ShebasMom

Others more knowledgeable than I will respond I'm sure, but I think I've read on this site that a lot of greys don't like the lamb flavor and chicken might be a better choice.

1800pedmeds.com still lists it as available as does drsfostersmith.com, petsuppliesnet.com, and bestvaluepetsupplies.com, but kvsupply.com shows it as "On manufacturer back order. Please discuss using a replacement with your veterinarian," petcarerx.com shows "Novartis has stopped producing and/or shipping the above medications - Interceptor, Sentinel, Program, Deramaxx and Clomicalm - for an indefinite period of time. This affects veterinarians and pharmacies everywhere. Please rest assured we will do everything we can to offer these medications as soon as they become available," and petmedsnmore.com shows "Interceptor is on Manufacturer Backorder." Some of these sites might have some stock available but will be unable to get more if it is no longer being manufactured, though. Got the above info from doing a few searches on the internet just now.

I believe most, if not all, USA pet insurance plans also have the "pre-existing condition" clause, but I was fortunate enough to get Sheba at a young age with no pre-existing conditions and very good teeth. I encountered the pre-existing condition rule, however, when after she'd been on the plan and diagnosed and treated for hookworms, when I decided to add the prescription coverage to my plan, they now consider the hookworms as pre-existing and won't cover the medication for it. They cover the testing, just not the treatment. No problem, though, because I get Dontral Plus much cheaper via the web than I can it at the vet so save money anyway.

I had my previous two greys on VPI which is not a company I would recommend but it was one of the few around when I adopted them. Even with their "reimbursement schedule" that paid out based on the diagnosis and didn't seem to take into regional price variations, I came out ahead. In fact, in the last month of Ave's life, he incurred over $2000 in bills and while they only covered a little over $1,100, I had only paid about $400 in premiums during the year. I now have my two greys on Embrace ($300 deductible, 10% co-pay, 10,000 annual limit, no wellness, dental or prescription coverage). Thunder has been on it for two years with no claims and I just added Tucker two weeks ago when I adopted him. I'm hoping I continue to enjoy good health for these boys as they age. However, on more than one ocassion I've been at the e-vets with a sick pup and signed an estimate for $5,000+. It takes some of the pressure and anxiety out of the situation knowing there is some financial provisions. That's exactly why I got it--less anxiety and more financial security. At the time of the $5,000+ bill in 2009, I had recently retired and was living on cash savings and early Social Security (holding off taking from 401K and investments as long as I could) until I was on Medicare (and didn't have to pay so much for my own health insurance), so that big bill hit me hard. In hindsight, I wish I'd signed up for the smaller deductible and co-pay, but for me to change now would cost me more than I care to pay, so as said earlier, I'm sticking with my original signup. The wellness and dental plans are worth it for me, and I like the fact that they allow whatever the vet charges and don't limit it to what they feel the "norm" is.

What prompted me to get the insurance with Sheba is I had a $5,000+ bill for my previous grey that had a seizure/stroke and X-rays, MRI, 5 days in the emergency hospital, specialists, etc. Sadly, she had to be put down at age 4-12:( After paying that bill, I decided I needed insurance for the next grey. With Sheba, it covered part of a couple accidents (dog bites) in 2010 as well as her annual checkups and vaccinations. Of a $233 wellness bill in 2011, Embrace covered $200 (the maximum I chose). I'll use the dental plan in 2012. I guess if I had more than one grey, I'd consider not getting the insurance, but with only one, I decided I can afford it, more for catastrophic than typical problems.

Wouldn't you know it, my 2012 Embrace pet insurance renewal comes up 03/02/12 and I haven't needed to use the accident/illness plan and $500 deductible all year--until yesterday. My very active girl Sheba rambunctiously jumped off the bed and got her left leg caught between the mattress and platform bedrrame, causing a deep laceration right at the knee(?) joint that required knocking her out for a bit and extensive stitching. On antibiotics and pain meds. No walks, runs, playing, jumping, etc. for a while so the area will heal and not open up again. Of course I wish it hadn't happened, but why couldn't it have happened at the beginning of the renewal year instead of the end?! Just grumbling. . . Now into my third year with Embrace, thus far I've been very happy with the annual insurance plans (accident/illness/prescriptions ($500 deductible; 20% copay; $5,000 maximum coverage; $50,000 maximum lifetime coverage), wellness (no deductible; $200 maximum coverage), and dental (no deductible; $400 maximum coverage)) as well as their speedy reimbursments. I can go on and off the dental plan as needed with no penalty, but if I lower the deductible or copay, the price goes up, so I've stayed with what I originally purchased. Here's hoping Sheba's leg wound heals nicely with no problems and doesn't happen again, at least to that spot:).

