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Hawthorn

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Posts posted by Hawthorn

    Ankle Injury

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Good greyhound vets are few and far between and I think people often have to travel long distances to see them - I've always had to travel 2-3 hours each way myself but it was always worth it. The closest one I know of to your area is this one: http://www.gilmoorvets.com/staff.html. The practice principal there, Frances Allen, is a track vet and greyhound owner according to her write up on the staff page of their website. I can't recommend them personally, though, as I've never consulted them. Other than that, you could contact your nearest branch of the RGT to see if they can recommend someone, or even contact the RGT Head Office to see if they can help.

    Mystery Illness

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I don't know either, but have autoimmune diseases been considered as these can involve fever and lack of appetite? She is on so many medications that you have to wonder if this might be contributing to her issues. Metronidazole, for example, very seriously affected my boy's appetite. I just looked up Ursidiol, too, and that also lists nausea as a possible side effect.

     

    Sending good wishes. :candle

    Ankle Injury

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    On the two occasions I've dealt with tendon injuries there has been a little swelling or nobbliness around the tendon. Not a huge amount but I could definitely feel it. You could always get a second opinion from a greyhound vet if you have one within travelling distance. On three occasions now (including the one I mentioned above) I've had injuries diagnosed by a greyhound vet that my regular vet hadn't been able to diagnose. The other thing that occurs to me is that maybe it would help to put a support bandage on when you take him for walks, just to provide a little support if he does leap around. I can see how it would be difficult to get a lively youngster to walk sedately so you have my sympathy!

    :gh_bow

    Ankle Injury

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Tendons can take ages to heal. One of mine had a partially ruptured tendon behind his wrist and a very experienced greyhound vet advised me to lead walk him for six months + give a daily gentle massage of the area. I did this and the tendon did heal up fine with no further problems. Not easy with a pup though!

    Ava Isn't Eating / X-Rays And Blood Test Were Inconclusive / Help?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    As she hasn't been eating properly she is likely becoming deficient in vitamins and minerals. B12 and iron deficiencies, for example, can cause breathlessness. This happened to my boy when he lost his appetite due to drugs he was given whilst hospitalised. I don't know whether this is the cause of your girl's breathlessness, but it wouldn't hurt to give her a multi-nutrient supplement such as Nutri-Plus gel until she gets her appetite back. It was a godsend for us when our boy wasn't eating well as it's very easy to administer by just putting a strip of the gel in their mouth.

    Recall Training Help

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    Are you using really super duper high value treats when you're away from home: freshly cooked chicken, steak, sausages, liver etc? Something that makes him whine because he wants it so much. I think this is absolutely key. In the early days of training mine, I used to cook up something tasty right before leaving home to get the dogs really interested. And when he does come to you be generous with the treats every single time; you've got to pay him enough to make it worth his while.

     

    Secondly, when you're in an open area and you've recalled him and he's coming towards you at full speed, have you tried running away from him and/or waving your arms in the air and/or jumping up and down on the spot and/or screeching at the top of your voice and/or throwing a toy around and/or squatting down and making excited noises as if you've found something really interesting on the ground and/or pretended to fall down and lie flat on the ground? Anything, really, to keep his attention on you and make YOU more interesting than anything else going on. The only thing I never did, which I sometimes see advised, is to hide from them, as I didn't want to panic them.

     

    I never used a long (or short) line on mine or any form of coercion at any time during training. To my mind, this would defeat the object of making recall the most exciting, fun, enjoyable thing in the world.

    Where Should He Sleep? Growling

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    IMHO growling in this situation isn't always about aggression or space-guarding. Sometimes it's just an anxious, insecure dog saying "I don't trust you yet and I don't feel comfortable with what you're doing". I'm curious as to whether the couple of times he growled it was just a little grumble or if it looked and sounded as if he really meant business. Obviously the OP will and should do what she feels safest with, and I wouldn't want anyone to get bitten, but it's easy to get carried away and call it aggression when in fact it's nothing of the sort. Just my :2c.

    Where Should He Sleep? Growling

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    My Sophie is the sweetest soul you could possibly imagine and I've had the pleasure of her company for 7 years now. She sometimes sleeps on my bed and to this day if I move in the night she'll give a little grumble. It doesn't bother me in the slightest and I either ignore it or just tell her not to be silly (in a nice voice, not a stern one) and then we all go back to sleep. Actually it makes me laugh because it's totally out of character for her as she is so not a grumpy dog, but I figure she's entitled to her little foible. I also know her well enough to know that she has no intention of taking my face off. All four of the greyhounds I've had have done this in the early days but usually they stop once they realise there's nothing to be worried about ie once they trust you. That said, if you don't feel comfortable with your greyhound on the bed there's nothing wrong with having him sleep on the floor next to your bed, as long as he has a nice soft warm nest. If you want to get him off your bed, use a tasty treat rather than physical force.

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