Anne
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Posts posted by Anne
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I am so sorry. Godspeed Outlaw.
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At age 2, my dog would get the round of shots my vet would recommend. After age 2, the only thing I give is a three year Rabies vac until about age 7 or 8 and then I don't give shots at all.
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I think you are very lucky to have a vet who cares enough not only about the dogs she treats, but the humans who love those dogs, to give you such a great explaination of your dogs treatment at her clinic. From what your vet wrote, I think they did everything they could for your dog. I know how much my vet hates to lose a dog, I've been there when it happened, and the entire office was devistated. Back east I was at the clinic when a cat went into cardiac arrest after waking up from surgery and I watched two vets try to save that kitty, they failed and they were very upset.
No matter how much it hurts when we lose pets, the majority of us do it all over again... why, because they give us such wonderful unconditional love, and it's obvious to me, that you and your Mom adored your greyhound. And while her time with you wasn't as long as you would have wanted, how lucky both of you were to find each other.
I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know how much it hurts to lose one without warning.
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Many many prayers coming for Sonie.
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When my precious bridge boy Frasier lost over 25 (26 I think) teeth at once, he did very well. 2 doses of pain meds and then he was good to go. He missed on day of meals and then ate his normal food (raw, but I ground his up for him) and was like a different dog without all those nasty teeth. Like your dog, he came to me with horrible teeth, I tried for 6 months to save some of them (brushed twice a day and so forth) and it made no difference at all. He did great and I"m sure Miles will too.
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Sounds like it might have been a leg cramp. My dogs have done that before and it scares teh heck out of me, but they are fine in a bit. And speaking from experience, leg cramps are worthy of the GH SOD, they hurt!
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I am so very very sorry.
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Since he's gotten used to it gradually, I'm inclined to think he's ok as long as he has lots of water available and the air is moving.
I live in the middle of the desert and when my air conditioner died a couple of years ago, I had several fans going and it quickly got up into the low 90's here and we were all fine, the dogs seemed a lot less bothered by it than I was.
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I'm so very sorry. Godspeed Ivy.
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OMG, I am so very very sorry, my heart is breaking for you.
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I'd for sure try the diet etc. I agree with Diane, a raw diet might be ideal. Having had a lot of ear infections as an adult, they HURT very badly, so if you can't control it with diet and drugs, I'd for sure have to consider the surgery. Dogs adapt well to things like deafness and blindness, and you'd have time to work with him on hand signals before the surgery. So I wouldn't completely rule it out, but would keep it on the back burner as a last option senario.
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My poodle had cronic ear infections when he was a pup and did have some kind of pretty expensive surgery for it, can't remember exactly what it was (was about 9 years ago). He did well and he can still hear and has not had a single ear infection since.
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My Cali had one growing out of one of her pads on her front right foot, one day it was there, didn't seem to cause pain and the next day it was gone, I am guessing she took care of it herself! No blood, no apparent pain and now, thankfully, it's gone. Freaked me out when I first saw it, looked just like a toenail growing out of the pad of her foot.
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Many prayers for Jake. Give big smooches to all dogs when you can.
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One of my dogs had to be made to throw up and I used peroxide and water mixed.
At 4am that next morning she awakened me throwing up coffee ground emesis... bloody vomit that looks like coffee grounds, you'd know it by the smell. I called a friend who worked at the E-vet. My friend told me to give her 1 prilosec OTC (as my friend put it, the "big guns") and I continued them for about 2 weeks and she was fine. Had I taken her in, that's what they would have used for her. The peroxide can eat up their tummy's for the time it's in there before the dog throws it up.
I've had to make one other dog throw up by using peroxide since then and I just start them on the prilosec otc after the ordeal is over. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry.
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Honestly, I would NOT give him the whole pill. I would give him the 1/2 pill earlier. If you still think you need more, break the half that you didn't give and only give small pieces of it. I find that the 25 mgs. will totally zonk most greyhounds. I use this drug a lot and find that it's best to start out with small doses and titer them upwards in small incriments if you need to do so. I did this recently for my dogs separation anxiety.
I want my dogs to be able to react to the world around them, get up when someone comes to the door, go potty, eat if needed etc. I just want them to be less anxious about being left alone or storms or fireworks. The only reason I would drug so much that the dog was out of it is if that dog were the type who tried to jump through the windows when anxious or terrified etc.
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This article was brought up in an earlier thread about storm phobias. When I talked to my vet about it, she told me that the author is one of the most respected veterinary behaviorists around. I hope it helps you help Fletcher.
I've read this before and it's a very good article. I did try Xanax for storm phobias/separation anxiety and we were up to the 1-1.25mg level without any results at all in my worst dog (60 pounds). For long term use for separation anxiety it would have to be given every day, twice a day and I really hate to drug two dogs, even when I'm not going to be gone, every single day.
I honestly don't see the paralytic response to ACE unless you go up to the 25mg dosages, and then maybe and I don't have to give that much. But my dogs get up and react rationally to normal stuff like someone knocking on the door, eating, going out to potty etc. but just don't seem to care about me leaving or about the thunder or fireworks with the ace.
I'd really rather not have to drug them at all, but this has been such a HUGE improvement with the poop issues that I can't see not using what is so obviously helping them, especially the one with the bloody stools. So at this point, Ace has been a Godsend for my dogs.
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I do since all mine are seniors and it's easier for them. I think your doctor is probably correct though, that's the latest that I had heard as well.
