Greyhound Dogs--Training Update #244

[mattsdragon]

Congratulations on the solid poop.

 

[MushyMushy]

How was Skeet's weekend?

 

[ducklite]

We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we went to the vet, he ran some tests and we should get the results tomorrow. He was started on an anti-anxiety medication.

Then we went to PetSamrt and got a new crate and crate pad, a dog bed, and a bunch of other stuff. I think I'm done buying all the expensive stuff now. Whew! He was a really, really good dog in PetSmart.

Skeet likes the new crate, he spent most of yesterday lounging in it instead of the dog bed--his choice. I got a really large one--he can lay down and spread out as far as he wants without touching the sides. I think he really likes the pad--it feels super comfy.

Saturday morning he had another accident on the rug. Not cool. I got most of the stain out. Hopefully we'll get this issue under control soon. I want to replace the carpet with hardwood, but it's not in the budget at this point in time.

Last night at 12:30 am he was whining in his crate. I got up thinking he needed to go out (his little problem has come back) and when we got to the front door my timid dog went nuts. The hackles went up on his back, his ears went way back, and he emitted this deep growl. Whoa. Then he alternated between the deep growl and a deeper bark. The "get any closer and I'm going to lunge at you and rip your jugular out of your neck, sucka" type of growl. We could hear a couple other dogs in the neighborhood barking from in their homes as well, so something or somebody was outside that shouldn't have been. Skeet had "sighted" something through the window in the door, but I couldn't see anything.

Ultimately he used a puppy pad inside (he was too spooked to go outside) and we all went back to sleep without nicident.

This morning I was able to bribe him into the crate pretty easily, but he was whining as I left the house. I've been watching through the nanny cam we've got set up since I got to work, and he's been sleeping all day.

Anne

 

[Magickndm]

He was started on an anti-anxiety medication.

Hopefully this won't be permanent. I'm surprised the vet put him on it so soon really. Is your vet grey savvy? Some of his blood test results will come back different than other breeds.
As far as pooping in the house, Dasher had the occasional accident for up to 2 months after bringing him home. I don't think he fully understood the house training bit then. He'll still pee on an artificial plant in the house if it's low enough for him. He acts like I'm so thoughtful for bringing the plants inside so he doesn't have to go out.

 

[ducklite]

Hopefully this won't be permanent. I'm surprised the vet put him on it so soon really. Is your vet grey savvy? Some of his blood test results will come back different than other breeds.

It was actually fecal tests he ran. He won't do surgery on a grey, just routine care. The goal with the meds is to use them for 4-6 weeks, long enough to get over the hump. I've got a trainer coming this weekend to work with us, and the seperation anxiety is something he will address. Hopefully with the trainers guidence we should be in good shape two months from now and off the meds. The vet is concerned that the diarrhea is due to stress and anxiety, and he'd rather have to dog on the meds than continuing to lose weight--he's lost 4 pounds in three weeks. As you know a grey at a track weight doesn't have weight to lose.

As far as pooping in the house, Dasher had the occasional accident for up to 2 months after bringing him home. I don't think he fully understood the house training bit then. He'll still pee on an artificial plant in the house if it's low enough for him. He acts like I'm so thoughtful for bringing the plants inside so he doesn't have to go out.

(sorry) So far Skeet hasn't thought the plants are for his use. He prefers the carpets. Although he seems to get it that the puppy pads are for his use and not some nifty throw rugs. I'm getting better at reading him as far as when he really needs to go, and it's not always at walk time. In fact all four times he's had an accident in the house, he had been walked less than 15 minutes prior.

Anne

 

[Magickndm]

Yes, 4 pounds on a grey is a lot. I hope they can figure out what's going on.

 

[Pooh nut]

I love it when I get in a new thread early!
I have been owned by greyhounds all my life. My Uncle ran a local kennel and I would work in the summer at the training grounds.
Some 25 years later I am still knee deep.

As I type this now there are 5 greys snoring throughout the house.

