krissy

This indicated to me that she is NOT ready to have bed privileges. The way it works in my home is that the human bed is MINE. Now I'm nice and can share, but I cannot risk a grumble or snap if I roll over in the middle of the night, or if a kitty walks on a pup, etc. I have 1 cuddle hound that you can put stuff under her lips while she sleeps! She is allowed to sleep with us. My other pup doesn't like being touched while she sleeps. She's getting better but will grumble a bit when startled. She usually opts to sleep on her futon mattress at night. Sounds like you might get a cuddle bug, but you need to give it another few months before you sleep with her I agree. You've only had her 5 weeks which is hardly time enough to build up a strong relationship which establishes you as the leader. Summit didn't start getting up on the bed until we'd had him about 4 or 5 months. He was very good about getting off whenever I asked him. The one night I went to get him for his last walk of the evening and he just didn't want to go out (which is unusual, normally if he even THINKS we're going for a walk he jumps off the bed to investigate the possibility). He was clearly awake because he moved his head and looked at me when I called him, but he didn't want to go. He doesn't wear a collar in the house (tag necklace only) so I put my hands under his shoulder/neck and lifted up while saying "Let's go". He growled at me (but didn't snap). It certainly startled me because he's such a sweet, gentle boy, and even though I know he's a dog and capable of that it did catch me off guard. I told him in an even, but stern tone, "No. Come on, let's go" and he got off the bed and we went for our walk. He lost his bed privileges for a few weeks after that and was only allowed to jump up and then right back off when I asked him, to make the point that he was to get off when told. Then he was allowed back up on the bed whenever he wanted, and that's how it'll stay so long as he always gets off when I tell him. Haven't had a problem since, but in future if he were to refuse to get off the bed I'd grab a collar to put on him first. Also, if I want to sleep in bed and I invite him up with me, he sleeps around me, not the other way around. And if he doesn't respect that and tries to sleep on top of me (or when he dreams and kicks me in his sleep) I wake him up and tell him to get off and go to his own bed.

That was a fantastic article! I bookmarked it for future reference. I think it depends on the individual dog as well. Summit is much more tolerant of these loud, noisy, excited dogs than he is of the really quiet dog who approaches him slowly, head on, stiff legged, tail up, ears forward. Two different expressions of rudeness. One more acceptable to my dog than the other. (Don't get me wrong, if that hyper, jumping, leash jerking dog jumps up on Summit, he's going to get snapped at and told off at some point.) Personally, our biggest problem is huskies with blue eyes. Summit sees those blue eyes from 20 ft away and just goes ballistic. I swear he thinks they're demon dogs. I've always wanted him to meet a greyhound with blue eyes and see if he has the same reaction.

Summit will often snark at dogs that start snarking at him first. Other times he just gets really excited and his "snarking" and excited "let's play" behaviours are often kind of similar and I've only recently been able to accurately tell them apart (we've only had him a year). In either case, you may want to avoid tension on the leash as some dogs are leash reactive. I know with my boy that it is more effective for me to ask him to "leave it" or "watch me" than to put pressure on the leash. The first two are usually met with attention on me (this is after a certain amount of training of course) and the second sometimes results in snarking (probably only about 30% of the time). It's also tough when you have TWO dogs you need to work on. Maybe ask your neighbour if she would meet you somewhere with just one of your dogs. You can ask her to stand a little ways off (the closest distance that doesn't result in excitement from either dog) and reward your dog for staying calm and responding to simple commands. Then walk a little closer. Meet up another time with your other dog and do the same. Over time you should be able to get closer and closer without inducing excitement. The key is that any time you decrease the distance between you and the other dog it should only be as much as you can without producing excitement. If your dog gets excitement, put more distance between you until she is calm and reward that.

No worries. It's part of my job to help people with their pets. I'm just glad everyone is alright and on the mend.

