GeorgeofNE

But what about the urine panel? Is his urine still dilute? Have you measured his intake? I'm a bit perplexed why in five years no vet has suggested this drug for my dog--so off to Google it and find out why!

Sounds to me as if there is something in the house that is frightening him. This may sound silly, but do you have a functioning carbon monoxide detector?

The odds of a greyhound having a leg just break and it NOT being osteo are horribly low I'm afraid. I mean your dog is home in the house and you come back and his leg is BROKEN? I'd make sure that all your x-rays get sent off to Ohio State ASAP.

Wow. You'd think one person in 120 years would have been smart enough to insulate the walls! 52? Inside?? I'm pretty hardy, but that's just too cold for inside!!!

Bald thighs and legs and bellys are very common with Greyhounds, and most people believe it's genetic. It is highly unlikely that anything you do with diet will grow hair there, although a bunch of people swear by Melatonin.

If he's "small to begin with" that's REALLY a lot of food. George is a 64 pound male. His listed racing weight is 67. He gets ONE cup of kibble for breakfast and one at dinner. I do feed him a fair number of Milk Bones on our walks (pee rewards!) and he gets about two table spoons of peanut butter Monday-Friday in his Kong. He also gets a 2 mile walk every day. Did you by any chance open a new bag of food around the time this trouble started?

You just need to teach him "off." Don't grab his collar, make sure he is fully awake, clip his leash on, say "off" and get the beast down! Guide him over to his own bed, and tell him, "down." Repeat. Probably many times! It'll take a while, but he'll learn!

George's ALT went up a LOT when I was giving him an "all natural" supplement (Valerian Root). When I stopped, it went back down.

Panting can be a sign of pain and/or stress, not just being overheated. At that age, I'd be more concerned about pain than the temperature.

Wait--four cups of food at meals AND "two Kongs full" of food? Maybe he's just being overfed! That's a lot of food.

My vet would not accept the track paperwork, and gave George all his shots and he was just fine, and I didn't have to wonder and worry.

And the same basic answer as 4My2Greys with my 10 year old. Thousands of dollars of tests--as long as he gets an NSAID and his Gabapentin, he is FINE all day while I work (9 hours). If I even lower the dose by 25 mg., he can't hold it. No answers, just more questions. I frankly could not care less WHY. All I know is what works. He apparently has something that pains him, and the drugs stop it. The pain makes him unable to hold his urine. No pain = no pee. Works for me!

Funny you should ask, because I have pretty much given up on George. But I don't think he's dumb. I think he just seriously has NO interest in pleasing me, and it doesn't bother him if I express disappointment or withhold praise. He just doesn't really give a darn. Some things he's great at, and he's a wonderful companion, but standard obedience type stuff? Fuggedaboutit! That's OK. He's handsome, he was fast, and he walks nicely on a leash. And he pees outside--most of the time. Good enough for me at this point in my life and for the reasons I have him (companionship).

Thank you John for posting what I'm sure many of us are thinking. Just reading the first sentence of the OP would have made my decision for me. I have a FATHER who could be described the same way right now--and with all of our hearts my entire family wish we could release him peacefully from what has become a prison--his failed body. Best of luck to you and your whole family with whatever you do. I have no suggestions that might help.

Oh, the poor thing! Must have been terrified. I know a Greyhound who died crashing into a fence...so all in all it worked out OK, but I would have the bite looked at I think.

You're not having a Greyhound problem. You're having a DOG problem. Dogs are not all that happy to be alone all day, but they can learn to deal with it. Dogs are social animals, he lived one way for a while, then you expected him to just change his lifestyle when you did--but he cannot understand that without retraining him to. There is no reason to believe a Golden Retriever or a mutt would have reacted in a different manner. Being single, working full time, living in an apt., and owning a dog takes a lot of committment. Trust me--I am describing myself! I have been doing it since 1995, and I don't even stop for gas on the way home--that's how strongly I feel that asking more of him than being alone all day while I work is more than enough to expect. Sure, on occasion I might do something later in the evening, or on a weekend, but I am home WITH the dog when I am there. I get up extra early so he gets a long walk. I pay attention to him at night. We try to do fun stuff on the weekends. I think it was smart to ask your Mom to take over, at least for now. But know this--another breed of dog is going to require just as much time and attention--and probably MORE if you choose to get another one some day.

I think I'd put the cat in a separate room, if possible, with his feeder, bed, litter box. I have a "cat room" in my condo fitted out with everything they need, and when we have any sort of cat/dog issue, they go in there and I shut the door. Sometimes just to give George a break! And at night I usually close my bedroom door. George and I inside, the cats on the other side. It's just too disruptive to my sleep have them either waking me up or waking him up.

If he is already not feeling well, I'd hold off. George is currently having pudding poo and I'm sure it's form the Heartgard. Unless you live somewhere warm, the risk of giving the Heartgard later than you might is minimal.

Heartgard Plus gives George diarrhea.

Please believe me when I say that you MUST obey doctors orders with an injury of that magnitude or risk permanent damage, My last dog tore his ACL and had a TPLO (which involves cutting the tibia and plating the leg bones) and was on NO EXERCISE for 12 weeks. Leash walks to relief himself only. The vast majority of cases with that surgery that fail to heal properly are people who ignore the vets orders. I suggest you gate him into the kitchen, put down some piddle pads, and remember its for his own good.

Seven cups is a HUGE amount of food, but Pedigree isn't a particularly "good" food either. I agree with switching her to a higher quality adult food. And she may never look like a retired racer. She's just never going to have the same lifestyle, but that's OK,

People used to use baking soda to brush their teeth--but ho e story it's the brush itself that does most of the work, so why bother with toothpaste at all? I think it's been pretty well established that "natural" flea remedies usually don't work very well.

I would need someone to explain how a laser treatment could stop the spinal column from compressing the nerves within--which is what LS does.

That is a decision only you can make, but right at this minute, my father, who has Alzheimer's, is laying in a bed in a nursing home, basically a,vegetable, and if we could have him put to sleep, the entire family agrees we would do it in a heartbeat. My father is long gone. He has no joy, no pleasure. He is incontinent, mostly blind, mostly deaf, can barely swallow, but the law does not allow us to send him peacefully on his way. So he lays there... Ask yourself if you are keeping your dog alive for her, or for you? Would she choose her current daily routine? Does she have any joy left? Best wishes for you in this difficult time.

Here's my theory: Some dogs whine. Dogs who have an owner who responds to their whining learn to whine more. My father's last dog was the sweetest dog in the world, but he was a whiner, and he drove me NUTS. My father was (is--but the dog is dead and Dad is in a nursing home) senile and deaf, so it didn't bother him much--but he really created the problem. Davy would lay by his chair and Dad would stroke his head. If Dad stopped, Davy whined. Dad would start up again. And so on. So if you're reacting when your dog whines by giving him attention, it's most likely increasing the problem because he's not stupid! "Hey, look at that! I was bored (or whatever) and I whined, and that human got up and got me a snack!" Sooooo, my suggestion is just ignore him. And I mean completely ignore him. If you can't stand the noise, walk away. Clearly your dog is well cared for, and I doubt very much he has any problem at all. He's just a whiner who has discovered that his "talking" to you results in increased attention!