Gryffenne

Well, after Sammi's scare 2 weeks ago, I have started reevaluating her diet. She is back to the kibble again with it being thought of as a bug in her system or a bad bag of food, since she is fine now. Roommate and I were discussing Sammi and the older husky, Gizmo as they both are turning 9 soon. I explained why Sammi take Gluc/Cond and what happens if she doesn't take it in the colder months. He wants to try that with Giz, as since she was once very overweight, is starting to show signs of stiffening when cold. obviously, without talking with the vet, Giz wouldn't go on a dose like Sammi's which is the same as what my 73 yr old father takes. So my questions are: Until we can get a chest freezer and set up for RAW, what kibbles that do not require a loan office to purchase would you all recommend for : ~a Sr Grey that I want to take it easy on her liver & kidneys that already maintains her ideal weight? ~A Sr Husky that is showing early signs of arthritis, possible diabetes- but is slimming down beautifully? (Yes there is a vet check up in the future here, but was just curious of some names we can check out in the meantime)

Sammi was a shy pee'r when she first arrived. Like you, leash walks every 1-2 hours, 20+ minute walks and nothing. Finally peed when we tried 2 leashes hooked together and I turned my back After a day or 2 of the double leashes, I got her to one leash with me still turning my back when she started looking around for a spot. A week after adoption she didn't mind me looking in her general direction.

Or a different SO.... Heh, that's what I did. (There were other issues in the relationship, not just his attitude towards Sammi) My SO at the time also was only helping here and there. Between her shyness, her 3 months of the big D and the fact that she bonded to me and not him, he was becoming jealous. He wanted a dog that bonded to HIM, he wanted a dog that he could show off- wasn't shy, and the constant struggling to find the cause of her loose stool aggravated him since she wasn't "his dog" in Sammi's eyes. He felt that if she preferred me so much, then she was my problem. He was not 100% on board with Sammi. I am glad that no one caught wind of him wanting to exchange Sammi, I would have lost the best dog that has ever graced my life because of a guy that I finally realized wasn't worth my time.

How hot is it there when you're wanting him to go? Even in Michigan, our summers can be hot & humid to the point that Sammi only wants to leave the AC to potty and then dive back into the house, content to stretch on the couch in the cool air. So dog park, beach and walks are either early mornings or late evenings. Winter is the flipside... too cold to get her to play outside for long, she'd rather be snuggled in he hoodie or PJ's in the house. Fall & Spring seem the be her most energetic "days". I swear she has about a 10 degree comfort zone.

Prayers for Wabi! On a side note, a few years ago Sammi had 2 Histiocytomas~ one on her belly and one in her mouth. They are scary to observe because they act so aggressive (and look it, too!). They are red, ugly and mean looking. We didn't know what they were at first, the vet biopsied them and then removed them, sent both the biopsies and the tumors themselves to path. Came back as those lil copycat buggers, Hystiocytomas. Praying this turns out ot be something as simple.