I'm so sorry to hear of Bandit's passing. The pictures of her are lovely and really show what a great life she's had with you. I'm sure she is reunited with the others at the Bridge and will be enjoying their company again. Hugs to you and the rest of the family.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it IS in his record. What I was saying is that it SHOULD be in the record. It depends on the vet too. Some vets keep better records than others. Summit's neuter record is as you describe... just says it was done. Of course, I'm fairly sure that what I have is just the certificate and somewhere there should have been an actual surgical report. When I write up a surgical report I say exactly what was done and if there were complications. To me, something like MH would warrant a big red, bold note on the dog's profile (i.e. the first screen the computer brings up when I choose the dog's file) saying "Warning: Malignant hyperthermia". Records and how thorough they are though are entirely up to each clinic and each vet. Some keep great records, some don't. To me, I'd rather keep really good records. Bad records are a great way to get sued successfully. They're also a great way for accidents to happen. We're all human and sometimes the records aren't as great as they could be on a given day, but something like MH really should be in the record. Bolded. Highlighted. Flashing. I could see that a greyhound just spiking non-MH temp might not be particularly noted in a file depending on the clinic. It's an adverse reaction but it's responsive to normal cooling mechanisms. Personally I'd still make a quick note of it somewhere, but probably not bolded and flashing.

The only thing I would say is that this reaction he's talking about is malignant hyperthermia. It is a reaction that susceptible dogs have EVERY time they are under GA (gas anesthetic). Assuming your boy was castrated under general anesthesia using an inhalant anesthetic with no problems, this is not malignant hyperthermia. And if he had a problem when he was neutered it should have gone in his record and he really should never go under GA with an inhalant again if at all possible. It is technically possible for stress to induce MH, but this is more common in pigs than dogs. Greyhound further complicate matters by often becoming hyperthermic following anesthesia/surgery, but it is not MH and is not responsive to drugs (dantrolene is what is given for MH). It also doesn't necessarily occur after every anesthetic event. This increase in temperature is the result of shivering due to low temperature during surgery, but due to our hounds' large muscle mass it often results in over compensation. This is a lot more common than MH, is not hereditary, and is controllable by wetting the dog, or otherwise trying to keep them cool upon recovery from anesthesia. I'm sorry you had such an ordeal. It must have been very scary and I hope he recovers uneventfully from here on. There are definitely risks that we take in allowing our hounds to run, but try not to beat yourselves up. This was an accident and it is a risk we take in order to enrich their lives and allow them to do what they love to do.

http://www.selectsmart.com/DOG/. One of those quizzes 12 years ago was the reason I entered the greyhound world.. Maybe have him do a few and look at it like the Enquirer or horoscopes. You don't have to take them as gospel but they are fun and sometimes correct. They're certainly fun. I took it for entertainment. But these quizzes never come up with any dog I'd ever be interested in owning, including greyhounds. I always seem to get little white fluffy things that I have no interest in. I think borrowing a dog encyclopedia from the library would be better. He could read through a few breeds every night before bed and come up with a short list that interest him.

I don't think any of those quizzes are very accurate. I just did it and I got mixed breed... which is fair enough but mixed breeds are all completely different depending on what breeds they are comprised of... so being told "mixed breed" means nothing. Number 2 on my list was the Bichon Frise even though I specified I wanted a "very large" dog with "minimal grooming requirements". My favourite breeds that I would even consider owning didn't show up until at least number 25. I don't know where Greyhound was on that list. lol Also... who WANTS a dog with a "shorter lifespan"?

If it's only a couple of weeks you may not need to worry too much. Depends on how quickly you noticed the onset. Summit was just diagnosed on Tuesday. I'm taking him back sometime this week to get a script for meds. I noticed when I adopted him a year ago that his eyes were a little cloudy, but his pannus is so mild that it really went undetected until we did a thorough ophtho exam on him last week. Originally I thought it was nuclear sclerosis because he's 6. Then we thought it might be lipid deposits. In working him up for possible lipid though we finally saw the tiny little vessels coming in. So in a year with no treatment he really hasn't progressed. Lancer's may be progressing faster since you say you've actually noticed changes in the appearance of his eyes. Treatment is steroid (or cyclosporine, a non-steroid immunosuppressive drug) eyedrops for life. Most greyhounds can get by with every other day treatment. It should slow the progression fairly effectively, especially since in comparison to GSDs the greyhound version of pannus seems to be a lot milder/slower progressing, at least that's what I've noticed.

Yay! Summit's UPC came back totally normal. I'm sticking to my assumption that all the exercise he had and the collection not being first thing in the morning is what threw it off. Thanks for all the good thoughts guys. We really appreciate it. So glad there's nothing seriously wrong with my special guy. Still have to get his prescription for his pannus though... I don't think that's going away.

