greyhead

So very sorry Maggie had to leave. She sounds like quite a girl!

Tricia, I'm so sorry. No, that doesn't begin to cover it.

Tricia, I'm shocked, tearful, and deeply sorry as I'm just learning of this. (Flattened by flu for weeks.) Words just about fail me. That was a beautiful tribute you wrote, illustrated with your always-stunning photos of His Handsomeness. All of Greyhoundom will miss your Murray. He'll never be forgotten, that's for sure. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Wally's behavior sounds more like pain-related than drug-related, to me, especially because the gabapentin didn't make him stumble when he first got it. There's a correlation between LSS (which this sounds like) and urinary incontinence, which I see Wally has had trouble with. Pain in that lower back area is a common denominator for both problems. Our 13-year-old has both, though his urinary problems are due to kidney disease. We use a combo of gabapentin (100mg, 2-4 times a day) and tramadol as needed (1/2 tablet to start). We thought at one point early in the game (two years ago) that his pacing and whining might be due to tramadol, but it turned out to be due to pain. Another thing that's hugely useful in our case is amoxicillin (with clavamox and potassium). Besides going after bacteria, it reduces inflammation. Inflammation is another thing LSS and kidney trouble have in common. This may become a relevant item for Wally somewhere down the road.

So very sorry Shelby had to leave. She was beautiful and well-loved.

My heart sinks at this news. Everyone, but everyone, loves your Spriet. I'm so very sorry her time came. Holding you in our thoughts, Anne.

Breeze sounds like a lovely girl, and she's definitely beautiful. She even matches the beach for great photos! Using present tense? Yes, because in your heart she will always be here.

I'm so, so sorry.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope warm memories of Molly will comfort you, along with knowing that you did all you could.

Sending hugs and sympathy to all who loved dear Baby, the prettiest girl in the room.

Losing weight is one of the things that happens with kidney disease, even when consuming what would normally be adequate nutrition. There may be something else going on as well, though, so your vet needs to know about this.

A lovely tribute to a well-loved boy. I'm so sorry he had to leave. Hope he visits your dreams from time to time.

My heart breaks for you, reading this beautiful tribute. Being Henry's people was a great privilege, and his departure is a huge loss. But he's never going to leave you entirely, as long as you carry him in your heart.

Just thought I'd try to quantify how much water needs to be given orally to keep these guys hydrated. The vet told me 1/2 cup per hour, which is 120 ml. When Molly comes home, maybe you can help her this way. We also find that appetite comes back within an hour or two of getting fluids into our boy, so however you get it done is good.

We give 1cc of B-12 with each fluid administration, which is 200 to 400 ml, usually daily. That's the same amount we gave our 12-lb cat, so I imagine he could take more, but 1cc syringes are what we have on hand, But you can easily ask for or buy 3cc syringes too. They can also be given as a sub-q shot apart from the fluids, but they sting a little, so it's easier on the dog to get it in the fluids after a pocket of clear fluids has been built up to cushion the blow, so to speak. With our prior GH, who needed B-12 but not sub-q fluids for his condition, the vet did give us skinny 25g needles to use when administering directly under the skin since the network of nerves across their shoulders and backs is even more extensive than in a cat! In WA state and on all the internet sites I looked at, a prescription is needed, or you get the vet to order you a bottle. (They usually just have one bottle in stock for their own use.) Our Costco also frequently has bags of white meat that has come from their unsold rotisserie chickens, and white meat is much less greasy than dark. But I can see where the whole chicken seems very greasy for a pancreatitis situation. That really complicates things, doesn't it! Sometimes we've used canned a/d from the vet to tempt him to eat when nothing else was working, and we keep some on hand just in case, but it's pretty rich. We've found that Milk Bones can be very tempting when the dog is hungry but regular food is too smelly (nauseating), and often a medium-size one or two will jump-start him to go ahead and eat soon after. Hoping and praying that all will be well. Please keep us posted! ETA: They get a faster response if you syringe water into their mouths, and we do this when he's really dehydrated. It takes the sub-q fluids hours to be absorbed and become effective. A vet told me that water by mouth is as effective as IV fluids, and both are effective at much lower quantities than sub-q's. We asked the vet recently for an irrigation syringe for the task, as it has a curved end that goes easily between the teeth and onto the tongue area. There aren't any quantity markings on the syringe, but it's not very large, and we give about 1/3 to 1/2 of it at a time, repeating at 15-30 minute intervals. As long as it's plain water, you can't cause pneumonia even if it goes down the wrong pipe. It has been a very helpful thing for us, so I thought I'd mention it.

Holy Heyzeus, just seeing this! (It has been an eventful winter/spring/summer here, and I haven't gotten to GT often.) I'm so very glad, in the end, that it has turned out so well!

Hi, we have a kidney dog too. We usually feed Royal Canin renal kibble (used to be called MP for Medium Protein, now called formula A), and we coat it with a gravy made of Hill's ZD and water. But when he's feeling off, the gravy is too rich, so we just moisten the kibble with water. When they're having a bad time, food that's too smelly is nauseating or at least off-putting. When he doesn't want to eat at all, we can usually jump-start him with the rotisserie chicken from Costco. (We start with the legs as dark meat is said to be best for kidney conditions.) If that's not handy, we might tear off pieces of bologna. And sometimes he needs some vanilla yogurt (not low-fat, no aspartame) instead of food. Basically, the vet said that when it comes to not wanting to eat at all, use anything you can. (But no onions, of course.) ETA: This is my second kidney-failure animal, and both have involved sub-q fluids at home. A vet in Baton Rouge started my kidney cat off with 1cc of B-12 given through the injection port of the drip line with the fluids, and I totally swear by it. My greyhound responds well to it too, as did my IBD greyhound. About once a week I go ahead and substitute a shot of B-complex; fluids wash out all the B vitamins, so they can all use supplementation, though B-12 is the most critical. It's a roller coaster, but you can do this. Just remember that after a down is an up!

That was a lovely tribute to a life well-lived. I'm so sorry his time came.

Spencer left over two years ago, and still we'll run into people from time to time on a walk, asking us where "the other one" is! For me, it's best just to feel honored on Spencer's behalf, that people noticed him and remember. But two months is not very long in the natural history of greyhound-loss grief! Sending warm thoughts to you and Mango.

Anne, I'm so very sorry for your sudden, shocking loss. Thank goodness, as you say, that he was among friends. Take care.

Oh no! Just seeing this, Judy, and I'm so very sorry for your loss. What a beautiful photo of him.

Given my experience, I can't recommend that you use Advantage Multi at all. Don't know if you can cancel the order and get Interceptor instead (available online, usually with a prescription). Our experience is that it won't be enough on its own. If anything, I'd start with the Panacur. And follow up with the monthly instead of the other way around. Hooks are so hard to get rid of completely! Have you done a search about them here in the archives or elsewhere on line? In the end you'll have to just keep after them!

I'm so very sorry for the loss you weren't and couldn't have been ready for. Araley was a beautiful girl.

We had a persistent case of hookworm for which the standard treatments hadn't worked. Our vet called his old parasitology prof from Cornell and then, based on his high opinion of its potential (when it was new), put him on Advantage Multi. A year later the dog still had hookworms. Interceptor worked much better, and we're delighted that Elanco is making it now. Other than that, using heavier-than-label Panacur (5 to 7 days at a time instead of 3)is good for clearing the acute state, as much as one can with long-standing hookworm, and repeat at 3 weeks. Interceptor then keeps up with the housekeeping, so to speak, every month. Panacur may still have to be repeated two or three times a year, and Drontal is also something to switch off to occasionally to pick off any worms that have developed resistance.