RedHead

Thanks...I have gauze and vetwrap, but since the wounds aren't bleeding much I have kept them unbandaged. Are these kinds of things better left open, or should I wrap them?? Teague is doing fine, he is limping a bit due to his elbow, but is otherwise okay.

We were just on our way for our walk this morning, and on the way to the trail Teague jumped up on a snowbank along the sidewalk to sniff. He jumped down and landed straight onto a patch of ice and totally wiped out onto his side/back. Now, if this was any other dog, I am sure it would have stood up and have been fine, but his thin greyhound skin has about 4 scrapes on it. 3 on his leg, one small one above his eye...poor boy The elbow one is the biggest..you can see the skin tear. I have just scrubbed each one with a wound soap from the vet that I already had, plus flushed them out and put ointment on them. They are not bleeding at all really anymore, but I was just wondering if there is anything else I should do. Does this kind of thing need vet treatment? I know it is quite small iin the world of greyhound skin tears, but have never had this happen before.

I don't think I have seen Red Paw here, but the name sounds familiar....pre-greyhound I was into sleddogs, and I think I remember a lot of mushers feeding this food. Is it more of a performance/working dog kibble? Either way, that is a LOT of dogs you are feeding...wow, and I always complain about feeding my two!

WOW! You have a lot to deal with. It sounds like you have an awesome team working on this right now, so if anyone can figure out what is wrong, I'm sure it's them. Hoping for some answers soon.

It probably depends on the type of hair loss. Is the whole leg bald, or is the baldness more sort of "patchy" as if it has been rubbed off? Some baldness is from crate rub, whereas other dogs just have bald legs. Teague had large bald spots on his thighs when I got him which was from crate rub. It took quite a long time (6-12 months) to grow in, and as you can see it is still a little thin, but mostly filled in. I am guessing some of the hair follicles were too badly damaged.

Teague knows the basic "come" and "stay" I haven't bothered with sit because he won't do it. He does know some tricks like spin around, shake a paw, bow, and he will bump your face with his nose for "kiss." I just do it because I think it is fun to work with him with the clicker and he is the type of dog who gets really antsy without exercise and stimulation. He didn't get it at all at first, but now he is much more engaged. It isn't work for him, it's just something we do for fun!

There are benefits to both. Fish oils, from what I know, are much more concentrated and have higher levels of omega 3, DHA, EPA ,etc., you would have to eat a lot of canned fish to get this. At the same time, whole fish has a lot of other beneficial things in it like vitamin D and other beneficial fats. These apparently make the absorption of nutrients a lot better than just a fish oil on its own. I do feed fish oil daily, but also feed tinned or baked fish 2-3 times a week as well. I prefer tinned sardines and salmon over the tuna, if I am not mistaken tuna contains higher levels of heavy metals, mercury, etc. I wouldn't want to feed that every day, since it is not recommended for humans.

We have a local business here that makes homemade meatloaf food for dogs. I occasionally make it and the dogs LOVE it. Here is a simplified recipe (meaning it has the basic ingredients, but not all of the extra vitamins and supplements added to the store mix as it is a complete food) This recipe is BIG, so obviously you can cut in half or quarters. This makes like 32 small loaves! DOGGY MEATLOAF 2-3 eggs 1/2 cup vegetable oil (safflower, olive oil, etc.) 2 cups of any shredded veggie(s) (e.g. carrots, greens, broccoli, canned pumpkin, etc) 1 cup finely cubed or mashed potatoes 1 shredded apple 2 cups quick cooking oats 7-8 cups any type of ground meat (if you like you can mix some organ meats like liver in) 8-9 cups of flour or a mixture of grains/flours like rice flour, spelt, etc. (add more if the mixture is runny). The store here adds in small amounts of nutritional yeast, calcium, lecithin, carob powder, kelp, wheatgerm, brewers yeast, etc. but you wouldn't have to do this for treats. I am assuming the consistency would be the same without them. a big pinch or two of garlic powder 6-8 cups of water or until the right consistency Instructions: Mix eggs, oil, apple and meat together. Add in the oats, flour, water, and mix well adding extra flour or water if needed. Press mixture into loaf pans (I like to buy the throw-away aluminum ones) or make paddies on a cookie sheet. Bake @350 for 25-30 min. or until done, depending on the size of your pans. A bit of work but you can freeze and use as treats or as an add in to kibble that the pups will love!

I have to say, I have never thought about carrying anything with me while walking. The only legal thing I can carry is a stick anyways, so I figure the metal leash end and my boots could go just as good a job if my adrenline was pumping and I had to do something. I don't let it prevent me from walking, my dogs can get hurt in a lot of ways, and luckily, it isn't a big issue where I walk. I feel for those people who have had bad experiences, or live in areas where this is common though. I have seen 2 or 3 coyotes this week walking, and I am more worried about them than dogs. I doubt they would attack, they always run away, but if we ever surprised one or caught it off guard and it attacked, it would really freak me out. I would probably rather face off with a coyote than a large, powerful dog though!

Wow, I can't imagine what you have gone through in the past few days. All I can say is that things can only get better. So sorry

Half of my freezer also contains dog food I have frozen rice before and it is fine. You do have to warm it up for it to get back its moisture/stickiness though, otherwise it is gross dry rice pellets!

Poor guy I don't have any suggestions, but my condolences that you have to go through this. Really hoping you will get a diagnosis soon, I can imagine how upsetting it must be.

Can you continue to feed the same kibble if its affordable and just add stuff in? Things like canned fish, canned dog food, pasta, cheese, liver, eggs,meat, etc. All healthy things and you only need a bit to get them interested usually.

