greysmom

Is not eating his dinner odd or is he normally a picky eater? This could be just being picky? Is he looking at his belly/mid-section? Is he stretching and or walking around as if he can't get comfortable? Anything coming back up that went down earlier? This could be serious signs of bloat and he should go to the vet now in my opinion - better safe than sorry in this case. Is he running a temp? Limping? Other physical signs? Could be just "off his feed" and not feeling good - a case of mild upset tummy. You know Angler best. If your instinct says he's not well it's better to have it checked out. greysmom

Our dane had the surgery and the tacking and she never had another problem. We did feed 3-4 small meals a day of a very bland diet (rice and chicken or boiled ground beef no kibble or regular canned) for about a month after, and she always ate out of a raised feeder. If she's having a gas problem you could try adding some yogurt to help get her stomach bugs back working on track. Were you raw feeding before? It may be that her system is adjusting to a cooked diet. You could also give her a Pepcid each feeding to catch the gas before it starts. Hope Bailey feels better soon! greysmom

YUK! No wonder she was uncomfortable and got all bloat-y! Glad that's out of her! greysmom

So is this blood test an off the meds or back on the meds test? Only asking cause Da Dude is trying the "off" portion - we stopped his soloxine yesterday. So far so good! I would love to be able to put some weight on him. He's a very skinny, tall grey anyway, but he only weighs 70 lbs! Good thoughts for the Flashman! greysmom

Thanks for all the input everybody! I LOVE THIS BOARD!! This is such a confusing subject for vets as well as people. Fortunately, Dude's vet - Dr Laura - is pretty grey savvy. We talked at length about his history, his dose, his symptoms, basically everything I could think of to bring up! Her opinion - which agreed with mine! - was to take him off his pills entirely (no weaning him off cause soloxine gradually goes out of their systems anyway) and recheck him in 6 weeks. So here we go! Wish us luck! greysmom

You may want to question your dog sitter a bit more. Could something have happened when he/she was there that he/she wouldn't necessarily think was bad but could be with a greyhound? A pulled muscle out in the yard, or ate something she shouldn't, like that. Was Ramona alone more? Less? If her feeding times or routine were changed that could upset her. Just throwing some ideas out there. We always get the stink eye for a couple days after the boys are boarded. (And I know they're well taken care of cause I can watch 'em on the computer!) That being said, Ramona may just be extra sensitive to being left behind. She may think she's been abandoned and just readjusting to your being home again. Do have her checked out though. It could also be something completely unrelated to you being gone that just happened to crop up. greysmom

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Sounds like Bailey's going to be just fine! greysmom

Hey! Background: Dude came to us already on thyroid meds 2 1/2 years ago. He's taking Soloxine (a .8 and a .4 in the am and a .8 only in the pm). It never occurred to me that we should reconsider this diagnosis until reading about thyroid conditions in greys here on the Board and through some other research. The last time he was tested was more than a year ago and I didn't know then what I know now. The levels then on the standard test were low, but not out of line from what I can remember. As far as I can tell his ONLY symptom is a severe case of bald thigh (and no hair on his tummy or chest). He's not aggressive and doesn't seem particularly sensitive to cold. He is a bit of a fraidy cat - er, dog - but I think that's more the way he is than a result of a thyroid difficiency. He doesn't get dehydrated or drink too much. In fact, there are several things that seem opposite of thyroid deficiency symptoms: I've been taking his temp everyday for a week and it's consistently on the high side (about 102 degrees) all the time. I have trouble keeping weight on him (when he had his leg in a cast and couldn't exercise I didn't decrease his food and he didn't gain an ounce). He's pretty hyper and has trouble concentrating on training exercises (I'd call him ADHD if he were a skin kid). His hair really hasn't grown in anywhere even though he's been supplemented now for over 2 years. SO - we're going back to the vet Wednesday and see about taking him off his soloxine and retesting in 6 weeks as recommended by MSU. I'm armed with reams of paper and I'm sure Dr Todd is going to roll his eyes, but he'll also listen to me and not just dismiss my concerns. Wish us luck! greysmom

