Beckylpa

I know exactly what you are talking about. My Sam had one on his back, just above his tail. It was kinda gross and like you said "hornlike." It looked very much like a toe nail. I discovered it as I was petting Sam while waiting for him to be seen by the vet. The doctor said it was some kind of cyst. I can't remember what kind off the top of my head. It was easily removed with a finger. It did bleed for a while. Fortunately it did not grow back yet, but the doctor said it could. We called it his "butt nail."

We have had Sam for a year now. When he came to us he was drinking a lot of water and could pee for several minutes straight. Over the next few months we tested him for Cushings, UTIs, Lepto, and several other things. He was positive for lepto but I believe my vet said the excessive drinking and urinating wasn't necessarily a common sign. Sam continued to urinate frequently even after several months of antibiotics. We did ultrasounds that showed nothing and more blood work. We took him to specialists and they had us measure his water intake and we did several water tests. Long story short the best guess is that Sam has diabetes insipidus. He takes desmopressin daily. He does drink less on the medication but he can still drink 4 or 5 cups in the evening alone. We take him out frequently when we are home. He has always been able to hold it all night but he can only go about 4 hours during the day. Unfortunately desmo is not cheap! Good luck with your little cutie

I have used KV Vet for several years and always have good service.

My girl Vee was 6 years old when I came home from work at lunch time to take the pups out and within 30 minutes of me arriving home she was dead. After a necropsy our vet thought it was sudden cardiac failure. She was perfectly normal that morning, but I too questioned if I missed something. She was a very healthy, spunky girl that lived life to the fullest every day. It sounds like you were very on top of things with your boy. I am so sorry you lost him.

My Angel girl Vee did this when she was only five and six years old. She was not a nervous dog in any way. Her back legs would shake and quiver after standing in one spot, usually on a hard surface for any length of time. At meet and greets I would walk her around or massage the leg and it would get better. It didn't seem to bother her at all.

Back in April my four year old male Sam had a sheath infection. My vet gave him 2 weeks of Cephalexin and I had to clean him with an antiseptic solution. Sam has had several UTIs but this was the first time he was diagnosed with a sheath infection. Yes, his discharge was very gross and smelly! Fortunately he didn't mind me cleaning him. My vet recommended that I continue to use the cleaning solution at least once a week. I have had male dogs before, but since I got Sam a year ago, I have become all too familiar with boy parts.

When I had to give Sam eye drops I called him into the kitchen, gave him a little treat, then stood kind of behind him and to the side. At that point I just lifted the dropper above the eye and he instinctively looked up at it and I released the drops. I hope this helps. I was lucky in that Sam didn't mind the eye drops. Good luck and hope your little girl gets better soon.

I have given my greys melatonin (generic brand from my local grocery store) for years. It worked really well on one of my girls in particular as far as her growing hair on her bald butt. It never made them drowsy. I usually give 2 or 3 mg either with breakfast or dinner.

Does anyone know if it is safe to change each month, say use Frontline one month then the next month use Advantage?

I am so sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful older lady. I LOVE her Xan pic.

That is so great that your girl will be 16! I have enjoyed a few outings sponsored by GHG. My husband and I love Pittsburgh and go to the city as often as we can. Her picture is my avatar which was done by Xan as the Royal Portrait and it is my favorite picture of her She is a beauty, most definately royalty!

That is so great that your girl will be 16! I have enjoyed a few outings sponsored by GHG. My husband and I love Pittsburgh and go to the city as often as we can.

Yes, she is coming from Monica's Heart. We have been with Monica's Heart since around 2002. We like to have two dogs at a time. Our 6 year old girl died suddenly in October. We did not get another dog right away because one we were heart broken and two Sam has been having some medical problems. Thanks for help with the pics. talk about a small world. I know Kay pretty good & was at last year's reunion, and will be up there this year too! She's a total hoot, especially when she's with Ann (Cassies' Casual Wear). They both come to our (GHG) reunion..your more then welcome too! Ok, fess up who are you getting as your foster?...you have some cute females up for adoption. Sorry to hear about Sam's problems for your baby. Kay is great. I really like the people from Monica's Heart. I also go to Monica's Heart picnic every year so I will be sure to see you there. I actually went to GHG reunion in 2005 and have gone to the Christmas bazaar. I frequently correspond with Nancy H. She had my first greyhound's mother, Morgan. We are getting Jasmine!!! As long as things go well with Sam she will be ours!

