MandysMom

Sammy and I will be there!

I renamed both of my Greyhounds. They answered to the new names almost immediately.

Sammy does well with his Elaine's Pet Pillows beds. He is a pretty dedicated nester.

The first dog I adopted as an adult was an 8 year old Dalmatian. She bonded with me almost immediately. In fact, she hated most dogs and didn't really like most people, but she loved me right away. She also came to love my close friends. She had lived with her original family for almost 8 years and been passed around several of their friends' houses and eventually a rescue group when they couldn't keep her due to a family situation. She came in the house on a Sunday and acted like she had been here her whole life by Monday night. I only had her with me for 3.5 years before she died of cancer. Those were 3.5 wonderful years. Obviously, I can't tell you that Tipper would definitely bond with you, but it is certainly possible. My second dog as an adult was my first Greyhound. When I had to say goodbye, it broke my heart, especially since I was getting ready to have major surgery and couldn't plan to adopt for quite some time. Eight months later, when I was starting to be okay physically, I decided I wanted another Greyhound, but someone very different than Mandy. Less than two weeks later, my current dog was a bounce back to our adoption group. I went to meet him and it was just right. My mom said that he was just waiting for me -- he originally came to our group the week Mandy died and I couldn't have considered him then. When I was ready, he was there. He's my crazy boy who wakes up with his tail wagging, which cheers me up greatly. My bond with each of my three dogs I've had as an adult has been very different. None has been better or worse, just different. The one piece of advice I would say is to not expect another dog to be just like your sweet Joey. It's easy to want to compare a new addition to Joey, but that's not fair to either the new pup or you. There will be adjustments on both sides, but the joy of getting to know each other and the time you spend together makes it so worth it.

I'll defer to others who have more training experience, but I will say that Hugglehounds stuffed toys tend to be rather sturdy. I get them on Amazon, though a couple of local pet stores carry them. My Sammy likes the bunny best.

My Sammy can't tolerate Drontal Plus, he has vomited every time we've tried to give it to him (three times). We have to do three days of Panacru instead of Drontal.

I live on the fourth floor with no elevator. Thirty-nine steps. I count them every time we go up and down. My first Greyhound picked them up pretty quickly. They are easy steps, in a semi-enclosed hallway, short flights of closed-back, carpeted, with a brick wall on one side. The Greyhound I have now, who I adopted as a four-year-old return, was truly unhappy with the stairs at first. I spent almost a week patiently going up with my hip on his backside to encourage him. A hint: he does a million times better if he is next to the brick wall, I think it makes him feel more secure; maybe your potential new pup will need that assurance. I sat a foster dog who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He would stand and stare at his reflection in the windows in front of each building. I live in a condo development, so we'd pass what seems like a million windows on every walk. Well, he just would NOT do the stairs, so I had to lug his 75 pound butt up and down four times a day. Not fun. I watched him for 10 days over the Christmas holidays. In that time, he walked up unassisted exactly once: the first walk of Christmas morning. I started to cry, thinking it was a Christmas miracle. Yeah, no such luck. By lunchtime, he was back to balking. He ended up going to a single family home where he didn't have to do stairs. If I had adopted him, he would have had to learn, but I don't think my back would have held out. It was mentioned previously, but you will want to do everything you can do to prevent or reduce separation anxiety. Please read about alone training (the Dummies book has a nice explanation) and do exactly as directed, even though it seems kind of strange. My first Greyhound had terrible SA. It was beyond awful. And, to exacerbate the situation, my downstairs neighbor would call me literally seconds after I got home to tell me about every moment that Mandy cried. It took me a long time, a lot of work, and many tears to get her to be okay with my being gone. I had to settle for okay, because she would never be happy when I left. There is a relationship between SA and thunderphobia. Mandy was also a horrible thunderphobe. Since your group doesn't foster, maybe they will know how your potential pup is with storms. It's not foolproof, but it's one thing to consider. Welcome to the world of Greyhounds! They are wonderful dogs.

My usually-boisterous Sammy gets lethargic with any vaccinations. He also gets diarrhea and is quite tender in the limb where the injection went for about 24 hours. We actually spread his vaccinations out, with a minimum of three weeks between shots. That helps the most for us.

I know how frustrating it is. Jen pointed out about pancreas, in the past, some EPI owners I talked with supplemented with actual pancreas, but they used pig pancreas, at the direction of their vet. There are multiple brands of pancreatic enzyme supplement, not just the insanely expensive Viokase. If you use one of the enzymes, it's imperative to cover it and the food in warm (not hot or cold) water and let it set for 15 minutes. If you don't do that, the food gets pushed through the system too fast for the enzymes to work. The pills never helped my Meg, we had to use the powder. Some dogs need more of the enzymes than others, so it may be helpful to add a bit more. It can take time to see improvement and I had to constantly tweak everything with Meg. Many EPI dogs do best on a low fiber diet, but each dog is different. I've read that some EPI dogs do well on a raw diet, but others don't. The increased output is likely due to the EPI not being under control plus concurrent SIBO. I would ask for Metronidazole and/or Tylan. When adding those, I would probably add a probiotic. I know how frustrating it is. I hope you can get this under control. Hugs to you and sweet Reagan.

