tamara3462

Maybe you already checked into this, but just in case; most national parks do not allow dogs on the hiking trails. I know Rocky Mountain National Park doesn't but haven't looked into Zion and Canyonlands. Just a heads up

My beautiful, sweet Elena, the most cat safe dog ever who also happened to be perfect in every way. It broke me into pieces to give her the last gift I could. Hope she is busy chasing bunnies in heaven now. 9/11/02-11/14/12

Thanks everyone. I am so sorry for Cash and Maya and anyone else who might be close behind us. Thinking of all of you and your hounds. I definitely don't regret my decision and I am sure Dynamo would be grateful. It is just difficult for those of us left behind who miss them.

Sadly, our fight didn't last long. We had to put Dynamo down last night. We just couldn't get in front of his pain, at least not fast enough. His face made it very clear that he was tired of hurting and not being able to keep up with his pack, or do his happy dinner dance, or even just stand up easily. I know we could have tried longer with pain meds, but I think I made the right call. I wish that made it hurt less. Good luck to everyone else still fighting. I am going to keep watching Tristan's progress and recovery!

Thanks for the support everyone and I am so sorry to everyone else who is going through this.

Well, sadly, it is time for us to join this group. Dynamo was dx'ed with osteo today. In May he was limping and in pain from his shoulder but the x-rays were clear, so the vet thought it was just arthritis and sent him home with 75mg Rimadyl twice per day. That worked until this past week when he started limping again. Tried adding tramadol into the mix, but it didn't help. We redid the x-rays today and the changes in his shoulder are terrible. The vet said she couldn't 100% confirm osteo without further testing, but she is pretty sure. He is 11.5 with arthritis everywhere, including all of his toes (legacy of an amazing racing career I assume, he did 276 races) so I am not going to do amputation/chemo. We added gabapentin today to see if we can keep him comfortable for awhile longer, but I can tell we are nearing the end. I don't want to see that pain in his eyes again. Off to make a shopping list of all of his favorite things. If gabapentin can buy us some time, I am going to make sure Mo goes out in gourmet style in least!

So sorry to see how much you and Steak are struggling. I hope the new neuro vet can help Steak out

I have nothing useful to add, except for Welcome And what an absolutely beautiful girl you have.

Oh, you should definitely try it. I have tasted both Tylan powder (it really is awful) and Bitter Yuck (which was worse and almost made me vomit). Clearly my brain stopped developing when yours did! When my Elena was on tylosin, she never had any issues with eating it either. I gave it to her in a spoonful of peanut butter and I am pretty sure she would eat anything if she also got PB. Of course, this was also the dog that sat there and licked all the Bitter Yuck off her bandage, which is why I decided to taste that stuff, thinking I must have gotten a bad batch.

He is so handsome. I am going to wish very hard that it isn't osteo.

Rest in Peace Pudge.

Ok, so I am curious. I have heard this done successfully for dogs, but I thought cats were obligate carnivores and couldn't be switched to a meat free diet? I admit I don't know a ton about this topic. I did the research once because I had a cat that died of a taurine deficiency (due to a metabolic issue not a diet issue) and it's scary because I didn't know he was sick until it was too late Oh, and for the poll - no interest in vegan dieting for me or any of the animals here. Not judging, just my choice.

Welcome!!! From someone who hopes to live in the Denver area (job hunting now!) soon.

Yes, they are still around. Just pulled one off myself yesterday.

Thanks everyone for the replies!! I am going to try and get her in soon, she doesn't seem to realize that maybe she should down when she's limping!

Elena was retired from the track for a dislocated toe. Well, a couple days ago she fractured and dislocated the sesamoid bone in that same toe. It's the outside toe on the right front foot. She is completely lame in that leg, and the vet said that without surgery she will probably limp forever. However, with surgery I have two choices. 1. Have a surgeon remove the sesamoid bone. 2. Have the whole toe taken off. My vet thinks entire toe amputation is the way to go, and I am leaning towards that option since there might still be residual pain from joint damage if only the bone is removed. Before I make the final call, does anyone have experience with toe amputation they can share? Or experience with removing the sesamoid? I have met one greyhound with a missing toe, and she didn't seem to notice. Elena loves to run so much, I just want to make the right choice so she can run pain free. Thanks!!

Jayne, I can't believe it, I am so sorry to hear this. Big to you, Tim, and the rest of the Pocono Black Pack. Run Free Doof

Oh no Jayne!!! Lots of for Doof!

This made me laugh because it sounds exactly like my house. I never have eggs either..... Hope that Black Jack is still feeling OK!

Well, I don't have experience of this with my greys, but I think it could be possible - I have a cat that always throws up once or twice after getting shots. Usually within about 12 hours of getting them. Hope Monty feels better soon!

Glad to hear the surgery went well. Continued and and for all of you!

and prayers Godspeed Skittle

We see the spots inside of rear legs and groin area. Well, both Dynamo and Elena have red marks on their belly, inside of their legs, and groin areas as well. However, I know ours are bug bites because I have caught the suckers in the act. When they first get the bites, the circular marks are red and filled in, then as they fade they turn into a red outline. So bug bites could be possible for your pups as well. Good luck!! ETA a couple pics of what our bug bites look like in case you want to compare what your dogs have.....

This has happened to us twice with Elena. Same scenario - her stomach noises woke us up and she showed no interest in eating. She peed/pooped like normal and was acting fine otherwise, so we decided to give her some time and see if she felt better. By dinner time, the noises were gone and she ate like usual.

Well, sadly, since the weather warmed up my dogs seem to need a bath once or twice a month. I wish they didn't need it so often, but they are always rolling around in the yard and getting stinky. Before spring, I think I had Elena bathed once in 6 months.