Hawthorn

I'm so sorry you had to say goodbye to your handsome Jake.

I'm so sorry to read this. Rest in peace, Morty, loved and remembered always.

My sympathy to all who love Peach. Hope Johnny B doesn't miss his friend too much.

The updated WSAVA summary guidelines (2013) say: "The WSAVA states that we should vaccinate against the core diseases no more frequently than every three years. This is often taken to mean that we should vaccinate every three years – but this is not the case. If the dog is already immune to these three core diseases, re-vaccinating will not add any extra immunity." And "The WSAVA supports the use of titre testing. This is where a small sample of blood is taken from the dog and checked for the presence of circulating antibodies. The presence of circulating antibodies indicates that the dog is immune, and revaccination (with core vaccines) is not required. You may decide to titre test before giving the 12 month booster, as this may show that boosting is unnecessary. New in-practice titre-testing kits are now available which will allow your veterinarian to do a titre test very quickly, without sending the blood sample to a laboratory." And "It is important to give as few vaccines as possible, whilst also ensuring that dogs are protected from life-threatening viral and bacterial diseases. The WSAVA seeks to reduce the number of vaccines given as there is always a risk of adverse reactions with any vaccination. The risk of adverse reaction is considered small and the WSAVA asserts that the benefit of protecting your pet from life-threatening infections far outweighs the risk of adverse reaction – although any reaction to a vaccine that is not needed is unacceptable. The WSAVA has listed the types of reactions in its vaccine guidelines (which you can see on the link given above). They range from mild (such as fever, loss of appetite), through to severe (such as epilepsy, arthritis, autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, and allergic reactions). The most severe adverse effects can be life-threatening." This is the link to the full document: http://www.wsava.org/sites/default/files/New%20Puppy%20Owner%20Vaccination%20Guidelines%20Updated%20July%2029%202013.pdf It's a complex subject for sure, and there's plenty of information available to intelligent owners who want to educate themselves. This will of course include listening to their own vet's opinion, but I hope that no-one will allow themselves to be dissuaded from doing titers if they have done their homework and believe that this is best for their dog.

Excerpt from: http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/33393350071/vaccines-titer-testing-animals Are there downsides to titering? There is no downside to titering your pet. However, be aware that some veterinarians may be resistant to performing titer tests in lieu of vaccination. These veterinarians are misinformed and incorrectly believe that measuring an animal’s serum antibody titers is not a valid method of determining his immunity to infectious diseases, or that this testing is too costly. With all due respect to these professionals, this represents a misunderstanding of what has been called the “fallacy of titer testing,” because research has shown that once an animal’s titer stabilizes, it is likely to remain constant for many years. Properly immunized animals have sterilizing immunity (immunity that prevents further infection even when an animal is exposed) that not only prevents clinical disease but also prevents infection, and only the presence of antibody can prevent infection. As stated by the eminent expert Ronald Schultz, DVM of the University of Wisconsin in discussing the value of vaccine titer testing, “You should avoid vaccinating animals that are already protected, and titer testing can determine if adequate, effective immunity is present. It is often said that the antibody level detected is ‘only a snapshot in time.’ That’s simply not true; it is more a ‘motion picture that plays for years.’” Furthermore, protection as indicated by a positive titer result is not likely to suddenly drop off unless an animal develops a severe medical condition or has significant immune dysfunction. It’s important to understand that viral vaccines prompt an immune response that lasts much longer than the immune response elicited by contracting the actual virus. Lack of distinction between the two kinds of responses may be why some practitioners think titers can suddenly disappear.

I told my vets when I registered with them that I didn't do annual vaccinations and that I would be titering instead, so there was never any discussion about it. Personally I think it's outrageous that a vet would try to talk anyone out of it - on what grounds I wonder? Vaccines are not harmless and no dog should be having one unless it's absolutely necessary IMO. There's now a VacciCheck blood test kit that vets can stock to do the titer test inexpensively in-house, though mine were always sent away to a lab. This link shows the vets in Canada who stock VacciCheck, but there are only two, and they are both in the same place so not sure how helpful it is: http://www.petwelfarealliance.org/vaccicheck-vets.html

Is it just in the one spot that he's sensitive?

I remember that incident too and what made it even worse was that the vet tried to avoid responsibility by saying the greyhound tried to bite her and that's why she dropped the lead. I must admit I have a very hard time trusting anyone with my dogs, even so-called professionals. Sounds like Morticia was traumatised by the house-cleaner coming in and needs time to recover from that, which means no more strangers for a while. When I worked full time I always came home at lunchtime to feed and walk my dog and spend some time with him. I personally would never leave a dog for more than 4-5 hours without the opportunity for a toilet break, some company and some food.

I am very sorry to read this; she was much too young. Rest in peace, Ivory.

