Urismom

About a year ago, my dogs starting having recurring diarrhea - at first for Uri (age 9 at the time) it was once a month...sometimes Doris (age 7) would get it too. The vet ran all kinds of tests and found nothing really wrong - he concluded it's colitis/irritable bowel. After each episode, I give a few days of chicken/rice bland diet, and a month's worth of Purina's FortiFlora probiotic powder daily. Sometimes now the episodes are 6 months apart...most recently, though only 2 months apart. Uri seems to get it first, then Doris follows suit in about a week. It's the frantic, urgent kind (and why does it always come on in the middle of the night?) Doris is not as frantic as Uri - Uri needs outings every 2 hours for about a day, and then he's done. Both clear up instantly on the chicken/rice and have no other symptoms. Their appetite remains normal. When they don't have diarrhea, their stools are perfectly formed (so proud!). It's like night and day. Just wanted to see if anyone else experience this coming on their senior-ish dogs. (They are now 10 and 8). Might it help if I give the FortiFlora probiotic powder dailly, forever? Has anyone had luck with a non-brand name probiotic powder that is not quite so expensive? Also - I had been giving the dogs coconut oil in addition to their fish oil pill daily, for coat and because I read that helps with irritable bowel. They had their yearly vet check-up two weeks ago, and he suggested stopping the coconut oil - that it could be overkill with the fish oil. So I did. Then bam, within 2 weeks, both went down the diarrhea road again. So maybe it IS really good for irritable bowel? And stopping it caused a relapse? I might restart it again.

The muzzling has been working well, and we'll begin again with some alone training. Thank you all for the suggestions and input!

In the past, Doris has chewed through our baby gate (bloodying her gums in the process), and/or apparently thrown herself at it until it gave way and she got out. So letting her have freedom was the best option and did work well for a few years. But now she has a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on, she is the sweetest baby but when we leave, it sets her off. Thanks Roo - what do you suggest as alone training? I know when we first got her, we practiced leaving her home for a little while, then longer and longer. Is that what you mean?

I adopted Doris 4 years ago; she is 7.5 years old. She was never a fan of the crate, and she's fully house trained and has always been very good when left with the run of the house while home alone. Both our greys have the run of the house while left home alone - they have for years now. Maybe 6 months ago, Doris started misbehaving when we go out if something edible made itself obvious. Like, if a cat knocks a loaf of bread off the counter, Doris would take it into the living room and eat it. But gradually it has turned into her doing something bad every time, it seems almost the very moment we leave her. She eats anything she can find, once even chewing through a sealed can of cat food, going in the trash, or the recycling bin and spreading the contents around the house and eating things she shouldn't. We've put cords on the trashcans to keep her out, but occasionally we forget. We can switch to an under-the-cabinet trashcan but I know she'll just find something else. Tonight she took my travel toiletry case which had been left on the floor down the stairs, emptied it out, and ate a bar of soap. If I leave her with treats in a rubber ball when I go out to try to occupy her, it makes no difference - when she finishes that, she moves on to other things. I trace the problem to the fact that, although she used to be fine being home alone all day while I worked a full day outside of the house (because that was all she knew), a few years ago I started working from home full time and it's gotten far less common for me to go out. I think she is like a spiteful little tornado when we leave now, just searching through the entire house for something to take out her frustration. Sometimes she takes my washcloth out of the tub and brings it into another room - so I think her being upset is due to feelings about me being gone. Obviously this has to stop because it's a huge pain, but more importantly, I fear for her safety if she eats/finds something dangerous. Yet, she hated the crate and I really really really don't want to get back into crating if there is another solution. My husband suggested muzzling her when we go out. All of her problems come from chewing, so this might solve the problem. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on leaving a dog muzzled while home alone. We have one other greyhound and two cats, they all get along very well and are very docile, so I don't think there would be any need for her to be able to defend herself with her mouth. Does muzzling seem like a good idea? Are there pitfalls I am not thinking of? Thank you!

Sometimes he does eat grass on a morning walk.

I've had Uri for almost 6 years and his bowels are always very, very regular. Saturday night, in the middle of the night, he had awful diarrhea, everywhere around the house. By afternoon, he was back to normal. I figured it was a fluke. After 2 normal days, he had it again last night, again starting in the middle of the night and still pure watery this morning. Otherwise, he is acting completely normal, no changes in mood or behavior. He is eating and drinking normally. My other grey is fine. I don't believe he could have eaten something bad....he is only leash-walked with full supervision. Does this happen to anyone else and just resolve itself? I read articles ranging from saying it could be nothing to be worried about, to that it could be cancer, so I'm not sure what to think.

