[leaveittoweaver]

So I brought home my new girl on November 13th. She is a two year old rescued grey hound. Here's the catch, she only has three functional legs. The third is basically dead weight. The group told us she has a frozen knee essentially, from being stepped on as a puppy. She never raced and she's been in the rescue for about a year.

I work for a local pet store where the greyhound group holds adoption clinics. I saw her every month at the clinic and just loved her but my apartment would not allow dogs. So in the end of October I moved to a new apartment that allowed a dog.

I filled out my adoption application and was approved. I explained to the group that my new apartment was on a second floor so there were stairs involved and if they felt she could not handle this, please let me know and I would choose a different dog. They thought she'd be alright, especially with a lift harness.

She is my first dog and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with a few things and would love some advice.

1. Okay..no one can really help me with this probably but she decided to eat the cat's wet food today then proceeded to have massive diarrhea on my floor. Thank god for hard wood flooring and Nature's Miracle! The smell was horrendous though! I can still kinda smell it when I walk through the living room...but I cleaned it all up and doused it in Nature's Miracle. I also got freaked out and ran to the store I work for and picked up some canned Pumpkin and Eagle Pack Digestive powder for her. Although she's showing no interest in eating said pumpkin.

2. She eats her wet food but hates her dry food. It's the same stuff that the foster family was feeding her(Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice). I really want to transition her to raw eventually but I am seriously scared to death that she will have crazy diarrhea again. Her poop even yesterday before her cat food experience, just wasn't quite right to me, smelled pretty strongly, a little mushy, and huge!

3. All she has pretty much done is sleep. She just lays around looking sad...all the time. I give her stuff to play with...try to play with her, give her stuff to chew on, but she pretty much just lays there all sad. I have a crate for her for bed time and for when I go to work(I have four days off right now that I took of to help her transition). And she loves her crate. Goes in it all the time to lay down on her own. At her foster home they had like 10 greyhounds there....do you think she's lonely? I have two cats and that's it...and they don't want to be friends with the new dog. She looks so sad.

4. She was whining in the middle of the night..around 3:30am, so I got up and took her out and she peed....but I don't want her to think that whining means you get to go out. Because she also whined again around 5:00am and I did not get up and take her out because I figured she was bluffing. Am I wrong?

5. This is the big one. The stairs. She is petrified of the stairs. She only had three stairs to go down at her old house and she'd usually just leap down them. I have two sets. One set of four stairs, then a landing, and then the stairs go up an additional six stairs. She refuses to use them. I have also tried using a lift harness and I've tried a plain old towel. She's scared to death. She is scared to even step the one step onto the porch/mudroom because she knows it means she has to look at the stairs. I've just been carrying her up and down but she's about 60lbs and it's getting old fairly quickly and there's no way that I can hold her that is really comfortable for her either it seems. It's funny though because if I bring her down the first six stairs, set her on the landing while I open the door after the four stairs, she will go down those. She usually kinda leaps down them. I think the only reason she will go down those four is because she can see outside, and because that's pretty close to what she was used to at her foster family's home.

I'm just scared to death that this whole thing was a mistake and that she won't be able to do the stairs, and then what? I want to give this dog the best life possible because she sure hasn't had it easy! I may just be overthinking things and over whelming myself...I don't know. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

And here's a picture for fun

 

[Kassandra]

#1, hahaha man that sucks, obviously i have no advice only hoping she has learned her lesson.

#2, Maybe you could try her on a different type of food. If you think she isn't doing well on this one she could do awesome on another. Trial and error, as much as it sucks it's what you've gotta do. The "off" poops could just be because she is stressed being in a new home, but go with your gut.

#3, Sleeping a lot could mean she is stressed, personally I wouldn't worry much about it, just give her some time to adjust to you and the new place. Do you have friends with dogs? You could arrange play dates if you think she is feeling lonely. Again, she will get used to being the only dog jut give it time.

#4. I personally LOVE that my girls whine when they have to go out. I don't want them sitting at the door forever possibly having an accident. I like that they give me a warning that they need to potty. This is probably what she did to get out in her old foster home. Once she settles in, she likely won't wake up in the middle of the night any more unless it's a real emergency.

#5, I know how terrible "weird" fears can be. Charlie was petrified of boxes, god knows why. I placed a box in the corner of the room and would randomly make super delicious awesome treats "appear" next to, on, and in it. She still isn't a fan, but doesn't cower in terror when there in one in her presence. So, my advice would be to TREAT TREAT TREAT walking up the stairs. Put them on the stairs, feed them to her from your hand during every step, make it a pleasurable experience. She might not have seen stairs before so it can be a very strange (and therefore scary) situation for her. Or perhaps she has just had a bad experience with them. Give her time and work with her, she will learn they are not too scary after all. They could just be difficult for her (and potentially embarrassing that she has difficulty walking up them). No matter the case as you will likely never know, just make it very pleasurable and get some really smelly tasty treats!