Hugs and white light to you! We had a Great Dane that bloated w/torsion, had the surgery and lived a long and completely normal life. Your vets sound like good doctors - they found the problem and fixed it and you'll have your girl home and bouncing aorund in no time!! It was good that she "just" bloated. With torsion, the blood vessels are blocked by the twisting and large sections of intestine and bowel can die due to lack of blood flow. Fortunately, dogs can get along well without their spleen. Keep us updated! greysmom

Bovines, goats, sheep, horses and many other barnyard animals are routinely neutered using the banding method. I've actually placed the bands myself (being a former FFA member who grew up in the country). The blood supply is cut off and the affected parts wither and fall off. They do this for sheep tails, too, as most are born with long tails that are basically fat storage facilities and they want the fat in the meat. It sounds yucky but it's almost completely painless and bloodless. It's LOADS better than doing it the old-fashioned way my macho-to-the-max FFA instructor described. How to make "Rocky Mountain Oysters" (it's somewhat like the guy above with the knife but with teeth instead ). YUCK!!! greysmom

There isn't a plant based ground cover - even ivy - that can stand up to running dogs. My neighbor (who also has 4 greys) uses the smallest grade of bark mulch, I just have dirt! As far as plants go, some dogs eat them and some don't, though I have noticed that if it looks like grass it'll get eaten, even if it daylillies (which aren't poisoness), bamboo, or those tough sedge grasses. One of mine cut her tongue on one of those so I don't even plant it where they can get it. I also don't have any plants whose leaves are poke-y either on the bush or after they fall. I have 7 huge douglas firs and the pine cones are enough to deal with. Hostas and ferns are good though my 3 will also eat them (not poisoness). And if you put in pots or planters you have to either get the REALLY high or put fencing in them to keep little mouths out! I basically don't worry overmuch about the back yard and lavish all my garden energy on the front! greysmom

Yeah Flashman! greysmom

Dere Gus, I had da SAME TING happen to me! I gots a bwoke tow and Mama tooks me to da E-vet place. She was vewy scared and I cudnt go to my favowite Doktor Todd. So da doktor at da E-vet had to amputates ma toe and den she puts on dis HUMONGus banage all ober my foots an up to my nee. I dint lik it vewy much! Dey sayz to leeve it on for TWO HOLE WEEKS! Mama thot that waz too long and called dem on the ringy-fone. Dey tolls her to leev it on and I gots ouchies unnerneeth da banage dat lookt jes like yorz. I hads to go bak to dat vet plase evewy week so dey culd change my banage - I HATES DAT PART! Mama thot she waz a bad mama too, but it waznt her falt - she waz jes doin wat dey said. It waz a long time but itz all better now. Ebben if I'ze only gots tree tows on my foot! Da Dude Dude's Mom here - I know it looks bad, but it will get better! Dude actual amputation healed just fine, but trying to get the pressure sores healed was an ordeal. I wish I had known about EMT Gel while Dude was going through this. BTW - I saw some at PetSmart the other day (after I had ordered it from Amazon.com unfortunately). I will definitely follow my instincts the next time. I knew that splint had to come off but because I'd never had to deal with anything like this before, I did what they said and my poor baby paid for it. greysmom

OK - let me see if moving these to PhotoBucket makes a difference.

My seizure grey had no problems with diarrhea, even when she started on phenobarb. I'm glad the home cooked diet is working for Lucky! greymom

It cost me nearly $2000 at the E-vet for the Dude's toe amputation (xrays, bloodwork, meds, bandaging). I know my vet would have charged less, but they weren't open. greysmom

It's all an individual thing. Copper gets so much gunk he has a whole potatoe patch in a few months, and we clean his ears about every 4-6 weeks. The other two are fine with the once yearly cleaning at the grey wash fundraiser. I always thought it was partly due to the fact that Copper will lay down flat out, on any surface, if he stands still for more than 30 seconds - he's the laziest greyhound that way - so he lays in dirt (or less clean spaces!) a lot! greysmom

What is this miracle product and where do you get it???????????????????? greysmom

