GreyhoundNan

We loved the PT! Clown's first appointment is tomorrow afternoon. He is on an antibiotic now due to some blood that was found in his urine from the urinalysis...but he seems to be resting easier and soaking the pee pads less.... Fingers crossed. Thanks again, y'all, for all the thoughts and support. Clowny says thanks too.

Right, so we're back from the vet... We are still on gabapentin and are transitioning from previcox to prednisone. He has an additional med (sucralfe-something) that will ease the transition on his tummy and hopefully prevent the ulcers that can happen as a result of switching. The blood blister on his side did not cause the vet any concern and we were told to keep an eye on it...it's right where his harness for his current wheelchair goes, and we all think that is what caused it to stay irritated. Finally, we are waiting for the results of a urinalysis to make sure he isn't getting an infection from having to use the pee pads. Next stop is the PT place this afternoon to talk about hydrotherapy, and I was pleased that the vet knew the name of of that practice and said she had patients that had experienced good results with that place. I am cautiously optimistic...as well as in love with my boy all over again...when the vet tried to get a urine sample from him in the office he pooped. That's my boy.

Are they the washable ones? The disposable ones just get shredded. He thinks they are craft projects. Thanks, Shannon. /hug

That isn't an option because if you are classified as a lecturer you can opt to do summer school and are paid on that system if you submit an invoice. I wish I could get my salary spread across 12 rather than 9!

Thanks everyone. I will definitely ask her about re-starting the pred on Friday. Also, I have an appointment to go tour a facility in Simpsonville (near where we live in Greenville) that offers hydrotherapy (underwater treadmill) and other forms of PT to see if that may be an option for him.

That's what we're using now. The main issue is when I go back to work he will be lying on them for 8.5 hrs. They do work well, though. We have some wonderful gh friends that have loaned us a bunch of those.

I've been thinking about UGA, actually, as they are closer to us than Auburn. I may see if the vet this Friday can give us a referral. Blood work was done back in April...we had him to the vet within an hour of him going down the first time. He was on a massive dose of a steroid for the first 36 hours and then on a tapering dose of Prednisone and he was walking while on that. But the vet didn't want to keep him continuously on Pred and he went off it around Memorial Day. He's on Previcox and Gabapentin now, as well as two Chinese herbs given to us by the holistic vet that he saw for acupuncture (that didn't really help at all). The vet suggested Previcox or Rimadyl but the Previcox is actually more cost effective. He had bloodwork done about three weeks ago to test his liver and kidney functions and they came back fine. WBC was a bit elevated but the vet didn't seem to think it was worrisome yet. We will be more financially settled once I go back to Clemson in the fall (9 month employee, no summer pay) but I feel like he is wasting away before our eyes, despite our best efforts at improvised PT (as directed by both the traditional and holistic vets). I've got an email into the animal PT place nearby to inquire about hydrotherapy, etc. I'm sorry if I sound snippy...It's really tense around here these days and I let that affect how I talk to people. I just love my Clowny so much.

We know that they are related. He can't get up and go outside on his own so he has accidents on his bed. As for the incontinence overnight...he wakes us up to let us know that his pee pad is wet and needs changing. Perhaps the word incontinence is inaccurate. The real concern is the dribbling in between and having had older greyhounds before I think a belly band would be helpful...I just don't know how to make it work on a dog that is lying down a lot. Hunky wore one almost constantly for the last year of his life, but he could get up and move around.

Nope, not for sure anyway. The next step for diagnosis is an MRI and to be very honest, we can't afford that. The xray didn't help although the vet said she didn't see anything that made her think osteo or arthritis.

I do look different! I'm SMILING now.

Our Clowny has a yet to be diagnosed issue with his back that keeps him from being able to walk. His back legs work for the most part, he can stretch them and move them as well as curl/stretch his toes, but he can't keep standing on his own nor can he right his feet when they knuckle. He has also developed pretty consistent incontinence. We have a vet visit coming up on Friday and I will remember (after seeing the recommendation here on GT) to ask them about his BP, we've tried acupuncture and Chinese herbs to little effect, and our lives are consumed with changing wet pee pads. He definitely knows that he has to go if he is awake, but can't get up to go out and sometimes we can't get him off the bed fast enough to help him go outside. But he also goes when he is asleep as well as when he is excited (new person comes over, husband gets home from work, etc) or nervous (rearranging him on the bed, changing pee pads, etc). I know how to use belly bands on dogs that are mobile, but things are different on a dog that is lying down on his side most of the time. If he wiggles on his bed, the band shifts and becomes useless. We have to do something for him because he has always been clean in the house and all of us are frustrated and a bit depressed, if I'm honest. Should I look for a bigger one? I have a sewing machine and can make one, but what size? I'm also just venting here because I feel like a total prat for being frustrated with him...I should be happy that he is still here with me, still eating and drinking normally, still playing with toys and trying to get to his feet instead of just giving up. Instead I feel guilty that I can't do more for him than I do and that I've had more than a few moments worry that I'm dragging something out that I shouldn't.

