MaryJane

I didn't see any information about antibiotics - can I assume that the vet put him on antibiotics?

Check out this article in today's WSJ on intestinal bacteria http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...4070272984.html

Not sure if this will help --- but my greyhound just went through a period of swelling for one of his rear legs. This occurred after we had been looking for the lost greyhound in our area. His paw and lower half of the leg swelled up to twice the size 4 days after we had been out walking. The vet and I concluded that when we were out looking he either "wrenched" his leg pretty good or that he stepped on something and as a result got an infection. He's was on antibiotics for 1 week and it had started to come down but, not yet normal so the antibiotics were extended for another week. His leg is almost down to normal size now. It is possible that falling down the stairs may have caused some type of sprain and as a result swelling .... Good luck this afternoon

I would strongly suggest bringing her to a vet since this has been going on since the beginning of July. If it had been going on a few days - I might recommend trying other things first but, 6 to 7 weeks is a long time .... edited to add ... these types of things where the pups are good for a few days and then bad tend to lull us into thinking that it's not a big deal and before we know it, weeks have passed.

My current foster was into everything (rocks, grass, mulch, twigs) at the beginning and I think it was to figure out if it was "food" or not - I had to keep my eyes on her constantly. I kept on reprimanding and I got it to the point that it was just the grass that she was after and at that point I figured that she had a bit of an upset tummy. I started giving her a "third" meal around 10 pm in the evening of a bit of applesauce and yogurt and she has been fine since then - very little grass eating now.

How was his poop? Is he still peeing? Is he drinking water? Could he have gotten into something? Is he vomiting? Try the ground beef and rice. If he doesn't eat at least a small amount at the next meal - make an appointment with the vet.

Not on its own, but a diet lacking what the bacteria consume, in conjunction with adding in the right organisms, might help push them aside. I'm thinking raw or home-cooked, along with probiotics. I would also suggest doing home-cooking so you can control what foods the dog is getting and determine what works and what doesn't. I did this years ago with one of my dogs and determined that he reacted to chicken and noodles - he would get diarrhea when he got either of those ingredients and it would only take a tablespoon or two. My greyhound now does not tolerate chicken although I can give him a little but, if I give him chicken over a few days - he gets diarrhea with the "casing". Maybe start by giving a few tablespoons of oatmeal once a day and see if that helps. Oatmeal has fiber and over time will help firm up the poop but, I've usually seen results within a day or two. I might also suggest switching from chicken to beef. I've had a few greyhounds that just haven't done well on chicken (although to be fair, many will also say the same about beef). There are also Limited Ingredient dog foods that use novel proteins if you can not go the route of home-made. Natural balance is one that I have used for fosters (Venison and Sweet Potato). If you can do home-made, try a bland diet of beef and rice. Check with the vet and see if you can do a 50% of that with the current dog food that he/she recommends. Probiotics/yogurt is an important addition to make sure that the "natural bacteria" is put back into the gut. Someone suggested doing a stool culture and I think that is a good idea for the next step and the cost should be on the reasonable side when considered next to the other types of tests. While the "elimination home cooking diet" is the toughest and possibly the longest option to do (about 1 month) - it can produce results.

Back in 2004 when my boy got Osteo I checked for a limb-sparing procedure before I went for the amputation. At that time, the only place doing research with limb-sparing was someplace in Denver. Their procedure was to take the section that had the brittle bad bone and replace it with a metal plate. If the bone was completely destroyed or it was too close to the end, then it couldn't be done. In my boy's case, it was too close to the end. It's interesting that they are replacing the whole bone with a "donor bone". I wonder if there is any reaction to it as a "foreign body" and if it would mean a dog would have to be on immuno-suppressants for the rest of their life.

Has the vet said why he needs to be under anesthesia for the x-rays? Consider talking to the vet and asking why he needs to be put under for the x-rays. I've had a few x-rays taken of my greyhounds legs and they didn't use anesthesia.

Rather than hamburg - can you use a roast and cut it up. Hamburg is much more susceptible to bacteria because it is ground up. Also, if you use a cut up roast you can quickly sear the smaller pieces so the outside is done but the inside is raw ...

