a_daerr
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Posts posted by a_daerr
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We've had Henry for about 2 and a half years now. In the time he's been with us, he's had a total of four seizures. I've had him to the vet a few times, but the diagnosis is "idiopathic seizures," meaning, they come on at any time, they are unpredictable, and the cause is unknown. Unless he would continue having them more frequently or have them back-to-back, the vet says not to medicate. The other possibility is that he eventually becomes epileptic, or he has a tumor in his brain (in which case, little can be done anyway). Even though it's really not a huge deal, they are always very scary to experience.
Over the weekend, we took Henry to Frick Park in Pittsburgh to meet jenniferk's Django. We were in a fenced area, and both of mine were running around and playing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry's legs tensing up, and within seconds, he went down with a seizure. It lasted maybe 30 seconds, but his legs were really shaky and he didn't want to stand up. Afterwards, he's always pretty confused. Luckily, there were only a few other dogs there, and they didn't pack up and try to attack him. I sat next to him and talked to him. Then, Truman came over, and Henry immediately got up to greet his brother (it was actually kind of sweet). The whole thing lasted five minutes at most. Following the seizure, Henry continued running around the park, and he even walked on the trails with us for about an hour. He acted as if nothing happened.
I am lucky that Truman is sort of an oddball greyhound. He's never raced or been in a pack, so I highly doubt he would ever attack Henry if he had a seizure when we weren't home. And I know that the seizures are unexplainable, and don't require medication (at this point). I just wonder if there is anything else I should look for? The last two seizures Henry has had were out in public places. People walking by were extremely alarmed and kept asking "is your dog okay??" Maybe they're brought on by extra stimulation? Does anyone else have experience with idiopathic seizures?
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I have an accident and illness policy through ASPCA for both dogs. It's really cheap ($11 per month, per dog). And they reimburse 80% after a $100 deductible. When Henry had to have a partial amputation on his tail, they did reimburse me. It took over a month due to high amounts of claims, but they eventually did pay out. The only thing it didn't cover was the pre-op bloodwork that the vet did before his surgery. Henry's had seizures, so I was fine with paying a little more to have the piece of mind that they were dosing the anesthesia correctly. I also have Care Credit so I can make monthly payments on other stuff. Truman's neuter was close to $800, so it was nice to not get whacked with that all at once.
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The training technique is to teach the commands "Speak!" and "Quiet!" When he does the behavior naturally, mark it by using the command and giving a treat. If you use clicker training, that's also a good way to mark the behavior. Once he is good at both commands, you can teach him "Quiet!" when you don't want him to bark. If worse comes to worse, there are citronella training collars you can get that seem to work pretty well. They are much more humane than shock or static collars. The downside is that most dogs catch on pretty quickly that they can still bark when the collar isn't on. And they can also whine when the collar is on.
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Congratulations! He looks like a happy, smiley boy.
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I would be in big trouble if I didn't have Care Credit. It came in handy when Henry had to have his tail surgery.
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Of course I walk my dog.....
I knew what you meant
I think Frontline and Heartguard is your best combination.
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call nutro and ask. i'm starting to think that many(not all) of the gi issues are results of "recipe changes" that we are not aware of. it's an 800#- no charge. how about boiled chop meat or turkey as a topper? you almost know what the ingredients are. i personally stay away from canned food, unless it's a boarder who WON'T eat.
He's a one-year-old "adolescent puppy" who needs to gain weight. I really don't use canned food much either, but I have him on canned puppy food for the calories. I'll give them a call and see what they say.
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I recently lost a cat, and I have another cat at home who is taking the loss pretty hard. The vet said something that surprised me. A lot of animals require their own "viewing." What I mean is, when they actually see the other animal who has passed, and they sniff them and understand that they have died, then they can start their own grieving process. If they don't actually see the other animal, they can become confused. Razz probably wants to know when his friend is coming back.
I don't have any ideas, but hugs to both of you during this difficult time.
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I do monthly Heartguard and Frontline Plus . Now at this time I take it easy on Frontline as we have less Flea's. Heartguard is a must.
This is the best combination I've found to cover all your bases. Advantage Multi doesn't cover ticks, which have been really bad this year. K9 Advantix does, but I don't use it because I have cats (it can be deadly to them). I take my greys everywhere- they go to dog parks, meet and greets, hiking trails, parks, etc. So I use flea and heartworm preventative all year round. This might help you.
