LBass

I'll echo the advice to take heart. My middle hound, Spirit, came to me after being found too shy and scared to be a good racing candidate. I've had him for almost 3 years now and he has blossomed beautifully. I've also had to learn to "read" him since he is not affectionate in the same way that my other two hounds are. With Spirit there is no kissing and no tail wagging; he is more subtle than my other hounds in the ways he shows his affection--wanting to be where I am, always meeting me at the door, the contented eye squint when I'm petting him. Learn to accept and treasure those subtle signs of affection and give your boy time. Four months is really not a long adjustment period. Spirit is not universally delighted to meet everybody and I have had to learn to respect that. If he is not happy being petting or approached by someone I intervene and explain that he is my shy boy and I don't push him to accept attention he is uncomfortable with. My other hounds will gladly absorb all the attention from strangers that Spirit doesn't want. Re: the accidents in the house...talk with your adoption group about house training techniques. You can also find loads ob posts here on GT about the tether method and other ways to approach house training. In the absence of a medical issue, accidents in the house with a fairly new dog is most likely that they just don't yet fully understand the concept. Try to relax. Watching them blossom is an absolute delight and it can go on for years! Spirit rarely plays so when I see him grab a toy or prance around asking for a romp it feels like a moment to treasure. He has become completely shameless when it comes to demanding petting. He is the boy who starts agitating when meal time is here and I'm not up and doing about. He vociferously disapproves of my use of the snooze alarm. Several weeks ago I saw him sprint across the backyard and peaked out to see what had caught his attention. I found him standing up on the fence to be petted by my neighbor's large son-in-law. My Spirit, who has always been leery of men--the larger and louder the more terrifying--has come so far. --Lucy

Another option is "Cushy Paws" from the Therapaws people. Cushy Paws The fit in the photo is quite generous but the booties come in S/M/L and a smaller size gives a sleeker fit. The booties have a grippy textured soul on the outside but the inside and the "sock" part of the boot is a lovely soft fleece. The fit is controlled with a Velcro and elastic band so they stay on fairly well. The top of the boot will fold down over the elastic band for a cute little cuff look. --Lucy

The vet who saw him and put him on antibiotics is a "locum" (I think that's the term--she doesn't work full time in the practice but she and a couple of other vets cover weekends for my regular vet while he is the only vet in the practice). I talked with our "real" vet this afternoon about Piper while I was there getting MoMo's amputated toe checked one week post amp. He thinks it may be teeth issues too. I am certainly hoping that teeth are the problem since that is easily fixable. Anyway, Piper is due for the big round of tests we do every 6 months. I'm going to take him in next Monday--he'll have just finished the 2 week course of antibiotics then--and he'll get a thorough check up with the vet who know him best and we'll send out his labs. Will get urinalysis, and fecal to r/o any parasites. I always get a full 6 panel thyroid and blood chemistry so that will be covered. I'll get the vet to check for any mechanical issues with swallowing though I've not seen any evidence of difficulty swallowing. Chris, I had not really thought of food preference as being an issue because he's just never been at all picky before. Still, that's worth a shot. They are on their 3rd bag of lamb and rice after years on chicken and rice so I'll get Piper back on chicken and rice and see if that makes a difference. I'm also adding a rotating array of enticements. Pepcid...how much and how often. please? Neither the vet's nor I are dismissing the possibility of painful teeth being the issue. His teeth have always been in pretty good shape. He had a dental (not a good one, unfortunately) when I adopted him 8 years ago and has not needed one until perhaps now. Thank you all so much for the thoughtful input. I don't know why this has me in such a panic. I don't usually borrow trouble, as they say. But this is Piper The Perfect and he is incredibly important to me. --Lucy

For the last couple of months Piper has been occasionally not finishing a meal, usually breakfast. He's lost about 4 pounds. I'm concerned because he has always been an enthusiastic and very non-picky eater. He is 10 and takes 2.5 grains of Phenobarbital twice a day and 320 mg of Potassium Bromide twice a day for idiopathic epilepsy and .6 mg of Soloxin twice a day for hypothyroid. His last thorough labs, in November, looked great. I'm going to have those repeated in the next couple of weeks (Pb & KBr levels, full thyroid panel, serum bile acids, CBC, etc.) He saw the vet on 5/7 because I wondered if the appetite issues were due to issues with his teeth. He does have a couple of teeth with some infection but his teeth, per the vet, are really not in terrible shape--she said, "I've seen greys with far worse teeth eating just fine.". He was given 2 weeks of antibiotics to take to see if that helped with the teeth and thus his eating. So far, a little over a week into the antibiotics, there has been no improvement in his appetite. I am worried about him, though I can't see anything other than the intermittent loss of appetite and resulting weight loss that I can put my finger on as a symptom. My question for the collective wisdom of GT is this: when I take Piper back to the vet what are the things I should be sure to have checked? What are the possible/likely causes for his loss of appetite? TIA, Lucy

So very glad that this is GONE! So very glad that this is GONE!

