greyhndz

Tramadol 2-4mg/kg (1-2mg/lb) given anywhere from twice daily to as much as 4 times, daily, depending on need For a 75-lb greyhound, you could give up to 75mg (1-1/2 tabs). I'll often give a smaller dose until I know how they respond to it.

Yes, it does sound as if the initial plan is on target. A couple of questions: Have they done a UPC? (urine protein creatinine ratio, which is the best gauge of how much protein is being lost through urine, and the progression of glomerular disease) This is usually watched on a regular basis. Was a renal ultrasound done? As far as diets, there are definitely home-made alternatives, but I'd have a discussion with your vet about this first. If possible, a consult with a veterinary nutritionist will give you a personalized diet for your hound that will fit her needs as far as phosphorous, protein, calories, etc.. I just got a nutrition consult from the board-certified vet nutritionists at NC State - if you want info, PM me for details. There's an excellent book by Donald Strombeck (a vet) called Home Prepared Dog and Cat DIets, which will also give you lots of ideas for home-cooking. You'll need various supplements to go along with a home-cooked diet to make it balanced. Home cooking definitely takes a lot more time and preparation than feeding prescription kibble, but it's also more palatable and has much healthier ingredients. And also check out this great website with lots of good suggestions and information:dogaware. Best wishes to you both!

Teo had a very similar injury, and I'm more than happy to lend you his healing duds. He received a pair of emergency jammies from Kerry of No Nude Hounds. I also bought a no-bite collar, which you can see below in full regalia, with Teo hiding his head under the bed -- his usual sleeping position. If you'd like to borrow either or both, please PM me and I'll get them out immediately. Best healing wishes for Sam!

Thank you! Either 'roo or rabbit would, I thought, be good meats to try first. Here's what the store near me carries: Buffalo Ostrich Wild Boar Alligator Venison Elk Kangaroo Rabbit Pheasant Quail Turtle Guinea Hen Frog Legs Grass Fed Beef (Scottish Highlander Beef) No octopus, thank goodness!

Thanks for telling me! I'll see what she has available on her website and will pass the info along. I also found an exotic meat store just a few miles from here! I'm going to check it out in the next few days and see what I can afford.

Dandi has been diagnosed with PLE and lymphangiectasia, and needs to be on a very low fat diet, using either a completely hypoallergic, low-fat kibble (Purina HA) or home-prepared meals. The vet nutritionist recommend exotic game or fowl: kangaroo, elk, ostrich, alligator (!), etc. He has already been exposed to venison, duck, and bison. Rabbit is another option. Can anyone recommend a good resource for this type of meat? And has anyone used a supplement called "BalanceIT", recommended for use with a home-cooked diet? His vet wants him on a 3.5g/kcal fat diet (REALLY low) and the vet nutritionist prepared a 5g/kcal dietary plan (my vet is discussing this with both our IM vet and the nutritionist to see if this is acceptable). She suggests using the above supplement which I believe she either formulated or is affiliated with. If anyone wants more info on the specifics of the diet, let me know and I'll be happy to post it. Dandi is on the Purina HA (aka the cardboard) which he likes with a little z/d on top, OKed by his vet. I'd love to have him eating a much better quality diet if possible. Any other recommendations are very much appreciated. And the good news is that Dandi's albumin has gone from 1.6 last week to 2.1 this week. He's bounced back so well. Thank you!

It sounds like you made a wise decision, Kristen. Everything you've said about the new practice is positive, and it sounds like a consumer-friendly office. In the end, our loyalty is to our dogs, not the vets who have treated them. You're their mom but also their advocate, and you have to feel comfortable calling the office, and know that your call will be treated professionally and addressed quickly. I've left 2 practices that I'd brought my dogs to for many years. The first practice could not give me an urgent appointment for my acutely-ill 13 year old greyhound. Told me they were booked for days. I told them this was unacceptable and made it clear why I was transferring care. I never had a chance to talk with the vet personally; I discussed the problem with the office mgr, who happened to be the partner of the vet. Disappointing but Geisha was my priority. The second practice did not perform an individual cremation on my Arielle, despite having done so for dogs the vet had previously euthanized. No one knew what happened, but I had no ashes to bring home. I could never forgive this painful error. On top of that, their front desk staff changed, and the new people were not very pleasant. End of story. Good for you for making a very smart decision. It might be worth it to send a personal letter to your prior vet, explaining the reasons you have left. Perhaps it will give him the motivation to make some changes.

