Laurenbiz

One of Bernie's best friends has bone cancer. Our fellow Meet and Greet partner, Melanie, has two fawn Greys, Gobi and Tootsie. Melanie doesn't use the Internet much, so I thought I'd post about Gobi here on Greytalk. I received an e-mail from her last week. She explained that Gobi shattered his right back femur bone when he was simply running around in her backyard. She took him to our vet (we both see the same vet,) who then directed her to an E-Vet in Madison. The following day, they amputated the leg because the bone could not be repaired and because they found that the fracture occurred from osteo in his hip joint. I don't know much about vet medicine, but according to our vet and her E-Vet, this is a very unusual and unlikely place for cancer and for a fracture. Gobi stayed at the E-Vet for a few days last week. He is now home, and she said it took him a few days to gain confidence with the three legs. He developed an infection at the incision site, and he is on antibiotics. Other than his appetite being spotty because of the medicine, Melanie said that he is popping and peeing just fine. They want to get him started on chemo hopefully this Wednesday. When talking with Melanie, the decision that he should or should not have chemo depends on the infection he has at the incision site. She is concerned that if he starts chemo later, though, that it may be too late. Nevertheless, she does want to do chemo even though from full-body X-Rays, no tumors or problems with any other bones are visible. I think the chemo would be to get rid of any existing cancer that would be too small to be detected by X-Ray. Yesterday, Justin, Bernie and I went to Melanie's house to see Gobi the first time since his injury and his surgery. We did watch him poop and pee in his yard. He also walked around in the yard just fine, and he walked up the porch stairs just fine to get back into the house. I helped hold his buttocks up when Melanie wanted to do a dressing change. It was very nice to see him, and Bernie was very nice and sat near Gobi the whole time we visited. While I am glad that we visited, I am very sad for him. Gobi was one of the first Greyhounds that we met, and he helped ultimately influence our decision to get a Greyhound, which is Bernie! I remember Gobi as an 80 lb., friendly and mellow fawn boy who always stared right at you until you would take the hint and scratch his ears. Bernie has always liked being around Gobi during our Meet and Greets, and on a few occasions that Justin and I had to leave town without Bernie, Bernie spent time at Melanie's house with Gobi and Tootsie while we were gone. We saw Gobi at the GPA-WI Greyhound Gala event in mid-October. This was only a few weeks before his fracture. Melanie said that she has heard of dogs being able to sense/smell cancer (I've heard this, too,) and she said that she couldn't figure out why so many other Greyhounds at the Gala kept sniffing his right back hip. That was the bad hip. Melanie isn't sure what Gobi's "time" is. With no chemo, she mentioned only a few months. With successful chemo - if any and all cancer can go into remission - then longer. But from the many conversations with her via e-mail and with visiting yesterday, I don't get the impression that anyone is expecting a year for Gobi. Gobi is only six years old. I am very sad, and I'll keep you updated. Here are a few pictures of Gobi: Gobi is usually Bernie's head rest at Meet and Greets: Gobi at the Gala, only a few weeks before his fracture (he is the one in the plaid bandana)

His consistent potty breaks are: 5am-7:45am: 3 breaks in the yard in addition to a 20 minute walk 5:45pm-9pm: 4 breaks in the yard and another 20 minute walk On weekends he gets more potty breaks, and on days when Justin may work from his home office (at least one day a week, some weeks more often,) he also gets more potty breaks. I just measured his water to get a good idea! We use those 2 quart stainless steel bowls, but I never fill them all the way because he will splash water everywhere. I would guess that he drinks between 1 qt. and 2. I fill it up halfway in the evening and he usually drinks all of that. Then I fill up just a little either late at night or in the morning. So in the morning and the majority of the day, he doesn't have much water until the big chunk in the evening.

