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silverfish

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Everything posted by silverfish

  1. I think not, if you take a little care. The leeches' saliva is supposed to be antimicrobial. But all I've read about medical use of leeches in humans suggests that the wound should be bandaged after the leech detaches. I don't know why that would be different for dogs?
  2. Well, a small study has been done to evaluate leeches for use to relieve the pain and inflammation of arthritis in people and they came out quite well, but it was only a very small study. They used to be used for various reasons in times gone by and it's thought that the 'yuck' factor helped to cause their fall from favour. Here's a small article I found about their use in dogs: Click
  3. I've reacted to dogs when they were first adopted, and then the allergies disappeared as soon as they were bathed, suggesting that I was not allergic to the dog himself (or herself) but to something which was in or on the dog's coat. Try bathing him! It may work well for you, and is worth a try. My son and his partner have a cat - she loves cats and wasn't happy without one, so despite the fact that they both knew he was allergic to cats, they adopted one. He is fine so long as she is kept groomed and wiped with the anti-allergy pet wipes, and the house is vacuumed regulary. I am also allergic to cats and have been in their house for several hours without reacting, so I'm cautiously impressed with that product.
  4. Licking is usually stress-related (unless it's related to a medical condition, but I assume that's been checked out?) whether it's carpet, bedding, or bits of the dog's own self. Sid does it also when he's in pain - it's one of the few ways he'll show it. Try giving him something else to focus on - maybe a kong or something else to chew? If it's stress it should help. Both licking and chewing are self-calming activities. As to the water consumption, are you wetting his kibble? Adding warm water to his dinner is a good way of getting more water into him and making his dinner more palatable. Or you can use broth, providing it's not salty or full of onion. Otherwise, leave him a bowl of fresh water out at all times and he'll help himself when he needs it.
  5. Providing Jazz is healthy enough and a generally happy, reasonably active dog (bearing in mind her age and kidney problems) I'd do the surgery ASAP. As your vet has mentioned and others have noted, tumours on the spleen tend to be bloody and can rupture. Often that means that the dog simply drops dead on the spot due to blood loss and shock. You don't know if or when that is going to happen, so mostly, once this type of tumour is diagnosed, the vet wants them as soon as possible. When Sid was diagnosed with a large tumour on his spleen, he went in for surgery the very next day. His recovery, after the initial period of hypovolemic shock (due to removal of a very large volume of blood, his spleen weighing in at around 5lb) was rapid and easy. He is now fine. In fact one of the kennel guys from his trainer's kennel came round today and was marvelling at how good he looked. Good luck with your decision and with Jazz's bloods. I hope that she will be a good candidate for the surgery. At least the MRSA is gone, so you won't have to worry about that after surgery. Whether they remove that toe .. I'd leave that up to the vet. If he thinks that would be a good solution, do it.
  6. Jeffie does this, and also has a bit of a wobble in his hind legs He went to Cambridge vet school to see a neurologist who told me that he has no LS, and no damage or narrowing to his spine anywhere, but he likely has degenerative myelopathy. He also said that he didn't think it was affecting his bowel, and we might want to think about trying one of the CCD drugs for him in case it was more than he was not recognising when he needed to take himself outside. So he's on Vivitonin, and I'm quite impressed with the change in him. Before, he was pooping in his bed (on on the way through the kitchen, or standing in the lounge...) three or four times a week. Since he began the Vivitonin, he's pooped two or three times inappropriately in about six weeks, and mostly now tries to get himself outside. Sometimes he recognises that he needs to go a tad late, so he staggers outside as if he's wet his pants, but he gets there. He's also far more engaged and lively, and looks about two or three years younger! Eating better, too. It would be worth talking to your vet to find out why Rock is doing it, and ask if the CCD drugs might help.
  7. She should back off without saying anything. It's nice to involve children with the care of dogs, but if a dog is growling you really need to be cautious. Ten years is not tiny, but she will not have the same presence that you do, and she is vulnerable. I am always rather wary about the pack order thing. Yes, dogs do have their pack order, but recent research suggests that it only really exists between dogs; if you have two or more dogs you'll see 'pack order' behaviour, but if there's just one dog and a human family, well, not really. What you'll see there is the dog trying his best to communicate and the humans trying their best to communicate, and a heck of a lot of confusion. What you really need to be doing in this situation is understanding your dog and listening to what he is saying to you. The very best dog/human relationships are based on mutual trust. Training classes are a GREAT idea, especially for a pup like yours. They need discipline, and the best sort of discipline is self-discipline. This is what training classes can offer.
