MaryJane
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Posts posted by MaryJane
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Excessive bleeding from the extractions and hyper-temperature coming out of anesthesia are issues that greyhounds can face. A vet experienced with greyhounds is a must but even then, problems can happen especially with kidney problems. You might want to wait a few months and see whether the teeth are impacting her quality of life.
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I would not do bones until the puppy is much older. Give chicken breasts - cooked or raw and roasts that have been seared quickly on outside. You can use the egg shells for calcium. Do your research -- analyze the puppy vitamin/mineral requirements and see if the dog food vitamin mix is enough along with egg shells and if not, supplement. You can also check out the nearest vet school and see if they have a nutritionist that will analyze the food for you.
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It sounds like he might be having sensory overload. Your dog is probably freezing on walks because there is too much going on and he is trying to absorb all the changes that are coming at him from all different directions so, it is too much, too soon. Take him on walks to quiet areas and stay away from dog parks for the time being - he is still too new for that. Let him relax and get accustomed to his new life. If he won't walk, you may just have to stand in a secluded place outside until he gets a sense of his surroundings. I've fostered many dogs and this is not unusual - sometimes I would take a dog to the end of my driveway and just stand there for a few minutes so he could watch the traffic go by and then repeat the next day adding a few more minutes each time.
Don't let him sleep on the bed - give him a bed on the floor. As to counter surfing, he doesn't know any better and if he sees you are doing stuff on the counter and it might include food, he wants at it too. You can try putting a few empty tin cans in a plastic bag - sometimes when they pull that off the counter, the noise startles them enough that stay away from counter.
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You might want to get a small air filter device for your bedroom - one that makes a soft hum. The noise could help your hound to orient himself to where he is located when he wakes up. The suggestion about a light could also help depending on how much sight he has. Another option is to associate a smell with the room he sleeps in - like maybe cinnamon or lavender as a way to help him locate himself in the house.
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I would wait until children are older - at least 8 to 10. Right now they are too young for any dog as they would consider the dog just a toy. Right now your children probably need quite a bit of care themselves and any dog would come with requirements for training, etc ... maybe too much for this point in time.
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1 hour ago, racindog said:
The nipping is genetic. It is in his genes and he is going to express it. What it is is prey drive. It is the reason greyhounds chase the bunny so to speak and is their key to survival in nature. He also has something called hunt drive. Hunt drive is what gets them to keep searching and keep trying to capture the prey. You will probably notice that he likes balls or squeaky toys or will get excited at squirrels? You cannot give his genes a makeover. In reality strong drives are a good thing and are highly prized and coveted for working dogs. It gives the dogs a capability to do things that average pets that do not have such drives simply can't do. The caveat is management as you have discovered. On the one hand you are blessed with a dog that would probably excel at certain dog sports and you can have great fun training and going places and accomplishing things with him that non drivey dogs just can't do no matter how bad the owner wants or how hard they train. On the other you have to manage that drive and TBH prey drive can be "serious" in that his drive will be telling him to chase, capture and kill. So you absolutely have to protect him from being put in situations where the opportunity to chase another animal exists. Please understand! He is not being "bad." He is NOT being aggressive. He is simply doing what he has been genetically programmed to do for 5,000 years. It is not personal with him. Its not that he doesn't like a certain animal/dog etc. It just that when he sees "prey" he does just like you and I and responds to his genes. That is why he gets along so well with other animals in general on walks etc. They are not acting like prey then and he so doesn't respond like they are. IMO if he is allowed off leash around other dogs that are not prey models to him then ALL the dogs should be muzzled. I think Louie sounds like a rather easily managed houndie for an experienced keeper. There is no magic formula for having dogs get along with each other- either they like each other or they don't. I would expect Louie to treat the cocker ok just as he does the dogs you encounter on your walks UNLESS the prey drive gets started up and many things can do that. A toy squeaking, a ball rolling across the floor, the cocker sprinting across the yard etc.. With experience you will easily be able to 'manage' Louie without any trouble but right now you don't have enough experience to do it easily so it will be work for you as you will always have to be super careful and protect him from 'going into prey drive" as much as you can. Its not as difficult as it sounds. You'll pick it up quick. Do a little more research on it and it will make more sense to you. Basically though it means you have an extra good dog that you just have to handle in a certain way that is not any big deal once you get some experience with it. JMO.
This is a great description of prey drive - what it is and how to handle it.
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As noted in an earlier post, nipping can be part of prey drive and with that, cannot be trusted around small dogs/animals that are running since this can trigger the "prey drive". As you spend more time with your dog, you can get a better sense of what triggers him and respond accordingly.
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Take it slow - there's so much "new stuff" in her life that it is probably overwhelming. Take her out around where you live and just stand not too far from the house and let her get used to the "newness".
