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Hi all! Kira is progressing, got her stitches out and began chemo last week. Took her in yesterday for her 1-week post-chemo bloodwork and all looks good. No infections, yay! What is killing us now is her nerve/phantom pain. Our oncologist added Amantadine into her pain medication line-up (Gabapentin, 300mg 3x per day; Amantadine, 100mg 2x per day; Carprofen, 100mg 1x per day). For the past two weeks, she has been yelping/crying and jumping up. I understand the nerve pain, as I had total knee replacement at 42 when my nerves were firing like crazy! That is why they added Amantadine & upped her Gabapentin back to 3x per day. The issue is - it seems to be getting worse. She has had hours where she is yelping, crying out and jumping up constantly - every few minutes. Sometimes, it's every couple of hours. Her incision is healed nicely except for one spot that is scabbing up and bleeding a little. Vet looked at it yesterday and said it was fine, no infection, healing nicely. We are trying not to overreact and cause her more stress at being coddled, but it's painful to watch. We are taking turns sleeping downstairs with her because she does this overnight also and sleep isn't great. Any ideas on how we can help? We're trying to desensitize the area, though she doesn't seem to have any sensitivity on the incision at all.

One of our girls has the same problem and it started last summer. We noticed some new weeds in our yard and the more they spread, the more issues she had. We had her at the vet 3-4x last summer and ended up getting a Cytopoint shot and cleaning/drying her feet every single time she went out. That cleared up her issues. We're doing the same thing this summer. We're pretty sure it's an allergy to whatever those dumb weeds are!

Thanks, everyone! Our family vet was surprised at the high dosage on the Gabapentin and said she's probably sedated & loopy from it. She recommended bumping her down to 300mg every 8-12 hours. My husband was too nervous to let her go 12 hours because she is crying out quite a bit. Our vet didn't recommend opioids, other than potentially a Fentanyl patch if the surgeon's office has them (our vet doesn't use them anymore). She was hesitant about that also, and I'm not too keen given we've used opioids in the past with other hounds and none really reacted well to them. I also sent an email to her surgeon to see if he agreed or had any other suggestions, but I doubt I'll hear from him today as he is the emergency surgeon at the practice and is normally busy all day. We got her out again this morning with the other two as we did last night - but this afternoon she wasn't budging. I'm hoping she will be okay and we can continue to ween her off the Gabapentin, though seeing her cry out is so tough.

Thank you both! Her incision looks great, no oozing or smells and pretty minimal swelling. Redness has even gone down and though she has some “spread” bruising on her belly, I know that is to be expected. She ended up going out on her own after we let the other two go out downstairs where she could see them. Our boy started barking excitedly outside and she was too interested to stay put. She peed a river and went right back to bed and slept like a baby. My husband is sleeping downstairs with her and I am letting him sleep a bit more this morning because he is exhausted, but I think she might’ve slept thru the night for the first time! I had knee replacement a few years ago and the pain was so awful. I was a younger patient, which apparently makes the pain worse (go figure) - but Gabapentin and Rimadyl just do not seem sufficient for such a radical surgery. My family vet opens soon and I will call her and follow up with the surgeon.

Our girl had a severe humerus break on Monday night and long story short, we are awaiting biopsy results, but it is suspected osteosarcoma. We were given the option to amputate or euthanize since the bone could not be surgically repaired. Surgery was Tuesday afternoon, we brought her home Wednesday afternoon. She is on 600mg Gabapentin every 8 hours and was already on Rimadyl once per day. That is all the pain meds (which seems light for an operation like this). She is also on Amicar and an antibiotic. We are religious about her med schedule. She has been going outside to pee regularly since she is drinking a lot. She is eating okay and had already pooped 3x - so we are really pleased with that. This morning she went out around 9am, peed and pooped, and since then we are unable to get her up to go out. She was whining and crying around 3pm, which is a sign she needs to go out, but she kept refusing to get up. She ended up peeing in bed. Now at 9pm, she is in the same position she has been in since this afternoon and will not get up. We figure it is pain, but she isn’t acting any differently, other than not getting up. We will call the vet first thing in the morning, but until then, we don’t know what is best. Should we pick her up and take her out, or just leave her alone?

