greydad92

One other note. Tuft's was AWESOME. I give them an A+++. Their service was outstanding and Zero's doctor there was wonderful and spent lots of time with me. The only downfall is the bill, OUCH!! I'm sure you can all imagine what I'm talking about. However, I have my boy back with a very good prognosis. I'm sure there are many other financial stories out there for dog care. I'm going to look into insurance. Embrace was recommended to me.

Very little is known about the cause of Vestibular disease. Acupuncture or chiropractic help won't cure it, just time. The doctor said it will probably be several weeks.

Hi All, Good news. Zero's MRI came back clear. His brain, nasal passages, skull & ears look great. The doctor showed me the MRI himself. The blood work came back with a positive Lyme disease reading so I have him on pills for that, otherwise his blood is good. His heart & lungs are great & they also did a spinal which came back clear as well. The doctor said Zero has Vestibular disease which he should recover from in several weeks. He has the classic head tilt to the left, he has trouble blinking his left eye, but they checked his tear production and it was fine, he has the slight shifting back and forth of his eyes and of course the dizziness. I am so relieved that his brain is ok. The doctors said he was an excellent patient. They said Zero didn't complain at all no matter what they did to him. What a good boy. I can't thank you all enough for all your support and prayers throughout this whole ordeal. I will be there for Zero to help get him through the vestibular disease. Sincerely, Zero's Daddy

Zero is at Tufts University right now, best hospital in the area. They are going to do an MRI on him this afternoon to see what's going on. Please pray for him. I'll keep you all posted on the results. I'm numb right now.

Hi All, Woke up this morning and Zero seems worse. He's stumbling around a bit, not good balance. I'm so worried. I'll call my vet today and give her an update. I think at this point I'll make an appointment with a neuologist. Last night I had to carry him up the stairs. He just turned seven in April. Please pray for him.

When I go home this evening he was up and barking to greet me. A great sign considering what alternative could have been. He went down the stairs slowly, but was able to get down them none-the-less. He ate his dinner, drank water, peed, pooped and we went for a short / slow walk, but he did pretty good. Just now he was circling in his bed getting ready to lay down and got dizzy from the circling and staggered. Poor baby, I hope he gets better.

Sorry, typ-o.....I hope his condition DOESN'T worsen

Hi All, Zero is having some health issues I wanted to share. I discussed some of this in an earlier post, but wanted to go into more detail. About two eeks ago Zero fell off my bed on to the carpeted floor in the middle of the night and later had some pain behind his ear / on the back of his head. I thought it was an ear infection and took him to the vet this past Monday 5/23/11. The vet I go to is "greyhound friendly". The doctor looked at Zero and didn't find an ear infection, but thought that he might have hurt his neck from the fall. She prescribed Carprofen (otherwise known as Rimadyl) (100mg), 1/2 tablet every 12 hours. I gave him one dose Monday night, one Tuesday morning and one Tuesday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon Zero was very dizzy, not good on his feet and almost unable to climb the stairs. In addition to the dizziness Zero's eyes were moving back and forth. I took him back to the vet who suggested Zero might have vestibular disease, but said it usually occurs in older dogs. She said it could also be some other type of neurological disorder as well. She suggested I give him dramamine and continue with the anti-inflamitory. Last night I looked up the anti-inflamitory on Wikipedia and found that a possable side effect of Carprofen could be dizziness. The vet never told me this, in fact I asked them specifically if dizziness was a side effect and they said no. I took him off the medication this morning. This morning he still seemed dizzy, but not as bad? Not sure. We went for a short walk and sometimes I saw his eyes darting around, but other times it looked as if they weren't or he was just looking around. He's still eating, drinking, pooping and peeing ok. I'm so worried about Zero. He just turned seven....I've only had him for two years. I hope he's ok and that his condition does worsen.

Yup, the vet and others have mentioned this. Zero is still eating, drinking, peeing & pooping normally. We went for a short slow walk today and he did well. He just turned seven in April. I've only had him for two years. I prey he's ok. I just hope this doesn't get worse or is some neurological disease. Thanks all for your comments.

She said it could be "old dog disease" because his eyes are darting back and forth. Odd though how all this dizziness, eyes darting back and forth suddenly came on after I started giving him Carprofen. I think it's a side effect to the drug personally. Zero is a very healthy seven year old grey. Zero just yelps if I press just the right spot behind his left ear. The vet thinks he may have hurt the area after falling off the bed.