I joke that Sammi (my grey) is a 78 pound cat. She loves to sleep as much as one! lol Most greys seem to also be large house cats in canine costumes. Sammi is loving, affectionate, and a goofball. She is my shadow, a velcro dog. I've gotten goosed by that needle nose more times than I can remember. I've forgotten what it is like to have the couch to myself. She is very in tune with my emotions and the emotions of others she deems part of her pack. When my Mother passed away, she glued herself to my father when we would be at his house. If he came close to breaking down, she would immediately come up to him and press his hand, or lean into him, and remain there as he petted her until he was calm again. But I wanted to respond to let you know that Sammi took forever to become that affectionate, couch hogging goofball, and jsut as long to play. When we brought her home, she was described as the Serial Stuffy Killer. So I bought her tons of toys. And she didn't play with them. Not a one. I even let her go to the store with me to pick out her own. Nadda. About 3 months later, I was in the kitchen and heard a SQUEAK!!! from the living room. Peek around the corner and Sammi had picked a toy from her toy-box and was slowly starting to play with it. When she saw me watching, she stopped. This went on for a few weeks~ She would play, but stop if she caught me watching. Then she progressed to allowing me to watch. After a few weeks of that, I tried to play with her. At first, she stopped, thinking I was taking the toy away from her. Then she caught on that I was playing with her. Almost a year later, she came to the point that if I was on the computer and not paying attention, I would have a toy whiz by my head (or hit the back of my head ) We've recently moved, and so it's a whole new place to learn, roommates to get used to, and she is more reserved again. She plays up in our bedroom, but not around anyone else. My roommate understands, and almost burst at the seams to tell me the other morning that Sammi chattered her teeth at her! We also want to put down more rugs because the main level of the house is smooth hardwood and she slips when she gets going, we think is also another part of her more reserved behavior, because she is pretty affectionate with everyone. (And demands attention from anyone in the household) I also want to build a ramp to my loft bed because for 5 years she has slept next to me and now she cannot. She cries and then lays down either on the overstuffed chair next to the loft (was trying to use it to help her get up and down) or across the room where she can see me, but she is Not. Happy. about not being able to sleep with me. A few times, I have taken naps on my roommate's bed, or sleep on my son's bed, so that Sammi can cuddle. As for hugging, only a very few people can truly hug Sammi without her stiffening up or other body language that shows she's tolerating it. And those people are my son and I. Her pack. But it wasn't an overnight thing. My son only in the past year, and we've had her for over 5, has been able to hug her and her lean in to hug back (body leans in, head over his shoulder resting on it, body relaxed). Took me, her velcro, about 2 years to do that. Yes, this is something that is viewed by most dogs as aggressive behavior. So is leaning over them, especially when they are laying down. Your typical family dog, raised from 8 wks old in the household, will tolerate, or even accept this behavior right off the bat because usually they are taught by humans how to be dogs. Racing greyhounds stay with their litter-mates a looooong time in dog-time and then are at racing kennels, so they are mostly taught how to be dogs by dogs. The best way I was able to get it across to my roommate's 11 yr old DD is to take a video of their huskies play fighting. (A spectator sport for Sammi ) I then played the video and froze it when the older one gained dominance by bringing the younger upstart down. She had her front paws around her neck and her muzzle pressed in to her neck as well. I asked her "where are your arms in a hug? where is your face?" She doesn't try to hug Sammi anymore and actually is very careful hugging the other 2, now that she is picking my brain on dog body language and realizes that standing stiff, averting the head, etc... show signs of discomfort with her affections. It does take time for many greys to blossom into what you've seen caught on camera in the Cute & Funny posts section. I used to dream of that stuff. I was also fearful I had the wrong dog. I was crestfallen that mine didn't want to play, that she didn't want to cuddle. But slowly, I started having my own Cute & Funny posts as Sammi started opening up. Looking back at the journal I kept & the emails between Sammi's foster mom, I don't even recognize the grey I have today.

Quick Update on Sammi: It's been a little over a week now and so far the liquid poo has not returned. Started slowly mixing kibble in. Actually started after the 3rd day of bland because the vet wanted a solid stool sample for one more parasite check since they can be missed with all that liquid poo. Immediately the next poo was big D. I started to wonder if there was something wrong with that particular bag of kibble. The one husky was fine, but she has an iron stomach. The other one was starting to produce soft serve. So we ditched that bin and bought a new bag after discussing the possibility with the vet. Both Huskies started having bouncily firm poop. So the other day we started working kibble back into Sammi's diet while using the prescript AD meds (mainly because the vet wanted a stool sample and she wasn't willing to give us one while their office was open, either because of the meds or because there isn't much left over with a bland diet). Finally got a good sample today and parasites have officially been ruled out. Next course of action is to continue with the bland-to-kibble conversion without the Rx AD or the Pepto. If the poo starts to go liquid again, bring her back in and they are going to do more bloodwork, an ultrasound and more tests (vet still concerned about her liver because of a slight elevation in her counts. It could have been elevated due to what she was dealing with, as it wasn't into the "Be concerned" range, just slight.)

