MaryJane

The only problem with upping the dosage is that fish oil acts a little like aspirin and will increase bleeding times in both people and dogs. You might want to check with a nutritional vet and see what they say. Note, I give my dogs two fish oils a day but, if they are scheduled for any type of surgery/teeth cleaning then I stop the pills 10 days to 2 weeks before the procedure.

The ear infections could be a by-product of allergies and if they were severe enough, I suppose they could cause the behavioral issues. You might want to try a dog food like natural balance limited ingredient - I suggest the venison and sweet potato one. I have used this successfully for foster greyhounds that have had "digestive issues/allergies". I strongly suggest that you do not feed chicken at all or any by-product of chicken. I have seen chicken cause more than it's share of allergies in greyhounds. You could also make a home-diet and stick to veggies, meat, and rice for a few weeks and see if things get better. Note, you need to consult with a vet to get the proper amount of supplements like calcium and vitamins. Good luck

What about adult washable diapers (plastic outside with cotton inside) and cut a hole for the tail? They might be able to absorb more of the urine so less would end up on the skin. They also sell some "barrier" creams for people that help to keep the urine from irritating the skin. Seventh generation makes one for newborns ... don't know if it's ok to use on dogs though ...

This is the first year that both my greyhounds had the Lyme vaccine - neither had any reaction to it. I do live in Mass which is considered a high-risk area. I really thought out the pros and cons before giving it and one of the major factor in deciding to go with it is that Lyme can be such a debilitating disease if not caught early enough and treated. I felt that I could very easily "miss the symptoms" of Lyme unless I found a tick on one of my dogs and was "watching" for the symptoms. Also, my vet said the vaccine had been improved over the last few years. I have not regretted my decision even though I have read quite a few pros and cons on the greytalk forums.

I also suggest doing a consult with Dr Remaillard for a kidney diet. I have used her countless times for home-made kidney diets, cancer diets and regular diets and I cannot praise her enough. She will do consults over the phone. I also would reconsider taking any medication to "stop the urine". Usually I would think that you want to make sure that the kidneys keep on functioning and they need "liquids" to do that. But, I'm not a doctor so, at the least get a second opinion on courses of treatment. As a note, a previous greyhound of mine had an "acute" kidney issue (source unknown?) and protein was leaking into the urine and his creatinne was high. A few months on the kidney diet and the issues were resolved and he went to a regular diet. One of my current greyhounds runs a high creatinne and a low specific gravity and his condition is controlled with a kidney diet. In his case, I increased his protein intake (phosphorous) to a normal level a few times and it ended up causing problems and so .. he has stayed on a kidney diet. He gets updated bloodwork every 8 to 12 months to ensure that there are no changes.

I had a few fosters with diarrhea issues due to chicken sensitivity and after researching tons of dog foods, the few reasonable priced ones that did not have chicken in them were the Authority Lamb and Rice, Natural balance Venison and sweet potato, and the Solid gold beef and barley. The Beef and barley turned out to be too rich for most and the Authority Lamb and Rice worked well while the dogs were transitioning UNTIL I was giving more than 1 cup and then the diarrhea issues would crop up again. It was a shame because it was so reasonably priced. As it turned out, the Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potato seems to be the one that most of my "sensitive" fosters have done well on. As you mentioned, the ingredients in Authority seem to be pretty good in relation to others and the price is hard to beat.

If I had a choice I would not take my dog to a doggy daycare. My reasons .. - The greyhound's skin is so thin that any damage that happens is likely to happen to the greyhound and not the other dog. - Most employees at a doggie daycare are going to be kids working at minimum wage (or slightly better) and are likely to be more interested in talking to their fellow workers than carefully watching the dogs for signs of trouble - It only takes a second for issues to arise and if there are a bunch (10, 12 ...) of "big dogs" the employees armed with "spritz water bottles" are not going to be able to control the dogs I guess I'm a little jaded but, I cringe at the thought of the "vet bills" from a play date gone bad.... editd to add .. and what about if very serious damage is done and the vet cannot fix it (pit bulls go for the neck)

So sorry about your home invasion - glad that the intruder "ran away"... As to chemo, one of my previous greyhounds had amp and chemo and if I had to do over again, I would do the same thing as long as the dog would tolerate both. The chemo effects usually lasted about a day or two (as someone earlier stated) and I would have to have my dog's chemo food "cheerios and yogurt" because other foods just didn't interest him and near the end of the chemo, even the cheerios and yogurt was not working as well. You might have to experiment with different things to find what will work with your dog. Depending on the chemo, they have to give massive amounts of fluids via IV and one problem I faced is that my dog would have to pee every 20 minutes or so and this went almost all night. He had a real tough time getting comfortable the night after the chemo. Note, that I haven't heard of this bad of a reaction from other dogs. You may want to check with the vet doing the chemo and see if you can bring in some blankets because there are issues with the "hazardous substances in the chemo drugs" and thus any blankets might have to be discarded as harzardous waste. I didn't realize that they were not providing something to lie on for my dog until I saw that his hair on the good leg was getting scrapped off .... and it was too late into the treatment to fix this. Note that my concern was for my dog standing so long with 3 legs and getting tired and not with loosing the hair which eventually grew back. Good luck with whichever path you decide to follow.

