Houndmommy03

Marlow is much better today - ran zoomies in the yard and whined for dinner.

We've been able to get the 5mg pill at CVS.

This is probably no help at all, but DS takes 5mg a day to help with abdominal migraines. Has been a miracle for him and no side effects. He's a 120 lb teenager. Good luck!

DH and I decided to wait and give the meds some time. He will drink water and he did take some cookies this morning. I will get some pedialyte. THanks!

I'm guessing that his poop isn't firm enough. I thought it looked good since it was formed but soft, but think maybe it is just too soft. Learn something new with every hound....

We noticed both at the same time, but I'm going to guess the colitis came first.. He gets at least 2 walks a day, but rarely poops on walks - he seems to prefer the privacy of the backyard - so, we don't often see his poop. We were visiting my parents over Christmas week and they have no yard so he did poop on his walks and they were formed and soft (they squished when picked up, but definitely formed). He had a lot more gas than normal while we were on the trip. On our walk on Thursday night, he had a runny poop, but seemed fine otherwise. It was Friday afternoon that he seemed off and cried when he had his explosive "D". He had diarrhea before bed last night and didn't cry but this morning when he went out, he cried numerous times but little or no poop came out. So, now I'm trying to decide if he should go back to the vet or if I should give his meds time to work. We had thousands in vet bills last year and so I'm trying to be more thoughtful before I run to the vet (I seem to feel I should run to the vet for every little thing but will make my kids wait before going to the doctor, lol!) He didn't eat dinner last night and has no interest in breakfast this morning - he is a chow hound so this is worrisome. He's resting comfortably now (no panting like yesterday afternoon. I read on several sites that Clostridial colitis can cause pain as well as "D" .

So, Marlow has Clostridial colitis and he's now on an antibiotic. As I was sitting in the vet's office I remembered that earlier this week one of my kids told me they saw Marlow scooting his butt in the grass (I know this can indicate an anal gland issue) so I told the vet about that. He then expressed his glands and said they were really full and that could've been the cause of his pain. (The vet tech told me she had never seen so much stuff come out. She said if she hadn't seen it happen she would have thought a dog had thrown up - that's how much "stuff" there was - YUK! Poor Marlow ) He's resting in front of the fire and seems much more comfortable. Hopefully that was the problem. I'll be very nervous when he goes to the bathroom tomorrow (he probably will be too, lol!) As for the anal gland issue - what causes this? I read that poor quality food/ not enough fiber can be a factor.. When I adopted him he was being fed a really cheap food (now I can't remember the name). I switched him to Kirkland sweet potato and chicken. His poops were good on both foods. Should I switch his food to something with more fiber? Add pumpkin to his food? Do nothing? Thanks for your good thoughts when I was worried this afternoon and for your input.

At the vet now. Waiting on fecal analysis. His anal glands were REALLY full so that might have been causing his pain when pooping. He's resting well right now as we wait for more results.

DH and I are sitting here trying to review the week. He could have gotten something on a walk - most of the walks are in the dark and we live in an area with lots of housing construction and the workers discard food on the ground. We are vigilant to make sure he doesn't eat something but twice this week, DH had to pull things from his mouth so I guess possible he swallowed something. He'll sniff like he is going to the bathroom but then it will turn out he has found "food". (Rant - I'm going to be soooo p*ssed if he got a hold of something - how hard is it to put your garbage in a bag and throw it away!!!) I will ask for an xray.