Yes, she is coming from Monica's Heart. We have been with Monica's Heart since around 2002. We like to have two dogs at a time. Our 6 year old girl died suddenly in October. We did not get another dog right away because one we were heart broken and two Sam has been having some medical problems. Thanks for help with the pics.

I also grew up in Somerset County. Vince is from Johnstown so here we are now. My family is still in Somerset. I received good news last night. We are going to be getting our first foster girl very soon!!! It is a fost with intent to adopt so hopefully things will go well. Sam is excited for a new sister! Where at in Somerset? I drive up there every other week to visit my folks & custody of my DS! DS's dad is from Johnstown pretty close the the vo-tech. I grew up just outside of Stoystown (North Star grad). My mother lives right in Somerset (by 84 Lumber). My husband and I lived in Somerset (on Edgewood Avenue and Sanner Street) before moving to Johnstown in 1998. Vince grew up in East Conemaugh and we live in Southmont now. Where can I find info. on how to post pics?

I also grew up in Somerset County. Vince is from Johnstown so here we are now. My family is still in Somerset. I received good news last night. We are going to be getting our first foster girl very soon!!! It is a fost with intent to adopt so hopefully things will go well. Sam is excited for a new sister!

We are in Johnstown. I travel for work so I am somewhat familiar with Huntingdon. 8 greyt greys....Belinda???

Hi! My name is Becky, my husband is Vince and we currently have one greyhound, a four year old male named Sam. We are in western PA. I have been reading here for about three months and thought I should do an intro. and hope to do pics soon. I have learned so much in a short amount of time. We have been adopting greyhounds since March 6, 1999. I can't believe it took me this LONG to find everyone here!!! Last year was a rough one, we lost our two girls within five months of each other. Of course we continue to miss them dearly. Sam is our 5th grey in the past ten years. I can't imagine not having these wonderful pups in our lives. We are currently thinking of fostering and/or adding another grey to our pack. I miss those girlies in my life!

I am so sorry for your loss. I have been reading closely about Buddy and was hoping for a positive outcome for him. I am in Johnstown, so probably not too far from you. I have taken my Sam to PVSEC two times recently and I was thinking that is where you might have been taking Buddy. I was thinking Sam would have loved to meet another greyhound while he was there. Again I am sorry. You wrote a beautiful memorial for a beautiful boy.

I like Metacam. We have only used it for short term use (a week or so at a time) and it worked well. I would use it longer if necessary. I like the liquid form too. About four years ago I tried Deramaxx and it made my boy weak in the hind legs and gave him the big D. Nice to know about the generic form.

I never thought about the possibilty of inflammation, that is interesting.

Oh boy, that sounds like it could be quite the challenge for someone like me who is often lacking coordination skills when I need them the most!!! Lindsay, thanks for your help. I will see how Sam does over the next week. He drinks an average of 11.5 cups of water a day, which of course leads to a lot of peeing. He struggled yesterday when he was only allowed 7.25 cups as we were doing a water test with him over the weekend. Hopefully with the desmo he will be able to concentrate the urine and hold it a little longer.

Yes Lindsey, I exchanged info with you about Sam before. I had him to the specialist again today and the doctor suspects DI so we are trying the desmo for a week and we will go from there. I am sure I can get used to the eye drop if I need too but Sam is a great pill taker so I thought I would explore that option. After talking with folks around here, desmopressin runs around $130 for a small bottle so I was hoping for a litte cheaper option but will do what is necessary. This is an odd question but is it difficult to use the human spray as a drop?

My Sam is to try desmopressin (eye drop form) for one week. If it helps him concentrate his urine he will have to continue to take it. I know it is also a human drug and it comes in a pill form. Has anyone ever heard of a dog taking it in a pill form and if yes, how do you convert dosage from eye drop to pill? Thanks for any input! Becky

When my boy Mesa was 6 he was diagnosed with ME and my vet prescribed Sucralfate tablets (every 8 hours) to help protect the lining of the stomach and esophagus. We also fed him small meals a couple times a day which helped. He had all the classic symptoms of MG but the blood tests were negative. It was a mystery. However the ME was very clear on the xray. Good luck with your boy.