oldrunners

Ticks can often lurk in trees. I have been told that they sense the carbon dioxide that mammals exhale, and let go, hoping they will land on a nice juicy host, whether it be man or beast.

Wow! What a handsome dude! Welcome from Delaware!

Well, if you do eventually get a greyhound, be prepared to have a dog in the bathroom, too!

Always within a fence, or on a leash. Some risks just aren't worth taking...

Welcome from Delaware!

mini hijack here---wow! Packmom, my Beggar is going in tomorrow to have the gum overgrowth trimmed. I had no idea it was from the meds! Thank you so much for posting. I will discuss this with my vet. At 10 1/2, Beggar is too old to have surgery every 5 months, which is how long its been since it was done last. (the first time)

My 88lb. boy is on 20mg. enalapril once/day, and 10mg. amlodipine besylate twice/day. He has his BP checked every 6 months, unless 1) I see him stumbling when he gets up from his bed, or 2) He has to go in for another reason. Tomorrow, he's going in for oral surgery, and they'll take it then, even tho its only been 5 months. He's been in renal failure for about 4 1/2 years, on the enalapril for 3+ and the generic norvasc for about a year and a half. I guess I'm adding this just so you have some points of comparison to consider when you devise a plan...

I believe the key to the therapy dog issue is the insurance. Some facilities are mandated to have some sort of pet therapy in their programs, and carry their own insurance. Thus, you don't need any insurance of your own. Usually, these facilities just have someone in charge "interview" your dog, and then you are on your way to visit in that facility. My local veterans' home is like this. Other facilities require you carry your own insurance. You get this insurance via certification with a group. I had TDI (therapy dogs international) certification for many years and on 4 dogs, but when they retired, and I moved, I was unable to find an evaluator closer than 3-4 hours away. The TDI test is an extension of the Canine Good Citizen test. They are aware of the special needs of greys, and allow testing in an martingale, and greys can pass their test without sitting. I am in the process of certifying my new girl with Therapy Dogs, Incorporated. Their evaluation consists of three supervised visits with a tester/observer. The T/O guides you on the appropriate behavior and how to achieve it--almost one-on-one tutoring. Delta Society also certifies, and has quite stringent requirements---My friend's greys have always been delta dogs. Many of the local 4H clubs have certifying procedures---you might check them out. All the certifying agencies and facilities have medical requirements of some sort---UTD on shots, fecals, some require extra immunizations---they differ. Please persist in your search for an agency to certify/visit. It is incredibly rewarding, and a good deed for your community. When my new girlie is certified, I will return to visiting my local hospital. The docs and nurses are just as happy to see a visitor as the patients are. Just had another thought: Why don't you call some facilities in your area, ask if they have pet a pet visitation program, and if they do, ask who is the certifying agency for the pets who are already visiting. They might even be willing to give your number to someone who has a certified dog, and you could take it from there...

I may be too late to help, but I've been to the one in Malvern, Pa, for an echocardiogram. Very professional, very efficient, very knowledgeable, and that'll be just under $1000, thank you very much, ma'am. (BTW, his heart is fine.)

When one of my boys had stitches, the cone lasted for maybe 20 seconds: I put it on, he took it off. He wore a muzzle with a stool guard whenever I couldn't keep an eye on him. Tying it to a harness sounds like a good idea---wish I had thought of that!

My Beggar is on 20mg Enalapril 1ce/day. He is also on Norvasc generic 10mg 2ce/day. He goes in for a blood pressure reading every 6 months. I haven't noticed any side effects, and he's been medicated for about 2 1/2 years now. He's almost 10 1/2, and he's a big boy at 88lbs.

Welcome from slower, lower Delaware!

I recently found antlers at my local pet supply store. They were loose in a small bin at the register. They were various sizes, and cost about $1.50 an inch. They were a monotone gray. The clerk wasn't able to tell me anything about them, other than she had heard they last a long time. What do I need to know before I buy one?

Two of my four blacks...

I am currently using it to treat mange (demo) in my new little girl. She has been on it for almost 6 weeks, and tested clear today at the vet. She will continue on it for another month, perhaps more, until we can be sure her immune system is strong enough to fight off the mite on her own. Her dosage was built up very slowly over the course of 2 weeks, until we reached the max dose for her weight. There have been no side effects. I tear off a piece of bread, inoculate it with the meds, then garnish her dinner with it. She inhales it. I buy it at a local feed store, for $17 less than at the vet's.

Welcome from Delaware!

My first grey, my heart boy, was also a Pharaoh. Be assured that in time, the heartache will pass, but the memories will always be there. I am sorry for your loss.