Stitches probably wouldn't hold on her wrist anyway. Keep it clean and keep her from licking. You will have to go to the vet if it gets bigger or gets infected. Most vets will be compassionate if you're having money trouble and your pet needs care. greysmom

I usually tell them not to stitch them up, as the stitches fail more times than they help. Greyhound skin is so thin that the stitches rip right out. It does leave a bit of a scar sometimes where the stitching usually won't. Sounds like it's going to be OK - keep up with the compresses, and maybe add a bit of hydrogen peroxide (I use a 1 part hydrogem=n peroxide to 3 or 4 parts warm water) to help keep it clean depending on where the wound is. greysmom

Have your vet check really deep in their ears. Especially if they are outside in grass at all. We used to get small grass seeds in our Danes ears and they acted just like that. Once the vet had to sedate one to get the seed out, it was that deep in her ear. greysmom

We got ours at Fred Meyer/Kroger, but you could probably get it at any big drug store type - Walgreens, Rite Aid, WalMart. It's in the specialty hand cream aisle usually in a small square green metal container. It's pretty goopy, so we did what someone here suggested and put baby socks on Dude after we put it on him. The socks fell off by morning, but the goop didn't get all over. Dude pads were really hard and crusty after being in a splint/bandage for 5 weeks after his toe amputation and they were really painful. It only took two or three applications to make them soft again. Now our problem is hardening them up so he'll walk on his foot outside - no concrete or asphalt for Dude for a while. greysmom

The Dude, for all his coolness, is an inveterate and unrepentant poop-eater. So we scoop at least once a day. Cash doesn't eat it, but she doesn't seem to see it either, so we scoop so she doesn't step in it! Copper doesn't eat poop or step in it, but he does eat dirt, so, again, we try and keep the yard clean. It's both harder and easier as the weather warms up. The poops dry up and get unsmelly faster, but the flies and other disgusting crawlies find it faster. We double bag and put it in the trash (yes, that's what our trash company said to do), and twice or three times a week in warm weather. My favorite time of year is cold and windy - they just dry up and don't weigh anything so the bags are real light. greysmom

If she is otherwise healthy and in good spirits, and your vet is committed to taking proper precautions and monitoring her, then I would probably do it. We had a 12 yr old foster who had most of his teeth removed and he did fine. He felt better and was actually able to eat better because his mouth wasn't sore and painful. He had other issues and we couldn't put him on an all canned diet, so I ended up crunching up a meal's worth of dry kibble in the blender and mixing it with some water to make kibble gruel. He could just lap it up and he did great! greysmom

It all comes back to each person taking personal responsibility - whether it's for how we treat each other, or how we treat our pets, or how our nation relates to other nations. Every living creature deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. We had steak last night - I'm obviously not a vegan! And I don't think the "natural" way for humans to eat is with no meat whatsoever, we omnivores afterall - I make sure we buy only from facilities/farms that treat their animals the same way I would if I had raised the steer on my own farm for my own family's table. No feedlots, no growth drugs, no tiny little stalls where they're force-fed. But that's expensive - ironically! And not everyone can afford it. So we have meat from feedlots, and milk cows amped up on growth hormones - there are simply too many people to sustain on an agronomic level, a fact that's going to get more and more sticky as we have more and more people to supply. But that's an entirely different topic!!!! Humans have to take responsibility. Particularly for the animals we have taken out of the wild and changed completely to suit our needs. Dogs are not wolves, domesticated cats are not lions, the farm animals we commonly use for food and clothing have only a little in common with their wild ancestors. Laws exist for those who don't want to or refuse to take responsibility for their actions - society must step in and punish the guilty and make amends to repair the balance between people. And laws set the basic limits of actions and behaviors where there are a wide variety of opinions - such as in the case of laws for the humane treatment of animals. As one poster said - if those of us on this Board, who all ostensibly are on close to the same page about one topic, can't even agree, how can we expect a wider population to come to consensus easily?? greysmom (BTW feemandvm, my usual fee to go to my vet is about the same as my trip to my doctor!)