Robin1017

Thanks! I know he is in a good place. I just wish it were here in my bed kicking me with his running rabbit feet all night.

Finally on a computer instead of the phone....my phone used to type fine but now it does all those crazy capital letters and stuff! grr... So I am home now, but Robin is not. He is staying the night at the hospital so that they can monitor him, keep him still, and give him fluids and pain medication. His fever has gone down, so he seems to be stable (though high as a kite, when I saw him before I left!). But he's having a hard time getting around, and it would have been very difficult for me to take care of him at home. Plus I would have been freaking out all night long. (I barely managed after his dental....) We don't know yet what is going on to cause this whole event. They took xrays of his spine, and there are no obvious issues, or tumors, or anything, nor in his lungs, so that is good. They are doing bloodwork, urine, and another xray, I think. I hope something pops up that is easily dealt with.... In the meantime, I'm home without Robin for the first time ever. I do not like it.

His Fever Is Down To 103, AndThe Doctor Found Severe Pain Between His Shoulder Blades, So We Will Focus OuRInvestigation There First. I'mTrying To Work The Finances So I Can Leave Him Here Tonight...Obviously I Can't Take Him Home. He'S To Big For Me And I Would Worry Myself Sick Even If He Were Fine. Why Does It All Have toBe So Hard? Grr...

They Sent Us To Vescone, The Evet Right Here, As My Vet Wasnt EquippeD To Bring His Fever Down Safely.HE Is Back There Now. Im Terrified. Im So Inexperienced With All This.

His Temp Is 106. He Can Walk, But Can't Stand Very Well At All.

heading to the vet now. I think he's worse tHan this morningT

I'm Still Freaking Out, But I'm Trying Not To. He Want Great This Morning When I Had To Leave, So I Just Called The VeT And Have An Appt For Later In Case He's Still Bad When I.Get Home. I Hope It Is Just An Upset Stomach. He Did Have PrettyLoose Stools This Morning. Trying To Stay Calm. But I Feel So Helpless-There Are No Good Indicators To HelpUs Know What To Look At! Sadly, I Can't AffordInfinite Testing... Hoping My Anxiety Is Overrated. We'll See How He Is Later.

he (And I) Had A Rough Night. I Had To Leave To Go To Work, But I Really Didn't Want To. Here's Hoping He's Better When I Get Home. NoTime For Details Now, But Who Knew A Greyhound Could SeeM Lethargic? Now I Know What That Looks Like. Also Realized I Gave Him Expired Yogurt Last Night. The Date Was 4/14. Maybe I Gave Him Food Poisoning....? Idiot. And Yet, I'm Hoping I Did! Sigh.....

Hi everyone, I feel a little bad, because I don't have anything specific to ask about, unlike so many of us in this forum, but nevertheless I would like to ask for any good thoughts you can spare. Robin is off tonight. He clearly doesn't feel well, and he is stiffer than usual, and his hind end weakness is much more pronounced tonight. He keeps sinking, much quicker and lower than usual. (On the other hand, he ate plenty today, perked up for cookies just now, begged for cookies at the pet store, and jumped up and down from my pretty-high queen size bed...so he's not COMPLETELY out of it.) It started earlier this afternoon, and there are many easy, obvious explanations. I took him to the vet to pick up some meds, and we ended up stuck in traffic for a while so he was in the backseat longer than usual. Though he slept much of the time, I just cleaned my car and forgot to put back the blankets he is used to having back there, so maybe he just laid funny (I was going to put back the blankets, but this *was* just going to be a short trip!). Or maybe he's just extra tired from the car ride this afternoon. Or, the meds we got are for recently-found nasal capillaria, some parasites that live in the nose and are apparently pretty rare in dogs (leave it to Robin)....so maybe he just doesn't feel well because of those. So many reasonable explanations. But maybe I'm a little on edge--we had to send my mom's dog Shilo to the bridge just last week, so now Robin is the "old" dog and I'm terrified of losing him. But whatever the case, I'm psyching myself out and imagining all sorts of possibilities, down to the dreaded osteo (the stiffness COULD be a limp! right???). And I could use some good vibes to calm me down and ease my mind. I know SOMETHING is going to take him from me, and at 11 1/2 it will be sooner than I would like, but I'm just not ready yet! So if you have any to spare, can you send some "feel better" vibes to Robin? Thanks! Cathy PS-I already feel better by typing this out and venting my worries that way, so thanks again!