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Hmmm... I wonder if the canned food is still the same? I get Nutro chicken and oatmeal canned for Truman. He has been REALLY gassy lately.
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.She still wants to chew, chew, chew.
My one-year-old puts anything and everything in his mouth. It's good that she likes to chew, because chewing helps keep teeth healthy! We like dehydrated knee bones and CET compressed rawhide strips.
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I don't think 4.5 cups is too terribly much. Granted, I have two big boys, but they each eat 4 cups of kibble per day. My puppy just turned one-year-old, and he eats canned food, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, rice, oatmeal, and a bunch of other mix-ins in addition to his kibble. If she has worms and is at her racing weight, she needs to eat a bit more for awhile.
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I think it's time for the moderators to delete this thread.
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IAMS green bag! I used to be all about the higher-quality, premium, dog foods. Had nothing but problems, then green bag worked like a charm. I didn't even have to transition.
I am very close to going and getting a bag of Iams....
Do it!
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We got Truman a year and eight months after adopting Henry. By that time, Henry was very well adjusted, had done a ton of obedience training, and the timing just seemed right. I did foster a third grey recently... I'll probably never do it again just because it was too emotional for me. Two is definitely an adjustment from one, but we found it manageable.
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Henry was like this for awhile after we adopted him. We took him everywhere and used A LOT of treats. Don't make a big fuss and try to reassure him. He's gain confidence if he sees you acting normal, I just made sure strangers, especially children, asked to pet him first. I got good at reading his responses. So when he was really freaked out, I didn't force him.
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Happy birthday, Bee Wiseman! What a special dog. I love that picture of her.
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The only time I ever had issues with SA was when I tried to crate my dogs. Who knows- I probably made some cardinal mistake, because none of mine would ever crate well. If you keep them muzzled, then they are less likely destroy any of your furniture or belongings. The issue will probably be housebreaking. Be very diligent with potty training. Make sure they have a small area when you're gone, then gradually expand that area when you're able to trust them. You'll be able to gauge how he or she is doing, then you can make adjustments. Good luck!
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He is a cat safe dog - with every cat EXCEPT mine. He was cat tested before and had no problem - and as I stated, cats outside that dart or run he couldn't care less about.
My foster dog is fine with my tuxedo cat, but very reactive with the others. Sometimes it's just something about particular cats that rub them the wrong way. First try to decide is Luka is workable with your cat. The first poster mentioned persistence, salivating, panting, fixed gaze and being unable to distract. If you're not able to distract him enough to actually do the cat training, then you may need to return him and try again with another dog. If this is the case, I encourage you to be honest, realistic, and safe. I let my guard down too soon, and my foster ended up killing my three-month old kitten. Muzzle and supervise at all times, keep them separated, and make sure the cat has safe areas to escape.
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Most US greyhounds are not shy or fearful at all, though, unlike many Galgos. The vast majority are very friendly and have had very happy lives and love all people.
We have two galgos in our group who are therapy dogs at Children's Hospital.
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Because this is such a heated topic on these boards, I rarely share my opinion or discuss that Teddi and I frequent the dog park everyday and have a great time. It's just not worth getting yelled at about.
However.
If I saw a dog that acted like yours did I would be afraid to be around that dog and would definitely be fearful of having Teddi near him. I'm fortunate to have a dog park where the owners are responsible, and stand right by their dogs constantly. Teddi is the perfect dog park dog--instant recall, knows "leave it" and "play nice", and generally goes to the park to get loved on by people and then stays by my side after a few zoomies. While I love the dog park and am so grateful that Teddi gets some nice off-lead time, if he acted like yours even once, we would not go back for a while, if ever. Just not worth the risk.
Just my 2 cents!
This.
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Yep, I use Dental Fresh and it makes a huge difference. The only thing is that, once you stop using it, the teeth and breath go right back to being bad again.
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I have this one: http://www.entirelypets.com/classicdoorlarwht.html
It even has a picture of a greyhound on it! I think it's 11 inches... not sure if these fit sliding doors.
Doggie doors make all the difference in housetraining. I'll never go without one again.
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They look like little witch hands or something.
OMG, THEY DO!
Idiopathic Seizures
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
Wow, that's crazy. I'll start keeping track. It's weird because by the time he has them, I've pretty much forgotten that he's a seizure boy. It's about twice a year.