moofie

Throp was such a good boy & so tolerant during the examination today, he had paper stuck in his eyes to measure the tear production, the end of a pair of scissors jabbed into various points on his head to check sensation, bopped all over with a reflex hammer, limbs manipulated & a plastic board put under a paw then pulled away to see how his mobility is affected. He did show some reduction on his left side limbs & i assume vet already took into account the old injury to right fore as we discussed it. Its the Trigerminal nerve branch to the jaw as noted & also branch to the nose that are currently being pressed on So the outcome is he has a tumour, pressing against the brain stem & there's nothing to be done . On the upside that type (schwannoma i think he said) tends to be slow growing, its likely been there a while before the muscle loss was a noticeable level and although can't give us any timescale for the inevitable deterioration, Throp may hopefully have some months . Spot the tumour & can also see the muscle reduction compared to right side Some dogs can apparently end up dying of other illnesses/old age despite the sunken head look due to slow tumour growth, however Throp's is already remodelling the skull & brain structures around it so that's unlikely. It's also a relief to know its not a tumour believed to be painful when in the brain & most dogs just get the pins & needles sensations, Greysmom He didn't mention any medication to help but its not currently at a level which is distressing him, shall bear that in mind to ask in future. The neurologist vet was lovely & very clear explaining it all (he's also a vet school lecturer),he did prep us pre-scan that a tumour was likely and i found myself very leaky eyed while waiting to sort insurance stuff out after. A couple then came in also clearly upset (turned out were PTSing the dog) which had me struggling not to full out blub in the waiting room. A kind lady seeing i was upset, chatted to me which helped, her own dog had a secondary tumour form post op that had paralysed its rear end & probably only had weeks left, but bless her taking time to make me feel better.

I've always muzzled new dogs while out on walks till i've gauged their reactions, something recommended by many UK greyhound rescues. As many greyhounds haven't been socialised with other breeds of dogs it can take time for them to adjust and in England most parks/ open spaces your allowed let your dog off lead if you want to walk there its likely that someone's dog will wander over, run past within reach or pop out unexpectedly. Even on the street can find its too narrow to give enough room, bump into on a blind corner, or meet an idiot with a flexi, some greys have grabbed a cat out of a bush (most pet cats free roam). It can be easy to get distracted & its a lot less stressful knowing your grey can't make a mistake and bite someone's pet (even if its owner maybe at fault) and i think that allows you to not pass on tense signals to your likely already unsure grey. Throp & Hector quickly showed they were fine around dogs, Hattie took about 6 months. Do overhear comments usually its parents explaining what that thing is on the dogs nose lazily "its so it can't bite" & yes people aren't always as likely to want to stroke your dog, which is a little sad but i don't really care as you'll always get those with negative reaction for some other reason too. They aren't the only breed to see in a muzzle although the sighthound community seem more supportive of their use and i think it helps the public perception of muzzles to see them more frequently, to reduce stigma & allows people to ask questions. Often public mistake the head halters as a type of muzzle too. Its not a legal requirement to muzzle ex-racers so i don't think it puts off people interested in adopting as they'll likely see some greys muzzled & many not, its worse when what may appear to be a harmless/ friendly dog get bitten as i did on an organised greyhound walk

oddly thought i had replied to my thread, i must've lost post & too fed up to re-type it. Sorry to hear about Danger, though i'm glad to hear that he had a reasonable time thriving before the decline. I would likely make the same decison about scan in your situation. The insurance OK'd the MRI and we called a few referal centres to get quotes on cost, one practice wanted £300/$430 just for the consult , thankfully the one closer to home was more reasonable so we've an appointment to see their Neurologist on Monday. Throp went to our vets on wednesday for his cartrophen injection and has a mouth ulcer on left inner lip, vet thought he'd probably bitten it but ran his bloods just to check organ function which came back normal. The muscle above the eye has also wasted a bit recently, though his eye seems to be functioning ok still. I think Throp gets fed up with the sensations in his head, though is glad to have rubs to make it better. I thought he seemed a bit tired last week, but he perked up at hydro, probably nice to have a warm walk on water treadmill as its been bitterly cold out. Has another Hydro & laser session in the morning and was steaming ahead on our walk today. I'm trying to stay positive but feel bit worried & sad that my baby boy doesn't look the same .