Many Greyhounds don't bark much. My Sammy didn't get that memo. He barks. and barks. and barks. He especially barks at foxes, deer, and this neighborhood dog (I call him the Pariah dog) who gives off a bad vibe, so every dog barks at him. Sammy's bark is pretty scary. He's also a big boy, 80 pounds, and has black fur, which seems to scare some people. He doesn't have the usual willowy Greyhound build -- I call him my linebacker -- so he is a little more substantial than many Greys. I often get asked if he is a different breed, Doberman, Great Dane, etc. It's certainly possible you could work with a group to get a "barker" and train him or her to bark when you want. However, sometimes the biggest Greys have the tiniest barks, so it might be a crap shoot. My Sammy never barks at strange noises. As for lifestyle, it really depends on the dog. Some would be thrilled to have the situation you describe, and some would be miserable. I would suggest working with your local group to find a dog who could be happy in your environment. Obviously, work would likely have to be done to get the Grey comfortable with your little dogs and kitties. My Sammy would not do well with most little dogs or cats in the house, though he was great with a Shih-Tzu I used to dog sit. My last Grey, Mandy, loved (in a good way) little dogs and cats, plus she loved meeting people, so she would have been thrilled in your situation. She only barked one time in seven years, however, that was when a Doberman tried to "get familiar" with her, she told him NO. Hopefully you have a group close by that you can work with to find the perfect Grey for you. They're wonderful dogs!

Personally, I go to Great Falls as well, we see Dr. Cleland, but Drs. Garood and Sochurek are also good. Town & Country in Olney (Dr. Moran), Maple Springs (Drs. Strong and Harvey) in Gaithersburg, and Silver Spring Animal Hospital (Dr. Krishna) have been used by owners who I know. I really like Dr. Moran -- I have talked to her multiple times with medical issues experienced by our fosters and she has proven to be a great resource.

No, I decided to switch from the foster food our group feeds for a couple of reasons, and after lots and lots of research, found that SSA had the best combination of quality and price. I knew I wanted to feed salmon (or other fish) and thought the grain free would help to eliminate some issues. Also, on a completely non-food note, they have a subscription program with a discount, so I can get the 30 pound bags delivered for less than the local stores charge (Chewy doesn't carry it) and I don't have to haul it to my fourth floor condo -- 39 steps with no elevator. The Olewo carrots were specifically for the diarrhea. You may want to suggest to your friend to add a probiotic, because with the hooks and treatments, the beneficial bacteria can get crowded out. I give Sammy Ark Naturals Gentle Digest. The package reads that he should get 3 per day at his weight, but I give him 6. Big boy+touchy tummy=need for more Olewo carrots and probiotics.

Sammy came to me with a 4+ level of hooks and crazy diarrhea (but no blood in his stool). It took 9 months of Panacur (Drontal makes him vomit) to finally rid him of hooks. We added Flagyl for a while, but switched to Tylan powder, which helped more. Flagyl or Tylan can be given at the same time as Panacur/Drontal. Olewo carrots made a huge...HUGE difference in the diarrhea. About two months after starting the Olewo carrots, we were able to stop the Tylan. He does get 2x the recommended amount of Olewo carrots, but now his poop actually bounces. Tylan is nasty bitter, but you only have to give a tiny amount -- Sammy is 80 pounds and he got 1/16th of a teaspoon in each meal. If the dog doesn't want to eat it, I would mix it in a small amount of peanut butter. Hooks are often not seen on fecal tests. They only shed a couple of days each cycle. One of my trusted vets told me that in their manual, there is a ridiculous procedure for fecals -- once a day for three days, pause, repeat, etc. Right below the whole complicated process, it read, "when in doubt, just treat with Drontal or Panacur." The differences between Drontal and Panacur -- Drontal is one pill every two to three weeks (different vets have different protocols), whereas Panacur is powder put on food once per day for three to five days, repeated every two to three weeks. Drontal also kills tapeworms, Panacur does not. Hooks are in the soil many places. I would not let my kids run around barefoot anywhere. She should also treat the non-symptomatic dogs, as they probably have hooks, but aren't showing symptoms.The grain-free kibble should be fine -- Sammy eats Sammy Snacks (I'm not kidding) Ancestry grain-free salmon and sweet potato. Edited to add: the dose of either Drontal or Panacur is based on the dog's weight. Most vets suggest treating every 2-3 weeks for a couple of rounds, and then two weeks after the last dose, recheck the fecal.

