greysmom

What a fun weekend!! You had a full house again!

It will help some if you can change your attitude a bit towards her behaviors, all of which are very common in retired greyhounds. Most dogs are not truly "aggressive" and all of what you are experiencing isn't either. She has a very high prey drive towards dogs you are seeing out on walks, and/or she is highly "leash reactive." The other incidents are more correctly resource guarding and sleep startling, not real aggression. You have some decisions to make though. Returning her is a viable option, particularly if you don't have a yard and must walk her for potties and exercise. And any one of these behaviors could be a deal breaker if you just don't feel confident enough to deal with them, so do contact your adoption group and see if they have any advice for you (and to let them know you having issues). It's a difficult decision, but please don't consider it a failure on your or her part. It just wasn't a good fit for an adoption. It happens, and most reputable groups will take their dog back and see if there's a better fit in their kennels for you. One way you can go is to contact a good, greyhound-savvy, positive reinforcement only trainer to come to your house and observe what's going on and give you some in person tips and techniques to turn your girl's behavior around. Your group might have a recommendation for you, or ask your vet, or other greyhound owners in your area. Another way is to research her behaviors yourself and do what you can to manage them - which it seems you are doing. Everything you described is what we would be recommending, so you just need to give it time, and both of you plenty of patience for them to take hold. She's been with you such a very short period of time, and she needs to become settled into her new living situation before training will take much hold. So. For the leash reactivity, get the booklet "Feisty Fido: Help for the Leash reactive Dog" by Patricia McConnell. It will help walk you through ways to help you keep control of your dog during walks. For the sleep startle, have her sleep on her own bed elsewhere in your bedroom. It will take some doing now that you've already let her sleep on your bed, but be persistent in luring her back to her own bed with a nice treat. Don't try and move her by grabbing her collar! Use a treat and call her over to her bed or, if you must, hook up her leash to urge her to move. You have a few sleepless nights ahead before she will accept this new normal. You may consider setting up an xpen a=or doing crate training if she is stubborn about staying on her bed. Resource guarding her food *may* lessen over time as you build up a bond with her. Just don't try and take any high value food or treat away from her with out "Trading Up" for it first. Offer her a VERY YUMMY SPECIAL treat. One that she can't resist. And lure her out of the room or away from her bowl/treat and pick up what you need to take from her right away. Just as an aside, she may not have ever been in a home before. If she was a successful racers she may have spent the last four years since retiring on a farm being a momma dog, so everything is going to be new and strange to her about living in a home. Give her and yourself time and patience in abundant supply! Good luck.

I'd be more concerned about changed in the bottom of his shoulder blade, but it's really hard to tell through all the soft tissue. Also a soft tissue tumor won't show on xrays, you will only be able to image changes in the bones. I don't see any of the characteristic "moth eaten" looking bone which would definitely be osteo. BUt Dr Couto should be able to guide you forward - he may need different views or digital vs copies, but he will be able to give you a next step. As far as what you do then, it's really entirely what you decide is the best for you, your family, and your dog. I will say, right off the bat, that the amp-chemo route is going to be the most expensive - because it's something we unfortunately have to consider. Ten years ago our boy's surgery and after care ended up costing us around $20,000 and gained us 8 months of time with him. There are tons of new treatment options now, and vaccine trials, new pain protocols, but it's still an expensive route to take. Amp-chemo is really all about one thing - removing the primary source of pain (the tumor) and helping your dog be comfortable for a longer period of time. It also reduces the chance of a catastrophic break during the normal course of physical activity. I believe The Greyhound Health Initiative has a free chemo program, and that is another cost to consider. But still, once a primary tumor is seen it pretty much means the cancer cells are throughout the body. By doing amp-chemo you're just extending the pain-free time you dog will have, it isn't a curative procedure. Choosing palliative care is a perfectly viable option, if that what you decide is best for your family. There are plenty of new treatments to give your dog a good amount of pain free time (though you still have to watch for a catastrophic break). I'll try and look up the latest Osteo Thread for you to look through. This was a series of threads we had going for several years as many of us went through what you are doing now. Our discussions might help you. There are also a lot of links and information in the first post of the thread. In the meantime, try and keep your boy quiet and don't let him do zoomies or go crazy running outside until you have a better idea what you're dealing with. Did your vet offer nsaids along with the pain meds? Offer any other medicinal help for your boy other than further diagnostics? They won't help in the long term if her has osteo, but they will help keep him comfortable now. Good luck.

