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They can drink water. I have a gravity waterer, and he just dips the muzzle right in. They do it that way at the track too, with big metal buckets.

Just went through this with Truman. He had a little sliver of a cut on his leg. It would've healed on its own in two days... it took THREE WEEKS. He was constantly licking and tearing off the scabs. I tried a bunch of things to deter him, like wrapping it and spraying Bitter Apple. The solution that finally worked was using a basket muzzle with a stool guard. It didn't change the compulsion (he would continue to try to lick the cut, except this way, he couldn't make contact and just licked the inside of the muzzle). I did this consistently for about four days, slathering it with Neosporin a few times a day. It's healed finally, but it's scarred up a lot worse than it would've been if he'd just left it alone.

Hahahahaha! Viscous! Here is a video of Truman this morning when Henry left the room to get his anal glands taken care of... Pathetic! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k1N2rPGAAs&sns=em ETA: Henry was largely unimpressed.

Just got back from the vet today. They expressed his anal glands, and they were full, so that was definitely the culprit. I can't imagine why or how he suddenly started having anal gland issues at age 7, but we'll be monitoring closely from now on. The vet also suggested using Tucks pads to help with the irritation. Thanks to everybody for commenting and pointing me in the right direction!

Hmmm, no discernible smell that I've noticed. But I definitely think there's something weird going on. I made an appointment to get him in to the vet.

Henry has been licking his bum ALL the time recently. As far as I can tell, nothing has changed with his routine or diet. He's eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom normally. We've never had to express anal glands before, but I'm wondering if that might be the culprit? Would his anal sac have been affected by him being a rear tripawd? Thanks in advance!

Huh. I've never met anyone who was able to do limb-sparing treatment for OSA. How cool!

Fascinating! The amount of blood is a bit alarming. I wonder if those... for lack of better words... "leech holes" are susceptible to infection?

YES. Neither of my greys likes children. Both Henry and Truman will hide between my legs if kids try to approach them. In the past, they have both snapped at really exhuberent kids when they've felt really threatened or cornered, so I don't feel comfortable forcing them to interact. It's not an aggressive thing, more fear-based. We've tried some counter conditioning in training class, but it hasn't worked well since kids aren't part of their lives. IMHO, you have to be really consistent and have many, many good experiences before the CCD has much of an effect. For us, it's more about 'managing' than 'fixing.' We cross the street if there are a bunch of kids around. When kids come up, I tell them my dogs are shy, and they're not allowed to touch them. I tell the parents that they are not friendly with kids, which maybe makes them sound mean, but that's alright. I'd rather do that than risk a bite. At this point, the dogs have had enough neutral experiences that they'll be tolerant if a child suddenly rushes up. But they have their limits, and I doubt they'll ever be 100% comfortable around kids.

It does sound like a focal seizure to me, especially paired with the eyes-glazed-panting afterwards (the post-ictal phase). Henry had both grand mal and focal seizures, which have been very well controlled with Zonisamide. Is your girl taking any type of seizure meds?

Yeah, that doesn't look right to me. The x-ray looks clean, though. If it were a tumor that big, you'd expect to see something on the x-ray. Maybe it's an abscess/infection in the joint capsule?

This is a question for a friend of mine. Her dog is 8-years-old, named Flyboy. This is what she said: Fly has a little black mass on his belly, the size of a nipple. The vet thinks I should have it removed in case it's cancerous, about $900. It is hard to tell from the texture from this picture. It's the bottom bump, looks almost like a wart. Anybody have experience with something like this? What could this be?

One of those situations where you expect the worse and hope for the best. There's a chance Taylor might get lucky like Henry did. His was a fibrosarcoma. We're 13 months post-amp with no sign of cancer in sight. The FNA doesn't specify that, though. The only way to know for sure is to do the amp and have a pathologist review sections of the tumor. We would've never known that if we didn't pursue the amp/chemo route.

Woo!! Very good news!

AMEN! Best advice anyone could give, IMHO. This is a bit of a hijack, but it deserves to be said. How dare anyone suggest that this owner is wrong for trying behavioral modification drugs. If your dog was having a seizure, you'd give him meds, wouldn't you? If he had an infection, you'd give him meds. Why is it that no one considers anxiety a 'real' medical problem? This OP clearly cares for the dog and wants to make it work. He's doing the best he can.

I'm going to try these for my tripawd. I'll report back when we receive and try them.

Yes!!!

Just curious... Do any of your hounds do this? When I give Truman butt scritchies, he enjoys it so much that he starts licking the air uncontrollably! When I stop, he stops. I'm sure nothing is wrong, but it seems like a weird behavior and very funny to watch. He looks like a snake.

I had bad allergies with my first cat. Tried a bunch of things, including Allerpet, and found them to be ineffective and a waste of money. I ended up seeing an allergist and getting weekly allergy shots (which sounds extreme, but I had allergies to lots of things, which they included in my serum). IMHO, it really improved my quality of life. I don't take any antihistamines now, not even during hayfever season.

My tip is to do it when he's standing. If possible, get another person to hold him, pet him, and talk to him. I'd probably muzzle this guy too, because it sounds like he could get stressed enough that he escalates to biting.

What is Taylor's racing name? Just curious to see if he's related to any of the GT osteo dogs.

It's perfectly fine to crate one dog and not the others and vice versa. For whatever reason, it sounds like Ed has seriously regressed in terms of the crate. If he doesn't have destructive behaviors or housebreaking issues, I probably wouldn't crate him anymore.

All good to hear. I remember that in-between waiting time was the worst.

I definitely recommend the FNA over a biopsy. With a biopsy, the bone can be damaged, making it more susceptible to fracture/break. The downside is that the FNA won't be as accurate. It can only tell you if the cells are malignant or benign, but that is usually enough to rule out stuff like osteomyelitis from fungal infection or Valley Fever.

I am so very sorry... I'm with the others. I'd get a second opinion with a veterinary oncologist ASAP. With everything I know about OSA, and please, don't think I'm trying to discredit your vet here... but I can't understand how she could say with certainty that the cancer has metastasized to the lungs, and amputation is not an option. There is absolutely no way to diagnose that without taking a FNA of the tumor and chest rads of the lungs. OSA has a range of severity, according to the size of the tumor and the mitotic rate. For such a young and otherwise healthy dog, he could be an excellent candidate for amp. I'd also want to rule out other possibilities, like Valley Fever, fungal infection, or soft tissue sarcoma. Also, why in the world did they send you home with adequate pain meds? If she went as far as to say it's severe and inoperable OSA, why be conservative? He should be taking something for acute pain and nerve pain in addition to the NSAID. Osteo is an excuciating type of cancer- I'd want to keep him as comfortable as possible until you figure out what to do. A specialist is going to give you many more resources and options. Dr. Couto will have information for you too. Best of luck.