It was 0.3 3 weeks ago and 2.6 on Tuesday. UPC today is still pending. His pressures were high the last 2 times (Tuesday and 3 weeks ago), but they're always high in hospital and I'm pretty sure I can't convince them to let me take the Cardell home... if this was my private clinic back home I could probably convince them to let me take home a doppler for a night. If the UPC is still high today I'm running a culture next week when he comes in to see ophtho. I just didn't want to spend money or poke him in the bladder unless it's necessary.

Bloodwork all looks very unremarkable for a greyhound. No concerns there. Of course anesthesia is a risk in any animal, more so in older animals. But that isn't to say it can't be done. Also, depending on what needs to be done you may be able to get away with local and sedation. I've put stitches into Summit with absolutely no sedation or pain control and gotten absolutely no response. I'm sure with some local and sedation I could cut something out and sew him up with no problems. Was that vein used for anything recently? Could be that it is thrombosed (has a clot in it). Just throwing that out there. Can't tell you much without seeing or feeling it.

I wouldn't be concerned except that his steroid ALP has been elevated twice now, and I have baseline bloodwork on him from last year so it's certainly not normal for him. I'm hoping it is just stress since it is mild. I am assuming the UPC is due to exercise. And to be honest, my first comment was that on the first urinalysis his creat was really high, and on the second the creat is really low... so my feeling is that the ratio is elevated because of differences in the creat not the protein. But the research doc checked with her supervisor and he's concerned as well, so now I feel like shrugging it off would be a little blase (excuse my lack of accent). I don't intend to REALLY worry unless tomorrow's rerun returns similar results.

ALP is a liver/gallbladder enzyme, but the steroid ALP is a version of the ALP enzyme that is induced by excess steroids. Stress can therefore cause it, but if it gets really high we start worrying about Cushing's. His isn't so high that it's glaringly Cushing's but it shouldn't be elevated without cause. UPC is urine protein:creatinine ratio. Creatinine is supposed to be found in high quantities in the urine, protein is not. If the ratio is high it indicates that the kidneys are allowing protein to slip through, which is really quite bad and if you let it go it'll progress to chronic renal failure.

Well, more potential medical woes for Summit it appears. I've had him in for a hemostasis study (the researcher is well aware of the breed's abnormalities but still wanted to include him for interest). His first blood draw was 3 weeks ago. Everything was normal except his steroid ALP was a tad high. I wasn't concerned because there had been gun shots going off a fair bit at the time and he is severely gun phobic. His blood pressure was also high but I pointed out he was a greyhound in the hospital, and without me there to boot. Tuesday he was back for his second blood draw. I saw the ophthomologist and we ended up diagnosing him with pannus. Anyway, his bloodwork and urinalysis came back and again his steroid ALP is a tad high and now his urine UPC is high too. He is happy, eating, active, peeing normally. Go figure. I'm bringing a new sample in tomorrow for a re-run. He had quite a few hard runs through the previous week so I'm hoping it's just due to all the exercise, but it's a little high even for that to be honest, so I'm hoping it was just a problem with the test or human error. If it's still high I have to work him up for glomerulonephritis. Everyone please cross fingers that it comes back normal.

But if Ticks are the problem then Advantage isn't going to always be the best option because it doesn't cover as many different kinds. I had to use Advantix because after identifying the species of tick we realized that Advantage wasn't going to do the trick. Personally I prefer Advantage, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Summit was very itchy the first time I used Advantix (he had ticks when we got him from the adoption kennel). I contacted the company and was advised that this happened in some dogs. The vehicle used to deliver the drug can sometimes cause a weird sensation to some dogs. Applying it with some Vit E oil will prevent/reduce this. However, out of interest the following 3 doses produced little to no scratching.

Yeah, he'll have to wear them if he's outside for extended periods of time. Definitely when he comes to ultimate with me, and if we go for day long hikes and stuff. Will bring him back next week when ophtho is on clinics to get a script for his steroids and so the other people in my class can see a case of pannus because apparently they talk about pannus a lot but almost never have a case in to show the students.