JJGrey I agree about the xrays & possibly consider a referal to a specialist. It maybe that it takes time for the meds to build up to have a beneficial effect rather than immediately but i don't know if thats the case with those. MattB Throp had cartrophen injections, it was an intial course of 4 x weekly then gradually increased intervals from every 2/3 weeks to 7-8 weeks going by how he was getting on. At the time he wasn't on any other medication & he went from being reluctant to go on walks to happily trotting along, his demeanor also altered which was lovely but sad in that what we had assumed was aging was pain related, damn stoic dogs. It doesn't seem to work for all dogs but if suitable is worth trying as fairly affordable (costs us £13 per injection). We initially saw a sports vet that see's a lot of greyhounds rather than our own vet for a lamness examination & he felt he had arthritis in his wrist & issue with shoulder. He's since been going to orthopeadic referal vets & they did xrays/mri & elbow arthroscopy to pinpoint exactly what was going on, turned out had old self healed fracture to humerus & some bony growth to wrist .He's still having the cartrophen, but with the tramadol & PLT he takes its not possible to see what effect it has but hopefully helping the other joints.

It does take time for a new & current dogs to intergrate and settle. I think with every addition we've had a few grumbles and maybe a little jealousy initially, when our bully mutt pup Terry first came to stay my 3 dogs either ignored him or told him off for getting in their face, a few weeks later they started to play with him (they never play that way with each other) and even my old boy who likes his space will have a bit of a bitey face game, usually while laying down. Sam may appreciate having company, i know my dogs do even though it appears like they don't really interact much and certainly don't do snuggling & playing like best buddies. Really we need a photo of this beagle/whippety mix!

Yes expect a brain tumour squishing the nerves would have similar effects. My friends greyhound had a brain tumour, I didn't know her back then but she opted for palliative care after seeing various vets. I would prefer to know what's going on & hopefull insurance will agree to MRI as different condition, but as we don't have funds to pay ourselves it will rely on their decision. Just been looking at what neurology specialist vets there are. I know with Throps leg how quick the bills can mount up, he's gone through £4k already which is the limit (per condition per year) but thanks to timing its renewed luckily.

Thanks, I had a read through sobesmoms thread too. (So i can find it again) http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/315510-facial-nerve-damage/?do=findComment&comment=5878596 Saw the Orthopedic vet tonight (his legs doing better at least) so he had a look & said its the Trigerminal nerve that has 5 strands off main hub so is why only that cheek is effected, the muscle withers away quickly. He said he could of had a blow to head thats damaged the nerve as its just under ear at side of head or maybe a nerve sheath tumour, not one large enough for him to feel but maybe worth doing an MRI to see what's going on. The nerve tumour tends to be benign but spreads both directions so would eventually effect the other nerve strands wherever it is. The head scratching can be due to a pins & needles feeling & that may get worse before it gets better if it is healing. We've another appointment in 2weeks so will wait & see theres any change. Must also call insurance company to make sure they'll pay for an MRI, he had one on his leg in June/July.

Thanks for the suggestion, I looked up the symptoms for Bells Palsy. Throp doesn't seem to have any symptoms at the moment apart from his sort of facial muscle loss on one side. His eye itself looks ok, and he seems to be eating ok with no signs of any drooling.

