greyhoundlady

You are certainly getting a lot of feedback! I have two greyhounds - for almost 6 years now - and there is no way I can say they have been 'trained' in the traditional way you would think. They know 'wait' (sometimes), they know cookie and treat (always), they know 'up' when jumping into the back of the car. They know other things too, but only do them when they feel like it. I tried taking one to obedience class and he shook and trembled so much, we quit. They never have accidents in the house, they are never rude to people, they are calm, quiet and sweet. That is enough for me. I might add, I think a lot of it depends on the grey's personality. The majority I know are like mine.

I used to add water to their kibble in the morning (or mix in canned), but lately they have become extremely picky at breakfast and I would end up tossing the mixture since I did not like leaving it there for long. I now give them dry only for breakfast, which they will eventually eat - sometime around noonish. I haven't had any problem with their eating the food this way as it is almost like crunching their biscuits. They do chew the kibble. Then for dinner I mix a can of wet into their dry and for some reason, dinner is always gobbled up instantly. For now, this process is working for us. I am sure next month the scene will change again.

Yes, I agree with all the above opinions regarding seeing the vet. It will put your mind at ease at the very least. My boy went through what you described and whenever he got up from laying down would cry out (not like him). I thought the worst, of course, and was a wreck. After going to the vet, it turned out he had a pinched nerve in his neck, was put on meds, and he is now totally fine. This was a few months ago and it has not returned. Good luck and wishes.

One of my greys is constantly 'skinning' her legs. I rinse the wound with either plain water or saline, apply neosporin, cover with a sterile gauze pad and then wrap it up with vet wrap. I check it everyday and change the dressing until it doesn't look 'raw' and then let it air dry. I keep it covered in the beginning so no grime gets in there.

One of mine is an expert chatterer. She goes a mile a minute. Usually it is when she's meeting people, and I often hear them say "Aww, she's cold." Nope, that is just her. When mine are cold they don't chatter, they shiver.

I take both of mine to Bloomingdale Animal Hospital in Bloomingdale, NJ. www.bloomingdaleanimalhospital.net. They are not cheap, but the doctors and staff are really wonderful. One of the vets owns a greyhound. I don't know where you live, but this is in northern New Jersey. You can check out their website for information.

Oh, yes, living in New Jersey (northern) can be expensive. My grey had his dental in July and the Superchem was $142.00. The dental itself with anesthesia, etc., came to $718.00. Should I also mention that when the urinalysis came back, they suspected an infection and wanted to do a urine culture & M.I.C. for a total of $115.00 (which I, of course, did). Add in the tip and we have reached $1,000. (Okay, I am just kidding about the tip.) Thankfully, he was fine and the dental went perfectly (no extractions, etc). Two days later I got a reminder card in the mail that my other grey was due for her dental

Awww. Sorry you are going through this. My guy came to me with his tail already docked - half way. He was only 2-1/2. I don't know what the circumstances were as he came from the track in that condition - and it was already well healed. At any rate, he still looks extremely adorable and given the way that 'happy' tail flies around, it is a good thing it is the length it is. Good luck and speedy healing to Dax.

I am so sorry about Steph. You made me cry just reading how much she was loved. I will be a mess about mine, too, and I don't even want to think about it. It was wonderful she had such fantastic, caring people in her life. These guys make such a huge pawprint on our hearts.

Sending good thoughts, also! I am a basket case, too, when I have to bring either of mine in for a dental (or anything else). Saber just had his dental and I was a wreck the whole time until they called. They were planning on also doing xrays for stones because they detected a trace of blood in his urine on pre-dental workup. Everything turned out fine. Sophie will have a beautiful greyhound 'grin' when all is done.

Both of mine came with worms (not heartworms), but were rid of them with vet prescribed treatment. I have them tested every year with their checkup, and they have not had anything since. (Yuck and ick.)

We were on Heartguard until a few months ago. Now we are using Interceptor. No problem with either one.

My female greyhound, Cheyenne, is petrified of thunder storms. She can hear them coming before anyone else does. It is painful to watch her as she shakes, stares at walls, paces, etc. I have used the melatonin, which seems to calm her, but the thing that works the best is something she found on her own. She heads for the bathtub/shower. The shower curtain is half closed and she lays down flat as a pancake and becomes calm. I read somewhere it has to do with the material of the tub and the pipes mitigating the electric in the air (or something to that effect). She doesn't even want a blanket or towel in there with her. Just the rubber mat, the cool tub and the shower curtain partially drawn. It truly works for her.

You made me laugh out loud! Do the Vulcan's have a similar method for the ticks?

First, I am contemplating moving to California. No ticks??? What I would give for that! I am in northern woodsy New Jersey and we are inundated lately with those demons. In fact, last night one of my greys gave me a nice face rub on my leg - a few minutes later guess what was crawling up my body and onto my arm!!! (Wish I could put Frontline on myself.) So, I use Frontline on both of mine. I hate putting 'poison' on them, but I don't want disease either, which is a really close decision but one that has to be made here. From all that I have researched, products used in repelling the flea/tick is a hit or miss, and they are not killed. That is what all the garlic and herb solutions do - repel. If the tick or flea is not repelled, it will tag along and either bite and attach to the dog, or frolic and multiply in the house. Like I said, it is tough to decide because I really, really, am opposed to insecticide, but Frontline it is for us.

I have gotten Frontline from Dog.com. I don't know of the sites you mentioned. http://www.dog.com/item/frontline-for-dogs-6-months

Sending Sadie many, many good positive thoughts. And you, too.

My girl split the webbing on her foot while running like a lunatic. I took her to the regular vet (not emergency). She was given antibiotics and a solution to clean the wound. No stitches. They suggested leaving the bandage off so it could heal. However, since this was just this past winter, I wrapped her foot with a gauze pad and some vet wrap when I took her out because of salt, etc. After a couple of days, I left the bandage off. She has healed fine. I don't think you need an e-vet, but take him to the regular vet when they open, in case you need meds. What you have done so far seems great. Also, if you have any neosporin, you could put that on and wrap the foot until you see the vet.

Interceptor for my two greyhounds, all year long. They have had no side effects - I would not risk the possibility of heartworm.

I use Petzlife Oral gel on my two here. First I brush with Petrodex Enzymatic Toothpaste (yes, it's goopy) because they like the way it tastes (like a treat for them). Then I put the gel on. It is a little pricey, but it works for us. http://www.petzlife.com

A few weeks ago my Cheyenne had the same thing - throwing up blood and bloody diarrhea. Never knew what caused it, but the vet also did meds and the prescription canned food. When she started to return to kibble, I added boiled chop meat and cooked brown rice with canned pumpkin to the kibble (and wet it with a little warm water). She is okay now, but it took a while to 'firm up'.

I only use Frontline or Frontline Plus. It works for us.

I used Heartgard and now both of my greys are on Interceptor. No special reason for the change, just that I changed vets and the one I use now recommended Interceptor. I have not heard of Iverhart. Could it be possible that you overloaded your grey's system with too much meds, i.e., Frontline and heartworm med at the same time? I space the dosages of heartworm med and Frontline by a couple of weeks.

I would not be surprised if it is something that can affect more than one toe. When they run full tilt around the track, and their toes are digging in for stability, certainly more than one can get compromised. It could be that this was going on for some time. Maybe, at first, it was one toe, then the other was affected. I would be really interested to learn what the vet says.