Riverhound

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry. She was beautiful.

Rob and I lost Joe today. He developed hind end paralysis at around 3 in the morning. I settled him back in bed and gave him Xanax to calm him. This morning, we went through all of the possibilities and options with our vet, who I've known since I was a child. We all agreed that our stubborn, independent boy wouldn't do well with more mobility issues than he has had. Joe was the best dog. He was a giant PITA, a lovebug, and a goofball. We fell in love with each other at first sight, and more every day. Joe was easy. He loved everyone (except maybe Brees!) and was always ready to go for an adventure. I could take him anywhere and know he'd roll with it; crowds, trains, fireworks, everything was ok except thunder. He hated thunderstorms. During storms, he always got as close to me as he could, and it was the horrible thunder phobia that led to him being allowed in the bed at night. How could I not let the panting ball of fear snuggle up with me? I'm grateful for his fear now. The Xanax I had on hand for storms made his last night peaceful. This morning, Joe had accepted his limits and was comfy in his bed. We played bitey-face and he got belly rubs. There was no pain. A friend helped me get him to the car, and I took him to the vet, where he was loved on by everyone before we let him go. I will always miss my boy, but I am grateful for the time we had together, and more grateful that his passing was gentle. We were very lucky. Joe, Mommy loves you.

Marc, I'm truly sorry he's taken this turn. You are doing so well by this boy.

Brees (7) is healthy as a horse. She gets hurt plenty, but that's because she's crazy and chases anything that moves. Joe has had hind end problems since we got him at age four (he's ten now). Insurance covers the x-rays he gets when I worry too much, and meds when he needs them (which isn't all the time, even now). He had a major stomach upset problem about 2 years ago that required overnight care. I think it wouldn't have gotten that bad if I'd taken him in earlier, but I was busy with work and blah, blah, blah. Anyhow, you want to get insurance, but you would likely want that for any dog.

Dammit. I'm so sorry, Irene.

FWIW, OP's dogs do have insurance.

This sucks.

Yup. When the zombie apocalypse comes, Brees will keep us fed. The different temperaments are amazing, aren't they? Joe likes to chase critters, but Brees LIVES for it. I think Joe could be taught to ignore cats; he's distractable. Brees, never. If it's furry and it runs, it's food. She has figured out that small dogs aren't munchies, and I'm good with just that. I hope the harness/martingale combo makes things easier for you and more clear to Archer. Brees has learned that watching the food-creature is fine, chasing it is not. We do the stalking thing someone mentioned above. I don't feel there is a way to get dogs with this kind of drive to ignore critters completely, so I don't try. As long as my shoulder stays it its socket, we're ok! He's just gorgeous, BTW. I bet Hester is laughing his rear end off over all of this.

I understand wanting to stick with the martingale, because I did too, for Brees (she's batsh$& crazy prey driven). I gave up a few months after we got her, because we were going to GIG and I knew would help to keep something bad from happening. I ordered the freedom harness from 2hounds, and it worked wonders. We used it for about 6 months, until she got used to paying attention to me. I didn't use the front clip. I just don't like it. Brees was uncomfortable in the harness for the first couple weeks. It may be the way I had it adjusted, but there was a little chafing. After a couple weeks, that went away, and her only annoyance was not being able to do what she wanted to do. As I said above, I was able to switch back to a martingale fairly quickly. The harness saved my back and her neck. I know you're a strong guy, but why should you have to overpower your dog with brawn when you can do it with brains? The harness is also good if a smaller person has to walk he dog, or if you get injured. I looked at it as a training tool, but a more consistent one than I am able to be. Link below. I wish you luck with whatever method you decide to use. http://www.2houndsdesign.com/Freedom-No-Pull-Harness/ This is the thread where I asked WTH to do about her: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/284298-i-think-i-need-a-crutch-for-gig/?fromsearch=1

Noooooo. I need to get the extra coverage first! I'll get the coverage, wait a month, then talk to the vet. Joe has always been wonky, so I'm concerned they may not want to cover it. Can't say I'd blame them in this case, but I'm still gonna try.

Thanks! I'll buy the add on before talking to the vet.

Has anyone had success or problems getting it covered? I'm thinking it might be something to try for Joe. (He came through Grapehounds well, but I was very careful with him.)

That is EXACTLY what I want. Thanks! I've never used trazodone, so I asked google. It gave me this: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4414248/ The leg is still quite swollen, poor guy. I've been alternating ice and moist heat a couple times a day. Grapehounds is in two weeks, dammit.

Reba can have anything she wants. Joe is back on three legs. I have a bag of frozen green beans on it.

Whoot! Joe has decided the front leg works today. I'm still going to restrict him quite a bit, but I don't think he needs to be knocked out with 3 1/2 working legs. I give credit for his recovery to Irene (Neighsayer). I picked up doggie lift slings from her this morning, which ensured that he will never need help again.

How does she react to the Valium? Joe just decided he needed to potty and pranced to the door on four legs. When we came back in, he was using 2 1/2. I think I do have to go the X-pen route, but I still want more knock out pills of some kind or another. The next couple weeks are gonna suck!

He's on 100 mg of Rimadyl once a day and 50 mg of Tramadol every 8 hours. I just gave him some Xanax because of the weather. I skipped tonight's Tramadol; I've never used it with Xanax. Is it ok to combine them? I could x-pen or crate him, but he'll still bounce every time we get up to pee. I'm a lot more worried about the hind end than the front leg. The front will recover. The back is always "off" and has been since we got him. I really don't want a simple sprain in the front making the back end bad for the next 3 months.

Freaking dogs chased a cat and hopped the little fence into my vegetable garden the other day. Joe tweaked his right front leg, badly. He was getting around on three legs nicely until this morning, but now his left hind leg is going. He wants to be active and do things, and tries to bounce every time he thinks something good may happen. We're keeping him off the couch, I made a ghetto ramp out of a door for the steps off the porch, and he's not going upstairs. Tramadol does not make him blotto. Xanax is good, but I'm wondering if the horrible immobilizing properties of Ace might make it useful right now. Has anyone done anything like this before? It's kind of like giving benedryl to a baby on a plane... I know that "we" don't like Ace for greyhounds. I tried it on him once and hated it. He's thunder phobic, so I wouldn't give it when a storm is coming. I also don't want him out of his head when we aren't around. Anyone have ideas?

Sonofab$&@$!

Ours got their first doses last month, with no problems. I actually bought it months ago, but was afraid to try it.

WOW! What a difference! I'm so sorry Throp is going through all this mess, but thank you for posting everything you have. Threads like this are what make GT such an amazing resource for weird medical stuff.

Goddamn.

I've been getting increasingly annoyed with frontline. I have a dose of Bravecto in stock for each dog that I've been afraid to give. This thread makes me feel more confident.