greysmom

Good job Doolin! Great update! Weird problem though. I wonder if there is some kind of OTC throat spray you could use to numb his throat a little? I know part of having a sore throat is re-irritating it by swallowing to try and ease it.

Only wearing a collar for walks will not rub the hair off his neck unless your walking a significant number of hours a day. I use a harness ocassionlly for mine and they act like they don't have a leash on - it's just a matter of what they're used to. I would use two leashes for a while, one on the collar and one on the harness, and gradually transition to using only the leash on the harness. BTW - I wouldn't use a regular dog harness ever again. We got these when first Cash and now Dude needed a support assistance harness and I really love them. It's probably more like a service harness as well. Ruffwear Web Master Harness

Very simply, if you don't like what she does then don't allow her to do it. I also have a dog bully in a pack of five and I have to stay on Toni all. the. time. She would take all the treats, sleep on all the beds, eat all the food, monopolize attention time, and basically tell everyone else what to do every single minute of the day. If she does something I don't like, she gets reprimanded. If she tries to take a bed, she's the one the that gets moved. If she starts running the yard for the other dogs she gets leashed up and is not allowed. She's gotten a lot better. One she figured out she didn't *have* to run the house - that was my job - she began relaxing. It's not going to scar you dog for life if she get's told "no" once in a while. And she is definitely not too old to learn some new manners. We humans care a lot more about how dogs interact in our homes than they do. They will figure it out on their own, but when it comes to actually changing the behavior of another dog, I wouldn't allow that. Just my opinion.

Good thoughts for Doolin, poor lad!

Dude lost about 11 pounds from before the amp surgery to last Wednesday when he had his first chemo. So 78 lbs to 67lbs. He doesn't look super skinny, but he's definitely a bit more svelte since the surgery. Weird question, but does anybody know how much a leg weighs? I'm thinking it's got to be most of the weight loss. So if I'm looking for kibble do I need to look for high protein. high fat and low or no carbs??? Is this the best support for this disease? I've been looking into Orijen, Taste of the Wild and Castor and Polluz Organix. Since he seems to like plain dry kibble best right now, I want it to be a good one. Dude gets his staples out late this afternoon. I hope it doesn't take forever! Yeah Lucy! Hope she continues to do well! Yeah Callie! No more hackies! Yeah to everyone else! Hugs to all!

Dude had a really god day today! He ate a good breakfast - oatmeal, some kibble, some canned food - is going up and down the stairs, he played with a toy (as much as he ever did before, he's not really a toy dog), ran around the yard, ate a good dinner, and generally seemed more sparkly today than previously. Hopefully, we're over the hump for post-chemo nausea! Stitches out tomorrow! Hugs for everyone!

Dude had a bit better day today, though still not eating much "food." He'll eat treats and junk food easily! I've managed to get a bit over a cup of kibble in him throughout the day which is only a little less than he would normally have, so I guess he's doing OK. The biggest step forward is that he's going up and down the stairs on his own again. I've been keeping a baby gate at the bottom or top so he can't go up/down unsupervised, but today he scooted both ways in the split secnd my back was turned. He's not stumbling or hesitating and seems pretty comfortable doing it. Mom's going to have to obsessively worry about something else now! Hope Lucy and everyone else had at least an OK day today and that Sunday is even better. Keep up the good fight! Hugs for all!

Wind is the only thing that still scares my spooky girl. The rest don't much pay any attention to it. If you have a coat, put it on her when you go out, eve if it's not cold. Pjs or a human sweatshirt put on and tired up around her waist with a rubber band can help too. You can also try snooding her ears, either with a real snood or a scarf or even a tube sock if she's little - something to keep the sound down and the wind out of her ears. Also, use a harness if you have one - they can back out of a collar so fast and be gone when they get scared. If she does get startled, pull DOWN towards the ground on the leash, NOT up or sideways. Good luck. I hate the wind too!

Prayers and hugs!

Yeah Lucy!!!! Hope she continues to feel well! This is day three post-chemo for Dude and he's a bit sleepy/tired, and having some trouble eating. I don't think he's really nauseous since he'll readily eat any sort of treat. He just doesn't want to "eat." I've decided he'll just eat what he wants when he wants it for now and we'll see how he is in a couple days. He has a re-check on Monday with his surgeon, who will take his staples and stitches out, so we'll see what they say then. Hugs to all!

Hugs for you and Dustin! Checking for an update!

Good luck tomorrow!! We'll be sending good thoughts!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! Silly mutt! Won't eat hamburger (unless it's from McDonald's!). Won't eat pieces of chicken breast. Won't eat special lamb meatballs. Turns up his nose at rice and broth. Barely chokes down a scrambled egg with shake cheese on it like he's really doing me a favor. But put a paper bowl of plain kibble in front of him and he eats like mad. I'm way over-thinking this, I guess!

Kyle, please keep posting pics of Charlie! Even after we lose Dude, seeing pics of precious pups having fun and just being "dogs" will mean so much! Jess, I'm glad Lucy was able to cheer you up! I think the roller coaster is just par for the course. Dude had the first bad night since his surgery last night. He kept/keeps waking up crying and we can't find the source of any pain. He was OK yesterday after the chemo an coming home. He ate a good dinner with his usual enthusiasm, went potty, no problems. Then later after starting his pre-bedtime-nap the crying started. After watching him and pondering, I think he might be having gas pains in his tummy. Can I give him a regular Tums or Maalox???? He's on Cerenia and famotidine in addition to his pain meds and antibiotics. He finally ate breakfast with hand-feeding (plain hamburger and rice) and just had a little snack of a scrambled egg and a bit more rice. We'll see how he does with dinner. ETA - Jen I forgot to say that I was just looking through last year's CG Desk Calendar and saw the pics of Neyla. She was such a sweetie! I'm sorry you lost her.

