XTRAWLD

I THINK I originally had Kasey at 600mg a day, but I felt it was TOO much so we scaled it back (he was also on pred). So I started to try 100mg 2x a day, and moved him up to 3x a day. 200 3 times a day I felt was too much and I realized even he was most comfortable was 150mg 3x a day for a long while. I actually had them make up 150mg capsules since that really worked best. He got a bit of the shakes that was a side effect of the gaba as he was coming off it, so I tried to keep his dosages low and consistent and 150mg was his magic number. I'm assuming Wally was diagnosed with LS?

WOW. What a fuzzy face. That first pic is fabulous. She looks like she has some pretty squishable cheeks! Squeeeeeee

Kasey rarely finished his bowl, if ever. For many years, he was free fed before Ryder showed up. Ryder is a garberator, so Kasey had to learn to eat it or lose it, and I ended up switching them onto a schedule. Kasey however was not a big eater as it was, so still it was rare for him to ever finish a bowl of kibble. Some dogs just don't think food is very important! Raw was a different story however, never missed a meal unless he was sick. Things are still very very new for your pup and things will fall into place. Don't worry, she won't starve if she misses breakfast. That means she'll hopefully certainly eat dinner!

Good stuff. Provided you don't care about the smell, you might want to get your monies worth with whatever you bought. Now you know that Tumeric is the cause, you can finish off whatever you got and stop when it runs out naturally.

Super cool! Do you know what the activity level of a greyhound should be - i.e. how do you know what you are aiming for as a goal? You've given me an idea about the treadmill though. How would I go about searching for one available at a daycare that I could use? I have forever been longing to get Ryder on a treadmill and work on that at home, but the fact that they are heavy and expensive have held me back because if he doesn't like it, the return would be crazy (and maybe they wouldn't even take it back!)

What about lentils? I don't know if they are too high in protein however for a kidney pup.

Well isn't that a kick in the teeth.

I wonder if there is some bit of LS happening. Do you find his back end drooping if he stands? Often signal to that back area gets "blocked" when there is LS so that might explain the not being able to hold bladder or know when he's peeing. LS (lumbosacral stenosis) is common in older, male greyhounds. I also always suggest if seniors aren't on supplements, that it helps a great deal to get them on something for their joints. It certainly can't hurt.

Cold weather makes my boys rather sprite! But certainly it puts a hamper on outdoor activities, so I try to engage a serious round of play to get some of the energy and boredom out. There's still lots of pee mail out there to sniff!

This is all good info. I guess I will just have to try again to do them more often, it's just there is nothing that I can grind, it starts to bleed almost immediately. His last dental in Feb 2015 the vet cut back his nails while he was under, and really didn't cut them back that much further. Every one of them had blood smeared on the end. He gets 4 walks a day 10-30 mins depending on the route - and definitely not that long in the winter with freezing temps. I know though that walking on the pavement/sidewalk, does nothing. Thanks all.

Well Tumeric didn't smell like cat pee to me, but boy Ryder stunk to high heaven. Less than a week and he was back to normal doggy smell.

Kasey was on a very low dose of pred for most of his life, even during his platelet drop. What is your dosage and how frequent? On a side note: I'm gobsmacked you have a Kasey (mine passed in August) AND a Ryder that passed in Feb (mine is alive and well). What an absolute coincidence (and that they are both spelled the same)

I do Ryder's when he is laying down. In the dobe pics pup is standing but perhaps that's to show angle?

The nail might be getting too hot which is why she's pulling away. You are hitting the quick when you see blood. I don't do da Facebook so that why I'm asking on here

No experience with that but during chemo Kasey's platelets dropped dramatically and all I kept focusing on was feeding him iron rich foods or Vitamin B12 foods, commonly lentils and spinach are good for these. Lentils might actually firm up his stool a bit because of the fibre. Re dehydration, I've always snuck in some low sodium beef broth and rice to encourage drinking. Thinking of you.