I know that it's not safe to use flea collars on greyhounds. I use Frontline for them. But, we are having a flea problem at our house and the cats are getting the worst of it. I would like to put flea collars on them (the cats only)...but is it safe to have flea collars even in the vicinity of greyhounds? They do share some of the same spaces, sofas, etc.

Thank you all for the suggestions. The vet said that Uri's urine showed no signs of problems...but that we will do a course of antibiotics anyway just in case there is something operating that flew under the radar, so he will start that tonight. I picked up a fresh bag of kibble and started that last night, and he downed it with no complaints, so I wonder if his last bag was bad...it would be great if that was the source of his trouble and this was an easy fix, but we'll see. I gave him a melatonin pill this morning to see if it would help him to chill out a bit, although I'm not sure if anxiety is the cause. The vet said to try giving him the homeopathic anxiety drops before work too. I can't think of any stimuli that would be making him nervous, other than the obvious of if there was a thunder storm, I know that freaks him out...but we haven't had thunder in the last few days. I do have a webcam that I can set up, although there is no audio on it. You know what's weird? Uri has always hated the crate - even when lured with a kong and treats, I often have to push him in. Well...these last two times I've crated him since he's started peeing in there....well, he goes right in! It's like now that he's given himself the freedom to pee in there, he doesn't dislike it as much....which is (I think) counterintuitive...since he ends up laying in bedding soaked in pee.

Uri is 5 1/2 years old. I can consider a mid-day walker, although it makes me very nervous to have a stranger with access to my house when I'm not home. I know 9 hours is long. He has done so well with it for months at a time, I really hoped he'd continue to do well with it. It seems like a rather abrupt change after several months of no accidents. :-(

First - a brief history of Uri's house-accident problems. I've had Uri for almost 2 years. He is left alone for 9 hours most workdays while I am at work. For the first 6 months, I crated him - which he hates - and he was always good, so I gradually let him stay outside of the crate and things were fine. For about 4-5 months, he had the run of the house when I was gone, with no bathroom problems. One week, he started peeing in the house when I was gone, in remote rooms, and once when I was home...since he had no history of this, I immediately took him to the vet for urinary tests. The vet said he was fine, and it must be behavioral. With limited success, I tried to curb the behavior by putting his food dish in the places he had peed, so that he would start to identify them as part of his extended "crate"...spraying pee deterrent spray around, etc. For the last year or so, this problem has come and go - he goes through phases where he has accidents...then he'll be ok for a few weeks, then maybe have problems for another 2 weeks...then be good again. Gradually, I have been restricting his roam when I am gone....keeping him downstairs first, then restricting to two rooms only...then finally gating him in the living room only. He had been good for about 3 months...then two weeks ago, we had a thunder storm (which he hates) and I came home to a #2. I can sympathize, since he was anxious. That kicked off a trend where he peed in the living room twice during the rest of that week. So, I crated him for a few days, and he was good. So, I let him have the living room again. More pee. So, back into the crate. Everything I've read assures me that greyhounds will not, under any circumstances other than illness, mess their crate. Well, yesterday, he peed in his crate. Soaked his bedding (and himself) in pee. So upsetting for us both. So, first let me say - of course, I am going to take him to the vet immediately this week. I am praying that the vet will find something medical that can be fixed that will stop these accidents. But I was curious - if nothing medical is found - has anyone had a grey that was so un-potty-trained that he would pee in the crate? Because I harbor this suspicion that it may not be medical or urinary. Uri is a very simple, not-so-bright dog, that sometimes has strange anxiety issues. Also, he is not peeing like crazy - I've been home with him today and there is nothing out of the ordinary, so the problem is not every day, all day. Since the vet previously said there were no medical issues, I just chalked his intermittent accident-prone phases to not quite internalizing potty-training. But to pee in his crate, I dunno.... As far as any other symptoms of illness, the only thing I'll say is that he has been unenthused about eating for the past few weeks. He gets so excited when I'm preparing his food, but sometimes (not every time) when I put it down for him, he looks back at me like "I don't want to eat this...." but he does eat, with some coaxing. And he's been leaving a quarter cup or so of kibble behind. But, since he does eventually eat it all, and is not changing weight, I haven't been overly concerned. So - has anyone had a grey that messed the crate for a non-medical reason? I really hope there is a medical reason.

Thank you everyone. He does have a vet appointment scheduled for Nov. 14, and I will try some of the melatonin in the meantime just to see if it can calm him a bit before we can investigate thyroid issues. Those biscuits look good too!

