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I have to ask. Is that a sphynx in your photo? If so, please post more!! Lots of kitty lovers on this board.

I'm not familiar with any research studies. I vaguely remember Greyhounds for Dummies mentioning diarrhea in greyhounds. But all I remember is that it said it is mostly stress-related, and you can fix it by adding yogurt. I think it also recommends that you should also buy expensive food and remember that you get what you pay for, or something like that. Because Greyhounds for Dummies is required reading for a lot of potential adopters, it's weird that it doesn't go into more detail.

You can play with the quotes online to find one that works price-wise. You generally have the choice of a higher or lower deducible ($100-$300), co-insurance (80% or 90%), and maximum limit ($5000 and up). Obviously, lower deductibles and higher co-insurance/maximums make your monthly premium go up. The one reason I chose Embrace is their wellness plan. If you're bad at putting money aside for routine stuff (like me), it's a nice thing to have. With the Wellness Plus, you pay an extra monthly fee, then you have $400 annually to use for flea and tick, heartworm prevention, vaccines, check-ups, dentals. If you don't use it, it just rolls over into the next year.

Yeah, Benedryl is one of the fast-acting allergy meds. It has a sedative effect, though (diphenhydramine). Benedryl is pretty good for sudden allergic reactions, like insect stings or whatever. But it does have the potential to knock the dog out. On the other hand, Zyrtec is an antihistimine, but it does not contain diphenhydramine. So that's probably better if you're going to be using it over a longer period of time. Our vet also recommends buying unscented baby wipes and wiping the dog's legs down (elbows too) when they come in from being outside. I definitely know that in PA, we're having unusually high pollen counts this time of year. I'd probably chalk this one up to allergies.

I'm also guessing allergy. Could be environmental or food (although food usually presents as itching at the butt, base of tail, paws, and ears). I've seen several other threads on here discussing seasonal environmental allergies, so it may just be a matter of giving her Zyrtec until the weather changes.

I just wanted to add that a lot of people who offer sitting swap services (myself included) wouldn't expect you to reciprocate. For example, I'm sitting for my friend's dog for nine days this month at my home. She only has one grey, and I know that there probably won't ever be a time where she'd be comfortable managing hers plus my two. So instead of swapping, I just asked for a small fee. It ended up being half of what she'd pay at the kennel. A few years ago I had a GT'er watch my guys when we went to a wedding in New Jersey. I think it was $20 a day (per dog). And at the time, I was so relieved I did because Truman had happy tail. She knew exactly what to do and even wrapped his tail for us.

This website was pretty helpful for me.The major thing you want in a pet insurance policy is one that pays based on what your vet charges, NOT a fee schedule. Usually, the fee schedules are really low ball estimates and nowhere close to what the vet charges. I'd go with either Healthy Paws, Embrace, Trupanion, or Pet Plan US. Steer clear of VPI and ASPCA. For a relatively young, healthy greyhound, you'd be looking at about $35-$50 a month.

Very odd! Some dogs have diarrhea that results from stress. I've heard of dogs who have car anxiety having full-out diarrhea as soon as the car starts moving. Is it possible there's something about her nighttime routine that's freaking her out?

I agree. Sounds like too much food. My 83 lb. boy doesn't even eat that much.

So sorry for this bad news. Hang in there.

Here he is after the second vet visit. You can see the joint enlarged, then the edema continued to spread from the joint to his entire lower leg. Before it spread, it looked just like your guy's.

Looks a lot like Henry's spider bite. His was in the same exact place- right on that joint. It swelled up like the size of a tangerine. Only Henry did not want me messing with it. He was in excruciating pain and would not bear any weight on it. If it turns out not a spider bite, you're looking at some type of soft tissue injury. I imagine your vet will x-ray and probably give some combination of anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and pain meds. But if it gets worse not better, and if the dog is in serious pain, INSIST on heavy duty antibiotics. Henry was on them for almost two months (and $1700 in vet bills later) because the infection from the bite spread to his joint.

The act of picking the cat up and holding it above her eye level makes it ten times more interesting than when it's just sitting on the ground. Just to give you an example, someone did this not long ago with a Boston terrier at our dog park. The guy was immediately rushed by five other off-leash dogs jumping and nipping (including my Henry who is very low-prey). When he put the dog back down, the excitement fizzled out, and then everyone went back to normal. Although this behavior isn't an indication of overall cat compatibility, she does sound a little curious. I would start training just so everyone can live together peacefully and without fear. First of all, don't pick the cat up around her at all. Work on getting her to give you focus and calm responses on-leash. Reward when she can be distracted by using her name or a command word like 'look.' Muzzle and/or supervise as necessary. Make sure the cats have a place to retreat when they've had enough. If she likes to chase the cats when they run, you can use a squirt bottle as a quick and dirty way to get her attention.

What a story. I think my allergies are acting up now. You said she hadn't raced long... What was her story before coming to you? Broodie? Bounce?

She definitely looks best in the first picture. Gaining weight is a slippery slope for dogs, even greyhounds. I'd try to get her back down to about 65 if possible.

If ignoring and turning your back isn't working, it's probably time for more exercise. When my boys do that, I take them into the yard to run around, play fetch, throw stuffies around, go for a walk, whatever.

Whoa! Great news!

Sounds like red yeast. It's from food. I'll bet they fed your girl a different food. A lot of kennels have a hard time keeping everybody's food straight, so they feed them whatever they have lying around... Or they'll charge you some ridiculous fee just to give their normal food.

I just switched to Embrace. They are highly rated and provide the option of a wellness account (kind of like an HSA for dogs). I haven't filed a claim yet, but since I had such horrible luck with pet insurance before (ASPCA), I played 20 questions with their underwriting staff. It all seemed pretty legit.

Ehh, I don't know about alpha. I don't really believe in alpha dominance theory, but I do think it's important that he look to her as someone who is fun and gives him food.

Greensburg, about 30 minutes outside of the city. I work in Pittsburgh.

Before you jump through all kinds of hoops and spend a ton of money on "premium" or "limited ingredient" foods, give IAMS green bag a try. Your case reminds me of another dog on here, Brady (user name: AngelPup). She spent thousands of dollars doing testing, two different vets, had the dog on bland diet constantly. As soon as she switched to green bag, his poops became normal for the first time. Lots of people on this forum try it as a last resort, but really, it's a great, high-fiber (5%) food that seems to work for many greyhounds. After failing miserably on Natural Balance, Science Diet, Taste of the Wild, and Diamond Naturals, I threw my hands in the air and bought a bag of green bag for my grey, Henry. It's been almost two years, and I've never looked back.

You can put unflavored Pedialyte in his water.

I'll watch your girl. You're not that far from me.

Considering he's had issues with SA, I wouldn't board him. Even though their websites sound real enticing, kennels are usually just concrete runs lined up next to one another. They dog is alone, but can hear other dogs barking all day long. Putting him in that kind of situation could really exacerbate his anxiety. IMHO, boarding kennels are fine for "heartier" dogs, but I've known many people (myself included) to have less than ideal experiences boarding their greyhounds. The first and only time I boarded Henry, he lost several pounds and was even more skittish than before. I agree with Maggie- see if there's someone on Greytalk who can watch him. Either that, or go the petsitter route.