Nothing you have written seems all that unusual for any large dog keep in a kennel his entire life. From the company of 10 to 30 kennelmates to 0 is a large adjustment and then to change homes and schedules is another.
It took my last newbie about 3 weeks to get the stomach in line.
You are doing a fine job with him.
Have you tried letting him sleep near you on his bed at night? The sooner he feels comfortable the sooner you can let him roam free.
I never crated my greys but the crates were always there if they wanted to "escape". Of course I have gone through at least 8 remote controls, 3 pair of reading glasses, and every concievable Happy Meal toy. They all mysteriously appered mangled in one doggie bed or another. I am sure DirecTv
is reconsidering my "gold member" status.
You love him and he will show you what unconditional really means.
Congratulations and welcome to a most wonderful club.


PS...Rozzie and Mattsdragon...we might be neighbors...sorta

 

[ducklite]

I love it when I get in a new thread early!
I have been owned by greyhounds all my life. My Uncle ran a local kennel and I would work in the summer at the training grounds.
Some 25 years later I am still knee deep.

As I type this now there are 5 greys snoring throughout the house.

You're a brave soul. I'm not sure I'd want five of any breed dogs in my house. One works just fine for me.

Nothing you have written seems all that unusual for any large dog keep in a kennel his entire life. From the company of 10 to 30 kennelmates to 0 is a large adjustment and then to change homes and schedules is another.
It took my last newbie about 3 weeks to get the stomach in line.
You are doing a fine job with him.

Thanks for the encouragement. We're about ten days into it, and I'm hoping that the stomach issues resolve themselves soon. I'm getting better at reading his cues (running around and around the dining room means "I gotta go--NOW.") and I'm sure we'll get into a routine in the next week or so.

Have you tried letting him sleep near you on his bed at night? The sooner he feels comfortable the sooner you can let him roam free.

He's sleeping in a second crate that's in my bedroom, he can see me in bed from it--it's about 8 feet from my bed. He puts himself to bed by going into it around ten every night, even if I'm not ready for bed yet. He is definitely very comfortable in there at night. I've been closing the door (which he barely even lifts his head to watch--he's not at all stressed about being in that crate at night) only because if he's got to go at night he'll whine and wake me up, and at this point that's happened a few times. Once we've got the housebreaking and diarrhea under control I won't close the door--although my guess is that he'll continue to stay in the crate all night. If I get up before he's ready, I open the door and he just stays in there snoozing--that's how I know he's not at all stressed about being crated at night.

I never crated my greys but the crates were always there if they wanted to "escape". Of course I have gone through at least 8 remote controls, 3 pair of reading glasses, and every concievable Happy Meal toy. They all mysteriously appered mangled in one doggie bed or another. I am sure DirecTv
is reconsidering my "gold member" status.

So far he's been very good about not chewing or mangling. I'm sure there will come a time...

You love him and he will show you what unconditional really means.
Congratulations and welcome to a most wonderful club.

I do love him--I can't stay mad at him even when he pees all over the white carpet, when he was walked only ten minutes earlier. I'm looking forward to working with the trainer starting this weekend. Skeet's never been a housepet, and needs to learn to be one. It's a very different environment, going from track kennels to a home where the rules are different, the routine is different, and he's not surrounded by 100 of his best buddies. And I'll be the first to admit I haven't got a clue how to train a dog. So we'll both be getting some training.

One thing he's been doing for the past two days is only peeing once a day, and then opnce he starts, he goes for three to four minutes straight. He's offered multiple opportunities to go throughout the day, but seems to only want to go once. Any thoughts or advice on that?

Anne

 

[Pooh nut]

It may just take him awhile to get used to a leashed bathroom break.
I can turn mine out in the yard as it is fenced. I think that may be your problem. He will adjust.
Both of my females will not go while on a walk. The males have marked most of South Alabama by now . As soon as we return I let the girls out and they immediately pee and come in.
Do you have a dog park near you? We have get togethers at local softball fields once a month. Now that is a sight.

 

[ducklite]

It may just take him awhile to get used to a leashed bathroom break.
I can turn mine out in the yard as it is fenced. I think that may be your problem. He will adjust.
Both of my females will not go while on a walk. The males have marked most of South Alabama by now . As soon as we return I let the girls out and they immediately pee and come in.
Do you have a dog park near you? We have get togethers at local softball fields once a month. Now that is a sight.

I've got a dog park about 20-25 minutes away, and plan on taking him there at least once a week, but wanted to wait for a bit until his GI system was in better shape and he was just a little more settled in. Right now he doesn't come when called, etc. So I was planning on waiting until after we had met with the trainer and begun to see a bit of improvement in basic obedience before taking him to the dog park--for his own safety and that of others.