I agree that Bullysticks are natural and great. Not cheap but last a while, especially the 12-inch thick Bullysticks. www.bullysticks.com

I had to have my first greyhound, Windy, euthanized at the emergency vet because she had a stroke and diagnosis/prognosis was not good; however, I had my mixed breed hound, Belle, euthanized at home, which is definitely the way to go in my opinion. I coordinated the cremation service lady and the vet's euthanasia home visit, and when Belle was gone, the cremation lady helped the vet load Belle into her SUV. A couple days later, the cremation lady hand-delivered Belle's ashes and a lovely note. I feel very good about doing it this way and will continue to do so in the future if at all possible. There was no other dog in the house at the time, though, so I can't speak to that.

My vet is pushing Triflexis (spinosad + milbemycin), a chewable monthly all-in-one tablet for prevention of fleas, heartworm disease, and hookworm, roundworm, and whipworm infestations. Has anyone used it and gets good results? I've never heard of it and am wondering if it is new and what you might know about it. I give Sheba Heartguard Plus and K9 Advantix and was wondering about administering the all-in-one Triflexis tablet. I have no idea what it costs, though.

My girl ate half a dish of raw shrimp with tails (and butter, garlic, wine, sour cream, thyme--yum!)and suffered no ill effects, not even the big D. Not to worry.

Wow--thanks--these are soooo much better than the jumbo Dingo brand bones I recently ordered because I had a $20 off coupon! These last so much longer and don't separate into slices, jagged pieces, layers, etc., like the Dingo brand does. I, too, have a power chewer, and one chew already has lasted more than 3 days. I love them!

I have Embrace pet insurance but am new to pet insurance altogether (I'm pretty new to owning greyhounds, too), but after paying over $5,000 emergency vet fees last year after my 4-1/2 year old greyhound had a seizure and I ended up having to put her down (X-rays, MRI, radiologisit, neurologist, hospitalization, etc.), I decided I needed pet insurance. After reading reviews about Embrace (this site and Embrace's site (perhaps biased), I went with them and so far am happy with the results. I've only been with Embrace since March 2010, though, but so far they have reimbursed my wellness exam/vaccination costs satisfactorily (separate wellnes plan), and I've almost reached my $500 deductible for the accident/illness plan. Thus far, I'm a happy camper.

So here I am getting my appetizer prepared for a friend's dinner party tonight--prosciuttos-wrapped raw shrimp with garlic-butter sauce, yum!--when I stepped out of the kitchen for a minute while the oven was preheating--DUH! Quick as a wink, Sheba had devoured half the pan on top of the counter. I had more shrimp, prosciuttos, and makings for the sauce, but my real question is: is eating about 15 raw shrimp, prosciuttos, butter sauce, garlic, and a few other herbs going to do any harm? I know better, having had two greyhounds now and four Great Danes previously, so I'm only mad at myself, not Sheba.

I haven't tried the lamb and rice blend but am feeding Sheba the chicken and rice blend and she loves it. That being said, our local rescue group stopped feeding Purina One Smart Blend because of the formula change--they said their rescues weren't gaining the needed pounds. Sheba does well on it, though, and her weight is just fine, no weight loss.

It's probably not the car you're interested in, but I recently purchased a Nissan Cube, and my one female grey fits PERFECTLY in the back cargo area. It's large enough for her to lie down in but small enough that she can't flop around during sudden stops or be hanging over my shoulder blocking my rear view. You can move the back seat forward to add about 6-8 inches in the cargo area, too. This car might be smaller than what you want, but it's perfect for me and Sheba. I read recently that the Kia Soul, similar to the Cube, was listed as the number one car for riding with pets, so the cargo area must be similar to what I have and like.

Soneone suggested I order through PetSuppliesNet.com, which I've done, and you might find even cheaper prices through them. (Austrailia I believe.)

The bite happened Sept 3, and I'd been keeping it clean and treated, but yesterday, Sept 7, it looked worse so we had a vet appointment. Once the surrounding hair was shaved and the puncture wound treated, it is larger than I originally thought. It was healing but also becoming infected, so she's on antibiotic pills twice daily and heat compress and salve application three times a day. No stitches. Luckily, she can't reach the wound no matter how hard she tries so it can't get messed with and already looks better today.

Sheba was play-nipped yesterday and has a dime-sized shallow cut/wound on the middle of her spine. No bleeding, just oozing, but can't close it up because the skin and hair are totally missing. I cleaned it and am frequently applying E.M.T. spray and letting it air dry/heal. I also have the E.M.T. gel. Fortunately, she can't scratch or bite it because of where it's located. Is there anything else I should be doing besides treating it and ensuring that it doesn't get infected?

