Time4ANap

I'm so sorry. I know of another GT hound who becomes "one with the beach," so I understand completely what you are describing. Run free, sweet Cash.

That was a beautiful tribute to your gorgeous girl. Run free, Tess.

Unfortunately, I think you need to keep her out of the nursing home for liability reasons, and for her own safety. Are you visiting as part of an organized therapy group with liability insurance? If not, then you are on the hook for whatever happens. Additionally, that's the type of incident that can get ugly quickly with local authorities getting involved. Older people have thinner skin than greyhounds and can bleed like crazy, as well as sometimes can pet a little roughly because of a diminished sense of touch. I don't think you can even risk a nip at this point. Once she has some proper training and is not startled easily, she sounds like a wonderful candidate for therapy dog training based on her past experiences there - but it sounds way too risky to take a chance until the issues are resolved and she has passed a training certification for therapy work. Best wishes to you and Bid. You will get through this. We have a boy with sleep startle and the rule in this house is that he only gets petted when standing, so that we know he;s totally awake. He does give a warning growl if he doesn't like something, so we are all aware when that happens that he is uncomfortable with whatever is happening at that moment.

If you have access to some other dogs, buy a traffic cone at the hardware store, and have some other dogs pee on it. Put it in the spot where you want him to go. A tall (28 inch) traffic cone should be around 20 bucks or so. The big hardware and farm stores all carry them. I used two of them in a turnout area to keep Rocket from going on the Central AC unit, and he still runs to a cone in the morning.

If there is any uncertainty after the x-rays, I'd have Dr Cuoto do a second opinion. You can send him the digital X-ray and he will do the analysis for a flat fee. He is the man when it comes to diagnosing cancer in greys. Instructions for submitting x-rays are on his website if you should need them. http://www.coutovetconsultants.com/ Hoping that it's something minor and that you and Murphy have many years together.

He looks retired to me. I think he looks fine. Rocket's weight would always fluctuate when our walks slowed down over the winter in Illinois. Now it's the opposite, our walks slow down over the summer in Phoenix due to the heat. I think as long as he is eating okay, and getting regular exercise with no health issues, you are good. I've found that Rocket looks more like a racer when he comes back from boarding and has run with other greyhounds for a week or so. The muscles really bulk up fast when they run and he has more of that "racer" physique after a week or so of playing hard.

I'm very sorry for your loss. Run pain-free, Richy.

I make them each night for the next day. 1 Tbsp carrots, 4 oz boiling or very hot water, and cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. I feed half in the morning, and half at dinner. Just stir it into the food. Don't over think it. No big improvement in coat, but huge improvement in output. Rocket has a sensitive tummy and there was no need to gradually add them or anything special needed. If you are adding anything else to food like pumpkin, yogurt, etc, discontinue it so you know whether or not the carrots work.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking her in when she needed someone. Run free, Mystique.

Mix a tablespoon of the dried carrots with about 4 ounces of HOT water and split half of the resulting carrot mix into each of his daily meals. It is more the consistency of a cereal or thin oatmeal at these portions, and will pretty much disappear into his kibble and won't be all that noticeable if you wet his kibble and stir in the carrots, We've been using it now for over 6 months and have consistently "solid" results. A little goes a long way, and we've found that this portion works well for Rocket who is about 80-some pounds. The directions state to add oil into the mix, however we have not found the need to add oil.

That was a beautiful tribute to your gorgeous girl. Run free, Bobber.

I meant to add the following in my post above: When our hound bit due to sleep startle, the Animal Control Officer completely understood what sleep startle was, and based on the description of the incident, allowed us to home quarantine. Once she met him and realized that the incident was an accident because we thought he was awake, there was no further issue other than doing the home quarantine. We don't allow anyone to pet him unless he's standing up. We don't reach down beside him no matter where he's laying. A few simple rules like this strictly enforced can keep everyone safe, especially if you kids and/or visitors are at an age where they can understand this and follow the rule. We have one of the sweetest hounds in the world, but we follow those rules religiously in order to keep another incident from happening. There are people who have been able to train their hounds in a way to eliminate the startle, but I'm not sure I would still trust 100% after such training. I prefer to follow the "only pet when standing" rule.

There is no guarantee that the hound was awake. Many, including my own sometime sleep with eyes open. It honestly sounds like the hound was startled, otherwise there would have been a warning growl like you've sen in the past. As someone who has been bitten by a hound that was sleep startled, I understand the frustration you are feeling, the fear, as well as your husband's view. Sleep startle is easily managed, but some households, especially with children may not be in a position to deal with it. Assuming you are in the states, there has probably been a dog bite report generated by the medical facility and Animal Control may show up at your door. Do not relinquish your hound to them. Call your adoption group now for assistance.. You should also check out the site of the Lexus Project above so you are prepared to deal with the authorities, and contact them if needed. You, as the owner must contact them. They cannot do anything if someone else contacts them on your behalf, The Lexus Project must hear from the owner in order to provide any assistance. If you do not have an adoption group to help, please post your city and state so that someone here can help you locate a local resource to help you and your hound.

Run free, Bonny.

Sending lots of good thoughts to Robin. He's one of our GT favorites! Love that white face!

Run free, Mira.

Try an antler. http://www.amazon.com/Antler-Pet-Expertise-X-Large-Piece/dp/B004JB7GC6 Linked to Amazon above for convenience, but shop around. Prices really vary, and they last a very long time.

I am so sorry. Hugs to you and Conner. Run pain-free, Sallie.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Run pain-free, Dazzle.

Run free, Julie.

He could be too warm, but it could also just be boredom. I have a grey who has 6 beds and sleeps on the ceramic tile...go figure. PS - Greyhounds are weird. Cute , but weird.

Others with more experience can provide better info than I can on this, but if you don't know his medical history, you might ask about giving him Amicar before surgery to help control any bleeding. I believe they can also do a clotting test ahead of time to see if excessive bleeding is likely to be a problem. We haven't had to do this, but I have seen it mentioned here many times. If you search Amicar using the search feature, you will probably find a number of previous posts with good info.

Spoil him rotten. Ice cream goes well with cheeseburgers. So sorry you are approaching this point.

Eating well is a good sign! Hopefully she will still bounce back some more and have lots of good days. As I said previously, if you need us to stay wither so you can get out and do something, or we can do anything to help, just call. Give that bunny-soft girl some ear rubs from me. (Conner too!)

How is Sallie doing?