Time4ANap

Rocket was the same way about getting into the car and would put his front legs on the seat then wait to be lifted. We used some stinky liver treats, threw them onto the far side of the seat and said "Kennel Up." It only took about 2 tries because the treat was irresistible. He loves the car, he just didn't know how to go about getting in or was waiting to be told that it was okay. Not sure which. If he's getting on the sofa, you should have no trouble getting him in the car. Just make sure that you use a command to tell him that it's okay. Otherwise, he may try to jump in ahead of that once he gets used to it and could hit the door or otherwise injure himself if you are not ready for him to jump in. If he is jumping into a hatch area, the command is really important, because some will slam into the hatch before it's opened when excited about going for a ride.

We don't seem to have ticks all the time here, but seem to have certain periods of time when they are much worse, or times that we want some additional protection if Rocket is up north in the mountains. The Preventic Collars just seem to work. I get them on Amazon. The Adams sprays also work well, and they have one that is made to spray your yard and shrubs using the garden hose. It works to reduce the ticks overall if you are seeing lots of them.

Could definitely be the medications. Have you tried spacing them out a little and maybe giving them with a snack in case her stomach is upset. The pred will also make her hungry which could be why she's restless.

My concern with that reaction is that it's a pain reaction. Maybe he also hurt a tendon, muscle or ligament and is protecting it. If he won;t let you check that then it may warrant a vet visit to be sure. Could he have twisted / sprained something when he tore the skin? Rocket, who has space issues would probably be the same way if we attempted to fix something like that, especially if he was laying down. We always muzzle if we have to do something where we are down at face level or whe he can be in snapping range. I have never thought it was malicious, because to be honest, if they wanted to tear us apart, they probably could. One if us always has control of a short leash and his, even muzzled, and we keep him standing. He is perfectly cooperative with the vet, groomer and outsiders, but figures we are up to no good and will do his best to not go along with whatever it is we want to do.

How about a muzzle with a stool guard instead? We've used that when Rocket needed to leave a surgical site alone and it worked fine. He wasn't happy about it, but it was the better option than the E Collar.

Run free, Brendan.

It sure doesn't seem like 7 years. It truly seems like yesterday that Alan was here, as well as many others who have joined him at the bridge or went there before him. I, for one, really hope that there is a big hound party at the bridge that we all get to join in when the time comes. Once a member here, always a member. There are lots of folks here who for one reason or another no longer have a greyhound, but continue to post and share their former hounds, as well as help new owners based on their experience. You should always feel free to join any conversation on here.

I am so sorry to see this. We all love Ginny and her ball. Run free, sweet Ginny. We know that Unka Bill was there to meet you and show you around the bridge. I'm sure that Chef Seamie will have all right legs on the buffet tonight to welcome you.

Spoil that boy! Sending you both lots of good thoughts.

You should know that many of the people who are responding have been through this many times, and are some of the most respected members of our community here. There isn't a person here who doesn't have some tears in their eyes knowing the heart wrenching decision you are facing. GreyTalk people are some of the best I've ever known, and are also here to help you deal with this after the fact. Sorry that your first post here is on this subject, but don't be a stranger here if you need more help getting through this now or later. The people here are amazing. Our best to you and Nefer. Spoil him rotten while you can.

No need for invasive tests. A negative fecal isn't worth the paper it's printed on, especially with a grey who is recently off the track. All it means is that there was nothing present in that particular sample. It doesn;t mean that there aren't parasites or worms of some type, which can be common when off the track. It will sometimes take 2 or 3 de-wormings to really get anything that's in there. I would ask the vet to do a round of Panacur, and give you enough to do another round as directed on the package in 2-3 weeks (I forget the exact time on the directions.) Additionally, since there is blood in the stool, I would also ask about using Metronidazole for about 10 days to help heal the stomach. Between the two treatments, it will take care of 99% of most problems. That bloody / gelatin looking stuff is normal when the stomach lining is irritated, and the metronidazole will help it quickly. Never withhold medical care because you are afraid of invasive tests, especially for GI issues. They are often easily treated and not uncommon in a new hound. Your new hound is already streseed from a major change in routine and life, and then you've indicated that there's even more stress in the house that triggered something. Should be easily treated. If the Panacur doesn't take care of it, there are some stronger dewormers (Drontal Plus) that will go after other parasites, and they all work well to treat specific types. of worms, giardia, etc. In the meantime, the bland diet will help calm the tummy, but does not contan much nutrition. A few days on it is usually sifficient. In addition to the hamburger, which should be boiled and rinsed to remove fat, aand way overcooked mushy pasta to give it some substance. You can also add scrambled eggs. I have found those to work well. The pasta will digest easier tha nrice, but if you use rice, make sure it is also way overcooked with at least twice as much water as called for in the directions (use regular white rice, not instant). Ease back into the kibble when the diarrhea subsides by adding a little at a time to the bland meal. Instead of cooking ground beef, I usually use some canned chicken food (Evangers Organic Cooked Chicken) which is bland, contains only chicken and water, and is ground to make it more digestible than the ground beef. It works well to mix with pasta, eggs etc to make a quick bland meal. I keep a case of it on hand just for bland meals since we have a hound who has occasional stress colitis. Good luck. It;s not as bad as it looks.