No idea what the technical terms are, but wondered if anyone has experience of this? i noticed earlier this week that Throp's cheek on his left side of face has sunken so his eye socket looks more protruding (i'll try get a photo when its light). He'd been occassionally rubbing top left side of head on leg or bedding, i checked his ear and skin in that area at the time then realised he looked uneven. We saw the vet Thursday as Hattie was in for her jabs anyway. Vet checked for feeling in muzzle, ear & eye reaction & all seemed to be working, he's eating ok and seems to chew biscuits both sides from what i can tell, but he doesn't have any back teeth now. Vet said it could be a paralysed nerve and idiopathic. They could do biopsy to see whats going on with the muscle but for now just to monitor. Today he saw hydrotherapist for his laser treatment ( usual water treadmill out of action) and she noticed his face before we mentioned it (i assumed she mean't the dirty tongue stained fur on that side ) she did some checking of his muscles in that area. He's seeing the ortho vet later this week for a check up so shall see what his opinion is. Throps currently on tramadol, PLT & cartrophen injections for his dodgy leg & otherwise seems fine in himself.

Was sad to see the title but glad to hear Murray is doing well & that you were able to give this treatment a try. My friends greyhound had a brain tumour & although i didn't know her at the time.

Hattie sometimes has accidents if not available to take her outside straightaway, she has peed on my sofa's too (rather embarrassing taking the cushions to laundrette but good can wash them even if expensive). I'm actually thinking of putting those incontinence bed sheets under the sofa throws now and getting smaller one for floor Currently when I go out I tend to leave a towel on floor as she'll usually choose that , its laminate & easy to mop up but pee tends to run under furniture due to unlevel floor. The 2 boys that are loose never pee in same place & wait to go out so not sure it does encourage others to go indoors once trained. Try another greyhound group maybe they'll view it differently as does seem little narrow minded. Hattie has been checked for UTI & vet suggested with being spayed bitch she may have some bladder control loss which medication may help. Its not a constant issue so could be behavioral but will probably give meds a try to see if it helps.

We aren't quite at that stage as we've only weekends to go to suitable social places, but she also suggested just leaving him in our car cage & tossing treats in as dogs/people pass by and we've found we can do this in a country park as its some distance to the path & most dogs are on lead due to the road. It did seem odd to socialize by avoiding other dogs but trainer explained walking him around others dogs it was simply giving him more practice on the behavior we didn't want & making it hard to correct because he was too wound up to learn, better to do it gradually with fewer but more positive experiences. You can get lightweight greyhound muzzles that allow much better airflow, i have used one over a headcollar for one dog, although you then need something like squeezy cheese in a tube for treats as it makes it much harder to post through the gaps! However if your avoiding doggy places you may not need to worry as much about dogs getting too close. http://www.lurcherlink.org/llink/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47289 I saw another trainer before and he also pointed out similar regarding about our body language, not letting dog walk in front approaching another dog keep behind or to side so your taking the responsibility off dog. Not slowing down & creeping towards oncoming dog or tightening the lead to raise tension in your own dog.

I'm kinda going through same thing with my foster, he kinda deteriorated around other dogs on walks. I think as we often passed some gobby terriers and he'd end up barking /lunging back and then it became any dog he spotted. I believe he wasn't socialized well as a young pup & his lead manners were awful, its improved but he's a strong dog. I now use a headcollar with double ended lead either attached to collar or harness. On collar alone he's a actually fairly uncontrollable if he decides to ignore me. The behaviorist we've seen has told us to avoid all dogs for now (he lives with 3 so has some social life) so we now drive to walk.him on an industrial/business park or a few footpaths in countryside we know to be quiet. We've been working on his "watch me" and now a " look at that" which is currently a household object but will become other dogs or scary folk in hi-viz etc and he will get a finders fee for his dog spotting, look at dog look at us for reward. We've had a session with the behaviouriats dog as a stooge walking past at opposite end of field to practice he was able to get maybe 20ft away but trotting past was too arousing, as is focusing too long on other dog . She suggested going to a place were dogs are on lead and you've some control over the distance & can make a get away U-turn if the dogs are getting too close (I.e dog is uncomfortable & reacting)

Oh well hope joy enjoyed the trip out & cookie. My grey Hattie is also positive type, but the blood bank here accepts both types so she can donate.

Yes its a relief. I expect it would be neater if surgically fixed, still at least its fairly well aligned. Went to East Midlands Referals, Hattie visited a few years ago when she tweaked a disc. Back again on Monday.