Got a prescription for Amicar and found a great coupon on GoodRX (it's SO expensive otherwise). Brought her home about an hour ago - she is able to hop around already and she's resting comfortably in her new home downstairs. Official biopsy results will be 7-14 days and we already have a referral to an oncologist. /fingers crossed

Thank you, ramonaghan! We didn't know anything about Amicar until I started reading this thread. It all happened so fast. She was already on Rimadyl for her spondylosis and we were given Gabapentin at the e-vet last night for pain. Is this something I should ask the surgeon about when we bring her home? We will definitely stock on foods/drinks for her. We will both be home with her and we live super close to multiple grocery stores, so we can definitely run out to get her whatever she needs. Will definitely order some pee pads today so they'll be here, we have lots of old towels that we will use in the meantime. She hasn't been eating well for awhile now and I've taken her to the vet a few times and they never found anything. I had a terrible feeling it was something like this and I am guessing she's been in pain, though she wasn't limping at all on that leg.

Hi all - was hoping to never post on this thread again, but here goes... Our gorgeous 10-year-old girl was running down the stairs in our house when she hit the landing, she screamed in pain (and kept screaming and lashing out at us). Got her to the e-vet where they diagnosed a "high humerus" break (clean in two) and referred us to an orthopedic surgeon. I questioned if it was cancer and they were non-committal. This morning at the specialist, they are 99% sure it was due to osteosarcoma. She was still screaming in pain and literally our options were to amputate or euthanize since palliative care was not an option. We slept in the car with her last night in our driveway since we refused to leave her at the e-vet overnight (we did that once, and the practice screwed up and caused the death of our first greyhound) and we couldn't get her in the house due to pain. This morning we left her at the vet, they sedated her, gave her pain meds and they were doing her bloodwork. Chest x-ray was clean, bloodwork was clean and she went into surgery about 30 minutes ago. Been reading the blog on what to expect (pinned in the first post of this thread) - but a lot of the links were dead. Does anyone have current links to resources for comfortable amputee harnesses (it's her right front leg) and the cute t-shirts? We are already moving everything out of our bottom floor (carpeted) guest room (no stairs access to the backyard) and we will take turns living with her down there. Anything else that is imperative? So, she is 10 and was diagnosed with spondylosis earlier this year - it makes her stiff, but she still gets around. She was retired due to the back left hock tear that still gives her some trouble. Are we crazy for going forward with the amputation? We lost our last girl at 8.5 due to bone cancer and we didn't amputate and I always regretted that we didn't give her a fighting chance (hers was very aggressive). She is a tough little dog... I am so darned sad (and scared).

Sorry, follow up question here about my new adoptee's protocol, as I do not think it is sufficient after reading so many threads here. Is this enough? Vet seems open to trying new things, but I want to be clear and also see if there is documentation on it (she sent me home with "Hookworms and Racing Greyhounds" data Oct 2019 by Dr Ng) to share with her. The Prison Protocol link I saw in previous threads is a dead link now. We have 3 days of Panacur granules (started today) Today we also gave her Strongid (only got one vial of this) Today we also applied Advantage Multi - we are to apply this every 2 weeks for 3 applications, then switch to monthly Re-test her in 6 months That's it. Is that correct for initial treatment? Thanks!