I am so very sorry that your sweet hound is gone. As others have stressed, you didn't fail him in any way. You did you r very best for him. Be as kind to yourself about this as you'd be if it had been someone else's tragedy. Warm thoughts for you as you grieve. --Lucy

Why waste words when there are perfectly good emotis to use? --Lucy

Checking in to see how Merlin and you are doing. Sending warm healing thoughts for your wizard.

Sending you and Merlin warm thoughts and healing energy. What a miserable experience.

I had such a hard time dealing with the idea that Piper could be having seizures when I was at work and I might never know and that I wouldn't be there for him if he clustered or got in trouble somehow. I still worry about that, but I finally just came to grips with the fact that I have to work and I can't bring him with me so I just have to find some measure of "trust in the universe" that he is going to be OK. For me, that has been one of the hardest part of managing Piper's seizures. I wish I had a solution for that tough issue but I don't. When he is clustering--and that has not happened in nearly 2 years--I stay with him. When he clusters he usually has a seizure about every 3 hours for 36-48 hours. Grueling, draining and horrible for both of us. Wishing you all the best in managing your girl's seizures. It is true that the vast majority of dogs with seizures manage the meds well, get decent seizures control from them, and live normal long happy lives. Your Nike and my Piper are going to be those nice average dogs. --Lucy

Wonderful news about the ultrasound!

Checking in for news and hoping its good. Kerry, it sounds like you have a wonderful vet and that helps so much with sorting out difficult and complex health mysteries. When will they have the results of the ultrasound? Don't feel too bad about checking with the desk after your long wait. I am way too passive and accepting and was once forgotten in the waiting room of a specialty vet practice for most of an afternoon. They were very kind and apologetic and all that, but it was a valuable lesson to me--a polite question at the desk would have saved me hours and spared poor Piper an exhausting afternoon. --Lucy

Piper has been taking Phenobarbital (160 mg) twice a day for his seizures. He takes Potassium Bromide as well. One of the typical side effects of Phenobarbital is that it can make dogs a bit clumsy (ataxia) and weak in the rear end. It also often increases the amount that dogs drink and thus pee out and can make them quite ravenous so you may also need to watch for unusual chewing activity as you see how Pb is going to affect your dog. Sometimes, after a couple of weeks the dog's body adjusts and adapts to the medication and problem side effects my decrease a bit. I noticed that when we were still increasing Piper's meds, looking for the optimal dose for him, that he had an adjustment period of a couple of week or more with each dosage increase. For Piper, I've found a bit of wobbliness is a price we have to pay for decent seizure control. Since you are new to dealing with seizures, I'll post my favorite links to excellent seizure info and support: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ This site also hosts a great email list for owners of epileptic dogs Good luck in managing your hound's seizures. --Lucy

Just catching up on this...Kerry, I hope you can get some rest while the vet cares for Merlin. Poor sweethearts...both of you. Sending warm healing thoughts for Merlin. I hope he'll be home with you tonight. --Lucy

Piper made the dog door easy for me, as he has made most things easy, bless him. He just seemed to "get it" and after a couple of days of holding the flap and tempting him with treats, he was fine. I think it helped him to know that I was on the other side of the flap even more than that there were treats to be had since he likes to be where I am. The other two hounds have picked it up immediately from watching Piper. Perhaps occasionally confine the indoor cats and prop the flap open a bit so they don't have to push so much? I like JAJ2010's idea of blocking the magnet for a bit if possible to make the process easier for them. Maybe manually help by moving hte flap just enough to break the magnetic seal and try to get them to push it the rest of the way and gradually reduce the assistance as they aget comfortable with going in and out? In terms of needing to see through the flaps--my dog doors have double flaps that are flexible and slightly see-through in that light comes through but they really don't allow the dogs to see through them in any meaningful way so I'm not sure that improved visibility will help, unless you think that is really throwing your crew for a loop. Do you have one hound who seems closer to "getting it" than the others? Maybe concentrate your training time and effort on that dog in the hope that s/he will train the others? Good luck! Piper says to tell them the "Get wif da program you guys! Try it. You'll like it!" --Lucy

I am so very sorry for your loss.

