PrairieProf

They aren't diagnosing anything or reading labs.....

I had PetPlan. It has a per-incident deductible. You set the level. I thought it was fine but have switched to HP for my new dog after hearing the praise here.

They have added peas to it recently, I know. . I still have older bags. So yes the formula has changed.

Beth did fabulously well on ID for years after a near-pancreatitis scare. Expensive but it was so good for her (perfect weight, beautiful coat, good poops) I never wanted to mess around.

Congratulations! Look forward to many more updates! He MAY get a bit crazier as he settles in...

So very sorry.

Thanks all. I'm going to try the supplement options at first, but Doxy/Niacinimide is a very standard treatment and I want to be ready to go there if needed. I noticed this morning that Cocoa doesn't have eyelashes and there is no fur at the rim of her eyes, which is probably the DL too. I never thought about it before as she's got such a thin coat compared to my very hairy white Beth. You can sort of see it in the picture above. Can anyone recommend a brand and strength of fish oil? It gets confusing with the amount of fish oil varying and the DHA/EPA levels varying within that. I am giving her extra-strength pills with both meals (and Vitamin E too now), plus I give her real oily fish for a midday snack -- the cutting edge of human health now says that Omega 3 too are much better absorbed from fish than fish oil, along with all the supplementary nutrients. (Fish oil does make me nervous, since I am convinced rancid fish oil is what triggered Beth's pancreatitis scare, but so far Cocoa seems to tolerate the pills well.) I am definitely contemplating a second opinion, but I'd like a more holistic vet. Not sure about a specialist -- my guess is the folks at Iowa State, which is where one goes here, would be obsessed with prednisone.

My poor Cocoa was just diagnosed with (probable) Discoid Lupus. I am so upset, although I know her general health is fine (and energy, OMG!). I've studied all the old posts on this condition here. My generally excellent vet seems annoyingly vague about a plan of treatment -- he thinks steroids work well but doesn't seem to have much of an opinion about the treatment with supplements and the (formerly) Tetracycline/Niacinimide combo, though he isn't opposed to them. But he informed me that Tetracycline is no longer available, and Doxy is super expensive. In fact, it seems he doesn't even carry it in the clinic, and could only buy it in a huge amount, but they are happy to fill a script if I order it myself. So for those of you who are using it, where are you getting it, and how are you affording it?? The cheapest we can see online is like 89 cents per 100 mg tablet and I am told you have to give two of those a day. That gets scary for a long term. Also, my vet said something about Doxy having severe side effects -- is this true? Cocoa is on fish oil and Vitamin E (just started) and we will start Niacinimide as soon as it comes in the mail in a day or so. I am alternating over the counter hydrocortisone cream and Vitamin E oil on her nose, with some Bag Balm too. She is already eating TOTW Pacific Stream. Just got this routine going a few days ago although she was on fish oil (and real sardines/mackerel) already. She came with terrible dry skin all over, and sparse fur, but is looking vastly better overall -- but her dry cracked nose has not improved much and might be worse now than a few weeks ago. I will add sunscreen soon although with the short days and our longer walks being early morning and late afternoon I'm not too worried about that at the moment. Top of her nose. Big pieces flaked off the edges when I brought her home, then it seemed to be getting better, now it either looks a bit worse or I'm studying it more. The front doesn't look too bad, though I just notice it's losing some pigment around the lower nostril area.

There was a dog named Kebo belonging to greytkidsmom here who lived well for years after a different radical oral surgery for cancer. You can search the archives for his many threads. Good luck-- this sounds dreadful. I am sorry your boy and you are going through it.

Hello from Waterloo! Incontinence manifests as leaking while at rest; if she's not leaving wet spots but actually squatting to pee it's not that. But vet check is in order. Meanwhile, how much do you walk her or let her out and are you sure she's really emptying? Are you making sure she goes as late at night as possible, right before you go to bed?

Such a very beautiful tribute to a very very special boy. So sorry he couldn't stay longer.