Sammi has an internal clock that is attached to her stomach and it is tough to adjust. What I usually do when I have to adjust her feedings (like daylight savings or schedule adjustment for me) is start with 15 minute increments. Once she starts getting used to the new time I bump to the next 15 minute mark and so on. As for her potty breaks, those are a bit easier to get her adjusted to. If she has to start pottying earlier, a long walk at the time needed for a few days usually gets her used to that time. If I have to get her to sleep in (like when I went from a night shift-430am potty break to days, NOT getting up at 430, but sleeping til 7am) I luckily had a 2 week notice to the schedule change and was able to start pushing her up to 7am by delaying the time I would take her out. The first week, I delayed the time I took her out a bit each day. So that her "dance" was later and later. The next week, when it was time to start adjusting MY sleep schedule, when she woke me up i would take my time, first in my reacting, then when I got up, and finally took my sweet time getting her out the door. Hope that made sense LOL pretty sleepy and about to head to bed.

I have to give Sammi Benadryl during allergy season (and for contact allergies, etc...) Every time I give her her dose, I always recall back to when the vet first told me the dosage to give her. I was shocked because that stuff knocks me out! He said, "Don't worry, the ingredient that makes us drowsy doesn't normally affect them the same way." I looked at Sammi roached in the backseat of my car and back to him and asked, "How would you tell?" OP~ Glad that you got answers (sometimes it's almost a relief to just know what is going on vs. the unknown) and hoping for a speedy recovery for your pup!

I wouldn't consider it safe, either. My loft bed is over 4 feet off the ground. Add in me lying on my side... Sammmi jumped well over 5 feet since she cleared me. I wouldn't even be designing/building a ramp for her, except for the fact the jump down scared the daylights out of us both.

well tonight Sammi was circling me like a shark while I was preparing her bland dinner. After she ate her dinner, she seemed perkier, wagging her tail and little bounces. Firm poop an hour after dinner! So far no gas, no leaking, no accidents, no distress. Keep it up, Sweetie! (still waiting to hear back from the vet on the bloodwork results)

Yes, used a white dishcloth to clean it up. Panicked at first because of the tint of the hardwood made it look very red. Once I got it onto the clean, white rag I could see if was only concentrated urine. Vet is going with concentrated due to all fluids being redirected elsewhere because of the liquid #2. She is drinking more fluids and her urine is back on track.

Gryffenne here, on my bberry while on lunch break. Hopefully this posts. Ty for the thoughts and prayers. They let me leave work to meet the vet at the office with Sammi. So far not much. Vet checked fecal and ruled out parasites. Did a check of her spine and pressure/ tender points- found ap spot above kidneys to be tender. Felt her and spleen, liver and everything else to be normal size, no enlargement. Did "aquapuncture" and acupuncture to help her a bit. Drew blood, so we are waiting on the results to come in to decide the next step. For now, bland diet, pepto and another drug to help with the liquid poo until we know more.

Jay, I read your post about Mickey. I will definitely be asking that ultrasounds and possibly x-rays are done. So far *knock on wood* no vomiting. Her leaking is the liquid D, not urinary. (going by the um... smell). From other things I have googled and searched here, I checked her breath and it is her normal breath (minus the pepto burp she blew in my face)

The sweet pharmacist at Walgreens took pity on my and gave me a medication syringe when she found out what the pepto and pedialyte was for. (either that, or she took pity when she also saw I had Munchums chips, ice cream and Lindt Excellence sea salt dark chocolate bar along with Sammi's stuff)

Learned that lesson with myself, actually. Years ago, first time mega sick while on my own, I reached for the Gatorade like a good girl-err, knowitalltwentysomethingfemale. And it was red. And after I saw what I threw up, I called my mother in a panic. Calmly, she asked me what I was drinking for hydration...

Vet finally responded. For now, he suggested liquid pepto (this is gonna be fun, since she is refusing food) every 4 hours and electrolytes. since she doesn't like flavored stuff (powerade) I picked up some flavorless Pedialyte. I have to work tomorrow, Roommate is taking her to vet's as soon as they open to do bloodwork if she doesn't improve. He's hoping just a simple tummy bug, but has already mentioned he is concerned about her liver & kidneys. (Gee, thanks Doc! I'll be able to sleep great tonight!) Right now, trying to keep her comfortable, towels under her since she is leaking fluids, and trying to coax her to drink the pedialyte. ETA~ Heart Rate is down to 80-90bpm at least there is a tiny improvement

