(Part 3) Top products from r/Greyhounds

Hello to a fellow Coloradan!

Things you'll need:

-A crate, either wire or airline works. Get the largest size you can reasonably fit (42-48 inches if you can). Check craigslist for sure, as you might not need it forever, and people are always selling and reselling crates.

-Dental supplies. I use water additive for my pups (a few drops in daily drinking water), as well as tooth wipes, foam cleaner. I also give my dogs daily chew things (ears, dental treats, etc) to do ALL I can to avoid dental cleanings. My male hound is coming up on 10 years old, and never once has needed a dental!

-Boots of some kind, though my guy only tolerates pawz rubber boots. They are disposable and reuseable, but make walking in cold CO weather MUCH easier. Otherwise their paws tend to go numb quickly, usually a good 1/2 mile from your house!

-I unfortunately don't have recommendations on jackets, as I got my dog's coat secondhand from his rescue on the east coast, and also got another from a greyhounds in gettysburg back when I lived in MD. DO get something really warm though. I put a coat of some kind on my guy if it's less than 40 degrees out, and do the heavier one if it's less than 20. You can also layer up if need be. Jammies are also something to consider (mine can't deal in the house if it's less than 69 degrees inside and paces around a lot trying to stay warm): This kind is great and very inexpensive for indoor use! I think we got the large, and it's still a bit big. A smaller female might just need a medium.

-Chews. In my experience, greyhounds aren't big on nylabones and antlers...the most cost effective ones ;). They LOVE cow/lamb ears, bully sticks, natural bones, compressed rawhide, etc. The site I linked to above, Jefferspet.com, has a great, inexpensive selection of natural chews that seem to agree better with my hound than any of the artificial stuff (greenies, dentastix, busy bones, etc. that are high in fat and gluten products).

-Consider a dremel tool for their nails. I still trim manually from time to time. but the dremel takes the guess work and stress out of possibly nicking your dog's vein. I have the dog lay down for me on a bed and work on a few nails at a time at first, up to 3 seconds at a time (it gets hot!). Some dogs nails grow faster than others, but for beginnings, I find they take to this much easier. It IS very important to keep their nails nice and rounded, as they are so easily prone to scratching/injury on themselves.

-A first aid kid. Your dog will get scrapes and cuts on the regular, especially if you do anything outdoorsy in CO. Invest in some gentle antiseptic, gauze, vet wrap, neosporin, liquid bandage, etc. and always know right where your kit is. A lot of people see greyhounds and assume they were abused by the scars some have; it's difficult to explain to them that most of the scars they've incurred have actually been during their time with me! They can be very clumsy, and particularly when playing with other dogs, a paw scratch or playful nip can result in stitches -_-.

This isn't obviously a comprehensive list, but just some ideas of things others might not have mentioned. Good luck to you on your greyhound journey!

3's hardly old. A dog can learn at any age, though it may not be easy, depending on the dog.

We got our grey at 3.5 years old, and it's been a bit slow going, but time and getting settled in helped a lot, as did high value treats. I've learned that greys are generally willing to indulge you, but they're smart enough not to work for minimum wage.

Here's my list of favorite training resources, what I generally recommend and reference over in /r/dogs and /r/dogtraining:

• Victoria Stilwell
  
• Jane Killion
  
• Karen Pryor (Her clicker training with dogs book is great)
  
• Sophia Yin (Great book: How to Behave So Your Dog Behaves)
  
• Patricia McConnell
  
• Ian Dunbar. He's done a lot of work with puppies (but a lot of the principles and concepts transfer to adult dogs well) and has a blog and tons of articles as well as a TED Talk.
  
• Zak George
  
• Kikopup
  
• Kristin Crestejo
  
• A great article on canine body language/calming signals: Calming Signals: The Art of Survival by Turid Rugaas.
  
  For your grey (and mine), Jane Killion was especially helpful. Check out her book When Pigs Fly: Training Success with Impossible Dogs.
  
  I also have had lots of success with clicker training (Karen Pryor mainly, but lots of the resources above have info on it). My aloof cat-grey doesn't offer behaviors easily and is hard to lure, so being able to capture good behavior as it happened was a great help.

Greyhounds love slumberballs! I got my 60 pound girl a extra large one since I knew she'd like a lot of room to stretch out on it, so you could either do that size or size up to a giant one to allow him to be more comfortable. Either size would work though.

Did you get toys yet? How about a raised feeder? In my experience with fostering and owning my girl, they don't seem to be too big on chew types of toys, but love squeaky toys. Mine loves this squeaky toy since the squeaker is super loud and strong, and this plush toy. A little while after we got her we also realized that while she wasn't into small balls like tennis balls or anything, she really loved big balls like soccer balls. I was sick of her destroying soccer balls quickly, so I got her one of these since it was recommeded to me by someone at the dog park, and that thing is seriously indestructible. As far as feeders go, if you haven't gotten one yet then I'd recommend this one. $20 and comes with two bowls. I've had it for a year now with no problems.

We use Merrick grain free pork and sweet potato. I am not sure if it's available outside of Texas though. We had good luck with Castor and Pollux Organix grain free, but we wanted to find something similar that used local ingredients. One thing to note is that we tried various formulas of Merrick until we found the one that produced the most solid stool. You might be able to find another Blue Buffalo formula that produces firmer stool.

