MaryJane

One other thing that is important to note and this concerns the paper that was referenced - is that there is a newer vaccine that has a better rate of preventing infections and it's not sure whether the paper is talking about the older vaccine or the newer one. And, after reading that article and hearing again what Lyme disease can do to a dog, I'm glad I have been getting the vaccines. There are some really good books out there that provide much more detail on Lyme and also explore the reality that many people have had to go on antibiotics for months to be able to get rid of this. Someone asked why you have to be immunized over and over again -- the vaccine gets your dog's body ready to fight the disease by getting cells that are able to mount an effective first defense against it. These cells have a limited life span and eventually the body stops over-producing them because the disease has not shown up to be "fought against". So near the end of the effective time of the vaccine (if there has not been exposure), there are likely less of the fighter cells being produced. This is also a reason that I vaccinate my dogs slighter earlier that the 1 year. Another note that might be important to some is that they are working on a Lyme titer test so that your dog would not have to be immunized until the titer falls lower than a certain level but, my understanding is that the test is still a year or two away.

I'm planning on giving it this year and my dogs have it the past two years with no problems so far. I live in Mass and some of my property is very wooded with a stream (that deer also visit) and because of that ... many ticks in one part of the yard and wouldn't you know it -- that's where the dogs love to go and sniff. From talking to my vet, they are seeing huge increases in Lyme cases over the past few years. One of my reasons for getting the vaccine was that I'm not a big fan of flea/tick control repellants and one of my dogs has seizures which is making me less of a fan of them. Even if you use repellants, they still allow the tick to bite and be on the dog for about 24 hours or so allowing possible transmission of Lyme. Lyme can be very difficult to diagnose and can fall through the cracks unless you know what you are looking for and dogs can't tell you all their symptoms. My philosophy now is that I'd rather try and prevent Lyme rather than try and treat it later.

The bland diet of meat and rice will help to soothe the tummy and adding more fiber like the cooked oatmeal will help firm up the poop. If that doesn't help you can try adding some probiotics to the food. Good luck..

Others have mentioned fish oil and as another suggestion, try adding cooked oatmeal to his food. When I added oatmeal to my dogs food they both got "very furry" especially one who had bare spots on his chest and his butt - they filled right in. The other one had base sides and tummy and he developed a very thick coat. Also helps keep them regular because of the fiber ....

I'm so sorry about the diagnosis - it's one that I have heard twice before . I could be wrong, but something sounds off - usually amputation is done with chemo and would give a longer possibility then just pain management - was that mentioned at all?

Last year was a tough year for Larry who had a toe fracture, puncture through his foot, and what appears to have been a knee injury. In December, after all of that was resolved, I noticed that his muscles over the back legs had atrophied and one more than the other. While one side might have been from the lack of exercise from the knee injury, this just didn't make sense and looked like it might be the start of LS. He did go about 6 months without regular walks because of all his foot/leg issues. I went to one neurologist and he did a series of physical tests and it didn't look like LS - his diagnosis was atrophy due to old age (Larry is 10 years old) and said that if Larry had any more issues, to bring him in for an MRI and some type of electrical test. I went to a second neurologist and she also concurred that it was not LS but, atrophy due to old age. Both said that they needed to examine him at at time that he was having symptoms and depending on the physical tests, further tests might be needed. They did find one weaker point in the back but, not at an area that would cause the muscle atrophy. One did mention that it might have been a "sciata" and that it just resolved itself .... Neither really suggested any additional care at this point but, I am checking on acupuncturists and chiropractors in the area.

She looks great! Glad to hear that she is home.

Don't use the fireplace then. Use the regular heating system and see if that makes a difference. Maybe next year you'll be able use up the free wood.

Maybe approach this from a different angle - can you cover up the fireplace and put furniture in front of it so she doesn't see it or can't get near it? Also, you might want to get the chimney cleaned - it could be that there are animals (birds, squirrels, mice) in there that have nested and your dogs are hearing them. At the same time, check whether the anxious behavior starts when the furnace turns on/off. Also, have you furnace checked - could be some vibration that only she is hearing that is setting her off.

I'm just curious, did you keep Bumper on the Amicar for the full 5 days? That bruising on Bumper is pretty severe and it reminds me how my angel Onyx's chest looked like after his leg amputation. His amputation was almost 10 years ago and back then, no knowledge of amicar. I would not expect something this severe from a slip in the snow but, I guess anything is possible. I suspect (but cannot offer any proof) that some of this has to do with a greyhound's funny platelets and the subsequent weird bleeding that can occur. Another thought is if the amicar was stopped before this showed up then, the amicar may have been holding clots together which now dissolve because of no more amicar and you could have subsequent bleeding from injuries that occurred as early as a few days ago (time of surgery). In effect, you could have had some injuries during surgery but no bruising because the amicar was helping with the clotting and then once you take away the amicar, those clots start dissolving and you have blood seepage. Sort of far out theory but, possible.

