jeanette
New Member
Mick & Trixie
Posts: 14
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Post by jeanette on Aug 27, 2012 13:36:37 GMT
New to the greyhound world and have Trixie & Bright (Seabright Mick). I'm not getting on too well with the feeding. I give them cereal (cornflakes) with watered milk (as advised when we picked them up) in the morning but this goes right through them and their stools are awful. They have Burgess Greyhound/Lurcher maintenance cereal with a tsp of oil and meat/fish for main meal and the cereal takes an hour to soften!!! If it's not soften enough they gag and leave the lot and I have to throw it away. If it's too wet they end up with bad stools again. Is there anything else I can try to get these dogs eating happily? - Help would be most grateful. Also he is still sprinkling in the kitchen (I know it's early days) but it's not nice when we have a kitchen/diner and he's covering the fridges, freezer, table etc. I have a small utility room and would like to try them in there tonight until the habit stops. Will they be ok?
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Post by rachael on Aug 27, 2012 15:16:24 GMT
Hi Jeanette! I wouldn't bother with the cornflakes, this never agreed with either of my dogs. Many greyhounds have sensitive tummies and so I would try a wheat free food such as Harringtons which is very reasonable and sold in asda and tesco. Other very reasonable foods are skinners field and trial, csj and autarky. If you use warm water to soak it you'll find it is a bit quicker. I add a quarter of a tin of butchers to their biscuits and give half the daily ration in the morning and the other half in the evening. I am sorry to hear that Bright is still spraying. I can't really advise on this as it is a problem that I have never had, even when we have had foster dogs. However I have never allowed the dogs to sleep on their own, instead they have beds on the floor of our bedroom and are strictly not allowed on the bed. The first night they always try a few times but after been told off a few times they soon stop. I think if you tried this Bright wouldn't spray in your presence. If you don't want them in your room though, which I quite understand, then a different room like the utility is a good idea as he hasn't sprayed there already it may stop the habit. I am sure others on thos forum will have advice for you as well! Rachael
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jeanette
New Member
Mick & Trixie
Posts: 14
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Post by jeanette on Aug 27, 2012 17:57:18 GMT
Hi Rachael, Many thanks for the info. I will go out again tomorrow and buy some of your tips (whichever I can get from Pets @ Home. Bright doesn't pee in front of us. He does it during the night. I close the back door at 10pm (I thought that was sufficient) but in the morning there are wees all over my appliances which is getting me down. I never leave him alone, he always has Trixie. Will shut them in the utility room at night until he stops his messing as I am pulling my hair out and getting quite upset.
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Post by rachael on Aug 27, 2012 18:16:47 GMT
Jeanette you won't find any of the varieties I mentioned at pets at home! If you want to shop there then Wainwrights or Supadog Sensitive is good but they are more expensive than those I mentioned. I get Autarky from Costco and CSJ is only available over the internet.
I would give Pat a ring tonight to get some more advice about Bright if it is really troubling you, she is so helpful and I am sure she will have come across this problem before.
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Post by Ian on Aug 27, 2012 19:54:42 GMT
Hi Jeanette, I agree with Rachel and would change the cereal \ watered down milk mix. It might be worth a go with something on the fish front in the morning if the budget allows. We started out with Sean on this milky cereal, but he stopped eating it for breakfast and after a break from Breakfasts we tried something on the fish front mixed with his Harringtons (which he has dry by the way). The fish should be bone free, and we buy whatever's cheap, sometimes we give him something breaded from the freezer, sometimes we boil some from frozen, nothing we've given him has left him with a trotty botty on the fish front so far.
On the softening of the dog food front I can only assume they're gagging when it's not softened because they're not chewing it. So the question is, is that because the teeth after hurting or because they've simply got used to the soft food and are being lazy? Perhaps have a look to see if the gums around the teeth are quite red as opposed to pink and how many teeth have bright red around them. Hopefully the answer is that the teeth are fine the gums are for the most part pink, which I guess would then point to the dogs are simply used to soft food rather than the hard dry biscuits. Ever since we've had Sean he has been a fussy eater and prone to runny bums, but over time we now have a good understanding of what he can and can't have. So everything he has is now based around Harringtons (dry), Minced Beef (cooked from Natures Menu) and the fish. We find that extras he can have from the table without runny bums are Pasta (can be with sauce on), Rice, Chips, Bread (without butter \ marg). Since we have an occassional runny bum issue I have a walk for runny bums along pavements and into a forest area that's not so regularly walked. Then I have the 'normal' walks.
If the gums look particularly red all over perhaps have a chat with Pat or Elaine on how best to resolve. The obvious stuff is to try teeth cleaning with doggy toothpaste and tooth brush and maybe try something like Dentastix.
On the peeing front I can't be of too much help because we didn't have the problem with Sean, I assume the peeing is about security \ territory. We used to always have Sean upstairs with us overnight, but we now leave him downstairs with two rooms and the hallway to roam and the freedom to come upstairs if he wishes. I could suggest giving them access to more rooms rather than restricting them to one, but that may create wee in more places so that's a gamble. But what about trying them in your bedroom as Rachel suggested? It might crack it...I assume they can both get up the stairs? Some dogs find it challenging particularly if they're a bit bigger.
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Post by andic on Aug 27, 2012 21:11:42 GMT
Hi Jeanette, firstly I just want to say I know exactly how you're feeling and do feel for you so much. I think back to my first week and the amount of tears I shed!
