a_daerr

If the coconut oil doesn't work, you might try Missing Link. I swear by it. My dogs are smooth and sleek all year round with very minimal shedding.

My friend struggled with Staph infections with her dog for a long time. He would get pustules on his back and groin area. It took many rounds of antibiotics to eradicate. She also experimented to find the right food, as he was suspected to have IBD. Staph infections can keep popping up if there's another immune-system issue.

A lot of greys get diarrhea on the high-end, high protein formulas. But if she's tolerating it well and has good coat, teeth, and bowel movements, I wouldn't worry too much.

Dr. Urie recommended a white noise box for fireworks and thunderphobia. What a brilliant idea! You can get them at Target for $15.

Don't put too much stock in the opinions of DFA. It's very biased and unreliable. http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/307918-i-hate-dog-food-advisor/

Henry's fine! Nothing remarkable about his films or bloodwork. No lung mets. He did not lose any weight (in fact, he gained a pound since last visit). The pathologist took multiple sections and did not see osteoid matrix, which is the one thing that would distinguish FSA from OSA. I feel much better.

Comfortis is an oral flea preventative, but it does not cover ticks. If you use Comfortis, you'd also have to buy a separate tick collar.

I know… it's just coming as a bit of a shock, since all this time, we thought we were dealing with a better prognosis. If it turns out he does have fibroblastic OSA, who knows how long we'll have left. He's already surpassed the statistics (7 months post amp). It could just be all downhill from here. His appointment with the oncologist is today at 1:30.

Even though I love greyhounds and want everyone to have as many as possible, I think the honest answer here is no. Adding a second dog is a big lifestyle adjustment. It's twice as much work, training, money, and commitment. I know that a lot of people end up adopting a second because they believe it will solve behavioral problems with the first… or the two will "entertain" each other, leaving less work on the owner's shoulders… or the dog is so cute, and you feel bad for them not having a home. IMHO, those are all horrible reason to adopt. On the other hand, if you decide YOU want another dog, and you're fully prepared to take on the extra commitment, then by all means go for it.

It's called Nexgard. It's one of the newest flea/tick preventatives, only recently receiving approval to market the product for use on Lone Star and black-legged ticks. It has mixed reviews regarding safety and effectiveness, but I know of several people on GT who have tried it without problems.

I'm pursuing a potential medical cause, as Henry is still refusing to eat after almost a week. I've also noticed a few episodes of coughing/hiccuping... my first suspicion was lung mets. He's going back into the oncologist this week, and I'm also consulting Dr. Couto.

I wish I hadn't started Googling… I'm very afraid we got a misdiagnosis. It appears that some cases of OSA can fall into the "fibroblastic" category. The pathology will reveal spindle cells. That sounds exactly like Henry. ETA: I'm hoping to get him in to one of the oncologists tomorrow or Tuesday. I've also consulted Dr. Couto.

For the past week, Henry hasn't had much of an appetite. We also noticed a few instances of coughing that sound almost like hiccups. I hope I'm overreacting, but my first thought was lung mets. He's due for chest x-rays, so we have an appointment coming this week. Is there any additional testing I should be doing? He's always been a good eater, so I'm definitely concerned.

That was one of the first things I did. No redness around the gum line, teeth have very minimal plaque. Henry's always had really good teeth.

So sorry you're joining this dreaded fight. For being only a week post-amp, he looks really good. The incision looks really clean- not too much bruising and fluid retention. My Henry had his amp in December (right rear), and he looked bad for the first 2-3 weeks. He had a ton of fluid pockets and abscessed twice. We're seven months post-amp (five rounds of chemo) and doing very well. The type of cancer he had ended up being less severe than OSA, though. Here's my boy:

Cerenia is an anti-emetic, but according to my vet, it's the first choice for prevention of nausea in chemotherapy dogs. We got packs of four pills (one given the day of chemo, then one each day afterwards for three days). It's not cheap, I want to say it was around $50 each time. But Henry had very minimal problems on it, even after his fourth and fifth rounds. You can also get it in injectable form if the dog is already really ill.

