rascalsmom

The corn cream didn't work for Jack either. I have found that duct tape works better than anything. Keep a circle of duct tape over the corn, check every couple of days and replace when it's tattered, or has come off. It makes it easier to peel off part of the corn, or dig the corn out. It does not make them go away, but it does make it easier to get them out temporarily.

Judy, I am so sorry. Such a freak accident, and such a horrid outcome for both dogs. I know a thing or two about freak accidents, unfortunately. Involving both humans, and dogs.

Well, Jack does NOT have pancreatitis. I had a call from the vet last night about the blood test. I asked her about him being on the sucralfate long-term, if he needs to be. She said he 'could' be on it long term, but if he declines after finishing his round of it, we should investigate WHY. So I am to finish his course of that, along with pepcid, and then keep him on the pepcid. Hopefully he will be okay. On a happy note, I bought 170 tablets of Costco brand "pepcid" for $9.99. That beats Walgreen's generic at 25 pills for $7or $8. The prescription food seems to be working, as far as yard cleanup goes. Not perfect, but pretty good for Jack.

Last week Jack started to not eat so well again. Previous Thread By Friday, he was not eating at all, and he was panting and trembling. So back to the vet we went yesterday. What it comes down to is this: the vet thinks it could be one of three things. 1. he is simply prone to gastritis 2. IBD 3. pancreatitis We are having a blood test done to HOPEFULLY determine yes or no on the pancreatitis--the test is not always conclusive, though. He is back on sucralfate and pepcid. He is now on rx food--low residue. They gave him an injection of a pepcid-type thing, and also an injection of Cerenia. The cerenia made him SCREAM...they warned us it stings, and it was horrid to hear him screaming!! However, by dinner time yesterday he was feeling much better, and ate his dinner. He also ate breakfast. Seems to be calmer, no longer panting and trembling. The vet said that if this doesn't work, the next possible step(s) would be ultrasound and/or scoping. She also said some dogs just need to be on pepcid long-term. He does seem to like the rx food, so that's a plus, too.

Sounds like she might have gum disease. I'd ask the vet to look at her, and talk to him/her about putting your dog on pulse antibiotics if it's gum disease. Both of my girls were/are on pulse antibiotics. You give them antibiotics for one week each month. Ruby took clindamycin, and Rascal is on flagyl (because the vet thinks she may have a gum abscess, and she is 12.5, with cancer, so we don't want to do a dental ).

Our dear Ruby, who passed in August at the age of 12, never sat. The closest she ever got was when she was peeing. We tried teaching her a few times, and she was resistant--and really, she didn't 'need' to sit, so we didn't make a big deal of it. Her litter-sister, Rascal, was taught to sit, and shake 'hands', and also the 'down' command, in about 20 minutes. Our first male dog, Buddy, learned all of the above commands simply by watching Rascal do them (and get treated for it!), so he started doing it.

If it's malleable, could it be rabbit poop?

My littermates were/are girls (Ruby is gone now ) and they got along great. They were one of those cases where they WERE kept together, and they definitely knew each other as more than just 'some other dog'. I say go ahead and introduce your dog to his brother--it will probably work out fine, and you may find, as we did, that we got exactly the *right* littermate.

My girl, Rascal, has an inoperable tumor, too. It is hemangiopericytoma, and we did have some of it removed about 2.5 years ago. At the time, we were told it would probably come back (which it has) and at that point a second surgery probably would not be indicated. Fortunately hers is not pressing on any internal organs (at least not yet); it's on the upper part of her front leg. It's very large, and getting larger...but she doesn't seem to mind it, and she is playful, eating pretty good (for her ), and doesn't seem to be in pain. When she is in pain, we will let her go. There is no other option, since we can't remove the tumor.

I have often thought it was sort of like that--the desire to go just a BIT more....like it's not 'ready' yet, but Jack is forcing it out. All of my dogs have done this on walks, but Jack doesn't go for walks (due to our location, and his blasted CORNS), he does this IN THE YARD.

Count me as another one who threw the bag into the cart with Pam's post in my head. Jack was the same way, soft poop, would squat and 'travel' a couple of feet, leaving poops along the way. It's still not perfect, but way better than it was. The odd thing is that sometimes it's firm, and other times it's not. Why would that be?? I am talking during the same day.

I used the cream, too, along with the hyaluronic acid to soften the pad first--together they cost me $100, and it didn't work. I used it faithfully, twice daily, until it was gone. I will also be interested to see how your dog does.

More info, please. Jack has two very painful corns, and I have tried so many things....they keep coming back.

Three of the four greyhounds we've had have had stud tail. Only one was a boy.

