forevergrey

I think it varies form dog to dog. I like walking my guys, I have two boys ages 6 and 4. We do an hour in the morning and an hour at night, (we try to vary our route when possible) and they get a short potty break at noon and another one before bedtime. Cold weather or snow on the ground does not slow us down though. And since we don't have a yard--we have to go for walks. My greyhounds do love to run off leash and when possible I take them to areas that are fenced in where they can really run. When the weather warms up I like to drive to different parks, or the beach or hiking for special outings. I think our walks keep them in great shape. They are well muscled and not overweight.

Hi Everyone, Thank you for asking. Jasper is doing well, the tear is more or less healed but I am still wrapping his foot in light gauze and putting a rubber Pawz bootie on it when we go outside. I had a vet appointment to get my two boys' nails clipped and the vet took a quick look at Jasper's foot, said it looks fine and that I don't even need to keep it wrapped but with the snow and salt rock on the ground, I figured one more week should not hurt. But thankfully the vet also said that it is a small tear and Jasper is not limping on it at all. Very relived.

Thanks for the advise everyone! Jasper seems to be doing OK. I am keeping the foot wrapped in gauze and vet wrap and a soft Therapaw on it at home and Pawz bootie on it when we go out. Soaking in Iodine solution and Eposm salt every night and changing the bandage. And putting some Neosporin in it. Thankfully he is not limping and seems to be doing OK. It looks clean and hopefully will close up on it's own in a few weeks. These hounds of mine love to run especially in cold and snowy weather so it is sad that we have to stick with walks and no running for a while. As long as it heals I will do what needs to be done. Just glad it's nothing more serious like a fracture.

Hello Everyone, Yesterday my boys were out running in the fenced in skate park we have in our neighborhood and after we got home I noticed some blood on the floor, but neither of my hounds was limping. Turns out Jasper cut the webbing between his toes-most likely he ran into a twig or a sharp stone on the ground. The cut is on his second to outer front toe. It is not cut all the way but still looks nasty. The bleeding stopped. I have been soaking his foot in anti-septic soap plus Epson salt and iodine solution three times a day. I have been applying Neosporin every couple of hours and he is wearing a soft boot. He is not lame at all and it seems to be not effecting him in any way. We went for our usual walk in the park this morning and he was fine. However I am wondering if this requires a suture? Also since I am constantly applying Neosporin-will it keep the wound from drying up? And the bootie-good idea or not? Should the area get some air or kept covered? It's kind of on the side of his toe and it has not gotten worse since our walk. I was worried that movement might keep it from healing. Any advise would be appreciated. I have Rimadyl at home should I give him some pain meds?

My 4 year old boy fractured his metacarpal bone two years ago while running. He was in a split for 4 weeks, with weekly splint changes, (at one point he managed to somehow break the splint). Then another 4 weeks with just a soft wrap. Then another 8 weeks without anything on his leg but still very short (around the block to potty only) walks. I also live in a walk up three flights and had to carry him up and down every time he needed to use the bathroom. I took it very slow and then finally we were able to go back to normal walks. He was lame the first week or so but slowly came back to normal. I was giving him pain meds (mostly NSAID's) twice a day for the entire duration of his healing process. He has healed completely and is back to normal but it took two months. I suppose his break was not too bad since the vet did not feel the need to add any hardware-just the splint.

Here is hoping for good news for your girl. Hopefully it's something that can be easily remedied without being cost prohibitive. I do agree with tbhounds, sadly I have seen postings on greyhound groups about young dogs getting osteo. But it is still not terribly likely!

Lance lived to 14 and barely slowed down until the last 6 months or so of his life. At 13 he still loved to run and go for long walks (I have videos of him racing on the beach and hiking through the woods at an advanced age-and still doing great). He was somewhat unusual for a greyhound in my experience, he was what I call a "real dog" LOL! I adopted him when he was only 9 months of age, he lure coursed, played fetch was great off leash-he was always a very active greyhound. My other senior Henry lived to be 15 but slowed down much sooner. He suffered from corns pretty much his entire life and had a toe amputated at one point. Despite his long life, he really started to slow down at around 12. My other two hounds passed away from cancer at a youngish age. And my current two are thankfully relatively young and very active, (6 and 4 years old). I think it just depends on the dog.