I don't -- venison would also not be a novel protein for Dandi, nor would duck. The only meats Dandi has not been exposed to are rabbit, kangaroo, and perhaps pheasant. The other alternative would be egg or cottage cheese. I think I'll check into the vet nutritionist at Angell - that would be the wisest move, and thank you for the heads-up! Do I need a referral from my vet? I have gone to multiple websites, including the manufacturers', and I am unable to find ingredient lists for Royal Canin or Purina Rx foods. Bizarre. Just for a laugh: My IM vet also treats iggy Buddy, who has eosinophilic bronchitis. He, too, was started on steroids initially, and what I thought was going to be an 11 year old oldster became a hyperactive wild man. I'd told the vet that I eagerly awaited the time that he was on his inhaler and off prednisone. Yesterday, when we were talking about what Dandi would turn into on pred, she laughed when she talked about lunatic Buddy when he had been on steroids. Only, I had to tell her that once Buddy was off steroids ..... nothing changed. Craziness is normal for Buddy! OMG, Yes!! Same here! The closest I come to cooking for myself is putting leftover pizza into the oven. Spending time in the butcher aisle is totally foreign to me - I've been a vegetarian most of my life.

The IVD must be what she was talking about when she mentioned a rabbit alternative. She suggested, in order of preference, the Purina low-fat (don't remember the initials), then either Royal Canin HP or the Z/D, and last choice is the rabbit, only because it is higher in fat. He's been eating each kibble out of my hand. I have to head over to my vet's office tomorrow to see what she has available. Jennifer, I agree about the HP diets - I cannot conceive of any nutritional value to these foods.The ingredients are repulsive. I would much rather home-cook. I've been reading through Donald Strombeck's book on Home-Prepared diets, and he does offer alternatives using eggs or egg whites, cottage cheese, tofu and tapioca <gag> as protein sources. I'm going to run it up the veterinary flagpole and see if anyone salutes. I found this to be a very interesting article, and very eye-opening re: "Prescription Diet" defined. I was also thinking about consulting a veterinary nutritionist for a customized dietary plan; several of them have websites and will provide this type of service. I've got a lot of research to do on both Rx and OTC foods as well as home-prepared. ETA:Another good articleabout Rx diet ingredients, and alternatives. I specifically asked the IM vet about using budesonide to try to minimize side-effects, and she said it could be a possibility once he's stabilized, but when he's coming off an acute flare she felt it was a better plan to start him on systemic. She did say that if the side effects are excessive, she'll make a change and consider budesonide at that time. Dandi's already got hind end weakness between his back and his metabolic instability, and if the pred is making that worse, she'll have to come up with another plan. The canned-food cookies is a brilliant idea! Thank you! I don't believe any of the commercial foods (even the LIDs) will have a low-enough fat content. She suggests that the upper limit for fat be 3.5g/kc. I fully expect that once Dandi is on this type of diet, he will poop out a puff of powder. The bile-acid test was normal, and he received his first steroid injection tonight. STAND BACK!!!

A good update: The king has returned to his usual surly, snarly self, so all is well with the world. His appointment with the internal med vet was today, and he had to fast prior to then, so I tried to slip the other dogs yummies upstairs where he wouldn't be aware of the subversion. Yup - 10 seconds later, the boy who has been laying prostrate on every dog bed downstairs was now upstairs at the door to the bedroom, ready to party. By the time I turned around to close the jar and turned back, he was on my bed. Have I been hosed all this time? He's almost back to himself, still a bit weak in the hind, but going up and down stairs safely and steadily. He's eating, drinking, alert and barking at Buddy, all of which make me happy. His IM vet (who is awesome, if anyone in NH/MA needs a good IM vet) had an abd. ultrasound done, sent TLI/PLI/cobalamin/folate panels out to rule-out liver or pancreatic dysfunction, and did the bile acid testing while we were there. The U/S showed changes in the jejunem suggestive of lymphangiectasia (a type of PLE). She felt that we should go ahead and treat him empirically for lymphangiectasia rather than doing endoscopy because the area involved in the jejunem is not accessible by scope, and would require a surgical biopsy. He is a poor surgical candidate right now given his nutritional state so while the labs are cooking down in TX, we'll start a treatment program right away. Steroid injections x 7 days (guess who gets to have the pleasure?), then going onto oral steroids with a gradual taper. Dandi on steroids: this strikes fear in the hearts of us mere mortals. The canines here ain't too happy about it, either. He has to go onto an ultra-low-fat diet, or if he won't go for that, one of the hydrolyzed or novel protein diets. . The kind with "corn starch" as the first ingredient. (Or if he's lucky, rabbit.) With lymphangiectasia, there's a chance he can eventually be controlled by diet alone, but he'll be on steroids (possibly cyclosporine too) until he stabilizes. It will take a week for the lab results to return, but the bile acid results will be back tomorrow; we won't start the steroids until the vet reviews those results. I'm thrilled to have my big bad boy back. The rest of the pack is not amused. And Dandi seems to be in a state of denial:

Quick update: He didn't do so well yesterday - the tramadol did him in, and he was out of it all day and evening. He ate but wasn't drinking or peeing enough. Fiona came over around 5 and gave him a litre of fluid SubQ (which sloshed around his neck for quite a while ) and he started peeing again. She redressed his wounds, though he doesn't care for bandages and just whips them off again. The wounds are dry so for now they can remain open to air, as he's not licking at them. He'd also left a typical Dandi-sized river in the kitchen, which I was relieved to see. Today he was alert, sitting up and ready for food, and ate his burger and rice, though he doesn't care for the rice stuff. Time for mom to get more turkey and burger to make him a new batch. No tramadol today, thank you. He had another slip on the steps. This time, I was walking right next to and in front of him, but the steps were slippery and he went partially down again with a leg getting caught below the side rails. I got him up and straightened, and guided him back up to the deck (he'd only gotten down a couple of steps).. He was so intent on getting to his yard, but even with my supporting him, he's not ready to do it right now. He came away with a few superficial wounds and a little panic attack, but decided it would be best to pee inside, then went to bed. This is the first time I'm *relieved* to see him peeing inside! The gate is up so he can't get to the stairs. He can either potty on the deck, or in the house. At least he's more alert, is drinking and peeing. My biggest concern now is getting him into the car tomorrow to get him to the IM vet. He also has to go downstairs to the garage, but at least these steps are carpeted. I wish I were strong enough, or had someone with me who could carry him up and down the stairs. I'm off to the market to load up on burger/rice, and will make sure the gate is securely in place and blocking off the stairs. Will try to get some photos of the big guy when I get home.

Finally making progress. Everything is in except the HR confirmation from Concord Hospital that I worked when I said I worked. The credentialing officer has sent 2 requests so far. Ironically, the rehab hospital is on the Concord Hospital campus. My director e-mailed me Friday to let me know that the other HR confirmation had arrived. Everyone is closed tomorrow, so she'll be in touch with the credentialing officer Tuesday to see if everything is tied up for me to have temporary privileges. So I hope sometime next week I can start. But not before Dandi gets what he needs down at the specialty care hospital I'm taking him to on Tuesday. I doubt they can do a whole workup on him the same day, so I have a feeling he may have to stay overnight. Oy. Definite improvement today! Last night was musical beds. If there were any question of him being able to get on his feet, it was quickly silenced when, everytime I went downstairs to check on him, he was on a different bed. This morning, I found him on a bed which is up on a small platform, so he's finding his way. He's still a little unsteady but more because his feet and hind legs hurt. I was expecting puddles on the floor but it seems that he did go out, I watched him walk outside onto the deck, and then go down the stairs which was NOT good, as he slipped and fell down the last 2 steps. That was not needed - I have to put up a baby gate so he can go on the deck but not down the stairs. He ate 2 bowls of turkey/rice and hamburger/rice and took his pills with cheese. I also gave him a tramadol which he's going to need today. He was ripping and gnawing at the bandages so I took most of them off - I'll try to redress his hind paws later, as they're in pretty bad shape. The other wounds look OK. The good thing is that he growled at iggy Buddy. The real Dandi is emerging! He;s walking around downstairs so time to check on him.....thanks, everyone, for youf loving thoughts!

