rascalsmom

http://www.greyhoundsonly.com/onlinestore/doggear.html They have them. It's EXTREMELY unlikely that a local pet store would have them.

You can try putting duct tape over the holes of the muzzle. Obviously not ALL the holes, but the ones he can get his tongue through. Or you could purchase a "stool cup" for it.

Earlier this month Buddy scratched his eye. The vet treated it, but it wasn't getting better; so off to the specialist we went. The ophthamologist debrided the area and did a grid keratotomy. Buddy is still on drops/ointment...it will be two weeks this coming Wednesday. How do you know if it's getting better, or worse?? I talked to the vet tech today, because I noticed a red area on his eye. She told me that can be perfectly normal...that the things I have to watch for are squinting (indicating pain) and discharge. Well, every now and then he's squinting, but two minutes later it looks wide open and like he's feeling a lot better! No real discharge, just the ooze from the drops and ointment, which isn't much at all, and only after the meds are applied. She told me if it looks like there are red 'lines' that is normal [i assume from the 'grid' keratotomy]. I can't really tell if it's lines or not, as when I go to get close to look at it he shuts his eye. The tech did move his recheck appointment up to this Thursday (was supposed to be NEXT Thursday), since I was worried. I guess my question is, are there clear signs that the treatment is working; and if it's not, what is the next step? I hate to even think of a next step....

What is Frontline? Frontline is a flea and tick medication. I think you were just lucky; Frontline does NOT repel ticks, and they have to be sucking the blood for quite a while for it to kill them! Check the insert literature. I guess we ARE lucky!! My best friend lost one of her greyhounds a year ago from a TBD, and it really scares me to think of that happening to my dogs....her girl died a rather awful death, and my friend was right by her side....very traumatic for her, too....

Same thing happened to us last weekend. We were away, and walking the dogs near forests....not IN them, but on the outskirts (my dad's hunting camp). We found two ticks on Buddy, and two on Rascal. They were NOT attached, and one was even dead. Thank GOD for Frontline, which I had applied to them before we went.

Thanks, Jenn. Buddy will be thrilled. Really, he doesn't mind his drops. Such a good boy he is.

You might know that Buddy has been under treatment for a corneal ulcer. It's going pretty well. He is on two types of drops, and an ointment. Here is my question. One of the drops is adequan, and they told me to keep it refrigerated. Well, last night I forgot to put it in the fridge. Is it still OK to use? I can call the specialists' office, but they aren't open till later this morning....

I'm sorry for your loss, Robin. Linus was such a good girl to put up with the training of the crazy Loca....I know you'll miss her terribly.

Oh my, that picture ....how sweet. And what a terrible decision for you to have to make.

Rascal and Ruby came to me with NO dewclaws, thankfully. Buddy has one, and it is a bit "weird"...not your typical dewclaw. He has ripped it off more times than I can remember. The vet told me that they probably tried to remove them when he was a puppy (no kidding, he's only got one), but they "botched" that one up somehow. Once, when he was going for a dental, I asked the vet to remove the dewclaw, too...she "forgot". Just one more reason why I no longer go to her.... Thanks, Lynn, for the information. I will forget about pursuing removal of the lone dewclaw, not that I'd put him through that at his age (11.5 and counting!) anyway.

I'm so sorry, Heather....

No, he is on Ciloxin drops, adequan drops, and atropine ointment. I am going to call them to see if I could give him Tramadol; I have some here. Oh, that would be great, if you aren't using them....you could PM me. Thank you!

Yeah, that's what the receipt said: keratotomy. I tried the e-collar, since he was rubbing at his eye. What a disaster. He literally freaked out, went running through the house, running into walls, sliding on the ceramic tile floor....till I managed to grab him and take the thing off. Scared the he!! out of Rascal and Ruby, too. It took Buddy a good 20 minutes to calm down..... My other option is to not let him out of my sight. I just hope it quickly starts to heal, and therefore doesn't bother him so much....

