3greytjoys

I just watched your video. Thank you for posting it. Honestly, I think he's just warm. He looks fine to me. That doesn't look like any serious throat/breathing/partial obstruction issue at all. All our hounds do that panting frequently. Our hounds avoid their dog beds when it's too hot. They like cooler places to lie down when they're too warm. Last night, one hound stayed downstairs to sleep because it was too hot upstairs. That was a first for her, but it was nothing to worry about. Just too warm. Hopefully, Bernie is just fine.

I assume you don't have another dog to compare Bernie's panting. We have a severe SA hound who pants like the world is about to end when she gets stressed (which is whenever I leave her sight, or if I am thinking of leaving). My guess is the timing of Bernie's panting last night is unlikely due to stress, unless Bernie was expecting you to leave right after you returned from your walk(?). It really sounds heat related, especially since your evening walk was that hot. It's normal for hounds to lie down when they get home, and their bodies are still hot so they need to continue panting to cool down. It would be good if you're able to continue walking during coolest times of day. It may help a lot during summer weather to rinse Bernie's paws with cool water after your walk. (That helps our hounds cool off faster.) This morning, our seniors cut their own walk short (on grass in a shady park) with temps only in the mid-high 60's. It was already getting hot by the time I finished walking the last shift of hounds. The youngest (3 y.o.) was panting hard with short, shallow breaths. (That's normal for her when she gets too warm.) Our younger hounds survive okay up to 70-72 degrees, but begin to pant like there is no tomorrow and meltdown if near 73-74 degrees. We walk in the shade but even if shade temperature is low 70's, thermometer in the sun can easily reach the 90's. (Sidewalks/pavement can retain fairly high heat long after the sun revolves off of it.)

A video would be good if you can capture it next time. Not sure if Bernie ever coughs a tiny bit during his episode. I'm not sure if it was still warm in your area last October, but it might be helpful to start a health file and note a bit more information for your vet like air temperature, what he was doing just before the episode, time and amount of last meal, etc. Could be many things, and hard to guess by reading text from afar. I'm not a vet but I have experienced something similar in a couple of hounds. I understand your vet thinks it's related to an abdominal issue, and that could be, but interesting that Bernie went 6 (cooler) months without an episode. You might consider that he may have a very mild throat or soft palate problem. (Throat problems can increase with heat, as heavy panting can swell the throat.) Greyhounds are so super sensitive to heat anyway just from their thin skin, lack of fat and undercoat that a medical problem can be exacerbated in heat. If interested, you can put a few top key word symptoms in the search box of the Merck Veterinary Manual (link below). Just remember it's a "veterinary" manual and lists many possibilities. Since you're with your hound each day, something might pop out at you as being a possible cause that your vet might not have seen or been told. This could be used as an aid tho help you and your vet come up with a possible diagnosis. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/present/mvm_about.htm Good luck, and please let us know if you get a video of your boy having an episode.

How old is he? Are you able to video tape him doing it? Does it only happen when the weather is warm? Any worse after exercise? If he barks, is it deeper than normal? Does his breathing sound rough? Does he cough up food while eating?

What a great family member Archie was for you. He was a cutie boy. I am so sorry for your difficult losses.

OP may have other reasons, but since I posted a teaching method, I will respectfully offer an answer to your excellent question. I agree that "sit" is least important of any obedience term for a Greyhound. I don't ask a Greyhound to sit for a long time since their bodies are built differently than other breeds. If uncomfortable or painful, I wouldn't ask them to sit at all. So far, no problems with sits from our hounds or fosters. We ask our pack to do a quick "sit" before giving treats, and meals to help keep them focused and calm. A quick sit is often easier for them than the extra effort it takes for older hounds to lie down and stand up. We prefer hounds learn to sit, and lie down for car safety reasons, especially when backing up. Cool weather permitting, selected hounds accompany us to outdoor restaurants, dog-friendly events, human gatherings, etc. (Nice to know how to sit in a smaller space.) During restaurant visits, we frequently ask them to "sit" on their travel pad upon arrival at our table. (They lie down after a minute or two, but initially they like watching the restaurant action from a higher perspective.) We find that well-mannered, obedient hounds are welcome in more public places (and get plenty of extra petting/doting from the public). Other benefits of general obedience training: A well-mannered hound is more likely to transition smoothly into home life, being accepted and valued as a respected family member. Hounds that understand obedience gain more self-confidence (which often helps reduce behavior issues). Keeps their highly intelligent minds more active. (It gives them a new job when they retire from their racing career.) Responding to an obedience cue could help save their life in an emergency. Respectful, positive and gentle training helps build a trusting bond between human and Greyhound. Greyhound will understand common daily helpful tips (like lying down on their bed instead of being underfoot in the kitchen during meal time). I find Greyhounds eager to please. Most enjoy happy interactive training with their human/s. They enjoy rewards of treats, loving praise, or toys. Keeping training sessions fun, happy, positive and brief (about 5 minutes), the hounds are happy and proud to learn something new. Something fun to do with a hound inside on a rainy day. (Edited to increase font to readable size.)