I would probably say that it might be allergies .... One of my previous greys had the same issue of no hair on the throat, chest, and butt and it would get worse at certain times of the year BUT, once I changed his diet, he grew hair and he kept it thru all the seasons. He also had soft stools. It turns out that he was sensitive to chicken and noodles and once he was on a diet of beef, rice, and veggies the soft stools and the hair issue was resolved.

This happened to one of my Norweigan Elkhounds - she had a cyst on her back for a few years which the vet didn't think was a big deal and then one day it started to look red and enlarged, a few days later it broke open on the surface and left a hole about an inch wide - she needed surgery to remove the rest of the cyst inside and to stitch it closed. Since that happened, I usually try and remove "cysts" or small benign growths if my dogs have to go under anesthesia for any reason (like teeth cleaning).

You said Brisket .. is it salty? If so you may want to soak for a day or two to get most of the salt out. But, just as a note, I would never give my dogs "processed meat" like Brisket.

You mentioned getting "up from the floor" and I may be taking this too literally but, is she on a flat dog bed (which will give her some traction as she gets up) or lying on the floor (which will be too slippery to get traction)? Are there enough non-skid rugs around that she feels "safe" to make her way to the door?

You mention that the next step would be to "culture the urine" .... I would think that this would already have been done the first time with the UTI otherwise, how do you know what organism is causing the trouble and what it is sensitive to. I can understand the cost issue .. in the Boston area each urinalysis and culture w/sensivity would probably be running about 150 or so and you are going to need this at least two times ... once at the beginning (for identification and proper antibiotic) and after the course of treatment (to make sure that issue has been resolved). In some cases, you may need this three or more times if the UTI is not getting resolved. As to the ultrasound, if you haven't had a culture w/sensitivity then I would do that before getting the ultrasound. If I misread your post and you have already had a culture & sensitivity then I would proceed to do an ultrasound and to also get bloodwork to rule out any underlying kidney problems. I would also want to rule out diabetes (just in case).

Wishing for a speedy recovery! There are a few threads on suggestions for making your house "3-legged dog safe". Some suggestions ... 1. skid-proof rugs, make sure the floor is covered and especially the cormers 2. ramp over the back stairs to a yard otherwise, your hound might be tempted to jump. Note that many doctors seem to be too optimistic (in my opinion) about greyhounds being able to do stairs right away 3. check to make sure that your hound will not get his feet caught up in the bedding - I found that flat bedding worked the best while my dog adjusted 4 bring a sling/towel to the hospital just in case you need it to help your greyhound get into the car.

Check with Greyhound Rescue of NE in Mendon - they board greyhounds.

Have you tried Angel Memorial -- they cover most of the specialties. You will likely have to be seen by one of their regular vets to get a referral to the specialist. I have used them on numerous occasions and have been satisfied although I have not used them for GI issues. Someone already mentioned Tufts .... I have also heard about a place in Rhode island that is supposed to be fairly big and cover a fair amount of specialties -- think the name is "Ocean State" os something similar. Good Luck with your search.

Hugs for your boy ....

As others have noted, symptoms can vary. Best course is to get a "sterile" urine sample to the vet. It's best if you can get a "first morning specimen which is more concentrated.

When I started to include oatmeal in my dog's "home-made diet" my fawn at the time grew hair on his butt and chest and the white cowdog grew it on the sides of his chest. I also recommended the oatmeal to a fellow greyhound owner that also had a white cowdog and after a few months the change in that dog was also very apparent. Note, the oatmeal works best when there might be some "allergies involved" in the hair loss.

Have you tried adding some fiber to the diet like oatmeal or veggies? Antibiotics "upset" the normal bacteria that is in the gut so you probably need to add some yogurt or probiotics to the diet. In the interim, have you moved to a "bland diet" (hamburger/chicken and rice) to ease the digestion? Bland diets sometimes also help the diarrhea .... good luck

From what I remember, chemo "kills" new cell formation and "new white blood cells" would also be among those killed. But, after a few days, the bone marrow should start being able to reproduce those cells again and eventually get it up to the previous level (or close to it). That's why chemo is usually delayed for a week or so if it is very low from the last treatment.

So glad to hear that he is home and you're getting past the complications.

I just wanted to mention that joejoesma did a "great summation" on the amputation outlook.

I love that you are so "informed" about your choice that you have been able to counter with plausible arguments to objections and do it in a friendly manner .... I've been a vegetarian for years and within the past year moved to a vegan diet. But, I've never had the time to fully investigate moving my dogs to a vegetarian diet so I would be very interested in research that you have done for any diets that you formulate and the results (if you care to share).

My osteo greyhound did well on the Metacam.