Ah, why didn't I think of that? That's one side effect I'm fond of at the moment. Batmom, I think that he probably tried to stand in his cage, but (despite having about 3 huge blankets) he slipped and splayed, and was unable to get up, and then panicked. Most of the wounds are on the inside of his legs and on his ventral chest and belly, which would make sense with that type of injury. He looks incredibly painful - I'll grab some photos when I can. The worse sites are his thighs, both knees and elbows. He ate 2 bowls of turkey and rice, and took his pills with cheese like the good boy he is.l I just pulled his IV because his leg was becoming quite swollen. Also redressed one of his wounds as the bandage was all macerated. I found him standing in the living room (where his beds are), looking confused, Didn't want to go outside or even pee on the floor, and it took him a bit of time to get back down again, but hopefully he'll stay down for a while. If he gets up, the dogs upstairs will let me know but I'll be checking on him regularly anyway. Thanks again, everyone, for caring. Jordan Happy New Year?

This has been a horrific day for Dandi. Fiona called me at 6:30am, asking if I could come in to help her with Dandi. Apparently, at some point when she was not there, something happened resulting in wounds on his chest, belly and extremities, and a blanket of poop. She was coming in every 2 hrs to potty him since his diarrhea had started again yesterday. But her husband turned her alarm off so she could get some sleep, and instead of making it to the office at 4am, she didn't get there until 6. She was beside herself, crying because she was so upset about what happened. When she got in, she said he was splayed on his belly, thrashing to get up, screaming and absolutely crazed with fear. She was trying to bathe him (there was diarrhea everywhere) and examine his wounds, and that's when she called for help. By the time I got there,. he was sedated with bupe and cleaned up, and she was working on his wounds. He's got huge areas of ecchymosis on both inner thighs, also on his belly and chest, and bruising and also abrasions on his elbows, hocks, tarsal-metatarsal joints, and various wounds on all extremities. The wounds I see are not full thickness but will need wound care. If he's not hurting in his hind legs right now, it's only because he's still gorked from the bupe -- tomorrow morning I think he's going to be miserable, and I have tramadol here for after the bupe wears off. He can walk but needs support until he gets going. I could not get him up the stairs from my garage, and he couldn't do it even with support, so Fiona came by to help me lift him up and get him up the stairs to a big, plush bed waiting for him. He ate a couple of chicken nuggets (not the best thing, but he looked excited and hadn't eaten much today), continues to drink heavily, and has peed rivers a couple of times. I have not yet seen him have diarrhea again today but the night is young. He slept for an hour or so, and when I just went down to check on him, he'd gotten up and moved himself to another bed without any assistance, which is better than a few hours ago. He's still got the IV catheter in and I've got IV fluid to run if needed. Fiona is going to be around this weekend and, given that she lives around the corner, I know she'll be checking in on him by phone or in person. I'm going down now to warm up some turkey and rice for him and feed the other dogs. I just want him to stay quiet until he's feeling strong enough to move around himself and climb stairs safely. If I stay up in the bedroom, the other dogs do too, and I don't want anyone bothering him, so I go down frequently to check on him. If he is doing OK and stable over the weekend, he'll be seeing my IM vet on Tuesday. If there's a problem beforehand, I'll call Fiona, and if it's necessary, I'll have to bring him to an ER. I really don't want to have to put him through the stress of another trip to the vet's so I'm hoping he's better tomorrow. I was looking forward to him coming home in good spirits and alert, as he has been the last few days at the vet's office, but this has totally thrown him for a loop. I do not bear ill will toward Fiona. She's jumped through hoops for him, and I know she's beating herself up over this (when she should be beating her husband for shutting off her alarm). I miss my big bully, the tyrant of his pack. I want him back... hopefully I'll see a spark of him tomorrow. Thanks for listening. J

I don't believe bile acids were done, but I'll discuss this with Fiona. My concern is his sky-high lipase. From my reading, chronic pancreatitis may be concurrent with PLE, and it is often subclinical. I forgot to ask Fiona about doing a CPLi I also question pancreatic insufficiency as a result of chronic pancreatitis. He needs an abdominal U/S, which I assume the IM will do. I remember you sharing your experience with PLE when you were talking online with Kathy (Tigger). Can you give me more details about diagnostic workup, med regimen and diet? Which form of PLE was diagnosed? Did you use a prescription diet? I appreciate your support.