 

[Shamrockmommy]

Give her some time to settle in. YOu can expect to see some change according to the "rule of 3." That is, at 3 weeks or so the dog starts to feel more settled in, you see it again at 3 weeks and then again at three months. It sounds silly but Patricia McConnell talks about it some on her blog an I saw it in our new poodle as well, pretty neat. Anyway, it can take up to a year for a dog/human to really settle in together so just give it some time on the whining at night thing.

Good luck with everything else

 

[Celt]

I don't have a big grey but my little iggies don't enjoy going up and down stairs. All of them prefer to "leap" them than go on them (Scotty scared us to death when he did this when he had a broken foreleg). From watching them going up and down steps, it does look like a rather akward process. They have to change their stride up to climb stairs maybe your pups "dead" leg is causing her to be a bit unbalanced, making her feel unstable. I agree with treating her while working on the stairs. You could try and put one super scrumptious treat on every third stair (might have to start with each stair) to encourage her to go up the stairs (up is easier than down)then when she's willing to go up the stairs with only a treat at the top, begin working on going down the steps.
Greyhounds can be great couch potatoes. Many prefer curling or stretching out on a soft, plush warm spot and napping away. Not to say that they wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity to let loose. Keep interacting with her and encouraging her to play. Not sure with the big guys but my littles play more like cats than dogs with toys. Chasing and pouncing on, grabbing and tossing more than tugging or fetching.
On the food issue, it really can be a trial and error type thing. Personally, I feed a variety of foods because imo it helps keep a dog from getting a "sensitive" stomache but I do know that some dogs can take awhile to adjust to being fed this way. Generally searching for foods can include some icky poops but once you find a food (or foods) that work for you and your pup things will be easier.
My picky pups like Zero Grain, Organix, BilJac (candy bar food, imo, but not bad as a once in awhile. Although I know several dogs who do great on this food), Taste of the Wild (the bison one), Simply Nourish lamb, Authority chicken and rice puppy food, and Nature's Variety Instinct raw medallions (lamb and venison). Isabella gets some truly atrocious smelling poops on some canned foods, usually the ones that look almost "oily".

Hope you quickly get to feeling more comfortable with each other.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Thank you everyone for your words of advice. Yesterday after my boyfriend came home we took her for a walk and she did the stairs! Perfectly too! However then when we came back from our walk, she was bleeding from her paw on the bad leg....Looks like she cut it in between the toes. It stopped bleeding after about two minutes and then I took her out again later in the evening and it started bleeding again so today we're going to the vet.

I am so stressed and overwhelmed and feel like a horrible dog parent and that maybe I wasn't meant to do this. I'm so anxious about her all the time. And yet again last night she woke up at 2:30am to go pee because she refused to go when I took her out at 9:30pm. Ugh. I'm hoping this is just temporary and we'll both get used to each other I feel like such a crappy person.

 

[Celt]

It's good to hear things have improved. Gryhounds (actually most "short coated" sight hounds) have fairly thin skin and this can lead to injuries. I know a young whippet that seems to have almost permanently skinned "hips" because she's an absolute running "nutcase" but hasn't quite gotten doing "tight" turns at a full go, so she ends up "skidding" out. My oldest pup had to get stitches (twice) because he was snagging his side on something in our old yard (we think it was the corner of the shed) and Scotty skinned his chin, shoulder and foreleg and knicked his forehead trying to get a kitten out from under the porch. It's not anything to beat yourself up over, just try and keep an eye out for stuff that could cause injuries and treat the ones she gets. If she gets a lot of injuries to her "bad" leg (time will tell) maybe get her booties to protect it a bit more.
Potty habits are individual so it's an adjustment period for both of you. Mine are little guys so a bit different, but 2of them can go the night through without needing to get up (although 1, I wake up to take out because otherwise she can't make it out before going) and the third has to go out at least once. My nervous girl still won't go potty outside after dark by herself but that's an improvement from when we first got her. At least, she goes by herself in the daytime.

 

[bett]

first thing i would do is get her to an ortho vet.


i see she's eating diamond and i'm not been a fan, for obvious reasons, if you know me.
i'd try something comparable, perhaps from fromm, because i am recall phobic. get small bags, or samples and go from their. keep the cat food away from her.

you don't have her too long for her to know her habits and yours so i'd be thrilled she whined to go out , rather than pee all over the house.

but the ortho vet would be my very first stop, after a regular vet visit.

