cleptogrey

i dealt w/ addison's disease for nearly 10 years(my late scottie) , it is very manageable. daily dosages of prednisone and florneiff(cheaper if you get it from canada) and lots of salt in their diet will do the trick. i tried the precortin shots, they were expensive and not as effective. my scottie inititally stopped eating all together and functioning what so ever. he needed to be carried out to the yard, no drinking, no movement. he was hydrated during the testing period which was a matter of 2 blood work-ups and the acth(?) test. when he was given synthetic hormones he came back to life- big time - and started eating w/ a vengence. if it is addison's disease, contact me privately and i will share all of my tips. usually an addisonian will live for tops 5-7 years. velcro died at 12.5 and lived a hearty life. good luck~

emily, a retired racer NEVER barks. felix, who left the track at 8 days is a different story. he was taught by my late welsh terrier...need i say more? if anyone saw the cbs video w/ knuckles, that is what he sounds like, just more and louder...he is 2 years old.he is a real talker and barks at anyone one who comes near the house or down our block who doesn't live here.

felix ripped his stop pad in half and refused to wear a bandage on it. his hock was already dressed due to a deep cut. so, he cleaned it and performed surgery removing the hanging portion. it is now smaller than the other stop pad, but it healed in no time. the object is to keep it clean, i use saline solution- either saline nose spray or eye prep for contacts- and to stop the bleeding. a cut pad usually takes 1-2 weeks. the stop pads faster since there is no pressure on them. paw pads i keep bandaged and just irrigate. antiobiotic ointments stops the healing.

My last two dogs were wrapped in rebozos and buried at their favorite spots in the yard. willie wonka our yard where lies eternally checking out what's doing on our quite street- i called him yenta dog. velcro is hanging out where we now have bamboo growing. joe, my husband initally had his moring coffee w/ them and commune w/ their spirts for a really long time. it's nice to know their remains are where they loved to hang out.

he might need another round of flagyl. also, have you tried incorportating probiotics and digestive enzymes in his regime? stick w/ rice and stay in contact w/ your vet. does his stool have a strange rancid odor?

the first time i brought emily in for her checkup after adopting her my vet spent forever listening to her heart. he said she has an extra beat! the first time he has heard this and he has been in business for over 40 years and has other greys in his practice. go know, she is just fine.

give your vet a call....he/she will most likely talk you thru it. good luck

i deal w/ this all the time, if it's not one paw it's another. i just found a teeny tiny crack in emily's which was causing her to limp. I swear by Epsom's Salts or Grey Sea Salt, soak it at least 2xs daily to keep it clean and draw out andy dirt and it works wonders. I finally bought a therapaw since i figured i would just rotate paws, enough of Emily going on workmen's comp. Mean while, Giselle, Felix finally started to enjoy the tunnel -thanks for the advice-and then.....he lacerated his hock and on top of that ripped his stop pad! He is out of agility for a while, the hock injury has really slowed him down big time.

i muzzle my exracer, emily, who has nipped my pup, felix, 2xs, we were lucky- only a total of18 staples. his scars are symmetrical. anyone who visits is well aware that the vampire dog MUST wear her muzzle, the problem is visitors seem to leave the muzzle in her reach when they take it off. she has eaten 4 of them. i always muzzle both when my visitor corgie comes by. she is just too small and we have experienced emily trying to snatch a skiperkee on a diagonal recal at obedience. even though felix and the corgie are best friend, i will not leave any room for error! it's good to have some support and hear the stories of other incidents. i initially thought that i had the only vampire dog, no one in this area has had similar experiences.

my female ALWAYS is cutting her pads and then she promptly files for workman's comp. she even managed to cut one scooting out of the crate to get a treat. i clean it w/ saline solution, easy to keep some saline nose spray in the first aid kit, place some gauze on it and then gently wrap w/ vet wrap. initially i will put some triple antibiotic ointment on it, but only once since it prevents the healing process. it takes around 1 week to 10 days to heal. when her pad near her dew claw was hanging off i had it trimmed, but i find they heal just fine w/out running to the vet. i also have taken an old woolen mitten, pushed the thumb in and use it as a bootie on top of the bandage. i use duct tape to secure it and provide a good walking surface.

also....., as to generic blowing of coat, i help it along with a good bath, brushing w/ a firm bristol brush and instead of a shedding comb i use stripping stones. they are a soft lava stone that are used on terriers and do a wonderful job w/ dead coat. yes, they start blowing coat w/ the increased daylight. CARE OF THE RETIRED RACING GREYHOUND has a good segment on BALD THIGH SYNDROME

my 2 year old red fawn male who has never been on the track(he left the track at 8 days) has the typical thin/balding hair on his thighs! i think it is gentic. he has never experience endless hours of crating nor the stress of hormones or racing. a friend who has a male the same color who raced looked at mine and was shocked to see that they both had the same pattern of balness. if i could figure out how to add a pic i would show you.

