vjgrey

Yep - that's what her vet said when she called me back. I suspected as much but wanted a little reassurance. Coughs scare me!

I don't have any advice to offer, but will send lots of positive thoughts for you and Padfoot. I know how terrifying it is to wait for answers.

She's still wobbly but she's walking entirely on her own. As of last night, we still needed to use a sling. We did a very slow walk around the front yard with a harness, and she peed and pooped with no issues. She ate all of her breakfast (a little kibble with chicken and rice + Burpdog topping) and took her meds with peanut butter like a champ. Now she's napping while I try to get some work done. SO grateful that I'm able to work from home. She did have a dry cough last night that I'm a little concerned about, but it seemed to stop for a while when I gave her water, and I haven't heard it since we've been up and around. I left a message for her vet. (She is taking Prilosec, by the way. Maybe it's starting to kick in, because her appetite is much better this morning. She even took treats, which she refused last night).

She finally ate a little! Burpdog biscuits did the trick. She ate two biscuits and then a little chicken and rice. Magical things, those Burpdogs.

We don't have sardines or liverwurst on hand, but I did offer her green tripe, and she wasn't even a little interested. WAY unusual for any of my hounds. Usually, canned tripe = houndie crack. Hopefully her appetite will be better in the morning.

We've tried all of her usual favorites, and the only thing she'll touch is peanut butter. She didn't even want cheese or yogurt, which she usually loves. If necessary, we'll pick up more tempting foods tomorrow. Sometimes she likes "smelly chicken" (canned in water) better than the freshly cooked.

She's still doing the "drunken sailor" walk and won't eat any of the chicken and rice I offered her for dinner, but she's definitely in better shape than she was this morning. What a long, scary day. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

I'm so very sorry. Gracie stories always made me smile. I'm glad she had all the love and joy she deserved with you.

The second MRI showed a herniated disc. Good news? Not-as-bad-as-it-could-be news? She's on prednisone and gabapentin and we'll check back in with the neurologist on Thursday. He doesn't think, at this point, that it'll need surgery. I may be looking for chiro recommendations. She's able to walk a little bit now, and he thinks she should be fully mobile when the meds kick in. Continued thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated.

The MRI showed no sign of a stroke or a brain tumor. They're doing a second MRI now of her neck and spine. Anything that wouldn't show up on an MRI that we should be looking at? When we arrived at the MRI center, she would stand on her own, so there seems to be a little improvement, but she was very splay-legged and wobbly and still couldn't walk at all.

The neurologist thinks she may've had a stroke. She's buckling under both feet on her left side and reacts very slowly when he flicks in front of her left eye. We're getting an MRI now.

Their best guess is a slipped disk or cancer near her spine. She's still not able to stand at all. We're on our way now to a neurologist for an MRI. I'm terrified. Thanks for thinking of and praying for my beautiful girl.

She collapsed this morning and can't use her back legs. We're on our way to the eVet.

If all of her ribs are actually showing, she's a little too thin. However, I know you can't fully judge by a photo. Something about Cash's coloring or shape makes him look extremely ribby in pictures, when he's definitely not that thin in "real life." (Have had to explain to the "grandparents" more than once that we aren't starving the poor guy).

Not all, but most greyhounds fall into the category of "mellow, easy to train." When they come to you as a retired racer, they've already had several years of being trained, following rules and routines, and learning and adapting to their trainers' expectations. The ones who can't/won't do that fail out of racing school and never race. It does take a while for them to learn YOUR rules and expectations, which are totally different than the rules and expectations they were used to at the track. They're still dogs, and ALL dogs take work.If you can't handle that, you should definitely wait to get any dog.

Not sure...Maybe the initial three hours on high did something to the bones? I cook mine entirely on low. I've also never cooked it more than 26 hours.

As others have said, only people with issues post in the training and behavior forum, just like only people whose dogs have health issues post questions in the health and medical forum. I have three hounds, and none of them are crated when I go out. One is muzzled, because he chews, but the muzzle doesn't bother him in the slightest. All of them share the couch with us with ZERO issues, and at night, we often sleep with two people and three hounds piled in a queen-sized bed. People end up draped over hounds, hounds over people, hounds over other hounds, and no one has any space aggression or sleep aggression. All three know how to sit, lay down and shake, and they all picked those commands up within a day or two. I'm sure they could all learn "stay," as well, but I've been too lazy to teach it to them. They're all VERY loving and affectionate and very gentle. I could easily take food out of their mouths if I wanted to - and I've even seen them take treats out of each others' mouths. Two of these three (plus another hound I lost to Osteo) were with me during law school, and all of them were happy to nap while I studied. So I don't think greyhounds are necessarily the wrong breed for you. I think it's just a matter of 1) communicating your needs clearly to the adoption reps so that they can find a hound who's a good fit for you and 2) realizing that no hound is perfect, and ANY dog is going to take some time and some work to settle in.

I'm so sorry, Pat.

What a sweet little face. I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry she had to leave you. What a wonderful, happy life you had together. Just way too short.

I had a similar experience with Cash. Crated him the first few times, and he FREAKED out and made huge messes (even chewed through an "indestructible," kennel mat). Left him baby gated in our bedroom with our other two hounds (muzzled, because he's a chewer), and we haven't had a single issue since.

1) Don't allow him in the kitchen or dining room. You can use baby gates for now, but you can also teach him to stay out - when he comes in, redirect him to his bed and use whatever command you want to use (e.g. go lay down). With enough patience and repetition, he'll get it. 2) No couch or furniture privileges. If he jumps up and doesn't want to get down, clip a leash to his collar and gently pull him off.

That's completely normal for greyhounds. Most of them don't "grow up," until they're about three. My almost five year-old isn't even sure he's done with the puppy stage. Alway, congrats and welcome to Greytalk! Adopting your first hound is SUCH an amazing, life-changing thing. I've always had dogs, but these guys are super, extra special.

Not at all! It's super easy - we buy whole chickens from Costco (they come in packages of two) and stick one in the crockpot with a little water - maybe half a cup? You don't need a lot because it'll produce its own juice. When I first started cooking this regularly (two years ago?) I removed the skin, but I've found that leaving it on doesn't bother any of my hounds. If your dogs have sensitive stomachs, you may want to take it off. I turn the crockpot on low and set it for 24 hours. Sometimes that's enough, and sometimes it needs a few hours more, depending on the chicken. You'll know it's done when the bones are "mashable," with a fork. They turn to almost a paste with just slight pressure. When it's done, I'll fish out all of the bones I can see and mash them with the fork and put the "paste" back in. Then I go over the whole pot with a potato masher just to make sure I haven't missed any bones. Sometimes i add cooked brown rice (about half a cup), sometimes I don't. You could also add veggies (e.g. green beans) if you wanted to. I package it up in small tupperware containers and stick most of them in the freezer. For meals, I heat up about a 1/4 cup of the chicken with a little water and use it as a kibble topper/gravy. One chicken lasts us about two weeks (two meals per day for three hounds).

Unless you cook them for a LONG time (24+ hours) on low. I make crockpot chicken for our hounds every two weeks, and if you cook the bones long enough, they become so soft and powdery, you can crush them with a fork.