greyhead

No, I don't think you "should have put this under Behavior." The place to start is medical, and especially the thyroid, as others have stated. It sounds like you're pretty convinced it's behavioral, which means you think he has a choice about all this. And that's why you resent him. If you use "thyroid" as a search term in either the H&M or the Behavior forums here on GT, you'll get the perspective you need, I think.

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

We've had great success with it. Neither glucosamine, MSN, nor Rimadyl helped Shane. He get's an injection sub-q at home every three weeks, because that's how often he seems to need them. (That's after the front-loading doses of twice a week or so, as I recall.) We get ours by prescription through Drs. Foster & Smith for $48.99 per bottle. (Our vet can't beat that price.) For us each 5 ml bottle gives 3 to 4 injections. Shipping is free at $49 or more, so we order syringes with needles at the same time.

What a girl! Thanks for sharing her story, Dee. I'm so very sorry she had to go.

Yay for foreign body, and U of I sounds like a good way to go! You and Jimmy are in our thoughts and prayers for an easy trip, procedure and recovery.

That was a lovely tribute to Eagle. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Agree with this. Our first grey was fine the first month and then started with the growling and snapping -- at us! (We had no other dogs at the time.) A full thyroid panel showed him to be hypothyroid, and the aggressive/defensive behaviors disappeared as soon as treatment began. (I should add that he was having mild seizures and losing stamina after walking half a mile, so this wasn't his only symptom. But in my opinion it was the symptom of greatest threat to him.) New research (with mice) has shown that depression can easily follow neutering. (And depression can involve grouchiness.) It stands to reason that neutering changes the hormonal balance, so that what was adequate thyroid (or other) hormone beforehand is no longer adequate. Since greyhounds have lower levels of thyroid hormones in general than other breeds, there may be greater chance for this kind of vulnerability to occur post-neutering. Just a thought. Hope it's that simple.

I'm so very sorry for your loss, and that both your boys had to leave at the same time. You were all so fortunate to have found each other, and I hope the good memories will help warm your heart.

X-rays can be done without sedation on lots of greyhounds. Even when surgery isn't an option, just knowing what the situation is can really help with management decisions. Our 11-year-old has had LS for years, but has managed with acupuncture/chiropractic, no meds required. But that's expensive. Recently had more trouble, and x-rays showed a slipping disk in the middle of his spine, but no arthritis. So we taught him to walk up the stairs of the deck instead of jumping, which helps enormously. And we know that a firmer bed will help him in getting up, which he's having a hard time with. So if you can spring for x-rays without sedation, you might learn something you can work with inexpensively. (Maybe you can't get each and every view you'd get with sedation, but you can get most of them.) ETA: A strong second to the exercise recommendation. That has been part of our treatment plan all along, but I tend to forget that because it's just what we do, not something unusual. We were told at the beginning that keeping the muscles supporting the spine strong would be key to his well-being, and it really has been probably the most important treatment factor.

Maybe the easiest way to impress the nature of the problem on a six-year-old is to tell her that in Chase's world, it's Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers, so to speak. And that he can't be argued out of that point of view, because he doesn't have words. She is very young and can be counted on to forget her toys from time to time, even though there are rules. So I'd want to make her understand that when she forgets the rules, she has to accept the outcome. But if she can't accept "losing" that way, as small children sometimes can't, then she may be too young for a dog at this point. You will be the best judge of that. I do hope it works out well for everyone. You, your family, and Chase all sound wonderful, actually.

What a lovely and loving tribute. I'm very sorry Dewey couldn't stay longer.

You aren't alone here, my first thought was medical issue, my second thought was ghost(s) in the new house. Nope, not alone. My FIRST thought was ghosties. Ghosts was my second thought, but I was too chicken to say so!

I'm so very sorry.

Indeed we are! Thinking of you and Buster and hoping for the best.

Why do you not want to go to the vet and say she's growling at thin air, as you put it? Brain tumor was the first thing that came to my mind. Did your Wiccan friend actually do something for the pit other than verbalize the problem? If so, could she do it again for you?

We put our GH on SAM-e while he was taking doxy and for some weeks afterward. His liver numbers got a little wonky but went back to normal. Hope at least the liver problem proves to be that easy for you.

Do you need to rehome one of the dogs, then? Because if nothing is changed, it sounds like the puppy may get badly hurt or worse.

Also think an ultrasound would be a good idea if things haven't resolved. Our 11-year-old IBD guy (with malabsorption, permanent hookworm, and history of SIBO) gets extra calories from half a bottle of vanilla Ensure twice a day. It's hard to put weight back on them at this age, but it's maybe possible if you go slow and steady. (We started with 1/3 bottle of Ensure per day and slowly worked up from there since too much can loosen the stool even more.) We also find it to be a good appetizer in the morning 10 miutes before breakfast.

Callie was quite a girl, and you are amazing.

Greta was a beauty and, from the sound of it, an important friend of many years' standing.

We'll never forget you, Phene!

Spencer just turned 11. But when he was 8, he manifested lumbosacral stenosis and would start to fall over when he lifted a leg to pee or when he would try to turn around by pivoting on his back legs. The vet recommended an acupuncture/chiropractor rehab vet, and we have managed it all this time without any meds at all. I would say two things: 1) start immediately if not sooner, and 2) do an Internet search for a practitioner who is certified. If I can find that list, I'll come back here and post the link. ETA: acupuncture certified and at the bottom of this page chiropractor vets is a link to click to find those vets. If you can't find both certifications in one vet and have to choose, I'd choose acupuncture if it were me. Wishing you the very best of luck!

Good thoughts aplenty from here! And what a nice vet!

I'm very sorry for your loss.

I'm so very sorry that Jack had to go now and that you have suffered so much this year.