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greysmom

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Everything posted by greysmom

  1. Be friendly to everyone and never be bored. Be like Specky!! Words to live by!!!
  2. HEY!!!! THAT REMINDS ME!!! We haven't seen the Santa ornament story yet!!!
  3. Well, it's that time of year again. My picture memories and Facebook memories are full of love and adventure this time of year. Today, in 2011, I set off from my house to drive to the Washington State side of the Canadian border to pick up two greyhounds - an adult and a PUPPY. This was entirely arranged through Greytalk, and friends and contacts from here!! It was totally awesome!! You can read about the experience in this thread from a past Anniversary post in 2020: The 9th Anniversary of the Great International Houndie Handoff Both Whiskey and Lilly have gone over the Bridge now - Whiskey 4 years ago and Lilly almost 2 years ago. It's both a happy and a sad day for us.
  4. Yeah, there was a recall over the summer - or at least a warning not to feed certain lots of products from Olewo. I think it was a salmonella issue??? I had one bag that had a funny color, but it smelled fine, and no one here got sick. I was almost through with it when the notice came around. But huh. Not seeing anything about it now, though I clearly remember something.
  5. OH Ducky. I'm so sorry. Fly free sweet girl........
  6. If you've fasted her for 24 hours and she's still having diarrhea she needs to go to the vet. Take in a fresh sample. If the vet decides thay don't need it, it's easy to throw it away. It's hard to get a sample right when you need it! Always re-introduce food with a bland diet. If she's OK with that (no vomiting or diarrhea once she's eating again), begin mixing in her regular food slowly after another 24 hours.
  7. Yes. You want to fast at least 24 hours until the diarrhea stops, then gradually re-introduce bland food 1/4 cup at a time, every two hours, adding an additional 1/4 cup each time. Stop immediately if the diarrhea starts again and get her into the vet. Make sure to collect a fresh sample of her stool to take with you so they can check for parasites and giardia. Ask them to check for hookworm, even if she's had a negative test previously (search here for threads on hookworms for more info). A bland diet consists of a low fat protein source {poached or roasted chicken/turkey, well-rinsed ground beef (or chicken/turkey), poached white fish (tilapia, cod)}; and a high fiber carb source (overcooked rice or pasta, oatmeal, couscous and other grains). If her diarrhea is something abruptly new, without any recent changes in diet, stick with the protein and carb in her main kibble. If you did recently change her food, try a different combination as she may be intolerant or allergic to the new food. Do not include any other supplements or additives at this point. Once she's back on track, and cleared of any parasites or bacterial issues, you can consider a probiotic and/or adding fiber to her diet. And get to the vet ASAP if you see blood in her stool or she begins vomiting (with or without blood). Dehydration is an issue, so make sure she has fresh water available. Good luck!
  8. My cards will be out the next day or so!! For some reason UPS sent them to a completely different city before rerouting them to the correct address.
  9. I couldn't always find the Salmon oil, so I had to switch to the Pollack oil. Then that got hard to find so I had to switch to what they're calling Omega Health. It's a blend of Salmon and Pollack oils plus some other stuff. I don't think they're making just the straight salmon oil anymore. Grizzly Omega Health But we didn't have any upset here from the switch. We hardly ever do though, so your experience may vary.
  10. Looks like I'm getting mine today!!! Thank you!!
  11. Yes, it does sound a lot like Lupus or another/combo of auto-immune disorders. This is fairly common in greyhounds. See what kinds of specialists are available in your area and ask for a referral. A dematologist maybe but definitely an internist that understand auto-immune disorders. Don't be surprised if it takes a *really* long time to schedule an appointment. Every vet I know is understaffed and overworked and doing the best they can. Lupus and other diseases in this vein usually don't respond to allergy treatments or creams. Some can be managed with OTC supplements, but some needs immunosuppressant drugs to really get on top of. Good luck
  12. Many greyhounds don't do well with boutique foods. They are usually too high in protein and don't have enough fiber. While it sounds counterproductive, sticking with a brand like Iams or Purina actually works better for 99% of our dogs. Get the results of the testing FIRST though, because it won't matter what you feed him if he still has hooks. Keep him on the food he's eating until you can get three clear tests results, post-treatment - one at 2 weeks, one at 5 weeks and one at 8 weeks. Then see what the state of his digestive tract. Many of us have had good success with the various formulations of Purina products. The Senstive Stomach might work the best for you right now. Try and keep the protein percentage at 25% or lower, and make sure it includes a non-legume carb source like rice or a grain. It's quite common for pumpkin to increase diarrhea. I wish people would stop recommending it since it does NOT work for every dog. If adding fiber is going to help it (usually) needs to be insoluble fiber like that in Metamucil, or Olewo carrots. But again, I would wait until he's hookworm clear before experimenting. Do go ahead and add a probiotic, since that will help keep his gut in order through any treatment. There are loads of good products out there (you can search the threads here for ideas since there are a lot of them with suggestions). Congrats on your new boy!!
