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vjgrey

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Everything posted by vjgrey

  1. We may try this, but I kind of suspect it won't work for her. She likes to wander the yard and pee on one side and poop on the other. On walks, she's a marker and spreads her pees out for the whole walk. I suspect that if it's small enough that she can't run, it's going to be too small for her to be willing to go in. It may be worth a shot, though. [Possibly relevant? She's not a retired racer. She's a schooling drop-out who came to me from a farm when she was just over a year old. I'm pretty sure she was living outdoors there and just going where ever/whenever, so she's not used to a designated turn-out pen like the racers. She also wasn't used to leash walks when she came home, but that was five years ago, and she's since had LOTS].
  2. On Thursday, Lucy jumped up on our fence after a squirrel and got a big, ugly gash along the back of her leg. It required an e-vet visit and several stitches. The vet told us to restrict her activity, but after trying (and failing) multiple times to get her to do her business on leash, we (stupidly) caved and decided we could let her go in the back yard, closely supervised. Of course, "closely supervised," means nothing when a greyhound sees a squirrel, and yesterday afternoon she saw one and tore across the yard after it before we could react. She not only ripped all of her stitches out, but she also tore a wider gash. Four hours at the e-vet, a minor surgery and several hundred dollars later, she has even MORE stitches and is on HIGHLY restricted activity for 2-3 weeks. NO unleashed activity, NO actual walks - just short trips to the yard to (please, for the love of #$#@#!) pee and poop. The problem is, she's still absolutely refusing to go. We've tried hooking three leashes together to try to give her some privacy - nope. We've also tried leash walking her in the back yard, circling around the spots where she always goes - nope. In the last day and a half, she's gone...one full pee and a short "marking" pee, and that's it. She usually pees 5-6 times a day and poops once or twice. She will (usually) pee and poop on command in the back yard, but on leash, she just ignores us. She's VERY independent and stubborn. She's not at all food motivated or a people-pleaser, so big parties or treats when she does go won't work. Any tips? Anyone else faced this with an extremely stubborn dog? We have 2-3 more weeks of this ahead of us, and I'm going to Lose. My. Mind.
  3. Tons of positive thoughts for Stewie and your family. Hopefully he's just played too hard and pulled or strained something.
  4. So glad to hear that the surgery went well. Hope you can get some rest before he comes home.
  5. What a beautiful boy. I'm so sorry. He's so lucky to have found his real home with you.
  6. I don't consider it a "problem" so much as an adorable quirk. Both Lucy and my bridge angel Gabe did it for a few weeks, just until they were fully relaxed and settled in. Cash still does it, but really only with socks. Sometimes he'll carry off other clothes, but he is OBSESSED with socks.
  7. Information is important, but hope is important, too- while you're reading up, you should search the board for pics and videos of Charlie, Twiggy and Pinky - all of them are proof that hounds can still live active, happy, playful lives as tripods.
  8. I'm so sorry. It's not silly to say he's the center of your world. My hounds are the center of mine, too. You've done the right thing in contacting OSU - they're the experts. As far as "What do I need to know right now," I think it's to make sure your vet has Amicar on hand, since greyhounds are prone to bleeding during amputation. I haven't been though amputation (my Osteo dog wasn't a candidate) but I believe you're supposed to start giving it before surgery. I'm sure someone here will chime in with the details. The main Osteo thread is also a great resource with the key information in the first post.
  9. First, I'm so sorry to hear about Gunner's diagnosis. It's been over a year since I lost my Gabe, and I still feel that overwhelmed, punched in the gut feeling when I think about the day we found out. Second, I totally agree with Kyle - it's extremely important that both you and Gunner feel comfortable with his vet. If you live in an area with access to a Veterinary Oncologist and can afford one, I'd highly, highly recommend getting a referral. Ours was worth his weight in gold, and if I'd had to work three jobs to afford him, I would have. I also found it interesting that the clinic itself had a totally different atmosphere - my Gabe was so vet phobic he'd try to climb into my lap, but he was never scared at the oncology clinic. Not sure if that's universal, but I got the impression that they took a different approach with very ill dogs. If you stay with a general practice vet, you'll want to be very on top of advocating for/insisting on the full range of pain meds. A lot of vets who don't specialize in cancer are either unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with the heavy doses and number of meds needed to control Osteo pain.
  10. Ah - yeah, our vet doesn't typically put detailed notes on the receipt. Sometimes things like that are offered on a separate page, but usually not.
  11. I'll definitely hold onto my copies all of their x-rays, any reports, special instructions from Lucy's cardiologist, rabies certificates, licensing papers, etc... But is there any reason an e-vet would need to see my receipts? These are just the lists of services and prices (e.g. Physical annual exam - $XX.XX"). I can't think of how that would come up, unless they needed to see what meds they were prescribed, or..? I just can't imagine why I'd need them, but I'm so paranoid that I WILL need them that I've kept them for years.
  12. I know I often sound like a broken record with this, but if you haven't tried radiation therapy and can afford it, you should consider it. There were multiple times when I thought we were losing the fight with Gabe only to have radiation buy us more good weeks or good months (I think about six weeks was the longest we went between treatments). For at least two of those visits, he had to be carried into the clinic, and both times he walked out on his own with little to no limp. I understand that it doesn't work for every hound - I know it didn't work for FedEx. But if you're reaching the end of your options with the meds, it might be worth a try.
  13. I recently bought a great new printer/scanner and have been digitizing a lot of our home files to reduce paper clutter. I have a big file of itemized vet receipts that I've held onto for all four of my hounds, but I can't decide whether they need to be scanned or just discarded. Thinking about it, I don't remember ever referring back to them, except maybe to check the vaccination due date reminders at the bottom. Do you keep these? Is there a "just in case," reason I should keep and scan them?
  14. I'm so, so sorry. Some things are just out of our hands.
  15. My three all do sit, lay and "foot," (shake). The "foot" comes in handy when I need to towel off their wet feet, but I don't think any of it is necessary - just fun.
  16. No one was suggesting that you're a "nimwit" or that you had no experience with dogs. The issue with sighthounds is that they can go after and kill another dog without displaying an ounce of "aggression." I have a hound like that. Not a mean bone in his body, but he would chase down and kill a small dog in seconds because he has a strong prey drive. There have also been cases where a dog lives with and is fine with a small dog or a house cat, but when let outdoors, where the animal runs, it triggers that "chase and grab," and they wind up killing it. It's not aggression. It's instinct.
  17. Taking a "greyhound with a high prey drive," to a dog park isn't working with differences. It's asking for trouble, however "careful," you are while you're there.
  18. Your posts have made it increasingly clear to me that you don't understand the differences and unique characteristics of sighthounds. The idea that you think you can stop a greyhound from killing another dog (or, for that matter, from being killed by another dog) in a dog park by being "vigilant," is a perfect example. However, I do think this thread has pretty much run its course.
  19. That these are all in-bred traits that should be taken into account when you own a dog of that breed, rather than dismissing them as "It's a dog- not rocket science."
  20. Most dogs aren't capable of reaching 45 miles per hour in three strides.
  21. I'm so sorry Havoc had to leave you too soon.
  22. That's exactly the point - it's not always "common sense," in that what works perfectly fine for a lot of breeds does not work for sighthounds.
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