quarrystepper

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sure it will help others when the time comes, as did all the posts that came before you had to let Deacon go. Sorry for your loss.

Second the DAP (adaptil) plug-in if you can find one online! It really helped Brooks become accustomed to being an only dog at first, although the best solution for us was fostering and eventually adopting a second hound. But during that rough transition when he was a ball of SA and missing his foster brothers/sisters, and as a completely uncrate-able hound, I genuinely think DAP helped minimize the duration of his "freaked out by this new situation" episodes. It didn't change overnight, but he's an old pro now. I'll point out that almost three years on, he still misses us when go and will watch us through the front window. But we've confirmed that he quickly settles down. Kali came to us straight off the track and magically figured it out even faster. As soon as she sees the baby gate going up to block off the kitchen, she retreats to the comfiest bed in our bedroom before Brooks can get there! Good luck!

How's it going? Like others on this thread, I'm totally mystified by what's happening for your pup! We've dealt with Brooks's sleep startle issues, but they are always simply a matter of defending his favorite spot on the sofa from the encroachment of human legs.

Moot now. Nail came off the rest of the way, didn't bleed, isn't infected, will grow back according to the vet. Just pretend I didn't top this thread...

How's Jasper doing? Hope he's leaving it alone... those wounded paws are such a temptation to lick! I forgot to mention that we have used the bitter apple spray to (reasonably) good effect when the cone of shame seemed excessive.

There are lots of "ripped nail" and "torn dewclaw" threads on GT already, but I'm bumping this one because it's the closest to our current issue. Brooks broke the nail on his dewclaw sometime last week while I was out of town. I'm guessing he slipped on ice in the backyard and snagged it somewhere. When I noticed it on Sunday he wasn't licking or limping, so I did a small amount of first aid. But it appears to have cracked further in the last 24 hours -- and he's definitely feeling it now, with a couple semi-GSODs overnight when he shifted positions on his bed, and sensitivity when he's moving around the house. Here's a wide-angle photo, and a close-up shot with me slightly articulating the nail. (For the record, if his dewclaw nail looks exceedingly long, it's because I usually don't trim his dewclaw nails very much. The quick is right near the end, so I just round it off with the Dremel while I'm doing his other nails.) His annual exam is due on 2/14 anyway, so I called the vet and they're fitting us in tomorrow. But as this is our first torn/cracked nail, I wonder what advice GTers would share. Someone upthread said "just let it fall off on its own" and be prepared to give first aid at that point. Is that the right course of action, or should it be removed professionally, or could I have considered guillotining it off the rest of the way by myself? And to avoid this in the future, should I spend some time trying to get his quick to recede on the dewclaws?

This happened to Brooks at the dog park a couple summers ago. It tore on his back left paw during one of his rare sprints. The webbing between the two outer toes had essentially split along one edge, coiling up where it was still attached, and exposing a very small side portion of one paw pad where the rip occurred. Didn't notice it until I got him out of the station wagon and into the house (what a mess). We opted for home first aid, as you did. Epsom and iodine baths twice a day, coupled with a good squirt of Vetericyn, dressed with a fresh nonstick pad wrapped in gauze and Vetwrap. I didn't use triple-antibiotic after the first day, but I may have sprayed some Granulex on it a couple times a week. It was a BEAR to heal, but he didn't express any pain throughout the 4 weeks or so until it was stable, so we never went for Rimadyl, but of course YMMV on that one -- I probably should have done it, judging by his usual pain response (GSOD for completely minor things, quiet when it's actually serious). I'm pretty sure I got a round of antibiotics though, as with most of my home remedy attempts. It healed well, though it obviously never grew back. My only suggestion is to give it LOTS of attention since there are two exposed faces of the wound (more surface area for dirt and possible infection).

Sorry to hear it, Alicia! We've dealt with a lot of cut paws, and they always seem to bleed for the littlest things, but neither pup seems to be a full-on gusher. Counting my blessings...

