i have had odie for a little over 3 months and stormy for 1 month.... when odie was the only dog, he ate all his food at each feeding and always seemed hungry. since stormy has been in our home, getting odie to eat has become a frustrating task. thinking that odie didn't like to eat around another dog, i began feeding him alone but that still hasn't been totally successful. odie has skipped many meals and he usually leaves at least some of his food in his bowl when he does eat. he doesn't look to be underweight but i am planning to take him to the vet this week to check and make sure. he will eat a treat no matter what. i did change his food from nutro to canidae when stormy came. what also bothers me is the excessive shedding that has happened in the last couple of weeks. is this due to the weather or is this something i should worry about? before stormy came and before switching his food, he was so soft, but now his hair is coming out in handfuls and his coat is rough. HELP... i am really concerned about my baby.

Since Odie is still new, I think he is adjusting and settling in. If he doesn't look skinny I wouldn't worry yet.
Do you have a Petsmart nearby? You can put him on their scale once a week and see if he loses too much weight.

Oh yes, it's shedding season! I should start a pillow business, especially with the white dog, seems as if white dogs shed more.
My little foster girl Ciera came from Florida and has the thickest winter coat, what in the world is she doing with all that hair down in Florida?? It's shedding like crazy. I use those oval rubber curry combs. A shedding blade works well, but has to be used careflully on skinny hounds.

my vet is just down the road and i come by often to weigh my dogs so it is really convenient. he doesn't LOOK too skinny but just to be safe, i will take him this week to check.

that is good to know about the shedding... i took odie outside a while ago and pet him down and gobs of hair came out. i noticed that my almost black hardwood floors are turning white with all his hair! i have to at least sweep once a day! i could make a new dog with all the hair i have sweep lately!

Most of my dogs have had a big shed the first spring after I got them and lost lots of hair. Since so much has changed for him I would not worry too much about the hair and with his sensitive temperment his eating is likely to be upset easily. We have one dog who often does not want to eat, he is a shy one who likes to be alone in another room much of the time.
He always wants Cheewa's turkey necks and seems offended he has only kibble in his bowl. (the other ones dont seem to care much as long as there is food in their bowl)
After you have had him a while you will get a better sense of his rhythms (with eating and such) throughout the year.

i am still concerned about odie.... he has been gagging and coughing a lot while he is "trying" to eat... i have come in several times in the last week to see that he has thrown up in his crate.

You need to get Odie to a vet !!! If You don't think Your vet is Greyhound savvy enough then You need to get him to one that is.
Whats going on with him just isn't normal.

Gary

yikes.... other than that, he seems fine... what do you think it is????

yes, i am adding warm water to his food. i really think he hates the food. i changed him over to canidae when stormy came and he hasn't ate the same since. he seems to only eat when i put some canned food on top of it but he still leaves most of the kibble. i wasn't specific enough when i said he was throwing up.... he is only throwing up water and a little bit of food. it is more of a watery brown mess (not blood or bile). i talked with a good friend of mine who is very knowledgable with greyhounds and she seems to think he is stress drinking and that is making him throw up. i am limiting/keeping an eye on how much water he is drinking.