My Sammy has had the vaccination. There are so many dogs in my area, I don't want to take a chance. He has had bad reactions to other vaccinations -- the rabies shot made him super lethargic for days and the DHLPPC gave him diarrhea -- but the CIV shot didn't seem to bother him.

Thank you! Yes, the ravenous hunger is crazy. One night, I was walking to the table with a slice of pizza on a plate. She jumped up and grabbed it off the plate as I was walking. We wrestled frequently over food. Probably the funniest time was when I dropped one of the huge containers of Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers on the kitchen floor. She sailed off the couch, I don't think she hit the floor for at least 20 feet. It was then a race to see who could grab the most crackers fastest, with me flinging handfuls up onto the counter. One of the worst things was the trying to eat animal droppings (for the protein). There are a lot of nasty people around here who don't clean up after their pets, so it was always like a minefield. Pretty much everything food related had to be in the cabinets or on top of the fridge. I will tell you that a friend's GSD had EPI and he actually jumped on the counters to reach the top of the fridge to get a huge bag of Hershey's Kisses, which he devoured, wrappers and all. It was a non-stop fight to keep weight on her. I had few resources at the time. She died at 12 from cancer. Other than the EPI, until that last week, she lived a good life. I didn't even realize she had cancer until the end, because she was always rarin' to go. On the EPI site, they talk about SIBO, that is often seen in concert with EPI. I learned to keep Metronidazole on hand at all times.

My Dalmatian, who passed away in 2004 (wow, how has that much time gone by?) had EPI. It was diagnosed before I adopted her, and I've archived all her records, but I remember they had done some blood tests. It definitely sounds like you're dealing with EPI. The greasy yellow diarrhea and ravenous appetite with pica while wasting away are the hallmarks. Back in the day, we only had a few choices for enzyme powder, but I have read there are some new products out there. We used Panakare Plus until they changed the carrier (my dog was allergic to the new carrier) and Viokase, which was ridiculously expensive. If you look at the EPI4dogs site, they have some enzymes that are less expensive. With my girl, the vet had her on Purina Canine EN, though I think there are better foods out there now. The EPI4dogs site has some recommendations for food as well. I did have to restrict her treats -- she was able to tolerate carrots and plain, hot air unbuttered popcorn. It's such a hard disease, because they are literally starving every minute. Hopefully you can find the right combination of enzymes and food. One note, most of the enzymes need to be put on the food and then made wet with warm water and sit for 15-20 minutes for the enzymes to start working. If you don't wait, they don't break down the food fast enough and are of little use. Also, the enzyme tablets that Viokase sold (not sure if they are still out there) were worthless.You can also get raw pancreas and feed it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It's discussed on the EPI site. Even though EPI can hit any dog, German Shepherds seem to be afflicted more than most. When my girl died, I gave all her supplies to the local GS rescue, as they had three dogs in foster with EPI. I'm sure there are some GS boards out there, you may run into more experience with EPI there. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions or want to vent about EPI, I know how it goes.

I've been told Gabapentin is best tolerated in a 3x a day dosage. The dosing range is pretty wide: 1.5 - 5 mg per pound per day (broken up into 2 - 3 doses). A good friend's dog has been struggling with backend nerve issues for a while and splitting the Gabapentin into three daily doses has made a big difference. I'm so sorry you are going through this. Hugs to Wally.

Sorry, I've been away. I did three days of Panacur every other week for nine months. Yes, it was painful and expensive. I usually mix the Panacur in a little peanut butter, because I want him to get it all and there is a chance that he won't get every grain of it in his food bowl.

It took nine long months of every other week treatment with Panacur (Drontal makes Sammy vomit) for us to finally be clear of the nasties. Once we finally were clear, the soft stool cleared. We now do the monthly Interceptor plus daily Olewo carrots and Panacur every four months.

I gave Mandy cranberry capsules for most of her life with me. When I first adopted her, she had a string of UTIs. After I started giving her the cranberry, she had one UTI in six years. My vet said it wouldn't hurt, and it might help. Maybe there is no scientific evidence, but it seemed to work for us. I usually bought the Spring Valley brand at Walmart. I think it was like $6.00 a bottle, which had sixty capsules. I felt the $3 a month was worth it. Mandy died in 2012, so the price has probably gone up.

I'm so sorry.

Sammy will try to eat grass and subsequently vomit if his stomach is completely empty. He also has acid issues. I feed him three smaller meals each day, one of them about 20 minutes before bedtime. He also takes Pepcid to help with the acid. Between the shift in meals and the Pepcid, his goat imitation has gone from daily to once every couple of weeks.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry to read the news. Gentle hugs to Zuri.