  8. You say your daughter knows to respect his space and not touch him while he is on his bed, but also that he growled at her while they were both sitting on his cushion. This really does have to stop. I don't know where you are, but greyhounds in the US have never been used to being touched and crowded while they are resting, and neither here (England) or in the US are they used to children. They have so much to get used to all at once when they're adopted, and in the early days it is a very wise person who allows them to have their space and setlle in their own time. It's worth you reading the Kathleen Gilley lecture which you will find here: click this link. I'd also strongly recommend that you read 'Living With Kids And Dogs Without Losing Your Mind' by Coleen Pelar. Click here for link to the book on Amazon. Basically, your hound is very, very new. He'll need time to settle into your home without stress - this will set the tone for the whole of your future life together. Make it an unbreakable rule that nobody touches him or approaches him while he is resting, whether on his bed or not, even if he is awake and seemingly paying attention. The only exception should be an emergency situation and then ONLY an adult should approach him. Let him come to you for pets. In particular, please teach your little girl that dogs express affection in a different way to people. They don't do hugging or kissing, they don't like people gazing into their eyes (until they have earned their trust) and they don't appreciate anyone looming over them. All these things can be seen as threats by a dog. Also, please do not even punish him for growling. Growling is communication. If you make him stop growling, that's when you tend to get bites 'without warning'. There is also a warning, whether you notice it or not is the thing. For this reason I would also suggest you and your daughter study canine body language and social signals together. There are various resources on the internet. There's quite a nice one here, aimed particularly at greyhounds. For various reasons, greyhounds often use more subtle signals than other breeds, so you need to pay attention. But basically, yes, greyhounds are very nice, polite and gentle dogs. It's just that you do have to give them time and earn their trust. One day, your boy may be very happy to snuggle with you and your daughter, but some - it has to be said - never are. Your boy is just a pup. He'll need some training, perhaps some 'trading up' practice with treats etc. If you do a search here on Greytalk, you should find some good advice on that one.
  9. She's only two, so she shouldn't really have horrible teeth, but she may have an injury.
  10. Hm .. not sure it's right that her tongue hangs outside her mouth while she's eating. Have you had a look in her mouth? She maybe has a problem which needs addressing. When we got one of ours he didn't eat properly and it turned out he had a nasty ulcer in his mouth from a dental which went wrong. Also, if her trainer thought she was in season and she wasn't, I'd want that checked. It could possibly indicate kidney problems.
  11. Where are you based? I'm guessing Australia or New Zealand by the mention of Vegemite. Not sure how it's done in Australia, but here in the UK, greyhounds are most often fed kibble mixed with a meat and vegetable stew and a lot of warm broth from the stew. They leave it until the kibble swells and soaks up most of the water (and cools, of course). You could try offering her that, and if you don't want to get into making stew for her, you can approximate it by adding half a can of good quality dog food with enough warm water to make a kind of gravy. Butcher's Tripe is very popular here, or Chappie, but I'm sure someone will tell you what is a good brand locally. But don't get too wound up about it. When they are new in a home, they often won't eat much while they're figuring out what is going on. If you stress about it, it won't help, and may make her more anxious. Offer the food, leave it down for half an hour and then take it away without making a fuss. She should begin to eat within a few days. If she's been with you for a few weeks, still won't eat, and is losing weight, I'd suggest a vet check-up to make sure she's in good health. Apart from that, just relax and keep offering her dinner at a set time. In kennels here they are fed in the afternoon - our local kennel starts the feeding round at about 1pm and it's about 3pm when they're done. They also get a small breakfast in some kennels, often cereal with milk. You can gradually adjust times and content to your own routine, of course, but it may be worth trying to follow this, if you can, to get her started.
  12. I cooked lamb this evening. All that happened here was that two dogs became rather excited hoping to get a taste of some! Any scraps which were tossed their way disappeared faster than you could snap your fingers! The smell inconvenienced them not at all. But I am not cooking goat or horse. Not even in the spirit of experimentation.
  13. Yes, it is a 'thing'. It seems to be reasonably rare, but it happens. It's also NOT confined to lamb. I've read accounts which say that their dogs are terrified when horsemeat is cooking, or when goat is cooking. We don't notice those two so much, because horse and goat meat are really not eaten much the UK. I'm guessing not in the US either.
  14. This is a government health advice site which states quite clearly that hallucinations are indeed a possible side effect of Tramadol. And this is a quick photo of the relevant part of my own Tramadol information leaflet. It's listed as a 'rare' side effect, it's true, but that doesn't mean it never happens. Clearly it does!
  15. ... on the other hand, I was prescribed it after shoulder surgery and had been taking it continuously (without any stopping, or even late doses)for about ten days when i began getting the hallucinations. And Sid had had one single dose. I can't prove he was having hallucinations, but it sure looked like it to us. I think there are sensitive people (and animals) who suffer side effects to certain drugs more quickly or more severely than others.
  16. This is exactly what Sid was like on Vetergesic, a different opiate painkiller. He ran out into the garden and seemed panicked, but when anyone went out to fetch him in, he ran away from us as if we were dangerous monsters. Funnily enough, he is fine on Tramadol! I think the lesson is that we should all be aware of possible side-effects from whatever we, or our dogs, are prescribed. If anything major shows up, we need to get back to our doctors or vets and let them know ASAP, in case it is one of these rare but potentially side-effects. Low blood sugar could be very serious indeed, depending on how low, and the individual's state of health.
