MaryJane

I'm so sorry that Avalanche has moved on and joined his brothers. He was a special boy and he's left many enduring memories.

I'm so sorry. He was a beautiful boy and your tribute was very moving.

My Larry has gotten and eaten full loaves of bread a few times - just let him rest, no exercise and you might want to cut back on his food later today to about 1/3 of what you normally give.

I'm so sorry to hear this news.

I'm so sorry to hear this news but, your boy is a fighter and maybe he can overcome this too. Hope that you hear good news when you talk to them again at 10.

You brought up a good point about the chemo and the focal seizures - you might want to check with the neurologist whether the chemo may have made the seizures worse so that you are now noticing them. It could also be that she has been having them for awhile but, they were not obvious. I know Lucy's neurologist mentioned that toxic substances can trigger the seizures. With Lucy I had been planning to do a MRI before starting seizure medicine but, as it turned out, I decided that the test was not "crucial" at the stage that she was at and that it would be better to wait until we reached a point where it was a "critical need for diagnosis". As a note, Lucy was 4 1/2 years old when the seizures started so she was in the age range when a brain tumor was less likely. We could start her on medicine without the MRI and that's what we ended up doing.

I agree that time is a factor but, do you by chance take your dogs for walks. Walking is an incredible bonding experience and it's when you can all bond as a "pack". If your girl is very shy you might just need to stand someplace outside and get her used to the world and just venture out around the block very slowly. If you are going to be walking, I would seriously suggest getting a halter because shy dogs can sometimes slip out if their collars.

I'm so sorry for your sudden loss.

As a stopgap measure can they get some material and just cover three sides of the crate so that the chinchilla is not always visible to the dog. You didn't mention whether or not they have they tried a leash on the dog and stop her each time she tries to get near the cage. Either the son or the wife might want to try attaching a leash to themselves so the dog has to follow them thru the house.

I've had quite a few fosters that were like this. I would suggest using both a halter and a collar - clip the lead onto the halter and then do a knot at the ring on the collar. This still allows control through the collar but doesn't let the collar slip off. I usually use a 4-foot lead and with this double-clipping it comes down to about 2 feet or so. Make sure when you walk the dog she is right by your side -- no smelling the roses. You don't want to wait for something to happen, you want to be correcting all along the walk to keep her right by your side. Keep the lead with only a little bit of slack -- maybe 4 inches or so. If you do spot something you can try two different things -- walk faster on your walks and if you spot something walk even faster. Momentum will be on your side since you are moving ahead at a good clip it will be difficult for her to pull you off to the side and you will be past the distraction quickly - this is what has worked well for me for most of my fosters that had this trouble. On at least one occasion I used the reverse strategy and I walked very slow and kept the dog right by my side but this was a case when the dog just wanted to be far ahead of me all the time and it forced him to slow down and to pay attention to me. Also, I would suggest that on your walks that you find a quiet spot and do "figure-8s". The turning and changing directions has really worked well getting fosters to focus on what I am doing. You may also find that if your dog sees a cat/squirrel in one location on your walk then when you get close to that location again they will start to get more alert expecting to see something again - you can use this to your advantage and break their concentration as they just start getting alert. You can also do the reverse and do different walks all the time. IMO, I found that taking the same walk and breaking their focus early worked well especially if we didn't see a cat/squirrel at that same place.

You could also try classical music - I walked into an adoption kennel when classical music was playing and I was amazed that all the dogs stayed quiet and how calm and relaxed everyone was.

Well - the vet's take was that if was big enough to call about, they should SEE it to decide what treatments were necessary. I know it was only skin-deep, there was no skin to pull together to possibly stitch, and there was no bandage in the world that would work. So - I decined the $60 visit to have him tell me that. I'm considering asking my adoption rep to send me a general range antibiotic course to have on hand. The group gets them in bulk, becuase their vet knows they know when to administer. Luckily - Diana did not get infected, so it's a moot point in this case. But- if it was available to me, I'd have given her a course as a precaution in this case of such a large open wound. This might not be the popular opinion here but, I have to agree with your vet. It would be completely irresponsible of them to dispense a medication without seeing the pet first. If your hound had a reaction to the medication guess who would be liable? What about pain meds? Sad to say- they need to protect themselves -- maybe because I live in NJ but, here you have to always watch your back. I also feel it would be wrong for your adoption rep to have given you meds. Bottom line- she/he is not a vet and shouldn't be dispensing prescription drugs. I know we are only talking about antibiotics but, one- they are being over used creating "super bugs" and two- only certain antibiotics are appropriate for certain organisms/infections. I agree that you can't run to the vet every time your hound sneezes but, I don't think most pet owners are qualified to make that decision. I agree with this response - meds should not really be dispensed without going to the vet first and making sure that it is the proper one to use. On the original post regarding going to the vet - I think I go to the vet more now then I used to. I realize that many injuries/illnesses are better handled right at the beginning rather than waiting a day or two or a week. But, I trust my vets and the ER hospital here so that is a basis to my decision. I think in my case, this has actually been beneficial so that issues caught early did not turn into major problems. Also, when an illness does turn into an emergency, it's going to be hard to get an appointment at your regular vet ASAP when you have already waited a week and allowed the condition to get to the point that it has.