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Also, on the platelets - they need to do a manual check to make sure they are not clumping which could lead to artificially low results. As others noted on the platelets - the vet needs to check the greyhound values.
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Do you move when you see him coming? The reason that I ask is that if I stay exactly where I am, my greyhounds usually will not hit me, it's when I move that they run into me. Usually mine will deflect right at the last minute and go right past me by inches.
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As already noted, take photos and write down you recollections - send it to yourself as an email (cc). Check your dog over thoroughly to make sure there are no small bite wounds. Also, did you get the owner's information and whether the dogs were up-to-date with rabies. It's very important to contact the Animal Control Officer so they have a record of the incident.
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As others noted, test for Tick diseases. If your dog goes to day care and he overexerts himself in hot weather or is in the sunlight all day (or portion of day) - he could have heatstroke.
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44 minutes ago, LunaGirl said:
Does anyone worry about the prison protocol because it is double the dose of toxins compared to the conventional regimen? It may get rid of the hooks better but could it have adverse long-term effects? Have there been scientific vet studies on the impact of this double-dose of medication on greyhounds or other breeds? Thanks in advance for any feedback/info.
Both treatments should not be given at the same time which the prison protocol does - a vet has put together another protocol that alternates each (not sure which ones she recommends) at once a month (two weeks apart). It is available on Facebook - not sure if she has placed it on this forum.
I found a link - it was mentioned earlier in this thread.
https://www.greyhoundfriends.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Hookworms.pdf
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I would suggest that you check with some of the other greyhound adoption groups in your area if you don't hear from the one where you got Magic.
I took in a dog about 5 years ago under similar circumstances - she couldn't do stairs anymore and she was diagnosed with Lymphoma - she did well at my home. Her "parents" came and visited every 2 to 3 weeks and when it was time, they were with her. I live in Mass but, I there are other people around the country that have done this and maybe you can find someone in Chicago willing to open their hearts and home.
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As someone already noted, maybe give more kibble with rice rather than satin balls. I note this because the satin balls can be too fatty and have the potential to cause pancreatitis.
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Have you tired to feed a home-made diet? Maybe give turkey and rice with some veggies.
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Rethink the situation before making any changes. It sounds like they don't have staff overnight at the boarding facility which means that Spirit may have fallen early in the evening and struggled for awhile to get up until the staff came in the morning. It would be nice if they gave you more information about the position Spirit was found in (his back legs splayed out and not able to get traction or the front not able to lift).
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Why is she on Pred? Also, have you tried a Probiotic?
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I really suggest that you do a consult with Dr. Couto - as noted, his information should be in one of the medical threads.
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Photo is amazing - every detail in the ears is shown.
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Is there any drooling or is her head listing to the side?
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10 minutes ago, shannone said:
Phoebe update: We did a lot of thinking and researching and talking to her doctor as well as the rescue we adopted her through and decided we are not going to pursue chemo/radiation. We can't really afford to wipe out all of our savings, especially if it may not cure her. We decided we would do the amputation, however, since she had the cancer plus the CCL injury, her doctor thought she would be much more comfortable if we took it off. We did chest x-rays at the same time, and the doc said they looked clear (for now). She also said the bone was paper thin by the time it was removed, and it crumbled in her hand when she examined it, so I feel good about our decision. We are currently 3 days post amputation, and she is doing okay. She has a LOT of swelling and bruising, and she hates wearing the cone, of course. She has already managed to chew the tip of the drain tube off despite it (greyhound faces are just too long for cones!) The doctor recommended getting chest x-rays every couple of months to track the disease progression, and then just keeping an eye on her behavior at home and as long as she's happy, we'll cherish all of the time we have left with her. From what I've read from others who have been through the rear leg amputation, we may have another 6 months, 8 months, a year or maybe more.
Have you checked on the trials they have available - there may be some that offer chemo/vaccine.
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That isn't good behavior from Mixer. I might suggest no taking Mixer to a dog park as he is looking at the other dogs either as competitors or as prey and it could quickly escalate and a dog could get seriously hurt. Pinning a dog down is also not great behavior.
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It does sound like you are in a stressful situation and trying to make the best of it. Few questions --
Before the surgery, were you able to manipulate his foot and touch the corn? How old is he now? Does he growl and snap everytime you want to take him out or is it more often at night? How long as the growling and snapping been going on? Have they taken x-rays of the leg with corn?
Agression, Growling, Biting when time for walk
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
Try treats to get her off the bed and walking. Get an appointment with the vet and see if they might prescribe something like dog Prozac - there is also Trazadone. In the interim, there is something called rescue remedy that might help a little bit with the anxiousness.