greyhead

Ours is a DVM, and I'm very comfortable with that. She switched from traditional veterinary medicine, which she is still licensed to practice, to rehab vet work involving Chinese strategies and meds (herbs). She does both chiropractic and acupuncture, and I find that important. As someone else pointed out, I think, acupuncture can relieve pain and prepare the dog to receive the chiropractic adjustment with greater ease. We haven't run into any vets who are exclusively DC's, so...

What does the rash look like exactly? Is it a solid swath of skin, or spots here and there, or something else? Our dog with GI problems (both infectious and then IBD) would have his belly turn pink sometimes, but usually only for a matter of hours. He took both metronidazole and tylosin at the same time. (He also took other things.)

Certified veterinary chiropractors list: http://www.avcadocto...nitedstates.htm It would be good if you find one who is also certified in veterinary acupuncture. Here's the certified acupuncturist list: http://www.aava.org/...aava-directory/ We have been treating our lumbosacral stenosis dog in this manner for four years, with great success. He's almost 12 now and has just recently (since he also developed problems in three disks) started on gabapentin and tramadol. Good luck!

I don't know what it is, but it sounds infectious, and a trip to the vet sounds very much in order ASAP. I hate to think of him licking the area and getting even sicker. Good luck.

My sympathies to you, Holly, and Millie's mom. I understand how it feels to lose that sense of connections to loved ones.

Thank heavens! And thanks for the good update.

Our vet uses x-rays if necessary, in her opinion, or you request them. (We usually agree about it beforehand.) Spencer had them at his last dental because he'd had ongoing issues with gum inflammation and a swollen gland in his neck. Decisions about tooth removal are still made at the time of the dental, but having x-rays can guide them toward trouble they might otherwise miss. If you won't miss $50, you might consider having them done. (Hopefully, they maintain the pictures for future reference, to follow changes too.)

As a person with an LS hound, I don't think x-rays can diagnose LS. The only imaging technique that is used is MRI, AFAIK, and people who aren't contemplating surgery as a response don't tend to have it done. (Apparently some use some kind of CT scan or discography also.) The Dr. Stack test is a simple and pretty reliable test; I'll try to find the link and come back and post it. Caution must be used, however, that the vet does not push on the dog's back in more than once or twice! (Mine was injured further by excessive pushing by a vet not really trained in this area.) ETA: Dr. Stack's web site is www.greythealth.com, and you can find a lot of good info by clicking on the tabs in the left column. The specific LS page is http://www.greythealth.com/lumbosacral.html.

Heartfelt sympathies to you and your family.

This is a beautiful tribute really. I'm so very sorry Brent had to leave.

I'm so glad you found each other and so very sorry for your loss. It sounds as though you've tucked Zuki safely inside your heart forever.

I'm so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful relationship you had, that he could tell you and you could hear him.

He anchored your siggie with his handsome self, and I'm another one who loved to fixate on him. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Of course you miss the lovely Bee Wiseman, as does everyone else! Your camera loved her for sure, and I hope you'll always share her photos with us because it's just impossible to get tired of seeing them. You're in my thoughts, late or not.

Checking on Legs today. How's it going, and what did the vet say?

Some of us with IBD greyhounds (like my Spencer) have done much better using budesonide as an immunosuppressant instead of prednisone. The pred seems to lead to a degree of weight loss that these dogs can't handle. But they have to be weaned off the pred before the budesonide can be administered, and I don't know whether that's feasible in your situation or not. Additionally, not many vets seems knowlegeable and comfortable using budesonide, so they tend to just not do it. Nonetheless, I feel obliged to mention this alternative. Also sending lots of prayers for you and your Edy. I know how hard this is. ETA: The other thing one absolutely needs to know is that greyhounds should only get half the dose of budesonide that non-sighthounds would get.

Then your hip-girl license will have to be suspended!

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

What an amazing girl she was.

This is a very beautiful and moving tribute. Oswald can be very proud. He could not have been loved more or better. Godspeed, handsome.

I've had to take this approach more than once and with more than one vet, and I highly recommend it. It wasn't necessary to be "high-handed" or hostile in tone. A simple statement that I was bringing the animal in for the test, and "what time's good for you?" was sufficient. Even when I had to endure some eye-rolling or an offensive level of professional "neutrality," no one ever refused. Protatek has a greyhound package for TBD testing that's far more reasonably priced than the others I've seen. And Dr. Holland there is a dream for vets to consult.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Has infection been considered? (Even if it didn't start out with infection, it can end up that way once the skin has been exposed like that.)

It's possible that the skin thing is entirely separate from the thyroid thing. It's tempting to think that all symptoms are manifestations of one problem, but sometimes there are two problems.

I feel your pain, as we had the same thing with Shane. We fought it for two years in various ways. He did the same thing as yours, declining to go out but clearly having to go because he'd be licking his penis to keep the urine off his leg and the bed he'd be on! Then we'd insist he go out, and he'd pee and pee. As I told the vet when she inquired, he really should have felt the pressure of all that needing to come out. We went through various things: antibiotics for E. coli infection, painkillers for arthritis, and the last thing was treatment for Lyme (a borderline test result) after treating for Babesia a year earlier. ALL of these things helped! But apart from the UTI which had to be treated for months, I have to think the TBD's played a very large role in the problem. Somehow his kidneys are compromised, as his creatinine has been between 2.0 and 2.2 for the last 2-3 years. And having him on medium-protein kidney food helped a lot and remains necessary; whenever we try to change to another food, he starts leaking again. So I don't know what to tell you, other than sharing Shane's multi-faceted experience. An internist wanted to call it kidney disease and to put him on a BP reducer and low-protein food, as well as Proin. I declined all of that, since he did badly on Proin several years ago and the rest of it felt premature. I hope there are some approaches in our situation that will help you with yours. ETA: We concluded in Shane's case that this was never a behavioral problem. We think the signals about bladder fullness that should be happening just stop happening when the urinary system is compromised by UTI, TBD, whatever over a long time. On the other hand, the nerves in the leg still work well and alert them to drips. They're doing the best they can with the signals their bodies are giving them.