  17. It is listed as a side effect. I've taken it myself, and got aural hallucinations (quite pleasant, actually, they consisted of someone singing in my right ear). Quite a number of meds have hallucinations as a side effect. My DH has seen bats, beetles coming out of his watch, and has actually tripped over a yellow snake he hallucinated in our kitchen (I was there at the time, and there was definitely no snake) while he was on something entirely different. I've posted before on Tramadol threads on Greytalk suggesting that our dogs could suffer from aural hallucinations when taking Tramadol, which could explain the paranoid symptoms they sometimes display. Aural hallucinations are by far the most common, but visual ones are not unknown, I think.
  18. Yes, joint supplements are a good idea. We use Cosequin DS sprinkle caps. Seamus' teeth sound great!! But if it's an option, it might be worth getting the vet to x-ray them if he ever goes in for anything else. There is no reason an old greyhound shouldn't be able to eat hard things right up to the day s/he leaves this earth unless there's either a problem with the teeth or the jaw. There may be some arthritis in the jaw, or muscle/nerve problems, but most of the time it's teeth or gums that cause the 'soft foods only' syndrome.
  19. With Jeffie, it's apparently most likely degenerative myelopathy. He doesn't have spondylosis and he doesn't have lumbo-sacral stenosis or disc compression. You need a vet to diagnose what is wrong in your guy's case. Another possibility is that your Seamus did slip, badly, one time when you didn't see him and he's torn a muscle and/or ligament. Treatment options vary according to the cause, but you can make sure there are no slippy or difficult areas for him around the house and garden, and give him several shorter walks in the day rather than one or two longer ones. The oldies often do better that way. They also need to avoid leaping up or down or too many steps, and they appreciate the right bed - this can vary too; Mine are both old, but Sid favours a well-padded, spongy flat bed rather than a really soft cushy one, while Jeff prefers really soft squidgy donut beds. Jeff is doing OK but we have to be watchful for odd things, like not putting his bed too near the wall. The other day he got stuck because his hind end had slipped off the bed and he was too close to the wall to get his toes out from under the edge. He just cried, pitifully, till someone (both of us) leapt up to help him. He's fine, but he scares himself.
  20. How are her teeth? If they aren't great, or she has sore gums, you'll have to find a cookie which is soft-baked. Or sometimes you can soak them to soften them for the oldies. Glad your vet is taking your thoughts seriously and that you seem to be a step further forward! I hope the antibiotics help her.
  21. We use this one: it's a powder which can be mixed into food, or you can make a paste of it and squirt it into her mouth, or - and this is my favourite if she's not eating much - get some liver paté (liverwurst?) and mix it into the smallest amount you can get her to eat. Try to find one without onion. Protexin Pro-Soluble The measures are quite small, and you need two daily for a greyhound. I'd say they're about half a teaspoon but I haven't checked that! I'm not sure you can do any harm by dosing continuously with probiotics. Check with your vet, but I'm pretty sure all you'd be doing would be wasting your money if she didn't need them. We normally dose for 5 days to a week at a time, and that's what our vet told us to do. The one your vet gave you may have a different composition.
  22. Well, with that history, I'd be trying probiotics, I think. Can't hurt, might solve the problem, and they're reasonably cheap! It could be that her gut flora has never recovered from the vomiting and diarrhoea that she had. Messed up gut flora can also cause inappetance. Worth a try?
  23. I was afraid ... I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost her. She is out of pain and stress now, and you did your best. She reached a wonderful age.
  24. Ah... welcome to the world of the fussy, skinny, oldie! She sounds JUST like Jeffie! What's working for us right now is Almo Nature Holistic chicken and rice. I have no idea if it's available in the US. I cook a 'stew' a couple of times a week, and use something different each time. Sometimes it's just one meat, other times it's a mix of two or more types of meat, or one type of meat plus offal. For breakfast he gets a basic wheat cereal which he seems to love (he has no issues with wheat, fortunately, apart from it bulking up his stools) with some meat mixed in. I warm enough stew for each mealtime in the microwave. As I said, he won't eat unless it's wet - other dogs don't like it wet. Basically, I suppose what I'm saying is that you have to mix it up; don't expect her to eat the same thing all week, let alone week after week after week. You can make up a couple of different types of meat stew and freeze it in batches, that way you can rotate it more easily and with less waste. It might be worth trying one of the 100% quality single meat canned foods like Happy Dog or Rinti. Jeffie likes those .. but, well, you know what I'm going to say! He likes them for one or two meals then no more. But that's OK because they can sit up in the unheated spare room and wait for another rotation. The oldies certainly have us running around for them, don't they? But it's worth it, to me, to keep them happy and healthy. Another thought ... something else to ask your vet: Jeffie has been put onto Alzheimer's drugs and is doing so much better, including appetite and energy levels. We just thought he was getting older and slower, but when he began losing poop in his bed, we felt we needed to explore things a bit further. It was a bit of a 'suck it and see' option, but it's working for him at the moment.
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