Lately Uri has been exhibiting a lot of anxiety. (He is 5. I've had him for a year and this just began about 1-1/2 months ago.) He has had the run of the house when I'm out for about 5 months and been fine....then recently he started peeing randomly in my dining room while I'm at work occasionally. The vet says he does not have any urinary problems. The peeing coincided with what I would say is a marked increase in Uri's anxiety - he is skittish about any slight noise, even imagined noises, and will go into a shaking funk where he won't even eat for the rest of the day because he's so anxious. He gets bad anxiety during activities that he used to find delightful - i.e. greyhound socials, visiting his grandparents, going to Petco, etc. He used to be happy and normal at those events -- we even did Dewey Beach last year!! -- but at a recent greyhound gathering, he began to shake as soon as we entered and spent the entire time shaking, pulling for the door, and panting. So, this is not normal for him. Someone suggested, and I read online, about 3 mg doses of melatonin daily to help calm him, so I thought I would try that and picked some up last night. I thought it would be something I could give him in the mornings or mid-day (when his anxiety usually begins) but I was reading on the package how it's a sleep aid and should be given before bed. My question is -- is this worth dosing before bed if the problem occurs mid-day/afternoon/evening? Will the calming effect have worn off by the time he wakes up in the morning? I really don't see a need to give him something before he goes to sleep for the night--when he's fine--if it's not going to have a lasting effect throughout the next day. But, I also don't want to give him a sleep aid that will knock him out for the day. (Or, if I wanted to give it to him before we go to an event, or go visiting, etc., will it totally knock him out? I don't want that.) Thanks for any advice from anyone who has tried this before, or perhaps had a dog with similar concerns.

Hmm, he did throw up once (for the first time in 9 months) Sunday morning. It was first thing in the morning, after a night's sleep and before he ate or went out... It looked like bile and I didn't think much of it, but maybe he has something wrong with him and it's manifesting himself that way too. It's hard to know what's related or just coincidental.

I've had Uri for 9 months. He is about 5 years old. In 9 months, he's never had an accident in the house while I've been at work (I am usually gone for 9 hours)...even on some nights where I've been unavoidably late. For the first 6 months, he was crated....since June, I have not been crating him because he has been so good. No accidents when I stopped the crate. In the last 4 days, he's peed inside 3 times...always in the same spot, even though I thoroughly Lysol it and spray it with that pee-discouraging spray. Twice was when I was at work. Once was when I was at home in the next room. He's such a good boy and was so good with that for the last 9 months....I am wondering if this is a behavior problem, or if it could indicate that he is having some digestive/urinary problem or infection. Has this happened to other dogs and been a sign of medical problem? Are there other signs of a urinary infection? (About 2 weeks ago, he went through a 3-day phase where he wasn't hungry, or he would eat but leave half the meal in the dish....and he started craving grass outside. He has since started eating normally again...sometimes leaves a few kibbles behind...but he does still go for the grass.) I am trying to decide if a vet visit is in order, or just behavior issues and bringing out the crate again, which I hate to do if he's not feeling well and can't help it. Thanks!

Sorry if my post was not clear - he has not been scooting, which is why I was thinking maybe it wasn't anal sacs.

Thank you for that suggestion. My childhood dog had anal sac problems and had to have removal surgery. :-( It would make sense because they are symetrical areas of irritation on both sides.....but the spots that are bloodied seem to be almost 2 inches away from the anus, so I'm not sure that's it. He also has not been "scooting" on the ground (do greyhounds scoot?).

I rescued Uri in December when he was 4. His back end was very fluffy and furry. In the last month or so (summer in CT) I noticed he started shedding a lot all over, and his tush got bare like many other greys that I've seen. I gather that shedding is normal when preparing for summer, and I didn't consider a bare butt a problem because so many of them are. I came home today to find two raw and slightly bloody spots on his high tush. There is one on each side, just below the base of his tail, maybe two inches out from the tail. They are symmetrical on either side of his tail. I wouldn't say they are gashes or anything deep -- just a raw patch that was obviously irritated or chewed at enough to bleed, although not profusely. They are spots that still have some fur around, but it's sparse. It's not as bare as a bit further south, but barer than it used to be. I both spots with soap and water. It did not seem to bother him while I tended to them, nor have I seen him nibbling the area since I got home a few hours ago. My boyfriend was home with him all day and did not notice Uri paying any abnormal attention to his tush, although he does think he saw him biting something down there early in the morning - not in an unusual way. It may be possible that, in a playful moment, he scraped his butt against some furniture, but it seems unlikely that it would result in two equal spots. [edited] He has not been scooting at all. Has anyone elses' gray had bloody irritation result from the thin, bare skin on the backside? Or is this highly unusual? I am very panicky since I am a relatively new dog mom and wondering at what point I should take him to the vet, or if I should give it a few days to see if something heals on its own. Do you know of any good ways to discourage him from investigating and further irritating his rear? I will put his muzzle on, but he is still able to nibble a bit through that. Thank you!