Jess, I'm so sorry that Lucy is having a hard time. I know you know this but try to keep positive for her sake - she's probably picking up on your distress, as well as dealing with her own adjustment issues. Each dog has to learn on their own how to do things, and, though it's really hard, we need to let them figure it out without too much intervention, as they're able to handle it physically. And please don't double guess yourself! No one wants to think their dog has cancer, so doing a watch-and-wait when you're not sure is completely natural. My thing right now is that Dude dealt with a shoulder issue all summer that caused him to limp and whine. The orthopedist we (finally) saw in September, who is a good Greyhound vet, was 99.99% positive it was just a muscle strain, and we didn't do x-rays. Now I'm wondering if that was a precursor that we missed, even though it was in a completely different leg and he stopped limping soon after. Though I'm not sure there was anything we could/would have done differently then OR now. Keep ahead of her pain and swelling wih the meds, and cherish Lucy every single day! If I've learned nothing else in the last three months with two dogs going through life-threatening problems, I've learned we never really know how long we;ll have them, with or without cancer, so each day is a wonderful gift to be celebrated. Dude did really awesome at chemo today. He's home and ate a big dinner, and now he's napping on our bed. We came home with some Cerenia for nausea and an appointment for the second batch in three weeks.

Jen, I'm not opposed to raw feeding - we raw fed our Great Danes with good results - and I home cooked for our first Greyhound going through kidney failure. Just looking for some opinions. YEAH GRACY!!!!! Dude starts tomorrow! Kind of glad and kind of scared.

Not sure about Lucy's amp site, but Dude actually has quite a bit of leg left - almost half his thigh at least - including all the muscles. So I would think, as he's moving around, his nerves/brain are continuing to send 'walking" signals, so his leg keeps responding and twitching. He doesn't ever act like it hurts. In fact, Dude has never really acted like he's in pain after the first few days. We have kept up on his pain meds (codeine every 6-8 hours) and nsaid (rimadyl twice a day), but his ortho surgeon said he shouldn't really need them much longer at all, and has told us to try and stretch out the time between doses. Dude has been so much more better since that stupid drain came out yesterday! He has a good expression and he's moving around and acting almost like normal. He even chased a squirrel in the yard! Question: What do you all feed your hounds diagnosed with cancer??? I know several are doing raw diets. How about kibble people? Also, Dude has always been a complete chow hound. His bowl has always been the cleanest one since he licked out every last morsel. The last few days he's been leaving two or three mouthfuls (not much, in other words) behind, even though he's been eating with enthusiasm up to that point. Any thoughts as to why he might be doing this? We're feeding him the same amount, at the same times, and same food (kibble plus a bit of canned and water plus salmon oil) as he was getting before the surgery.

WooHoooooooooooooooooo! Drain out and hole closed up! Dude is soooooooooooo happy! Now, if I can confirm the chemo getting sent from OSU, he'll start that on Wednesday. We all feel so much better!

Give him time and space and patience. He will come around! This is very typical greyhound behavior and nothing is wrong with either the dog OR you! If he's at all food/treat motivated you can encourage him by rewarding more confident behavior when it's exhibited. It might speed things up. Might not. Just treat him normally for now and see how he does.

Happy Birthday Callie and Momma!!!! Love those pics! She looks great! Dude had a better day Sunday and a quiet night. The fluid output from the drain has dropped off considerably, so hopefully the drs will feel the stoopid drain can come out this afternoon. Hugs to everyone!

Here's hoping for a better day for everyone! After Friday when the vet closed the wound and put in a suction drain tube, Dude didn't bounce back as quickly as he had before. Saturday he was very drugged up and feeling down. He slept most of the day, which was probably a good thing. The suction egg part of the drain is actually sutured into the skin on his upper thigh ( :eek ) and it's really bothering him. He hates hates hates having stuff on him - even his harness and collar - so this "thing" he has dangling from his leg is annoying in the extreme. We're hoping that the drain can come out Monday, though It's still draining very well. His amputation incision actually looks good - closed and not puffy or infected. On the whole, I'm hoping for the best. Next hurdle after the drain being pulled is starting chemo. I'm very worried about the time that this infection has stolen from furthering his treatment. Hugs!

YEAH CALLIE!!!!! Jess, I sent an email to my family that said something like "This is why I haven't been in touch lately," and kind of laid it all out. Some of them had already seen my FB postings about Dude, but I went into a little more detail and background to explain what was going on. Kari, I think what you're going through is completely normal. Everyone grieves in their own way, and you'll find your way through the bad days and the good days. I can still tear up at odd moments about our first greyhound Libby who we lost to kidney failure 3 years ago. I also know that Dude's passing is going to be really, really hard on everyone - dog and human - in our house. Update: Vet just called and they did end up closing his infection surgery wound and putting in a drain. The surgeon said it looked really good and that the drain should help it finish healing. I'm not holding my breath, but I hope this is the tail end of this round.

Try and keep the boxes limited to one room or area of the house. When you're finished packing for the day, put the boxes away in the "box place." Also, if they're with you when your packing, make it fun time - play with stuffies, give them treats - make the boxes good things when they have to see them. Pack the dog things last an dunpack them first. Make sure you have a secure place for them while you're moving out and moving in. No walkabouts!

Yeah Lucy!!! You go girl!!!! I think going faster is actually easier than going slower. As long as she's maintaining her balance, I might let her go as she wants.

I very happy that things have egun to turn around for you and Bernie! Just awesome! Keep it up and Good luck!