I'm so sorry.

No one mentioned (at least that I saw) that a flexi-lead teaches a dog to pull against the leash which is not usually what you want a well-trained dog to do. As others suggested, it's safer to just use a longer leash or two leashes together. Another thing about leashes, since they have some weight to them, dogs do sense that they have the attachment on them whereas with a flexi-lead - they are taught to move against the tension which eventually leads to them not distinguishing that they are on a restraint anymore. When I walk my dogs and if they see something, they might go into prey mode but, they usually don't fight the leash and pull to the maximum because I taught them to have a "loose lead". If I see this occurring, I can tighten up on the lead so they don't have as much traction to pull me down just in case they bolt. With a flexi-lead, they are out at the maximum because it automatically lets out and retracts so you are not able to easily pull your dog back.

I just wanted to add .. don't lose sight that you have a diagnosis of what is wrong and while the treatment was right, it just may not have been enough and that's why it didn't resolve the first time. It does look like there is light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck today.

IMO, I'd be very hesitant to treat with thyroid medicine until I got a second opinion especially since the dog does not seem hypothyroid. My knowledge of thyroid conditions is that the weight loss and diarrhea could be associated with hyperthyroid, not with hypothyroid. The lizard/fish parasite would be a definite possibility but, I would assume if it is a parasite it could be diagnosed by seeing the eggs in the feces (under microscope of course). edited to add - got this from the veterinarypartner.com website Measurement of T4 The T4 level (also called the total T4 level) is included in many routine screening blood panels. It would seem that a low T4 would indicate hypothyroidism and a normal T4 would indicate normal thyroid function. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. Dogs on certain drugs (most notably seizure medications phenobarbital and potassium bromide; prednisone or other corticosteroids; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs; a heart medication called propranolol; a behavior medication called clomipramine; or sulfa class antibiotics) or with illnesses other than thyroid disease often have depressed T4 secretion. These dogs will have low T4’s but are not hypothyroid. This means a normal T4 indicates normal thyroid function but a low T4 may or may not indicate hypothyroidism. There is also a grey zone where T4 results are considered not definitively normal and not definitively abnormal. In short, T4 alone is not adequate to make a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. It should be noted that the sighthounds normally have much lower T4 levels than other breeds. In Greyhounds, for example, the T4 levels typically run about 50% of what other breeds do. Interestingly, their T3 levels have the same normal range as other breeds.

Do they know about using amicar with greyhounds when there is a risk of bleeding? edited to add ... Ignore -- I just checked back to see where you are and it looks like OSU.

I've fostered quite a few greyhounds and this was pretty common. Some are just shy and some just don't know what is expected yet. I suggest hooking two leashes together (so you have about 12ft) and turning around so you are not facing him "when he does it". Make sure that you do have a firm grip on the lead because if he startles or sees something, he would have a good amount of momentum to pull you over. As you said, it only takes one time doing it outside with much praise to get them on the right track.

Find out what type of lizard they think he ingested - some are toxic. You didn't mention whether a urinalysis was done - if not, you should get one done. You might also want to repeat the blood work - especially the liver ones as they might be increased in the case of a toxic reaction. As someone suggested, ultrasound. I would probably not increase his intake of fat because that could cause other problems but, have you given him more food in general since he's started to loose weight? How are his stools now - does he have diarrhea? Is he drinking water?

is he bleeding a lot - if so check with your vet whether you need to get amicar

yogurt with cheerios - when my angel Onyx had chemo this was one of the few things he would eat

I don't feed raw but, I worked in a hospital lab and at a vets years ago and ... it is never normal to poop blood. If there is blood in the poop or a dog vomits blood then that dog should be taken to the E-vet. edited to add -- find out if there is diarrhea, if the blood is all through the poop or just on the outside, and what were the ingredients of the raw diet - was it bone

You might know that a food is not going to work as early as a few hours after they have had it. If there is no problem with doing the 1/4 cup twice a day then the next point that I usually see problems is when it gets to 1 cup twice a day. A dog's digestive tract is faster so if they make it about 24 to 36 hours without a problem then I would usually increase the food slightly by 1/4 cup increments. If you are not sure it is the food then go back to the old food and let the digestive system rest for a few days and try again.

Have you called the major vet schools -- one of them might be doing treatment research studies on this particular disease.

Talk to you vet about having a consult with Ohio State University - they have the Greyhound Health & Wellness program. They might be able to provide some more suggestions. edited to add .. he link to the consult form is: https://greyhound.osu.edu/consultationservice/consultation/index.cfm

Good luck on the dental and hope the cleaning out of the pad is all that will be needed for Bumper.

I'm so sorry.