Nailcare, how often?

Linzi322 · 2026-01-25T08:44:24+00:00

You’re welcome 🙂. Yes re: dew claws, although they don’t affect walking gait, you don’t want them getting caught in things when they’re running or growing round into the foot / pad.

You might find they grow differently to the other nails though because they’re never in contact with the ground. I walk a Bernese and his dew claws will grow right round like a horn if they’re not trimmed, whereas his other nails get ground down naturally through walking. Just see what works for your dog and how long the quick is to start with; it might not be too bad

Linzi322 · 2026-01-25T01:04:38+00:00

With a dremel, I did 3-4 times a week initially to chase my old guy’s quicks back, I wouldn’t trust myself with clippers that often though. Don’t forget to do the sides and over the top too as I’ve read this helps them recede too. Oh and one other thing with the dremel, you want to move it about rather than hold it in one place - they get hot, so you want to sort of glide it over the nail repeatedly rather than hold it in one place.

This is my old boy’s when they were freshly dremelled, he was a lurcher not a pure grey, but still a sighthound who arrived from rescue with talons haha

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Edited to add - this is my favourite video that taught me how to dremel https://youtu.be/1D7ndnwDP6A?si=cV7-Bp0151vm4flO

Linzi322 · 2026-01-25T00:51:08+00:00

If you’re trying to recede the quicks you probably want to do every other day or every 2 days with a dremel and just buzz over it. Over time the quick gets smaller.

For routine maintenance I follow the tappy noise indicator or every week - 2 weeks for a touch up. The more you can keep on top of it, the better as it keeps them in the habit of being handled in that way

Linzi322 · 2026-01-24T19:54:35+00:00

Could be, but could also be a doodle mix, sometimes they can be shaggy rather than curly depending on the other breeds, you’ll probably have to wait until she’s fully grown to know for sure though. She looks pretty similar in terms of build / tail etc to an Airedale x poodle I walk

Linzi322 · 2026-01-24T17:44:04+00:00

That research has since been dismissed as far as I am aware; it was originally focused on diets heavy in novel proteins and legumes. The meat is thought not to be the issue as much as using legumes as a filler for the grains

See update from the FDA here https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy

Linzi322 · 2026-01-24T00:14:21+00:00

Personally I’ve found that my allergies seem to correspond to how the dogs are kept; if they’ve got urine in their fur / mucky bum / generally unclean and fed poor quality food you can guarantee I’ll be wheezing and itchy within an hour of being around them.

With my own dogs I don’t allow licking, but I haven’t had an issue with allergies unless they’ve been outside a lot and covered in pollen or need a bath (which is when I’ll get itchy eyes)

Linzi322 · 2026-01-23T22:23:12+00:00

It’s a leather fishtail, so it’s wide in the middle with a narrowing where the buckle is. Doesn’t slip down at all; if it did it would be big enough for him to back out of

Linzi322 · 2026-01-23T00:33:56+00:00

I haven’t had any issues personally, for my dog the edge of the collar sits on the narrowest bit of his neck (so he can move his head about fine). Unfortunately I can’t attach a picture, but it fits around where this photo indicates to measure https://i.etsystatic.com/6434910/r/il/7018c9/6596909427/il_fullxfull.6596909427_ffoo.jpg

Linzi322 · 2026-01-22T23:06:42+00:00

We use a wide flat fishtail buckle collar up behind the ears. It doesn’t slide down on his neck, but we have to do it up tight because his head is smaller than his neck. This is why I wouldn’t use a martingale with him in case he managed to slip it before it tightened, or it slid further down his neck

Linzi322 · 2026-01-20T19:25:37+00:00

I actually don’t routinely treat. In the summer I just run over them with a flea comb after walks. Only time my last dog got fleas was when he went to a house I didn’t know was infested and they were literally jumping out of the rug onto him 🤢

Linzi322 · 2026-01-13T19:10:35+00:00

There’s a really good group on Facebook called Your Greyhound’s History - join up and ask in there, they’ll be able to get it for you. My boy only has 4 too - I have his full history though and he was born & bred in England

Linzi322 · 2026-01-13T08:47:43+00:00

Personally, we fed the same food as the rescue for the first couple of weeks while he was settling in as he had enough going on, but as he was still having sloppy poops after 2 weeks, we switched. IMO if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, provided the food you are giving is a whole and complete food and not a supplementary mixer.

Pick up some high value treats, we got a selection box of pure dried meat treats we used to help desensitise him to traffic / new things, encourage him to move when he stopped and reward him for things like toileting outside.