Welcome! I am in Shelburne, just about an hour or so southwest of you A little far, but I would be happy to meet if you are ever near the area. There are a few people on the board from Barrie or close by (I am sure they will chime in). You are lucky because you are really close to the South Simcoe Greyhound Group (SSGG). Depending on the weather, they do grey runs every weekend in the Innisfil area. You are also really close to Karen at Campgreyhound, which is a great place to board your grey when you are away. Here is a link to the SSGG through the campgreyhound site (so you can check them both out!). http://www.freewebs.com/awesomepaws/southsimcoegreyhounds.htm Welcome to the world of greys! Jack looks like a beautiful boy!

Sorry about your experience It really doesn't sound like your dog is aggressive (if he was truly aggressive he would have attacked other dogs at the dogpark) and it has nothing to do with you, it was simply a prey drive instinct that kicked in. It sounds like he reacts strongly to excitement, which is pretty normal for dogs new off the track, and I am guessing the small, white and fluffy combined with the fact that both dogs were overly excited in greeting, triggered a prey drive response. Definitely something people should be aware of as you said, it can happen in a split second and is pretty scary. At the same time, I agree with Kolarik, you don't want to constantly be in an anxious and fearful state with him or avoid walking and other dogs completely. I would definitely avoid the dogpark but I am sure larger dogs and other greys would still be good friends for him (especially if all the dogs are muzzled).

Blueberries are safe to feed Dogs probably don't get all of the same nutritional benefits as humans though just because they don't digest much of it...the seeds, skin, etc. will just go right through them as they don't chew them like we do. If you grind or mash them up really well it will make it more digestable.

What a sweet pic. I hope he continues to feel better.

Yikes! If it is a sore back you do have to be careful. I was going to suggest putting a towel under his tummy and back end to support it like a sling while holding a leash on the collar with the other hand. If you lift up the back feet and move forward, sometimes that gets the front feet going, or you can lift up the back end while someone moves the front paws up each step (kind of like a doggy wheel barrel race). If you think it is too much or you may cause more of a back injury though, I agree with leaving it until you have more help. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice I am hoping it isn't pain in her back, I never thought of that. If it was a painful back, would I expect to see any other signs? She doesn't show any signs of arthritis, and can still easily clear fences or jumps on hikes and can run just as far as she always could with no stiffness/soreness at all. Does this still mean she could have a sore back? Karma is happy most of the time, she is just the type of dog that worries a lot, scrunches up her face, shivers, etc. when she is excited or nervous. Since that is her personality I thought it was just knots in her back from tensing up. I just found some really good videos online for massage. She is so sensitive to touch on her back and these videos have very gentle techniques to "warm up" the muscles before really working on the sensitive areas. I just tried it on Teague and he fell asleep with his tongue out I'll give it a go on Karma. Lucky pups getting massages every night!

This isn't really a serious health problem and I hope it is okay asking here because it is for Karma, my non-grey. Karma is a rescue and has always been kind of tense/timid, although she is much better. She will literally tense up if you just look at her sometimes though and she always has a very tense back. With even minor pressure she will arch it down and it twitches all the way down when you rub your fingers lightly down her spine. I was just wondering how normal this is (she is older, she'll be 11 this year) and if there is anything I can do to help. I do massage her back by lightly rubbing my fingers along her spine and gently rubbing/holding the areas that are twitchy. She seems to respond to this, she will actually straighten her back and lay down in a way that flattens it out. But...I guess I was just wondering if there are any specific "at home" massage techniques, or "pressure spots" that would help in getting rid of some of the tenseness.

I have bought Plato salmon oil and have always liked it. It has the same levels of everything as the Grizzly oil but is cheaper. A lot of people think of omega 3's as just for skin, but it has a ton of other benefits too, especially for things like heart health, immune system, joints, etc. So...even if you don't notice a lot of outside changes, there can be a lot of "inside" benefits you don't see Dog food tends to be VERY low in omega 3's so that is the one supplement I always use.

I would try to teach him to use another signal when he needs to go out (using a bell, going to the door). I don't mind if my dogs whine or let me know when they need to go out, but I wouldn't give them their way if they barked loudly at me, rewarding that will only create more barking in the future. If he is sometimes getting what he wants for barking, he will likely continue to do it. It sounds like having more activity and structure is a good thing, so a basic obedience class sounds like a great idea, even just to give him some out of house activity and to build more trust. In the meantime I would go back to the bare basics. No going on beds or furniture if there is still growling and supervise all the time to avoid accidents. Any exercise activities would also probably help with the restlessness. Unless he is marking, the potty thing sounds more like anxiety. Sounds like your mom has her hands full!

Unfortunately, almost every dog food contains ingredients from China. If not the meat (many meats and meals do come from there) it is the additives and grains. You would be hard pressed to find a company that doesn't import (and if they do you will pay for it and they would clearly advertise this on the front of the bag). "Made in..." does not mean the ingredients aren't imported. I don't think we have that food here, but our Walmarts carry a brand called Actrium. A big step above Ol' Roy but the Pure Balance has a better looking ingredient list.

I was told Teague was fed banana at the racetrack. Maybe your boy found a familiar smell I'm sure he'll be fine.

Unless you want to get the heavy duty chainsaw out it is easiest to let them thaw....not all the way just so you can stick something between them (I use a screwdriver) to pop them apart. Then you can refreeze. One of the drawbacks of ordering in bulk! Personally, I feed them thawed, but if the temps are warm in the summer they are a great frozen treat. Whatever your pup likes should be fine.