rascalsmom

I gave the girls their Fromm tonight, and Jack had Iams. No add ins for the girls, like they usually get (canned food)...and everyone cleaned their bowls. I guess I will just buy Fromm for the girls and give Jack Iams. I didn't want two different foods, but the Iams really seems to be working for Jack--and the girls aren't crazy about it.

Jack has had his corns hulled (by the vet) three times now. Our vet uses a small pair of hemostats, instead of the root elevator. She feels it puts less pressure on the corn than the root elevator does. She showed me how to do it, and while I have not done it YET, I know how. I just have to get the proper tools. I, too, used the Murray Ave. cream, to no avail (used it for three months). Now I am using duct tape. The corns aren't gone--yet--but they are definitely 'different' now. I am now able to sort of peel off a layer of the corn, when I change the tape. It seems to be changing the texture of the corns, or something. I do use a small pair of scissors (like small embroidery scissors) to aid in getting the layer off.

I know I probably stress too much about it, but I can't seem to win the food wars. I had my two girls on Fromm Adult Gold food when we brought Jack home last November. I slowly transitioned him to it, and his stool was never completely firm. After trying that for several months, the vet suggested trying a prescription food, which we did. Things got a bit better on that (even though from the ingredient list you wouldn't choose to feed it to a squirrel, much less a dog! ). Never completely firmed up, but better. Well, that food was not only EXTREMELY expensive, but it got recalled. So, back to the switcheroo. Back to Fromm. Back to soft-serve. The vet then suggested adding some Metamucil, which I've been doing. It's helped some, but STILL not completely firm. Finally in a fit of desperation, and at the suggestion of not only the vet but a few people here, I bought a lower-end food. The vet said that some greyhounds just do not tolerate those high-end foods. I bought.....the green bag of Iams. [Please do not send the dog food police to tar and feather me!!] Jack is now eating mostly that, with a little Fromm mixed in, and the girls have been on 100% Iams, since I was running low on Fromm and they don't seem to be bothered by food switches. And the one bit of good news in all of this is that he seems to be have MUCH firmer stools! Well, now the girls don't want to eat. I just cannot win. I suppose I could just bite the bullet, and buy Fromm for them and keep Jack on the Iams; but I was hoping to buy ONE FOOD for all three, and preferably one food that doesn't bust the budget. Fromm is expensive. The main reason I put them on that was that the local pet food store was having a special, you could get $4 off a bag once a month, for a year. That promotion is over now. A couple of other foods I have used/am considering are these: Diamond Naturals--we used that for a long time, but Rascal lost interest Kirkland--also used a couple bags of that, again, Rascal wasn't crazy about it 4Health--available at Tractor Supply, seems like a good food and not crazy expensive I definitely want something WITH beet pulp for Jack. And for the girls, I want something they will EAT. Any ideas?

I remember it too, Annette, because we were staying at the same place. I remember coming back from dinner, and someone told us....it was awful.

Rascal is my picky eater, and breakfast is her might-not-eat-anything meal. I feed all the dogs a high quality kibble (Fromm Adult Gold), and I give her and Ruby a bit of canned food (couple of spoonfuls) with each meal. I find that I MUST keep changing the canned food. If she liked it last week, she might turn her nose up at it this week. There are days when she takes one sniff and walks away. When my kids were young they had a computer game called "The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis". At one point in this game, the little Zoombinis have to make a pizza for this other creature....and they have to figure out what toppings he wants. If they figure it out, they move to the next challenge, if they don't, the creature says, "THERE'S SOMETHING ON THERE I DON'T LIKE!!" and throws the pizza away. Rascal IS the creature. Every breakfast, I put her food down, and watch her sniff it....and I can hear her thinking, "THERE'S SOMETHING ON THERE I DON'T LIKE!". It's very frustrating, but she's been here nine years, and is in pretty good shape.

Both of my girls have stud tail, and all of our dogs--especially Ruby--are shedding like crazy. I attribute it to the time of year, and Ruby has always shed the most.

OK, I applied the duct tape last night. Let's hope for good results!!

Thanks for the details! I really am going to give this a try.

WOW. Jack's had his corns hulled (four of them...on all but one foot) THREE times since June, and they are back again. Been using the "special corn cream" without much success.... I will try the duct tape. Do they really leave it alone? How often do you change it?

Well, I called Merial, and they were very nice, but they told me they'd have to call our vet. The vet's office told me I'd have to call Merial, and Merial says they have to call the vet. Hmmmm.....anyway, I didn't get the feeling that they would pay for Rascal and Ruby's treatment, and paying for Jack's treatment seems to be questionable at this point. But at any rate, it's worth a try. I have to check with the vet in a few days to see what's going to happen. If anything. I, too, wonder if his problem hasn't been hooks all along. He did test positive for coccidia and giardia when we first brought him home, but in January he then had a negative fecal test....all seemed to be well then. But like the vet tech said, he could've just not been shedding eggs at that point. Who knows. I'd just like for his poop to get firmed up once and for all!