Looking better already! https://www.dropbox.com/sc/1esnfdgtbm9ogh0/AADL5iksjmsryk0_EG3klRyJa The swollen mass above his eye only weeped for a couple hours (with very little weepage in total). Luckily it never reached anything like Stay-Puft proportions. And obviously Brooks feels well enough to stand at the kitchen table and beg alongside me while I study and eat leftover goulash for dinner (see photo above), so I'm gonna call this latest crisis OFFICIALLY OV-AH.

If you're looking for another book to read having finished up Dummies, I recommend Cynthia Branigan's "Adopting the Racing Greyhound" (we have the third edition) and Patricia McConnell's "The Other End of the Leash." These were both recommended to us by our adoption group. The first one offers good counterpoints to some of the advice dispensed in Dummies, and the second one is universally regarded as the best way to understand the psyche of dogs in a pack that will soon include you. Not sure but both might have specific cat-and-greyhound-cohabitation advice. Good luck and can't wait to see some photos! If you have specific questions after your new rooer gets home, please feel free to post often!

I'm gonna go ahead and say, I hope this is the only time we put Brooks's name in a thread title w/r/t cat bites/scratches. I did a warm compress last night and it was a little weepy this morning. He has been much more active today, and isn't as hot to the touch, so I think we're past the danger zone. I assume the "little weepiness" is going to get pretty gnarly in the next 24 hours? Should I just let it happen or is there a point at which I should call the vet for a professional lancing? To be honest, the swelling has already eased quite a bit and he appears to have vision in both eyes, so I'm not sure it's worth a return visit.

Oh wow, thanks for that Brees link! I searched for older threads but never thought to look for "Roman nose" Brooks got up for dinner but has otherwise been very horizontal. The little scratch on top of his nose is growing too, and his eyelid is very reddish/inflamed: https://www.dropbox.com/s/iggwe9wjz2y5dxz/2014-09-12%2019.46.49.jpg?dl=0

Vet was not terribly concerned, although the swelling was maybe slightly more noticeable by the time we were seen. Fever of 103.5. Brooks definitely looked woozy. Vet said there were no soft spots in the cellulitis, nor any clear drainage path, so decided not to lance it. Instead, left with anti-inflammatory (Meloxicam) and antibiotic (Clavamox). He was happy to get home and lay down. I'll probably update the thread with photos later, just to create a record of his progress for the historical annals.

I was definitely unnerved! First time I've seen Brooks that close to a cat. But my neighbor is pretty awesome, and her daughters all came outside to pet Brooks and Kali, so we were pretty calm all around within 2 minutes of the incident. The funny thing is, Brooks was supposedly cat-safe when he came off the track. Empirical evidence proves otherwise! Oh and yes, definitely aware that cat bites must follow a different protocol. There was never any doubt about visiting the vet, despite my asking about it above. Brooks and I are on our way in a few. They'll hang out with him until the vet can actually see him around 11. I'll post an update later!

As the thread title says... Brooks and Kali were on a walk last night when our neighbor's cat dashed across his path. Brooks pulled just hard enough to get his mouth on the cat. It was a quick tussle and the cat was gone up a tree. Lucky for the cat, Brooks's teeth are so worn down there was no broken skin and apparently no damage done. Brooks had five wounds, most of them apparently puncture wounds around his muzzle and eye (nothing close enough to the eye that I felt the e-vet was necessary). He immediately started dripping blood but it stopped just as quickly. I got him home, washed with soap & water, slapped some 3ab ointment on it, and figured I'd know more in the morning. This AM, everything looks good except the puncture above the eye. Here he is with both eyes closed, note the swelling above his left eye. note swelling above and around eye And here he is with both eyes open: technically, just one eye He also hasn't had breakfast yet (normally by 5:45am he's practically enunciating the words "feed me") and here we are at 8am but he's barely flinched. So, this is definitely a vet visit this morning, right? What's the likely treatment plan and how much should I be worried about his vision?

