krissy

You should take him back to your vet to check out and see what is needed. At minimum a wet bandage has to be replaced with a new one. Wet bandages can cause nasty skin infections.

When I was originally looking at getting a greyhound I wanted a male. I didn't want a female. Mostly just because I wanted a BIG dog, but also I had heard they were goofier. In rabbits I have found that males are more personable and have sunnier dispositions, so I followed this bias into dogs. Once I got into agility though, I have switched to females for exactly the opposite reasons... they are smaller (more agile, fit the equipment a bit better) and much more serious. I would not say that I have so far found one sex to be more independent than the other (I've fostered quite a few dogs) or necessarily more affectionate. My girls are FAR more demonstrative than my male ever has been. He is very genteel and his affection is more subtle. None of my dogs are especially cuddly, but Kenna is the cuddliest.

I understand you are upset, I would be be too if my dogs killed something, however it is something we have to accept with a breed that was bred for thousands of years to chase and kill small prey that moved. This is her job. Some greys take that job more seriously than others, but with any hound with a certain level of prey drive we need to be prepared that if they catch something, they might kill it. This is why we're careful with trying to cat test, with introducing hounds to cats and small dogs, why outdoor cats are different than indoor cats, why most people are cautioned to keep their hounds on leash at all times. If it moves, if it cries or squeaks or chirps... a hound is liable to want to kill it. This doesn't make them bad dogs, or scary dogs... in fact, according to her breeding it makes her a very, very good dog. Bury the poor little birdie, and take a look for a nest that he may have fallen out of so you know whether you need to keep watch for more babies or fledglings. If there's a nest in your yard you will need to watch her closely... perhaps no unsupervised or unleashed time outside until the fledglings are flying.

Summit came to us at 5.5 years old and had been in a previous home for 2 years already with the name Dexter. We already had a friend with a dog named Dexter and another with a dog named Dax, plus it was just too common for me. We decided to change it. I just started using his new name and he picked it up within a week or two. It's like if people just suddenly started calling you Suzie even though your name was Katie. At first you wouldn't realize they were talking to you, but pretty quickly you'd realize they meant you and you'd start to respond to it. Dogs are the same.

I'd have to see the puppy to see if it's actually underweight or not. However, my experience with 2 greyhound puppies has been that they are ribby. They will always be ribby. They shouldn't look fleshy and roly poly. I fed both of my pups above the recommended amounts on the bag, plus they were fed out of Kongs at first so there was canned food as well, plus they had treats for training. And despite that they were both ribby throughout puppyhood. In fact, Kili looked downright underweight around the 10 month mark despite all the calories... she was just SO active. I can't even imagine how much I would have needed to feed to make them not ribby. My girls typically ate about 3-4 cups per day (depending on the age/weight recommendations on the bag), and maybe 1/4-1/2 can of wet food to make it all stick in the Kong. And then some treats during training (when really young I also often used a portion of their kibble). So, it depends. If the pup is actually underweight, I would just increase the amount of kibble being fed by a little bit. I'd feed a good quality puppy kibble. 2 lbs a week is about the kind of weight gain you expect in the 7-16 week range (at least that's what I got with my girls), and then it starts to drop off a little bit. So if pup is between 7-16 weeks then the weight gain is appropriate, though if he really is a little skinny then a bit more might be ideal for a week or two. If he's over the 16 week mark and he's skinny then he's probably already doing a good job on gaining back any weight he missed while he was sick.

Not if you pair it with a muzzle. I'm dying for someone to try this and tell me how they like it.

Oh, that I don't know. But usually it's the other way around... we tend to approve stuff after we see you guys test it out first. So it's more typical for us to not be able to get stuff that is available in the US.