 

[MollyWoppy]

And, I would relax. You've only had the pup for a couple of days. It's going to take weeks for her to settle in, for her to trust you, for you to get use to her habits and her ways and vice versa. She sounds like an absolute doll to me.
And, like the others, I'd be very happy she lets you know when she wants to go out, my pup doesn't, he just stands at the door hoping I'll notice.
You've got some good advice regarding the food issues, but that might take a bit of time to work out, the pup has probably been on all sorts of crappy food and just needs time for her stomach to adjust.
Maybe a (positive) training class would be a good bonding thing for you to do and that way you can learn to teach her to pee on command too. That is a very handy thing let me tell you.
And, thank you so much for adopting this dog, and remember, sometimes you don't necessarily get the dog you want, you get the dog you need.you are a real sweetheart and it sounds like Eevee is too.
As a side note, my pup took a few weeks to settle in too. I set a routine, (peeing, feeding, sleeping, walking) and laid down a few boundaries (he is a rambunctious, pushy pup though).
Believe you me though, this will be one of the best things you've ever done. Wait and see.

 

[sozzle]

Well done for adopting a greyhound - they make the most wonderful pets....even if it takes you a while to understand that. We also were first time dog owners as a family and it has been a big learning curve, however trying to be relaxed and go with the flow is easier said that done I realise. As greyhounds are generally very sensitive and calm animals it will take a while for her and you (as others have said) to settle in. Don't worry about the stairs, she will have to use them, therefore she will get used to them. Our boy didn't particularly likes stairs either but he got used to them and high value treats worked really well in general training as he is very food motivated.
We were told to not bother him much for the first 24 hours when he came home and to 'just leave him alone', which we did and which was quite hard with two children in the house.
They soon get to know you and your habits and when they need to go out and pee and go for walks and feed time, that is all driven by you and they just have to learn and get used to it.
There are some good books out there, Cynthia Branigan has written a few on adopting racing hounds and also 'Retired Racing Greyhounds' for Dummies by Lee Livingood is worth having on the shelves although of course there are lots of resources on line.
The local adoption centre where we got our boy from had a big hound that basically ignored them for 3 years! some of them do take a while to respond and get to know you but in his case that would be the exception rather than the rule.
As long as your girl knows that you love her (it takes time) and your intentions are good she will sense that and be willing to please and your daily activities will become less stressful for you and more fun.
We've had Stanley for over 2 and a half years now and can't imagine life without him. We also get together with local greyhound meets/walks monthly in our area and it's great to actually talk to other greyhound owners. Greytalk is a forum specifically for the breed that might be worth having a look at too.
Good luck and thank goodness for your wooden floors!
My friend who lives near the coast half way down the north island of NZ has just adopted her second greyhound Asher, he is a beautiful brindle, very quiet and shy and his first home didn't work out. Anyway have a look at her awesome blog and photos.
http://greyhoundscansit.com/
We are off to see her today so the hounds can have a run around at the beach.

 

[MollyWoppy]

I was hoping you'd chime in Sozzle.

 

[sozzle]

Ha ha, yeah well when it comes to greyhounds I can't resist - have to stick my oar in and all! As I do voluntary work for the GAP charity and am always learning I like to pass on stuff I have learnt or heard from other owners.
Hope your boy Joey is keeping you busy?

 

[thegoodstuff]

She's a work in progress :smile:

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Thank you for all the well wishes and advice everyone! Eevee is doing much better it seems. Her poops are getting more solid, and she's on a more consistent schedule(a.k.a doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night).

However, new problem, I took her to the vet because of her paw. They said she just broke a nail and cauterized(didn't even charge me for that, just an exam fee), but the vet said that she's seriously concerned about Eevee's hip, because of the way she walks and thinks that her leg may be more of a hindrance then a help. She asked me to see if I could get xrays from the adoption group so I wouldn't have to pay to have xrays done, and they could see exactly what was going on. So I contacted the group and they have no xrays and never had any done...

The vets concern is that she's going to keep losing muscle in that hip(which I noticed she already has, I've known this dog for months but only had her for days, and she has lost some muscle since I first saw her. So now I think I probably should get xrays. What do you guys think? How much do they generally cost? I understand a dog is a big financial responsibility, I just really wasn't expecting to already be going to vet for serious stuff like xrays and talking about amputation...or breaking and reconstructing the leg. To be honest, I could not afford a huge surgery or amputation right now. We just moved, the adoption fee for the dog was $300.00 and all her supplies were a few hundred so I'm a little strapped.

Has anyone hear ever dealt with a frozen knee?

I put a bootie on her bad foot so she won't scrape it anymore and break another toe nail.

Sorry for all the ranting and questions guys. I so appreciate all your help and support. It's helping me get through this actually haha. It's nice to have a bunch of people who've been there to walk you through the first time dog jitters!