Hi All, Zero's daddy here. Zero fell off my bed about two weeks ago and later had some pain behind his ear. I thought it was an ear infection and took him to the vet. The vet I go to is "greyhound friendly". She looked at Zero and didn't find an ear infection, but thought that he might have hurt his neck from the fall. She prescribed Carprofen (otherwise known as Rimadyl) (100mg), 1/2 tablet every 12 hours. I gave him one dose last night, one this morning and one this afternoon. This afternoon Zero was very dizzy, staggering around and almost unable to climb the stairs. I looked it up on Wikipedia and found that this is a side effect of Carprofen. It also says that liver and kidney damage and even death can be a side effect. The vet never told me this, in fact I asked them specifically if dizziness was a side effect and they said no!! I'm taking him off this. Has anyone else had any experience with this drug? It amazes me that I took Zero back into the vet today because he was staggering around and the vet suggested that I keep him on the Carprofen. I hope Zero is ok and that severe kidney or liver damage or death is not a side effect here. Help. -Zero's Daddy

Hi All, Just an update. No more doggie daycare for Zero. He went one day a week for over a month. Mostly what happened was he wanted to lay down and relax while the other dogs wanted to keep playing. Zero didn't like having his sleep space disturbed by other dogs. They also said that when other dogs ran by him quickly he didn't like that either. He got a little snippy or growely in those situations. Both the doggie day care and I agreed that it wasn't for Zero. We thought he'd be better off chilling out at home. Oh well. Sincerely, Tony

Hi All, First and foremost, Zero is doing grreeat. Had our pic taken with Santa last weekend, I will post when I get it. The photo came out greyt. I've had Zero on Purina Pro Plan (Sensative Skin & Stomach) kibble since I adopted him two years ago. My how time flys. I was talking to a Blue rep at the store and she recomended Blue Basics Salmon & Potato recipe. It says it's for dogs that show signs of being sensitive to some of the ingredients used in traditional pet foods. It says that Blue Basics is a healthy, holistic, limited-ingredient diet formulated to minimize food sensitivities while maximizing the nutritional value that your dog will receive. I just want to make sure Zero get's a good healthy food and I'm not sure if Purina is the best quality. Some questions: Should I switch him over? Will his mood change if I switch him over to Blue? I know to do the switchover VERY slowly. Suggestions on how to switch him over? Thanks all. Sincerely, Tony

Zero had his first day today...thy said he did great!! Sleeping like a baby now :-) Thanks all for your input, as always it's very much appreciated.

I took Zero for his interview at a good quality doggie daycare...pretty local to me too. My dog walker recommended the place, she is excellent by the way. They tested Zero with al sorts of dogs. They totally seem to know what they’re doing there, a serious organization. The owner spent over an hour with Zero and I. They separate dogs by energy level. She said they’d never let Zero near any smaller furry dogs because the natural prey drive is just too risky. I got a really good feeling about the place, very well run, organized. Customers that stopped in seemed to be very happy. What do you think? I was thinking about going with one day a week.

Wow!! So I guess I'm not alone Great suggestion, thanks :-) Hi, Thanks for your response. Ummm, for the record Zero is a he :-) Cheers, Tony Oops I did say he twice then suddenly decided Zero was female Everyone will have different ways of over coming this. I mother my greys a lot, I can't help myself. sorry if i offended you by calling your handsome boy a she no worries, my mother does it all the time when we visit her :-)

Hi, Thanks for your response. Ummm, for the record Zero is a he :-) Cheers, Tony

Hi All, Zero's Daddy here. I have a question about Zero's behavior and how I can resolve it somehow. Whenever I leave Zero at home alone, I give him his frozen Kong with natural almond butter and another Kong ball stuffed with a couple carrot pieces and a biscuit. He is baby gated with double gates so that he only has access to my large bedroom a hallway and the guest bedroom. I live in a small ranch-style house and he only gets into trouble in the kitchen. Anyway, he does really well at home alone all day. When I get home, he barks and is very excited to see me. The "issue" is that if I'm out mowing the lawn or doing anything near-by and Zero is in the house alone with the baby gates up, he totally freaks out. I can hear him barking non stop while I'm out side. He knows I'm out there and totally loses it. He used to see me through the window, but I tried closing the shades hoping that would somewhat calm his anxiety, but he just puts his head under the shade to look out the window anyway. Yesterday I was in the yard mowing and doing yard work for a couple hours and I'd have to say he barked non stop for an hour. I thought he would get tired and just lay down and go to sleep, but he was pretty relentless. When I have in from doing my yard work he was panting (obviously) and there was quite a bit of droop on the floor by his baby gate. He peed on my bedroom floor, which he never does while I'm at work and the baby gate was scratched and in one part it looked like it was slightly chewed. This is not a new development. My lawn mower just got back from being repaired and I've had a lawn crew come over and mow my lawn for a while. Last Summer before my lawn mower broke he did the same thing. Also, I play in a band and we occasionally rehearse in the basement. I thought the noise would hurt his ears so I left him upstairs. I could hear him barking like crazy up there, this is when I only had one baby gate up. He jumped over the baby gate and managed to open the basement door and get downstairs. The noise doesn't seem to bother him, so now he just stays in the basement with the band while we rehearse. So what do I do? As I said, he totally loses it if he's in one area and I'm in the other and he can't get to me. Normally he's a very quiet, mellow greyhound. I know I know, take him for a VERY long walk before I do yard work or whatever, right? I'll try it, but he is relentless if I'm outside doing stuff and he can't get to me. Give him a Kong? I'll try that too, but I think he'll ignore it. Just looking for suggestions here. I'm hoping that some of you have run into this problem. I just don't know how to resolve it. This brings up a major concern. I'm looking to sell my house and get an apartment. What will he act like there? Will he bark and freak out all day? Help Greytalkers. You've been there for me in the past. For those of you that were asking for pics of my baby:

great suggestion, thanks

Zero seeemed relaxed around the cat. He was looking at the cat / interested in it, but not fixated on it. His nose is always dripping. I know now though, no more cats for Zero. Thanks for your advise :-)

Hi All, Zero's daddy here. I have a few questions about greyhounds and snapping at things. So far I've had a few incidents. 1.) 01/01/10: Zero bit my nose. My fault. I was trying to pick him up off my love sleep just after he woke up, he slipped off the love seat, twisted, snapped and got my nose. Again, totally my fault. "let sleeping dogs lie" 2.) A month or so ago Zero snapped at a cats face. He's seen cats before, but I wasn't sure if he was cat friendly or not. An older female friend of mine who has cats was sitting her porch with her cat in her lap. On our walk Zero and I stopped her house. She let Zero get close to the cat. Zero and the cat sniffed each other a few times and that was about it. All was relaxed, Zero and the cat seemed comfrtable around each other. After about ten minutes of no issues, Zero looked at the cat, snapped and got the cats face, but did not draw blood. I pulled Zero back and said "no!" and that was that. 3.) This morning Zero and I were on our walk and we saw a neighborhood lab mix (Nash) and his human on their walk. Zero has known Nash since he was a puppy. Nash was on a leash as well. The thing about Nash is he's now almost a year old, but still has a lot of puppy left in him. Anytime Nash meets Zero he just jumps all over him, licks his face and goes overboard as far as saying "hello" to Zero, while Zero just stands there and "takes it", being the mellow greyhound that he is. Well, today Zero snapped at Nash. Nash yelped and his owned backed him off. I'm just concerned with Zero around kids. So far Zero has been wonderful with kids. I don't have any, but my friends have kids and occasionally we meet up with kids on our walks. Zero is SO fast when he snaps that it's hard to anticipate anything. He's quicker than you can blink your eye. Does anyone else have experience with greyhounds that snap? I know all dogs do, it just seems that Zero is a little more prone to than what I'm used to. Thanks, Zero's Daddy

Hi All, Zero is doing fine. Blood work came back normal. Liver was very slightly elevated, but the doctor said no cause for concern. She is a grey friendly doctor. I honestly think some days he's just a little lazier than others and lags back in his walking. He's six now and the doctor suggested perhaps a "good" quality glucosamine or aspirin a day because Zero is a little stiff in his back legs. I haven't given him anything and he seems to be doing just fine. Thanks for your concern. -T

Good God, I hope that's not the case. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. We're going for a vet appointment tomorrow.

Last vet visit was February? But no blood work was done. I'm making an appointment for him now. The liver thing has me really concerned, I hope he's ok. I have an appointment for 10:20am tomorrow morning.

Hi All, Zero's daddy here. Zero turned 6 on April 14th :-) Has anyone run into this? Zero was acting very lethargic on his walks during Winter time, lagging behind me a whole leash length (6'), but I just kept up the pace. Our walks are generally a mile or so, once in the morning, lunch time on Mondays & Wednesdays and evenings. I thought he was lagging behind because he didn't like the cold weather. He got back to his normal self when the weather started getting better (Spring), but now he's starting to lag way behind again, not really showing any enthusiasm. In the house he seems to be somewhat lethargic, but way more-so on walks. He's eating well (Purina Pro Plan Sensative Skin & Stomach), drinking well, peeing & pooing ok. His nose is cold and drippy, but it always is. Any suggestions? Is this just how some greys are? Help. I'm very conserned about my baby.