I came home this afternoon and Marlow didn't greet me (he usually does, but not always) and I found him in his bed, panting a bit and there was quite a bit of drool on the floor around his bed. I thought maybe my DH had just had him out for a walk or something. Marlow followed me into the bathroom and laid down on the bath mat while I changed - he never does that - he usually lays in front of the bathroom door and watches me. Then I had to coax him to leave the bathroom. It was obvious something was "off". I took him out for a walk, thinking maybe he needed to go potty. He went to poop - had a small amount of explosive "D" and then while still in "the position", he let out a loud yelp. He then just stood and shook. We immmediately came home and I called the vet. He has an appointment at the vet this afternoon at 5:30 - that was first available. I offered him a "cookie", which he normally gets sooo excited for and he hesitantly took it and then dropped it. He is now on his bed, panting - in obvious discomfort. He has seemed "off" the last couple of days and on our walk last night his poop was runny but he was eating well and behaving normally - just seemed a bit "down".I'm not aware that he has eaten anything. Any thoughts, while I sit here and worry until we can go to the vet. It's killing me to see him in pain, but I had a very bad experience at the local e-vet and really want to avoid going back there.

So sorry for your loss.

When we moved this summer, I had Silver's dental, etc. done before we moved. I wanted to get comfortable with a vet in my new place before having to do anything like a dental.

So sorry for your loss. What a great friend.

So very sorry.

Welcome! He's a handsome boy. Glad you guys found each other!

My angel Holly became a poop eater a year or two after we got her. I always wondered why she started.

I am no expert but I'm wondering if you should just give in the summer months, just in case. Way back when (and when I lived in the north), my vet only had me give it to my dogs in the summer/warmer months. That has changed now and even where I used to live (up north) the vets recommend year round. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will give you a better answer. That's just my uneducated thought .

Wow! I have no words. So disappointed in the adoption group.

I ditto what everyone has said - you didn't do anything wrong! I am so sorry that your adoption group is making you feel bad. I just feel so sad for you and really mad at your adoption group for making you feel bad. I hope you come back as you have nothing to be ashamed of and I hope you'll reconsider another greyhound. I think you'd be a good greyhound mom. Hugs.

So sorry you are having this experience. It is heartbreaking for you. I had my first greyhound for 3 weeks when I thought I would have to return her and I cried for days. We did keep her (her aggression was no where near what you are dealing with) but she only bonded with my husband and the kids were scared of her and didn't go near her. I crated her when kids came over and adult friends knew to ignore her. I was always a bit scared of her. She died when she was 5 from bone cancer. When I look back, I feel bad for her - I can see now that we were not the right family for her. She was loved and had a good life with us, but I often wonder if her life could have been better if she'd had more experienced owner. I've been a greyhound owner for 10 years now and experience has taught me just what many others have said - just because she isn't a good fit for you, doesn't mean she won't be a good fit for someone with more experience. Also, I would encourage you to talk with another adoption group concerning her (I had a good group that worked with me, but I still reached out to another group and they were a huge help, in ways my adoption group wasn't). Different adoption groups have different levels of experience and views concerning greyhounds. Don't be scared to reach out to a different one, especially if you have concerns about returning her to the group you got her from - a different group may have more experience with a dog like yours. Sending you big hug - I know this situation hurts.

I haven't read all of your posts so just ignore this if it doesn't apply to your situation. My first greyhound suddenly started limping and initially vet thought it was a pull or disc issue and gave meds. Didn't help or get better. Then did xray but didn't see cancer. Vet also did biopsy - negative. This started in late October . By early December she still wasn't better so I drove 2 hours to the vet our adoption group used hoping they might see something on the xray. He said it might be osteo but he couldn't say for sure. At that point I started digging on the internet, found Greytalk and then Dr. Couto. I sent him the xrays and he confirmed it was osteo. Having said all of that, I'd recommend a consult with Dr. Couto. It might actually save you money. Again, sorry if I'm totally out in left field with this post. Hope your hound feels better soon!

What a sweet story about the toys! Glad your boy is doing well!

Great question! I'll be following this.

Glad to hear your group will take her back if needed. My first greyhound ended up being a very difficult dog so I know how painful this is for you. Good luck with the trainer! As for the snow, would shoveling a path and area to do her business help?

Is your boy older? I doubt this is it but I'll share my experience just in case it could help. Last summer our boy Silver (11 1/2 years old and not in good health) started walking the house at night. The vet said it was doggy dementia and that he had his days and nights mixed up and was probably confused as well. Just a thought if you have an older hound.