Well, I wish I had better news. He had diarrhea today - and the vet is not sure what precipitated it, but is going to make some med changes overnight. Some of his regular meds, like clomipramine, robaxin and xanax, could be the culprits. I'm not sure what he's eaten besides his turkey and rice yesterday. And unfortunately, even with 48 hrs on hetastarch his albumin has not budged since admission (1.6). Not good, but at least he didn't slide back. He continues to be bright and alert, and as usual has a great appetite and no vomiting. His UPC was fine, so he's not spilling protein in his urine, which confirms some type of PLE or malabsorption disorder. His WBC count is elevated, but it sounds as if his other labs are either stable or improving. I'm going to bring him home tomorrow and hope he stays stable through the weekend. Fiona tried to contact my IM vet but she's gone until next Tuesday. I think she's going to try to contact the other IM vet covering (I actually know her), and if he starts acting lethargic again or becomes weak, I'll have to bring him to the ER at the same clinic. Boy, do I hope I don't have to do that. But the writing is on the wall when it comes to him needing an IM eval ASAP, almost certainly with ultrasound and endoscopy with bx. Fiona will repeat labs tomorrow a.m,. and we'll figure out the plan for the weekend. I think he's got to go onto some type of low-residue veterinary diet until we get in to see the IM vet. Holiday weekends should be illegal!

Dandi is deeply appreciative of all of your kind wishes. He is also deeply humiliated that he should have to undergo the torture and degradation thrown upon him, just because he ate his IV catheter last night. He's improved a lot! He's continuing on the hetastarch and will have his labs checked again tomorrow. He's eating very well (thank goodness he's a kibble vacuum) and I brought him boiled turkey and rice for supper. No diarrhea -- actually, no poops! Fiona feels he's about halfway to a normal fluid status and has not developed ascites or edema. She said he looked very tired last night but has been alert all day - much brighter. The metronidazole has clearly helped with the diarrhea, for which I'm very grateful. We're hoping that if the diarrhea can be controlled or stopped, his albumin levels should stabilize. She also suggested, and is probably right, that when the Avoderm baked L&R returned to the market after several months, the formula or meat had changed, thus the worsening of his diarrhea. Tomorrow we'll have to decide on a plan, even if it means using a commercial prescription diet temporarily while he stabilizes. Of course I have the usual mother's guilt -- if I had brought him in MONTHS ago, this could have been prevented. All this time I was waiting for him to improve, and chalking up his weakening hind end to his back issues. OK, pity party over with. He's taught me humility and I'll have a very low threshhold from now on, for bringing him to the vet. Thanks again, everyone!

HI Jennifer I'll e you later with the technical details, which essentially mirror your recommendations, and I really appreciate your input. I'll PM you after I get back from visiting him. A change for the better today! As of early morning, he was brighter, looking well, without any diarrhea. He's now on the metronidazole and tolerating it OK. (Fiona and I also have to sit down to go through his med list to see if there are any interactions.) She is going to continue hetastarch and IV fluids for another 24 hrs, with plans for him to come home tomorrow if he continues to improve. I'm sure she's rechecking his albumin and I'll find out if his UPC is in. The one question not yet answered is the off-the-charts lipase, but from what I read last night in the literature, this may be due to the PLE, could be a chronic pancreatitis, or even suggestive of pancreatic insufficiency. Lots to learn from his case! Mama actually cooked for Dandi (sound the trumpets, I cooked!!) and am heading over with boiled turkey/rice and his meds. Hopefully the news will continue to be good and he'll come home far better than he went in. The rest of the pack was astounding quiet and relaxed last night with Dandi gone. I told them they'd better not get too comfortable because the Tyrant will be back soon. Thank you everyone for your loving thoughts!

