greyhead

Very good news indeed. We'll be looking for progress reports.

So very sorry he had to go but glad you had each other.

"And they all lived happily for the moment." Carronstar. I LOVE that, Carronstar! Very well put! I'm tempted to ask if I can put it in my signature.

What a wonderful, strong dog. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I hate to bring this up, but you may need to massage his ears. I had a black cat who was left out for two hours in sub-zero Wyoming night-time cold. He seemed to be okay when we found him, huddled in a window well. But in about two weeks the hair on the top third of his ears turned white. We took him to the vet. Seems the ear tops were frostbitten, and he would have lost them, except that our kitten kept licking them, which improved circulation. We had kept shooing the kitten away from that, thinking he was bothering the big cat, but the kitten actually knew what needed to be done! Glad Koolaid came to no major harm!

She was well-loved.

Sorry I didn't check in sooner about Harmony today. Praying hard for you all.

It matters that she's a fighter. Hoping that third transfusion buys her the time she needs to turn it all around. Mary and Skip, Spencer and Shane

You're pretty special yourself, hon, trusting Diane and allowing her the freedom to find and interact with those lost pups as she thought best. You were perfect for each other, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

Very sorry.

I'm so sorry for your loss. And I know what you mean; we have a complex dog too, and there's nothing like them, is there? Thanks for sharing that beautiful picture of Enzo.

Very, very sorry. Mary

Congratulations on your beeoootiful new hound! And I do mean new! Given how short a time he has been with you, it would not surprise me if the dripping were just nerves. I learned about this from our vet and our first grey -- a big, strapping, almost-5-year-old who was mostly a confident dog. His nose would drip if he had to walk on linoleum, or when we went to the vet, meeting a stranger, etc. I asked the vet about this, thinking he was sick or something, and she said some greys show their nerves that way. Especially the ones that are otherwise big tough guys, I think! They try hard to appear stoical, but that tension has to manifest somehow. Subtle, huh? Not to say that this is for sure what's going on with your pup, but it's a possibility I thought should be mentioned. BTW, ours still does it when he's stressed, but that happens pretty rarely anymore. Hoping it passes soon, Mary

Great news! Just FYI, I'm hypothyroid and so is one of my dogs. Among other things I've learned from my endocrinologist is that there's a sort of list of symptoms for hypo and hyper that are generally opposites of each other, they don't always run true to type. For instance, when I was hypo and not yet diagnosed, I was 5'8" and weighed 103 lbs. I also had tons of hair! Nor did I have a good appetite. And I'm not the only one. Hypos are also expected to have big appetites and gain weight but may not. In short, he said the symptoms may be the opposite of what's expected, and it sounds like that's what happened with Frank and his weight. The analogy might be to clinical depression, where a person's symptoms may include either sleeping too much or having insomnia, and either over-eating or losing appetite. Which behavior manifests in any given case is probably a function of genetically-determined tendencies. Glad you got it straightened out! Merry Christmas, Mary (mom to Spencer and Shane)

For Alan's and Mango's/Takoda's moms, and whoever else: Jeez, I just wrote a tome of a reply on kidney stuff and then lost it when I moved to get this link: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/ This is a good group for asking questions and getting the experience of lots of people owned by kidney dogs, some of which are greyhound people too. It's best to learn this stuff sooner than later, I found. The gist of what i wrote and lost is: Most vets follow what they learned in vet school, and traditionally for kidney disease/issues/whatever, they learned to limit protein in the diet. Five years ago, at least, new research came out that restricting protein early in the course of the kidney problem creates a vicious circle of further problems, for the kidneys and other organs. My kidney greyhound (I've also had two cats with kidney disease) also has had "slightly elevated" numbers this year on BUN and creatinine, as well as lower-than-normal urine specific gravity. With the vet's blessing he eats Wellness Core Low-Fat kibble, plus canned food as gravy, and its protein level is 32%! (We picked that particular one because this dog just doesn't do grains, and it doesn't have any.) Since starting that 8-9 months ago, his numbers came back to normal range, just barely. Retesting is recommended at 6-month intervals when things are going this well, which for him will be in January. Later in the course of kidney disease, it becomes appropriate to lower the protein because the kidneys just can't process as much as before. But something like k/d may not be optimal for Mango or Alan at this stage. Mango's mom, vomiting daily or every other day can be related to kidney problems, and you might want to think about having Mango's kidney values retested. (I always do the liver values too, since they are not unrelated to how well the kidneys are doing their job.) Mary Edited to straighten out the dog's names and the quote thingys, and I'm still not sure they're right cuz I'm probably too tired to have written this tonight!

Ooh, I hope someone responds to this with some insight cuz I thought the same thing when I read the can and decided not to try it. Me too. I was wondering if Benefiber could work, cuz it didn't seem to require the water. One of my boys has had pudding poop alternating occasionally with big-D for four months, he won't touch pumpkin, and beet pulp isn't working.

Well, MY Spencer wants it more! But you have greyt taste in names, ya'll! Mary -- and Spencer and Shane

I'm so sorry, Tracy, but it sounds like you're doing all the right stuff in getting help. Just wanted to offer you some support until someone who actually knows something replies to your post! Mary

You're in our thoughts and prayers at this house. Mary, with Spencer and Shane (who are jealous about that August trip, but still wish him well!)

So very sorry about Joe. Glad that having his ashes is comforting to you. We have three what we call cat-in-a-box(s)! I'm really grateful for the pictures you showed here, especially the one of Joe with your baby. Thanks for sharing. Mary

I'm so sorry it wasn't a lipoma. I have no idea what the other possibilities are, but I'll keep a good thought for you and Monty, as will lots of other people, I'm sure. You're not alone, hon. Mary

What an amazing story, and what a huge loss. I'm so sorry! Mary

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful Sandi. Mary

A wonderful tribute, a spectacular houndie, and the best family imaginable for him. After the first grey I picked out got sent somewhere else by mistake, and I was crushed, our adoption counselor told me that you get the dog you're supposed to have. I didn't want to hear that New Age stuff right then, but it turned out to be as true for us (another story, for a different time) as it clearly was for you. Though your heart is broken now, and I'm crying with you, I'm happy for the wonderful life you gave each other. And I can't thank you enough for sharing Grandpa's story. Mary

We've had the mushy-poop problem for four months, and nothing seems to help, though we haven't tried beet pulp yet. I was struck by your mention of poop turning green, as I've seen that happen a couple times too. What's up with that?! All this just to say I'm glad you posted and I'll be looking for answers along with you!