Here's the xrays

Like a doggy spray tan Thankfully Throp's settled ok in crate today. I have to go out front door then round back to the garden to avoid the steps & he was bit disappointed that we weren't going for a walk, so think he's not feeling too sore with these meds.

Shall pass the biskies on Macoduck! Here's Baldy-Chops, we stopped off so he could pee & took ages for him to select the right spot. He has some Tramadol, PLT & noraclav to start tomorrow. Wasn't impressed about being crated earlier, but soon zonked out.

Picked up Mr froppychops at 7.30pm he's now sporting a bald leg and is on strict rest just toilet trips for next 2 weeks with restricted exercise till end of july and no jumping, so sofa's are out. He had the works xrays, MRI, arthroscope on elbow and some shock wave therapy. Turns out that Throp has broken his right humerus in past, it has healed relatively well in right place but is thicker than left side. Apparently he has niggles bilaterally in elbows, along with wrist.Back there next Monday for a check up. Today's bill was £1760 ($2750) and I'm praying the insurance doesn't try to wriggle out of paying because of the broken leg

That sounds like a good app, Pru's not had a seizure in a while as far as I know but can imagine its very useful if its fairly frequent.

I did email to ask cost & my vet sent xray copies to us by email but they weren't very good quality so figured by time I got that sorted & heard back from couto I'd have this appointment. They didn't xray as far up as elbow/shoulder area last time, tbh feel like we should've just gone to referal centre to start rather than see our general vet as spent £500 there already & maybe it could've all been done in one go. Just rang to check on him & he's in MRI machine now.

Just had appointment at referal clinic and left Mr Froppychops in for some diagnostics. His right shoulder & elbow doesn't tuck in as much as left so that's also being looked at. So doing xrays, possibly MRI & arthroscopy(sp?). Throp didn't want to stay in the kennel, can't say I blame him with one measly piece of vetbed it wasn't upto greyhound standards of comfort. Got to ring at 2pm to check on him so going to try keep busy till then.

Lovely puppies! This is reassuring my 1yr (today) muttpup is having one of those ribby phases at the moment just as I thought he looked good a few weeks ago, I think he's going to have similar build to a boxer dog. I've found using kongs,trickle feeder like Kong wobbler or just scatter feeding has helped slow down meal times & uses some energy up.

http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews/0454/alpha-worker-maintenance Its not great with lot of wheat & maize, both can be problematic for dogs, so personally would avoid it. That site is helpful with explaining ingredients labels & finding something that will fit your budget. The bag price can be deceiving as feeding quantities can vary greatly, the low quality food our dogs came with was nearly double our current kibble & that all comes out t'other end! My guys have had Skinner's field & trial salmon & rice /duck & rice and Autarky salmon in past and done well on them. Currently on Lukullus from zooplus which they all stole over the other kibble so must taste good I just add a bit of water to moisten, some racing dogs are used to having kibble soaked so its soft. Cod liver oil isn't supposed to be ideal for dogs due to higher vitamin A levels i think, so a fish body oil maybe a better option though he'll get some in the sardines.

Throp will be 10 in September so wear & tear issues are to expected, he didn't race but his gait has always seemed a bit odd head held low and flicks his toes so not as easy to spot when lame as others and looking at photos between him & other greys his paws seem to turn outwards. Thanks for the links very useful! I couldn't even find the pricing on couto's website after but maybe that's as I'm on mobile. Heard back from Vet, his boss thinks not osteosarcoma but would like to see Throp as think maybe an issue further up the leg but they didn't xray that bit , I did tell vet at pre- consult that the Canine sports vet we saw felt there maybe an older shoulder injury causing the lopsidedness he commented on. Decided to get a consult with boss at referal clinic but unfortunately as we can't make 1st so next available slot is 12th, unless they manage to squeeze us in as we rang and asked vet if he could suggest anywhere else we could try as Throps due his Cartrophen in next week or 2 so a treatment plan needs deciding, we could also do with getting an idea of future costs so we can have a boiler that works Froppychops I love you more than hot baths & a warm house!