I recently adopted a little girl, who subsequently developed mange. It is caused by the demodectic mite, which is ubiquitous, but when the dog's immune system is weak, the mange takes hold. The vet felt that Sasha's immune system was compromised by the stress of a haul, then 2 foster homes, then my home, all in the course of 9 weeks. She isn't even two yet. Doesn't pred reduce the immune system? Sasha's first spot was on her shoulder---the hair fell out in a spot about the size of a dime. By the next day, another spot developed, and the first one was the size of two dimes. Day 3 she was at the vet, and she had pencil-eraser-sized spots on her other side. The bald spots were either plain white skin, or very slightly pink. They didn't itch. She is being treated with liquid Ivermec, which she was introduced to VERY slowly, just a couple of mls/day increase, with the dosage calculated for her specifically. She goes in for her first recheck on Monday, but, to be honest, I believe she still has active mites, because I believe I found a new, very small spot on her snout. I believe it can take months to get rid of. As long as the other animals in the house, and humans, have strong immune systems, they can't catch it. As much of a pain in the neck as it is, I hope Ollie has something as simple as this, and nothing more serious. I have had dogs all my life, and never met up with mange, and I'm kinda embarrassed when someone asks about her bald spots, but I'll see her thru this. Best wishes for Ollie!

Another Delaware welcome!

Please feel better, Bill!

There are quite a few groups for you to investigate for certification: Therapy Dogs International, Therapy Dogs Inc., Delta Society, for example. Delta Society has the most stringent requirements of the three. Therapy Dog International's test is an extension of the Canine Good Citizen test, which requires a sit. However, TDI doesn't require the sit, so, it is possible to pass the TDI test, but not get the CGC along with it. Therapy Dogs Inc. requires an evaluator to accompany you on 3 visits, and then determines if the dog is able to be certified. If you live in a rural area, many 4H programs have a certification. There are any number of "local" programs that certify. It is my belief that the key part of the certification is the insurance that you and the dog carry if you are certified. If a facility has some sort of a pet therapy program, you could probably join in without certification, since the facility carries the insurance. However, if the facility doesn't, then you would have to carry your own. My dogs did a reading program in a local library---just me and my dogs, and they were wearing their own insurance. In the past, we visited a long-term care facility which had their own "Puppy Pals" program, and some of the dogs were certified, some not. My local VA hospital just requires proof of up to date shots. My local hospital requires certification. I've had at least one of my greys certified since I got my first grey 14 years ago. We were privileged to visit Pier 94 and Liberty State Park Family Assistance Centers after 9/11. We have visited in nursing homes, long term care facilities, a locked mental health ward, and done our own read-to-a-dog program. I am currently doing visits to my local hospital. I have met some incredibly interesting people along the way, and humbly have brought joy or a moment's peace to many individuals. I have some wonderful memories. Whichever route you end up taking, I can assure you that it will be a rewarding journey.

I am having the same problem with my Beggar. I ordered, and it came today, something called Flavor-Doh. It looks and feels like play-doh, but its made with flour, veggie oil, meat extract, and vitamin E (I think). Haven't tried it yet, I'll get back to you. What you do is mold a small wad of the doh around the pills, then give it to the houndie. I got the liver flavor, so, at best, the flavor will be novel to him, and hopefully he'll snarf it down without too much thought. I've never mastered the toss-the-pill-down-the-throat thing. I'm always afraid I'll shove it down his windpipe. Oliver, on the other hand, would eat a paper towel if it had peanut butter on it...

My Oliver eats grass constantly for about 2 weeks each spring. Sometimes he throws it up, sometimes not. I've given up trying to get him to stop. He's been doing it for years, and I know once those tender shoots have matured, he'll stop. A vet I used many years ago felt that the grass eating was an ancient behavior that dogs used to rid themselves of intestinal parasites.

I believe that the upper limit for "normal" dog hearts is 10 1/2 cm. My Beggar's heart measures 11. I happen to know this because on Tuesday I had to make a mad dash to a canine cardiologist because the (not my regular) vet thought that Beggar's heart was so enlarged that it must have a tumor in it. Turns out that he's a big dog (90#) with a big heart! He also has a "heart murmur", which turns out to be the noise this big ol' heart makes pumping all that blood at a faster rate when he's in the vets' office in a dither. Just under $1000, thank you very much. And 5 hours, round trip. Cardiomegaly was one of the diagnoses that the echocardiogram was to rule out. My regular vet is beginning to think that greys aren't really dogs, what with their big hearts, weird blood pressure and thyroid levels, and anesthesia issues...