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forevergrey

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  1. Thanks. The bleeding is not as bad as yesterday but when he moves that's when it starts to bleed again. We just came back from a short potty walk. He was not great but was walking, slowly but walking. He is putting weight on the leg, when standing up but when he moves he limps. I checked pretty thorough for foreign bodies too. Does not look like it. The gash does not appear very large but I am still concerned with his general lameness. It is so scary when they get hurt all of a sudden. I guess a more general question would be-can a tear right across the back of a greyhound's front leg cause lameness?
  2. Hi Everyone, Last night Onyx was playing/running like crazy in this fenced off skate park we have around here. The terrain of the place is part grass and part concrete skate ramp. It's very uneven and has some trees with low branches, etc.. So Onyx and Jasper were running around (they only run on the grass section) and suddenly Onyx screams out in pain and is holding up his front right leg. I of course freaked out, ran over to him and when I touched his leg-there was allot of blood. I immediately leashed the boys and we walked home-Onyx pretty lame the whole time. When I examined him at home-I saw that there was a bloody gash on the back of his front leg- just above or at (?) the wrist area. There was also a smaller gash but the bleeding on the smaller gash stopped. I cleaned him up with baby soap and warm water, put pressure on it and peroxide, neosporen and wrapped it in gauze and vet-wrap. He is still very lame. We took a potty walk this morning and he was walking very slowly, if we speeded up-he would become lame. Although he was at some points walking kind of OK on grass. When I got home this morning, I re-wrapped the gash but he is holding up that leg and is still very lame in the house. It almost seems worse with the bandage on. I am very worried. I am worried that there is something more then just a tear. Such as a fracture or torn ligament. I examined Onyx very carefully several times. I do not see swelling, the leg appears straight. Manipulating the leg a little-he is not crying or pulling away. There is no "clanking" that might indicate a fracture (but I am not vet). But he is limping regardless. I can see the gash is right at the point where he will flex his leg when moving and it might be that it "opens up" with movement. But I just don't know if a gash on the back of the front lower leg alone can cause lameness. Vet is not open today or tomorrow. I will take him in on Tuesday. But I am so freaked out. If anyone had a similar experience-I would love to hear about it.
  3. I am still new to raw-have been feeding it to my two boys for just under a year. But I think it's great. I use a ground up turkey, chicken or beef. The grind that I buy contains meat, organs, and bone. In addition to the grind I add chicken legs, wings, breast, gizzards, beef chunks-whatever the meat store has. I am fortunate to have a meat store a block away, and its a very reasonably priced one. I also add some veggies, I use Grandma Lucy's organic mix, add canned pumpkin, sardines or salmon. The morning meal has a spoonful of yogurt or cottage cheese and I also add coconut oil to both meals. I feed twice a day. Oh and I two times a week they get beef bones with meat on it. To keep their teeth white. They look good and are healthy.
  4. Awesome news! Always great to hear the pups are doing better!
  5. I used sighthound collars on my past greyhounds but with my current two boys I switched to harnesses and I love it. I lost two greyhounds to LS, and at this point if if there is even a slight chance that I can either avoid or slow down the onset of LS when my greyhounds get older by using walking equipment that distributes their weight evenly and puts zero pressure on their neck/spine then I am all for it. Both my guys walk perfectly fine on a harness. The harnesses I have do not require any physical manipulation of the dogs, (they are not step-in kind or front connect harnesses). They are beautiful hand-crafted velvet harnesses with a soft underside that are adjustable at all points. The front goes over the neck, just as a collar would, and you just snap close the side straps, the dog does not have to be moved physically at all. I got them from Silk Road Collars. She makes great greyhound collars and harnesses. I also have a closet full of beautiful sighthound collars, even some vintage silk ones-but really they are just there as reminders of hounds past. http://www.silkroadcollars.com/
  6. Vet sounds like her bedside manners needs a major attitude adjustment. I never had a vet who used the word "nasty" when referring to my animals. If I had-that would be our last visit. Regarding stairs, I live on the 3rd floor of a building that does not have an elevator. All my greyhounds-past and present have learned the stairs in a few days. They bound up and down without a problem. I give my guys all kinds of animal bone chews, including bully sticks, spiral flossies, antlers and twice a week raw beef bones, (just not the weight bearing heavy bones, these can chip their teeth). I also every once in a while give them a Kong with peanut butter-which they too love. I never had any problems with any of these items. I also don't like vets who push products and unnecessary vaccinations-some are overly careful and tend to overdo it. Other then a yearly rabies vax, which is required by law-I titer my dogs and never had a problem. I would definitely go back to your regular vet.
  7. I am not a vet but it looks like a wrist injury that is causing some hyper-flexation in the joint which subsequently makes the foot appear flat. It can be an accessory carpal fracture. Most will heal on their own, if there was a chipped bone it will eventually get surrounded by fibrous tissue and won't cause much discomfort. I would probably not do agility or lure coursing the turns can cause a re-injiry. Perhaps an x-ray will give you a better idea if this was indeed a fracture.