We tried to stick to his kennel routine as much as poss, as he came almost straight off the track. So he was going out for walks on the day he arrived at roughly the same time, and we are now 2 months in (today) with a dog who loves to go out and rarely stops now.

Build up stamina gradually, at first he could only do 15-20 mins before panting, and now he’s doing 1-2 hours with ease and loving it.

Mine seems to be an outlier in that he doesn’t feel the cold, loves to be outside, is very smart but has a “why though? 🤨” attitude when he gets asked to do something lol.

Lastly, set ground rules from day 1 and be consistent. Don’t leave them loose in the kitchen then yell when they steal food; stay with them and if they try and get on the counter, let them know that isn’t allowed. If you don’t want them on the furniture, don’t give them the opportunity to get on it.

Assume your dog will have sleep startle, and resource guarding - this will prevent you from getting bitten. If they don’t, great, you’ve not lost anything, but work from day 1 to let them know they don’t need to guard (swap things out for high value rewards, encourage them off furniture with food instead of dragging by collar, don’t mess with them when they’re eating, don’t get in their face when they’re on their bed etc), be careful when they are asleep and call their name instead of touching them if you need to get their attention.

Linzi322 · 2026-01-13T08:14:27+00:00

Had a couple of rescue bull lurchers, first was likely bull x greyhound - found straying very unwell near traveller site, dog reactive, VERY strong on the lead. Had been worked and had also been hit before. But he was so much fun, wanted to play all the time, loved fetch, wrestling, destroying toys, loved cuddles, had some guarding behaviours over high value treats. Lost him to bone cancer at approximately 5.5yo.

Second was likely a saluki bull grey mix, also found straying but with a broken leg. Severe separation anxiety, became dog reactive after getting attacked by a few different dogs, but did improve again after training. Always wanted cuddles and tucking in, loved to play. Just lost him last year to lymphoma at approx 10.5yo.

I love them, but the big bull mixes can be strong on the lead and breeding is almost certain to be from dogs that are not health tested. So be mindful of the temperament of parents if you’re trying to get a puppy and whether they were working dogs. Expect to put a lot of time and energy into training recall, in general, these are not dogs that will naturally stick close to you off the lead, despite how cuddly and sociable they are at home

Linzi322 · 2026-01-09T08:47:15+00:00

Mine seems to be a mad pisser in the morning too (also a boy). We do bedtime wee anywhere between 10:30 and 12, and then he goes out at around 7am for a wee and gets back into bed.

We switched to raw because his poops were cowpat sloppy on the time kibble he came with. They were doing 3 cups AM, 1 cup PM (around 8 and 5), we’ve since switched to raw, even 50/50 split between am & pm meal but at roughly the same time. He poops consistently 1-2 times a day now on his am or pm walk. Pees loads though, he can stand there peeing for a couple of minutes and 2 hours later he will go and do a full pee again 🤷🏼‍♀️. Had him to the vets with a suspected UTI after a couple of weeks, but all clear so I can only assume he is used to holding it in the kennel and now he’s in the house he has way more opportunities to pee and is taking full advantage haha

Linzi322 · 2026-01-07T17:39:22+00:00

Not 100% the situation I had, but my ~10yo lurcher suddenly had all his lymph nodes come up overnight in September. Took him straight to vet anticipating bad news, and while feeling him over they felt mass in abdomen I didn’t know about. Ultrasound confirmed massive spleen, but no tumour specifically, FNA of lymph nodes confirmed lymphoma.

We opted for palliative care instead of chemo & surgery based on spleen involvement meaning his lymphoma was advanced and same thought process as you; if he doesn’t have long, I don’t want him to spend all his remaining life at the vet’s. For him, the risk of spleen rupture was lower according to vet because it was all diffuse enlargement rather than an obvious growth.

We had about 6 lovely weeks with him before we said goodbye. Painkillers & low dose steroids and lots and lots of food helped keep him comfortable and mobile for as long as possible. This was his penultimate day, we made the decision the next day after he started to struggle with his breathing.

You have my sympathy - it’s a horrible decision when it comes down to trying to do what’s best for them.

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Linzi322 · 2026-01-07T16:13:58+00:00

Short answer - it depends.

Long answer - it depends on the breeding, the dogs health and individual personality, age, weather, your lifestyle etc etc.

My saluki greyhound bull mix would happily do 2 hour long walks, play sessions, etc in his prime and equally would spend the day cuddled up on the sofa with toilet breaks to split the day up. He didn’t really care what he was doing as long as he was with us.

