RileysLegacy

Thinking of you & Pinky Jay. Hopefully it is nothing serious :goodluck

You can't not love this doggie!!!

Thank you Linda, that is great info. I will be very surprised if he actually has kidney probs, but what do I know. I think a UTI is possible, though. If she still thinks there are kidney issues after comparing his last bloodwork, I will get a copy of everything & run it by you guys. The Holter monitor test should be quite the adventure

And the plot thickens! Just spoke with the vet from yesterday on the phone. She said when she took Legs in the back to do the blood draw & u/a & he got nervous/excited she did detect an arrhythmia. So she is ordering the Holter test. She also said his bloodwork shows elevated creatinine & his urine is very dilute. She was talking about early kidney disease but I'm not convinced at all. I asked her to get his previous bloodwork to compare bc I think this maybe be a case of greyhound normal. In any case they're going to do a urine culture. She didn't seem to think that increased drinking & peeing would have anything to do w heart probs. She said she is going to coordinate w our regular vet & set everything up so that is good.

Interesting, thanks so much for posting. How old is your girl? What are her episodes like? It makes sense to let him self-regulate his exercise, but we don't have a yard that he can play in, so it's hard. At the dog park I know other dogs push him to run too much, and then it's quite terrifying watching him struggle to even stand. If we go for walks, it's hard to know how far is too far... sometimes he'll be perfectly fine and then another time on the exact same walk he'll start collapsing. Thanks, this is a good idea. I am going to contact our regular vet today and see what she thinks, and hopefully she can help me coordinate everything and be the one to administer the 24 hr test. This new place I took him the last 2 times is a brand new emergency and referral hospital with supposedly the best care on this island. But they don't know Legs, it's ridiculously expensive, and an hour away. I hope not to go back there. I love my regular vet, she truly cares about each patient, and is very mindful of the expense of each treatment. But she doesn't know much about greyhounds. She is always willing to listen to any of my ideas and consult with others, though, so I am going to stick with her. Thanks everyone!!

I think so. That is interesting info about arrhythmias that would have been nice of any of the vets to share. She did say that exercise induced arrhythmias (which is what she suspects is going on w/ Legs) are problematic because medication is not usually advised for intermittent issues b/c the side effects can actually cause arrhythmias. Great. Seriously! I love it here but nobody seems to know anything about greyhounds! Yes, I'd be allowed to take him walking and to the park, although she did say the vest that holds all the wires it is a bit cumbersome and restrictive so some dogs just freeze while wearing it. That will be Legs for sure. He wouldn't even walk w/ a little wrap on his leg So we shall see. Should be interesting... Hopefully we can do it SOON. Thanks again for all the posts everyone. Means a lot to me!!

Nope. She said he sounded perfectly normal so no need. I keep asking if they can take him for a decent walk to see what's actually going on, but no vet has done it yet. We walked about 50 feet outside but what is that going to do? I'd think for all the money I'm spending they could have a vet tech take 20 mins to take him for a real walk or short run. It's like when you take your car to the car place & they won't actually drive it to see the problem!

Yeah, it's been 2.5 years of zero answers. Tons of guesses but never any concrete answers from anyone! I just want to know what is wrong so I can deal with whatever it is appropriately. I'm also kind of upset they had me come back to see this other specialist today. I could have gone to my regular vet for bloodwork & u/a, as well as the heart monitor test. Instead I had to pay $120 consult fee (last week consult fee was $200), for absolutely nothing worthwhile. Sometimes it really sucks being on a small island!!

Frustrated. Again no answers. I wonder if this new woman even talked to the guy from last week. All the same questions. She said his heart sounded normal!! Which is great, but what the f is wrong w my dog?? They did bloodwork & u/a, of course no results today. She is going to order a heart monitor vest that he will wear for 24 hrs & I will do my best to get him to have an "episode". That's all I know

Ok thanks!! He's the biggest piggy iggy in the world and that hasn't changed. I have been brushing and he doesn't show any signs of pain then either. I was kinda hoping I could wait until he needs another dental but maybe that it too long. I guess I'll just keep an eye on it for now. I definitely don't want him to be in pain!! Thanks so much!

Thanks so much guys! You are so nice!! I just hope I find out some results today. It seems to always be a waiting game. I'll let you know as soon as I do.

No. It's a hairline crack in the tooth that I never would have noticed myself.

Oh no, my heart is broken for you MJ. Legs always reminds me of Spud. I hope you have a lot a good time left with your sweet boy. Sending lots of love & aloha

So Puzzle has a slab fracture in one of his back molars from eating a marrow bone I think it's been there about 3 months. The vet quoted me $600 for it to be removed I almost passed out when I read the estimate. I am wondering, do I need to do this right now? Or can I wait until it causes him problems? He already had a dental this year when he was under for surgery on his leg, and I hate putting him under anesthesia again for this one tooth when he doesn't even need the rest cleaned. Would I be a horrible mom if I wait? If the vet hadn't noticed when I was getting him a health cert to travel with me, I wouldn't even know it was there. It seems like yanking out his tooth is going to cause the same pain for him either way, or am I missing something? If it needs to come out now, of course I will do it. Thanks in advance!

