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I think the pet nutrition thread put it best:quote:If you aren't sure but think maybe your pet might be a little chubby, then your pet is probably an enormous fatass because most pets are. Most people are so accustomed to ottoman-shaped pets that they think healthy pets look super skinny.
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Jul 1, 2013 17:04
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various cheeses posted:I think the pet nutrition thread put it best: Oh I get that, I was just wondering what others say in response to being literally accused of neglecting/starving their dogs. (Personally I just get kind of flustered and British and usually end up apologising somehow, o the trials of being English)
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Jul 1, 2013 17:09
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I keep glancing at the thread title and reading it as "Your dog needs to eat a burglar". Which sounds unlikely given what I hear about greyhound temperament.
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Jul 1, 2013 17:15
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notsowelp posted:Oh I get that, I was just wondering what others say in response to being literally accused of neglecting/starving their dogs. (Personally I just get kind of flustered and British and usually end up apologising somehow, o the trials of being English) I usually just say something like "the vet says she's the perfect weight" which seems to work. There's just so many visible bones and muscles on a greyhound people think it's bad, but it's mostly because they have zero body fat and thin skin. Usually people don't just up and say "wow your dog is thin," it'll be a comment after they've asked if they can give her a treat or something, or they're petting her and they'll say "she seems so thin."
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Jul 1, 2013 17:27
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I would also point out Husker's huge muscley back end, because seriously that dog's thighs were almost as big as mine, and no starving animal has that much muscle mass. We didn't keep him in racing condition, so one or two ribs disappeared and those big gams were a little smaller, but he was still pretty clearly an athlete even up to the end. One time a couple came up to me and the woman was all concerned about how skinny he was, poor baby, mama needs to fatten you up, oh did you rescue him from abuse, blah blah blah. She talked right over me as I was trying to explain. Her boyfriend was listening, though, and when she took a breath he said "Babe, that dog is like Michael loving Phelps." 
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Jul 1, 2013 18:18
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skoolmunkee posted:I usually just say something like "the vet says she's the perfect weight" which seems to work. I do the same, and it usually works for strangers. But it doesn't help with my parents or in-laws, since Mona is super greedy and constantly looking for food. We have to constantly explain to them that she'll keep eating if given the chance. This is a dog that ate 40 dumplings in 5 min (around 2-3lbs of pork, plus equivalent volume of cabbage). You could actually see her stomach was visibly bigger.
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Jul 1, 2013 20:14
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Well I have learned that Union has bone cancer in her front leg. They are going to remove the leg on Tuesday but the vet kept saying how it was a risky surgery because Union is old and has heart problems. It was pretty not awesome hearing about how it's the second worse type of cancer and it will probably come back somewhere else because its aggressive, and also super painful. I might have to make Union another hamburger this weekend. Edit, correcting autocorrects skoolmunkee fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Jul 19, 2013 |
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Jul 19, 2013 19:28
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skoolmunkee posted:I usually just say something like "the vet says she's the perfect weight" which seems to work. There's just so many visible bones and muscles on a greyhound people think it's bad, but it's mostly because they have zero body fat and thin skin. I see a saluki at work and I always think its too skinny  but I dont want to say anything in case Im being a fattyfatdogowner. Its got all its hips and spine sticking out. Kinda like http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles/Assets/Richmedia/Image/na10ja-dog.crop.jpg with hair.
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Jul 19, 2013 19:44
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skoolmunkee posted:Well I have learned that Union has bone cancer in her front leg. They are going to remove the leg on Tuesday but the vet kept saying how it was a risky surgery because Union is old and has heart problems. It was pretty not awesome hearing about how it's the second worse type of anger and it will probably come back somewhere else because its aggressive, and also super painful. What kind of tumor is it? My experience is with osteosarcoma, but I know there are 2-3 other common forms of bone cancer in dogs. We were able to buy Husker about eight months with amputation and chemo, even with stopping the chemo early. If she responds well to the surgery and any chemo or radiation you decide to do, and has relatively few side effects from pain medication, Union should have some good time left. Feed dat dawg a burger, and I wish her luck.
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Jul 19, 2013 19:51
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It's osteosarcoma in her front shoulder. He said her lungs sounded clear so amputation would extend her life for several more months to a year probably, but he didn't want to be too optimistic because I guess the tumor developed fast (4 weeks) and the X-ray was not nice. She has a big ol lump coming out of her shoulder. She is 11 years old and has cardiomyopathy but is otherwise in really good health, so I'm hopeful about the surgery, but they kept saying it was risky. My options were basically palliative care, amputation and waiting, or euthanasia. Union is like my only friend in England and I just want her to have the best life she can.  why does there gotta be cancer
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Jul 19, 2013 20:08
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It's a bummer but 11 is about the beginning of the end for greyhounds in my experience. Something always pops up then or within a year or two. Our philosophy has always been that we will give them all the treatment that we can (unless it costs $texas) but if they stop loving life we will put them down. Not going to let a dog suffer just because I can't let them go. You'll be able to tell when Union isn't the same happy dog anymore. On the bright side Greyhounds apparently do well as tripods thanks to their narrow frames.
