GeorgeofNE

Awwwwww, Misser Gil. What a lovely tribute. I'm so sorry for ALL of your losses.

I'm so sorry. Anyone who has ever loved a pet has felt the pain you feel, and understands. It'll get better, and you'll remember the love and the fun forever.

I'm so sorry for your loss. My father is terminally ill, with only a short time left, and we have been talking to him about all the beloved pets who have gone before--and oddly, not a bit about the people! Dad has always said if dogs aren't allowed in "heaven" (or whatever happens...), he's not interested in going there.

From the day you bring a puppy home, everything you do is training it! My last dog was a puppy when I got him, and by six months he knew sit, down, heel, come, and stay--not 100% of course, but I did two short training sessions a day, every day, from the time I brought him home at approx. 12 weeks of age. The key is to keep them short and fun, but be very consistent.

My dog Kramer (not a greyhound) had a bone infection. There was no lump. There was no pain. We only discovered it when he spiked a very high fever. He had surgery a year before that involved cutting a bone. That surgery took FOREVER to heal, and in retrospect, we should have been much more aggressive in trying to figure out why. He had to have his surgical hardware removed, his joint drained, and he was on two different antibiotics for two months ($550 just for the pills). Don't know if this helps at all--but I think if it were a bone infection, she's have some signs of it in blood work. I know mine did.

George sleeps with his eyes open or partially open often. Not always, but often. I think it's fairly common with retired racers.

Cause most adult dogs have absolutely no need to be in a crate once they're housebroken! Why keep a big ugly cage in your house if your dog has no need for it? Now, I suppose if you have a nice big house, and the cage is somewhere you don't have to look at it, there's little incentive to take it down. My first dog LOVED his crate and flipped out when I tried to put it away after TWO YEARS. So he needed to be weaned off it. George hated his crate with the firey passion of 1,000 suns. I swear he shivers if he even sees the edge poking out from under the bed!

You should, if you haven't already, take her to a board certified orthpedic vet. When I took my dog in, it took him less than 3 minutes to determine, by manipulating my dog's leg, that the ACL was completely gone. It must not be a total tear if he's suggesting all these tests because apparently if it's ruptured, the "knee" moves in ways that simply aren't possible when the ligament is intact. Just wanted to point out that tearing the opposite cruciate ligament is not a complication of surgery. Rather than being an acute, traumatic athletic injury as in humans, most dogs that tear their CCL usually do so because their stifle conformation predisposes them to the injury. And since stifle conformation is mostly symmetrical, what applies to one knee also applies to the other. Dogs that tear one CCL are likely to tear the opposite one regardless of whether they have surgery or not, especially in the breeds where this is seen more commonly. This may not hold true for greyhounds where a CCL tear may really be from and acute trauma and not genetic predisposition. Exactly! And why, when I applied for insurance for my dog after he tore his, there were so many exclusions it wasn't even worth having the policy. I believe my ortho surgeon said something like 40-50% of dogs who tear one will tear the other.

Inhale!

Good thought! I would agree, maybe there is something moving around inside that is catching his attention... Years ago, our English Setter, Sam, started scratching and scratching at our screened porch floor. My father had a fit trying to stop him. Turns out we had termites! Good old Sam heard (smelled?) them way before we did!

Any chance there is a mouse in the house?

I think you already answered your own question; if you ignore it, eventually he'll give up. I've never met a dog that isn't hungry ALL THE TIME. I wouldn't change his feeding schedule. Assuming he CAN get downstairs if he wants to, I think it's a matter of who has more endurance! My father's last dog was a whiner. Dad made the mistake of reaching down and petting him (the dog laid by his chair) every time he whined. So we ended up with a dog who wanted to be petted all day every day, and would whine when you stopped. It was unbearable! George used to wake me up at EXACTLY 4 AM when I first adopted him. I got all sorts of ideas--but I felt most of them would simply enforce his behavior, not curtail it. What did work was a stern "go lie down" and then rolling over and putting my pillow over my head! He gave up after a week and hasn't done it since. Edited cause I meant to say "wouldn't" not would!

I think I know EXACTLY what you mean, and my answer would be yes! Although I would describe it more as if George walks with a stick up his butt... All the other dogs in my family have been assorted hunting breeds who have a more horse like trot. George tends to look like he's floating on air, but I do think his hind legs look "tight" when he trots along.

George is on the same dose for the same reason. I think it's going on 2 years. No side effects for him whatsoever. My last dog (a mutt) tore his anterior cruciate ligament and had to have a TPLO (tibial plateau leveling osteomy) which would have been wonderful had he not gotten a bone infection which extended his recovery period from the anticipated 12 weeks to well over a year (he nearly died, actually, but it's not a common thing). Once he was squared away, he was almost good as new! He had a total rupture though. There was no chance it was going to heal.

Amitriptyline is an antidepressant. Does it act to relieve anxiety in dogs? I'm surprised it cost you so much. That's a drug that's been around a long time.

Hmmmm. "Old injury" sort of seems to be code for "I have no idea." I think it would be worth sending the films to OSU myself.

I think what you're seeing is a general feeling this isn't separation anxiety, per se. He didn't freak out because you left. He freaked out because you locked him in his cage (and sleeping in a cage at night, at home, with the door open isn't the same thing AT ALL), and shut the door to the room. He can't see anything that might be going on. If your mother insists on him being crated (for what it's worth, almost everything I own is an antique, and absolutely everything my mother owns is an antique--things don't last hundreds of years if they're so delicate they can't withstand a dog walking around the house), perhaps you could put him out in the main living area? Better still, what about baby gating him into, say, the kitchen? Give him a Kong, turn on the radio, and I bet he'd be just fine!