Wishing you and your hound all the best. There is a possibility that it's not the dreaded osteo. When my boy was diagnosed the tumor was hard/bony. It's a very scary thing to go though but the sooner you know what is going on, the better. Your husband probably just deals with things differently and may not realize that his way of handling these things hurt your feelings or make you feel alone in your pain. Just talk to him and let him know you appreciate a measure of support and understanding from him. And everyone here will give you that support as well! Many of us have been there and know how you must feel. Osteo is my biggest nightmare when it comes to greyhound health issues. I have a slight nervous breakdown anytime one of mine appears lame. Having lost one greyhound to it-makes me paranoid about my current two hounds. I agree-we do it again and again because we love our dogs, they make our lives complete no matter how long they grace us with their presence. I only had my heart dog (the one who died of osteo) for 4 years. It felt way too short but I would do it again, because these four years we had--were worth every moment.

We go out for two hours no matter how cold and NYC winters get pretty cold. We go to the park for 1 hour in the morning and again for an 1 hour at night plus two short pee breaks one at noon and one before bedtime. We bundle up and go, never had any issues. I don't put boots on them either. Also my guys love the snow, they love running in it.

Keeping our fingers and paws crossed for your girl. Really, really hoping it's something treatable.

Hi Tra708, I know every greyhound and situation is different but I had a similar experience with my greyhound. Turns out that he had a tiny accessory carpal fracture, he was limping terribly, his wrist was swollen but it took two sets of x-rays to see it. The first vet I went to just said it's an injury of some sort but no fracture, my boy was still very lame, so I went in for a second opinion with an orthopedic vet and he took another set of x-rays and saw the fracture. It was very small and difficult to see, there was a tiny bone chip and it was causing lots of lameness for my poor guy. There was no surgery just rest (no walks, only short potty breaks) for 8 weeks, then 8 more weeks of very short walks, eventually the fracture healed and by boy is doing just fine, no lameness at all. He was on pain meds the entire time. It took over 4 months for everything to get back to normal. And as someone already mentioned test for tick borne diseases there are several of them out there; babesia, ehrlichia, rocky mt. spotted fever, lyme. The thing is that often the dog will not show any symptoms for a long time until the disease has progressed considerably. Lameness is one of the more common symptoms of tick borne diseases.

Heartbreaking. I am so sorry for the loss of your Mew Mew and your other dear souls.

Sending good thoughts to you and Huston.

I use "Cloud Star Buddy Wash-2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner" (it has green tea in it), its mild, makes the dogs look very shiny and clean and has a pleasant smell. I like that it has a conditioner in it as well.

Thanks for the replies folks. Onyx was doing much better as of Thursday, walking pretty much normally and not limping and the swelling went way down. I still kept my vet appointment for this morning and my vet who is very greyhound savvy, said that the toe is infected. Right after the vet visit we are right back where we started-he is now hoping on three legs and the toe is swollen again. My vet gave me Zeniquin (an antibiotic) and told me to continue with the soaks plus pain meds/anti-inflammatory drug. This is so frustrating. I thought he was getting better. Sigh... For these who had this happen, I know all dogs are different but generally how long did it take for them to get better, for the swelling to subside and start walking normally again?

I think it's really good to have answers, and that you waiting so long and did not give up. You did the right thing by your boy. I can tell you from a human experience a good friend of mine passed away due to renal failure. The first thing that went was his appetite, he told be once that food had almost no taste to it when his kidneys started to shut down. Eventually the renal disease caused him to have serious heart problems-they were all connected. I think the symptoms with our dogs are not that different and the outcome is the same. So sorry.

Hi Fellow greyhound friends, Last Friday while walking my two boys, Onyx stepped on something sharp and ended up with a cut on his back toe. The cut was rather deep and bleeding. I have been soaking his foot three times daily in Epsom salt but he was still a little lame on it, but nothing serious. We were going for our regular walks and he was fine. However as of last night, Tuesday he has not been putting any weight on that foot at all and has been pretty much hoping on three legs since yesterday. I took a closer look at his toe and it is badly swollen. The bottom part of the toe is much bigger in comparison to his other back toes and while nothing is oozing out of that toe-it looks huge (not the bone part, the pad/bottom part of the toe). I made a vet appointment for Friday morning. And continuing with the soaks and adding iodine solution to the epsom salt. I can't stand seeing him not put any weight on his back foot! I am so paranoid about my greyhounds. Has anyone else experience this? Is it always a matter of something embedded in his toe? Or can it be an infection on it's own? He does not have corns. Any suggestions before the vet visit would be appreciated.