Sorry, I was working yesterday and then I had an ultimate game in the evening and got home really late. Here's the unfortunate reality for sighthounds. They're more sensitive to almost all drugs compared to other breeds, and pain control is necessary with surgical procedures. And further to the point of opiates... there aren't many injectable pain medications or sedatives that aren't opiates. Non-opiate sedatives: Ketamine, Acepromazine, Dexdomitor, Diazepam/Midazolam. Ketamine is a heavy hitter in my experience so I usually only use it on very aggressive, healthy patients. No pain control and HAS to be given with something else to avoid nasty side-effects, usually with Diazepam or Midazolam, otherwise with an opiate. Acepromazine can be a problem for greyhounds. OSU uses it at very low doses and that seems to be okay usually (0.5 mg total per hound, not mg/kg). No pain control. But frankly, I've never been a huge fan of Ace and I rarely use it on any patient anymore, regardless of breed. Dexdomitor is a dream, but is generally avoided in senior patients or those with known/suspected heart conditions. I love it. Heavy sedation that I can reverse - patient is out like a light in seconds to minutes and then awake again within minutes of getting the antidote. No pain control. Diazepam/Midazolam provides only very mild sedation. We typically combine it with an opiate to use for elderly or debilitated patients. No pain control. Non-opidate pain killers (injectable): NSAIDs NSAIDs have no sedative effect, can't be given to patients with kidney concerns or GI concerns or those that are dehydrated or debilitated. Opiates: Hydromorphone, Butorphanol, Buprenorphine, Morphine All of these drugs provide pain control as well as sedation and can be given by any injectable route in most cases, and in some cases can also be given orally. Butorphanol is the mildest, providing the least pain control and the least sedation. However, it is typically my choice of opiate for sighthounds as it doesn't tend to cause dysphoria. That said though, any dog can have a bad reaction to any drug as evidenced by Macoduck's Allen who had a pretty significant adverse reaction to Butorphanol. Those reactions can't be anticipated. Anesthetizing greyhounds makes even ME stressed out. It's a no win scenario. If I don't use enough drugs then the dog is painful after surgery... and owners don't tend to like it when their dog is really painful (understandably!). If I use heavy opiates and get better control on pain then the dog is probably going to be dysphoric (panting, anxious, crying, etc), and even if no actual complications (like the temperature spike)... again, owners don't like it when their dogs are dysphoric (understandably!). If I do what I would do with my own dog, then the dog is quite sedate for an extended period of time (but not dysphoric and not painful)... and owners also don't like that. I do my sighthound patients early in the day and then keep them very late before sending home. When I had Kili spayed I used a huge concoction of drugs. She was sedated with Butorphanol/Dexdomitor. Then once her IV was placed I started a low dose constant rate infusion of Lidocaine/Ketamine/Dexdomitor. I ran this constant rate infusion of these 3 drugs all through surgery and for several hours after. She unfortunately had to be an afternoon surgery, finished around 4:30 PM, so I went home and ate dinner before coming back to get her. I took her home on her triple drip of drugs, and I ran it all evening and for most of the night. It ran out around 2AM. On those drugs she was comfortable and very sedate. I was personally very pleased with this protocol and will probably do the same when I decide to spay Kenna. It controlled pain very well. And because she was sleepy/sedate I didn't have a dysphoric dog crashing around after waking up suddenly. She woke up and then basically went back to sleep (rousable but reluctantly) and then once the infusion stopped it took another few hours to clear all the drugs so she woke up nice and slowly through the night. Problem is, I don't think this is a protocol you can really use on a client greyhound, but gosh it was amazing. When I did Summit last year at almost 11 years old, I did Butorphanol/Midazolam for his sedation. However, he only had a very small lump to come off and a routine dental cleaning with no extractions... so pain was a minor factor. When he had surgery for his spine a few months later I left it up to the referral centre. I have no idea what they used for the actual anesthesia, but I do know that they had him on a drip of methadone afterwards so he was super sedate for hours after (but not dysphoric). That dog seems to handle his opiates okay which is fortunate. Greyhounds suck to anesthetize sometimes. I totally agree. However, avoiding necessary care because of the risks of anesthesia is not any better for the dog. Girls that aren't spayed get cancers and life-threatening uterine infections. Boys can get testicular cancer. Bad teeth lead to a host of other health concerns and is incredibly painful. Anesthesia is a risk in ANY breed, and yes it can be even a little scarier for those of us with sighthounds. But trust me, living with a rotten mouth is not something any dog would choose. I know it is difficult and scary, but I would encourage you to continue to perform anesthetic procedures when they are necessary. Do as much as you can at home to avoid needing anesthetic procedures (brush teeth daily, use a water additive, use a dental diet if possible, give dental treats, get lumps checked out early, etc) and do anesthetic procedures earlier than later. A routine dental cleaning is way easier on a hound than one with a bunch of extractions... pain control is a problem as we've already discussed and anesthetic time is very much prolonged by needing to do a lot of work. And finally, use a vet that you are comfortable with. And by comfortable, I mean that if something goes wrong (and it can with any dog or cat or rabbit or human) that your first reaction won't be "I've lost trust in them" but "I know they took the best care of him that they could". I'm very sorry this happened to you and Adam, and I'm so glad he's doing better.