  13. Don't be so sure he can't tell what day it is. They have the ability to pick up on really subtle cues. I've had dogs that tell the difference between trousers and jeans, whether I put makeup on or not, if I take a shower, if I eat cereal or toast, whether a morning paper is delivered or not - it's crazy. I generally try and keep the schedule exactly the same but they know somehow!! If he's OK being left alone, I would just let him stay on the couch. Try taking him out at a different time of day, maybe by himself, maybe through a different door, go a completely different way, go somewhere to walk by car. If you really need him to walk at that time then start using really yummy treats - not hard crunchy ones, but, like, roasted chicken pieces or cheese, very high value - and praise and treat when he completes each task in the "going for a walk" chain, particularly the collar and right before starting off. Keep things happy and moving along so he doesn't have a lot of time to think about where he's going or doing, and praise and treat randomly throughout the walk. Good luck!
  14. I'll just second everything said below - no one really knows. The *may* (may possible, might be) some genetic link that runs in particular sire or dam lines, but there's been nothing scientifically proven. Yet. At least one vet I know - who is a former greyhound racing trainer - is collecting data for such a meta-study, but I don't think she has any even tentative results. I'll pass on what I was told by our orthopedic surgeon. I also had a 2 year old suffer a catastrophic leg fracture after coming into my home. We were competing in an AKC 200 yard racing event, and she broke her leg right above the hock. Her leg was a mess and took us over two years, several surgeries, an external fixator for 6 months, and two rounds of bones grafts to get her back to functional. Our surgeon is one of the best in our state and he works on greyhounds frequently. I asked him a question very much like yours, and his answer was interesting. He said, basically, that greyhound thigh muscles - the ones that power their speed - are so strong that they cause the torc force being put on the bones to exceed the level that their long bones can handle. Between the ground and the dog's muscles, the bone in between is the weakest point. Essentially, they break their own legs during running. This makes sense, since many/most broken legs during a race happen on the turns when the force is going to be at its highest. Whether some dogs are more predisposed to have this happen isn't really known or understood. It's heart-breaking to have to go through osteo. Really. I've been there, and many, many of us here on GT have been too. But as far as we know right now developing bone cancer is a complete and total crapshoot. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between "normal" leg breaks early in life and getting osteo later in life. They might. Or they might not. My osteo boy was a training school dropout who never had a sick day before he broke his leg just running in the yard at 10 years old. My other greys with serious hock breaks never got it - though several passed from other kinds of cancers later in life. So. Start supplements for your girl now and monitor her for developing pain and arthritis. The supplements form the Greyhound Gang are all good. We just recently starting using this one: Canine Process - Musculoskeletal Support and it's been really good so far. Both my dogs have perked up considerably, running around, digging, playing with toys and balls. I've been using one dose per day, every other day with good results. And adopt that other girl!!!
  15. There can be a LOT of causes for persistent vomiting and diarrhea, some are more benign and some are really serious. In general, if symptoms persist beyond 3-4 days you dog should be scheduled for a vet visit, as the chance of them getting seriously dehydrated is worse than anything else. The tuna she's getting should NOT be packed in oil, as that can cause pancreatitis (which causes vomiting and diarrhea). And it should be rotated with other low fat options like cooked and rinsed ground beef, or poached white fish. If she can handle turkey you can also rotate with that (not all dogs with chicken intolerence can do turkey, but many can). Tuna is a really rich protein source, and can cause problems on its own.
  16. Oh NO!!! I'm so, so sorry. He was a sweet boy, and of course he knew he was loved!!! Run in Peace Buddy, over the Rainbow Bridge, where your Mom and Dad will find you waiting someday.
  17. Then you only option is to try and keep them separated (or muzzled) when not under your direct supervision.
  18. Have you tried getting Roy his own dog bed on the floor?? He probably just likes to switch places sometimes and her dog bed is the only one available. If you don't have room for two dog beds I would definitely figure out a way to keep them separated when he feels the need to roam. One of mine will stand by the couch and WHINE her head off until I make her sister move so she can lay on the couch too. She will usually lay up there for 30 minutes or so - her on one end, her sister on the other - and then get back down and lay on a dog bed. She just likes to move around a lot.
  19. Some good news all around. Here's hoping he feels a bit more like hisownself soon!!
  20. Most likely. Lots of times when they are dreaming they also get their legs into the picture. You'll often see them running and jumping in their sleep, not to mention whining and barking. So unless he's cramping - which also happens, usually with a lot of Greyhound Sccream Of Death (GSOD) - it's probably normal. Next time it happens, try and get a video. Either to show us or your vet. But more than likely it's not anything to worry about.
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