MAXNAV- i love your reply! a good chuckle. i'm in the same boat and so is my hound emily~

i have both and they wait for a free spot on the crib mattress. the one i was given is deluxe, organic and probably cost the original owner a mint. i put a waterproof mattress pad on it just in case someone wants to mark it, the sheet that came w/ it and a blanket. i also have started to use the old dog bed cover and filled it with some old quilts and they love that as well. a lot neater than a quilt for them to lie on they wash up well, as the costco beds only the covers are washable and it has smelly cedar chips.

just a question, my adoption group said only to use frontline, NOT frontline plus. sounds like people out there are successfully using frontline plus....?

did not know about interceptor "warantee". i have always kept all of my dogs on it year round and they have ALWAYS been worm free.

i live the the same zone as you. i generally cont. for one month after the first frost and resume in april if we have a couple of warm days in a row. yup, it is almost that time again.

the no-bite collar works like a charm and they are really comfortable. look it up on the internet and you can always make one out of correguated cardboard. there should be a thread somewhere on greytalk about the no-bite collar, i remember reading it. i know jb pet in n.j. sells them.

kibble/ eagle pack hollistic/ duck and oatmeal or giant breed canned/ a tad of trader joe's beef

i have been dealing w/ fungus in the nail bed of my young male. my vet, who i have used for over 30 years, is an excellent diagnostician. he told me to clean it and apply over the counter athletics's foot cream. i clean the paw and nail in one of the following solutions, depending upon what i have: 1/4 peroxide to 3/4 warm water or epson's salts or gray sea salt and clean the nails w/ a soft tooth brush. then i dry and apply a generous amount of cream. he hasn't show any ill affects from licking the cream. i usually do it at night when he is sleeping next to me on the couch so the licking is minimal. my female had fungus in between her toes, the webbing. i used desitin after the black fungus was scrapped out. it worked, i also have used desitin on the nail bed, it has wonderful healing qualities. it must be the mud that is roto tilled in my yard when they run causing these problems. good luck, it took 2-3 weeks until the nails cleared. my male became super sensitive to having his nailed ground w/ the dremel.

before i would start w/ benadryl i personally would start a regime of lemon juice. it will clear the mucous in his throat and you won't have a comatose hound hanging out. a tablespoonful of real lemon juice once daily(i usually buy the store brand) down his throat w/ a baby medicine dropper or better yet w/ a spoon. it won't harm him in any way and might stop the reverse sneezes, it clears their throat instantly. it works for my dogs and a friend's dog which i have boarded. i have an old fashioned vet w/ lots of simple home remedies that really do work.

i made my no-bite collar out of corrugated cardboard. it lasted almost a week, the edges were bent, so i just replaced it. cheap enough. i did run into them at jb pets, they had them in their store, if you contact their web site they should be able to help you.

my vet, who owns lots of short nosed breeds, has told me to give my dogs a spoonful of lemon juice to clear the phlegm. to me it sounds like the reverse sneeze is the hound trying to clear their throats. i use a medicine dropper for babies and either squirt the juice down their throat or into the corner of a closed mouth. it cuts right thru the mucous and clears it up nicely. i did not have any qualms about using lemon juice since my acupuncturist is always telling me to start the day off w/ the juice of a fresh squeezed lemon...i still stick w/ coffee.

vacinations for dogs as well as children are a hot topic these days. the american animal hospitial assoc. (AAHA)has published revised guidelines(mentioned in a response above) is most informative. i used it when i was perplexed about what to do with my dogs. it's one of those things you need to feel comfortable speaking with your vet about and finding out their reasons for feeling boosters are necessary. good luck....

I had a scottie with Addison's Disease which was diagnoses when he was almost 3 years old. He lived to 12.5 years. I used the regime of florineff and predisone and salt daily(lots) and he lived on a low protien diet. I did try the precortin injections which were not as effective.The are supposed to last a month and within 2 weeks he was showing sign of the disease. He did respond to the initial doasge of steroids which was the tell tale test. It was as if a light switch had been turned on when he was given the test meds. It took some time to adjust the dosage of florneiff and pred. but once I did, he was on the same dosage since I kept his weight stable. I did end up getting my meds from Canada since the price of florineff in the US is absurd. Heat and cold intolerance as well as thinning skin and poor coat are just a few of the side effects. But if it is Addison's your dog should respond well to the meds. Best of luck.