Well, I thought about this, but I don't think this is the case. I say that because I clearly remember that the medicine originally took 6 weeks to build up in his system before we started seeing behavioral changes. (That sticks out in my mind because the vet told us 6 weeks and I thought it was interesting that, in the sixth week, he actually did quit tinkling/pooping in the house.) Knowing that 6 weeks was the time frame to build up in his system, I assume that 6 weeks is also the time frame that the new, lower dose would take effect. Right? If that is correct, then the 6 week point would have been some time in August. Just during the past two weeks has he shown the negative behavior.

Hi all, You may recall my SA issues with Bernie when we first got him a year ago in October 2010. From October 2010 to January 2011, we came home to tinkle and/or poop in the house, no matter how long we were gone, how many potty breaks he had, or how long of a walk he had. No UTI and he was healthy. We read books about SA, talked with different trainers, talked here on GT, tried alone training - DAP diffusers - boring comings/goings - belly bands - calming dog music - canine massage - everything. Basically, if you've heard about it treating SA, we tried it. (Because he escaped the crate and cut himself up, crating isn't an option.) We started him on 75mg Clomipramine 2x/day in January. This has worked like a charm. He is content and lays on his bed even while I am getting ready to walk out the door - opposed to crying and howling before I leave the house, as he used to do before the medicine. We come home after 2 minutes away or 6 hours away and the house is always clean - no inappropriate urination or defecation. Because I don't want the medicine in his system forever, I asked the vet to start to taper down the dose in July. He'd been great, so the vet then prescribed 75mg Clompramine 1x/day. We started this in July 2011, and we are currently still taking this same dose. I can't seem to figure out why, though, Bernie has started the inappropriate urination issue again recently. Two weeks ago, I discovered a flat tire in my car in the garage one morning. So, Justin and I were walking in and out of the house to the garage, on the phone calling work since I'd be late, making lots of ruckus in the garage with the air compressor. Bernie got nervous with this unusual commotion, and he urinated inside the house that day. We thought this was a fluke because we usually aren't in such a frenzy like that every day. This past weekend and today, though, he did it again. He is on the same dose of anti anxiety meds as he was in July, August, September and this month. We give him the same 20 minute walk 2x/day as he has always gotten. We still do occasional alone training. No changes in diet, amount of potty breaks, amount of water/food he gets, no new construction or loud noises around the house. Nothing has changed that we know of. (Unless there is something like the doorbell ringing in the middle of the day? ... This detail we would not know.) To answer the obvious question: no, we have not missed any pills. He gets his pill the same time every day. The pills also have not expired. Does anyone have any advice? I'm stuck. Very stuck, considering that he's on medication for this and has been great on the meds for a while. ETA: 20 minute walks twice daily. (Is what he has gotten and still is getting.)

I forgot to add that in my last post, too. With Bernie, we started out on a 25mg dose. After two weeks, the vet wanted us to let him know if Bernie experienced any side effects of the medicine being introduced into his system, like stomach problems. Nope. So, the vet increase it to 50mg for another two weeks. Still, after no adverse reactions, the vet gave us another two week dose of the 50mg since he was hoping 50mg would be the dose right for him. After that third round of the two-week period on the meds, the vet wanted to know if we'd seen any behavioral changes. No. So then he prescribed a two week dose of 75mg. And that is what Bernie has been on since. So, now that I write this, I take back what I said in my last post. I was told six weeks for the drugs to kick in, but actually with Bernie, our process was eight weeks.

Hello! Bernie is on Clomipramine for severe SA. Actually, I just posted yesterday on Greytalk that we are so excited that the vet has prescribed a new half dose for him - we are starting the process of weaning him down/off. Anyway, Bernie has been on Clomiprame since late January. The dose really didn't build up in his system and we didn't start seeing and noticing changes until mid March. The vet did remind us that the meds would take at least six weeks to build up, so even though we started giving him pills in late January, we'd still experience his same SA behaviors as usual for a while. But, by the time the meds obviously had kicked in, the difference was night and day. If your dog has only been on Clomipramine for three weeks, you shouldn't see any difference at all yet. You have to give it six weeks - and in my experience, the change in behavior because of the medicine really was a six week period. ETA: Clomipramine and Clomicalm = Same thing. Yours is a branded version of Clomipramine.