Yes, IMHO, it usually takes a few times around to get rid of an undesirable behavior - sometimes it's a change in routine that sets them off or a new dog in the house, or even company (could be the holidays are setting something off -- did you put decorations up?). I usually attribute it to a bit of nervousness coming back but, with my fosters they usually got past it.

Some greyhounds are skittish about doors - don't know why but they might be afraid to go through them. What you might want to try is get a leash back on your greyhound a few yards away from the door and then lead the dog through the door with the leash. Usually a few times of this will help them calm their fears and they will start going through the doors themselves without the leash.

She doesn't do anything bad in the crate? He's been good in the little times I've left him this weekend. Except tearing up the egg crate. I've just read some bad things they can do like bending bars and breaking teeth. Scares me. Both of mine are like that. The first and only time Larry was in a crate, I came home to bloody paws, nose and bent wires after that he just wasn't crated anymore - I used baby gates in the kitchen and that worked OK. After a month or two of baby-gating, I let him have the run of the house and he was fine except for his occasional counter-surfing.

Yep that sounds like our Raider If it sounds similar, then having him in a sitting position may not help because you will not be able to keep him from going up. The reason is that you will not be able to keep your hand on the back position, he can slide up - you would only be able to hold at the collar. If he is going up on all fours, then keep him at a stand but keep your hand at the back on the halter. Also, keep your hand there all the time on walks and if company comes to the house rather then when he is about to go up - that way you can keep it from happening altogether. It didn't take long for my foster to learn that he shouldn't go up but, I pretty much keep his halter on all the time (except for sleeping at night) for about a week or two.

Get a halter and hold him down so that all 4 feet are on the ground and he is not able to jump up on people. I had a foster sort of like that except that when he jumped up -- all four feet went up at least two feet off the ground - hilarious to look at but, dangerous if left to continue. I trained him by walking him with a halter and pushing my hand lightly down onto the halter (and his back) to keep him down - didn't take long before he understood that the "jumping jack thing" was not appreciated.

I agree, rice and hamburger is fine and if you use either the 85 or 90% you should just be able to saute it until it is done - don't need to boil it. You might also want to try some oatmeal (5-minute type) as it provides more fiber and can get things firmed up. If the diarrhea goes on 2 to 3 days then it is time for the vet, if the poop starts having blood, or there is vomiting, or your pet stops drinking water then you need to get the vet as ASAP.

I've actually cut back on giving fish oil/omega 3 to my dogs and they just get 1 capsule a day now. Omega 3 has aspirin like properties which my parent's doctor told me about (he is a guru on any medicine). Not too many vets seem to know about this side effect and the potential for bleeding. Add to this the combination of greyhounds and their "wacky" platelets anyway and it could be a recipe for disaster.

The vet did a good job of getting the edges together - hopefully it will heal nicely.

I hope everything turns out OK for Lila. I didn't see anyone else mention it -- have you notified Animal Control? Did the other dog have a rabies shot?

Take it a step at a time .... First find out if the new lump is operable or whether chemo/radiation is an option. The vet might have other recommendations, if so, you probably want to find out before making any decision. I usually try to be positive in the sense that I want to keep my friend alive as long as possible and I try and take it a day at a time and I would pursue all options in that direction. Sometimes there are no options and the decision is made for you .. other times you can tell your friend has had enough or maybe you have had enough and in that case, the decision is also already made. Sometimes, there just isn't enough money to start/continue treatment and in that case, your decision is also already made. You swore to your friend that you wouldn't put him through this again but, if he had the choice, do you think he would want a chance to live or to be put down gracefully? You always have the option to put a dog down but, to have options to keep him alive is a precious one.

You didn't mention whether you have had blood work done - you probably want to get glucose and kidney tests. Sometimes if there is a food allergy it will cause greyhounds to drink more so you might want to transition to another food - maybe a limited ingredient or sensitive stomach and see if that helps any. One other note, if some greyhounds are stressed, they can also drink more water. With some greyhounds I fostered, the first week or so they are drinking & peeing up a storm but as they settled in the drinking slowed down.

I'm so sorry that she has moved on.

What an incredible story ! Glad to see him doing well.