MaryJane

When he is on the couch, take a leash and take him off the couch. If he is growling, he should not be on the couch. How is he getting your shoe? You might need to pick things up off the floor. I agree that a vet visit is in order to make sure that nothing is wrong. You also should take him for training so that you can have a professional show you how to take things from him.

One of mine also used to groom his chest and shoulders every few days.

Could it be bed bugs?

I love the ingredients in the Beef and Barley -- not too many strange ingredients and only one protein source so it is a little like the "limited ingredient foods" but, it seemed to be too rich for the fosters.

Hopefully Lovie is doing better. It's hard to tell how much Lovie has eaten over the last few days and whether the vomiting is serious. One of the issues that you run into is that a dog starts to get dehydrated with diarrhea and/or vomiting and then minor issues can escalate and become more serious. One rule that I follow is that if a dog has diarrhea I give it about 3 days with a bland diet of rice and hamburger (chicken and noodles works too) before I go to vet. If there is vomiting in addition to the diarrhea then I still do a bland diet but go to the vet in two days. If there is blood in either the vomit or diarrhea, then I go to the vet immediately. If you end up resorting to not feeding the dog so they don't throw up then I think that warrants going to the vet immediately.

I know it's scary but, most dogs come out of a seizure ok just as long as it does not last too long or they don't occur right after another (clustering). As others have suggested, don't put anything in your dog's mouth, it can cause more harm than good. After a seizure a dog can be a bit worn out but, usually don't require any additional sedation just as long as the seizures have stopped. I suggest that you start keeping track of when the seizures have occurred and how long they last and the type. Most neurologists consider treating when a dog is having more than 1 seizure a month but, it depends. It could be that this is the only seizure that your dog has but, is there is another one then it is time to see a neurological vet - don't go to a regular vet as they may not be up on the latest treatments. Neurologists are very familiar with how the drugs interact and most (the one I use is like this) will work with you to handle the seizures at home so you don't have to take them to the ER for regular seizures. The ER would still be necessary for seizures that are not stopping. Hopefully Lindsay will chime in, she helped me quite a bit when I first traveled this road with my Lucy. Good Luck

I am so sorry - she was a beautiful girl.

It sounds like Bernie is still a little off. At this point since it has been going on since Christmas I would bite the bullet and do bloodwork, urinalysis, and an abdominal x-ray (hopefully they do not have to sedate for this). Also, I would check the treats (like the bully sticks and anything else you are giving) and make sure they are not made or originated in China. You really want products assembled and made from animals raised in the US or Canada (Euro zone is OK too). Everyone mentioned the food changes but, what about changes in the house like ...have you had new rugs installed, painting, new furniture, or anything giving off fumes? What about at your parent's house, have they had any work done recently ...

One thing to remember about fish oil is that it has characteristics of aspirin in that it is anti-clotting so.... if your dog is scheduled for surgery (like a dental) it's real important to get him/her off the fish oil for about 5 to 10 days before the event. Most vets don't seem to ask about this. Because of this and because greyhounds sometimes have platelet issues which further complicates the "bleeding issues", I went from giving two capsules a day to 1 a day.

Did they take x-rays of the front and back feet? The reason that I ask is that Betty Joan might have fractured a toe. My Larry fractured his rear outside toe from running in the yard and it swelled to almost three times it's normal size so I would assume you would notice but, if it is one of the middle toes it might not be so obvious. If it is a fractured toe, casts are not usually used because it is a difficult area but, but Joan would have to be on "bed rest".

'BalanceIt" sound familiar - did you by chance go to the nutritionist at Angel -- if so, ask her to give you an OTC supplement list with the recommended dosages rather than using the prepackaged BalanceIt (it will be cheaper). For example, I use the oyster shell calcium and give between 3 to 4 tablets a day and my dogs are also on a regular multi-vitamin (usually one a day) along with 1 fish oil a day. The only thing about the BalanceIt is that there is one formulation for Kidneys that does have less phosphorous, so if that is a concern then you might need to use the prepared rather than the OTC supplements.

I've seen something similar in Lucy twice - the first time was after she ate some tuna fish she got an upset stomach and she was doing the licking and I was at the vet in 30 minutes because she was also gassy (couldn't get comfortable) and in this case, it was likely a precursor to bloat. We got the shot to relieve the nausea and I was able to take her home. The second time was just recently, she got into something in the yard and she started to massively drool (I mean about 1 cup of drool in 20 minutes or so). I thought it was a seizure at first but when I realized something else was going on we hit the ER vet. By the time we got to the vet (about 90 minutes from start) she was already dehydrated enough that she had to stay overnight and get fluids. The vet said that it was likely started from something that caused a "bad taste" in her mouth and she just went into "reaction overdrive".

Good to hear that he is out of it. I've given Lucy vanilla ice cream immediately after her seizures to make sure her sugar stays up and it might be my imagination but, after the last few seizures she seemed to recover a tad more quickly.

