BootsyCollins

Hooray for Merlin (and his Mum)! Glad to hear it went well. Did they give you a report card on his teeth? We always get one and I'm always so embarassed...mostly C's... This time he did get a B for plaque & tartar buildup, because my husband has been so diligent about brushing his teeth.

I called my husband in tears and got some sympathy. Now counting the minutes until Dr. Adkins calls!

Thanks Meredith. I do have one, and I'll try it, but I think it won't keep him from scratching his ear. I have a whole collection of collars...and a snood that I think will work at night. Should be a fun month!!

It's a bite-not collar. I have one, but can't use it this time. This particular time we have to keep him from scratching his ears, so the cone has to block his ears. A bite not won't work. I have a donut shaped one that I think will work and will be less stressful, but have a cone also if it doesn't. He's been coned before and doesn't like it but does OK. thanks for the suggestion!

Thank you! They usually schedule all of their surgeries for the afternoon, so he'll be finished hopefully by 2 or so and I'll pick him up after I've walked and fed the other dogs, so around 7:30. I'll be a stress case until then. I actually teared up when I dropped him off this morning!

I just dropped Argos off for his dental today. While he's out, the vet is also going to do surgery to repair the hematoma in his ear, which has grown to enormous proportions. She is going to pull the ear layers apart, drain the hematoma, and put in "snaps" to keep the ear layers together so it can't happen again. Poor boy will have to wear the dreaded cone for 3 weeks so he doesn't tear the snaps out. He (and I) would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts you have to spare today!

Good thoughts for Merlin! He'll be right as rain by the end of the day and he'll have beautiful teeth to boot!

WOOHOO! GO TIGERS! Graduated in '94. He's just super cheesy. His name is Kim Hammond, and he's somehow managed to become the vet to the stars on movie sets, etc. Also, he goes to the Paris shows every year, and tends to the designers' dogs. The waiting area is absolutely papered with photos of him on every movie set, with every celebrity, etc., and all these articles about him. AND he does really cool work in Africa helping zoos take care of their animals and working with gorilla preservation, and there are photos and articles all over that celebrate that. There is even a framed copy of a Cosmopolitan from 20 years ago when he was voted a most eligible bachelor. Then you meet him and he doesn't introduce himself because he assumes you know who he is, then he spends the entire time talking about himself, and his scrubs are too tight and he's just ultra cheesy. I think it's hilarious, but some people are rather put off by him. Interesting fact...he did part of his residency at the greyhound track. I had to take my cat there for an emergency once and he basically tried to force me to change the cat's prescription food because Falls Road doesn't sell the one he eats. So I avoid him as a vet, laugh at his antics, and have a perfectly fine time. Hampden is next to Remington, where I live. Hampden is great. Lots of young professionals, tons of dog owners, and lots of the old school Hamdenites who are always good for a laugh. I work in Mt. Vernon - great neighborhood, but not as great for walking a dog. More of a downtown feel to it. Bolton Hill is lovely. Check Anneslie, which is on the county/city line, and is a very nice area, just south of Towson. In the city, nice, and convenient to Towson are Tuscany/Canterbury, Roland Park (if you want a huge house), and Mt. Washington. Sorry to be so overwhelming. I'm in HR, so I routinely help new hires find housing around here. Have you checked out this site yet: Live Baltimore? It's fabulous.

Unless you want a good laugh. Falls Road seems to elicit strong reactions in people. The first thing that all of my dog owner friends said to me when we adopted Argos is "don't ever go to Falls Road." Then we had an emergency and had to go, and they saved his life, and have taken excellent care of him ever since. I have had nothing but good experiences there, but I've heard of others who have not, so you'll definitely need to make your own decision. There are lots of GW folks who will get on this thread and give you names of other vets, I am sure.

