vjgrey

So happy he's home - he looks pretty pleased with the arrangement, too! I wish I were closer. I'm one of those weirdos who LOVES to clean, and I'd gladly trade a few hours for the opportunity to rub that Desi belly.

Whipped cream in a can almost always worked with Gabe. We'd squirt out just a little and balance the pill on the top, then we'd squirt it into his mouth. He was so busy licking whipped cream that he didn't notice the pills.

Gorgeous girl. I'm so sorry.

We're lucky enough to have an extra room we can use as a "hound room," so that's where my three are fed. Raised stands are in three corners of the room, and everyone knows where their spot is. They'll take bully sticks and treats to a bed or the living room rug, and we don't have any issues. I'd probably worry more about separating them with a super high-value treat like a marrow bone, but we haven't given those out in a while. We secure them with baby gates - either at the kitchen door, which gives them access to my office and our bedroom, or in their hound room, if we're having work done on this side of the house.

I hope you had this confirmed via x-rays. I think if my vet said my dog's limp was "in his head to get attention," I'd be looking for a new vet. Did he have an explanation for the hard mass you found on his leg?

Tons of positive thoughts for you and House.

Me, too. Not to scare you, but it's best to rule out the scary stuff. Gabe's limp was intermittent, even when his tumor was visible.

I don't know. The possibility of choking to death with the D ring tightening as they struggle to get free seems pretty horrible to me.

The thick knotted rope toys have been great for my greyhound-who-thinks-he's-a-lab. The chewing is actually good for his teeth and does virtually no damage to the toy. He can (and does) also toss them around like a stuffy if he wants to. We get ours at Petedge.com.

I'm so sorry she had to leave you too soon.

I'm so sorry. I get angry every time that stupid disease steals another one of our babies.

We're a military family, so my dogs have gone through multiple moves. The most recent one (three years ago) was cross- country. They've always just picked right up where they left off in the new house. As long as they have their beds, their bowls, their routine (as much as possible) and their people, they're absolutely fine. My biggest concern with moves is making sure the dogs are secure when things are being carried in and out. Usually, I'll take everything out of one room except their beds, bowls, a few toys etc... That way, the movers have no need to go into that room. I put a baby gate up to make sure they're safe and there's no risk of them slipping out the door.

Tons of positive thoughts for you and Carly. Maybe it's just a corn that hasn't shown through yet.

I know it's not as comforting as having him home, but it sounds like a great plan to me. He'll be surrounded by people who care about him (and you) and who can care for him until he can get some strength back.

Congrats! Once you bring the first hound home, it's almost inevitable that you'll want a second. You just saved yourself a trip.

Leaving her in a crate for an hour and a half while you're still home isn't "alone training." Alone training involves actually leaving the house, initially in increments of minutes, so that she knows you'll always come back. And what you're doing doesn't necessarily give you a good picture of how she'll react when you do leave. She obviously knows you're still there. While it probably helps that she's been crated in foster care, that doesn't always translate to a totally new environment. They're crated at the track, too, but being crated in a place they don't know and without any other dogs around (I'm assuming the foster family had another dog, or dogs?) is very different. It just seems (to me) a lot of stress to add on day one, when she's still trying to figure out where she is and what's going on.

You're leaving her in a crate for an hour and a half on her first day home? Poor sweetheart.

I'm so sorry it wasn't better news. I hope you have lots of time still to spoil him.

Tons of positive, "It's nothing major," thoughts for you and Ronon.

What a fantastic update! I know you and Desi will both be happier and calmer once he's home.

Diamond's neurologist reduced the prednisone from twice per day to once per day, thinking that's probably what's inflaming her intestinal tract. We just started yesterday, but it seems to have helped a little. Her poops are still a little bloody and FAR from solid, but we only had to go out once last night, instead of 10+. She also happily ate her breakfast this morning (boiled chicken, rice and a little pumpkin). We have three steps leading to our front door, and it seems to take her a minute to figure out how to move her left feet up the stairs, but otherwise she's walking really well. SUPER happy and relieved at how well she's doing. For most of Tuesday, I really thought we were losing our pretty girl.

Still thinking positive thoughts for you and your sweet boy.

Tons of positive thoughts. He's in the best possible hands.

It won't go away, but at least for now, he doesn't think surgery will be necessary. We're waiting to see how she does with it. We may need to put her on long-term meds and/or find a chiropractor.

The second MRI showed a herniated disc in her neck. The first MRI was only of her brain and the base of her neck, because the neuro was fairly sure he was going to see evidence of a stroke. When he didn't, they moved down and did another one, and it showed the disc issue clearly. Apparently it's bulging from the right, pressing on the left (I think?) which he says explains why she lost feeling on the whole left side of her body. The Predisone and Gabapentin have worked wonders, and she's walking very slowly and hesitantly but without help. She has an awful case of diarrhea, though. Last night, we were up every half hour or so until 5am, when we slept for three hours. She still has it, with blood in her stool, this morning. I've left a message for her neurologist, so hopefully he'll okay something stronger than Imodium. No signs that we saw. She was active and playing the night before and couldn't stand when we woke up. I really appreciate all of the prayers and positive thoughts. Thanks for checking on her.