greysmom

Yeah. As long as he's safe in there, I'd just let him work it out for himself. Leave the door to the rest of the house open so he can go if he wants. Get him a adequate bed (not too comfy! ) but enough so he's not just laying on the floor - even though the discomfort might be a way to get him out. I like the idea above of teaching him a new command for leaving the utility room. Do it outside of his normal "errand waiting time" though. The other thing I'd probably do is not use the utility room when going out for errands - take them out a different door or a different way to get in the car. Mix it up so he's not so routined into one particular cue for going for a ride. Go in the afternoon. Go earlier. Go later. Anything to break up his reliance on his morning car ride routine. Or not. It's not so bad a thing, afterall. He's safe. He's happy there. He's not upset by staying in the utility room. Just him, doing his own thing. You just never know with these guys sometimes!!!

Ha! Four. There's also a liquid version of Meloxicam, if you don't want to switch him off this particular drug. I have to use it with one of my girls because she doesn't fit into a normal dosing range for pills/half pills. It's also a lot easier on her stomach.

Galliprant is also supposed to have fewer gastro side effects, though I'm not sure if tha't the case in "real world" use.

FDA Approves the First Generic Firocoxib Chewable Tablets for Dogs

Everything you describe is actually very normal behavior for greyhounds. What would have helped was if the GS owner would have removed that dog from the situation and let the two GHs play on their own. It might be fine for one greyhound to play with another breed dog on their own. But once you add a buddy into the mix they tend to gang up on the "other guy." It doesn't matter that all the dogs involved are "normally" well behaved, or that they know each other, or that they're fine together on leash. Once you change the dynamics into a pack vs single situation, all bets are off. I understand your anxiety when a play session gets more rambunctious than you're comfortable with. Playtime in my yard, between all greyhounds, often sounds like WW3 - growling, barking, snarling, lunging, biting, and yes, lots of running. And we all wear muzzles, no exceptions (because each nip means anesthesia and stitches at the vet at $500 a pop). But it's important to understand dog body language AND their "play language" and learn to evaluate the situation accurately. Sometimes, you just have to bite the side of your cheek and let them go at it. Sometimes your dog needs a time out by your side until the adrenalin in the group cools off. Sometimes your dog just needs to be removed from the situation all together. It depends on the dog. It depends on you. It depends on the other dogs in the group. The most important thing to remember is that YOU are the one that needs to advocate for the safety of your dog. Even if you're unsure about what's going on. If it feels unsafe to you, remove your dog from the action until it feels less volatile.

You often *don't* know for sure if it's cancer or not until the leg is sent to the lab for analysis post-op. Many vets will recommend a FNA or bone biopsy, but neither are good options for greyhounds with their thin bones. Taking out enough material for a punch biopsy will often weaken the leg enough to break it when healthy, let alone under stress. And a Fine Needle Biopsy depends on the very fine needle being inserted into *exactly* the right place, to pull out any cancerous cells to be seen on a slide. Only you can decide what's best for your dog - you know her intimately, you know your family situation, you know your physical set up in your house, you know your financial status. We can tell you our experience, but it won't reflect your reality, only ours. This is what we do know for sure: osteosarcoma is very *extremely* tremendously painful. We know this from human children who have had nearly the same disease. The entire purpose of amputation is to remove the source of the pain the dog is experiencing - the primary tumor in the leg. Amputation doesn't "cure" osteo (though it can - very rarely - cure other kinds of bone cancer, though you won't know until post-op analysis, and maybe not even then). Amputation and follow-up infused chemo may give you several months to a couple years more quality time with your dog. Not always, but sometimes. Even when you do amputate, by the time a tumor is able to be seen on a long bone, it's nearly 100% certain that the cells have spread throughout the body, waiting to metastasize at any time. Once your dog is diagnosed with cancer, it's the beginning of a very long goodbye. It's also a very expensive option. Particularly if you don't have insurance, but oftentimes even if you do. When our boy went through the amp/chemo route in 2011 the final cost for us having him for 9 more months was about $20,000. We had just inherited some money when he broke his leg, otherwise we would have had to make a different decision. But he was a social butterfly who loved going to the vet and being fussed over, and who was basically healthy otherwise - no arthritis or other leg issues, no spine/lumbar issues, nothing to make dealing with three legs a burden rather than a relief. If you opt not to amputate and do palliative care, your average survival time is a few months. You're basically providing hospice care for her at home with pain medications and exercise restrictions and close monitoring. There are treatment modalities that can help - a good canine oncologist can help advise you - but again, it's basically a longer time to spoil her. This is a more affordable option. You do still face the risk of a catastrophic leg break at home though, so it takes advance planning for this option. But you need more information, so I would advise having some tough discussions about options, and seeing what Dr Couto advises. Research if you have access to a canine oncologist or specialty hospital in your area. Read through the Osteo Thread that was linked above (or in your other thread). And it *may* turn out that she doesn't have cancer, but a Valley Fever infection, bone infection, or some other reason why the bone isn't completely knitting together as it should. It's a hard road no matter what you choose. {{{hugs}}}