We are now starting the process of weaning down his Clomipramine medicine. Our vet has lowered his prescription dose! He has been on the 75mg 2x/day dose since April. Now, we will be doing the 75mg 1x/day. We are so excited to be starting the process of weaning him (hopefully) off! If you don't recall why he is on the anti-anxiety medicine, read here: http://thisislaurenbiz.blogspot.com/2011/02/berniealone.html

Well, he is the same today. The weird thing is that his limp was gone yesterday and it was gone this morning. When I got home from work today, he is limping again! If I don't see improvement with this tomorrow after work, I am going to call our vet and schedule an appointment. I assume he could probably get us in Friday. I'm walking that fine line where I want Bernie to get better, but I also don't want to waste any money or waste our vet's time! This popped up Tuesday, and if, by Thursday, we have no progress, I think a vet visit should be in the works! Again, I checked his toes, feet, legs, shoulders - on all four legs. I've pressed, squeezed, moved them. He doesn't yelp or show any signs that I'm hurting him or pressing/touching something that is painful. Nothing looks out of the ordinary. (PS - To Cathy, I will have to look that up!)

I will be thinking of you. I am so sorry. I know how sad this event is - and how awful the anticipation can be. I'll be thinking good thoughts for Twister - she will soon be peaceful.

Thanks everyone! I did examine his bad leg and his good leg - for comparison. I see and feel no differences. (Of course, I am no vet, either!) His webbing, toenails, pads, are all totally normal. Even when I examine his legs, he doesn't seem to mind. My guess now is that his limp is coming from the shoulder, or something higher than his foot. Because... * He lets me touch, push, rub, press on all of his toes (and his whole leg) without a yelp indicating pain * He stands still with his weight appearing to be evenly distributed, and he is not picking up that foot when he stands still * He maneuvers with the process of standing-to-sitting/laying and also getting back up just fine with that foot - and he applies weight on the foot in that process * The limp is ONLY appearing on the follow-through in his walk (IE: He takes a step outward with that leg, but then has the gimp when he finishes the step.) Because of these reasons, I think that his foot is actually fine, and that the cause is something higher (possibly the shoulder) and it is probably muscular since he only has the limp in the walking process. I have a bad pair of mule tennis shoes that somehow hurt a tendon or muscle in my right foot. If I wear these shoes for a day, I will have a limp the next day. Something in the very middle on the bottom of my foot is painful - only when following through in my step. The pain only strikes after I've stepped forward, and when my foot is in the position with heel up and toes on the ground (as I am finishing the step.) I can stand still just fine, pivot just fine, and I can maneuver the leg around - it's only walking that hurts it. And, this reminds me of Bernie's issue. (And those shoes are now only reserved for walking Bernie so I don't wear them all day!) Thank you again!

Tonight after work, I noticed that Bernie was limping on his front left foot when I first saw him. I checked his paws and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Justin said that before I got home, Bernie went crazy with zoomies in the backyard. He said that he saw Bernie step in a divot in the yard, but he kept on running even after taking a funny step. (Did NOT fall.) Assuming that this is probably what caused his limping, what else should I do? I don't know if this is a vet visit or not. Bernie is my first Greyhound. Excuse my novice question.

He also just pooped. Combined with the burp, I now have indications that his digestive tract appears to be normal. Thank you, everyone! Greytalk is wonderful.