My goodness. Well firstly, it appears you have cats so.....Kasey would smell like cat pee because he would often just drag his body along the grass and pick up the smell. Perhaps they sprayed somewhere maybe and she's rubbing up against it? Any fungus in her toes? I second a tomato like bath, similar to deskunking, but really you'd have to treat the problem, especially if it's recurring. I agree also some antibiotic if she is smelling funky! Anything you've added to her diet recently? I know when I was giving Tumeric to Ryder he absolute reeked! It just came right out of his pores. Any additives or supplements you've been giving her? I only ever did skin scraping on Kasey's ears when he was beginning his allergy downturn as they thought it could apparently be scabies, so I understand why if there are no lesions present why they might not do that.

2016 resolution: Get Ryder's nails down to a proper length! I grind his nails. I learned with Kasey that greyhound nails are too tough for me to cut with clippers, and I don't like the splintering either. Ryder is not the biggest fan of grinding but he tolerates it, whereas Kasey used to just fall asleep during his pawdicure. I do not have to grind his nails too far to already get to the quick. We are currently at a 6 week grinding schedule on growth since his quick is really long. I know that the more you do, the more the quick will recede but for some reason, this has not worked on him. I tried grinding a little bit each week, but really I can't get very far until I hit the quick. I'm also thinking I might be shaping his nails wrong, and that might be contributing to the length of the nails, the length of the quick and potentially his occasional limping. Shots of well trimmed normal nails are appreciated, or a diagram of the proper shape a greyhounds nail should look like. 2016 = shorter nails for Ryder with the help of GT

Great tribute. I too know all too well trying to fix things and being the most humble of servants. Thinking of you and all the pain you are going through. Be kind to yourself.

Oh Murray. What an inspiration. Thinking of you during this time. I'm so sorry.

Kasey as a white dog had it. Did it bother me, sure. Did it bother him, not one bit! I only wiped his mouth down after every meal, and during baths he got scrubs. Some days it would be worse than others but it was nothing that got out of hand and his whole snout became brown or anything. It's life with dogs. You do realize that some hounds have more of a ph build up than others, this leads to why some have extreme tartar build up and some have gleaming white toofers. Some no matter how much you brush, always have very bad teeth. Therefore perhaps the overwhelming staining you are seeing is a precursor to an underlying dental hygiene issue. I really don't think staining on the mouth is a biggie. It's just a sign you need to be diligent about brushing teeth! I wouldn't shave off the fur - you might end up with a whole different issue; dry skin, sores....the fur is there as a barrier.....

The easiest organs that worked for me were chicken hearts. Not too small, not too big and didn't have to cut anything up! There is a local chicken plant that I picked that up from. By the case load. Might be hard to find in stores though. It's not something regularly stocked next to steaks sort of thing.

I'm not one to suggest on giving up on an animal, but she just might not be suited to you and your home and your routine. She might be better suited with someone that is home all the time.....I only suggest this because of risk of injury to her and that it's in her best interest for safety and that leaving her uncrated and unsupervised doesn't solve anything either. Clearly she doesn't like the crate and at the moment, it sounds like that is the only option you are giving her regardless of the training you are doing.

My Kasey was allergic to many things, primarily but not limited to chicken, and his sores were all located on his head and neck. After many food trials and blood test, we determined Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish worked best for him. It's an LTD diet, but you are sort of shooting at a wide target area with a tiny pellet gun by not identifying the exact ingredient she is triggering on. She might be allergic to fish as well for all you know, but you could give it a whirl. I would not recommend going "exotic" like Kangaroo unless you have exhausted all of your other options. If you are really concerned, get her on a z/d Science Diet that eliminates nearly everything, and go from there.

This happened not too long ago to someone else on the forum and I suggested it was Bell's Palsy (having a human friend experience it). Apparently the vet agreed with that suggestion on that grey so I know it can affect canines. Are those symptoms similar?

Daaaaaawwwww