Forgive me if this is scattered, worried because Sammi is sick and I don't know what to do... waiting for E-Vet to call back on the page. Facts from the Rear: ~3 days ago, soft serve poo started. Fasted 12 hours, tried food. Was planning to do bland, but she had firmed up so my DS, not knowing the bland-plan, fed kibble. Next day or so, mostly formed, but slightly soft poop. ~Come home today and we are beyond "Big D" Coffee has more consistency!! The liquid coming out is the color of strong tea. ~Urine, had an accident in house, no squatting, just release of urine and it was orange- highly concentrated. ~Temp (rectally) 100.9 Facts from the Front: ~Gums, tongue, roof of mouth all normal. ~Panting (from right before urine accident until she settled down next to me while I am writing this) ~Eyes wide, she's distressed. (well... was. Now that I am proofreading, she's sleeping) ~Between front legs hot (this is where roommate decided to take temp and I was shocked it was so low for how hot she felt) ~Heart Rate is 150bpm (taken before temp was done) Other facts: ~4 wks ago had a check up at vets along with her Rabies vacc. No worms in fecal. -2 Thursdays ago: vet issued an anti-anxiety med to try since they do not have her Composure. The name looks like Elervil (opened a full bottle to give me a 2wk dose to try, so handwritten) ~last Thursday: Treated dogs with Frontline Plus last Thursday. This is the first time I have used FP on her. She was in the weight range on the package. Was issued by vet. The day after, noticeable soft serve started. Thought it was the "Elervil" that was causing it, so stopped the med since it wasn't helping her on Friday when she met the landlord (strange male, scared of them... still was, no change in her behavior) ~Tonight was the first time EVER that she turned her nose up at food. Tried a bit of enticing extra, but didn't push the food issue since I know how awful food sounds when you are sick) ~She drank water in front of me, a "normal" visit for her to the water dish, but concerned she isn't taking in enough liquid with all the liquid potties & the concentrated look/smell of the urine accident. ~6 steps up from the back door to the house. Normally skips most. Tonight she is very slow and carefully walking up. Other dogs (2 huskies): ~Older one is normal, younger one is starting soft serve, but no where near what Sammi is having. Brain ramblings, might be pertinent,might just be my scattered thoughts worrying over anything: ~Stress because she cannot sleep next to me anymore? Bed in new place in a loft, 4+ feet from the floor. She jumped up once (surprised me she made the jump) and jumped down (scared us both) hasn't attempted it since. But lays on her bed and cries, even after 2 months of living here (and weekends of the prior 2 months when we were visiting and getting the dogs used to each other). Was planning to build her a ramp to get up there in the next week or so) ~Which reminds me, all the dogs get along great. No stress from them. Was actually floored by how well they got along, no squabbles and body language is relaxed, calm. No nervousness. Any ideas out there? My brain is racing atm. I am thinking stress, virus, parasite, kidneys, liver, the dreaded C, and why hasn't the vet answered his page yet?!?!?!

Sammi was the queen of my couch at the home visit and already eyeing my bed with interest Fast forward 5 years, I have forgotten what it feels like to have the couch to myself. So be careful what you wish for We recently moved, so as for my bed, which is in a "loft" now (4+ feet off the ground), I am trying to devise a way to build a ramp for her to get up and down from there because she whines that she can't sleep with Mommy atm. Okay... and I feel strange not having her next to me at night... She's gotten up there when we first moved in, but the jump down scared her and I both. But I was pretty amazed that she did that height in a jump!

You never tasted that stuff, did you? I remember when I had ferrets and one had to have surgery. To feed her while she was recovering, it meant making "duck soup" and using a feeding syringe. (This is before I became a mother, btw. The only baby foods I was familiar with were: The first foods applesauce and Blueberry Buckle) Duck Soup required "first foods" meats. Out of curiosity, I tried a taste of first foods beef. Oh Dear God! I gagged so badly. Vowed never to feed those to my children. In fact, when my son was born, one of the gifts from my mother was actually a babyfood grinder! But I will remember that tip about the meats if Sammi ever becomes picky in her old age. Her motto seems to be- the stinkier = the tastier

