moofie

Froppychops home! I've already re-nicknamed him Fropchops-cyclops which tbf is better than "chicken leg" he got after his shockwave treatment left him with a shaved bald shoulder for a while He was slow to come round from the GA and is still rather unsteady on his paws so were having to support him to walk, stop and his legs sink, he nearly fell over sideways when we picked him up from the vets about 7pm. The eye's oozing a bit and his blood pressure was high so the vets did offer to keep him in overnight but i think he'll be more relaxed & comfier in his own bed (well he'd prefer the sofa ) and he can always go back if it does start bleeding heavily. Given its still all swollen and bloody i didn't think it looked too bad. He didn't want to get out the car once home, kibble 'no not moving', my sandwich 'nope staying here', sausage 'oh yeah give it to mee!' just as well as was starting to wonder how on earth i was going to move him in order to lift him out of the car. Happily snoozing off his scrambled eggs & tramadol No a greyhounds far too regal for that sort of behavior (though my 2 are more stoic greyhounds), it was definitely more of a staffy high pitched screamy sing song probably complaining that she was being held against her will & STARVED, she went for a huge wee once released so that was likely a part of her blues. Pru has quite the vocal repertoire, when she's telling you its dinner or toilet time will come over bark in your face then do an impression of chewbacca chewing a bee. Pru's been fine today and hasn't seem bothered by her stitches or mouth but has a bit of a cough. Its starting to feel like a hospital ward here i did also have a poorly pigeon earlier in the week but sadly he didn't make it.

Throp's result's are back, D-dimer/clotting is fine so he's booked in for his op Thursday. I'd already given him some food when i took him along with Pru to the vets this morning (around his ulcer had gone pinky) but i'm not sure my nerves could cope with 2 dogs going under GA's in the same day. Pru had a wound stitched & dental then whined the place down

i agree and most of the dog foods i pick tend to fall within this range, those with higher protein aimed at pet dogs do tend to have different RDA based on activity level and the feeding quantity can be much lower than usual. It seems common with greyhound rescues in UK to advise to feed under 20% protein, possibly it started to avoid adopters feeding the active racing greyhound foods . I feel its too simplistic to look at protein level alone and not take into account ingredients, digestibility of protein source or quantity consumed. Plus wet food can labelled as 12% protein is often nearer 40% when moisture removed to compare properly. My greyhounds maybe lazing around all day but still need to eat more than my heavier more active mutt does daily to keep weight on.

I'd only feed the field & trial hypoallergenic ones out of the skinners range, we've fed the salmon or duck and rice (doesn't suit mine as well as fish) as there classed as working i.e VAT free = cheaper. I currently feed Autarky salmon as similar to skinners but its cheaper, my favourite dog food so far has been Lukullus dry from zooplus which is rated 4.4/5 and yet £30-35 a bag, its cold pressed so doesn't swell up in water and smells nice even to me,all 4 dogs loved it, output was firm and their coats beautifully soft & shiny but alas had to make some cutbacks.

Feel for you & Zuri Glad that osteo wasn't also in his other leg and the spleen isn't anything horrible

Thanks that's very useful, i'm not sure now if low platelets mean that clotting aid wouldn't work as well or why vet didn't suggest it as a possibility . I nearly dropping him off at vets this morning thinking he may not come back, so was rather relieved that to have the call to go pick him up, just now there's more time i can spend worrying about what to do

I'm not sure if its something that will improve. His count was 183 back in January and it seems normal range for greyhound platelets is 80-200, but it wasn't clotting right when vet did the smear so happy that she'd rather play it safe and do further testing.

Throp's platelet count was low (120 ) so the Op's been cancelled and bloods sent to lab for coagulant test. It sounds like there's nothing they can do if bloods not coagulating, i assumed they'd be a clotting drug or maybe do a blood transfusion to boost platelets but no. Its lucky really we opted to have a blood test done as were told it was our choice. Throp will be please he can have his breakfast now & i saved him some black pudding from the one i had at the woodland cafe this morning

Throp's booked in for his pirate transformation on Wednesday, the vet felt they'd been very little change in the ulcer since his last appointment and was doubtful it would heal. We went on a little walk in the meadow after the vets and he was happy sniffing and trotting along which was just what we needed to see. hi-viz eye at least it didn't run all down his face today

Thanks for the advice & good thoughts, i'm not very patiently waiting for Monday to see what the vet advises but feel better with more knoweldge of the options (especially the more drastic one) & what i may need to ask at the appointment. Doesn't surprise me, dogs do seem to just get on with adjusting & not as held up processing their thoughts as people. Glad your dog & father both eventually did fine one eyed, it must be difficult to manage that kind of change with Alzheimer's too. It did make me smile remembering my Grandma refusing to wear her false teeth or hearing aid in hospital, not great for their carers but there was still enough spark left to be uncooperative. Oops,i bet he wasn't the only one to ask. I think Throp could rock the pirate look not quite a peg leg/hook but has just got a Therapaws carpal wrap for his dodgy front leg. Very kind offer for the collars but would probably cost a fortune to ship to UK

Hope the Opthamologist appointment goes well! We've been a few specialists now with Throp (not an opthamologist yet) and have found they've been able to give more detailed assessments and info than usual vet so has been worth the extra on consult fee, although neither were extortionate fees and can always decide after on any proposed treatments.