Sounds like crate anxiety to me. And most dogs hate being in a closed room. Have you tried just letting him be loose? You've had him for a while by now. He should be pretty well adapted to being in a house. I can't even imagine what George would do confined in a crate, in bedroom, with the door closed. That would be his idea of torture. Left to his own devices, he sleeps on my bed, or his bed. No issues whatsoever.

I expect most of us know how you feel. I know when George started having evidence of a limp I was pretty worried. Try and think positively. And be sure and let us know as soon as you hear anything!

I couldn't agree more. The only real differences have to do with blood/urine test results and what's normal for a Greyhound. And they're more sensitive to anesthesia. Otherwise, they're pretty much just dogs. Any vet can stitch or staple a wound, fix a dislocated toe, or biopsy a mysterious lump. My current vet wasn't very "grey savvy" but she happily took all the articles I gave her, and even consulted with a friend of hers who is a vet and a greyhound owner. She's been perfectly fine. There would be no reason for an office to lie if you ask, "Do you have other Greyhound patients"? In my opinion, any new pet should be taken to the vet ASAP for a routine "well dog" visit.

A bit off topic, but my friends had a Bulldog (Rocky) and his allergies were so bad they took him to a specialist and he got allergy shots, which helped some, but not enough.

George's skin appears red when he's hot. I think it's because their fur is so thin, they have a higher volumn of blood than other dogs, and I don't know about yours, but George appears to "run hot."

A tripod can do anything a four legger can do, although it is somewhat easier for Greyhounds because they are so narrow that their center of balance is barely disturbed by the removal of a leg (I listened to Dr. Couto explain this in detail, and it's easy to see how it's true!). There's a video on the OSU web site of one of their patients, Bosha, going up and down stairs not long after an amputation. You might try using a towel or something under her belly to help her up and down a few times so she gains confidence. We had an Irish Wolfhound in our neighborhood in California who had lost a leg (someone shot her thinking she was a coyote--seriously??) and she used to chase cars on three legs!

Lot of talk about the evils of corn on GT, but according to my vets, dogs with food allergies are typically allergic to the protein source in the food, not the grain source. You'd have to do a proper food trial to really know. My dog had chronic soft poops when I adopted him. All fecal exams were negative. Dosed him with Panacur-D a couple of times, and TA DA. Normal poo. Could have been a coincidence, but it's not expensive and worth a try. Since this new vet seems to have nailed it with the Royal Canin, perhaps he or she is a better source of suggestions on a new food than us?

Make note of which times he is going to the bathroom. The "wasted" trips outside can eventually be eliminated. ("wasted" meaning they aren't walks and they aren't potty breaks. They are just when the two of you stand there staring at each other, both waiting for something to happen) Also, if one trip out is #1 or #2 and then right back in... then a short time later, another trip outside produces the other, try keeping him out til both are completed in the same trip. Sometimes, right after a pee break, it takes a bit of walking and sniffing to get #2 moving. And vice versa. In the morning, Sammi is notorious for going #2 and then forgetting she has a full bladder and wants to come in because she knows breakfast awaits. Another quick tour of the yard triggers her memory Excellent advice! Some dogs HAVE to go immediately after they eat. My dog likes to go about 30-45 minutes after he eats. You'll have to figure out which it is for your guy, but for NOW, more is better. Once he figures out he's supposed to go outside, and once you figure out his signal, you won't have to take him out after every nap, for example, 'cause if he needs to go, he'll let you know. Since most Greyhounds are all about sleeping, you may find that before too long, he's asleep a LOT! Here's my Mon-Fri schedule with George. Bear in mind I have no yard and live alone with him, so every outing is a leash outing. 1) Time to get up. I pull on my "dog pants" and put on shoes and out we go. I don't even go to the bathroom, that's how important it is for MY dog to go immediately! 2) Inside, I feed him. Have some coffee, get my upper body ready for the office. About 30 minutes since we got up, and out we go for our 40 minute walk. Yes. I said 40 minute walk. Before work. Every day. Rain or shine. 3) Return home. Get lower body ready. A bit more coffee. Then I give him his Kong, and off I go to sit in my windowless cubicle all day pretending I'm interested in what I'm doing. 4) I arrive home. I RUN up the stairs (arthritis permitting), throw my purse on the floor, admire the leaping, twirling, smiling beast who is dancing around, snap his leash on, and get him outside FAST. Let him piddle and sniff for a bit. Talk about our day, etc. 5) Back inside. Then we have "George time" where he gets my undivided attention until he's had enough and wants dinner. Feed him. 6) One hour later, out we go for piddles and sniffs, and a poop if he did not going during our #4 trip. 7) One last trip outside before bedtime (which for us is early since #1 on this list is at 5:20 AM). That's it! And as someone else said, if George can get it, ANY DOG can. Mind you, we have had an ongoing health issue which has caused all kinds of urinary frustrations...that's another story! It makes me laugh now, thinking about the time he was prancing around with his stuffy, and I was saying "Oh, you're so handsome! Yes, I'm watching you! Yes, you're cute!" and he finally stopped, looked right at me, and peed next to the door! I couldn't BELIEVE he actually expected me to get "I have to go outside and pee" from prancing with a stuffy! My previous dog was SO smart and there was never any doubt what he was trying to communicate to me, no matter what the issue. But I got him when he was a puppy, and it's very different from adopting a five year old racer (George was five when I got him--or close to it anyway). We all know what you're going through! Oh, and in case you're not already doing it, I find saying something like "Let's go tinkle" and "Time to go potty" and such helps. Then when they produce, you can squeal "Good tinkle!!" and all!