Well, they're sore and painful, so it's natural he'd not want them to be handled. It could be their poor condition rather than a corn that's making him limp, particularly since you can't see one. Burt's Bees shouldn't harm him in the miniscule amounts he might lick off, but most "corn dog" people cover the feet afterwards with stretchy toddler socks so the dog can't get to the paws. Treats can usually cure everything - one person feeds a stream of small (one gulp and down) bites of a super YUMMY treat - like roasted chicken or liverwurst or whatever he thinks is a *very* high value treat - while the other puts the cream on. Make it as fast and easy as possible in the beginning - get some on, cover the foot, move on. Once he's not so shy about his feet being handled you can spend some time massaging it in thoroughly. He may also benefit from epsom salt soaks once he will tolerate them (soak a wash cloth in epsom salts dissolved on warm water, wrap around his paw, cover with a plastic bag to prevent dripping). The BBS should help with his paw condition too, though if you need to walk for exercise/toileting you may want to invest in some good quality boots, particularly if you're walking mainly on concrete or asphalt. If you've been walking in a city that uses salt on the roads, make sure you wipe off his paws with baby wipes or a Paw Plunger when you come inside. If the BBS doesn't help after a week or 10 days, you and your vet should consider other reason for his paw condition - a food intolerance, contact allergies, autoimmune disease, fungal infection. There's also a group on Facebook called "Greyhounds with Corns" that's been very helpful for a lot of people. Good luck!!

Send all your medical records to Dr Guillermo Couto through the Greyhound Health Initiative. He is a noted greyhound expert and well worth the fee for him to do a review and give you his opinion. He'll tell you what he thinks and what should be done next. But, if you're still dealing with this, I would suspect it's most likely to be osteosarcoma, with no good outcome after this long without treatment/chemo. GHI - For Owners/Adopters

Sorry, but I'm voting for my guy!!! Pimpmaster Dude!! H7 Dude Junior Pimpmaster by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Likes to live dangerously, does he???

Sending you lots of hugs and support!!!

When the turning radius is so small, doing zoomies is rough on the feet. They are built for running fast basically straight ahead, so sharp turns can put stress on the toe ligaments. He *may* be catching it in the dirt, or he may just be startled by whatever he's feeling in his foot and screeching about it. Most of us call this the "Greyhound Scream of Death." The loudness and screechiness of the sound is inversely proportional to how serious the injury is!! The worse the injury, the more silent they are!! One of my boys broke his toe running in our yard and never made a sound, never limped, nothing. I didn't even see it until he ran back up on our deck and gushed blood all over the boards from the giant wound where the toe bone was sticking out!! But - OMG! - god forbid someone gets a pine cone caught in their foot well!! You'd think they were being attacked by some creature actively eating them from the ground up!! Just watch him for any injury. And try and find a greyhound friend through your group who has a fenced yard for you to play in. If he needs more daily exercise a longer walk is as good as a zoomie session and safer for all involved.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Couple things First of all, true aggression in dogs is really pretty rare. Usually what humans interpret as "aggression" is just the dog trying to communicate in one of the only ways they have available to them. YOU did something he was very uncomfortable with, so he growled to let you know. YOU persisted in doing the thing he was uncomfortable with, so he escalated his response to make sure YOU got the message. Then you forced him off where he was laying and yelled at him. I'd be grumpy too. It's not a good idea to punish a dog for growling. Ever. As I said above, it's one of the only behaviors a dog has to let humans know how their feeling. If you continue to punish him for it, he will learn to just skip the growling and go right for the snapping/biting. You've probably missed the more subtle body language dogs use to indicate they don't like something, so he growled. He's beginning to settle into his new home and adopted life, so he's feeling more comfortable letting you know how he feels - he's trusting you, but you're not listening. Plus, you yelled at him, and by your own body language and actions, continue to punish him for something he forgot as soon as it happened, so he's acting cautious and giving you lots of appeasement signs, wondering what he's done wrong. Dogs in general don't like anyone standing over over them or being touched on the top of their head. Particularly when they are laying down on a favorite sleeping spot. There *may* be some resource guarding going on, so having him get down/stay down off the furniture is a good thing. Now you know he doesn't like to be touched or approached when he's laying down (a really really common feeling among dogs), so - don't. Call him over to you so he's standing up, and awake, for attention and pets, or wait until he's up and moving around on his own. And make it a "house rule" to let the sleeping dog lie - for yourselves and any visitors who come to the house, most especially for any children who visit. If he's on the couch, don't grab his collar to move him, either teach him a command (go to your bed, scoot, whatever) or use a treat to lure him off. Once you have rebuilt a level of trust between you he *may* become comfortable enough to be approached and petted when he's laying down. Some dogs end up liking it and some don't ever. The important thing is you and your dog learn to communicate better and build your level of trust.