I feed raw as well. I also live in an apartment so feeding dogs outside is not an option. I feed a grind (Primal brand), alternating chicken, turkey, beef. I add other meat parts that I buy at the store, (legs, wings, organs, etc..) and add veggies. I make a mixture, put it in their bowls and they eat it without making any messes at all. I also give them raw beef bones with meat on it twice a week for teeth cleaning. I place sheets on their dog beds and they just grab the bones and run to their beds and chew up the bones. I guess you just have to work out a system that works for your lifestyle.

I also feed a raw diet. One of my hounds is also black, the other is light brindle. I do add coconut oil, sardines (in water) same as fish oil but more fun for the dogs to eat, plus Missing Link, raw eggs and flax seed. But I honestly think it is the raw diet did the trick, (I add the other stuff just in case). Both dogs have soft, dander free, shiny coats. You can really see it on the black hound, he looks so glossy. I am a big fan of raw feeding.

Cold laser therapy helped one of my hounds with a bad wrist injury. He is now completely free of any lameness. Not sure how your vet operates but I purchased a package of 6 treatments, and had to go every 4 days. Then I did another package-this time it was maintenance, we went every two to three weeks. I think it can help with some cases.

I am really sorry. This just sucks.

I am paranoid about my greyhounds so I think I am right there with these of you who are very concerned with genetic predisposition to scary, life ending illnesses. I am also somewhat hopeful reading some of the posts from folks who had greyhounds live into old age. My own personal experience is I lost my first greyhound at age 9 to hemangiosarcoma. I lost another at age 8 to osteo. I had my Irish bred boy live to be almost 15 and my second greyhound (from K's Flack lines) live to 14. I currently have two males, ages 5 and 3 (they will turn 6 and 4 this summer). So out of 4 who passed away two died at a young age from cancer and two lived into their mid teens. Time will tell how things will go with my two current boys. I do know that every little thing that seems "off" gives me an anxiety attack. I am not rich by any means and these dogs can be expensive. But what are the alternatives? I love the breed. Although I am interested in Spanish Galgos as an alternative but have to do more research. At the end I think we all just have to go with the flow so to speak. Take care of your dogs to the best of your ability, give them a good life, enjoy them, take pride in them and remember that there are no guarantees in life. Carronstar: I am in NYC too! Would love to get in touch.

Kar- I am very sorry that you are going through all this. How awful to have to deal with constant stress of having a dog with so many health issues, (I have been there myself and it can be overwhelming at times). Is your vet able to do house calls? I know my vet does them or perhaps your vet can recommend a different hospital that has a vet who does house calls. If you are in a bind and can not get him into the car yourself, would your adoption group have a volunteer who can help you out? I have gotten hurt dogs into cars (took three people), by making a stretcher out of a thick blanket. I stayed in the back seat with my dog and the other person drove. I hope your adoption group can help you at this time of need. And maybe your boy just had an accident (greyhounds are so prone to getting hurt) and it's nothing serious.

Sending my sympathies to you and Lola. I think it's great that her lungs are clear. This might just end with the toe and not go further. Also osteo is not very common in toes so hopefully this is something far less sinister. As far as toe amputations go, my Henry had his back, middle toe amputated when he was 11. He had surgeries for corns, (this was long before we knew about less invasive ways to treat corns). The toe subsequently developed arthritis and a chronic staff infection. It was causing Henry allot of pain and my vet said to remove it would be best. Henry recovered in a week or so, his lameness was gone and he was walking normally again. He lived to be almost 15. My only regret was that I did not listen to my vet and did the amputation sooner! I was reluctant because it seemed drastic but after seeing how much better my boy was doing after the amp. I was angry at myself for not doing it sooner.

YAY Rudy! He look so much better and happier. Cold laser therapy is great. It helped my boy when he hurt his wrist running.