With the food, what Rachael and Mark have said are both spot on so it really is a trial and error thing getting the "consistency" right as every dog is different. Olly took a couple of weeks to adjust to a certain type of diet.
I know the thing that is probably getting you down the most is the peeing. Personally I think it's an anxiety thing, even being with a doggy pal. He's been in the kennel for so long the change is going to freak him out a bit.
I took 2 dogs initially and both slept upstairs, I went out and bought several plastic backed picnic blankets from some place like wilkinsons and covered any carpet. The girl slept in the small bedroom but olly chose to sleep on a bed on our room. I just kept an ear out and if they were restless I'd take them in the garden to pee. It did mean a few nights of disturbed sleep, but it definitely worked and thankfully any accidents stopped. Any accidents were cleaned with warm water and the area soaked in special pee disinfectant you can get from PaH.
I know my friend had an awful problem with her new boy peeing up anything wooden, so she had to cover everything with bin bags for first few weeks until his scent was in the house. I know that sounds drastic when you've had a lovely clean dog free home for so long.....
Please speak with pat, she will give you a few things to try and hopefully resolve the problem.
I truly hope things improve and you're able to start enjoying them.
Andrea
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Post by suethejam on Aug 27, 2012 21:22:47 GMT
Stick with it - it took Ty a long time to work out that the dog-loo was outside (he wanted an ensuite) but he finally learned what was expected.
If you want to keep the appliances clean then don't let him have access to that room overnight - it honestly won't hurt his feelings!
Bright has been in kennels for a long time and they can get a bit 'institutionalised' but greyhounds are desperate to please you and to fit in, but when they're new they just don't know quite how - your patience will be rewarded a thousand-fold though :-)
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Post by sallyannh on Aug 27, 2012 22:43:26 GMT
The few times Darcy sprinkled were usually when he knew food was around but he couldn't get to it. I'd sorted out the fridge one day and accidentally left a piece of particularly ripe cheese on top of it - it's a tall fridge and the smell must have driven him mad all night!
Also, are their beds close together so they have to be near each other, or are the beds at a distance so they have to sleep apart? Either way, it might be worth changing the beds round a bit in case something there is upsetting him.
Stick with it though, it will get better. Roma was convinced that our hall was her outside paddock and the hall rug suffered a bit! The cleaner/deodoriser from PAH is good, the smell does put them off.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2012 23:30:20 GMT
I have been fortunate with Ted regarding sprinkling but I can only reinforce what has been said by others in that it is possibly about confusion from the change from kennels to home life. Greys are creatures of habit and once a routine is set up they are extremely good at sticking to it. I 'rewarded' Ted when I first had him when he did his business outside and this very soon became a 'ritual' and he lets me know when he wants to go out.
I can relate to the runny tum syndrome as I am experiencing that with Ted. I have stopped giving him Weetabix and was advised to give a pro-biotic plain yogurt and a bit of cooked rice for breakfast. I have also switched him to Supa - Dog which is quite cheap in Pets at Home. There has been some improvement so hopefully time will tell. In your guys case this could also be stress related as part of the change of circumstances but have a chat with Pat. All I can say is stick with it and eventually the problems will be resolved. Good Luck! Dave.
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jeanette
New Member
Mick & Trixie
Posts: 14
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Post by jeanette on Aug 28, 2012 13:02:54 GMT
Hi Everyone - Well I am pleased to announce that after an awful & tearful day yesterday, we are a smiley household this morning. Pat - you are a brick - thank you again. I have never owned a dog before in my life and we are having to rely on the help and advice you have all given us - our gratitude to you all. Anyway - water removed last night, both put in our utility room to sleep and food changed - success!!! No sprinkles from Bright. All food eaten and no gagging. Both asleep now and happy. Many thanks to you all again, especially Pat who's advice is second to none. Bye for now and thanks again. J.x
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Post by pat on Aug 28, 2012 13:34:36 GMT
glad to be of help, if you need help again do not hesitate to call pat
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Post by andic on Aug 28, 2012 18:33:28 GMT
Fantastic news Jeanette really pleased to hear it. Pat is our oracle!!
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Post by Rubyshoes on Aug 28, 2012 20:50:57 GMT
Hi Jeanette ! So pleased you two have given a loving home to these two sweethearts. And pleased to read that after all the trauma things are beginning to settle down. Some really good advice given on here, and you will find what best suits them and you over the next few days/weeks/months, and will have two great hounds there. They will give you so much pleasure. Like others on here, we dont feed cerial and milk either. We simply feed a smaller similar meal in the morning to the one they have late afternoon. It is made up of the same soaked kibbles, but they may have pilchards added for breakie and then maybe some savaloys and chicken natures diet added at tea time, or the other way around, but never too much different food in one go, until you discover if their tummies can take it. Ours love those small trays of Butchers choice dog meats in all the different flavours too, so generally have some of that with their kibbles as well. Not much they dont like, I'm pleased to say. We are in a bungalow, so at night we are not far from any sleeping dog, but yes, they do have beds in and near our bedroom, so they take their choices, and will normaly wake me if they are caught short. I find that works best for us. Good luck and well done. Keep us posted wont you. Hazel, Alan, Grace, Spring and Pluto ;D
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jeanette
New Member
Mick & Trixie
Posts: 14
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Post by jeanette on Aug 29, 2012 12:25:44 GMT
Good afternoon all - still smiling.
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Post by pat on Aug 29, 2012 13:34:48 GMT
so glad for you, it will all be worth while pat
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