaction in the evening, but he's taking it to a rather different level than the descriptions of greyhound behaviour led me to imagine he'd behave and it kind of sucks as I'm not getting to enjoy just being around him as he's in one room for 5 mins, then off he goes to my husband in the study to chew and throw an antler for a short while, then back in again etc etc. If sensitive food doesn't have an effect, next stop is the vet. Ours is chomping down dirt/grass every chance he gets, which is supporting my idea that it's his food. While I'm talking about restlessness that is likely down to some level of gastrointestinal discomfort here, if you google something like "James Wellbeloved hyper" you'll start to find some interesting threads on dogs seemingly entirely different beasts on the right or wrong diets, so it's definitely worth looking into if you've not done a lot of playing around with the diet yet. Thanks for the search term! I will definitely do a little homework. We’ve transitioned him over to Costco brand grain-free food and are currently burning through the rest of his regular treats to get him completely grain-free, so we’ll see how things go after we’re 100% there.
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Feb 23, 2018 22:56
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Update: The restlessness has settled down somewhat following the diet change. He's still having some times where he doesn't settle for a while, but that tends to coincide with the same time every day and I think it's just his naturally active time. It's around a couple of hours when we're home from work, so it does coincide with us trying to eat, but we're learning to distract him with a kong etc while we do this and trying to make sure he gets a good run around in the garden before we try and sit down. He does seem to get super playful if my husband lies down on the sofa, which is a little hard to read whether he genuinely wants to play, or if he's trying to shift the hoomans around so he can get up with us. It seems like a combination of both. The cat is now coming back downstairs more often, and it seems like when there's food scraps being given out, they will actually be in the same room (dog doesn't even look in kitty's direction). I'm wondering whether trying to feed them in the same room at the same time might help things along. I've given them tuna on the floor about a metre apart in the past with no issues, it's purely the fact that the cat won't stick around long enough for them to properly co-exist. Dirt eating has also settled down for now, but that's most likely down to the fact that the UK is mostly frozen, so Zephyr's less inclined to try and dig anything up. I do have some bitter apple spray handy from back when our cats tried to chew wires in the past, so I'll spray the areas he likes when everything's back to normal temps and see if that deters him. He's had a great time doing zoomies in the garden after a tennis ball instead of a walk the past couple of days (I think he gets more out of running than walking to be honest).
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Feb 28, 2018 11:19
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My mother and her partner adopted two greyhounds, female and male (Bella and Sisko) from the university they work at. As it's a veterinary university, they get a lot of ex research animals sent their way so these were never racer dogs, but used for experimentation. Sisko ended up chasing an adult kangaroo and we never saw him again, but Bella has done very well in her new life, being the most abused (not lifted onto the couch) and unloved (not constantly told how good a girl she is, etc) dog you'll ever meet. Absolute massive princess. I'd be interested in knowing if anyone else's dogs do something she does. When scratched behind the ears, something she loves, the harder and longer you do it, the more she bares her teeth, shudders her lips, growls and drools. I'm talking full on xenomorph here. And she does this because she really, really loves head scratches, and if you stop scratching her, immediately she stops this behaviour, looks at you like you just shot her best friend in front of her and does anything she can to to get you to continue scratching (head knocks, laying all over you, etc), and as soon as you start she goes all alien again. Does anyone elses hound exhibit the same/similar swap of normally negative-indications for positive ones?
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Mar 4, 2018 15:24
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Zephyr hasn't done what you've described, but that sounds a lot like "smiling"? I read a lot before I adopted about how some greys do a more pronounced snarly grin than the standard mouth hanging open and panting face. If you google greyhound smiling, you'll find some pics of them making what look like snarls, but are actually them saying they're incredibly happy. I think I read somewhere that it's believed to be a super submissive thing that they only do towards humans, it's never been seen dog-to-dog. But not every greyhound does it.