Thank you both! KF, that was the post I was thinking of, and mom2four, that was a good list. I couldn't think what to google! It's helping the discussion, at least. He has LP, so my main concern is letting him go before he has a terrifying episode such as I've heard from others. So I'm trying to tell my mom about that without scaring her with some of the horrible stories I've read on here. :-) Thanks again!

Hi there, My mom's dog Shilo (nongrey) will be 14 in June, and he is definitely declining, but he is still doing well. We keep going back and forth on when it is time for him to go. He has degenerative myelopathy, and the breathing problems that often come with it. He's also had on again, off again diarrhea since January. I'm afraid the decision isn't going to be very clear-cut for him. I wanted to have my mom read the list of questions to ask yourself when considering euthanasia that I've seen posted here many times, but I can't find it. Can anyone help? Do you know the list I mean? Thanks in advance, Cathy

I got the nonstick pads--at some point I realized that was a good idea. And there's a Whole Foods right near me so I can get manuka honey tomorrow if I need it. Right now I can't decide if I should change the dressing or leave it. It's only been 4 hours.... I guess I should leave it to let it heal, yes? I really want to know what he was doing here while I was at work! He usually doesn't even get off the bed for water during the day!

This sounds like what I did, but with neosporin. Where does one buy manuka honey, in a pinch?

I'm constantly amazed at all I've learned from GT. I'm able to interpret dog behavior (better than I used to, anyway) and I can discuss medication options with a new vet well enough that they wonder if I'm in a related field.... (then I had to admit to the crazy greyhound website I belong to and that I read A LOT of it). And today, I confirmed that I can handle my own when it comes to bandaging a boo-boo that a few years ago would probably have had me at the vet. I came home today to find that Robin had somehow managed to injure himself while I was gone at work. I didn't notice at first, but then I saw a smear of blood on a pillow on my bed. Closer inspection revealed that the dark fleece bedcover I use to keep Robin-grossness out of my bed is covered in blood. So I track down Robin and inspect him, and finally find it. A cut about an inch long, vertical, along the front of his leg right before it bends to be what is technically the foot. The whole leg is covered in smeared and dried blood, so it is obvious that it happened a while ago and he has been licking it all day. (I also found a little bit of pink vomit on the floor that supports this theory.) It's a bit deeper than his typical scrapes, and while I was pondering what to do, it started bleeding as he stood there--full drops of blood going all over my bedroom carpet, and even on Robin's white "socks". My rug looked like a murder scene for a little bit there.... I considered being lazy and heading to the vet so someone could clean it up and wrap it. But then my GT training kicked in and I decided I should at least try to do it myself before throwing away about $70, especially as it is in a spot that won't take to stitches or staples most likely, even if it were big enough for them. (It is on the front edge of the leg, going vertically down.) So I dug up a cloth and some water, neosporin, a non-adhesive pad, and some vet wrap, and took care of "the patient". I think I did a good job, and he seems okay with it. My only concern is that I think the nature of the cut, being on the front edge of the leg and all, means that it will be hard to heal. But I will give it a shot. I'm going to pick up some gauze pads (or maybe a roll) when I go out later, as the nonabsorbent pad was the only one I had--a random thing in the medicine cabinet. Anyway, I'm proud of my handiwork! Let's hope it heals....

Robin Started Limping On His Right Wrist When He Was 8. Feared The Worst, But It Was Just Arthritis. To This Day, 3 Years Later, That Wrist Is Where His Arthritis Flares Up First. Maybe?

OR Try A Hound Glove.He May LiKe That Because It Is Like Petting.

Hi again, Robin started meloxicam on Tuesday for his arthritis, particularly in his spine. He gets half of a pill once a day. I started him in the evening because it was the evening of his dental, so the med was doing double duty. But I'm wondering, is it better for him to have it in the morning or in the evening? When is it most effective? If it is wearing off by the time of the next pill, then morning seems to make more sense. But if it doesn't matter, then evening would be better because he is more likely to eat the pill (he's picky in the mornings). Or does it not matter anyway because once he's been on it a while, it's kind of an all-around anti-inflammatory, and doesn't vary much throughout the day. Does anyone know?