Could be allergies. One of my greyhounds had thinning hair on his chest and bald thighs and once I switched from feeding him chicken and noodles to beef and rice and started him on fish oil he grew hair back. You may want to try a limited ingredient dog food like Natural balance Venison and Sweet potato and see if he grows some hair back. Solid Gold also makes a Beef and Barley that doesn't seem to have too many ingredients.

just a note of caution on the benedryl - make sure that you don't use ones that have other stuff in them -- maybe someone on the thread can clarify which ones you shouldn't use

With my fosters, I don't pick/squeeze at these because it's easy to cause an infection. But, if it is pretty bad then I will put a warm (NOT hot) compress on for a few minutes and then put some bacitracin/neosporin ointment on the area and massage lightly in small circles with my fingers. What usually happens is that the soft rubbing causes some of the black stuff to come out.

I worry just like you do .... and if it is a medical issue like this -- I always go with being more proactive than sitting back I would make an appointment to have your regular vet look at it (today or tomorrow). At the most it will cost you an office visit and a small fee. Maybe your vet will just look at it without rewrapping and say it's fine.

I could not have said it better. I'm a little confused on your statement of "Our new boy Ace is going in for his neuter tomorrow and we don't have to pay right away for it." If they have done the neuter - why not pay for it at that time. Of course it is understandable to try and pay on time if you are having financial issues.

Welcome! That last picture was just too precious....

When my dog had chemo they gave plenty of fluids to flush it all out at the hospital. They had to follow hazmat procedures at the hospital but, I didn't have to do anything different at home. I guess they have different procedures for different chemo drugs Edited to add -- my dog spent all day at the hospital

Given how close this occurrence is to the boarding, it's likely that she picked up something at the kennel. As mentioned earlier, it could be a virus and/or worms and getting her to the vet along with a stool sample is the first step. Also, talk with the vet and see if this is something that could have been picked up a the kennel and if yes, contact the kennel and see if they will pick up sme of the vet charges (hopefully, they will offer to pick up the complete cost). If this is a business that kennels dogs, they should be cleaning the runs between every dog that goes in the run and then after the "let-outs" they should be using some solution (like bleach) to hose down the floors. If they don't have "concrete runs" and instead have the small stones in an outdoor type run, it's hard to keep them cleaner.

It's a tough call ... My personal preference is to try and not have surgery if at all possible for situations that are "not required". You can always go and have the surgery later but, you cannot take it back once done. As an alternative, you may be able to have a better designed bootie made with extra cushioning that may help. While the surgery does not sound drastic, sometimes bad things happen when we least expect it and most people don't hear the vet when they describe the "possible things that can go wrong". I would suggest speaking to the vet again and asking him for the possible repercussions. As another note, has the leg been x-rayed. There could be some other issue that is being overlooked because of the "known issue" of the corn.

I would probably not take him anywhere for at least 2 or 3 days. He is apt to get excited and may not be careful and thus, may reinjure. Chiropractors are great in keeping the spine flexible but, if there is a problem already, then a chiropractic treatment can cause more inflammation which is probably not what you want right now.

Has the dog been checked for corns ? My greyhound had limping issues on and off and the vets were just not sure what was causing it -- turned out to be corns. The vets were not really "greyhound aware" but, it was the biggest animal hospital in Boston so someone there should have picked it up.

Glad to hear that she's doing well .. Also, it's a great suggestion to have someone in the back with her on the ride home

i would probably check with the doctor that is doing the chemo to see what they recommend. You wouldn't want to have any drug interactions ....

I'm sorry, this is quite a bit to be dealing with ... My first thought when reading this was that the lung cancer was a secondary cancer as someone has mentioned earlier.

My greyhounds (and fosters) have caught and killed rabbits in the yard so that is not (in my opinion) very unusual for a greyhound even the "couch potatoes". I don't like to see it or deal with half dead animals but, they are hunters and if something crosses their path, they are going to do as nature intended. Snarling and lunging at you is not a desirable behavior and as you mentioned -- very scary I would get the adoption group involved and get their opinion on the dog's personality. If he is as aggressive as you're describing, you might need to go to a one-on-one training class and NOT DO group sessions because of the chance of your dog being out-of-control.