[Hemateuria Questions]

Welp, here's what we found out from the ultrasound. The bladder, prostate, and urinary tract all looked fine. They were able to get a sterile sample of urine, which was visibly very bloody. The major concern is that his spleen was enlarged and had multiple nodules. This could be an incidental finding, but strong possibility of hemangiosarcoma. They took some cells from the spleen and sent them out to pathology. We should get the cytology and pathology results back within a week.  

If we're looking at splenic hemangio, the vet estimates he'll have six months or less (even with aggressive treatment). We'll most likely move forward with a splenectomy to eliminate the possibility of a rupture. After that, it will probably just be palliative care. Just going to take it day by day for now.

[Hemateuria Questions]

Well, unfortunately, the RBCs in Truman's urine were back up in the 100's at the recheck. Vet didn't seem so optimistic this time. He's having an ultrasound today with a cystocentesis/urine culture. Trying to stay positive, but I have an overwhelming feeling of dread. Asking for good vibes for my boy.

[Hemateuria Questions]

We went back this week for Truman. The blood in his urine decreased by about half (yay!) but it's still lingering in the 50's, which is still high. We switched the antibiotics from Cipro to Baytril. The vet feels confident that we're on the right track and improving. I asked her directly, if she thought it was a neoplasia, would she have expected to see any improvement in response to the antibiotics. She didn't think so. I hope that's good news. We're going to do another two weeks on Baytril and re-check the urine. If there's still a lot of blood, we'll move in the direction of urine culture by cystocentesis. 

[Hemateuria Questions]

Thanks for chiming in, guys.

He actually does seem to be improving on the antibiotic. He's been making it through the night without accidents, so hopefully that's a good sign.

[Hemateuria Questions]

He was put under for a prostate exam and x-rays on Wednesday. The prostate was reportedly a little enlarged. No stones or obvious masses seen on x-ray. The working diagnoses right now is prostatitis. It's not super common for a neutered male to have a prostate infection, but stranger things have happened. She's going to try him on a two week course of Cipro and repeat the urinalysis then. If there's still high amounts of blood, the plan is to move forward with urine culture, ultrasound, and FNA of the prostate. Really keeping my fingers crossed that it's anything but cancer.  

[Hemateuria Questions]

Hi guys. It has been a while since I’ve been on GT. I am hoping you can help me with a medical question. My 9-year-old AKC greyhound, Truman, was at the vet last week. I’d noticed he was acting a little more grumpy than usual, a little slower to get up, and having pee accidents at night. Didn’t think too much of it- maybe some arthritis, as the weather is getting colder, and he had a major neck surgery some years ago. My puppy is almost an old man. Bloodwork was fine, but the vet called today with urinalysis results. Red blood cells were about 5x what the reference range for normal should be. The sample was done by clean catch, so there really shouldn’t have been any blood. She mentioned some possibilities including bladder stones or bladder/prostate cancer. I am in the process of requesting the actual test results. He’s a nervy dog to begin with, so we’re scheduled to have him anesthetized for further testing including prostate exam and x-rays. In the meantime, I am worried sick.

Anyone have experience with this issue in greyhounds? 

[Hi From Some New/Old Members]

Hi everyone! My name is Alicia, it's been years since I've been active on GT. I came here on a whim today and was happy to see so many new members, but also so sad to see many pups who have passed.  In the time I dropped off from GT, life has changed so much! Sterling and I got married, bought a new house, had a baby, and grown Wetherby's immensely. Our two hounds, puppy Truman (8-years-old now) and Wolfgang (5-years-old) are still with us and doing great. [Folks often recognize Truman at events, and I am happy to report he is still grumpy as ever, and makes his presence known everywhere we go.] We also have a very special Oriental cat named Chippy, who is equally grumpy and full of sass. I am very excited to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Once I figure out how to attach photos, I'll share a few of our family.

[Best Pop Up Ex-Pen]

I'm in the market for a popup ex-pen for Truman to use when we're at events. Need it to be:

• Tall enough to accommodate Truman
• Not very see-through (T-man is dog reactive)
• Have a top or a sun-shade, something to shade him in hot weather
• Easy to transport

I'm thinking about something like this... anybody have feedback?

 

[Heathy Paws- No More 80% or 90% Plans?]

On 5/23/2019 at 7:33 PM, tbhounds said:

How old is the hound she’s trying g to sign up?  I think a dogover the age of 7 excludes them from the higher plan.

Dog is 2-years-old.

Anyone hear if this affects PA?

[Heathy Paws- No More 80% or 90% Plans?]