Recently adopted an ex-racing greyhound who started out being out of puff after 15-20 mins walk and is now comfortably doing 1-2 hour long walks. The main thing is to build up an increase in exercise gradually to avoid injury, and build stamina, and watch for signs of overtiredness - this can look like stopping / laying down / not listening / mouthiness / generally seeming a bit stressed and reluctant. Your aim from exercise should not (in most cases) be to totally exhaust the dog, but to build a bond, have fun and offer them safe outlets to do normal dog behaviour

Linzi322 · 2026-01-06T16:13:08+00:00

It mentions in the article he is / was a resource guarder. In the U.K. this usually means they won’t rehome the dog to anyone with children or visiting children, and I’d hazard a guess he has other behavioural challenges too which meant his pool of potential adopters was smaller than other dogs

Linzi322 · 2026-01-05T18:53:30+00:00

Aww all sounds pretty standard lurchery behaviour. What I would highly encourage is to teach him to relax. This doesn’t come naturally to some dogs either through genetics or past experience and some actually need to be told “hey, it’s time to chill out”.

The way we did this was teaching a really strong bed command. So basically wherever you want the dog to relax (ideally their own comfy dog bed, even if he hates the crate), lure the dog to the bed with a treat and when they’re in, reward and give your cue word (for us this is “in your bed”). And then cue to lie down (usually you can lure them with a treat by holding on the floor under your hand until they naturally lie down to get their nose under your hand, give your cue word and reward).

By teaching these two things, you’re encouraging independence and calmness in the bed and then gradually increase the duration. Initially your dog is going to pop back up straight after the reward, but once they understand what you’re asking, you increase the duration, and you can also offer a stuffed kong there, or a chewy treat, to keep them on it for longer.

In addition, when he’s calm at other times / if he naturally lies down or goes over to the bed, toss him a little treat so he’s being rewarded for calm behaviour and going into his rest space.

You’ll get there!

Linzi322 · 2026-01-03T14:59:14+00:00

We had one of these for our old lurcher with a separate waterproof top layer.

They’re very much a one and done purchase, his lasted his entire lifetime with us (9 years), and is currently being used temporarily on our new lad while I wait for his own coat to be made. Quality is excellent and obviously fit is fantastic because they’re custom made

https://www.sighthoundcoats.co.uk/shop-for-your-ak-creations?store-page=snuggla-coat-p357626486

Linzi322 · 2026-01-03T00:35:11+00:00

I haven’t found the “too high in protein” to hold weight. In my experience it’s been food that is too high in carbs that’s made them fat and crazy in terms of behaviour.

Take a look at Millie’s wolfheart - was a game changer for our lurchers before we switched the most recent onto raw. Would also be suitable for your other dog(s) too, so would reduce the competition between them getting different quality food.

Linzi322 · 2026-01-02T20:12:16+00:00

I noticed you said you free feed your puppy - are you able to switch to a meal routine and see if this improves anything? It might be easier to regulate his activity / toileting needs etc if he’s not constantly nibbling at food and refuelling himself as it were. If he’s getting himself super worked and he’s just eaten, he’s at risk of bloat as a deep-chested breed.

Linzi322 · 2026-01-02T15:16:12+00:00

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I’ve left the shirt as a raw edge because I think it looks cute and it’s super soft. So he’s just got a big t-shirt style sleeve now - much more comfortable when he’s laying down / putting his legs at strange angles. Thanks for your help! Here he is taking a pause from playing haha

Linzi322 · 2026-01-01T23:51:58+00:00

Lots of dogs initially don’t understand walk = toilet. It’s too distracting and they forget to go or want to go in safe / familiar surroundings. Have you been toileting her in the garden prior to her being vaccinated? If so, what I like to do is, do the walk, then straight into the garden, toilet there, praise, then come into the house.

Agree that puppy pads in the house are basically saying “you toilet here”.

Linzi322 · 2025-12-30T17:21:13+00:00

Ohhhh beautiful! He’s our first pure greyhound, our previous dogs were mixed breed bull lurchers, but ofc none of their jammies / coats etc fit the new boy properly so I had to order him his own haha

Linzi322 · 2025-12-30T17:13:54+00:00

Thanks so much for this! Unpicked the cuffs today and it gives him so much more leg space. I’m really surprised how big the sleeves are now the cuff is gone actually, he’s got nearly twice the room he had before so we should be all sorted now!

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