Bernie just burped! That's a good indication of the stomach being normal, correct? Justin is now awake for the day, and I've talked to him about it. He is not concerned about bloat right now - he said that with the dogs he owned in the past, they always tried to vomit after eating grass. (I am a first-time dog owner, he is not! )

His last meal was at 6pm last night. Then, the unsuccessful vomiting happened at 7am this morning, and then a small breakfast at 7:30. I know that he was comfortable lying down around 5am - he woke me up with little barks. I thought, why is he barking at 5am? When I looked down at the floor, he was sleeping and dreaming! I have not seen him stretch at all. He seems to be like his normal self when laying down on his bed.

This morning, when I let Bernie outside, he started eating a bunch of grass. Then, I saw an unsuccessful attempt to vomit. This was all BEFORE a meal. (I know bloat usually strikes after eating.) I did give him breakfast later - I gave him a smaller amount than usual, and I stuck a ball in his bowl for slow feeding. I know the unsuccessful attempts to vomit can be bloat. I see no other symptoms with Bernie that are typical symptoms of bloat. ???

My two cents: Do not put him into a crate ever, ever again. I *like* to consider myself a separation anxiety expert, considering what I learned about SA causes, options, and treatments, for the first five or so months that we had Bernie. Bernie didn't just chew things up in the house out of the crate, or bend the bars and escape his crate, he also urinated and/or defecated in the house, in the crate, on the furniture, on the wall, whether he was alone for 3 minutes or for 5 hours. We did the exercise, ignoring him before leaving, calming dog music, DAP diffusers/collars/sprays, Rescue Remedy, giving him toys/treats to keep him occupied while he was alone, an the list literally goes on and on and on. Our final resort was medication, and after exhausting what we felt were all our options, we now have him on antidepressants. With that said, I don't think your guy is a candidate at all for anti-anxiety meds! If you continue to crate him after he escaped the crate, though, I think you are continuing to put him into harm's way. You are risking an injury, a skin tear, cuts, etc. If you forget to take his collar off and he tries to escape the crate, he is veeeery much at risk. I would suggest alone training outside the crate, like some other posters have suggested. If you want to muzzle him, do that. You could also teach him that he only gets yummy treats and/or filled Kongs when you are gone. Give him the treat, then leave for alone training. Come back and take it away. Same thing later, again and again. The Kong and/or other treats would keep his mouth busy so he would not chew while he is alone. Exercise, exercise, exercise! Give him a walk before you leave! (I don't remember if you said this or not.) I hope this helps! And PS - Don't be worried all day. Your worry likely starts as you are preparing to leave the house, and he probably picks up on that nervous energy. Then, his pack leader disappears, and he has already been nervous! Just be positive the best you can!

Hello! Can I add Bernie's vet? Blackhawk Vet Hospital Kendall Williams, DVM 1808 Lafayette St, Janesville, WI 53546 608) 752-5000 Hours: Monday, Thursday 8am - 7pm Tuesday 8am - 6pm Wednesday, Friday 8am - 5pm Closed weekends No emergency services; go to Madison, WI for emergency services We know of four other Greyhounds that go to Dr. Williams, so we visited him based off recommendations. He's wonderful. He is knowledgeable about the breed. He also has a very caring demeanor and will really listen to patients and answer questions thoroughly. Dr. Williams does not seem to do unnecessary testing to diagnose issues. Prices are actually very reasonable, considering the long amount of time that he is always willing to spend talking with us.

PS - Also, I would suggest that if you're in close quarters with an aggressive dog, get your kicking on! If the spray would also be sprayed at your dog since you're in a tight space, then I'd really just kick the aggressive dog. Seriously. That's another reason that I always wear actual tennis shoes and not sandals on our walks. A lady in our GPA chapter had her Greyhound viciously attacked by a loose GSD in her neighborhood last year. I saw the pictures. The skin had been torn in an upside-down V-shape on the Greyhound's left side, starting about 6 inches behind the neck at the spine, and going in the V-shape down toward the left shoulder, and down on the left side of the chest. The The dog needed, I believe 4 surgeries. I'm still horrified by this, and I don't take chances!