I usually turn my back to the hound. Another way I try to keep a hound from jumping up on me is to gently hold their ID collar as I bend down to their level. This encourages them to keep 4-feet planted on the ground. If a hound is allowed to jump on family, they are usually more likely to jump on others.

Try to set your hound up for success. Watch for the hound to walk towards their bed to lie down naturally. (This is easy with Greys! lol) Get ready with treat in hand, and quickly move closer to the hound. Once hound's rear end touches the ground/bed, you jump in to stand directly in front of the dog's body. Your body is blocking the hound (into a natural sit) while preventing dog from lying all the way down. Immediately say "sit" and treat the dog, and praise, praise, praise. Do this whenever the dog goes to lie down naturally, and the hound will learn "sit" in no time! If desired: A clicker can be used if you want to "click" immediately when the hound's rear end touches the ground (or dog bed), but just treating with food works fine in most cases. A person can make a clicker sound (like horseback riders) if you don't have a clicker training tool available. I've had a number of hounds that do a side sit vs. a straight sit. This is fine as far as I'm concerned considering a Greyhound's body design. Many times they will eventually do a straight sit on their own if it's comfortable for them. Other hounds I teach a straight sit from the start. Greys learn differently than most breeds. Adapting with gentle, positive training is sooo important with Greys.

You'll figure it out quickly if your hounds have trouble going that long. Some hounds will vomit bright yellow bile if they go too long without food. The cookies you give at night might help enough to keep stomach acid down. (I need to feed 1/2 cup of their daily kibble before bedtime.)

Welcome to GT! One of our hounds has extremely sensitive ears. I leave his ears alone unless I'm cleaning them, and then only very gentle handling. When I remove his Martingale collar, I loosen it first and make sure the collar is rotated so the hardware doesn't go directly over his ears. This does require that I tighten it properly when it's going back on so he doesn't back out of his collar. He tolerates it just fine going on more snugly vs. removing it. Nice explanation from Greysmom.

Greyt pictures of Timo!! Aww, he's a very handsome brindle boy! Wow, his crate looks almost large enough for a pony!

Paul, Our sincere sympathy to you and your family during this difficult and shockingly sad week. Bill was such a handsome boy. Although it's never long enough, he was lucky to have been able to retire into your family for so many years. I'm sure you and your wife were his world. In time, may your happy memories of Bill bring you some comfort. May Bill rest in peace...

Greytlady: Thank you for adding your personal experience. I always like to hear from humans who have experienced some of these things we go through with our dogs since they can't tell us what it feels like to them. FullMetalFrank: Ugh, I can imagine...poor dogs, and poor you for having to clean up after them. It's painful, and the dog's diarrhea is hard to clean up without a full face mask! Cacky: Good call removing the birdbath. Sounds like it was low enough for hounds to access. You may already know this, but birdseed that has dropped on the ground can make dogs very ill also. It begins a dangerous bacteria buildup very quickly, especially when wet.

Common, but not normal. IMO, in the absence of a medical condition, the type of Kibble has much to do with Greyhound gas levels.

If you want to avoid Giardia, avoid allowing pets to drink from streams, lakes, birdbaths. "Giardia symptoms: Diarrhea Vomiting Weight loss Flatulence (excessive gas) Giardia is a protozoan parasite found all over the world. It infects humans, domestic animals and birds. Giardia lives in the intestinal tract and infection may be asymptomatic or can result in gastrointestinal symptoms." http://www.petplace....dogs/page1.aspx

Oh what a sweet faced girl, she's a beauty. How sad that she's an orphan at 11.5 years old.

Bumping up for weekend GT readers.

Hi and welcome to GT! I would like to offer a caution about walking a Greyhound in 90 degree heat. I don't know your circumstance, whether you live in house with a fenced yard or an apartment requiring leashed dog business walks; however, I would only take hounds out for a very short potty/business break in that heat. I only walk hounds during cooler times during early morning or later in the evening. Greyhounds are prone to over heating, and their paws can burn on hot cement/pavement. At a minimum, please read the original post in this link: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/256783-heat-exhaustion-and-heat-stroke-can-kill-your-dog-and-you/ Good luck with the other medical issues. Others are giving you a lot of information about that.