Rest well, Spud.

I'm so sorry. Run free, Zola.

For now, only have them pet him when he's standing up. If he's laying down he may perceive them to be in his space which will add to his nervousness. Rocket loves kids, but never wants anyone in his space. If he's laying down, I will tell them that he's being a grumpy old man today and might grumble at them until he stands up. I invite them to come back over once he stands up, or will walk him over to them as we are leaving. Kids often don't understand why you would say no, so if they are polite enough to ask, I try to give them every chance to pet him, even if it's not right at that moment.

We went through lots of stomach issues for several years with Rocket before he was diagnosed with Stress Colitis. Tylan got that under control along with finding a food that worked well for him. On the occasional mornings that he still wakes up with a bad tummy, I usually give him half a can of Evanger's Organic Cooked Chicken. Usually if he gets that in his stomach, a few hours later he will eat his regular meal with no other issues. It is cooked chicken and a little water only, nothing else, so isn't a meal. I use it instead of having to cook chicken and other meats when I need them for a bland diet. It sort of "primes the pump." I have also just mixed some around in his kibble at times to get him to eat and that seems to work as well. I have used it in place of the bland diet for several years now by having a big bowl of rice or over-cooked pasta in the frig when I need it, and mixing it with the Evangers at meal time. The newest cans that I just received have an expiration date of 2020 on them, so I like having something with a long shelf life that I can pop open on a moment's notice when needed. I think the consistency of it allows it to digest much better than cooking my own chicken for him. If you ever need a quick bland meal for a hound, this works well.

For those of you who don't know Dee (we've never met, I just know her from past days on GT) she was often the "go to person" on here for lots of animal / hound medical issues. If she is posting this, then she has probably tried everything in the play book at least once and maybe twice! . I felt it might help to let those of you who don't know her just how bad this problem with her boy must be. She must be on this one. Good to see you back and hope you can resolve this for both you and Dom.

When in the house - Outside. Go Outside, or Do you need to go out? Any variation of that works. When standing at the door to come in and he hasn't done anything - Go Pee or Go Poop. - and he does.

I buy Precise Foods on Amazon using Amazon Prime. They have had the best price on Precise Senior for the last 6 plus months. Usually 8-10 dollars a bag cheaper than anywhere else. It arrives in 2 days. If you don't have Prime, I'm not sure if it is cheaper to pay shipping at Amazon or buy on Wag.com with free shipping over a certain dollar amount. You could also buy 2 at a time and get free shipping on Amazon. Rocket is actually starting to get the moring grumbles on the Precise after 3 years of the Senior, and probably 2 years of using Foundation.Not sure what we are going to try, but we have pretty much eliminated any other cause including a bad bag, as the issue had popped up with the last few bags more than once. The Sensicare agreed with his tummy, but he kept losing too much weight on it.

Aiden is one handsome dude! We will be waiting with bait on our breath for an update on Friday. Good luck, Aiden (and Mom).

The one we built at the other house was 12x20. Big enough to wander around and find a spot but not encourage play and running. We were able to use an L-shaped area behind our garage and fenced on the 2 sides that weren't exterior house walls. You also want to keep the area away from Central AC units as dog pee will corrode the AC unit, and the unit is an inviting target.