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I use Ace for two of my dogs for separation anxiety and thunder phobia. There is nothing paralyzed about them at all ever. I have used it for fireworks phobia and thunder phobia for years and just started using it for the separation anxiety. My dogs are a little stoned maybe, but they eat their meals and when things quiet down they go outside and potty and then just come back in and lay down and go to sleep. I have tried everything from rescue remedy to holistic capsules and pills and liquids, to valium, to xanax, to prozac and others I can't remember right now. Ace is the most forgiving and the ONLY one that really works. I start the dosage titering at 2.5mgs and then 5 and then 7.5 and then 10 etc. and so forth, and I do this when I'm not leaving and we aren't having fireworks or thunder, it's simply to gage their reaction to the drug.
Currently I give my one dog 10mgs and another dog 5 mgs. and they both just chill out and don't let life bother them when I leave or when there are horrible monsoon storms here. My vet recommended that I go through the doses to find the right dose for them.
My one dog has separation anxiety so bad that she would frequently have bloody liquid stools a few hours after I had left her... there are 5 dogs here, so she's got plenty of company. It was getting so bad that I was afraid that she had ulcerative collitis or IBD. With the first dose of Ace, she had not had one single liquid stool or bloody stool, not one in over a month. They were happening 2-3 times per week. I cannot tell you what a relief it must be to her to not have the pain that these stools much have been reacting from or the anxiety and fright for her. And it's a HUGE relief for me too.
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I'm so sorry, no matter how it happens, death hurts.
I think you were probably very lucky to have him for so long with his heart murmer and in great shape and a dog who was loving life. It sounds to me as though you did all that you could and everything right for him.
Many years ago I had a saluki, he was a wonderful boy and one night late he was snoozing next to me on the couch and when I went to get him up to go to bed, he was gone. He went so silently and easily that I never heard or saw anything at all. It was hard because I didn't know he was sick and he didn't act it ever, not even as he died. I'm grateful he had an easy death, but it was heartbreaking none the less.
I've put two of my greyhounds down in the last 3 years, that hurts a lot too, it just plain hurts when you love them so much and they have to leave.
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I'd call the vet, he might be able to change her ATB's to something that will work better. Sounds like this isn't the right ATB to me. Keflex is a great broad spectrum ATB, but it's not always the right one. I've given Keflex to my dogs with terrible sensitive tummys it didn't seem to bother them.
But to be extra safe, I'd call your vet if I were you.
Good luck and big hugs to Lilly!!
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I can't help but wonder if a lot of data has been lost because so many generations of NGA and other racing bred hounds didn't live out a full life in the past. No one was keeping track of how they died once they were past their racing careers
No one keeps track of how they die now.
Most of the statistics you see about this or any other breed are in casual owner surveys or are stats for dogs who are seen at university veterinary clinics. So, even with the best of intentions by the reporters, there is some skewing.
Not to say it isn't a serious disease, but.
BatMom is right, these statistics are skewed, not on purpose, but just because of the way things are.
Also, I always hate to add this to these types of threads, but we ALL have to die from something. Humans, dogs, cats, birds, bugs...none of us live forever. And if you live long enough, there's a good chance cancer is going to getcha. Our cells just weren't meant to reproduce infinitely.Cancer is the disease of old people, old dogs and old cats and old any/everything. Yes, younger people and animals get it, but not at the same rate as elderly people/animals do.
Heather's right.
Cancer is more prevelent in humans now than ever before, of course, we are living longer as a whole than we ever did before.
It should also be noted that most if not all the studies quoted come from University vet clinics. While I won't say that greyhound owners are any more caring of their dogs than other breeds or mixed breeds, the fact that the OSU study is run by a greyhound specialist and that greys are also a prvelent breed in Florida may have skewwed the results somewhat. Sites like greytalk are a godsend for those of us with this wonderful breed but how mant other dog owners have no idea of the resources available and research on going and just decide the best thing to do for a severely ailing pup it to euthanize. No reports, no studies, no intervention', not because they care less but because the information isn't readily available unless you know where to look.I have seen many post from people on this site looking for info on OSA, but how many vets know of the OSU program before some greyhound owner tells them to check with DR. C. All the above points are very valid but I think we risk scaring off potential adoptors if we focus too heavily on these type of statistics.
Average human lifespan is 80 years, average canine lifespsan 10-15. Love them and accept their unconditional love for as long as you have them.
Yup, exactly. And it's not going to change much. If we cure cancer, there will be another disease to take it's place. Organs of animals/humans only last so long and then they can't continue to keep working.
I have 4 greyhounds, I've had 2 die in the last 3 years. One from LP and one from Osteo. So far, I've lost 50% of my greyhounds to osteo. I've had small cancerous growths removed from 3 of my dogs, the one who died of LP (when he was 7), Cali my 14.5 year old (when she was 6) and Phantom who died of Osteo this past January (when he was about 6). So cancer happens to all kinds of ages, some is worse than others and some is fatal faster than others.
All this talk makes me wonder what the incidence of osteo in humans is and what the average age is. Osteo is devistating in humans as well as isn dogs. Nasty stuff.
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My Phantom weighed at or 3-5 pounds below what he raced at. I know for a fact that his trainer (who is now a good friend) kept her dogs at the highest possible weight for racing. And honestly, he looked a tad pudgy at his retirement weight which was below his racing weight.
I have a little girl who really never raced. She's never looked heavy a day in her life, no matter how much I do or don't feed her, her weight never varies more than a pound. She does eat as much as my 90 pound boy and there's a 30 pound difference between them. Just like with humans, it's all individualized and depends on many different components such as metabolism, level of activity, level of muscle vs. fat on their bodies and even stress levels and so forth. I trust my vet when she tells me my dogs look good or look chubby, she's always been right.
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6 weeks for my sweet precious Phantom, from dx and first limp until pain was too much for oral meds.
Bella Outlaw 7/5/98-9/3/09
in Remembrance
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I am so sorry. Godspeed Outlaw.