It's omega 3 that you want, so maybe flax oil?

Hard to tell from the pictures, and I think each case is slightly different anyway. When my boy started to develop SLO (but before I realised what was going on) his nails started to look very bashed up. I remember commenting on it to my husband when I was doing his nails on several occasions, but we didn't think too much of it and just assumed he was bashing up his nails because he's a clumsy boy. The other early sign I remember is that his nails changed shape and started to grow very thick at the cutting end, and some became a bit crumbly whilst other became harder. IIRC these changes appeared several months (possibly as much as a year) before he actually started to lose nails. Probably wouldn't hurt to give Chance fish oil caps if you don't already and also biotin, which is a B vitamin said to strengthen skin and nails, or you could give a B complex supplement which has some biotin in.

Also, Prozac doesn't suit everyone - anxiety and nervousness are actually listed as two of the possible side effects. I know he was anxious before he was on the Prozac, but it's possible the Prozac could actually make him worse, or at least not help. I was once prescribed it briefly for insomnia (didn't work at all!) and it made me feel very anxious and jittery.

I'm so sorry you had to say goodbye to your sweet girl.

And/or you could just feed her a very low-fat, moderate protein diet for a while and see if she improves.

The signs of chronic pancreatitis can be very subtle. "In some cases, signs may be as subtle and nonspecific as a dog not wanting to play normally, being a picky eater, or skipping a meal from time to time........Chronic pancreatitis is often subclinical and may be more common than is generally realized ......." (http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjpancreatitis.html) With my Sophie, the first sign is that she will sniff her breakfast and walk away or she might eat half her breakfast and then walk away.

Morty is lucky you love him so much.

So sorry you had to say goodbye to your sweet boy - what a wonderful friend he was.

I wonder if she has a mild, chronic pancreatitis. Does she ever show any signs of being uncomfortable after eating, even just not being able to settle, or stretching?

You may need to add some calcium as there is very little in beef. Not sure how much is in the paste you're giving her, but I doubt it's enough. As a guide, she probably needs at least 800mg per day.

Honey is basically sugar, with all the same negative health effects. A very small amount may not hurt, but it's not something I would give as treat myself except perhaps as a lick of a spoon now and then.

Thought-provoking video interview between Dr Karen Becker and Dr Bittel, holistic vet and specialist in hospice care for animals: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/01/18/animal-hospice-care.aspx?e_cid=20150118Z2_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20150118Z2&et_cid=DM65428&et_rid=810669892 I'm really not sure if this topic might be considered a little controversial to some minds, but I found the interview very interesting, and there is so much information on Dr Bittel's website: http://www.spiritsintransition.org/index.html that might be of benefit to anyone whose pet is nearing the end of its life, that I decided on balance to post it.

I cured a similar corn in one of mine by filing it down with a foot file that I got from Boots and putting a drop of tea tree oil on it every day followed by a drop of vitamin E oil. Corn went away after a few weeks and never came back. Tea tree oil is toxic if ingested though so you'd need to cover with a sock.

My boy's partially ruptured tendon healed up completely with no treatment other than 6 months of no running and a gentle hand massage once a day. My boy was only very slightly lame on the affected leg (so slight that no-one but me could see it!) but he did have a lumpy area on the tendon that was easy to feel and see. I never wrapped my boy, but if you do feel the need to support it I should think vetwrap would work just as well as anything else. for an uneventful healing.

I love the BIG boys too. My first three greyhounds were big boys and I was really lucky with them being cat-friendly. With the first one I insisted on seeing him with a cat before I agreed to adopt him, as he came straight from the racing kennel. The next two hadn't been cat-tested at all but had in one case zero interest in the cat ie didn't even look at him, and in the other case was interested but only in a friendly way and they soon became very good friends. My fourth wasn't cat tested either but showed only a friendly curiosity towards the cat and quickly learned to leave him alone. Having one that has been fostered with cats is a much less stressful way to do it and takes a lot of the worry out of it. One thing to bear in mind, though, is that if your cat hasn't lived with a dog before she may not be too happy about it, even if the greyhound is friendly towards her. My cat had lived with a small dog (poodle) before but when I brought my first grey home his eyes nearly popped out of his head and he hid in my spare room for three days! I could almost hear him thinking "What the he** is that!" but he soon came around. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your new family member too.

Welcome to GT! I had to wait ten years to adopt my first grey, due to my circumstances, but it was so worth it. It's great that you've done so much homework but you're right when you say that no amount of book knowledge can fully prepare you for having a real, live greyhound in your home with his own individual quirks. Even though I'd met loads of greyhounds before I adopted, when I actually got my first one home I remember thinking "Good grief, he's BIG, what on earth have I done" . That didn't last long, though, and now greyhounds seem normal size and most other dogs seem way too small.