When you go to the dog park do you muzzle your greys? He's met other dogs and hasn't shown any signs of aggression, only fear of the little yipper types. We've got a lab/bassett mix in the neighborhood who he likes a lot--we run into him and his owner on our walks a lot.

This morning he didn't want to walk at all. I got the leash on him three times and two of the three he refused to leave the house, the third we walked half a block and he turned to go back--no interest in going--even on a puppy pad inside.

DH watched him on the nanny cam as I left the house. He stood there obviuosly whining for about a minute, then made circles in the crate for a minute and settled down. Stayed down for a minute, got up, readjusted and went back down and didn't move. That's better than last week when he was standing whining for over half an hour.

Do your boys "air mark"? Skeet's been trying to "air mark" the entire neighborhood. I let him stand there for a minute before getting him moving a minute--don't want to hurt that fragile male ego.

Anne

 

[Magickndm]

It may just take him awhile to get used to a leashed bathroom break.
I can turn mine out in the yard as it is fenced. I think that may be your problem. He will adjust.

I agree. He's used to being a leash to go somewhere, not to "go", if you know what I mean. Dasher still picks the furthest corner to do his business and won't do it at all if anyone is outside with him.

Right now he doesn't come when called, etc.

Welcome to the club! Again, you have to realize he has never really been taught to respond to a name, if so, he'd get distracted on the track. Even with a trainer he might not be the type of dog to come right away. It's just their personality. Someone said to me once that their grey comes when they call every single time they feel like it.

 

[ducklite]

I agree. He's used to being a leash to go somewhere, not to "go", if you know what I mean. Dasher still picks the furthest corner to do his business and won't do it at all if anyone is outside with him.

He was really good about it the first few days, but since then he's become difficult. I'm sure like everything else it will come with time.

Welcome to the club! Again, you have to realize he has never really been taught to respond to a name, if so, he'd get distracted on the track. Even with a trainer he might not be the type of dog to come right away. It's just their personality. Someone said to me once that their grey comes when they call every single time they feel like it.

Yeah, I have a feeling he's going to be pretty stubborn. Like I said, I want to get the diarrhea under control.

BTW--his fecal came back negative. I'm wondering if it's the food at this point--I've been feeding Innova EVO, so I'm thinking I might want to try Nutro instead to see if that will take care of the problem. I'm waiting for my vet to call back. DS called me to say that Skeet had diarrhea in the crate while he was at work, he came in and smelled it before he saw it. I took him out (or tried to) four times this morning between 5:00 and 8:30, so I'm kind of at my wits end. DH suggested a cork. I really don't want to give up, I know I can give him a great home, but somethings got to give with the diarrhea and housebreaking. If it were regular poop it wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Anne

 

[Magickndm]

I know you said you don't want to but please don't give up yet! He can't control the diarrhea. Try a food for sensitive systems, this is a very common problem. Have you been to greytalk.com yet? They usually have a vet who is nice and can answer some simple questions.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

BTW--his fecal came back negative. I'm wondering if it's the food at this point--I've been feeding Innova EVO, so I'm thinking I might want to try Nutro instead to see if that will take care of the problem.

Remember, something in the regular EVO didn't sit well with Chloe either. Of course, it didn't affect her stools, but she did get chronic ear infections, and she had horrible gas.

If you really want to give EVO a chance, maybe try the EVO RM? Chloe's doing very well on it.

 

[ducklite]

I apologize in advance to anyone who has been offended by my describing my dogs GI issues. I've been doing so only because a few people who have been posting on this thread have been very helpful and offering advice. This post has a lot of GI type info, and if that offends you, then please skip it. For those who have so patiently and expertly offered up advice, you have no idea how much I've appreciated it.

After another night of scrubbing the crate and washing the pad and his blanket, only to have him crap on the kitchen floor while I was cleaning--20 minutes after I walked him, I gave up.

No, I didn't turn him in to the rescue, although I was frustrated to the point of tears and seriously thinking about it.

I stopped to think about what could be causing the problems, and decided it was two things.

First, I slipped the Martingale on him and took him for a ride.

No, I didn't dump him someplace. (Even if I did decide that he and I weren't to be, I'd never just dump him, I'd call the rescue.)