I constantly switch sides with Bernie during my walk with left and right. (I've never heard of that European walking either, sorry!) Bernie's safety is my top priority, so I always move him to whichever side is farthest away from the road, or whichever side is farthest away from an upcoming dog encounter. Unfortunately, you just CAN'T control someone else's dog. An idiot down the street from me lets its somewhat aggressive black lab wander around in its front yard. Two times (I have now learned!,) when we passed by on the opposite side of street as that house, that dog ran up to us, growling and barking. (Not really aggressive, but not totally nice, either.) I always immediately got in between the dog and Bernie, and I loudly and sternly said, "Back" to the dog. On one occasion, I nudged the dog with my foot to get it to move back. Both times, the owners were there! The first time, after the dog trotted back across the street, I said, "Get a leash!" to the morons standing in the driveway. They continued to just chat with each other, as if nothing had just happened with their dog, and they totally ignored me. The next time this happened, I just stood there and glared at the guy after the dog trotted back to him. "Oh, sorry 'bout that," he said. :angryfire My point is that other idiots will be out there with mis-behaved dogs. I carry Spray Shield animal deterrent spray. I keep a runners belt filled with treats and a poop bag, and the spray clips on the belt. I always strap on that belt for our walks. Maybe I look like a big bozo with a mace-looking thing on my belt, but I figured I'd look like a bigger bozo having to carry home a bleeding dog after a dog attack! I thankfully have never sprayed it. But, if any aggressive dog gets near Bernie, I wouldn't hesitate at all.

Hi, my name is Lauren, and I'm a first-time dog owner! All this and he is probably just hot?! Bernie is my first dog ever, and the last time Justin owned a dog was when he was a little kid. So, both of us are actually still learning. We will still head to the vet soon regarding the Clomipramine. It never hurts to ask! Even though it sounds like this is probably a non-issue.

:lol

You're not scaring me! Osteo always could be a possibility. I haven't seen any limping or any other symptoms, though. Nevertheless, I think it sounds like this is definitely worth a talk with our vet. I am planning on calling the vet this week (they can probably get us in next week,) to discuss lowering Bernie's dose on his Clomipramine, since he has been on it about six months. I can keep guessing about it being food-related, some other sort of pain, stress, weather, etc. I'm not sure what to think! And, I have a video now. I let him outside to go to the bathroom. It's about 80ish today and the sun is out. He was outside for between 5-10 minutes. After he came in, he went into the spare bedroom and laid down on the floor. (We HAVE dog beds at the house!) He didn't pant at all for about 10 or 15 minutes after he laid down - then the weird panting started after that. Someone had asked me before what his eyes are doing when he is having the weird panting episode. As you can see in the video, he was kind of in that funny zombie-eyed moment where his inner eyelids were partially closed. He just kept his eyes pointed in front of him. Here is the link to his panting thing: (it starts at the :20 second mark and lasts the whole video)

Wait, I just thought of something else: Is this potentially a stress thing? Remember, he did this a lot last October when we first got him when he was living with brand new people and in a brand new place. He was under stress at that time. I've been unemployed for about two weeks now. (I have a second interview with a company tomorrow, though, so I hope something can work out!) I have noticed that he tends to whine a lot more when I leave, and when I come back inside the house. I think he's gotten spoiled with me being in the house more often than when I worked. There has been a change in his routine with my unemployment, plus his separation anxiety seems to be more heightened when I leave. And, the panting issue is now back. Hmmmmm

So, is Fletcher's 'weird' version of panting the same that Bernie does? - Keep his mouth fairly closed, but somewhat 'smile' and take very short, loud breaths?

...Well, since he had that panting episode about 10-20 minutes last night after his evening walk, I've had my camera ready today since we finished our morning walk about half an hour ago. No panting episode. And, it is nice and cool this morning. (Probably in the 60's - not the 80's/90's like yesterday.) Maybe the weather is a factor. Well, I have my camera ready, anyway!