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Mar 6, 2018 11:28
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I have not observed Sparty doing anything like you describe, but he’s never been very submissive. Sometimes we get a teeth chatter but that’s it. Time for a Sparty photodump   Zebra     
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Mar 7, 2018 19:44
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So many good and cute puppers! I posted this in the cute thread but forgot to here. This is a video of Josie eating vegetables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlO1lBqtaic
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Mar 15, 2018 11:23
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skoolmunkee posted:So many good and cute puppers! That is the most adorable thing 
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Mar 16, 2018 00:59
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Great pics and vids by the way, everyone!  One thing I'm curious about with Tazo though, is that in the last few days if you so much as touch his upper sides and back, he grimaces (I think?) and gets an extreme desire to scratch that side. Now, I know that it's a trait that's common with dogs, but this has never been a thing for him, until now. Plus it seems to be such an intense sensation for him - like, he'll recoil away as though he was jolted by an electric shock on that side, and desperately try to scratch at it for a moment.So yeah, I'm just wondering if it's something any of you have noticed, at all? I'm not sure if it's sort-of normal and will 'die down' to a more reasonable level, or if like, his skin is dry/agitated in that area, (for whatever reason) or something. I dunno. Major Isoor fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Mar 16, 2018 |
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Mar 16, 2018 01:18
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skoolmunkee posted:So many good and cute puppers! I have that same food bowl, but it doesn't slow my dog down at all anymore
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Mar 16, 2018 05:31
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i like how josie has to run away ever so slightly before she eats the food 
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Mar 16, 2018 12:26
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Skoolmunkee, great video of veggie dog. I watched the next one too of majestic Josie and that one is A+ too. Glad I am not the only one that touches the tongue when ETS is happening. She’s such a cutie!
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Mar 16, 2018 16:15
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I just noticed Abby is missing some hair from her tail... should I be concerned about this? I have no idea how long it's been like that.
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Mar 17, 2018 20:03
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actionjackson posted:I just noticed Abby is missing some hair from her tail... should I be concerned about this? I have no idea how long it's been like that. I wouldn't freak out about a bald patch but you should definitely keep an eye on it. If the skin gets irritated it doesn't take much to lick a spot clean. This could be the first sign of an allergy. Keep an eye on the bald spot and look out for increased itchiness in general. Gannon's got a ragweed allergy so he spends every august on Benedryl (I shove the pills into bits of hotdog). It's not uncommon for him to give himself a few bald spots from licking/scratching if I forget to dose him before the ragweed starts to bloom. The bald spots grow back once he stops licking them. They can turn into hot spots if not taken care of quickly though. Major Isoor posted:Great pics and vids by the way, everyone! This might be allergies as well. Gannon got really sensitive to being scratched just before his first outbreak.
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Mar 17, 2018 20:23
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Thanks. She doesn't really grow hair back ever, not sure if this is common but she's still bald on her stomach, and a small patch of hair that she lost due to a cut many years ago never grew back either.
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Mar 17, 2018 20:27
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Yeah scar tissue won't grow hair, and (most) greyhounds are just bald on their undercarriage. Gannon's got plenty of permanent bald spots as well but spots like that tail pic should regrow the hair. It looks like the hair's just been rubbed or licked clean, but the skin is unbroken though so scarring isn't an issue.
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Mar 17, 2018 20:33
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Does anyone else have a dog with receding gums? I just noticed this - the highlight area should have gum tissue if the corresponding tooth on the other side is any indicated. Not sure if I need to have this looked at before her yearly appointment in July or not.
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Mar 30, 2018 05:10
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I just realized I never posted Tess's birthday  photos  http://i.imgur.com/VcKGryJ.gifv
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Apr 12, 2018 21:15
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Such a pretty and delicate lady :3
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Apr 12, 2018 22:03
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Guys, say hi to Gello. She was rescued from an abusive home and we were lucky enough to adopt her.   She's the most gentle, soft and dignified/goofy dog I've ever met, but she's scared of lots of stuff. Don't know if I should be asking here on in the training thread, but we're having issue with taking her outside (she really, really does not want to). We don't have a garden, so this is an obvious problem. Don't want to drag her outside and just reinforce the fear she's already got. Even bribery doesn't work, once she shuts down, she's not intested in anything but the couch. Any goons with ideas?
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Apr 28, 2018 18:22
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Radiation Cow posted:Guys, say hi to Gello. She was rescued from an abusive home and we were lucky enough to adopt her. That poor darling  Training thread may be the best bet. You’re going to need to do exposure therapy, and find the balance between when she’s operative (still thinking, basically) and reactive (when she shuts down). You want to bring her as close as you can to the reactive stage without going into pure reactive instinct, and demonstrate that good (great!) things can happen there. As time goes on you’ll be able to get further and further, but it will take a lot of time and there will be setbacks, especially if you have the temptation to push too fast. Unfortunately, with something like going outside to eliminate, you’ll have to force the issue before she’s accommodated. You may be able to avoid bad associations by doing it differently than you plan on “normally” doing things. If it was me, I’d just pick her up bodily, carry her outside, have her do her business, then carry her back in. Walking through the door is what gets her treats and praise. Keep us updated, even if you go to the training thread, and I hope your pup gets her fears addressed
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Apr 28, 2018 19:49
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If you got her recently she may also show good improvements over time without too much other work. It can be even 6 months before dogs true personalities show through. On a similar note: with our 2 the fosters told us to treat the first couple weeks as "no expectations" time. We fed them we went out to bathroom and walk but didn't do all that much else as they adjusted. Once they were comfortable we worked on some obiedence tricks and learning not to charge after every squirrel on the block during walks.