I have a similar situation--hounds and a cat. I uses regular baby gates (adjustable, pressure mounted and easy to take up & down). I stack one on top of the another across a hallway entrance to keep the cat in his part of the house when I'm away. At night I use a single pressure mounted baby gate across the bedroom door but I mount it about 8 inches up off the floor. This permits my cat to come and go at night and if need be to nip under the gate if one of the hounds is feeling playful (sometimes in the morning). baby gate link I uses these, though I don't have the extra tall or wide ones. They are sturdy and last very nicely. Sounds like you and Baron are doing great! Just as an explanation, I baby gate the dogs into the bedroom with me at night because I don't want epileptic Piper to leave the bedroom and have a seizure where I might not hear him. --Lucy

MoMo's healing is going pretty well. The stitches are holding so far and there is no discharge or foul smell. However, I'm having the dickens of a time keeping her off that foot. Daily bandage changes continue to reveal a small amount of dried blood on the gauze padding, so I'm afraid she's being too bouncy and active. The trouble is that she does it even in the house. She was spinning and jumping up on me this morning. I'm trying to keep a lid on her exuberance because I really want this pad to heal well. I may have to resort to keeping her leashed up even in the house. --Lucy

I'm so glad that you've got a caring compassionate vet as an alternative. Kudos to your lovely landlady as well. I'm sure that having access to the backyard will give Mable some relief. If the vet is uncomfortable with the thought of hulling all the corns, perhaps he could try hulling some and filing the rest? Sending you and Mable all the best thoughts and prayers that relief is on its way. Good luck with your research on corns. --Lucy

About the hulling...my vet had never done it before but he had heard of it. This is how he approached it. He had me soak MoMo's corn foot in an solution of epsom salts & water daily for several days (5) to soften her pad and the corn. I also put Bag Balm on it the pad to keep it moist between the soaks. Then Mo and I went in to the office and soaked that foot in an antiseptic & water solution for a few minutes. Then the vet sat down on the floor with me and we started the hulling procedure. The soaking had helped give us a clear visual demarcation between corn tissue and paw pad tissue. We had MoMo lie down on a towel on the floor. There was no anesthesia and she was only a tiny bit uncomfortable once during the procedure. He took a dental tool called an elevator (I think) and gently eased the corn tissue away from the healthy pad tissue, going around and around the corn, and going bit deeper each time around, just easing the corn away from the pad. After a quite a bit of this gentle seperation he was able to pull the corn out. There was a very little bit of blood and there probably shouldn't have been any but he and I were learning. If the hulling had worked for MoMo we were thinking that they'd order the dental tools for me (the elevators come in different sizes) and I'd do the hulling at home. Having watched it, I think I could have done it myself so it is really not a surgical technique at all, and is not something you should hesitate to try. Unfortunately, for MoMo the hulling didn't get us even a day free of limping from the corn and the limping it causes. However, clearly it is a technique that works for lots of dogs and the sheer number of corns your poor girl has makes this an appealing approach to at least try. The Abreva sounds like a good possibility to pair with the hulling. As for your vet...she was annoyed that you came back yet again for help with painful corns? My vet would have been so sorry we were having to come back for painful corns and would have been looking for a new approach to treating them. It might be time to consider looking for a new vet. No one knows everything but having a vet who is willing to research and consult with others and to willingly follow up on information you bring in is vital, IMO, when trying to manage serious health issues. A vet who is not compassionate and who is not willing to look beyond what he/she already knows is worse than useless. --Lucy

My heart goes out to you and poor Mable. What a nightmare for both of you. Let us know what your vet says, OK? I will mention one thing that I heard second hand. Apparently Dr. James Radcliff, who is a grey-experienced vet, mentioned at Sandy Paws using Emla Cream (a local anesthetic cream) to help with corn pain while you work your way through the various treatment and management option. I'm not sure whether it is OTC or prescription but it might be worth discussing with your vet. Also, I know what you mean about not wanting to leave the Therapaw booties on 24/7. Therapaw also makes "Cushy Paws" that have the padded bottom of the booties but the top part is a soft fleece. They are meant for indoor wear and I don't worry about leaving them on for long periods of time and just putting the Therapaws on for outdoor walks. http://www.therapaw.com/cushy-pawslippers.aspx MoMo is currently wearing a Cushy Paw over her bandaged foot for added cushioning and protection. --Lucy