Was wondering about how I can best prevent hookworm infestation in my two older greyhounds since we just found out today that new adoptee has them. She's on Dr. Ng's "triple combination" protocol and I've been reading a lot here about treatments and issues (very disheartening, I must say) - but my bigger questions are around how to protect my two negative greyhounds. Unfortunately we weren't aware this was even an issue, so they ran around the yard together for almost two weeks - we have someone clean the yard once per week, and they often "go" on walks, so the yard has never been an issue. But...now we are concerned. I know that cleaning up right away is #1 (even though we can't do the "paper plate" thing of following her around since she's pretty skittish and she tried to get away from me when I followed her around with a baggie today, lol). Both existing greys are on Heartguard Plus and vet explained that even if they did get infected, it wouldn't really be the same thing since it wouldn't be chronic infestation that ended up in tissues and re-infected intermittently, and that the HG+ should protect them and kill any adults right away. Is this the case? Does cleaning feet immediately after being in the yard help? I've read the adults and eggs can't live through a hard freeze - but has anyone tried using one of those "poop freezing" sprays to kill them? We live in NC, so hot & humid weather is on the way - but if we pick up right away and then freeze whatever remains in the grass with the spray... might that work? I've read there is no proven way of treating yards - is that the case? I honestly don't care if I kill the grass, I just want to kill the hooks. Does anyone know how long they can live in soil? I guess our yard is infested now, which just sucks since we didn't know, but whatever - we have to deal with it. Can we do anything at all? Spray with bleach? Wondercide? Anything? Or... are we just waiting for a hard freeze this winter? Finally, how many of you have dealt with a new adoptee "infecting" your existing greys (or other dogs)? Are they easier to treat as my vet suggested? Is there anything else I can to help our new girl and our existing two? Still researching her treatment, but hoping to get a crash course in protecting the other two. Should we section off our yard and keep them separated? Buy them booties (which would be super funny)? Any tips or knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much everyone! She started eating again the next day, we simply "ignored" her and let her settle down - didn't approach her, let her come to us - and she was eating again the next morning. Right now, it's only chicken & rice - but we added a couple TBL of kibble this morning and we'll work towards a more normal diet soon. Bad news - she tested positive for hookworm this afternoon and our vet put her on Dr. Ng's "triple combination" protocol. We have all the meds here and will start them right away - hopefully that will help her feel better and eat normally. We're also going to section off our backyard to give her "her own spot" to go in hopes of keeping other two safe while she is being treated. It's a lot to take in, as we've never dealt with this before. But, we're committed to her and only hope we can get her feeling better soon, even if it takes longer to eradicate the worms. Guess I'll be investigating those threads here to get more info quickly!

Ugh, I didn't know about hookworms - just asked the adoption group and I guess they don't specifically test for them, but they do deworm regularly. I had no idea, wish they would've told us about the risk. I'm not online much these days (here or anywhere) and we've had our current two for over 5 years and we've never had any worms on any greys for almost 20 years - now I'm concerned they will get hookworms. Our boy is 9 years old, has a sensitive stomach and will not take meds. We've always been worried that if he ever got sick, we wouldn't have any idea how we'd give him oral meds. Dangit. We have a vet appointment for her on Friday to get her tested and see. No eating tonight, either - still drinking though, so I guess that's something. So she hasn't had a full'ish meal since yesterday morning - she had a few treats (maybe 2?) for lunch yesterday and that's it. Guess I'll just keep trying stuff and giving her a quiet, calm place in her kennel. She sat there looking at it for 20 minutes tonight - finally let her out and gave up. Vet also said not to let her eat grass.

Hiya - yeah, we had her in the crate last night and this morning (3x) and left her food (increasingly tasty, lol) with her and she didn't touch it. She was eating her food "okay" up to this point, but last night - nothing. Today - nothing (except about a teaspoon of peanut butter we got on the roof of her mouth w/ Pepcid and about 1/5 of a piece of string cheese). Her other meals she "picks" - but now, nothing. Essentially at this point, she hasn't eaten anything other than a teaspoon of peanut butter & a tiny piece of cheese in 24 hours. Yeah, we're stressed, but we aren't freaking out. Her stomach is gurgling loudly and the adoption group let us know she gets an upset stomach, won't eat, etc. - and she was actually a return from a previous homing attempt. They did tell us she wasn't eating and also wasn't bonding with the other dog - so I'm sure that was a reason for her return. No real bonding here either - which isn't a concern - our pairs have never been overly close, never play together really, definitely no bed sharing, hah. They are all quite polite with one another, despite the new pup not knowing her boundaries yet and utterly clueless to the reprimands. But, no biggie. I can't imagine what a wreck she would be if we tried to take her to the vet at this point. Can they check for worms if we just bring a sample in? She's a sweet little thing and I can deal with a picky dog (we've dealt with that before) - and we understand illness & stress can lead to not eating (dealt with that before, too). I guess because she's panting, pacing and her stomach is grumbling and gurgling so terribly - it's tough to watch. Was hoping others had tips & tricks for scared, new pups who aren't eating.

