vjgrey
-
Posts
1,427 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Store
Articles
Posts posted by vjgrey
-
-
She LOOOOOVES the massage...she went right to sleep!
:beatheart You and Pinky are so lucky to have each other. -
Yep. That's totally Diamond.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something here, but she:
- Tore a dew claw off by slipping down into a random hole on a walk
- Tore a dew claw off by stepping between stairs (stairs have since been fixed so that can't happen)
- Tore most of the pad of her foot off while running in my parents' fenced acre
- Took a tumble while running in the same yard. She was basically fine but VERY bruised. Looked just awful.
- Tore a ligament in her foot/toe while playing with Cash in our back yard
- Somehow pulled a muscle in her neck. Not sure how, but that was an expensive one involving x-rays and specialists
-
At least she tore it all the way off. Diamond has torn hers partially off twice - both after hours or on weekends. I'm way too squeamish to deal with them myself, so both times I carted her off to the evet.
-
Pinky's being a picky eater
This morning she refused kibble, cookies, canned food, cottage cheese, ground beef, her mix of macaroni, beef, and egg, hardboiled eggs, and egg nog.
She drools when I bring the peanut butter with her meds on it though
I'm worried we're headed downhill
Maybe she'd eat something smelly? Canned chicken? Tuna in water? I know there's also yeast supplement that has worked great for a few ill/picky pups. Nutritional yeast, I think? Tastes like cheese, apparently.
-
For those of you who have made the decision to put your dog down rather than surgery - how did you know that was the right choice? We talked to our primary vet for Kyle today she was only 50/50 on doing the surgery and really I felt like that was just to ease what she was saying to us. Kyle's 11 (although so is Jenny and she just had surgery). Not sure how to make this decision and not question it.
When our 10 1/2 year-old was diagnosed last year, I immediately knew that he wasn't a candidate for amputation. Mainly because he'd had a wobbly hind end for several years, and I didn't think he could support his weight. My DH was initially all for the surgery, and I had to talk him out of it. Which made me feel absolutely awful, but I knew my dog, and I knew amputation wasn't right for him.
Two days later, he was diagnosed with a second primary tumor in one of his back legs.
We managed his pain for four wonderful months with a good mix of meds (including gabapentin, which made a huge difference), pamidronate and radiation treatments.
FedEx, another GT hound, made it close to two years (I think?) with just palliative care.
Thanks Greyaholic! Our vet is saying pain management is likely not an option since he has been in some serious pain for a couple days and hasn't been able to stand up on his own or walk down stairs/ramp.
What meds have you tried?
Are you seeing a general practice vet or an oncologist? I ask because I know our general practice vet who diagnosed Gabe SERIOUSLY, seriously underestimated the pain meds needed. She sent us home with rimadyl. And that's all. Oy.
We saw the oncologist two days later, and he immediately got him started on tramadol, gabapentin and deramaxx...I feel like I'm forgetting another one. It made a world of difference. And the radiation treatments were also a miracle worker for Gabe. He was in the same position - could not stand on his own or walk at all. He was up and walking almost normally immediately after the treatment.
-
For those of you who have made the decision to put your dog down rather than surgery - how did you know that was the right choice? We talked to our primary vet for Kyle today she was only 50/50 on doing the surgery and really I felt like that was just to ease what she was saying to us. Kyle's 11 (although so is Jenny and she just had surgery). Not sure how to make this decision and not question it.
When our 10 1/2 year-old was diagnosed last year, I immediately knew that he wasn't a candidate for amputation. Mainly because he'd had a wobbly hind end for several years, and I didn't think he could support his weight. My DH was initially all for the surgery, and I had to talk him out of it. Which made me feel absolutely awful, but I knew my dog, and I knew amputation wasn't right for him.
Two days later, he was diagnosed with a second primary tumor in one of his back legs.
We managed his pain for four wonderful months with a good mix of meds (including gabapentin, which made a huge difference), pamidronate and radiation treatments.
FedEx, another GT hound, made it close to two years (I think?) with just palliative care.
-
I'm so sorry.
-
You can definitely boil the chicken. When it's done it'll shred into little pieces with just a fork. You can also pick up a dehydrator pretty cheaply. Pound the chicken (or whatever meat) flat, leave them to dry overnight. It's like doggie crack.
-
I was shocked to see his name here. Way, way too young. I'm so sorry.
-
We sleep with 85lb, 60lb and 50lb hounds, all in a queen sized bed, but I'd never risk it with a hound with space/sleep aggression.