I know crazy isn't it??! Time sure flies. Btw did you notice Puzzle in there too Not until Tues I'm going completely nuts Legs is too since he can't exercise. And of course now everything little thing he does I freak out & think he's about to collapse & die. I'm sure he's so happy when I leave for work & he can sleep in peace Thanks for checking in

This is close to if not totally useless, but I know a lot of dogs with kidney issues end up on blood pressure medication. Not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg, but stands to reason that a heart problem could cause similar symptoms. I also had a foster who was adopted by close friends of mine who developed kidney issues in her old age that had the same licking issues that Legs does. It would typically start as a small wound, cutting herself on something in the yard for instance, but it would then turn into a sore that wouldn't heal. She end up wearing an e-collar most of the time because they couldn't keep her from working on them. At one point, they were looking at Alabama Rot as a diagnosis (which seemed bizarre for multiple reasons, including that it's pretty rare, but I guess the skin issue put it on the vet's radar), but I believe their vets eventually just diagnosed her with glomerulonephritis without identifying an underlying cause. I was much more involved and filled in on what testing they were doing earlier on so I can't really say this with confidence, but I always felt like the vets missed something with her although it may very well have been (and probably was) age related kidney disease. I believe she was around 9 when this started (and she did not the issue with her legs giving out that Legs does). Anyway, I'm just thinking out loud and wondering if Legs has had blood work recently and if his kidney values are all within normal (or if he's had a u/a and there was protein in the urine)? Thanks Jen I appreciate any possible info. It's been about a year since he had bloodwork. It is one of the many things he will have done next week. I will also ask about doing a u/a. I know they also want to do an echocardiogram & another test where he wears a vest that monitors his heart for 24hrs, and I think another test I can't remember. Very interesting - I didn't know that about heart conditions. Now i wish I had paid more attention to his drinking, though I've really only noticed it the last few weeks. Thanks again for all the info & good wishes. I'm really sorry about your boy.

Oh no, this is what I was afraid of Thanks for letting me know. What was wrong with Zuki's heart, if you don't mind me asking.

Yes he's also peeling more. He even peed inside the other day. His sores are all healed so I'm going to try giving him some time w/o the muzzle to see if maybe he wont lick. I think he will, but it's worth a try...and maybe then he won't be as obsessed with water

Does anyone know if this heart issue could cause excessive thirst? I've noticed Legs drinking what seems like a lot lately, but had attributed it to his being muzzled most of the time and not able to drink as easily. But now I'm wondering if that could be a symptom and a sign that whatever is wrong is getting worse. Thanks.

Wow, thanks so much everyone. All of your posts mean a lot. I'm heartbroken and scared, but also hopeful that there will be a treatment that can help him Anyway, here's a little bit of sweetness for you. Jabari (brown iggy who is 13.5) is not a big cuddler anymore. But this morning, this is what I found in my bed

Thanks so much everyone! It all does sound very scary & I have been in a bit of a daze today. I really wish I didn't have to wait another week to take him back, waiting is always the hardest part. I'm also really confused why nobody found this sooner. We have done soooo many tests and I've spent so much money trying to get to the bottom of his issues, and it seems like someone should have thought to check his heart. But maybe it has gotten worse recently. Anyway, thanks again. It's always comforting to come here and get good advice and good thoughts from people who understand. Legs and I greatly appreciate you all tbhounds - thank you so much for all your help. Can you think of any link between this heart issue & his obsessive licking?

Yes I believe that it what the dr said. There were long spikes down on the EKG in between many of his heartbeats. Thank you I will ask about his spleen. What is the treatment for that if it is a splenic mass?

UPDATE: My head is spinning. Legs saw the specialist today for what I expected to be a consult about an MRI. The second he started listening to his heart, he became very concerned. He immediately took Legs for an EKG and came back and explained what about it was abnormal. He has a pretty severe arrhythmia. So... he will be going back to see a different specialist next tues for all kinds of tests on his heart to hopefully determine the cause. This guy said he didn't see anything too concerning regarding Legs' neurological system. He said there is a good chance most of him symptoms (exercise intolerance, heat sensitivity, back legs failing) could all be explained by his heart condition. Or, he could have multiple issues going on. He didn't think the heart issue would explain his licking holes into his legs, but possibly his blood isn't flowing properly or something like that. We need to get the heart issue figured out first, then we can see where we are and if we need to revisit getting an MRI or whatever. He basically said Legs could drop dead at any time, which is pretty terrifying, but at the same time I guess that is always true of any living thing They talked about hospitalizing him and doing all the testing now, but he's been having these symptoms ever since I adopted him 2 years ago, so I doubt he's going to die this week. I sure hope not anyway He is not allowed any exercise whatsoever. This is all so crazy How did no vet notice this before? Anyone know about heart issues in greyhounds? I HATE being so clueless. I can only HOPE that this time this guy knows what he's talking about...

Yes this is my plan. Thanks Jen. I do have insurance on Legs but it will still end up costing me $ to do an MRI so I won't do it if nothing useful will come out of it. My vet has been recommending MRI or cat scan for years, b/c his xrays are all inconclusive, but I've been putting it off b/c it seems pointless if I'm not going to do surgery. But he is getting worse so maybe it is time.

If anyone is still reading, thought I'd post an update. Legs has an appointment with a surgeon a week from Monday My vet and the other vet who has been doing chiro, acupuncture & laser on Legs feel that this is the next step. I think I'm going to have an MRI done on him. I've been hesitant, b/c if I find out he needs surgery I honestly don't think I would do it. But I don't know. It just seems incredibly invasive to do spinal surgery on my 8 year old greyhound who is not in great distress. I guess I should wait to stress about it until after the appointment His sores are healing well, but he is muzzled pretty much 23 hrs a day. He somehow cut the back of his other back foot so that is wrapped now & it will mean he's muzzled for even longer b/c he's been licking that too. I don't even know if he will be able to be unmuzzled once everything is healed. I really, really hope so. I stopped the thyroid meds, they did nothing. Neither did gabapentin but I want to revisit that w/ the surgeon b/c I think the dose was too low, only 100mg a day.