MaryJane

Two of my angel greyhounds would "groom themselves" but they would never do it until it was raw. But, one greyhound would suddenly get attached to licking the woodwork where one of his beds were and to stop that I would cover it up with a pillow so it was not as accessible. In my dog's case it was apparently because of boredom because once I started getting him more tired (getting him out more) it stopped. When I first got one of my current greyhounds, he had a small growth/spot on his leg that he would constantly lick at .. so much that I decided to have a biopsy/removal done to make sure that it was not malignant. After the biopsy/removal he never touched it again. It could also have been that he was "new" to my household and was still nervous (he was a two-time bounce) and he just needed time to settle in. In your case, I suspect that you dog is still nervous and it's coming out as an "obsessive behavior" which will likely stop given enough time to settle in. In the interim, may I suggest that you tire her out more so that she doesn't have time to lick. If she is doing it when you are not home you might want to consider using a "kong" (treat filled rubber device) to keep her occupied.

Could be an acute/chronic kidney issue that is causing protein to spill into the urine - the vet will likely suggest a food with %protein less than 20% (approx). With a specific gravity of 1.015, you want to repeat the urinalysis again and make sure that you get a "first morning specimen". They will likely need to do a culture on the urine to see if there is a UTI and if there is - it may or may not be sensitive to what he is currently on for antibiotics. With an abscess like that I would worry whether there is some type of septicemia (blood infection) going on. If so, hopefully the antibiotics will address it. Good Luck

Update - OSU responded very quickly - within 48 hours of sending the xray - and they agree that it is a fractured toe!

I'm not a big fan of "increased protein" unless the dog is an active racer, in competition or a police, search, or drug dog. I am a big fan of a well balanced diet of carbohydrates, veggies and protein.

Not sure, but, some dog walking services may do shots ... You do want to make sure that you get a referral (os a backup plan) because the last thing you need is someone calling you while you are in Chicago saying that they can't do the shot.

Vet. Needs an exam and blood work also urinalysis (maybe x-ray/ultrasound).

Greyhounds are taught to run. They are in their boxes, the gates open and they run as fast as they can. People are usually yelling in the background and they are taught to ignore that (hence recall does not work in stressful times). As others have said, recall is never 100% anyway and the earlier training that your greyhound has received will "kick" in at some point and they will take off and keep on running and "not be able to find their way home" - as they are sighthounds not "smell". They will IGNORE any noises (like you calling them) and just keep on going. It might take them seeing an animal, a car backfire, but greyhounds revert to "running" and "ignoring" all else. IMHO, trusting that your dog will come back when called is betraying your responsibility to keep them as safe as possible at all times. I am truly sorry that your first postings on this forum are going to be raising such a storm. Please be aware that we are not attacking you, we are all just concerned about the possibility of your letting your dog run loose and the results. Many of us have been involved in Amber alerts which ended both positively and negatively and none of use would want to see others in that situation which is mostly preventable.

Thanks for sharing this, every day that you have after an osteosarcoma diagnosis is special and 365 days is "extra, extra special".

You might need to worry about the scratches getting infected so put ointment on them - if they are deep you might need to see a vet to get antibiotics. As someone mentioned, I don't think rabies is an issue - but, you might want to check online or call the vet.

I'm so sorry that you have had so many difficulties in the situation that you are in - it's not easy but, it seems that it has been made so much tougher in your case because of dealing with people that were rough and not caring - let Karma take care of them and you take care of your Minny. I hope you can now focus on what you feel is most important ...

Just wanted to add that you also want to make sure that the vet notes that you are giving fish oil in his/her records because it has "aspirin-type" properties in that it hinders clotting so the vet should know that in any type of emergency/medicine situation. Also, if your dog is ever due for any type of surgery - you want to stop the fish oil 10-14 days before the procedure. Some vets will let you know this and others won't .... so make sure that you are on top of it.

I get the regular over-the-counter ones at the drugstore and I give it twice a day. I suggest starting off with just 1 pill a day because it might cause some runs in the beginning. Make sure that it is just fish oil and nothing else added in like some other vitamin or mineral.

Could be an inner ear problem - think it's called vestibular syndrome - causes dizziness

You might want to make sure that she doesn't have a UTI - that can make them go more often and it's also harder for them to hold it in.

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

It's funny, I just got back from there a few minutes ago because it looks like Larry has a fractured toe - it's pretty swollen. They were able to get me in today which was awesome but, doesn't happen often .. usually have to wait a few days.

It looks like Larry fractured his toe on Tuesday doing "zoomies" around the yard. His toe is pretty swollen and his x-rays look like it might be a fracture. But, being a greyhound .. I'd like to send the x-rays to OSU for a radiologic consult to make sure that is truely what we are dealing with - can anyone point me to a previous thread that has all the information listed to get a consult?

The previous posts already provided very good answers - the only thing I am going to mention is that you probably need to be realistic in whether you are going to be able to work with Stan to resolve the issues while you are also getting a little girl who will also likely need an adjustment period (Congratulations on the sibling). Both of these will be quite a bit on your plate, not impossible .. just quite a bit. The growling can be a warning that a bite is coming if the issue causing the growling is not resolved quickly enough. But, to your credit -- it seems that you have been right on top of that and are able to spot potential issues very quickly and as a result have handled all the situations well. As to your question about how worried you should be -- you are very aware of his space/men/possession issues so you are more likely to be careful when doing "certain things". Contrast that with a very friendly dog (not necessarily a greyhound) that never growls and suddenly bites a child. When you have dogs, you have bites and having a dog that growls does not necessarily mean that he will bite and having a dog that never growls does not necessarily mean that he will never bite.

I am so sorry you are going through so much now - prayers for all

If this is going to be a family reunion, you may want to reconsider and take the crate (or portable pen). That way you take your pup and put him in your bedroom in the crate and that way you don't have to worry about someone mistakenly letting him out without being leashed and will give you some free time from not watching him every second. I assume the adoption group told you that greyhounds always need to be either leashed or in a fenced in yard -- you may want to make sure that all the family is aware to keep the dog inside. Good Luck

Currently, I'm using Dr Mason at Dedham Vet - she's been great with my greys and my dogs have gotten good care there. I've also used Angel frequently for emergencies but, I don't have the names of the vets that I have used there. You may also want to call your adoption group and see which vet they use.

Greyhounds can be sensitive dogs and coming to a "new and different" place could be causing just enough stress to give diarrhea. Have you tries a bland diet -- rice and cooked hamburg (or meat chunks/chicken) and if so, does the diarrhea still continue?

IMHO, if he can move now then he might even be better tomorrow (or maybe worse). It doesn't sound like he is in pain but is likely confused .. so maybe you can take a few more days and see what the tests show and what progress he makes over that time.

Maybe before you get the carpet think about gioing back to square 1 and make sure that he knows how to go down the stairs right. The only reason that I say this is you mentioned that this has happened a few time in 4 months and while I'm sure it is made worse by the slippery stairs, you need to make sure he is not trying to "jump the stairs".

Fish oil words great but, as mentioned above - start off slow. You might also want to brush as that can sometimes help to distribute the oils that are naturally on the skin. As a note, when greyhounds are nervous they will also get a "dandruff attack". I've noticed this when I've done M&G with fosters.