The key to getting him to sleep elsewhere is consistency, although a lot of hounds don't like to sleep in a separate room. Can you put his bed in your room and somehow block access to your bed? A baby gate spread from the wall to the foot of your bed? An x pen? Maybe someone in your group has one you can borrow. If not, they're fairly cheap on eBay ($50ish?) and come in handy for a lot of things.
-
It has been made clear that I now need to figure out what sort of way I need to slice chicken in order to wrap it around banana slices and dehydrate...
Pound it flat with a meat cleaver? Once you do that, it's easy to cut strips. That's what I do before dehydrating. My hounds have never insisted that I wrap it around bananas, but I can't see why that wouldn't work.
-
There's no difference between "greyhound" rabies shots and other rabies shots, but I did find that the city (for licensing) and our groomer wouldn't accept the vaccination paperwork from the kennel. Poor Cash had to get the rabies vaccine again, even though he was current, because it's the only way we could get the vet certificate.
-
I'm so sorry, Judy. Such a gorgeous boy.
-
I'm so, so sorry, Robin.
-
Have you discussed with your vet about adding gabapentin for pain relief? There have been many of those with osteo that have been helped by adding it along with Rimadyl and Tramadol.
I was also going to suggest this. It made a huge difference for Gabe.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know how much Elsie means to you.
-
Cash and I did go to Mount Vernon today - one of Gabe's (and my) very favorite places. Cash wore a collar we bought in a fundraiser for Giles Express. It was calm and quiet - few tourists this time of day/year - and the weather was just perfect. It was such a happy, peaceful way to remember my sweet boy and to think about all of the hounds lost and the hounds still fighting. I'm really glad we went.
A lazy fall day there with Gabe, a little over a year before he was diagnosed - he LOVED to nap and people watch while I read a book.
Cash, this afternoon, in our "Giles collar." Just feet from where my avatar pic with Gabe was taken.
The mid-day Pinky report from my mom was good
Just when she has me thinking she's had enough, she bounces back. She ate her mid-day meal and her eggs and was resting and drifting off to sleep when Mom called to give me the report 
Yay for eating and for a good report! She's such a tough girl.
-
Pinky had a tough time this morning...I fear we don't have much time left
Lots of hugs for you and your brave girl. -
It was a year ago today that I discovered the lump on Gabe's leg. I discovered it around 10pm and immediately knew it was Osteo. I didn't sleep at all that night, and in the morning, my eyes were swollen shut from crying. A year ago tomorrow he was officially diagnosed.
I still can't talk about him without crying.
Valerie, not the 'anniversary' any of us want. Your boy Gabe was stunning from the few photos I saw of him. I hope Charlie and him met up and are having a ball chasing each other.
I DO need to post more pictures of him. I'll try to get that together tomorrow. I'm also planning to take Cash for a car ride and a long walk (would take the girls, too, but Diamond is injured and has SA without Lucy). It seems like a fitting way to spend tomorrow afternoon. I know Gabe would fully approve.
-
It was a year ago today that I discovered the lump on Gabe's leg. I discovered it around 10pm and immediately knew it was Osteo. I didn't sleep at all that night, and in the morning, my eyes were swollen shut from crying. A year ago tomorrow he was officially diagnosed.
I still can't talk about him without crying.
-
She just has the sweetest face EVER. Always makes me melt.
-
I do muzzle my dogs
I'm sure you know your dogs and the dogs they interact with, but just as a note for the original poster - it's generally a really bad idea to muzzle your hound in a situation like this, where the other dogs aren't muzzled. If your dog was attacked, he'd have no way to defend himself.
On the other hand, it's also really dangerous to have greyhounds in a dog park where other owners bring in small dogs. Even the most laid-back hound may chase a tiny, fuzzy, running dog, and they can seriously hurt it even without intending to. That's meant a death sentence for greyhounds in the past.
These are just a few of the (many) reasons that I wouldn't take my hounds to a dog park unless it was totally empty.
-
What a relief! Glad she's feeling better.
-
She's an egg hound!
When mom failed to present the eggs within an acceptable time frame today, Pinky went to the kitchen looking for them
She knows the word "eggs" too!Cash is, too! He knows the sound of them being peeled and will come running from any part of the house. They're like houndie crack.
Happy (early) ampiversary, sweet girl!
-
Tons of good thoughts for you and Tatum.
:beatheart You and Pinky are so lucky to have each other.
Just when she has me thinking she's had enough, she bounces back. She ate her mid-day meal and her eggs and was resting and drifting off to sleep when Mom called to give me the report 
What a relief! Glad she's feeling better.
She knows the word "eggs" too!
Osteo Thread V
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
I'm so sorry, Kristin. She was such a special girl, and you both fought so hard.