 

[Herzo]

I'm thinking you should get them. I wonder if they would maybe help you with this cost. I know they have allot of costs but if you have to put so much into the dog right at first would they be willing to wave the $300 cost of the dog. I suppose not, sure would be a nice thing if you have to do surgery. Our local animal shelter does all of this unless the people themselves are going to do it.

Seems like they should have had this checked out. Also maybe the vets will work with you letting you make payments. Good luck she is beautiful.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

I'm thinking you should get them. I wonder if they would maybe help you with this cost. I know they have allot of costs but if you have to put so much into the dog right at first would they be willing to wave the $300 cost of the dog. I suppose not, sure would be a nice thing if you have to do surgery. Our local animal shelter does all of this unless the people themselves are going to do it.

Seems like they should have had this checked out. Also maybe the vets will work with you letting you make payments. Good luck she is beautiful.

Thanks for the advice. The group seems unwilling to help unfortunately and they seem to think she's fine. They think my vet is just trying to get more money out of me.


I think I'll unfortunately end up having to pursue this on my own. I'm going to call the vet Monday and look into the cost of xrays and everything. I feel like really irresponsible for taking in a special needs dog without having enough money to really take care of any emergency medical costs. But at the same time I can't imagine giving this dog back to the group...I would feel horrible. And then her injury if it needs to get taken care of, will definitely not get taken care of. Ugh. I'm such an idiot.

 

[Kassandra]

I personally can't believe they didn't have x-rays done, most rescues would have done that. You should definitely contact them to see if they would cover any of the vet costs. In the rescue over a year and they didn't check out her knee, very strange to me. I can't see why they wouldn't.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

I personally can't believe they didn't have x-rays done, most rescues would have done that. You should definitely contact them to see if they would cover any of the vet costs. In the rescue over a year and they didn't check out her knee, very strange to me. I can't see why they wouldn't.

Neither can I :/ That's what my boyfriend said too...that any vet that saw that would probably want to x-ray it. The problem is, the group thinks it would be "cruel" to have it amputated so I highly doubt they're even going to support and help me get the xrays...the lady was pretty defensive and asked me if I wanted a different dog...and I don't know. It's just super weird.

 

[Kassandra]

Neither can I :/ That's what my boyfriend said too...that any vet that saw that would probably want to x-ray it. The problem is, the group thinks it would be "cruel" to have it amputated so I highly doubt they're even going to support and help me get the xrays...the lady was pretty defensive and asked me if I wanted a different dog...and I don't know. It's just super weird.

You could always lie, tell them you want to find out if there is any way they can rehabilitate it. I just find that so strange. Maybe they're just not accustomed to that sort of thing but who knows. Either way, you'll figure something out to deal with it. Just get the xrays done first - I've never had them done but I don't think they cost too much more than a regular vet visit though I could be completely wrong.
I know many a dog that has came through Beagle Paws with limbs that did not previously work that has made a full recovery and can now walk very well, as if they didn't have any problems in the beginning. You can try to make an arrangement with your vet to pay an installment every month until it is paid off, most clinics will do that, especially if it is a rescue.

 

[leaveittoweaver]

You could always lie, tell them you want to find out if there is any way they can rehabilitate it. I just find that so strange. Maybe they're just not accustomed to that sort of thing but who knows. Either way, you'll figure something out to deal with it. Just get the xrays done first - I've never had them done but I don't think they cost too much more than a regular vet visit though I could be completely wrong.
I know many a dog that has came through Beagle Paws with limbs that did not previously work that has made a full recovery and can now walk very well, as if they didn't have any problems in the beginning. You can try to make an arrangement with your vet to pay an installment every month until it is paid off, most clinics will do that, especially if it is a rescue.

This is some of the response I got...I blurred out the groups name because I don't want to bad mouth them.

I'm really discouraged by the responses from the group I adopted her through...so I think I'm going to talk about a payment plan with my vet after we get the xrays(thanks for that advice, my vet probably would do that for me, I've used her for a looooong time), if something does need to be done. It's not worth the battle with this group. Not to mention, the group holds clinics at my job and it's just going to make things super awkward :/

 

[Kassandra]

This is some of the response I got...I blurred out the groups name because I don't want to bad mouth them.
View attachment 9841

I'm really discouraged by the responses from the group I adopted her through...so I think I'm going to talk about a payment plan with my vet after we get the xrays(thanks for that advice, my vet probably would do that for me, I've used her for a looooong time), if something does need to be done. It's not worth the battle with this group. Not to mention, the group holds clinics at my job and it's just going to make things super awkward :/

Well that is quite unprofessional.

You could always try a sling for now to hold her leg up so she doesn't hurt it, if it won't bother her too much. Definitely talk about a payment plan and go from there. It likely doesn't hurt but xrays will be able to confirm what's going on with it.