Taylor!!

A competent vet shouldn't need to sedate a calm dog for routine xrays. It's completely for the ease of the staff taking the shots, not required for clear rads of an extremity. If his entire leg hasn't been imaged and interpreted by a licensed radiologist then that is the first place to begin - rule out the obvious before thinking it's something else. An nsaid would probably really help him if you can find one he can tolerate. There is a fairly new product called Galliprant which is a different kind of nsaid with few side effects. There have been some dogs on GT that have used it successfully. There is also a liquid version of Meloxicam that allows for more precise dosing and is easier on the stomach. Make sure you only give nsaids on a full stomach after a meal, and that the meal contains water to help cushion the stomach lining. Sometimes giving the dog a Pepcid (dog-friendly acid reducer, check for fake sugars when using and OTC product) 20 minutes prior to meals also helps protect the stomach. There is a drug called Sulcrafate - a pill which is mixed into a slurry - which protects the stomach too. You can also explore some physical therapy modalities if you think the limp warrants - laser or swim therapy, canine massage, acupuncture, OTC supplements like Omega 3/6/12s from fish oil. Your vet will probably have suggestions and recommendations. Also, you *may* be overthinking this. By your own words, he's not struggling. YOU only notice the occasional hitch in his stride. He may, in fact, not have anything really wrong with him - just that little hitch. A five year old dog who raced as long as he did, and who might have had a previous injury, won't have a perfect gait 100% of the time. It could be a habit he picked up while he was injured or from the corn. It could be from something else entirely. Eliminate the medical causes you can do something about, and then use "watchful waiting" to monitor any increase in symptoms and/or pain. And enjoy your dog!!!

Fair's fair!!!

It *is* a perfect nose Mark!!

Yes, it sounds like you have what we refer to as a "spook." They are dogs who are extremely anxious on a genetic level, and in many ways behave much like autistic children in humans. Greyhound breeders report they can see the development of this "spook syndrome" in litters sometimes only days or weeks old. It's likely she's been this way her whole life. It isn't a result of something you did, her being adopted, or any treatment she received in her early life at the track. And it's actually pretty common. There are numerous threads here talking about spooks (and anxious dogs in general) for you to search for and read, including one from just a week or so ago. You aren't alone in searching for ways to help your girl cope better. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Read through the osteo thread posted above for lots of links and info. This really isn't something anyone else can decide for you - you know your dog and your own financial situation. But... Generally, surgical removal of the tumor is not a cure for osteo. Once a tumor is seen anywhere in the body, there are likely metastisies present, even if they are microscopic. Surgery is done to remove the primary tumor, which is the source of excruciating pain for the dog, and extend their life, though that time is usually quite short. And the surgery itself is dangerous and expensive. I would think that resecting enough bone from the ribcage could seriously compromise a dog's structure, but your surgeon is the one to talk to about that. With osteo in a leg bone, amputation is better tolerated. Follow up chemo is a must, as the survivability without it is very low. If you opt not to do surgery and do palliative pain management instead, there are numerous options for tumor reduction and treatment. Again, a conversation for your oncologist as they all * can* work to help with quality of life. The Osteo Thread mentioned above will not have many current options, so this will be something you'll need to research. Finally, no one wants to have to consider this, but the cost of surgery/chemo vs palliative care does need to be a factor. When we went through this journey in 2011 (catastrophic leg break, amputation, chemo infusion, 9 months surviving with pain meds following) the cost was around $20,000. We did not have any insurance to help with the cost so it was all on us. I'm so sorry you're having to join this club. It just totally sucks all the way around. And no decision is the "wrong" decision - only the right one for your family. Good luck! {{{hugs}}}

Is this for permanent installation or for your temporary camp?? Are you installing or done by a professional? What's the style of the house? Are there any HOA rules?? Chain link is probably the most cost effective and the longest lasting. You'll only get about 10-12 years from any kind of wooden fence, depending on the weather it has to withstand. #7 and #10 are my favs above - sturdy but functional. Though I would make any fence at least 5 feet, and 6 feet is better. 4 feet, or even 3 feet might be fine for Punkin and Annie, but there may come a time where you wish you had a taller one. There's a house I drive past a lot and it's similar to 7/10 but the posts and the top bar are round wooden posts and the wire portion is cattle panels. Like this but with an additional wooden round pole across the top: It seems very sturdy, but it is a more rustic look than chain link or privacy fence.

Gotta love a big black boy dog!!! Has Grace warmed up to him at all yet?

There may be, I would call your vet and see what they suggest. I always recommend a vet visit for any eye issue. They know what they're doing and have instruments to check much more closely than your naked eye can. Especially in the absence of any definite cause.

My adoption group wa-a-ay over here in Oregon is now getting in greyhounds from Ireland - Flying Irish Greyhounds - as they can afford them. They are wonderful dogs and very well cared for!!