Hi soon to be neighbor! Not sure where you're moving, but we live in the city in a neighborhood called Remington, next to the BMA and JHU. Basically right in the center of the city. The group that we adopted Argos through is Greyhound Welfare - www.greyhoundwelfare.org. They do a lot of meet & greets in the Baltimore area and I'm sure would love to see a new person get involved in volunteering! We go to Falls Road Animal Hospital, and really like the vet there named Keisha Adkins. We've also seen Mike Herko and liked him a lot. FRAH is a 24-hour emergency center in addition to a "regular" vet, so you can get appointments on Sundays which is nice. The owner is super cheesy, so as long as you can overlook it and/or find humor in it like I do, they are a pretty good place to go. There are lots and lots of greyhound owners in Baltimore, so I'm sure you'll find plenty of friends rather quickly. Good luck in your move! You're welcome to PM me if you'd like any house hunting, job search, or other Baltimore advice. --Christie

Huh. Now I'm wondering if maybe he doesn't get it. I can never remember what shots are for what - I just take them in when I get the postcard in the mail. But I think he does get it. Now I'm going to have an anxiety attack that I'm killing my dog.

That vet sounds suspect...to charge that much for a dental and one tooth extraction is crazy talk! Not to mention the way they blew you off when you expressed concern. And it sounds like they did the dental about an hour before you picked her up so she hadn't fully recovered. Usually when Argos has his dentals or any other anesthesia, he is drunk that night and needs help getting around, but is just fine after a good night's sleep. I would stick to the lowest dose of pain meds that seem to work, and try not combining them. Try one and see if it works, then if it doesn't, try the other. After Argos had 4 extractions at once (all molars, so very involved), he was on 1 rimadyl per day for a week. He did just fine and never seemed to be in pain. All dogs are different of course, but it's better to start with the smallest dose. I agree with Burpdog - ask about acepromazine. That can really wipe a dog out. I've had to use it on Argos before and he is down for the count for a good 12 hours with just one pill. I'd also talk to your regular vet about his concerns about what happened and have him do a follow up.

We get it for our dogs (and cats too, I think, but I don't know). The only negative I've ever heard is that it's not 100% effective. I've never heard all this other stuff. I've also never had a dog have a negative reaction to it.

I can't speak for Spud's mom, but when Argos gets dings and dents on his legs, which is frequently, I let him take care of them for the most part. Unless they look particularly bad and/or are really bleeding, I find that if I wash them once they heal up just fine.

He's beautiful! He looks similar to my boy Argos, whose racing name was Aaron. My extended family lives in Delaware - I can't believe you commuted from Rehoboth to Wilmington. Egads! Welcome to GT!

We brush every day and Argos still sports hillbilly teeth. They're not as bad as they were before we started brushing, but he still gets a dental every year. Getting one on Wednesday, as a matter of fact. We usually pay in the neighborhood of $200 for the predental exam, the antibiotics, and the dental procedure.

My skin is actually crawling from the thought of that many ticks. I need a shower.

Well don't beat yourself up. It was only a tick. Make that your mantra until the vet soothes all your fears with a clean test.

For what it's worth, in this area, I use frontline all year round. I maybe skip January or February if the weather is very very cold, but I've seen plenty of ticks in the winter.

I wouldn't worry about it. They do bruise and even continue to bleed sometimes after you take the tick out. I'm sure she's fine!

We were told to never use flea meds on greyhounds because they do not have the fat to obsorb the medication. We only use flea baths that are safe for puupies and cats. I've never heard that, but I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. You should of course use whatever you are most comfortable with, but I have never had any problems with Frontline or Revolution on my grey. The adoption group we got Argos from uses Frontline on all of their fosters also. Many people have started using some sort of flea/tick collar that is grey safe. Can't remember what it's called. Personally, I'd rather have my arms pulled off than try to give my dog a flea bath regularly.

It's more than likely from shaking his head, but he doesn't shake excessively and doesn't have any allergies. We've been down that road. It's more of a habit than anything else. Making the appointment now...they better not mess up his beautiful ears.

It depends on where you order them from. I order from Drs Foster & Smith and feel fairly confident in the product. Frontline Plus is what I usually order. I've also ordered Tri Heart Plus from them.

Argos has another one of those blood bubbles in his ear. He had one once before but it was so small that the vet left it alone to reabsorb. I don't think this one will do that. It's pretty big. He is due for a dental, so if this one needs surgery I think I'll combine them. My last dog, Reno, a dane mix, got one in each ear and the vet ended up cutting off the ends of his ears and doing all this intricate sewing to keep it from happening. He looked cute with his shorter ears, but I really don't want Argos to have to have his beautiful radar ears cut. Anyone have any experience with this? Any ideas on how to prevent it?

Aussies are very special. Your grandma was lucky to have her, and she was lucky to have your grandma. So sorry for the loss.