Thanks, he is a little trooper & doesn't grumble despite me constantly harassing him with eye drops

Throp's sunken eye has a corneal ulcer and it had been healing ok, but after switching eyedrops recently it turned into a crater very quickly, i'd increased drop frequency but they weren't coating the eye very well. Throp saw the vet last Thursday who was concerned by ulcer depth, we've switched back to isathal drops & Ofloxacin. He's had check ups Saturday & today (unfortunately not same vet as she was busy with an emergency c-section) and while its improved, they'd likely consider some surgery, i think they score or graft to help ulcer heal it but this may not be suitable with Throp given his eyelids no longer meet or possibly eye removal, but are going to see how its progressing at his next appointment before discussing options. At the moment i'm doing his drops at about every 2hrs, but aware that longer term it will be difficult to stick to that kind of frequency especially as it gets warmer i won't be able to take him out with us. I hadn't really planned on any surgery given his terminal brain tumour, but am wondering if just taking the eye out would be better for him with hopefully a shorter period of discomfort, i don't think his vision can be that good out of it now as his 3rd eyelid covers nearly half and now this ulcer. Anyone know what the recovery is like with eye removal? On the brighter side Throp's found the blow up doughnut collar to avoid him scratching is the take everywhere pillow and he's been enjoying the sunshine sat outdoors and having a run round the garden, his back legs get bit more wobbly after but physio tested him out Saturday and his hind paws still right themselves so appears to be temporary.

Glad to hear he's more comfortable now & hope its not a tumour or blown disc. My grey Hattie tweaked a disc near her hips & thankfully a months total rest allowed it to heal but remember it was very hard seeing her in pain so must've been awful when he'd had pain relief & still suffering.

Throp has laser at the hydro/physo therapy centre but i'll have to ask what type it is, sounds like killi's description of that portable companion laser as has size settings .Throp was sore day after when the setting wasn't quite right, he has laser fortnightly now with a massage but previously weekly with water treadmill session. Our ortho vet did recommend 3 x a week short term was most effective, i got the impression physio view maybe different but they can't really go against vet and certainly that frequency would be a PITA with work, things changed so we never tried it. Throp's also had shockwave therapy on humerus (old fracture) area previously at the ortho vets but that requires a quick GA Thankfully pet insurance covers his treatment but its not cheap per session so can see why your considering buying your own machine if for more than 1 patient. We could have the laser done at vets or physio (easier as open more), so have you looked to see if its offered anywhere closer so less additional time/expense. The mag boxes do seem rated on lurcher/greyhound forums but i don't know much about them.

I've the ruffwear webmaster which is similar to the spook harness with extra girth which i feel is very secure & fairly easy to put on (have to lift a leg as clips one side), but in a warmer climate i'd go for majestic collars or One Stop Harness shop on FB as they're just webbing. Much as i like the WWW freedom harness my boy has nearly reversed out of it, thankfully he's not a spook just has low head carriage. You could also use a double ended lead and then its clipped to martingale & harness, i clip a short lead handle onto the mid ring so i don't have to worry about dropping it. I've never had issue with dogs slipping martingales (they wriggle as high prey) but i do adjust to fit each time i put on and make sure its fitted snuggly.

Sorry to hear about Diana, its tough to have more than one thing going wrong. Not sure about cloudyness, but the neurologist did mention although Throp's eye nerve isn't affected to watch out for it getting dry & losing its sheen or having a greeny discharge as the eye is kept in place with muscle behind it so would also sink back further as it withers away, which seems to have started now. Its quite shocking just how quick the muscles disappear

I'll look into the nuggets think they're also sold at our local pet store, be worth trying before sorting out the freezer, i'd probably need to bulk buy to help with costs in the longer term. It was seeing a lurcher with megaesophagus on Battersea's POG Dogs that made me think meatballs may work better for throp than kibble. i'm not sure of the exact process but its at a lower temperature than typical extruded kibble & supposed to help maintain the nutrients better. The Cold pressed is denser so it doesn't look as much in the bowl as the same weight of extruded with larger pieces though the sticks break easily and it doesn't float or swell in water like extruded just dissolves. I was feeding Lukullus by Zooplus It does smell nicer than normal kibble even to me, i bought it originally for the puppy and the others kept trying to steal it, ignoring the opened bag of their own food so switched them all over. They all developed lovely silky soft coats on it but sadly i had to go back to autarky for a while to save money and although the coats are still shiny they don't feel as nice. I used one of the map distance trackers and we've done 1.5-2 miles daily this week and 2.4 miles on one walk which he still didn't want to come home from, a bit of sunshine does the world of good it seems and its lovely to see him so full of beans & happy. Back on the water treadmill later on today now his thigh wound is all healed up so shall see how he gets on, throp always appears to know where he's off to & gets excited.