I use it for training treats. I can't imagine it would be very economical to feed to a large dog on a long term basis though.

... At work. Will edit later

The good leg is only shooting through a single leg. If you look at the unaffected leg, it is whiter above the joint because it is laying over top of the thigh muscles of the leg underneath, so you are now effectively shooting through the thickness of 2 legs and you're not going to get the same exposure.

I don't really see anything glaring. What specifically within that circle were they concerned about? Early tumours can be difficult to identify conclusively. The issue is this x-ray is not straight, so you can see the symphysis (looks like a black fracture line almost) and then on the lateral wing there's a bit of "extra bone", except that because it's not straight it could just be a normal part of the pelvis peeking out from underneath. On top of that there's a towel or a trough creating lines running right through the area of interest. Will be interested to know what Dr. Couto thinks since he reviews way more of these. But if it were my dog I'd consider re-taking these x-rays to get them straight, get the towel out from underneath (I know, it sucks with those bony backs) - consider sedation if necessary to achieve that. Better to give a little bit of sedation if it's an option and get it done in a couple of quick shots then struggle and stress the dog having to retake again and again trying to get it right, or settle for less than ideal shots like this one.

This is what I try to tell everyone who comes in and talks about food and ingredient lists, especially people who think "meals" are somehow bad or evil and want "meat as the first ingredient". Seems pretty straightforward to me, but I'm not sure how many people actually understand when I explain it to them. My other big pet peeve with marketing gimmicks is the idea that by-products are bad. A lot of good stuff is considered by-product - most of the organs for example. And some less than ideal things are considered "chicken".

I'm very sorry that this disease has chased you into another breed. So unfair. I know you will spoil that sweet girl for what time she has left, and help her to leave this world peacefully and surrounded by love.