We use Kong's Zoom Groom brush. It's great both for bath time and for regular brushing. It's gotten pretty hot here in Texas, so I take the hounds out to the courtyard in our apartment complex and brush them there. This brush gets handfuls of hair out of them!

Ok so i have a Grey and an IG that have been on a raw diet for over a year now. Right now we feed chicken backs twice a day. Once a week we substitute a meal with beef brisket bones. I dont suggest doing the beef until they have been on raw for at least a month as it is harder to digest. Every three days we substitute a chicken feeding with a tripe mix. We use tripe, chicken hearts, a can of pumpkin (or sometimes canned salmon), a cracked raw egg, and cod liver oil all mixed together. After a meal the IG gets one half and the grey get one vitamin (link provided below is the best price). Since putting them on this raw diet both dogs coats are more full and thick as well as shiny. Also their stools are solid and they decompose in the yard within 72 hours.

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Tabs-Plus-Advanced-Formula-Made/dp/B0002HBNW0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382391263&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+vitamins

Get one of these for your backseat and let the dog have the back seat. It's fantastic. It comes with a couple leashes where one end is a seatbelt clip. He can't fall into the floor this way and has padding across the whole backseat. Plus it's waterproof. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CMZ11TX

Also get him a harness (chest-attach area) like this and seatbelt him in, either with the above or with this one's carabiner. Helps give him an anchor and keeps him safer. Keeps him away from you a bit better too, distracting you is the #1 safety factor.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00164ZWBG or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064ACNLO

I feed mine Taste of the Wild. I buy the 30lb bag and it lasts us about a month. We haven't had to provide any supplemental foods and our vet has approved of her diet and how it positively affects her health. We've also noticed that her coat and skin have greatly improved from when she was first adopted which I think has something to do with her improved diet. I can imagine that as she grows older, we'll have to specialize her diet further but for now, she does great with her dry food.

My 2 cents, skip the raised dishes, and definitely skip the create.

Realistically you need at a minimum, a bed, food and water dishes, food, I strongly recommend sweet potato chews. It'll help with the stress induced diarrhea, a few toys and a Duckworth (see link below) I have yet to meet a dog that doesn't love them.

Multipet Duckworth https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000084E7Y/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_8T4QDb0BKC3DQ

Edit: obviously collar and leash, but those should be supplied by the rescue

I have this a bowl that clips right onto the crate to keep it from tipping over (http://www.amazon.com/Kennel-Gear-Plastic-Dog-Bowl-Blue/dp/B002GWVERI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1406939939&sr=8-7&keywords=dog+crate+bowl). I use an old ice cube tray to freeze peanut butter treats as well. Do you have a fan you could aim at him during the day? Marmet loves to lay in front of mine.

We put a big tall gate up in our bedroom doorway and put the litter box in the master bath behind the gate. So the cats had a dog-free suite where they could relax and feel safe knowing Jack could not get in there. Also because he ate cat poops. But mostly to give them their own dog-free space. We got the tall gate with a little cat hole in the bottom so our elderly cat wouldn't have to jump the gate. This is the one we got and it's worked well for the past three+ years: https://www.amazon.com/Carlson-0941PW-Extra-Tall-Walk-Thru-White/dp/B000JJFNJK

My dogs like these three treat dispensing toys we have:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ALMW0M

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F0RRUA

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002I0RN0

You can do it! Need two people. Large sharp scissor style clippers., Styptic powder. Get her on a bench. Heights keeps them from trying to bolt and saves your knees. Helper get an arm under the chest. Cut a tiny bit at a time. Each nail takes at least 5 quick little clips. You start to be able to tell when you get near the quick by how the cut section looks. (Dog will also get more nervous.) Starts to bleed tap some styptic powder on and provide pressure. Clots in 5 seconds. The more often you do it the quicker and easier it goes.

The bench is key though. Way easier!

For a greyhound or any other type of sighthounds, whose heads are skinnier than their necks, you should be using a Martingale Collar, otherwise, you risk them backing out of the collar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martingale_%28collar%29

Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Pet-Products-PRC-S-3-4-RED-Premier-Collar/dp/B000JCY27Q/ref=sr_1_6?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1425573052&sr=1-6&keywords=martingale+collars+for+dogs

Here you go, but I'm not seeing the XL size anymore.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2H3ZLK

yup! this one.

I’ve been using these for a couple of years without issue. I just do it more often and take less off. Some of my greyhounds nails are black but I haven’t had any issues. I also bought styptic powder in case there is ever bleeding.

I'm not sure how a crate has anything to do with taking her for a walk? Are you walking with the dog next to you, so it's easy to correct her if she pulls? Don't let her go far in front of you.

A crate can be found at any pet store. Get one that's 48x30x32 or so. I'm surprised you don't already have one. If you get it, make sure to crate train her properly, don't just chuck her in it when you leave or she'll think it's a punishment.

edit: oops, wrong post. Sorry!

We use the Solvit harness when we got our dark brindle. I realized that 60lbs of "roaching fury" that isn't buckled down in a vehicle can potentially kill us all if we suddenly stop from a vicious car accident.

She wears a harness, and we attach the harness to the seat belt itself. She eventually lays down, but it will definitely be a mandatory accessory on any car rides.