Thanks guys. I know it's not the end of the world and luckily his is very mild. I guarantee this has been going on for over a year though. I had noticed his eyes were a little cloudy when we adopted him. I had the ophthomologist look at him quickly this past spring, but it was in the lecture hall with dim lights and no ophthalmoscope. So it was suggested that it was probably just lipid deposits. However, now once we get the light and magnification on it you can see the little blood vessels. It is very minor thankfully, so hopefully with Doggles and treatment it will not become worse. I'm thankful for that. Re: Retinal atrophy. Fortunately his retina looks A-OK! But I will keep that in mind about the pedigree should anything happen in the future. The Doggles probably won't be here for another month or so. I hope he'll tolerate them. He's pretty tolerant and I think I can train him to accept them, but we'll see. I ordered the camo ones.

Gah. So I saw the ophthomologist walking down the hall today and Summit happened to be in to give blood for a hemostasis study so I asked him to take a look at Summit. He had what we had thought were lipid deposits on his cornea, but he hadn't had a full ophtho exam done. Well, lo and behold it turns out he has pannus. FML. Summit, I told you no expensive diseases until AFTER I graduate vet school. 6 months is close, but not graduated yet. lol. Anyway, I already have Doggles on order for him because I noticed from ultimate tournaments that he gets really squinty after being in the sun. Also I had noticed that his pupils don't constrict quite the way I would expect. So it's topical steroids for the rest of his life at $50 a tube. It's a good thing he's the greatest dog on earth.

There are tonnes of dogs of all breeds and mixes at shelters all over that are very much in need of saving. Many of them are on death row. And many of them would make a better kid dog than a greyhound. It depends on what your kid wants to do with a dog. Summit loves children and lots attention and being petted. He'll chase me around the yard. And I taught him to fetch. But these are behaviours that were either taught or have developed over the year that we have had him. And he certainly has no interest in wrestling or playing tug. I think I would have loved a greyhound when I was a kid, but I wasn't as rough a player as a lot of kids are (unless it was sports, then none of the girls would play with me because I was too aggressive).

Could it have been just a one time, err, too hard pushing? Cause she's not showing any other symptoms. Yeah, I was going to say that it could have been a rectal prolapse from straining. If she seems her usual self otherwise I would probably not worry TOO much. Just keep an eye on her. If she seems unwell in any other way though, I'd be concerned. And like Brie suggested, it could also just be inflammation. If all she got out was pudding it's possible that her bowel is just so irritated and inflamed that it was painful and caused her to strain. I know she's had chicken feet before but maybe this one just didn't sit well with her, or maybe she didn't chew it as well as she should have and had some bone fragments that have irritated her. Hopefully she feels better in the morning. Let me know!

Not to make you totally freak out, but sometimes with intussusceptions the colonic mucosa can protrude from the anus... i.e. possibly the red thing you saw. Intussusceptions suck to diagnose because they're really hard to see on rads. An ultrasound would be better. Thing is, Bella really has no reason to get an intussusception (which doesn't mean it can't happen... there doesn't always have to be a reason)... intestinal parasites and parvovirus are the major ones, but anything that results in altered motility of the gut can technically cause it. Don't freak out. This doesn't mean Bella has an intussusception. Just throwing out random facts because I'm studying for boards and I need to convince myself I know a few things. Plus, they might help you. That's what I tell myself anyway. Give me a call if you decide to take her in... because if she does go to surgery I'm on call for anesthesia. But she won't because there's nothing seriously wrong (at least I'm sending good vibes for nothing to be wrong with Bells).

You'll want to make sure you get matched with a dog that will be okay being left alone for long days. I am usually gone for 9-12 hours. The days when I'm gone 12 hours though my BF is home a few hours before me. He doesn't really do much with the dog, but at least someone is home. He's quite happy to sleep by himself for 9 hours until I get home. I leave lots of kongs and treat dispensing toys, stuffies, etc out for him to entertain himself. When I get home though the kong isn't always empty and usually the treat toys aren't empty either. He really just sleeps all day. I make sure to take him for 2 good walks a day, with a third quicker pee walk. I also make it up to him on weekends. We rarely do anything on weekends or holidays that can't include the dog. Of course some dogs can't be left alone for that long. They just don't deal well with it or have separation anxiety. Others, like Summit, do just fine. So long as you're willing to put a lot of your spare time towards the dog it'll be fine. That's my opinion as a working professional. I know people who think you shouldn't have a dog unless you can spend every waking moment with it. You have to decide what you're comfortable with, and make sure you get a dog that will suit your lifestyle.