Jack had bloodwork on 10/11; it was called "general senior profile" (even though he's not really a 'senior', at 6 years)....would that check for pancreatitis? The vet said all his numbers were normal, but I don't know if that was checked. He seems to be feeling a whole lot better the past couple of days; he is eating well--kibble with chicken breast now--and he's more like himself, which means getting a toy and playing while I make his dinner. And actually ACTING like he's ready for his meals. Thanks for sharing your experience with Spud, Mary Jo. I, too, wonder if a food switch would help. The vet seemed to think that one of the more high-end foods would not work, but we've never discussed grain-free. She thinks the grain part provides fiber, which a dog with loose stool would need. It's very confusing, and you don't know what to think. But at least he's feeling better. No more rimadyl for my boy. I suspect that may be what caused the stomach issues in the first place. One more question--how long should I give him Pepcid?? Is it OK to discontinue that, now that he seems better?

I bought a small bag of that for Rascal, but she wasn't crazy about it. Then again, she isn't crazy about most kibble.

Jack is on pepcid. I have never given Pepto Bismol to my dogs, maybe because I have such terrible associations with it, personally. When I was a kid, it was the ONE THING that would cause me to vomit instantly. For dinner last night, Jack had a little kibble with some ground beef. He ate it all. This morning, I again gave him a little kibble (like half his normal portion), with chicken and very few potatoes--again, he ate it all. I have also increased his pepcid to 20 mg. before meals, instead of the 10 mg. I was giving him. The vet had told me 20 mg., but it seemed odd to me, being that the human dosage is 10mg. Maybe that's helping, too. He has, after today, three more days' worth of sucralfate. The poop still isn't great. I am wondering if I should put him back on the prescription diet he was on for awhile (Iams Intestinal/Low Residue).

Tell me more....what kind of bacteria are they looking for in a stool culture? I never heard of a stool culture (in a dog, anyway).

Mary Jane....to address a few of your comments.... --Jack was on the chicken/potatoes when we first got him. His food has always been a chicken-based one. I tried a bag of beef-based food once, it did not improve his stool. The vet did suggest, way back when, that he is just one of those greyhounds who don't tolerate 'high end' food; even on the prescription food (and the ingredients were horrendous) his stool was better, that's why I've stuck with a mid-range food, one with beet pulp for fiber, etc. --Jack is off the pain meds completely. --he hasn't been vomiting; I wouldn't call his stool 'diarrhea', and it WAS getting better on the bland diet. --we had a stool test done on 10/11, when I took him for his annual checkup. No parasites seen; however I realize there could still be some, they don't always see them. He has been on Heartgard Plus since we brought him home. --he's still drinking. I would not say he is getting worse. It's more that he seemed to be getting better, he was eating, and feeling more like himself, until yesterday. Like he's backsliding a bit. And that concerns me. Jack was never one to leave food in his bowl, and now he doesn't want to eat.

He's been on daily rimadyl for probably a year or more, but only once daily. And yes, he was on it alone, without any other meds. We checked his bloodwork regularly, it was fine, and his appetite was good, too. We took him off rimadyl when he started vomiting, and put him on the sucralfate/pepcid. He's not getting any pain meds now. I have only had him on the chicken and potatoes for several days, and his poop was not solid BEFORE that. It has gotten a bit better with the bland diet. But now he's not that interested in the bland diet--or anything else. No, no raw bones or anything.

No, we haven't had x-rays done.

OK, here we are again, and Jack is still not normal (not that he is in general ). For the past five days or so, I have been keeping him on a regimen of his sucralfate about an hour before meals; about 30 minutes after that I give him a pepcid; then wait another 20-30 minutes and feed him. I have been giving him chicken and potatoes, thinking a bland diet might help with his stomach and also with his poop, which has been completely unformed lately. Up till yesterday this was working pretty well, and he even had the occasional formed poop. Well, yesterday he didn't want to eat breakfast. So I offered him a little kibble, and he ate it. He did eat at dinnertime (chicken/potatoes), but this morning refuses to eat anything. The vet suspected that he has gastritis, and that's why she prescribed the sucralfate, and told me to give him pepcid. She never really addressed the loose poop issue, maybe because it's an ongoing problem with him, I don't know. I don't know much about gastritis, if that's what Jack has, so any information is welcome....as well as any advice of anything else I can be doing for him. I am ready to pull my hair out.

Corns: have tried lots of stuff. "Special cream", bag balm, hulling, duct tape....nothing works. I usually just hull them myself every couple of weeks--the vet showed me how. Don't use TheraPaws (although I have two), because he really doesn't need to be on hard surfaces beyond crossing the patio to the grass. I gave him a Rimadyl after he ate his burger/rice. Our vet (VERY greyhound-savvy) remarked that Jack's corns "seem SOOO painful". And she sees a LOT of greyhounds, since it's the clinic that vets all the adoption group's dogs.

No, he does neither. He just ate some rice and ground beef.

Jey, Jack is 86 pounds....he has gained one pound since his last vet visit. Definitely not losing! I think he was 85 when we brought him home. I will eliminate the tramadol, to see. However, when he was at our friends' house, he was not on tramadol, and acted the same way. My friend thinks he may have arthritis.