Hi all - we're experienced with greyhounds and just adopted our 7th (currently she's our 3rd) the Sunday before last (April 4). Obviously she is quite new and she's a nervous little thing - I don't think she's a spook, but she is very skittish. Our direct issue is that she will not eat and her stomach is going crazy. It's a vicious cycle - won't eat, stomach goes nuts and she doesn't want to eat, so she continues to not eat. We've managed to get her on our normal schedule (breakfast at 6am & then go out - walk around 8'ish - out again after a few treats at lunch time - dinner at 5 & then out - walk around 6 and out at 10pm with a few bedtime snacks) with limited success, and we aren't trying to "enforce" anything (really) that will stress her out. We just want her to eat, so we're doing all we can. Last night and this morning has been rough. She does better since we put her in her crate to eat, with a sheet over it to block out everything "outside" and we baby gate the other two upstairs to give her quiet space. I typically have to give her a high-value treat or two first, then she'll eat her meal (mostly). We've adjusted all we can think of - let her out first, then eat - let her eat with the other two outside, in the kennel, sheet on and off, out of the kennel, on a bed, in different rooms, etc. She's pretty scared of men, but likes my husband okay - but eating is a bit better with me. We've also left her food out (in and out of the kennel) for up to 45 minutes to see if she'll settle, and nothing. We've tried chicken, rice, broth, treats (all we have), cheese sticks, peanut butter, parmesan cheese on her food, pumpkin, tuna, canned food, eggs... no eating. We've also tried making it a fun game, getting them a little excited and gave each a treat (and pretended to eat one myself) to get her interested - and that seemed to get her interest, but she didn't want to eat anything (these were high-value soft jerky treats that she was eating before). This morning we put some Pepcid in peanut butter and swiped it on the roof of her mouth, hoping it would settle her stomach a bit and she'd eat. But that didn't seem to help. I've been in touch with the adoption group and they've given us some tips, told us what she used to eat at the kennel, etc. - but nothing works. I'm remaining pretty laid back (my husband had to run out, so it's just us here) so I'm not stressing her out more - things are pretty quiet in the neighborhood (it was trash day today, so the loud trucks made her nervous). She is pacing, panting and her stomach is so loud. The other dogs are sleeping. Adoption group recommended not letting her eat grass, which is all she wants to do, so we'll use the poop guard muzzle on her when we let her out. She's drinking water, but not eating. I'm worried... any suggestions? How long can not eating go on? If she doesn't settle down, I'm concerned she'll collapse...

Hi Junebuggy - and congrats on your new pup! Ex-racers truly are a different breed of dog in pretty much every way, which is why so many of us adore them. We've been adopting since 2004 and just adopted our 7th (we have 3 now!). We do not have kids and never will, so no advice there - but I wanted to also say - and I'm not trying to be a downer, only trying to inject a dose of reality... If you aren't planning on kids for another 3-4 years, and babies typically start crawling around, what - 9'ish months - you're looking at 4-5 years down the road? Number one, your greyhound will be a very different dog in 4-5 years. I'm not sure how old she is, but we've seen the most crazy, weird & quirky dogs turn into mellow, sweet, cuddlers (still quirky, though!). Second, and this is the part that I'm sure a lot of people will label me as depressing, but there is absolutely no guarantee your pup will be around in 4-5 years. Sadly, very sadly, we've lost two of our greyhounds before they even turned 9. Another made it just past his 10th and our oldest was 13.5. In fact, we found out right after adopting our (now 8 year old) girl that one of her littermates died within a couple months of adoption from bone cancer at only 4 years old. In a nutshell, enjoy the HECK out of your girl and don't worry about the future when you may, or may not, have kids that she may, or may not, get along with when they start crawling. Literally - cross that bridge with future you and don't spend another second worrying. Spend your time training her, socializing her, maybe spending quality time with respectful children now, and loving her - but don't fret. Honestly, if you worry about that now, you won't enjoy her (very short) life fully. And BTW, I guarantee there is an entire community of greyhound lovers that would adopt a rehome in a HOT SECOND if this situation ever happened in 4-5 years - especially given how difficult it will be to adopt an ex-racer in the US. If I were the adopter, I would also make darn sure that you got regular updates, photos and could visit and I'm sure a lot of others would do the same.