He will go when he has to. They always do. I used a traffic cone to give Rocket a target initially. There are often traffic cones in the turnout pens at racing kennels for this purpose, so it's something they are used to seeing and using. You can pickup a tall cone for around 20 bucks or a little less at Home Depot or Lowe's Probably at least a 24-28 inch cone will be needed if he's tall. If you can have a few other dogs mark it, that will help but may not be necessary. Once he gets in the habit of marking the cone it should help with getting him out there to go. If you can section off part of ithe yard with a small roll of vinyl construciton fence or snow fence like they use on construction sites, put the cone inside that area and tell him "Potty" or "outside" whatever command you use. Lead him to that area on a leash a few times. When we had a dedicated potty yard at our previous house, it was much easier to teach him that the yard was only for the purpose. No playing or laying in the grass was allowed, and he would just run out, take care of business and come back to the door.

I think everyone on this forum will second that. There are people here who work wonders with seniors and those who are a little different or have special needs. If it comes down to re-homing, then that's the right time to have that conversation with FiveRoooooers and/or anyone else who has a great deal of experience with Senior Hounds and their issues. No one here will give up on any hound, but we all know that sometimes the only viable solution is rehoming. If it comes down to that after exhausting all possibilities, or becomes necessary due to safety, there are folks here who can help you, but we are never the first choice simply because it is best to exhaust the local adoption groups and other resources where there is a more centralized support system and multiple people who can help in a geographic area. It is never out of the question for a dog to end up being transported to a new home across the country if necessary, but exhausting other local options first often resolves everything and is much easier on all concerned. Note that no one wants to wait for a child to be bitten, but you need to be reasonably certain that it's a real possibility so that you aren;t constantly second guessing a decision to rehome your hound after he's gone to that new home. Please keep us informed as things progress, and don't ever be afraid to ask for help here. It is too easy to think that someone is criticizing you in a written response, when in fact it can just be a bad choice of word placement that makes it sound that way. No one here is going to take away your dog. Only you can ultimately make that decision if it ends up being best for all concerned or becomes a true safety issue where the hound absolutely cannot be in the house with a child.

I was just checking out the Fromm's site and see that they have a recall posted on canned food. Haven't seen anything about it up to this point so figured I would pass the info on. https://frommfamily.com/connect/annoucements

Make sure that he has a safe place. A space he can call his own, and only his. See if you can borrow a crate if you don't have one, and put it in a quiet part of the house. Let him retreat there if he needs to, and make it clear to visitors, children etc that the crate is completely off limits. My concern would be that he retreats to the crate and becomes hard to get out of it, but it may also confirm that he just needs a space to call his own. (I realize he has beds etc, but he may identify with a crate or an x-pen a little more from his days at the track.) Throw some blankets over it to give him a man cave. I doubt he is truly happier at the kennel. It may make him very happy to go to the kennel as a diversion or as his "vacation." He is going to get to play with his buddies and will show that excitement when he does. Rocket loves going to the kennel where only greys are boarded. He could care less if we leave him there and for how long and ignores us from the moment we get there, could care less when we leave, but he is always happy to come home too. I think he looks at it as going to see his buddies. He will walk around to every crate when he gets there to see everyone and will just about pull our arms off to get into the building. Try not to read into that, because this is how he grew up and lived several years of his life. It seems to be sort of a homecoming for him when we boarded him at the Greyhound Resort. I think it's great that you are able to reach out and ask these questions. It is the most selfless thing you can do for your hound. Also remember that he is 13 and may well just be getting old and crotchety like the rest of us. I hope that he is not in any pain and unable to let you know, While it doesn't sound like that's the case, that is what would be in the back of my mind. Rocket has recently started cutting his walks in half on his own. I know that one of his legs hurts from time to time, but xrays are clear and he has a very clean bill of health. i have to assume that the changes are age related and deal with them as best we can. I really think you might just be dealing with a hound who is showing his age, but like you, I would be checking every other possibility before I accepted it as "the way it is" just to rule out anything medical and to figure out what, if anything can be done to make his remaining time the best that it can possibly be. It sounds like he has had a great life with you, and ultimately that all that each of want for our hounds. Best of luck to your family and Dancer as you work through this.

Could well be hooks or other worms. It is almost impossible to get a positive test for worms unless you just happen to hit perfect timing . It's sort of like playing a slot machine or the lottery - once in a while there's actually a positive result - but most of the time not. I think I would be checking with the vet about deworming again, and maybe some Metronidazole as well to help the tummy. We went through this numerous times with Rocket for several years, and he was eventually diagnosed with Stress Colitis. No idea what was stressing him unless his portfolio was losing money, but something was. Once we exhausted all other possibilities and put him on Tylan with his meals, we have way fewer issues. Still an occasional morning with gurgles or soft poop, but nothing like we used to deal with.