greysmom

If you've gone through the gamut of all other remedies, Elavil would not be my next step. It needs to be taken for a while an the level kept up in the bloodstream to work. If she's fine at other times and has no other anxiety issues you should go with something more like valium, which is faster acting an can be given in one dosage. Even the Xanax (alprazolam - which we have one of ours on now) usually needs several doses before it becomes effective, though many do use it in single doses. Good luck! greysmom

How long have you had Ethan?? We recently had an Oregon-bred foster come into our adoption system (raced in Arizona) who tested positive for Valley Fever. It's such a rare occurence here that the vet (a very greyhound-savvy doctor) had to educate herself about what it is and how to treat it. You may want to have your vet contact Dr Couto at OSU (not the Oregon one!) or maybe the vets at Michigan State???? There are a lot of diseases and parasites and ticks in other parts of the country that we don't have here. Good luck! greysmom

Swiss cheese and canned cat food always work for us. I'm so glad Flashy is eating his Chicken O's! Go Flashy! greysmom

Ground black pepper will also stop quick bleeding. Pack it around in the "hole." Probably anything that will coagulate and stop the blood flow will work. greysmom

Was it a HAMburger or a CHEESEburger????? So it's good news/bad news. Tough to deal with when it's Flashy. I know you know all the things to try food-wise, which is even harder if he can't have people food. We'll be hoping for good news tomorrow! greysmom, et al.,.

Just checking in to see if there's an update..... We're thinking of you Flashman! greysmom and the gang!

Sometimes a limp is just a limp. It's hard to know when to panic or not, but in this case, he seems to be gettin better without any invasive or intensive intervention. I would probably think he poked his pad with a stick or rock or pine cone spur - whatever was around on the ground where he walked that night - and it caused him to limp a bit. The xray showed nothing in the paw so it was most likely one of those things that happen every so often. If he continues limping, or if he developes an open sore or tender spot where the pinprick was on his pad I would get him back in asap. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't want to spend the money on xrays. greysmom

I would seconf taking a look at his water intake. The pumplin should be good whichever way is the right way, but the immediate brown spots seems to point to a high urine concentration. All my pups get water on their food just to make sure they're getting the minimum. Somebody had posted recently about how to check for dehydration - with pictures and everything. You might try searching for that thread as well. greysmom

We are thinking of you and your brave - and whiny! - little girl! She had so much courage and spirit that we thought she would be here for a while yet. chris and the gang

Dude whole tummy is covered with freckles that look a bit like those. Are they raised at all? Do they look red and/or swollen or just spots like freckles or moles? It does seem a bit fresh, but the man of this house is KNOT going to check his boys over, so I get to do it! I make it a point to "examine" all my dogs, all over at least every ten days or so, just so I don't miss anything. They're on their backs so much that it makes a quick once over a breeze. greysmom

YEAH GOOD POOP!!!!!!!!! I was hoping this thread would get more better the more I read! We're all thinking about you and Soulman! greysmom

Flashman yu gots to EET!!!! Yuz iz makin yuz Momma wurree an shee duznt need anee mor wurreein rite now! Missin da Flashman too! Dude

Oh Claudia.... I'm so sorry. I was so hoping..... I have such a crush on your girl and it hurts in my heart that she has to move on. Sometimes we try everything and it's not fair that it's still not enough. I hope there is some comfort in knowing she couldn't have had a better home and a better Mom to take care of her than you and yours. I was doing OK reading all the comments until I got to Holly's: Beloved master, should the Great Master see fit to deprive me of my health or sight, do not turn me away from you. Rather hold me gently in your arms as skilled hands grant me the merciful boon of eternal rest... and I will leave you knowing with the last breath I drew, my life was always safest in your hands. I'll still pray for a miracle, but I know that all our beloved Bridge Angels will be waiting to welcome Misty home. chris

If you can get it on without getting it in her eye, you could try some hydrocortisone cream that's for anti-itching. If it's anywhere that it could get into her eye, don't try it. The benadryl will help with the itching too. greysmom:D

I'm so sorry. Poor Cafe. I have no advise, though we had a seizure dog for 4 years until we lost her to kidney failure. It seems my pack was very uncharacteristic in their response to Libby's seizures - Copper and VooDoo never seemed to pay any attention to her whatsoever when she was seizing. It could be that they didn't because we were right there with her (we don't believe Libby ever had one when at least one of us wasn't home). Even with us there the two of them would usually sleep right through - no interest at all. I hope she's going to be all right. greysmom

