MaryJane

Not to confuse the issue, you may want to discuss with your vet if your dog needs a rabbies booster as he got scratched/bitten by a wild animal which could possibly have rabbies ...

Greyhounds can get "dandruff" when they are nervous. I used to notice this with black dogs and sometime brindles that I took to M&G. If these dogs are relatively new, they might still be nervous - you might want to give them a month or two and see if the problem persists.

You might also want to try the Venison and Sweet Potato by Natural Balance - it's also limited ingredient. I've used that successfully for quite a few of my fosters. Just my experience but, I've found that more than a fair share of the greyhounds that I've fostered (or my own) tend to have sensitivity to chicken and to a lessor extent, noodles. Most seem to do OK on beef, rice, veggies, grits, and oatmeal.

It's a long shot, but sometimes problems with the inner ear will cause dizziness and dogs will react to it by moving their head as if they are trying to get steady - sort of short jerky movements. If they are standing, it can also effect the legs as they will push out their legs in an attempt to get steady and they might start rocking back and forth. Good Luck .. hope you find out what caused it

I would do the blood work first to check the kidney values and if all looks pretty good there then I would do a culture.

What a sweetie! Hope you find out what is causing the infections.

I do a yearly fecal on my dogs.

That's very good information to have -- Thanks for sharing!

Everyone seems to have covered all the typical suggestions so I'd just like to say that it is refreshing that someone as new to greyhounds as you are seem to have done all your homework and know their "quirkiness". It seems that you are handling the dog park situation well and are aware of what is causing the "grumbling" on the couch. I will mention that I have a female that loves other dogs and people but, she will not tolerate being sniffed by other dogs for "more than the appropriate time". Rather than working on correcting her, I've just make sure that other dogs do not "linger". Good Luck

I'm probably wrong but, I think there is a type of relatively minor seizure that has similar symptoms .. the restlessness, wanting to go outside, a little bit of confusion, not being comfortable anywhere, might look like they are searching for something. This happens to one of my greyhounds every few months and he's about 9 years old now.

What about her bloodwork - is that normal? I would repeat the urine once Daisy is hydrated and see if the value drops. It's conceivable that the dehydration is making the urine more concentrated (as you yourself noted) and making the value higher. Was the specimen a "first morning" or a "random catch"? You usually want to get a "first morning".

The problem with protein is that food that contains it usually also contain phosphorous. This is why most doctors will recommend decreasing protein but to counter that with giving a better more usable protein. This can be done by feeding a home-made diet. The nutritional vet that I have used is Dr Remaillard at Angel Memorial in Boston. She has created kidney, cancer, and regular diets for my dogs. She does phone consults although I usually bring my dogs in to see her because she is only 20 minutes away. As a note, she does have a somewhat "terse no nonsense style" and tells it like it is.

Good to hear that you were proactive and took her to vet and she threw up the two socks.

The Northeast has been hit with quite a bit of snow and low temperatures and that could be causing some of your problems. I find that my female is having trouble finding a spot to go outside (even though I shovel pathways for them). Plus when it is cold, she just wants to come back in pretty quickly. I go out with them and make sure that she pees otherwise she has a tendency to come running back in when my boy comes in. Also, a few times when she peed, she goes so low to the ground that she is right in the snow and that could cause a chill and maybe "more frequent urination" so I usually clean her when she comes back in the house. I'm pretty on top of the situation this year because last year she ended up getting an infection right around the time we had the cold spell. I also have her on daily cranberry tablets. As someone suggested, get a culture - they both might have an infection. I also suggest that you go out with them and make sure they are peeing and if the temp is below 20, get a coat on them even if they will only be out for a minute. As a note, I think she got the infection last year because she was cleaning herself due to irritation and she is also a "poo eater". By the time I started cleaning her, it was too late, the infection had already taken hold.

Do a phone consult with Dr Remaillard at Angel Memorial in Boston - she is a nutritionist. She can put together a "kidney diet". I've used her for a few different diets (regular, kidney, cancer) - one of mine is currently on a "limited protein" diet due to kidney issues.

Get him on a diet of rice with hamburger (add some cooked cut up green beans for fiber) and see if that will stabilize him and get the poops better. You should see improvement in 1 to 2 days if it is helping. I would recommend beef and not chicken as the protein because in my experience, I've seen more chicken "sensitivity" than beef in greyhounds. You could also add some cooked oatmeal (two tablespoons or so) to the food because that has fiber. If that diet works, after about a week or two add in about 1/2 cup kibble twice a day using a limited ingredient diet (like Natural Balance venison and sweet potato). If it is not agreeing with the dog you will see it within 1 to 2 days. If the poop stays OK over 3 to 4 days, increase the kibble to about 3/4 cup twice a day and see if the poop is still OK. I've found that the "1 cup" amount of kibble is usually what set off my fosters to get runny poop again if they are going to get it. Good Luck

Get some rugs for the floor and see if it fixes the problem. Get the rugs (non-skid backing) at Home Depot, keep the tags on and return them if it doesn't fix the problem. Some dogs develop a fear of the floors after they have slipped on them and it might not show up for months or years.

Is there any chance of not crating the dog and instead using an x-pen? You might want to see if this makes it any easier to grab the collar, get a leash on, and get the dog out the door.

Prayers that everything turns out OK for Gracie

Hopefully she'll do well over the next few weeks. As a note, you may need to be careful adding both salmon oil and flaxseed oil because they have "aspirin-type" effects in that they increase bleeding time. You might want to check with the vet to find proper dosages (or maybe someone on the forum knows).

What has worked wonders for my own dogs and for ones I foster is to give them oatmeal (mixed with grits to keep the phosphorous down because I also have a greyhound with kidney issues). I use the 5 minute type and for fosters I give them a 1/2 cup or so in the morning. My own dogs get about 1 to 1 1/2 cups each morning with milk (and meat chunks with vitamins). I also give them apple peel. Both the oatmeal and apple peels are loaded with fiber which does help to "move things along".

Prayers for Callie ..

Switch to a home-cooked diet where you can control the amount of protein/phosphorous better. I have used Dr Remaillard at Angel memorial in Boston for cancer, kidney, and regular diets and she does phone consults. Good Luck

If you using the "lite" science diet it contains more fiber than many other kibbles. If this is the food that you are feeding, you can just add fiber to the food ... something like cooked oatmeal or cooked veggies (like green beans).

My only suggestion is that if you are going to prepare raw food for someone else to give make sure that it does not contain bones. Kennels/pet sitters may not be aware of possible choking issues and might not realize that the dog should be watched while being fed. Kennel workers might just put the food down and leave to do other duties. Also, don't expect that a kennel would feed your dog at the time being requested (written on the bag) or fed twice a day. Unfortunately, at some kennels you can't even be sure that your dog will be fed what you brought in. Someone suggested that you start looking for kennel/pet sitter now and I think that is a good idea. You want to take a look at the kennel and see how they store food that you would bring in and how a kennel worker would know that a dog is on "special diet". Years ago when I worked at a vet hospital that did boarding, we had a chart by a dog's cage and all the dog's information about his stay along with diet (if special where it was located, refrigerator or pantry) and medical conditions were easily accessible. You also want to talk to the kennel workers and get an idea whether they seem dedicated and if the kennel is kept clean.