One of my friends just adopted a new greyhound. When she went to sign him up for a plan with Healthy Paws, the only option given was for a plan with 70% co-insurance and a $500 deductible. She called, and customer service stated that currently that is the only plan they are offering for purebred greyhounds. 

Is there a second choice pet insurance company that folks have had good luck with? Specifically, she wants to make sure that the plan doesn’t roll over from year to year, causing previous claimed medical incidents to become pre-existing conditions. She also wants a plan that reimburses dollar for dollar what the vet charges- not on a national or regional average fee schedule.

Thanks in advance! (I haven’t been on GT in awhile, but I knew this was the best place to ask.)

[The Grapehound Wine Tour® 2018]

We had another fantastic meal at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg last night. I cant say enough good things about that place.

Ah! We ate two doors down at Little Venice.

 

Re: the bridal parties. Im afraid they are here to stay. Got jammed up with a bridal party at Lucky Hare in FEBRUARY. GTFOH.

 

Will have to try Warhorse next year. We did Lucky Hare (great), Bandwagon (okay) and Scalehouse (food>beer).

[The Grapehound Wine Tour® 2018]

The beer was wet.

Thats what we thought too. Very pretty place, though.

[The Grapehound Wine Tour® 2018]

Wow, these are so cute! I'd just about decided that the girls have enough collars, and that I needed something for a change. I'm so glad you'll be there! You'll have people stuff too, won't you?

 

Yes, absolutely. T-shirts, tanks, sweatshirts. New designs. We'll actually have two full vendor spaces this year.

[Thyroid Questions For Truman]

Quick update on Truman. The internal medicine specialist called back today with some preliminary bloodwork results. The total T4 came back at 0.9, so increasing a little, but still low. Another interesting find was that the protein in his urine was high. The doctor is sending it over for a protein to creatinine ratio test. He didn't want to get into possibilities for that (yet) until the MSU panel and other urine test come back. But I'm a little curious as to what this could mean. Thoughts?

[Formula Change--Iams Green Bag Adult Large Breed!]

Used Iams for years, and it started seeming like there were quality control issues. We'd get one bag, and it'd be fine. The next bag, neither dog would touch it. The company always offered to have the bags replaced free of charge, but it started to be a huge pain. Eventually switched to Fromm's in the purple bag. It's the cheapest, most basic formula they make. Has beet pulp and chicken-based. That was almost 2 years ago, and *knock on wood* no issues.

[Thyroid Questions For Truman]

Here's my boy being long at the vet. He was very good. Peed for his urine test and acted good for bloodwork. They gave him a giraffe printed bandage.

 

[The Grapehound Wine Tour® 2018]

We have a decent amount of beer- and wine-themed collars for anyone wishing to pre-purchase with their desired width, size, and hardware choices. The deadline to order is 7/20. Some of these will be available at the event, but quantities are very, very limited.

 

 

 

[Thyroid Questions For Truman]

Trumie is going to see the internal medicine specialist at University Vets today (the same clinic where Dr. Couto practices oncology). I anticipate he'll have some bloodwork, which I can request be reviewed by Dr. Couto. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I think we definitely need the MSU panel for a more specific look at the thyroid. I'm hoping they can advise on a regimen for pain or different anxiety meds if the thyroid isn't the answer.

[Thyroid Questions For Truman]

Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on GT. I'm hoping you all might be able to help with a Truman question.

 

We recently had Truman to the vet for his annual check-up. She decided to run some bloodwork, as Truman has seemed a little more (what I lovingly describe as) "grumpy" within the past year. He's always been high-strung, hyper, and snarky, especially when it comes to other dogs. At home, he's typically very low-key. But we've noticed more instances of snapping both at Sterling and I, as well as our cats and other greyhound, Wolfgang. This wasn't totally uncharacteristic before, but in the past year, his threshold seems a lot lower. I chalked most of that up to getting older and turning 7 (gasp!) next month. [Those of you long time GT'ers will remember 14-week-old Truman puppy pictures.] Another thing to mention, Truman also had a fairly extensive neck surgery a little over a year ago to correct a herniated disc. Following that surgery, he had experienced some weakness and neurological deficits. But after a long course of physical therapy, I'd say he is about 90% better in terms of his range of motion, stamina, walking/running normally, normal weight, and reversing the muscle atrophy.