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Jul 19, 2013 20:41
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I will probably never own a dog because I just am way better suited to owning cats, but I secretly want a greyhound. Does anyone have pictures of their greyhounds wearing hoodies? I love that poo poo.
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Jul 20, 2013 20:49
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 This is the greyhound I used to petsit. Her name is Jojo and she is a good dog. 
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Jul 20, 2013 21:03
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Skizzles posted:
Yesssssssssss
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Jul 20, 2013 21:51
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Your dog needs to wear a hoodie: Greyhounds
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Jul 20, 2013 21:51
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Long dogs! I'm having my home inspection soon with my local rescue so hopefully I'll be bringing one home at the beginning of September. Does anyone have any experience with greyhounds and bloat? I keep hearing mixed things about raising/not raising food bowls to help prevent it, but which is it, or does it really make that much of a difference? Regardless, my practice offers laparoscopic gastropexy which I will probably just get done anyway to be on the safe side. skoolmunkee posted:Union is like my only friend in England and I just want her to have the best life she can. I'm so sorry to hear this. Please let us know how the surgery goes.
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Jul 20, 2013 21:51
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Mighty Amoeba posted:I will probably never own a dog because I just am way better suited to owning cats, but I secretly want a greyhound. Does anyone have pictures of their greyhounds wearing hoodies? I love that poo poo. They are relatively "catlike" in personality, though of course they still have the same needs all dogs do - they have to be taken outside to eliminate, they will get lonely if they're home alone all day, etc. But they have a much smaller footprint in your life than some breeds. I don't have pics in a hoodie, because Husker hated having stuff on his head, but here he is in a Battlestar Galactica uniform:  And wearing sweatpants: 
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Jul 21, 2013 00:47
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Skizzles posted:
That is just adorable overload. Before I had Aussies I had 2 track rescue greyhounds and they were just the best.
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Jul 21, 2013 01:04
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RazorBunny posted:They are relatively "catlike" in personality, though of course they still have the same needs all dogs do - they have to be taken outside to eliminate, they will get lonely if they're home alone all day, etc. But they have a much smaller footprint in your life than some breeds. This is all true. Apart from occasional demands for ear rubbins, Jet largely just sleeps on the sofa, rug or one of his beds. If I want to do something he's totally up for it, but otherwise he just has a nap and is happy, so long as he gets his daily walks/play sessions/rubbins. skoolmunkee posted:Union is like my only friend in England and I just want her to have the best life she can. Skoolmunkee, I'm so sorry to hear about Union. I hope she responds well to surgery and further treatment. If you're ever in East Anglia let me know, we might be able to do a meetup or something. Jet needs to start hanging with other dogs.
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Jul 22, 2013 10:20
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I posted this in the cat thread, but it fits better here, so: I'm getting ready to introduce my 12-year old whippet to my cat. Blake, the dog, was neutered young and is basically the laziest thing ever. Jet, the cat (no relation to Trauma Tank  ), is 4 years old and I honestly don't know how he'll react. What's the basic idea with introducing a whippet to a cat? My primary worry is that Blake is significantly larger than the cat, so I'm scared of Jet getting hurt. Plus, a whippet is predisposed to chase after running targets - and the cat does run around a bit when he's bored, so I'm scared of setting his instinct off. Is it any more difficult to introduce a whippet to a cat, or is it the same as usual? If so, how should I go about introducing them?
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Jul 22, 2013 13:17
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How is Blake's prey drive? Sure, they're bred to chase, but individual dogs have different levels of drive. If it's high, you'll need to be much more careful. If it's low, the introduction may be no big thing at all. And even some high prey drive dogs will chase a cat outside, but a cat indoors is safe. It just depends on the animals involved. I've usually seen it recommended that you muzzle the dog and keep him on a short leash, and let the cat mostly drive the interaction. If you can get someone to help you, have one person handle the cat and one hold the dog, and praise the dog highly for ignoring or calmly watching the cat. Basically you want to teach the dog that your cat is really very boring, and he shouldn't bother with it. If the cat will tolerate it, have the cat-handler sit on a chair or couch with the cat in his/her lap and you sit nearby with the dog, but not super close. If everybody is calm you might let them get closer and sniff each other. They probably won't be friends right away, or maybe ever, but hopefully they can coexist without much conflict.