Hmmm... From what I remember of other people's usage, they usually give one or two TBLSP of rehydrated product every meal, but I think you just need to adjust the amount around your dog's individual response. I also seem to remember folks making up about a week at a time.

late to the party but I hope your birthday was wonderful, beautiful Sweep

You can put the silver in the divots after the corn is hulled. It may extend the cornless time and help with the healing. It's highly likely that they will return, unfortunately.

Re duct tape vs nail polish - I don't think it makes any difference. Just whatever is easier for you and Violet. YES! Short mnails do seem to make a big differencevery quickly. Colloidal silver does seem to have a benefit for most corn dogs, especially applied right after hulling. Your results may vary. Getting the duct tape to stick is a process - the pad needs to be clean and dry and NOT have a recent application of moisturizer. Wait an hour or so at least after moisturizing to put on the duct tape. I don't know if that applies to nail polish or not. I suspect not.

If he'll let you, try and smear some Neosporin on it and wrap it lightly with vet wrap to keep it in place. Use his muzzle or a long sock to keep him from licking it, or you'll have a bigger issue on your hands. There's a reason we call them "doom claws" around here!!

The "big new thing" is a variation on the theme of starving the corn of air. No one knows why or how this works, but it does. Using duct tape or some other type of covering right over the corn. The current "thing" is using nail polish to cover it, reapplying when it wears or falls off. Some people report success within a few days, others say a few weeks, but eventually the corn does sort of just fall out. Some even had had the corn not return, so it's worth a try at least. Doesn't matter the brand or style or color, just so it covers the corn completely (only the corn and not large areas of the pad). Some soak and moisturize in between applications, some don't. Grinding it down in between might help, or not. The flexor tenotomy surgery is always an option. It's super quick, and I think might even be able to be done under lighter sedation. The recovery time is next to nothing and many dogs reportedly walk out of the clinic afterwards with no limp. I, personally, have the same questions mentioned above, but if I had an older dog with leg issues already, who developed a corn on a "good" leg, and she really was struggling to walk, I might consider it anyway.

Yes. There are, in fact, asking for opposite behaviors. Leave It - you want him to completely ignore something of his own volition. Watch Me - you are asking him to focus his attention on you for a purpose. If you need some direction regarding teaching him get the book/ebook "Fearful Fido: Help for the Leash Reactive Dog." Your boy isn't truly leash reactive, but the focusing techniques will be very similar.

Sounds like somebody taught herself that sitting is fun! Dogs aren't static behaviorally. They mature and change over time, just like other intelligent creatures. Studies have shown they have the intelligence of about a 3 year old toddler, so they are plenty capable of figuring things out and doing new things. The only thing you may want to keep an eye on is if she is suddenly doing this because of a physical change - some arthritis in her back or hips, hind end weakness, some sort of soft tissue issue in her legs. At 5 years old she's not old, but there could definitely be changes beginning to show.

This is probably a case where a Fine Needle Aspiration may prove helpful. One of mine has lumps all over, with new ones popping up all the time. Our vet does an in house FNA and looks at the cells under their microscope. They are usually just lipomas (fatty bumps), but the type of cells can be informative. She also keeps a body map of all the lumps we find so we can keep track of them.

Love everything about this post!!!!

Poor Abu!!!!!

It's not uncommon, but I think many people don't know about it. Out of the 11 greys we've had only one was a habitual trancer. She would walk through her bushes every day for 15 or 20 minutes until she was close to 11 years old. Then the frequency started dropping off. I always wondered if it was due to her nerves not being as sensitive.

