persephone

These comments got me thinking ..and so as to not hijack a thread - thought I'd start a shiny new one!

I am so rusty I cannot really answer it clearly ... I hope someone knowledgable and coherent can help you ;) All i can think is lack of stimulus/ frustration/. I do remember customs/GD's all kept dogs kennelled fairly strictly .. it was believed that then, when they were taken out for training , they were more keen/focussed .. Apologies for my mushy brain

Not qualified to really make informed comment - but it does sound as if the kennelling exacerbated his prey drive... We were always taught, (with guide dog training) That a lot of problems a dog may have - can be masked during training/constant environment - but may well re appear under a change of handler/environment. Therefore, initial 'gut feelings' were an important thing... (remembering the GD's often had inexperienced dog owners/handlers waiting at the end of their training - most were able to be rehomed as pets/detector dogs etc. )

jacqui - I don't think you are actually reading and understand what folks are writing. I No One here that I can see is saying one thing against Dogs who provide balance, dogs who are detecting pre seizure activity, monitoring diabetics for hypos, detecting heightened anxiety levels and leading someone to a quiet place ..all this and more is a wonderful service which these trained dogs provide. However, someone who feels they 'must' have their dog with them somewhere at all times ..and gets it declared a 'therapy dog' to allow them to do so , is being dishonest .. That's all.

Guess I was also thinking a more restrictive kennel environment?..Singly housed.. restricted vision, etc. Did the original comment come with a general 'kennel' scenario?Or after an incident somewhere?

why not ask TROY ?

Just thinking out loud... could it be that, without the stimuli whilst kennelled .. when released, a dog may see a small moving animal/whatever and be much more reactive to it ? hence a supposed 'increase in predatory behaviour' ?

Yoiks! Glad he's OK ...... and hope the fence is up soon .

All dogs? or is it greyhound/sighthound specific?

.He could well have kennel Cough , and you're wise to get him checked. It can be very serious in old dogs. The tail chewing/hair pulling may be because there is pain there, and he is trying to relieve it .. or fleas, or perhaps he is going a bit senile.... or .... make sure you give the vet lots of information on when/how often ... etc. Th ears .. poor boy if he has an infection ..hopefully the vet will be able to fix it he may well be putting on weight on the new food ! have a look on the packet- read labels- and compare the fat content etc with what you were feeding! I think BH is a much more concentrated/better digested food ..

Thanks for the info, Dxenion Three Cheers. having worked for many years with dogs as guides and therapy dogs ..and having put a big chunk of my life into careful assessment/training/placement ....so that hopefully the public would not be in any way inconvenienced by a dog's inappropriate behaviour ...and that dogs went to those who they could best benefit... I am just a bit 'tetchy' about pet dogs being labelled as 'therapy' dogs at the drop of a hat , it seems.

AGREED!!!!! That is just not right. ALL therapy/assistance dogs should only be given that title after assessment and training and a registration with an appropriate organisation. :( edit to add ......the Doctor should be reprimanded for falsifying records or something . ......

I'm so glad harper is responding well That must make you feel terrific!! I can't stand the noise of clickers.

yep.

YES, YES, YES !! all running 5 km does is make her fitter - it does not provide that feeling of mental weariness after 'work' ...that relaxed feeling .... ;) I still think that having a professional like K9pro assess the situation will be invaluable!!

I don't know all the reasoning .. but there is interesting information about fighting in THIS THREAD , and in THIS THREAD Some discussion about littermates in THIS THREAD

Aww- the dear old thing I'm so glad she found a home with you for a while .

lovely droplet!

R I P Jasper - what a great little friend he sounds ..

it may not be the grass- it may be prickles IN the grass/lawn . Dogs should not limp on grass!! BUT they WILL limp if there are some sort of prickly seeds in there ;)is it a proper lawn- all nicely even & mowed & smooth? Or is it grass which looks as if needs attention ? run your bare hands over patches where you see them limping.. and see if it does feel prickly ....

ANY dog can (or desire to be) be a lap dog as you describe- same as any dog can be trained to NOT jump up/sit on people. Oh - people can also be trained to not pick up dogs /let them jump up . ;) Dogs only 'expect' to sit one someone if they have been previously allowed to .

lovely!