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Apr 29, 2018 22:52
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Xguard86 posted:If you got her recently she may also show good improvements over time without too much other work. It can be even 6 months before dogs true personalities show through. Yeah, I meant to mention that too. It was six months before we started to see Sparty's true personality, and when we go somewhere with lots of strangers it's amazing how different he behaves - you see where that reputation for aloofness might come from. The important thing to remember is that it won't always be as bad as it is now; things will eventually get better.
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Apr 30, 2018 00:11
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Thanks for the advice, guys. We're really lucky because the adoption agency is absolutely committed to supporting new dog owners and we've received a lot of similar advice as well as a lot of practical help (and bags of free treats). We also got her a harness, which helps a lot with her walk anxiety for some reason that I don't fully understand. She still is absolutely terrified of kids and other dogs, but that's something that we can scout out and avoid for now while still getting her to go to the toilet. The challenge is definitely going to be finding the balance between new and scary. My partner has bought into the concept of exposing her to new stuff in order that she doesn't 'get bored' while I'm still advocating a lighter touch and letting her veg at home if that's what she wants to do. So for now, I've given into the idea of taking her along for a walk with one of the adoption agency ladies and her dogs tomorrow and we'll see how that goes. I'm feeling a bit iffy about it, but trying to be positive and hopefully, I'll be proven wrong that it's too much too soon.
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Apr 30, 2018 16:16
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Bonnie was initially REAL scared on walks. We bought a 10 meter lead and gave her some space to wander about and get away from us a bit. It was like night and day. She was way more relaxed - probably because she felt like she wasn’t so trapped if a scary thing happened. (Obviously this is a solution for parks and not walking around the block)
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Apr 30, 2018 16:30
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Radiation Cow posted:Thanks for the advice, guys. We're really lucky because the adoption agency is absolutely committed to supporting new dog owners and we've received a lot of similar advice as well as a lot of practical help (and bags of free treats). If the harness helps her, maybe a thundershirt could help more generally. Pretty sure there is some kind of money back guarantee.
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Apr 30, 2018 16:46
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Glad you're seeing progress! For the other end of the spectrum: We don't take our dumbdumbs to the dog park anymore. Too many incidents of them getting too aggressive chasing other dogs. So far nothing tragic but one has a new scar on her face from defensive kicking and the other fell like 8ft off a ledge chasing another dog. They do fine with other dogs who are confident but if they sense insecurity or fear it gets too intense. They even went after a great Dane that was probably bigger than both combined, but very young and soft. Since we obviously can't control who's in the park, thought it best to stay away. They will also do stuff like shove their bodies in between other people and their dog, looking for pets. It's charming but could also be annoying. Generally they're just kinda... Bullies lol. They were both successful racers who ran into middle age, and I can see why with their weird for Greyhound confidence plus high drive. They're total sweeties with people, even children and very chill otherwise. So no harm just keeping to the usual walks plus maybe some solo Park time if we can get it.
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Apr 30, 2018 17:30
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I've never taken Abby to a dog park. Too risky. Only dogs she's been off leash with are other greyhounds.
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Apr 30, 2018 17:41
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So turns out that while Gello doesn't like the city, she loves the forest. We're walking with a lady who has a deerhound, two malamutes and a small dog. They're teaching her the ropes, and it's wonderful to see her romping around the forest. I don't think I'll let her off-leash without the pack for now, but she has shown pretty good recall and she checks in often. It's also helped with her confidence during normal walks, she actually walked by a child today without freezing. Progress! And to celebrate, here's some photos.    
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May 5, 2018 11:22
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Gello is such a pretty deer dog I love her little white feet Meanwhile, Sparty has been going crazy licking us constantly. It might be a salt deficiency thing, but apparently it might also just be soothing behavior or affection.
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May 5, 2018 13:31
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Genovera and I are going to pick up this handsome guy from a rescue this evening.  I'm not going to get anything done at work. I'm just gonna be thinking about dog.
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May 18, 2018 15:56
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Congratulations! How long has he been off the track? Looks like a while based on the low amount of ribs visible.
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May 18, 2018 18:00
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rhoga posted:Genovera and I are going to pick up this handsome guy from a rescue this evening. Congratulations! I want to steal that handsome boy Post more pictures to stave off the dark urges
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May 18, 2018 18:05
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https://youtu.be/IB9lfradrJs
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May 18, 2018 18:35
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DarkHorse posted:Gello is such a pretty deer dog She's also really classy.  I also second you posting more pics Rhoga, this thread is what got me interested in greyhounds and more pictures are always better than less.
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May 18, 2018 18:53
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