Can you ask your vet for Cerenia for Jaynie ?

Very little causes Henry to spook, and he usually rebounds pretty quickly. He doesn't wear any tags in the house, and he's completely off all chemo-related meds. I'm going to try and take a video. Maybe there's some other detail I'm missing. I know! Truman is usually at fault in some way, but this time, he's not doing anything wrong. He seems really aloof, like he doesn't understand what Henry's deal is.

Please do not put much stock into ratings on Dog Food Advisor or Dog Food Analysis. I just posted a thread about my 'independent research' or DFA. Take a minute to read, and you'll see how failed and biased their rating system is... http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/307918-i-hate-dog-food-advisor/?do=findComment&comment=5713462

I'm hoping the GT experts will help me out on this one. I've been experiencing some very odd behavior with Henry at mealtimes. Just to give a little background, Henry and Truman have their "food stations" on opposite sides of the kitchen. This has been the way we've done meals twice a day for the past three years. Recently, Henry has been refusing to eat his food. But instead of walking away, he'll stand at his bowl and guard it. He just stares at Truman (who has his back turned, eating his own food), and repeatedly barks and growls. It's a rare occasion that I can say this , but Truman isn't doing anything wrong! When he finishes eating, he turns around and walks away. But even then, Henry appears to be on high alert. He's so stressed out that he barely touches his food. At first, I thought it was just behavioral. So I gave Henry five minutes to eat while I sat close by. And when he continued to bark and growl, I took his bowl up. Tried again at dinnertime, and the same thing happened. It concerned me that Henry had missed several whole meals, so I tried moving the food bowl to a different room where he could eat alone and not see Truman at all. That didn't work either, because for the past several days, he's still been refusing the food or only eating very minimally. Then, I wondered if maybe it was something medical related, like he may be feeling sick. It would make sense that if he had no appetite, that he may still wanted to guard the food as an instinctual response to not starve. To test my theory, I tried giving him some wet food. My thought being- if he doesn't eat this, he's definitely not feeling well or there's could be a mouth/teeth issue at play. Wrong! He gobbled it up in no time. I should also add that he always eats the peanut butter on top that contains his pills. He's also been eating his daily Dentasticks with no fuss. So what could the problem be? Can a dog one day decide he doesn't like his kibble anymore? It's not a new bag of food, otherwise, I might be concerned that the bag got tainted in some way. Truman seems to eat with no problem. I feel like changing the kibble to encourage him to eat may be a viscous cycle (i.e. he learns that if he holds out, he continually gets better stuff). This has really boggled my mind. I'm wondering if a vet visit is in order. Thoughts?

There's really nothing painful or cruel about muzzling. Greyhounds are used to wearing basket muzzles at the track. They can breathe and drink normally. The muzzle is an excellent tool for various purposes, including off-leash play, destructiveness, and chewing. A muzzle with a stoolguard is also a great alternatives to an e-collar, should your dog ever have a surgery or injury. If you haven't kept up with the muzzle, don't be surprised if she gets dramatic when you try to reintroduce it. When I go a long time without muzzling, mine try to get their muzzles off. They pretend like they're dying. After awhile, they forget all about it again.

It definitely sounds like a pain response. Without any limping, I'd guess some type of issue with her neck or spine. Your vet can do an exam and try to manipulate different areas in order to pinpoint the source the pain. Fingers crossed that it's something minor.

Oh geez... you're the last person who needs this. No advice, just hugs. Hoping it's something really easy or a one-time fluke.

Definitely! The longer you wait, the harder it will be to train. Seven weeks seems like a long time already.

I think that's a good idea. You can still keep the crate with the door open. I didn't read through all the responses, but this is another tool that may help you. Muzzle with a stool guard. At this point, it's hard to say if he's eating the poop because he's trying to clean up, or if he's truly coprophagic. Some dogs are just lifetime poo-eaters. There's no rhyme or reason behind it.