I am so very sorry. Having lost my girl with no warning in 24 hours this summer, I understand.

So very sorry.

I've been following silently too, and am so terribly sorry.

CC & D stands for counter-conditioning and .... ? (I'm feeling stupid) So far I only leave for three hours at a time. It's a small house and separating the cats fully is difficult, especially as C.J. and the other cat he gets into spats with do better when they can spread out. Maybe I can separate just C.J., although it seems unfair to lock him up when he came first. At least Cocoa is muzzled.

I can't believe I'm posting a question about managing a greyhound in a house full of cats (or vice versa), after I've lived with a grey and cats for seven years. I currently have five cats, all of whom were completely unfazed by my former greyhound, Beth, and 99% by my new girl Cocoa. Cocoa is also just fine with the cats and was fostered with cats as well -- she occasionally chases briefly if one zooms past her or comes to see if they make noise squabbling, but she's definitely cat-safe. BUT. Beth never once ran inside the house and almost never played with toys, and Cocoa, who is just two, is MUCH more energetic indoors. Now that she has gotten comfortable here she sometimes starts doing zoomie laps back and forth in my small house while throwing toys around (much skidding on the hardwood and area rugs involved). Twice now my cat C.J. has been on the living room couch while she zooms past nearby, and he has started hissing and yowling at her in a very threatening way. This morning if I hadn't gone over and kept a hand on him, I am afraid he would have flown at her and attacked her -- he sometimes attacks another male cat in my house he feels threatened by, although not severely (mostly they just yowl at each other). I am afraid of what this might do to her (I clearly will be keeping his claws well trimmed) but also what might happen to him if she retaliated to an attack. Any advice here? When C.J. is not in the immediate vicinity of Cocoa's dashing he seems okay. But when the wild play-energy comes over Cocoa, and it's happening more and more, she isn't easy to settle down. And I don't have an accessible yard where I can just scoot her outside to play. I definitely try to give her plenty of outdoors exercise and she does get to run, but this morning for instance it was raining so our first walk was short, and then the play hit her after we came back in. She is also loose and muzzled when I'm out, but I haven't seen evidence of zoomies then, more likely right after I come home. I do have a baby gate and doors I can close to give C.J. some space, but it's hard to anticipate the timing.

If he's not sore walking with the paw exposed, you don't have to use a bootie. The torn part may not really hit the ground much.

What will you do if your dog has a serious injury or urgent illness? Injuries at least can happen at the drop of a hat with greyhounds. It is problematic to adopt an animal with out being prepared to pay for veterinary care. Teeth bad enough to be causing systemic issues are very bad indeed. In the U.S., every greyhound (that I know of) has a dental before it is adopted out. If you adopted from a group, can they help you? It is not responsible to knowingly adopt out an animal that immediately needs an expensive procedure like a dental.

That's not bad. Just keep it clean. It will heal in a few days.

Oh wow, Lauren, that was so unbelievably gory and awful. Major congratulations to Bernie and all of you for getting through that! Hope he has a wonderful fall enjoying life again!

It absolutely has nothing whatsoever to do with her previous life. You just heard a yelp or what we call the greyhound scream of death or GSOD. Greyhounds are drama queens! You might have bumped her or startled her or at any rate she didn't like it. If she seems fine now it was 99.9% surely nothing. You will no doubt here many such yelps throughout her life. But now you know hugging her may be a bad idea. That is very threatening to many dogs!

So sorry. So not fair.

Sending good thoughts...have always loved King!

The question is more whose dog hasn't been on it? It is the common first line treatment for diarrhea. It is an antibiotic and also has an anti-inflammatory effect. Very effective in many cases.

Fish oil (or better yet sardines) is even more important. IN him. Omega 3 is essential for skin and coat health. My girl had pieces cracking off the edge of her nose a week ago, and it looked all rough like your boy's, and it's already getting MUCH better -- I inspected tonight. Discoid lupus causes nose issues, but not all nose issues are discoid lupus. I truly believe that if it's just the top of the nose it's from sun.