XTRAWLD

Rice has worked for us. Cook a bit up and you can feed it solely or add it kibble. It has been our most successful D stopper.

Is the fat in the molasses and oil? Allergic to kelp too unfortunately....you name it, he's prolly allergic to it. I thought the oatmeal and wheat germs is where the bulk of the "fattening" comes from.

The raw he's been getting is pretty lean and mean. He hasn't been gaining or keeping weight on while on it.

Substitutions would be appreciated for wheat germ and oatmeal, maybe even the Total cereal. Kasey is finally great with allergies now that he's been on raw, but he's such a lean machine that he's losing weight. He's allergic to the items I mentioned, so suggestions would be appreciated. No soy either, and gluten free if possible. Thanks!

I vote for Vitamin E oil as well. I had to nurse some wounds on myself last year and to help reduce scaring I used the Vitamin E oil. Even encourages hair regrowth! Comes in a little glass bottle with plastic applicator (bought mine at Shoppers Drug for $14). It's goopy and annoying, that's the only problem. You wouldn't want him to rub up against a couch or something....it's easily removed by water, but it can be a bit annoying, but it does work! Alternatively even Vitamin E lotion might work....but the oil will do wonders.

I've noticed that with Kasey too, and I honestly am not sure why. I've been monitoring it for a while, and a couple of the pads are nearly "worn" for lack of a better term. We didn't have a change of walking surface either. I wonder if it's an age thing....interesting that another person has noticed the same thing!

Scary. I'm afraid I'm not much help to guide you with what to do next. I think he should not sleep on the bed for a few nights perhaps. Im sure others will have more/better suggestions. Kasey has never growled at us like that, what you describe is certainly worrisome. We are boss on our bed, so its good he must think that of you since he got off when you told him to. I wonder if he was still asleep when he did that to you and your voice snapped him out of it.

Look at him doing the burn around the yard! What a spunky guy. I'm so sorry for your sudden loss. I'm sure you will keep those memories close to your heart.

That was very touching. God speed Hurley.

For a little nick (thought you said little in your original post) that continues to bleed, I'd recommend finding surgical tape that sticks to itself type thing, usually clear. Kasey had his ears scraped by the vet to determine if he had scabies and to stop the bleeding after applying pressure, just out tape on it. If you are able to get it to stick to the tip of the fur on his ear, you might be able to have it stay on long enough to stop bleeding. Worked for us. Kasey regularly scratches his ears to bleed due to allergies and I always have polysporin on hand to make sure it doesn't get infected.

I could tell Ryder was off for this whole week, and he unfortunately did not improve, since my original post a few days ago. We went to chiro yesterday. Dr. Matt asked Ryder to walk in the parking lot to determine his limp. He asked for all his background info, where I explained his previous limp from impacting his knee of our stairs years ago. He was happy we were giving him GLM and to continue to do so. He could tell immediately what Ryder's problem areas were, and performed a couple other simple tests to find out what is bothering him. He got down on the floor with Ryder and made sure he was very comfortable with him being around. Ryder tends to be shy with men. He made three area adjustments while Ryder munched away on dehydrated liver treats I was holding. I don't think I will ever get that smell out of my hands now. He has treated greyhounds before and 12 are current clients, all are being treated for nearly the same issues. It is determined that it is the racing life catching up to Ryder and his reasoning was explained to us very clearly. I'm very happy that Dr. Matt took the time to educate us and answer all of our questions. After his final adjustment and roughly 5 minutes later, Ryder's face changed. He had a happy face on. He seemed very content and it was almost like a "relief" face...."ahhhhhh". We all noticed the change. We walked out of the room, and Ryder carried his head higher than he has been for the past couple weeks. (He always seems to keep it down, I thought it was a non confidence thing, but perhaps a little of it is to alleviate pain). Dr. Matt told us he will likely lay low for about 24 hours and would like to see him twice a week for the next month at least. We have 4 appointments booked and visible results as far as alleviating his limping should be seen in 4-6 sessions. I may have not have been a big believer in this type of "medicine" before. I went through physio last year for an injury and I think that experience changed my perception regarding other methods to relieve pain and stress. Seeing the look on Ryder's face yesterday was all it took for me to know we had done the right thing. I'm somewhat mad at myself that I put it off for so long and didn't take him sooner. But more importantly, we have now gone and done it. Today Ryder has been holding his head up when walking, and he has a bit more bounce in his step. While we are not and should not expect results overnight, he's clearly exhibiting signs of a happy dog, and that is all that matters.