Thanks so much,everyone! Jennifer, I'm not sure how old Dandi is (or any of the galgos). He was estimated to be 5 when he came in 2006, so perhaps he's around 10 now. I'd add a couple of years onto that given his life before he was rescued. I have a photo of him in a cage, taken just before he was rescued, and whenever we were having a rough "Dandi Day" and I was tempted to fly him back to Barcelona, I'd pull out that photo and remind myself why he has "issues". And I'd cancel the plane ticket. Just had a call from Fiona, my vet - she thinks he's perked up considerably on the IV fluids/hetastarch.We'll connect again in the early morning and figure out the game plan. My research points to his needing endoscopy/bx to confirm dx and get him onto appropriate treatment. I think Fiona is hoping to stabilize him conservatively and keep his albumin up until I'm working and can afford the mega-workup. (I *really* hope to be credentialed to start work next week.) On a cheerier note, here's my big maroon a few years back:

Big Bad Galgo Dandi is in hospital tonight, being treated for dehydration and critically low albumin. He may well have protein losing enteropathy. Long story short, he's had progressively worsening diarrhea - it used to be episodic but has become chronic over the past month or two. Last night he looked awful to me -- lethargic, depressed, miserable. No problem with eating, but he's been having intractable diarrhea -- sometimes in the kitchen -- and combined with voluminous water intake, it's become obvious there are problems. (Because I've been out of work since June, I was hoping he'd stay stable until I was working again and could afford a comprehensive workup -- I'm still waiting to start my new job, but Dandi couldn't wait any longer.) He's receiving IV fluids and Hetastarch. He was quite dehydrated. His bowels appear edematous on xray but no masses were seen. His lipase is off the charts (not a new finding -- it was the same last year). His weight has been stable for the past 3-4 months. A year ago, he was becoming quite overweight (91 lbs) so I cut his food back, got him walking, and he dropped 10 lbs in about 6 months. He did drop about another 2-3 lbs and has remained at around 78-79 since then. We'll see how he is in the a.m. and decide how to proceed. I'm ready to take him down to my regular internal med vet tomorrow if he needs it. Dandi is my tough cookie with other dogs, but a mama's boy with me. He came from Spain with a lot of baggage, but I came from the Bronx with a lot of baggage too, so we really understand each other. He's really a love, so please tuck him into your heart tonight.

Hi I've become all too familiar with uveitis in humans, as I was diagnosed 6 years ago. The key here is to treat this aggressively, and to correctly diagnose any underlying problem that would have caused the uveitis. While it's possible that this is due to tick borne disease it's also possible that he has an autoimmune disorder, whichcwould cause inflammation somewhere along the uveal tract in his eyes, and this often requires steroids, either systemic or topical (drops). The other diagnosis to consider would be PRA, or even a neurologic event such as a stroke, but this is really an emergent problem that warrants an urgent evaluation by a vet ophthalmologist.. I sincerely hope that all goes well for Paden, and that at least some vision can be restored.

My friends Maureen and Gary Ross are excellent and compassionate dog trainers in NH. They train, test and work with therapy dogs and with the READ program. Their greyhound, Tia, was their heart and soul, and Tia was also a Delta-trained therapy and READ dog, and was always the face that greeted you when you walked into their huge training gym. Very sadly and unexpectedly, Tia experienced cardiac arrest while anesthetized for a dental, and could not be resuscitated. I don't have to explain how devastated they were. Tia was their only greyhound in a home filled with Newfies, a Leonberger, and several others, but the absence of a greyhound can never be filled by anything but.... a Greyhound! Maureen, Gary and Journey the Newfie drove just under the radar from Irene, to NC to pick up Cali-Rose, who had been a prison hound, trained and loved by her inmate caretakers. Maureen hopes that Cali-Rose will show the same affinity for therapy and READ work that Tia did, but right now is just loving her presence and giving her time to settle in. Here's a very funny slide show that Maureen put together of Cali-Rose welcome to Yankee world, sweet girl!

I have an extra staple remover if you need it - it'll take a couple of days to get to you so if you can wait, I'm happy to send it out.

Yes, I know they're very much together. Kathy was Judith's angel to the nth degree. There are not enough wonderful words to describe Kathy (and Judith) . I just think of a very beautiful reunion at the Bridge yesterday, and smile...

Where in CT are you and how far can you travel? Tufts is another option if Angell is too far for you. I'm biased toward Angell. They have MRI, CT, etc. on site. If it's a neurological issue that requires surgery, most vet neurologists are also neurosurgeons (Dr. Sisson is). But if an ortho consult is needed, they can arrange to have it done right there.