We are home. Buddy's eye was chemically debrided, and they did "the procedure with the needle".... not sure what that was, and not sure I *want* to know. Buddy was totally traumatized by the whole thing, as you can imagine. The vet tech suggested Doggles (after I told her I was ready to put my daughter's swim goggles on him every time he steps out the door! ), so I wondered what experiences you all have had with them. Good, bad, indifferent....The tech said that you generally know right away if the dog will tolerate them or not. And since Buddy seems to want a new career as a scenthound, and follows that big nose into jaggy bushes.... I keep telling him "You are a SIGHThound, not a SCENThound!" Anybody have a pair they'd like to get rid of??

UPDATE: the appointment has been moved up to TODAY at noon! Hopefully my big ol' boy will be feeling better SOON....although I doubt he will enjoy his appointment.

Shelby, I am so sorry to hear this. You, Deuce, and your whole family will be in my prayers. You are right: every day is a gift.

The e-collar that I have here IS a clear one....any tips on how to keep them on? Every time I've tried to use one it ends up slipping over the ears....it's hard to get them to stay on those skinny greyhound heads! Good news is, I am taking him at noon TODAY to see the specialist, instead of Monday!

Is there any alternative to an e-collar for an eye problem? Buddy's got a corneal abrasion, and will have to see the specialist. Buddy's eye I am afraid they will tell me to put the dreaded lampshade on him. He freaks when this is put on, and I would LOVE to avoid it if at all possible....

Well, Buddy went for his recheck today; it's been two weeks since he first was seen for a scratch on his eye. Despite diligent efforts on my part, it is no better. In fact, maybe a bit worse, according to the vet. He really seemed to be on the mend after the first week; I did not miss a single dose of drops/ointment. Then, over the weekend, he seemed to get a bit worse. So on Monday we will visit the veterinary ophthamologist. Again. First time was five years ago, for the same thing. Even the same eye. Darn.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Lauri.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers today. I'm so sorry....

I posted on 9/29 about Buddy's eye. I certainly did not intend that post to be "diagnosing" anything, I was simply looking for a way to relieve his discomfort UNTIL I got him to the vet. Yesterday I took him to the vet, since he was no better. Indeed, his eye is scratched. I had a feeling it was, as it was just like five years ago. We came home with atropine ointment, plus two types of drops. Happily, it is already looking better. The vet told me to put the e-collar on him, but he really isn't rubbing it very much at all, and that e-collar freaks him out! Poor old fellow, for him to have this happen twice is such a shame. He's a real trooper, though, puts up with all those drops and goop...such a good boy. Hopefully this will clear it up, and this time we will not have to see a specialist!

I took the pups for their walk today, and decided to take a little path through the woods. The dogs love it there, and we've not gone there for awhile. Suddenly Buddy started to paw at his eye. I thought maybe he walked into a cobweb/spiderweb, because I did just then. I wiped his face off, thinking maybe that's all it was. Well, a couple of hours later, he's got his eye half-closed, and it had been tearing a little bit. Now I wonder if maybe there's something in there; even a bug, maybe? Or did he scratch it on a branch? I just don't know. Is it a good idea to wash the eye out, maybe with some saline solution? My DD is home from college till tomorrow and she just happens to wear contacts, so I've got some saline here, at least until tomorrow.... I keep thinking of the scratched cornea Buddy had a few years ago...that was terrible for him, very painful, he had to have it chemically debrided. Any ideas? TIA!

Carolyn, I am so sorry....

Buddy was listed as "special needs" by our group. He was a two-time bounce, and they said he wanted to be "top dog". We never found that to be the case with him; he pretty much let Rascal take the lead from the beginning, and when we added Ruby (who is even more of a "me first" type of dog) nothing changed there either. He's fine with the two of them pushing him around. I was also told, later, that in his first home he was food aggressive, chased their cat, and had separation anxiety. None of those were EVER an issue here. Typical case of the dog needing to be in the right home.