thanks,Its good to know how it has affected others even if sad, i suppose we all have to go of something or other. my fear is that the eating will become an issue sooner than the mobility, this week I've noticed he gets a lot of flemmy saliva and kibble falls back out the side of his mouth so it takes him longer to eat his meals. I'm going to try the cold pressed kibble that's dense & like a pastel stick shape to see if that's better than the ball shaped kibble he's on currently. Also looking into raw mince that could make into meatballs but that will require getting a freezer to store. Throps been on good form with walking this week, yesterday he must've done at least 1.5miles as decided he still wanted to goto the park after starting out a different direction which was nice. Its hard knowing what treatments to do for his dodgy leg,had intended to do another 4weekly cartrophen course & hydrotherapy lady has said maybe stop treadmill as more rehab & go for massage/laser

Throp's muscle loss seems to have got worse so quickly it was barely noticeable just before the new year, he has an even sadder expression than normal now with his wonky head which doesn't help my leaky eyes. Excuse his mucky chops! cleaning it doesn't seem to help much though. He's not actually miserable though, i took these pics on Sunday after he'd had a catch up with the hounds at the cafe as they finished the organised walk & he was even a choc lab pup. He was a bit fed up of standing around in the cold and feeling tired as had a busy Saturday including a 300mile road trip (he doesn't sleep in the car) to pick up a Doggyride bike trailer i bought on ebay for him. I intend to buy the stroller conversion kit to push it along, I'm hoping if i can get him in the trailer he can go a bit further on walks and for if his legs get a bit doddery we can avoid carrying him back. Its a little low on headroom though Pru has already tested it out at home so may decide its her princess carriage. Terry launched himself in at speed, it moved (right into DBF's shins) and now he's too scared to put more than his head inside it

Thanks, sorry for being so to reply, i seemed to spend a lot of time sleeping, crying & just feeling sad last week. Annoying to be feeling this way whilst Throps still with us, all part of the process i suppose. i think the vet said it was in an inaccessible area to operate. When my friends dog that had some type of brain tumour, the neuro vet did offer to operate,but it was very expensive as would need a team of 3 vets so i think even if that was a possibility, much like the cyberknife treatment (sounds like a Dr Who prop) we wouldn't be able to fund it and I'm not sure if i would want to go that route so perhaps just as well. 45MPHK9 I was so sorry Murray's treatment didn't give the results hoped for & he became so unwell, i was curious if it related to the treatment but it wasn't the time to ask questions.

Welcome! I'm from Nottingham. There's folk with saluki type & other lurchers on Lurcher link forum who let their dogs offlead so maybe they can give some advice . For both greys & lurchers finding a safe place to just train can be a challenge, sighthounds can cover the ground so much faster than most dogs so have to be bit more wary of any hazards that maybe relatively nearby. Heard good things about GRWE so sure they'll help find the right hound for you.

I've stopped Throp's running but he also had a muscle tear in the shoulder and we've spent like £4k+ on vets fee/hydro getting his leg sorted so he can enjoy reasonable walks so seemed daft to reverse any progress made for a run, now he's got a brain tumour so don't really need to try to conserve for the long term. He does seem to enjoy going to hydrotherapy & we've noticed more flexibility since going, we use the treadmill but do wonder if he'd have got more freedom to move in the pool. Perhaps if you can afford it see a doggy physio (seems to be various types) who can give you some exercises to help stretch/warm up & keep any strains in check. I think after a walk is good, less likely to go too mad when a little tired and if you do a fast pace so they trot that helps to warm up the muscles.

Thanks i need them, he's the quietest of the 4 but can't imagine being without my special boy. I want to rewind so i don't have to face losing him He's a happy fellow, is currently blissfully unaware and at least won't dwell on what may have been & get depressed like we humans tend to when ill. Maybe we'll do a froppychops bucket list, Some greytalkers will remember his littermate Hector, who passed away suddenly at 5 & i'd of loved to have had just a bit more quality time as of course you take for granted that you'll have tomorrow together. Even recently i felt sad that i hadn't taken more photo's this year now Throp's head is a bit skelator , though he'll always be cute,

He said due to location they wouldn't be able to operate and radiation/chemo hasn't been found to be effective in treating that type of tumour.