I adopted my young hound last November, but I waited until my inground pool water was warm enough before I let her around the pool for the first time last month. I also purchased a pet life vest (had the straps extended because large too big and medium too small) for that first pool venture, and good thing I did, because right away she fell into the pool in the deep end but the life vest kept her head out of the water. Panic/shock in her eyes. I pulled her to the steps and got her out. Now she stays away from the edge of the pool, but I never leave her alone poolside because I'm afrait she'll chase a squirrel and fall in accidentally. I don't know if she'll ever be a water dog, but she likes the wading pools at the dog park I go to, so that's something anyway.

My 2-year-old female hound has been eating her own poop lately. Yuck! I'm home all day with her and usually see her poop and clean it up before she can get to it, but sometimes she eats it before I notice it. She's my only pet so I don't muzzle her in her own yard. What do other hound owners do about this habit?

How do you treat minor cuts and scratches that bleed some at first but seem to be healing OK? My yard has no grass--all smooth river rock, somewhat sharp lava rock, and large stepping stones. It is also a small yard so my female hound doesn't really get a good run in it. From time to time, however, she'll race for a squirrel and scrape a leg or pad. The other day she tried to climb the tree after a squirrel and fell, putting a small gash in her back end and scrapes on her leg and paw. I cleaned the areas and applied Neosporin and also spray the areas with antiseptic every day. Everything seems to be healing fine. What do other owners do for such minor cuts and scrapes?

I usually don't walk my recently adopted 2-year-old hyperactive female grey Sheba because I've had great luck frequently using the local dog park (very few dogs there when I go and all play well together). The few times I've walked her she did fine. When walking her March 5 and not paying enough attention to our surroundings, she bolted for a squirrel, I flew out of my shoes, she was loose, and I landed very hard on my left knee and shoulder. I luckily managed to catch up with her but knew I needed a trip to the ER for my shoulder. Fractured the upper arm bone below the socket. Gimpy knee. Have to schedule an orthopaedic appointment but probably will be in a sling for many weeks until it heals. I'm mad at myself for not being prepared and just want to alert other new owners to take care. Lesson learned the hard way.

I haven't done obedience training with her yet, but I take her to the local dog park at least three days a week where she runs with the other large dogs and gets plenty of exercise when there. On non-dog park days, I don't walk her much because I have fenced-in front, side, and back yards. We do play with toys in the house, but my place is rather small, so there's not a lot of room to get a good run going inside. Speaking of a small place, I'm really a one-at-a-time-dog person and don't want two dogs at the same time except when I Grey sit for friends. (I had two dogs before when I was younger(a Great Dane and large hound mix), and I won't do that again.)

I adopted a 22-month-old female Grey, Sheba, late last November (2009) and was warned that the young ones can be a handful, and boy were they right! Sheba never raced--didn't pass whatever puppy trials they do I guess--and maybe that's why she's so hyper and getting into everything. I have to crate her every time I leave the house because she gets into everything even when I think I've dog-proofed everything. She really hates the large, comfy crate and I have to force her in there, but too bad, because the few times early on when I tested her to see how she behaved when left alone and loose, she destryoed things and pooped right in the middle of my bed (yuck!). Should I perhaps try muzzling her for short periods of time, first when I'm home with her and then when I leave her home alone, instead of crating? Maybe she'll like muzzling better instead of crating. But maybe she'll poop in the house again in retaliation. Fortunately I'm retired so she doesn't have to be crated for long periods of time. She's also a boisterous barker (see separate topic), mostly directed at me, but I'm finding that if I ignore her she stops quicker than when I say "No," which just makes a big game of it. I guess my question is whether other young Grey owners have gone or are going through this type of behavior and do they mellow with age? She's so different from my other Grey (gone now at a young age--so sad) that was a racer and adoped at the age of 3 years and I keep comparing Sheba to Windy, the (almost) perfect dog, which I probably shouldn't do because no two Greys are alike.

My 2-year-old recently adopted (late Nov 09) female Grey is very vocal, but she mostly barks at me, which can be very annoying and loud. I know she's trying to get my attention and probably wants to play, but now she's taken to biting at my feet and legs when I ignore her. If I reprimand her, she makes a game of it and races throughout the house. The reprimand "No" only makes her more persistent and vocal, so I now just ignore her and she finally stops. I tried using a squirt gun, too, but that just made it more of a game. She doesn't bark, snarl, or growl at other dogs at the dog park; however, my other Grey, now deceased, used to do that at other dogs at the dog park when chasing them, especially the smaller large dogs or large-breed puppies.. I think it was just a form of play, not really vicious.