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Jul 22, 2013 14:47
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He is the laziest fucker and doesn't have much of a prey drive at all. If he's outside, he'll bark at a cat, but he's more likely to run away from it than towards it. He's a big ol' softie  and rather old, too, so he's not the type to run around a lot. Jet is, though, and if he's meant to react at something running away, then maybe that'll set it off - but I haven't really seen that happen yet.We're gonna give it a day or two, then leash them both and let Jet approach Blake. We'll start off small, both behind a door, then try opening it with a window or something in front. Jet's an indoors cat only, so I'm hoping that he won't be interested in him at all. There is a cat outside that walks around occasionally that he barks at, but not while Blake's outside, I think. Oh god I want this to go well
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Jul 22, 2013 15:49
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I think it's interesting that he barks at cats, it probably indicates he doesn't see them as prey - sighthounds generally will get really quiet when they see something they want to take down. There's a whole series of signs for prey reaction. Hard eye contact, muscle tensing, a change in ear carriage. Some of them chatter their teeth. Some sighthounds have a weird kind of drive, where they aren't actually interested in catching something, but they still enjoy the chasing part. Husker was that way - he would chase other dogs who were playing fetch, he would give a little chase to our cats if they had the zoomies near him, and he would run after cats in our yard until they crossed the property line, but he never showed any interest in actually grabbing them. I've met a few greyhounds like that. I guess they do alright in races because they still want to run faster than the other dogs, but they would probably not do well as coursers or actual hunters. I'd say just encourage Blake to "leave it" when Jet is running around like a maniac, and make sure Jet has lots of places to climb out of the way if he feels threatened. Until you're confident Blake won't try to grab Jet, just make it way more rewarding to ignore him completely. If Blake is food-motivated you can accomplish this by cramming his face full of delicious things whenever he ignores the cat running by. I hope it goes well. By the end of Husker's life, he and our cat Nibbler were actually pretty good buddies, and would cuddle together and sometimes try to play, even though they really didn't understand each other's play styles. And our other cat would occasionally rub up against him and even tolerated him licking her, though she wasn't as friendly with him as her brother was.
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Jul 22, 2013 16:02
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I found this article a little while ago and figured I'd post it here. The Functional Saluki http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/belkin.htm It's an interesting commentary on what conformation in a breed (specifically Salukis in this case) really means for its working ability, and it posits that form does not follow function to the extent that dogladies would like you to believe. (Shocking, I know.)
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Jul 22, 2013 16:09
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I hung out at a greyhound rescue yesterday for a bit and met some dogs. I had no idea what was going on with the teeth chattering until I looked it up later. At the time I was thinking "oh god this dog is flipping its poo poo!"
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Jul 22, 2013 18:37
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Union didn't make it. She was doing well after the surgery and they asked me to come pick her up to move her to the emergency clinic so someone could watch her overnight, but then suddenly her heart gave out I guess. They called me back just as I was getting into the car. I'm pretty devastated right now. She meant everything to me and I feel like I let her down, what an awful way to go.
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Jul 23, 2013 19:42
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Oh, no, skoolmunkee 
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Jul 23, 2013 19:54
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I'm so sorry about Union. You gave her the best care you could, more than a lot of other people would have done. You didn't let her down at all. This is the only bad part of owning a dog...my best to you.
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Jul 23, 2013 20:22
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Very sorry for your loss. That's heartbreaking.
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Jul 23, 2013 20:32
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So sorry about Union.
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Jul 23, 2013 21:03
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It's always hard but Union got to have a good life with you and didn't suffer on the way out. You did good so don't beat yourself up about it. 
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Jul 23, 2013 21:20
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I'm so sorry, Skoolmunkee.
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Jul 23, 2013 22:48
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I think it's important to remember how this thread began:skoolmunkee posted:This is not a megathread, but it is a thread about greyhounds! Greyhounds are good dogs and deserve a thread. Thank you for starting this thread, and for sharing Union with us. I am going to be getting a greyhound in a couple months, and while it will be really sad whenever she or he has to move on, you and everyone in this thread has shown me that a greyhound is definitely the right choice for me.
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Jul 23, 2013 23:32
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Union dog good dog. Good dog Union.
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Jul 23, 2013 23:33
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You didn't let Union down. You both made each other's lives better. Remember that dogs don't fear or understand their mortality like we do. The only thing she knew is that she had you and you had her.
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Jul 23, 2013 23:38
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Nice Davis posted:I think it's important to remember how this thread began: Definitely thanks for the thread. Reading through this 100% convinced me to adopt a greyhound.
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Jul 24, 2013 03:38
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skoolmunkee posted:Union didn't make it. She was doing well after the surgery and they asked me to come pick her up to move her to the emergency clinic so someone could watch her overnight, but then suddenly her heart gave out I guess. They called me back just as I was getting into the car. I'm pretty devastated right now. She meant everything to me and I feel like I let her down, what an awful way to go. I'm so sorry to hear about Union. She was a good dog, and you gave her a good life.
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Jul 24, 2013 08:52
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various cheeses posted:Definitely thanks for the thread. Reading through this 100% convinced me to adopt a greyhound. Same, any greyhound I adopt in the future will have Skoolmunkee and Union to thank.
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Jul 24, 2013 11:51
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Sorry to hear about Union, maybe this will cheer you up:
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Jul 24, 2013 23:43
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Thanks guys. I basically slept for 24+ hours and felt bad a whole lot but your posts helped. I'm glad that this thread convinced some of you that greyhounds are the dogs for you. They really are good dogs and deserve the Good Life that you can give them. More greyhound pictures please. :]
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Jul 25, 2013 00:16
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