MoMo had the second surgery to remove this corn yesterday and came through it beautifully. She was whiny when I picked her up at the vet's office and I was concerned that she was in pain. Later it became clear that she was mostly hungry. She settled to nap after eating a light supper, only getting up to take her meds and grab the chicken breast off my dinner plate. This morning she is her bouncy and happy self. She's still not putting much weight on that foot but I would not expect her to at this point since it must be quite painful still. The vet said that he's gotten 2+ millimeter margins of healthy tissue on the sides of the corn and had gone all the way down to the toe tendon so there is every reason to think that he got all the corn tissue. She's got antibiotics and pain meds and I"m to do daily bandage changes. I'm home with her today--ostensibly doing yard work on a gorgeous spring day but mostly nursing MoMo and keeping my fingers crossed that she is going to recover well and we'll never see that stinking corn again! --Lucy

4My2Greys, thank you for the information about Manuka honey. I'll be sure to get some since I think that the nursing care after Mo's surgery is going to be critical to her recovering well. Thank you all for the reports of good results and for sharing and venting about the PITA that is greyhound corns. I'm anxious to have this surgery safely behind her and I'm not looking forward to having to give breakfast to the other hounds tomorrow and not feed MoMo. The stink eye and the hurt looks will be an unpleasant way to start the day. I hope they are the worst part of the day for her and for me as well. Shermanator, I so appreciate your cautionary tale about poor Patton's experience. I've really struggled about this decision and I'll be kicking myself if we end up having to amputate the toe in the end. Sometimes it is so hard to know what the best decision is going to be. --Lucy

Too true. I do have a Therapaw for Mo and it does help when we're taking walks--she lived in the Therapaw at Sandy Paws. I don't like to leave it on her all the time however, and the poor girl even hops and limps in the house. Kitchen and bathroom floors are hard enough to bother her and sometimes even the carpeted surfaces. I'm going to set up the crate to get ready for leach walking and head out to lay in supplies of bandaging supplies. The vet mentioned daily dressing changes at a minimum and I want to be scrupulously careful with her post surgery care to give her the best chance of recovery. Thanks for sharing your experiences on the corn journey. --Lucy

MoMo has a corn on one of the two middle toes on her right rear leg. It first became apparent late in January. The vet and I decided to move her coming dental up to before Sandy Paws so he could remove the corn at the same time and get her some relief from the discomfort the corn was causing. The wretched thing (the corn, not MoMo ) was back within 10 days. The vet and I were both dismayed and surprised at the speed of return. We decided to try to hull the corn, hoping that hulling would be a good maintenance approach for the corn, giving her pain relief while I tried all the various remedies that work for some corn dogs but not on others--duct tape, Bag Balm, bee propolis, Abreva, etc. The hulling was done on 2/25. The vet and I sort of did it together and MoMo was a real trooper through what had to have hurt like the dickens. A week after the hulling she was at Sandy Paws, limping and wearing her Therapaw. Through all of this, she has not had even one day without pain and limping from the corn. Not only that, but to my eye the thing is getting bigger and bigger. There is a dark area that is growing back where we hulled the corn but now far more of the surrounding pad tissue feels hard, just like the corn area. So, I took her back to the vet yesterday. He confirmed my observation that the corn now occupies at least 2/3 of the pad on the affected toe. We talked about options for our next step...try another more drastic corn removal or amputate the toe. I told Dr. McCravy what Dr. Radcliff had said about corns at Sandy Paws--that his best results with corns has been to remove them but that it requires going deep down almost to the toe tendon--and that is what we decided to try. Neither of us wants to amputate the toe unless there is no other option because it is a weight bearing toe and, if Mo is prone to corns I don't want to start removing toes she may really need if her future is corny (sorry, I couldn't resist ). Anyhow, he is concerned that it may be difficult to successfully close the tissue of the pad with stitches after the removal of the corn because of the sheer size of this blasted corn and the nature of paw pad tissue (not as stretchy as other tissue). He is still confident that her pad will heal even if the stitches fail us and that is should not cause the pain and limping that the corn does. Obviously, we'll do our best with the surgery and nursing to keep the stitches in place. I'm wondering if I may need to crate Mo when I'm at work so that I can leash walk her for potty trips rather than let her use the dog door. Anyhow, this long wailing post is mostly to ask for good thoughts for MoMo in Thursday as she has her second anesthesia in about 5 weeks. I wish I could have avoided surgery again so soon but I am also not comfortable having her limping and in obvious pain with no relief. The vet did send out the initially removed corn tissue for analysis and it is indeed "just" corn tissue--with the rapid rate of growth I had been worried about some sort of weird cancer. --Lucy