We went to the pet center and bought a bag on Nutro Lamb and Rice. It's not going to work as a long term food, too much carbs, not enough meat, but at this point his nutrition isn't the big concern, the diarrhea is. He enjoys riding in the car, and enjoys going out and meeting people, and it was actually really relaxing for both of us. I know that lamb and rice will help bind and is the least likely to cause an allergic reaction, so I chose that to start.

I fed him a bowl of it this morning, he ate almost all of it. He finished eating and went to the dog bed. Half an hour later I still hadn't heard gurgling or rumbling. There was no noxious gas.

90 minutes later we went for a walk. I slipped on the Martingale. He walked really well. We got a few houses down and he pee'd. At the end of the next street, he pooped. It was formed. A little soft, but acceptable. Then he pee'd again. He only played the "Greyhound Statue" game a couple times, and both times I gave him about ten seconds then gave a light tug on the leash and he began walking again. With the harness he was freezing every 20 feet and it was a battle of who's bigger to get him going again.

We got back home and he was so good, actually lifted one of his paws before I asked to get it wiped.

It was time for me to go to work, so I told him to go to his crate. He went and stood outside of it, and as soon as he saw me coming with the "cookie" he ran into it. I gave him his cookies, closed the door. He whined a couple of times then settled down with the cookie. As I pulled out of the garage I stopped to listen--no whining from inside.

I think the main problems might be solved.

Anne

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Anne - I've been following your story and just have to say that your Skeet has hit the doggie lottery with you! Most people would have given up by now. He is lucky to have you.

I hope things get easier every day. I have very little knowledge of greyhounds but I think they are absolutely gorgeous dogs.

Oh and I didn't even equate that the Nutro Lamb and Rice is full of carbs. Boy do we need a head smacking smilie. I've been giving it to my border collie and she is bulking waaayy up. She is a rescue dog and was being fed that when I picked her up. I think its time for a change.

I hope Skeet has a good day today!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I apologize in advance to anyone who has been offended by my describing my dogs GI issues. I've been doing so only because a few people who have been posting on this thread have been very helpful and offering advice. This post has a lot of GI type info, and if that offends you, then please skip it. For those who have so patiently and expertly offered up advice, you have no idea how much I've appreciated it.

Hey, we've been reading a thread that shows a decomposed turtle. This is no worse.

I fed him a bowl of it this morning, he ate almost all of it. He finished eating and went to the dog bed. Half an hour later I still hadn't heard gurgling or rumbling. There was no noxious gas.

90 minutes later we went for a walk. I slipped on the Martingale. He walked really well. We got a few houses down and he pee'd. At the end of the next street, he pooped. It was formed. A little soft, but acceptable.

Hopefully it was the food! Maybe it was just too rich for him.

 

[Magickndm]

I know how overwhelmed you feel, I really do. we had a rough start with Dasher, but now it takes hearing things like what you're posting to remind me how far we've come. We were welcomed home with poopy smelly crates almost every time we went out. Now we're welcomed with noses in our butts and a tail lashing. And yes, that is a good thing.
As far as the lamb/rice food, who told you that you can't keep him on it? Greys have a very fast metabolism, lots of owners have great success with that. Even if you do decide to switch foods, do it slowly, otherwise you'll be right back where you started from.

 

[ducklite]

Anne - I've been following your story and just have to say that your Skeet has hit the doggie lottery with you! Most people would have given up by now. He is lucky to have you.

I hope things get easier every day. I have very little knowledge of greyhounds but I think they are absolutely gorgeous dogs.

Oh and I didn't even equate that the Nutro Lamb and Rice is full of carbs. Boy do we need a head smacking smilie. I've been giving it to my border collie and she is bulking waaayy up. She is a rescue dog and was being fed that when I picked her up. I think its time for a change.

I hope Skeet has a good day today!

Thanks for your kind words!

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Hey, we've been reading a thread that shows a decomposed turtle. This is no worse.

I've been passing that thread by--TMI for me. At least I haven't been posting photos of "everything." I think you can all imagine on your own.

Hopefully it was the food! Maybe it was just too rich for him.

That's what I'm thinking. I told DH that next time he drives back to NJ, he can take the bag of Evo with him. I've got a friend up there who has a pet mink who would love it, and with a 90% raw meat diet, shouldn't have a problem digesting it.

Thanks again for all of your advice and support, you truly have no idea how much it means.

Anne