Make sure you check her over *extremely* carefully. They can have small bite wounds hiding in flaps on skin, or in the folds of joints or in leg creases, so really run your hands on her. Watch for limping and evidence of soft tissue injury too as that can show up in the next few days. I wouldn't even take my dog in for a scrape like that unless she licks it really open and raw. If you can soak it a couple times a day in warm water and epsom salts it will help it heal up. Soak a wash cloth or clean rag in the water solution and wring it out, wrap around her foot, and cover with a plastic bag to contain the dripping. 10 minutes if she'll stay still - do it while she's napping. Dry well and keep her tongue off it using her muzzle - tape over the bottom holes if necessary. Best invention EVER is spray neosporin! Get some and use it several times a day until it's well healed. Cover with a sock to protect it. Idiot owners of unleashed dogs never do understand.

I'm in. GT and dog people are the only ones I get cards from anymore! Someone might want to contact Wendy to see if she would revive the "official" card exchange. Doing the list last year was hard work! You might want to ask to move this to Off Topic to get a wider audience. I never come into this section and only found this thread by accident.

Good job! Corns are such a menace! So glad you've found a maintenance plan that works for you all!

First thing to do is ask for a second opinion referral to another canine neurologist. At the very least, ask for a copy of all her medical records and request a review from another neuro. Preferrably in a different clinic in another part of town, unconnected to your current clinic/neuro. You might reach out to either a shepherd or pit rescue in your area to see if they have any recommendations based on breed familiarity. Since this is a greyhound breed board we don't have much experience with shepherds or pits. It could be something breed specific that is going on with your girl. Or it could be something more, like lymphoma or another cancer, or just plain old horrible luck of the draw with idiopathic seizures causing all the trouble. It's really difficult to know what to advise, and how to tell you to go forward because it's really all about your personal situation and what you think is the best path for your dog. It may be that a treatment can be found that will allow her a good quality of seizure-free life for a space of time. But it's also possible that you may be forced into a different decision if you can't control her seizures without causing other terrible issues. There is no right or wrong decision, only the best possible decision for you and your family and your dog.

Test for Tick Bourne Diseases.

Outgoing dogs are a blessing!!

He's so handsome!!!! Happy Birthday Paddy!!!

The time period really depends on the dog and how anxious they are when alone. Remember that greyhounds have likely *never* been alone in their entire lives until they're adopted into a home as an "only" dog. It's a huge adjustment - probably the biggest one in their lives - and it just takes as long as it takes. If your lucky,, it can be as short as a few days. Mostly it takes, probably 6-8 weeks of diligent and patient work. Some dogs can take many months. And, though rarely, we come across dogs that simply never get used to being alone. And reactions can run the gamut from a bit of whining for a few minutes after their person leaves, to full out destructive panic attacks. There have even been dogs who jump through windows and destroy dry wall in their attempt to get out of the house they feel trapped and alone in. Uncontrolled toileting in the housedue to anxiety is also fairly common. It can, very rarely, work itself out with time and a good bonding of trust between new dog and new owner. Unfortunately most people nowadays have close neighbors who don't want to put up with the howling and hubbub until that happens, so we have to actively work on extinguishing the behavior with counter-conditioning. You have an excellent guide to follow, so just be patient and go through the steps. Good luck!

What did the bloodwork say? Has he actually physically examined the dog? Has he suggested a urinalysis or fecal sample? Has he suggested testing for Tick Bourne Diseases, a Urinary Tract Infection, Leptospirosis. Again 101 is NOT a high temperature for a dog. Also greyhounds have thin skin and higher blood volume than other breeds, so they often *feel* very warm to the touch when they are prefectly normal. For me to panic over a temp it would need to spike very quickly over 103 and stay stay there for an extended period. The other big symptom to watch for is blood in the urine, particularly after exercising, along with a high (over 103 F) temp. This *could* be a condition called Rhabdomylosis and it requires immediate emergency treatment. Are you converting your "101" temp nfrom centigrade to fahrenheit? There may be something incorrect about your conversion numbers, because no one should be concerned over a 101 degree Fahrenheit temp in a dog.