 

So... getting back to this annual appointment. The vet decided to run a thyroid panel, thinking we could rule out an endocrine issue. Then, his Total T4 came back at 0.7, which my vet described as "rock bottom." He doesn't really exude any other symptoms of being hypothyroid (normal weight, coat isn't an issue). But based on his short-fuse, agitation, and what feels like more episodes of aggression with other dogs, the vet decided to try Soloxine (0.8mg, twice daily) for a month to see if we noticed any positive improvements. Well, it's been a month, and it actually seems like the behavior has gotten worse! He seems more touchy than ever with space, food, whoever looks at him the wrong way. Last week, Sterling tried to walk the dogs on the walking trail, and Truman got so worked up (snarling, barking, lunging, snapping) at a dog running with its owner, and minutes later still would not calm down. Sterling finally just cut the walk short and took him home. An average "incident"with him is a few bows and deep barks/growls if the other dog passes too closely. This time seemed much different, as he was total Cujo, and would not recover, even 10 minutes later, when the threat of the other dog was fully removed.

 

• I guess I have a few questions, broken down by parts. First is the thyroid. I can find nowhere in his file (140 pages) that Truman ever had thyroid testing before. So while 0.7 seems low, maybe that's his baseline that he was doing (reasonably) well at. Could this new aggression be stemming from the Soloxine? If so, can I take him off immediately? And if not, should I follow through with an internal medicine doctor? It just so happens that Guillermo Couto is working Pittsburgh now, so if needed, I could do a consult with him, then send out for a more specific thyroid panel through MSU. Go through Hemopet? In order to run that panel, do I need to keep him on the Soloxine or discontinue?
• Part two concerns the possibility that his "old man grumpiness is still some residual pain or discomfort from his neck surgery. While he isn't showing any obvious limping, yelping, trouble being touched or handled, maybe there are other things to consider? Like he's becoming more aggressive because something is making him feel physically that he's not 100%. Should we consider another round of PT? Adequan injections, supplements, NSAIDs. If he's grumpy because he doesn't feel well physically, where do I start with that?
• Lastly, the behavioral health. Truman has been on 40mg Prozac for years. I believe it's helping in some capacity, because anytime we've tried to discontinue, he becomes much for anxious and compulsively licks himself. Should we consider a consult with a veterinary behaviorist to discuss changing/tweaking with his Prozac? I'm not as well versed on psychosomatic pharmacology as I once was. Any new developments that I'm missing med-wise with owner- and dog-on-dog-aggression?

 

In two weeks, we'll be traveling to vend collars at Grapehounds NY. For the first time in six years, I'm considering not bringing Truman. Whatever is the basis for his agitation, aggression, grumpiness, whatever, I don't want to exacerbate it with a hundred dogs in one place. After years of obedience training, one thing we can say is that he listens well... we've always been able to manage his "hang-ups" in these situations. I just feel conflicted the behavior has started to get more concerning, I don't want to put Truman or any other dog at risk. Any advice on where to begin? Sorry this turned into a novel. I'm looking forward on your stories. Thanks in advance!

[Watching And Waiting On A Racing Doggie]

Anyone still active on this thread?

Still trying to find Wolf's Brother, Cancun Heat. Track-info states his last race was April 2016 in Mobile.

[Pill Pocket Recipe]

I make mine out 8 oz cream cheese (I use the less-fat kind), 8 oz liverwurst, and 2 C shredded wheat, ground into fine crumbs in the food processor. Shape into balls and freeze. Take what you need and keep it in the fridge.

 

And yes, attitude is important. Thee are "super special puppy treats for super special puppies!" Mine will do tricks (sit, down, touch, spin, shake, etc) in order to get their super special treats! So it can be done.

Thanks for posting this. I just tried this recipe, and it's working pretty well. Truman has achieved expert level in taking out the pills. I will usually give him the one with the pill first, and quickly show/feed him the next one, to get his interest and not give any more time to think about or pick apart the first one. The one he will not go near is Tramadol. It must taste very bitter- he gags on it. Anyone ever have luck crushing pills up and putting them in plain, empty gelatin tablets?

[Refusing Green Bag]

How is it going Alicia?

 

Switched to Fromm's purple bag at Rachel's suggestion. Cold turkey, which I didn't want to do, but they were both outright refusing the green bag.

Fingers crossed, absolutely no issues, and they've been eating it with vigor.

[Refusing Green Bag]

Fromm purple bag it is. If this does work, we'll give Pro Plan a try. Thanks, all!

[Refusing Green Bag]

Both of my guys have been refusing Iams green bag on and off for probably a year. I usually purchase in the 40 pound bag at Sam's Club. I've called Iams a few times. Thrown out bags and got vouchers for new. Getting a new bag generally works, but then a few weeks/months later, the same problem crops up again. Thinking of trying a different food, but really not wanting to go through the trial and error of many foods. Anyone have luck switching from green bag to something similar? Pro Plan? Fromms? Help me!

[Stan (Bbf Stay Gone)]

So heartbroken. :(