Just to add that when I ruptured two disks it took 6 weeks before I was able to walk any distance but, I was only on OTC medicine for the inflammation. I'm not sure if people and dogs are similar ...

It's a beautiful picture of Emma. I'm sorry for your loss.

Hmmm ... I'm wondering if what is going on here was a high "sed rate" result. I could possibly see a doctor or vet referring to a high sedimentation rate result as "sludgy" and it usually is indicative of an inflammation.

You mentioned pulling your hound's ears through your hands .... what I found was that they type of patting/handling that I might do on a dobie or a shephard might be a tad too much for a greyhound as they do not have any padding (fat) on their body. The first time that I scrunched my grey's ears he also let out a yelp and I just learned to tone down my heavy hands and it's been fine ever since. As to medical issues - you might want to bring in a stool sample. When you are at the vet they should check the feet, eyes, ears, teeth (might need a cleaning as the diet on the track tends to leave tarter), heart, legs and so on. They should be able to tell you the general condition. It's good that you are using a greyhound-savy vet so they will know the "quirks" of the breed. As to food, find out what they were feeding and do a gradual switch (1/4 cup and wait a few days to see if diarrhea show up and if not, and then do another 1/4 cup) so it takes about 10 days to complete the switch. Some greyhounds get diarrhea if the switch is done to fast or if you put them on food that is too rich. On the other hand, some people on the board have mentioned that they have done a total switch and that it worked OK (I have always had problems so I would recommend a slow and gradual switch). You didn't mention where you are located, if you are in a cold climate you might need to get a coat for your greyhound if you are going to be taking him for a walk. For quick trips outside, most greys will not need them. If your grey is shivering outside -- might need a coat. Same thing for indoor temperature, if you keep it cold in the house, your greyhound might need pajamas for nighttime .. most don't but some do. You didn't mention whether he has a bed or not, if he has a shoulder injury you might want to throw a few pillows on the bed/comforters so that Enzo can nest (fluff up his bed) and get a more comfortable position for his shoulder. When I got my greyhounds I didn't get any baseline tests until they got to be about 5 years old and then I got things like a urinalysis & blood work and then repeated every few years. Sorry for rambling and covering so many diverse points but, you didn't mention how old Enzo was ...

I second this advice. Need to know what's going on first, IMHO. I third this advice. I would go to a neurologist first who can determine whether an MRI is needed. I would hold off on the chiropractor for a while because you need to determine what is going on first (as noted by one of the posters).

If he is growling when you go and sit next to him on the bed then ... you are going to fast with him. He does not trust you yet and you are getting too close and too soon, you need to give him more time. When he is on his bed, don't go near him - if you want to pat him then call him to you. After some time, you should be able to get closer to him on the bed but, you will need to do it in stages. edited to add ... also, don't spray him with water as that is not going to help him build trust in you.

I agree with the others - the hematocrit runs high on greyhounds and your vet may well not be familiar with the levels found in greyhounds. I highly suggest that you have the blood test results sent to OSU (Ohio State University) - Greyhound project and have them provide some input before you start treatment.

My Larry is very sensitive/allergic to chicken - if he has just a taste he'll get massive diarrhea. He is also sensitive to noodles but, not as much as chicken. I usually feed meat, rice/oatmeal, and veggies. I also give appropriate supplements for calcium and vitamins. Most commercial foods have chicken and if not chicken, then they have chicken fat or "unspecified fat". There are a few limited ingredient foods like the Natural Balance venison and sweet potato that do not have any chicken. There is also Solid Gold Beef & Barley (not limited ingredient though) which has a decent ingredient list but I have found it to be too rich for greyhounds.

My only concern is that whatever caused the swelling may have also scratched the eye and if so, may need ointment to make sure that it doesn't get infected. Most times a vet needs special equipment to see if the eye lens has been scratched but sometimes, you can see a bit of a wave on the eye if you look at it in different angles and that could be an indication of a scratch. By any chance, do you think another dog might have scratched him with a paw?

Same thing happened to Lucy about 2 years ago but, in her case she hit a stone wall in my parent's yard and her leg was cut pretty severely and blood was "spurting" all over the place. On top of it - she's not the nicest dog so she was all in a hussy fit and trying to bite me (and snarling) while I wrapped it up. The location was the same place and it was impossible to keep her from going at it and opening it up again. We eventually had to put "gauze with tape" over the sutures in her leg and it had to be anchored to her leg with tape (what fun). It was <!!!!!> getting it off. It was stuck to her fur -- I eventually worked it off slowly by cutting the fur the tape was attached to but it took a few days. I also used some oil to work the adhesive off. It healed great once we got the gauze to stay on the sutures.

Hopefully the medicines will work and she will be on the mend shortly.

I'm so sorry.