We're home from the vet. I talked to her about Jack's diet, and she suggested first of all just adding a bit of Metamucil to his food. She explained that, from my description, it sounds like the large bowel isn't absorbing enough of the liquid from his diet. Since it's a relatively high-end food, it might not have enough fiber. Then the technician poked her head in and said his stool sample showed coccidia AND hooks. So now we're going to worm him (and the girls, too), wait a few weeks, and THEN I will try the Metamucil. If that works, we know it's just a not-enough-fiber issue. If it doesn't work, we may have to try another food. She explained that the higher-end foods don't add many grains, because on the label it looks like 'fillers'...but that the grains are what add fiber and some dogs just need more. BTW, she told me that she feeds her dogs the Kirkland dog food. Interesting to know! He also got two of his corns removed. (For the THIRD time since June!) And I'm calling Merial, because the dogs have been on Heartgard and that is supposed to prevent hookworms....they will hopefully reimburse us for treating the hooks!

I agree, some of those ingredients don't look terrific. However, the prescription food ingredients label was downright frightening....and he did well on that. Here it is: Corn Grits, Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken, Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Monosodium Phosphate, Fish Oil (preserved with Ethoxyquin), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Flax Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplelment, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate Can you imagine, $68 for a 30 pound bag of dog food with the first ingredient of CORN GRITS?? Sad but true.

What a topic, eh? Here's the short version. We brought Jack home from the farm on 11/29/09. At the suggestion of our adoption group person, we gave him a couple of days of plain old chicken and potatoes, then began the switch to our kibble (Fromm Adult Gold). It wasn't pretty. He had really soft poop, and it was rather difficult to pick it up. So in January, we switched him to Iams Veterinary Formula, Low Residue. The vet suggested that some greyhounds just don't do well on the "high end" food, or it could be that his gut was inflamed from the transition, and this rx food would calm things down. It did, pretty much. Then, in June, I started a very slow transition back to the Fromm food. I mean, very slow. In fact, still transitioning (but really, only have a tiny bit of the rx food left now). His poop isn't great. It starts out well, but ends up with the stuff that's almost impossible to pick up, and you've got a big skid mark in the yard. Especially NOT good on a walk!! He also gets some really nasty gas. Anyway, I'm taking him for his checkup on Thursday, and am going to talk to the vet about this, but I'm considering a different food. The prescription food was recalled, so who knows if it's available yet....and it's VERY expensive!! Here are some I'm considering. I'll leave the names off until I get some input. I'm trying to stick to chicken, since I know he tolerates that, from the time he spent eating chicken and potatoes. Fromm Adult Gold (this one I'll name, since it's what he's largely on now, and so are the girls) Duck, Chicken Meal, Chicken, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Lamb, Potato, Tomato Pomace, Whole Egg, Salmon Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Cheese, Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Lecithin, Chicken Cartilage, Monocalcium Phosphate, Salt, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite. Brand #2: Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.Calorie Content: 3,708 kcal/kg (368 kcal/cup) Calculated Metabolizable Energy Brand #3: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Brewers Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Fish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamins (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract. Brand #4: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Ground Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, White Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Fish Meal, Whole Egg, Beet Pulp, Cheese, Flaxseed, Brewers Dried Yeast, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite Any thoughts?

Jack and I have been fighting his corns since early June. Had them hulled then, and a month later had them hulled AGAIN. He has four corns. I got the Murray Ave. cream, and so far, despite using it regularly, it doesn't seem to be doing much. I am using the rest of the cream, since it was a bit expensive!! but after that I am trying something else....either duct tape or bee propolis. BTW, the corns are in full force again, and I'm sure the vet will hull them again at his checkup this month.

I'm so sorry, Beryl. Losing a child is the absolute worst thing that can happen...and you've lost two. My heart breaks for you.

My sincere sympathies to you, Tami, and to your boys too.

The recent topic on corns mentioned using duct tape. If you've done that, what was your success rate? And did the dog leave the duct tape alone? It seems like such a simple thing, so I wonder how well it works. I've been using the (rather expensive!) corn cream on Jack's corns, but if there is something easier I am all for trying it!

Just got a letter from our vet today regarding this, since Jack's been on the Low Residue formula. We are almost at the end of the bag, no problems, and I'm transitioning him to the girls' food (Fromm Adult Gold). I wonder how critical it is that I discard this, since he's had no trouble...and he's in the middle of switching....

The vet told me that there has even been some research into doing silicone implants for dogs with resistant corns...like little breast implants in their feet...so there's a little cushion there; since the theory is that greyhounds just don't have the fat above the pad to cushion the pad, and that's why they develop corns.

Well, as for my Jack, he had his corns (four of them!) removed a little over a month ago, and it appears they are back. I've been using the corn cream faithfully since a few days after his hulling, but still they returned. Poor fellow. He's limping again. I have to take him to the vet, she told me she'll show me how to tend to them myself.

Looks just like Jack's corns did. Definitely a corn!

A FABULOUS vet in the Pittsburgh area is Carol Butler, at Tender Touch Veterinary Hospital in Wexford. It's a haul for you, but she's great, and I was told she studied with Dr. Couto at OSU. They do ALL the vetting for our adoption group, so they really know greyhounds.

My husband keeps telling Jack that we're going to take him back to the farm in West Virginia...that's he's "defective". Yeah, like they'd want an almost-five-year-old greyhound! He's also not too thrilled that I spent (a lot of) money on the corn cream, and the corn is coming back....

How ironic....yesterday was three weeks since Jack's first corn was hulled.

Jack had a corn removed from one of his back feet a couple of weeks ago, and a total of three removed from his two front feet. He has already started limping on the back leg again. How quickly do these things come back?? I've been using the special "corn cream" regimen on all THREE paws that were hulled, and still...