Oh Hilda, I am so deeply sorry for your loss of Gabby. How heart-breaking... In time, I hope your happy memories will help comfort your heart. Godspeed beautiful Gabby... .

Hi, and welcome to GreyTalk! I agree, the more escape routes the better. It's a good idea to install the baby gate about 5" up off the floor level. That allows for a quick floor escape for kitty. I definitely echo the use of the muzzle for as long as it takes (days/weeks or longer). Even a playful Greyhound can harm a cat with his/her legs and claws. If you have a crate, your Greyhound could have some safe and positive crate time in the busiest room while you are home to supervise her getting more used to seeing the cat walk (and run) around the room for several days/weeks. When the hound is outside the crate, the muzzle goes on. Every hound is different and if your hound is "cat workable" she may take longer to settle now having already caught your cat. (Sounds like she will be "cat workable" from her response to your cat behind the baby-gate in your hall. Higher prey sighthounds would do whatever they could to get to the cat.) Unfortunately, a cat test (or two) is not fail safe. A hound can test fairly cat-friendly during one test, then not so much on a different day/different circumstance. I don't think you mentioned what happened before your Greyhound actually got your cat. I assume it was more play/chase mode vs. prey-focused intent to kill mode. (Cats rarely live through the latter.) Please do NOT take any chances. Your cat is depending on you to keep him/her safe. Greyhounds are faster than cats. Start over with the introduction: while you're beginning to work to desensitize your muzzled and leashed Greyhound to the cat (hopefully your cat can be harnessed and leashed while sitting in a lap), try calling your hound's attention off the cat frequently. If she takes her eyes off the cat to engage with you, that's a good sign. Praise her only when she looks away from the cat. Tell her NO in no uncertain terms when she is too focused on the cat. (I teach "leave it" also, but "NO" is something most Greyhounds already understand.) When hound is crated, over time, she will adjust to seeing the cat walking around on the floor, and seeing the cat being held and petted in your arms and lap. Hopefully, she will begin to relax sooner than later. Graduate in baby steps over time... Hound muzzled on short leash with you at first, then crate for several days (weeks if needed) as cat walks throughout the room. After you're more confident that she won't attack the cat the next step is muzzled in a baby-gated room. Muzzle stays on whenever the cat is roaming free in the house until you feel confident hound has proven that she will ignore the cat. Most of our hounds do pretty well with our cats. Since we have a fairly young hound that was "cat workable," I keep a couple of baby-gates up. I don't leave the cats roaming throughout the house alone with the youngest hound. Good luck!

Since there are many different foods and calorie densities... an overall way to gauge if the amount of healthy food is right for most hounds is to keep an eye on their own body condition. A healthy pet weight for a Greyhound is to visibly see the last 2 ribs, plus being able to feel the 3rd to last rib. (The heaviest is to see only the last rib, plus feel the 2nd to last rib.)

I'm living with a Greyhound diagnosed with LP also. LP is usually progressive. Our hound has had it for several years but is much more advanced now. As I'm sure your vet mentioned, it is important to keep Naples very calm and as cool as possible. If you leash walk her at all, it should likely be limited to short, very slow strolls, it should only be during the coolest part of the early morning or night. Absolutely no running. Panting swells up the throat which could send her into a breathing attack. My hound's kibble needs to be completely soaked in water until it's mushy soft but leaving it in kibble shape (45+ minutes). I usually prepare her kibble in the morning with water, then leave it in the refrigerator until dinner time. Then warm it the microwave for about 20 seconds to take off the chill before serving. Here is an LP group with much information: LP-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Good luck with keeping Naples cool, calm and comfortable.

Is there any chance of letting us know the name of Ben's current food, calories per cup, quantity he eats daily, and how much weight he's lost? How many ribs are showing? Do you know where he raced, and lived before you adopted him? Did you ever see any blood in his stool? Sounds like the vet must have already done multiple fecal tests to rule out Giardia, different growth stages of hookworms, etc.? Just for reference, a good visual Greyhound weight indicator is being able to see the last 2 ribs and feel the third to last rib.

One more thing I've noticed with my low, ultra-slow eater who thinks she must chew each kibble 10 times before swallowing... Even though her teeth and gums are fine, she gobbles a much greater quantity of kibble and much faster if it has been soaking until it's very soft/mushy (e.g. her leftover kibble with water that was in the refrigerator for hours, then re-warmed). As Jennifer mentioned, I often block off all the other hounds away from my slow eater to reduce her meal time stress level. That helps a lot with our pack of four hounds with an occasional visitor. I'm glad you found a kibble that may work well for Mafi. I'm very interested in reading how much it interests her over time.

Congratulations on your adoption of Mulligan! Welcome to the wonderful world of Greyhounds from the West Coast.