Brooks and Kali are 7 and 6 respectively. We switched from Verus chicken/rice to TOTW pacific stream about 8 months ago. Gradually shifted from pacific to high prairie about a month ago to give them some variety. Even in the transition, their poops have held up beautifully! I'll probably move them back to pacific stream before the end of the year, because their toots on prairie are VIOLENT.

I agree, which is why I was surprised to read that advice offered with such seriousness on previous food threads (like post #11 here). Seemed relevant to mention since the OP is concerned about risk factors for bloat.

Given all the advice to add water, is it safe to assume that the whole "don't add water to kibble that uses citric acid as a preservative, because it starts to break the kibble down too fast" advice (which I have read elsewhere on GT) is actually not a real thing to be concerned about?

How long have you had your pup? We have lots of gulpers in our house and swear by the stainless steel ball in the food bowl (Google search for "portion pacer" to see what I mean). It doesn't slow their hoovering much, but at least they can't chomp down on 1/4 cup of food in a single bite anymore. I'm certain there is a medical explanation for this, but Kali will do the reverse sneeze after eating at least twice a week and has never experienced distress or had food reverse direction. *fingers crossed*

So sorry for this devastating news.

Oh no, sorry to hear it. I have avoided that thread, trying not to jinx things. But I'll send you healing thoughts from over here (for now -- it feels inevitable that I'll be there someday).

Kali has had a little bald, scaly patch of skin on her upper tail since the day we got her. Never seen it change, she never chews it, so we figured it was nothing. At least now I know what it is! Thanks, thread.

I'm watching this thread since we've experienced similar frustrations trying to identify the cause of Brooks's limp. Wishing you good luck with the new vet.

When we moved up north, I slowly switched the hounds from Verus chicken/rice kibble (which is more expensive/scarce up here) to TOTW Pacific Stream. It seemed like a good time to change their protein source since they'd really only had Verus since we got them both (18 months and 12 months respectively). I was reticent to switch before because the Verus worked really, REALLY well for both. [incidentally, I'm a noob over here on the food threads, but there seem to be two schools of thought: 1) switch up the protein source every once in a while vs. 2) if it ain't broke, don't fix it. At least among those who feed kibble as opposed to raw or fresh. Is there any consensus on this?] Anyway, the transition from Verus to TOTW lasted about 12 days as I weaned them off by a half-cup every 4 days or so. They were fine during the transition, and now that they're 100% TOTW, Kali is doing great, maybe even better than before. Brooks, on the other hand, immediately started having to strain much harder as soon as he was 100% TOTW. Over the first 18 months we had him, we were used to light brown, barrel-sized, ripe banana-like poos -- never overly mucousy, appearing very healthy, and a pretty significant daily amount! Since going 100% TOTW about 10 days ago, his first stool after any meal is a bit darker and much more pebbly, about the size and shape of about five or six double-sized almonds. Another difference is that, on a long walk (2.5 or 3 miles every mid-morning), I'm used to him having a second or third (or fourth!) poo that eventually looks like barely-digested breakfast, but it's now rare for him to have more than two stops on a walk and the overall amount pales in comparison to what he used to produce. What's the best way to help Brooks here? He does seem to be straining. I've thought about a few solutions: adding a 1/2 cup of wet TOTW from a can (non-fish based) every fourth meal or so, increasing fish oil, or adding turkey necks to their diet (which, according to the current turkey neck thread on the first page, apparently creates diarrhea for some -- so perhaps on the balance that might lubricate things for Brooks). I could always put him back on Verus or switch up his TOTW to another protein. I'm less inclined to go back to Verus because I actually think he was producing TOO MUCH stool on that food, which wasn't low-ingredient and used chicken meal. I know I should count my blessings that we're not talking about the Big D! But I'm still a little worried.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm taking Brooks in for his first dental in 18 months this morning. He too was a major crate chewer on the track. He has nothing but nubs for canines, and just one of his little front teeth. Poor boy also has a chip on one of his middle upper teeth with the pulp exposed. So, I'll be thinking good thoughts for Zhivaya (beautiful name, BTW) and please hope for the same over here!