Gross. I just learned my new thing for the day!

Soak with epsom salts a few times a day for 5-10 mins at a time for about a week. It hopefully will come out on its own or you can help express it once it's softened down.

I notice only Ryder does this when getting petted lol not necessarily at the sight of food. Kasey never has.

Kasey is allergic to chicken but not turkey. Apparently it's not the same family. Duck however is. Good luck!

Ugh I hate to see these. Is it just a US recall?

Thanks folks. It's not all doom and gloom. We will get this fixed. Thanks for all your thoughts and input.

He's got a half hour chiropractor appt set for Saturday afternoon for assessment and treatment. I will update with any findings/results. He here is on our Easter Weekend Road Trip!

This compression in the spine is interesting. Ryder has always walked with an arched back, like a spring that's loaded and ready to go off. We thought it was normal for him, he's very small and compact..... I have put an inquiry into a local chiropractor. I put off consultation after his hind leg limp disappeared, but because it's recurring now in another leg, I think Ryder has now given me another sign.

Thanks folks. No speculation on what it could be though?

So I'm not sure the cause of it this time, but Ryder is now limping on his left front, prominent when getting up from lying down and at the beginnings of a walk. The more he walks, the more his muscles heat up and it's less noticable. Other than visible limping, he's just fine - properly eating, no yelping, etc. He has been carefully treading around the house though (laminate floors with rugs here and there) - not sure if he fell when we weren't home or not.... The leg or joints are not warm/hot to the touch, his pads are fine. He's had a little limp in his back hind for a year or so which I have been treating with Green Lipped Mussel added to his food, which has actually gotten rid of that limp, but it took forever. It's supposed to work on joints....I figure he should be recovering from this front leg limp any day now, but it's been about a week and only mild improvement. What could this be in a dog not even 5 years old? Arthritis? His annual checkup is next month. If it's not better by then, I will talk to the vet, but I'm really not sure what they will suggest either. Thoughts?

We only had Kasey for a year when we took our first vacation. It was 2.5 weeks long and we left him with a friend that also had a greyhound at the time so she was aware of their quirks, they even had the same vet! She was made aware of his routine, that he requires a cookie before bedtime, etc. Knowing this trip was on the horizon, we continued to crate Kasey so that she could continue crating him at her house just making it easier. She emailed us updates throughout the time we were gone, how much fun he was having with the other greyhound, that they played and did this and that in the yard, or they went on a road trip, etc. We were very happy to read he was having a good time, and seemingly not missing us! The kicker was getting a Happy Father's Day email from "Kasey" to his daddy. When we went to pick him up, I have never seen a propeller tail move as fast as Kasey's. He was delighted we came home, clearly he remembered us, and he was very well taken care of in our absence. In fact, I don't think he wanted to leave when we first took him to the car, but on the ride home you just knew he was happy to be going back to a sense of normal! I think the important thing is for the caretaker to keep them stimulated while you are away, and sticking as close as possible to your normal routine. They will remember you when you return, you will still be the best of friends, think of it as a mini vacation for them too. I know for a fact Kasey had WAY more fun on his vacation than he does just sitting around at home on any given day. Don't think of going away as a bad thing.

Congrats on your effort. I do not have much more to add, however continue working on it. Great job!! I do however see that the WHEN question wasn't answered. I wonder if you should be returning when he is content (maybe step 3?)...but I really don't know.

Congrats! Happy for you.

When we trying to resolve Kasey's allergies, a vet tech pointed out the baldness and we said its not really a concern to us. There was a drug she wanted us to try for his allergies and the benefit along with increased hair growth was to create a stronger skin for a better environmental barrier, so it was really a 2 for 1 deal. Wouldn't you believe it, the meds helped his fur grow back thicker on the rest of his body and didn't some fur start growing on the bald areas. I would never treat baldness on its own, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the result. Great success story though OP, with simple treatment and great results, nice to know there is some hope out there should people be concerned with baldness.