Thanks! I found that, but since it's a different model I wasn't sure if we could use it. Anything's got to be better than the jungle gym experience we had with Clown trying to get him in it earlier.

I posted over in Health, but if anyone sees this and knows how to use a Best Friends Mobility wheelchair with a greyhound, I'd love to hear from you! Can I get PMs even if I'm not a donating subscriber? This just made me smile.

So we were lucky enough to get a best friends mobility wheelchair via the humane society where DH works for $30. We're pretty sure that it is the large size so it's the correct size for Clowny's weight, but for the life of me I can't figure out how to get him into it without pressing on his bladder till he wees all over us or having the sidebars press into his shoulders. I'm wondering if anyone has used that brand with a greyhound? My gut says that it isn't made for dogs shaped like greyhounds but I may be wrong. We're tying knots in the end of our rope with Clowny to help him get around better and this seemed too good to be true...I'm hoping that gut was wrong... Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Hey y'all! Thanks for the warm welcome...again. GreythoundPoet: I'm not sure that time is going to come, but we're still not giving up hope. I'm so glad!!! I'm never sure, but I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it.

Hey y'all! I haven't been active on GT in so long that today I had to change my password...I read from time to time but never log in. Well, here I am. Nancy, formerly Lassiter, now Dunne, formerly of Anderson SC, Greenville SC, Montgomery AL, Greenville SC, Keighley West Yorks UK, and now Greenville SC again. I really love Greenville, can you tell? I still have my FTH girlie, Oopsie Daisy (Mei Mei to her Mommy and Daisy Mei to her friends) and Regall Azkaban, aka Clowny. Simon and I now live in Greenville minus our feline family member Mills who died the November before Simon's visa for the US came through. Daisy is an absolute star and world traveler. She is my angel. Clowny is my heart these days...and he's not having good ones as he has lost use of his back end due to a so far undiagnosed problem. It isn't osteo or arthritis, might be a ruptured disc, might be DM or an FCE. Right now the MRI for the final dx is cost prohibitive, so we're working with a cocktail of meds to keep him comfortable and a trip to meet the local holistic vet on the 22nd of June. Just wanted to pop my head back in and say hi! N

Hiya Jennifer!!

Hiya from Keighley!!

Just seeing this and I'm so glad to see the good news!! Tell Miss D that her Keighley based fan club have all breathed a sigh of relief.

Lucy, I don't know what to say. I've loved Riley from afar for a long time, as long as I've been on GT I think. I'm so sorry for your loss but thank you so much for sharing him with us. Godspeed, gorgeous boy.

I never really did much more than Wait, Sit, Down, etc with my greyhounds until Profile. The first time that he came up with his own trick because the sit he did (when I told someone else to sit) didn't get him a treat, I knew that this was fun for him. He knew Grin (which was fab for when we were working the Renn Fest and he had his picture taken) and he knew all the basics in English and American Sign Language. I tried with the others, but they weren't that interested. I tried with Daisy when she first came to live with us, but it was difficult with all the seniors in the house. We haven't gotten back to it, though she knows Sit and Down and sometimes Wait. She also knows that when she gets a Yum Yum she has to go to her towel to eat it...I'm working toward being able to feed her bones indoors rather than in the yard if we can get her to extrapolate the treats to mealtime with the towel.

I feel for you, Tammy. Last night I almost didn't want the new year to click over because it felt wrong. To say that H and J died Last Year seems so far away and I still feel their absence like they've just left the room. I hope 2010 is better for not only both of us but for everyone that's lost a little love in 2009.

I'm so sorry that I'm just seeing this, Diane! I hope that my H and J and even Prof (who loved his Gramma Burpdog to bits) were there to greet your Solamente UNO Pablo. *hugs* until real ones in March, my friend.

What Cathie said!!! :hope :candle :yay