Update- Robin is doing much better. In fact, he's just about back to normal. And today he ate almost his whole breakfast without me nagging him! And he had snacks and his entire dinner! It has been AT LEAST two weeks since he's done that. Plus he's all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as they say. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see him enjoying his food again. It is a good thing too, since I can finally tell that he has lost some weight these past two weeks. He feels a little bony. But he has his appetite back, so I will keep feeding him and help him put the weight back on. I'm sure he will enjoy that..... I'm so happy to see my boy feeling better. Hooray!

Yeah, I talked to someone at the vet's office. The doctor wasn't there, but the person I spoke to feels like it is what I thought--it will just take him a little longer to get over the anesthesia. So far, he's slowly improving. He's been napping, and not getting up as much, and we took a short walk. And he is eating and drinking--not a lot, but frequently. Hopefully he will keep improving. Thanks for the well wishes!

I just did! And yes, he does want to eat (only some of his kibble, but all of the ensure and the "wet" food) and is drinking some. I'm glad I arranged it and left plans (I'm a teacher) so I could stay home if I needed to. I wouldn't want him to be alone right now. I still wonder about all the people who say he'll just sleep after! I wish he would!

Well, we made it through the night, but it wasn't uneventful. He got me up several times acting like he wanted to go out. The first time he peed, but street that he just stood around looking confused, so i took him back in. then he would pant for a while, and then he would settle for maybe 20 minutes, but then be up again repeating the cycle. Plus, when he got up, he would stand there all miserable as his back end slowly sunk, and then he would stumble. A couple of times he bumped his head on the door or the furniture. Once i got him to lay down again each time, he would quiet down if i kept petting him. So i decided to stay home with him, as he clearly seems to be having residual effects from the anesthesia. He seems a bit confused and disoriented, as well as still wobbly and just not quite right. I'm afraid he could hurt himself if he keeps acting like last night with no supervision. He ate a tiny bit of breakfast, and was snuggling with me relatively peacefully (he had his eyes open and kept lifting his head to look around) but now he's panting again. I am assuming this is leftover drugs, and i don't need to worry yet, but it's gonna be a long day.

Well, we made it through the night, but it wasn't uneventful. He got me up several times acting like he wanted to go out. The first time he peed, but street that he just stood around looking confused, so i took him back in. then he would pant for a while, and then he would settle for maybe 20 minutes, but then be up again repeating the cycle. Plus, when he got up, he would stand there all miserable as his back end slowly sunk, and then he would stumble. A couple of times he bumped his head on the door or the furniture. Once i got him to lay down again each time, he would quiet down if i kept petting him. So i decided to stay home with him, as he clearly seems to be having residual effects from the anesthesia. He seems a bit confused and disoriented, as well as still wobbly and just not quite right. I'm afraid he could hurt himself if he keeps acting like last night with no supervision. He ate a tiny bit of breakfast, and was snuggling with me relatively peacefully (he had his eyes open and kept lifting his head to look around) but now he's panting again. I am assuming this is leftover drugs, and i don't need to worry yet, but it's gonna be a long day.

Here he is eagerly awaiting another piece of rotisserie chicken. Boy, did he perk up for that!!!!! His little tongue is sticking out a bit in the front. I wonder if that will be permanent? There are no teeth on the bottom to hold it in now.... lol....it's super cute, though.

So my boy is home. The vet said he did AMAZING. The four teeth he pulled were the bottom four in the very front--the tiny ones. It looks slightly ridiculous....but he didn't lose any teeth that are important to chewing, so I consider that great. Also, the rest of his teeth looked really good--no signs of any issues, not even on the broken ones. They are just chipped, not broken, so he got to keep them! He's okay, but very anxious and panty, and he keeps getting up to follow me everywhere, when I just want him to settle and relax. He's finally starting to calm down now. His hind end is sinking a lot as well, and he's still a little wobbly. He really needs to "sleep it off". If I could just get him to settle and sleep. All you people who say the dog came home and crashed completely are lucky! He had his meloxicam at 7:00, and hopefully that is helping. He also ate some. A nice greyhound friend brought him shredded rotisserie chicken, which I hadn't thought of, and he is LOVING it. I gave him a little bit of that, and that kick-started the appetite, so he ate some dog food. .......... Whew...I was a little worried earlier when he wouldn't settle and insisted on wandering the house like a drunken college student, but even as I have been typing, he has calmed with some medicine and some food in his belly. Hopefully he will fall asleep soon. His head is drooping.

So far so good! He's out of surgery and in recovery. 4 extractions, but no abscesses. I get to go get him later. Yay!