I dont kno nuthin abowt no milk thisselz or sameez butt I wunt to tell da Flahman dat him an yur famblee awr thot abowt a lot. Lubs Dude

YEAH BIG V!!!! He looks fabulous! I bet he couldn't wait to come home too! greysmom

Teeth are always what I tink of first, and it's the easiest fix. One of mine needs a dental every 8-10 months. It's just the way his mouth/teeth/eating habits are that his teeth get dirty faster. Have you tried brushing them yourself? I am TERRIBLE at teeth brushing and choose instead to give them teeth cleaning, chewy/crunchy chew bones every night. It helps a bit but Copper still needs professional help! greysmom:D

There's been several threads about this over in the Behavior section. It does seem as if mine are only eating particular dirt, or dirt from particular places in the yard, and it does seem to only happen in the Spring. But I don't think there are any clear indications as to why they do this. I try to stop it when I can, but they'll even mash their muzzles into the hole to get at a dirt clod! greysmom

Oh no! I'm so sorry for you and your whole family! Alan was a dear, sweet, beautiful boy and you gave him the best life possible. He will be missed by so many people who only met him through your eyes and heart. greysmom Chris and the Gang of Four

His .5 is a bit low, but I think it can be considered a low-normal (greyhound normal) rather than plain low. If you have the $$$$ you might as well run the test, but in the absence of other symptoms, I wouldn't suspect low thyroid. Classic symptoms: Gaining weight losing hair (beyond the greyhound pattern baldness on thighs and belly) extremely dry, flaky skin dry and/or flaking nails sometimes changes in the eyes extreme lethargy (again, beyond the grey normal!) greysmom

Given his symptoms, I would have to go along with the low blood sugar or stroke theory. If he got better after his ice cream that would seem to me to be blood sugar related. Also, I know in people, high blood pressure pills can make them low in potassium so that supplemements are needed. Low potassium levels can be serious but I don't know what those symptoms are off hand. There aren't usually (I think) such hold-overs after a seizure. All the dogs I've heard about (and my own) were completely fine within 20 or 25 minutes after seizing and often much sooner. If his gums are white, or don't come back to a nice pink color after you press on them; if his heart beat is still high and he's panting; definitely if his stomach is either hard or tender to pressure - I would take him in asap. Good luck! greysmom

It's hard to know for sure. Could be a one-off or he could be developing idiopathic (meaning the origin is unknown) seizure disorder. Several things to do: >Make sure he has access to enough water as they can get a bit dehydrated during seizures >Write down right now before you forget the exact timing, when, where, how, all the details you can remember. Keep a log of any future episodes - knowing more details can help determine if there is a source and what you can look for. >I know it's super disturbing and really hard to watch, but he's probably already forgotten it. Try and not transfer your stress to him. >Look up poster "EmilyAnne" and she has a link to her blog in her signature which gives a ton of good info on seizures and dealing with them. Remember that many greys have them and live perfectly normal lives before, during and after. If he does develope a seizure disorder there are a lot of things to help get you and Snoopy through it. It's KNOT the end of the world. Hugs and skritches! greysmom

I haven't had that problem with my greys but BOTH my Great Danes went through it as they aged. It was like having two extra people in the house pooping on the floor all the time. There was nothing to do for them as it was mostly old age and nerve degeneration. We bought lots of old rubber backed rugs, and towels, and incontinence pads, and were constantly washing and cleaning. It is a big chore. Good luck! I hope someone has some answers for you. greysmom

OK - I may be completely wrong - but I think a T4 of 9.0 is incredibly high. I mean, a greyhound low reading would be like 0.2 or 0.3. A normal would be around 1.0-2.0. maybe. (Unless I'm completely wrong, which I could be, hopefully someone with a better memory will jump in soon!) If that's the case, his behavior totally makes more sense. Dude came to us on thyroid, and through a long couple of years of putting up with his hyperactivity and aggressive play behavior, it finally dawned on me that he may be getting TOO MUCH thyroid. (He was sort of at the end of the period when greys were routinely diagnosed with low-thyroid just for bald thigh syndrome.) Long story short, we took him off his supplement and his behavior has really calmed down! He can actually pay attention to instructions and focus on commands for more than a split second. He still plays rough, but he's not super-aggressive-pushy-barky-bitey like he was. I'm also SHOCKED that the vet couldn't say that right away with that reading - DEFINITELY time for a new vet! (Unless I'm totally worng!) greysmom OK - so someone was posting while I was. A 0.9 would be normal for a grey, but they CAN also be HYPER (too much) thyroid. If it's really 0.9 then I would start looking for other causes, and a new vet!