New longdog (saluki x greyhound) owner

Evening all.

We have just rescued a 3 month old longdog. Saluki x greyhound.

Today is day two and trying to catch up on training. House training is going OK, a few accidents but getting better. He was also introduced to a collar and lead today too which is going alright.

He seems a bit underweight, only about 7kgs with quite a few ribs showing along with hips and spine. He isn't eating particularly well. Had all his breakfast eventually but has only had half his dinner. He is currently on beta puppy which was recommended, the people we got him off had him on pedigree adult kibble and some tinned stuff.

I am a new dog owner so please be gentle, but any advice is always welcome.

Cheers!

He is gorgeous give him time to settle in it'll be all new for him.
Welcome!

Gorgeous! The piece of advice I would offer at this stage is that even though he was on a food you can improve upon, it's a good idea to keep dogs on the same food for a couple of weeks then change gradually, because the stress of the move puts pressure on their systems so keeping food the same is one thing less for them to have to cope with (might help toilet training too). It's a bit like us going on holiday and having an upset tummy from unfamiliar food. But pedigree isn't thought to be great quality, so fair enough if you want to change - maybe just leave it a couple of weeks until he is settled, then do it gradually mixing new with old in increasing quantities over a week or two. The website www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk is very good. It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores all types of foods (dry, raw, wet) on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

Cheers guys

Ref the food, I have mixed in some of his old stuff and he picked it all out. He was on the new stuff this morning and did well and has now just finished his evening meal after I soaked it a little with water.

I am getting better at knowing when he wants to relieve himself too which is useful.

He does whine a lot but with his old owners they were always around him in a small flat, so it'll take a while for him to get used to a bit more independence. I am trying to get him crate trained so he sleeps somewhere secure eventually, which will be helpful when travelling. He made a bit of a row last night so his crate ended up in our room which went well. He felt better and I could hear him properly when he needed to go outside.

Thanks also for the website, very useful but has made me second guess my choice of food!

He looks a little belter, looking forward to hearing about his journey to adulthood.
Don't let him run,let him do some growing first.

Saluki crosses are very vocal and will let you know when they are unhappy about something. ..he is lovely. ..good idea to have him in your room in his crate

Welcome - he is gorgeous
Don't worry too much about his weight. Some young saluki crosses can be as skinny as a rake, with even their vertebrae clearly showing, but still as fit as the butcher's dog.

Philyc said:

I am getting better at knowing when he wants to relieve himself too which is useful.

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That's good - the key to toilet training is to aim for every toilet outside so it really 'clicks' that this is what you want. Rather than looking for signs he needs out, it can be helpful to pre-empt him by taking him out hourly (or every 45 minutes, or every 75 minutes depending on his bladder capacity) whether he shows signs or not. Then reward generously for outside toileting so he learns to want to hold his toilet in order to earn his lovely rewards. Rewards need to be immediate so he knows it is for toileting and not for, for example, coming to you. Any accidents indoors should be ignored - if you get cross or even roll your eyes, he may think you are cross at him toileting as opposed to toileting in the house . That in turn can make dogs seek or create opportunities to toilet in your absence - sneaking off to leave you little surprises to find later! An enzymatic cleaner will take away the smell, and leave the cleaner down for ten minutes before you wipe it up to give it time to work properly.

Philyc said:

his crate ended up in our room which went well.

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Good choice. He will be a bit unsettled with the move so being with you will let him see you are there to take care of things and there's nothing for him to worry about. That will help build his confidence. It won't make him clingy and anxious, as used to be thought - quite the opposite as he will see you have his back. If you want to, in a week or two you can start moving his crate by a few feet at a time towards and eventually in to the place you want him to sleep.