I kicked my food snobbery years ago when my son was an infant. He had to be on a soy formula. I bought THE most expensive because it was "the best", right? Wrong. After trying different brands, I finally, out of desperation, tried the store brand version of Isomil. He thrived on it. He was a happy, content, healthy baby. It was what was "Best" for him, and that was the most important factor... not price, or what others thought. Whatever the difference was between Isomil and the store brand version of it, I haven't a clue, but it was a key factor that made all the difference in the world. Fast forward to Sammi. I've tried many of the designer and top brands that are touted about here. I discovered that the higher "quality" the brand supposedly was, the looser the poop and deadlier the gas. We did try Raw for a while, but living in BFE, it was far too costly to continue while trying to maintain a healthy diet with being dependent on the grocery store and one meat market for her meals when I was unemployed. After searching and comparing nutritional values of different kibbles, I tried Paws Premium and WOW! She loves it! Firm, healthy poop (unless it is a heatwave), no dry skin/hair. In fact, I haven't had to supplement her diet for her coat since starting out on PP. Her weight is maintained (even after the stress of the move, she only dropped 1/2 a pound). She is energetic (for a greyhound) And besides healing from a scratch on her eye, she is healthy and happy. Eventually, once bills are caught up and I have something in my savings again, I will be buying a freezer and going back to Raw again, but for now, we've found a kibble that works great for her.

Glad I wasn't the only one that cracked up (and also has a hound that likes to be RIGHT there while I am in the bathroom) Sammi is so funny, too. She likes to stand nose-to-nose with me while I am sitting on "the throne" and she wags her tail. I always imagine that she is thinking, "Goood Girl! Good potty!" in her head, in the voice I use when I praise her for going potty.

Sigh...me too. They feed off of one another. One on one, not so bad, but all 3 together...oy. I have bruises on me constantly. Sammi used to turn into a ballistic rocking horse jacked up on Red Bull and swizzle sticks if she saw me even touch her leash. Now tho, she only moves when she see me hold the collar (which is attached to the leash) open and I am looking straight at her. Same with the car keys. Previously mentioned rocking horse, to now watching me to see if I look at her. What I did to break that behavior was to constantly, throughout the day, touch/move her leash and/or the car keys unnecessarily. Just pick them up and walk around with them while ignoring the explosion of excited fur next to me, then dropping them off somewhere else in the house, only to repeat the process later on. (Usually when I would get up to get some coffee, go to the bathroom, vacuum, etc...) Eventually she realized that unless I looked at her with the items, it was nothing exciting.

Sammi can sit, but not for very long, and it is the typical frog-butt style. I taught her by holding the treat, saying "Sit" and gently tap her back-end. Only the weight of my hand, really. When she sat, I praised her, "Good Sit!" and she received her treat. We did this usually after coming in from going potty. I think this method helped with us because she is used to me touching parts of her body when I want a reaction. ie~ I tap the leg of the foot I am going to lift if I need to check it or clip nails. Unfortunately, that created a little monster because for a while when she wanted a treat, she would act like she had to go potty really, really, badly just so that we could be outside to come inside and get a treat. Once she figured out that she actually had to produce something outside, and that Mommy isn't easily fooled by the "ghost squat", she stopped that form of begging. Now, tho, she will come in from outside and sit facing the treat box and look from it... to you.. back to the box... back to you, as if to say "They're right there in case you forgot!" A few times I have tripped over her because she dropped to a sit behind me and I was still taking my shoes off. She now sits for anything she really wants, even without me telling her to sit. Food... attention... .... ...bling... She ended up having about 12 necklaces around her neck that day and parading around the house in a very regal manner, showing off her bling. She's looking at my best friend who is holding another necklace up next to me. (The blurriness is due to her teeth chattering in excitement.)

When DS and I make poached or "Dippy Eggs" (Over-easy) and I happen to break a yolk -thus terrible for dipping- it becomes Sammi's egg. I always seem to bust at least one yolk. So she usually gets 1-2 eggs, 3x per week. She also gets peanut butter. When I tried straight up fish oil for her, she had the worst case of the Big D I had ever witnessed. Even calling it "D" was an understatement! My Mother was still alive at that time and she suggested olive oil instead of the fish oil. D cleared up. The only time Sammi has a skin issue is either in the Spring with the shed, or when she is nervous/stressed. During those times, I give her the olive oil and her skin calms down again. Otherwise, the eggs & PB alternate days. Her hair is glossy & soft, people cannot stop petting her. Skin is healthy. She is happy.