Just want to touch on a few points specifically in case anyone comes across this post in future years while doing research on the breed. While it is true that there are some dogs out there that have had a harder time adjusting than your dog did, I don't think it is fair to say "a lot". I have one retired racer of my own who walked into the house and made himself at home. Granted, he was a bounce that had a home for 2 years before us. However, we've also had half a dozen fosters, most of whom walked off a hauler (well, okay, a mini van since our group doesn't have a dog hauler) or an airplane and into our home. The biggest problem we have had in that group is one dog that could not be crated... however she was an angel when left loose with a muzzle on. We have had a variety of personalities in our fosters, but none that were outright spooks, none that froze up on walks. Did we see their full personalities? No, of course not... the longest we had any of these dogs was 3 months for one lurcher, but most were with us for a couple of days to a couple of weeks only. This kind of makes me laugh a little. Because I hear all the time about how sad Summit looks. So much so, that when I saw a dog tag at a pet store that read "This IS my happy face" I snapped it up. Greyhounds are built differently from other dogs. The natural position of their ears is thrown back which can make them look a bit woe-be-gone. It has nothing to do with their emotions. It would be like someone saying "Why do you look so sad" and you being like "What do you mean? This is just my face". Like how some people just have constant "resting b!tch face". That's just their face. It's nothing personal. I find it kind of endearing. This is true of any dog that hasn't been exposed to certain things before. Any random mutt from a shelter can have these same fears. Dogs raised from puppies can have these fears and then some. These are normal things for dogs to be afraid of. Hell, these are normal things for PEOPLE to be afraid of. Ever seen a photo of the first time a child sees Santa? Usually screaming or crying. Santa is TERRIFYING to a young child because he doesn't look normal. I cried the first time as a baby that I met a black man - and yeah my mom was embarrassed, but that's normal. I also disliked the Caucassian woman at my daycare who worse bright coloured, heavy makeup and would cry every time she took me from my mom, but I never kicked up a fuss over the Philipino woman because she looked similar to my Chinese mother. I'm a vet and the number of freaked out dogs I see on a regular basis has absolutely no breed bias. It is unfortunate that you didn't realize this in your research, because this isn't a secret. This is a normal greyhound personality. In fact, the greyhound standard lists the personality as "aloof and independent". Most of us on this forum are drawn to this and advertise the fact that they're cat-like. There are different ways to display affection, and sitting in your lap isn't the only way. Some greyhounds DO like to cuddle. I don't have one. In fact, my middle child, Kili, will grumble at you if you move or touch her on the couch or bed. She doesn't even really like being petted when she's on the couch. But she always wants to sit on the couch with us. There will be another couch unoccupied, and she will insist on trying to squeeze herself into a small gap with us. When I arrive home she flies to the door and jumps on me. When I leave she stands at the door hoping I'm taking her with me, and if I don't she stands at the window and watches me leave. These kinds of reactions take time and a relationship though. Again, it's unfortunate that this didn't turn up in your research. At least on this forum, we're pretty open about it. Most adoption groups are too, and if yours wasn't then they did you a serious disservice. Best of luck going forward. I would recommend that you try fostering-to-adopt in future, regardless of what breed or mix you become interested in. Every breed and every individual dog has quirks and challenges, and sometimes even though you do your research you may still be surprised. You can't really be fully prepared for something you haven't experienced. When we got our first foster greyhound, I seriously worried for the first couple of days that I wasn't cut out to have a dog after 20 some years of desperately wanting one. But he settled in and I adapted and went with the flow. Every subsequent adult dog coming into our home has been a breeze. First time I got a puppy, I almost cried the first night wondering what I had gotten myself into... and I'd already been happily caring for Summit for several years by that time. The second time around with a puppy was way easier... I knew what to expect, I knew what was normal, I knew how to deal with normal problems. Fostering is a good, lower commitment way to test the waters of what you can deal with and what you want.

This is unlikely to have been malignant hyperthermia. MH occurs DURING the anesthetic, a time when it is unlikely to go unnoticed since temperature is something that it typically monitored very closely during anesthetic. It is unlikely Adam would have survived to the end of the surgery or discharge without being treated if it was MH. It is a response to inhalant anesthetics and happens every time, so the fact that this dog has previously had normal anesthetics (well, we assume his neuter was normal anyway since it wasn't mentioned when he was adopted) also suggests it is not MH. Greyhounds can have another problem, which is rebound hyperthermia. Maintaining temperature during anesthesia is a problem for all patients, particularly the very small and patients with little insulation like greyhounds. Most clinics do their best to try to keep patients warm during anesthesia, but we don't always win that battle. Problem is that greyhounds have such a large muscle mass that if they get a bit cool, once they wake up they start shivering and can actually cause themselves to heat up too much. It is adviseable to monitor temp post op a little longer than other breeds. Hydro can cause excessive panting, and both hydro and ace can cause dysphoria and anxiety in greyhounds which could contribute to an elevated temperature.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I will be thinking of Gracie, but also of you and your family at this very difficult time. Run free sweet girl.

This can be a personality trait, a startle response, or just a lack of trust/comfort at this time. I have 3 hounds. Summit is very easy going and doesn't get upset if he gets squashed a bit or jostled, but he doesn't really like being cuddled or jostled. He typically doesn't sit on the couch with anyone, but he doesn't snark or get upset if someone sits with him. He is getting a little bit grumpier in his senior years, but I think that's fair since he's probably sore and just doesn't have the patience he used to. It's mostly just with the other dogs, not with us. He was a retired racer that we got as a bounce. Kili HAS to be touching me in bed, but she doesn't want to be moved or jostled or she'll grumble. She often jumps up and gets off the bed/couch but then climbs right back up again. We've had her from 8 weeks old so there was no lack of being touched and handled... it's just a personality trait. Kenna is still too busy to have much freedom, but we have let her sleep on the bed a few times and when she's super tired she might spend some time on the couch with me in the evening. She's much more snuggly with both the other dogs and with people, and so far doesn't mind being moved/jostled/cuddled. We've also had her from 8 weeks old. She's actually quite closely related to Kili and they do share a lot of traits, but not this particular one! I think it's a bit early for couch time or cuddle time with the other dog. I'd encourage them to interact calmly while standing up, but encourage the new boy to use a dog bed on the floor for now until you can determine if this is a startle reaction, a personality thing, or just that he's new and not quite comfortable with everyone yet.

Yes.

Have them check a urine specific gravity. Greyhounds frequently have higher kidney values than other breeds. If urine concentration is normal then the kidneys are fine... if first morning urine concentration is poor then treat for kidney disease.

This was my first thought too.

Most adult (age 3-4+) greyhounds are satisfied with a couple of low intensity exercise opportunities per day and will settle in the house and not be destructive. However, I would also say that most hounds prefer MORE activity than that... they just don't have an absolute need. You will want to find somewhere fenced where you can let a greyhound run off leash. There is just such joy in running for them that, to me, it is inadequate to not allow at least occasional romps. I have always camped and hiked with my dogs. My oldest is almost 12 now, and up until 2 years ago he still did 10 km full day hikes (relatively leisurely pace, but in the mountains so a lot of up and down). My younger dogs don't even bat an eye at a full day hike. I had rabbits long before I ever had greyhounds. We currently have 3 rabbits and 3 greyhounds, and we have fostered many hounds over the years. Work with your adoption group (ideally one that fosters dogs out first) and follow their recommendations on introducing your new hound to your cat, and chances are everything will be fine. I always recommend taking some precautions for the first few months while you get to know each other.

That said, our experience post-op was a huge one off. I have sent many dogs for surgery (mostly dachshunds) and I've never had one experience such a set back like we had. It was a huge roller coaster, but doesn't change my opinion. Surgery is typically the best treatment for any IVDD that is more than just moderate pain. Definitely if any neurologic deficits, even if mild. I could still be fighting with controlling his pain right now if I hadn't done surgery. But he is pain free now and can do everything he enjoyed previously. And if the paralysis had been permanent and I'd had to euthanize... that would have been devastating for me, but at least I wouldn't have to struggle with the knowledge that he was in daily pain. I think if I had another dog suffer a significant IVDD lesion I would proceed with surgery again. I would be nervous because of how the post-op period went with Summit, but it doesn't change what I know about the facts and typical outcomes... which is that most patients do quite well. Disclaimer: I did not read this entire thread, so not totally up to date on what's going on, I just noticed we were mentioned....

So shocked to see this. I hope the autopsy can provide you some answers and some closure. Run free sweet boy.

My experience is that LS is a diagnosis of exclusion in most cases. There is not a single definitive way to diagnose it. Clinical signs and palpation are not diagnostic, however imaging can have its limitations and grey areas as well unfortunately. Diagnosing LS is generally a matter of having an appropriate breed, clinical signs that fit, and ruling out other problems that can cause the same symptoms that have more definitive diagnosis. Is it a good bet in an older greyhound that it's probably LS? Yes, but they are not immune to other neurologic conditions that can present in the same way.