  8. I am so sorry! What a nightmare to have it happen again. Try getting Bear Spray. I checked it on Amazon, it is suppose to be strong enough to deter a bear and it comes with a hip holster. I think I might get one. I live in fear of something like this happening to us. It's not very expensive either-$35. http://www.sierratradingpost.com/udap-79-oz-bear-spray-with-hip-holster~p~2002c/
  9. I used to do a mixture of Taste of The Wild and home-cooked. I now only feed raw. I find that it works very well for my two greyhounds. They look great, have shiny soft coats, great white teeth and just shine with good health, (hopefully I did not just jinx myself). I use Primal or Bravo chicken, beef or turkey grinds. I also add chicken parts-legs, thighs, wings, gizzards, and pieces of beef. I vary the foods every few days. About twice a week I give them beef bones-NOT the heavy weight bearing ones, as these can chip their teeth. I also add a veggie mix. I get Grandma Lucy, you just add water and make enough for a week. I add canned pumpkin and in the mornings they also get yogurt or cottage cheese. And a spoonful of coconut oil with each meal. I do brush their teeth daily and they also also get chews, (bully sticks, flossies). I know this sounds like a ton of work but I got it down to a system so that it takes no more then 5 min. to get their meals ready. It took some experimenting-feeding raw is not an exact science but it works very well for my dogs. Also Onyx came to me with chronic digestion issues which cleared up completely on the raw diet. It's not for everyone. And it can be inconvenient but I am a fan. :-)
  10. My Henry, (he passed away last July at age 15) had a back toe amputated when he was about 11. The toe had several corn removal surgeries, (that was before we knew of other less invasive ways to treat corns) and he developed pretty severe arthritis and a chronic staff infection in that toe. He was constantly lame, the toe has almost no padding and looked deformed. So after debating whether to amputate or not, I decided to go ahead with it. I really wished that I did the toe amputation sooner. Henry recovered in about 2 weeks and the best part was that his lameness in that back foot was pretty much gone. He wore a long boot the first few days after the surgery, mostly to protect the bandaging and then switched to a Therapaw boot for the rest of his life on that foot. In the long run, amputating his entire toe really helped him feel more comfortable.
  11. I'm in NYC no back yard here either. I take my guys out early in the morning at around 7-8AM for one hour, we go to the park and another one hour park walk at night. They also get two short potty walks around the block in mid day and before bed time. They seem to be fine with this. Every once in a while I take them to a small of leash area to run around for a few min. but it's not a legal dog park so access is limited. I did have to build up to these long walks but now they are fine. I also try to do things like hiking or take them to the beach but these outings are not very frequent.
  12. I have been following this thread and just wanted to add that I am hoping all will turn out well for you and your beautiful Neko. Hoping that he will continue to improve!
  13. Claudia, I am so terribly sorry. Remy looks like a beautiful sweet boy who has a wonderful loving person to take care of him and make the best if not the most difficult decisions on his behalf. I too lost my heart dog to osteo last July. He was my perfect greyhound. He too was a blood donor at AMC, (but thankfully only for one year). Primetime was 9 when diagnosed, he was always so healthy, happy and playful. The diagnosis for osteo came as a shock. I adored him. He was only with me for 4 years. Sometimes when they are perfect, they don't stay with us for long. Amputation was not an option for us either. Primetime's cancer was in the shoulder, it was a fast moving one and I live on the top floor of a building without an elevator. Money was an issue as well. If I had a backyard and a more positive diagnosis, something more then 6 months-I would have considered it but that was not the case. I kept my boy as comfortable as possible, no more long morning walks in the park, (he missed these at first until walking became too painful), I kept him on three different pain meds, rimadyl, tramadol and gabapentin and just made sure to take it one day at a time, not show too much stress or act different around him. When it became obvious to me that he was in too much pain and these episodes were becoming more frequent, I had my vet come to my house to let him go. I adopted him on July 10, 2008 and he left me on July 10, 2012. It really all comes down to making the best decision for your dog and at times these are the hardest ones to make. I should add that I also lost my 15 year old Henry two weeks before Primetime died. So it was a very miserable summer. I still miss these two boys and I think about them all the time. I did however ended up adopting two greyhounds a few weeks later. It made me feel better.
  14. Frankly anytime I see a pit off leash, I get my dogs and leave the area. I am not afraid of them as far as worrying about myself getting bit, but I trust them about as far as I can throw them when it comes to other dogs. Regardless of what their owner say, I never trust a pit bull "not" to fight. We had some horrible off leash incidents (some bad maulings and two deaths) caused by off leash pits. One of these was my friend's greyhound. The same pit was off leash in the park and attacked the greyhound (who was on leash) on two separate occasions. Both attacks resulted serious hospital visits. The pit's owner paid the vet bills. And continued to have that dog off leash in the park.
  15. I'm so sorry! It's so scary when these things happen. Frustrating too. I carry pepper spray with me whenever I go out with my dogs for this reason. Nothing pisses me off more then irresponsible owners of aggressive dogs, especially dogs with a history of aggression toward other dog who are allowed to roam off leash. I am so sorry this happened!!
  16. A sheath infection? Will Baytril take care of it or I need to get Keflex? My vet did a pretty thorough exam and he diagnosed it as a UTI. Would he have missed this? I guess I am going to see how things go with antibiotics and recheck in 10 days. My greyhound seems to be doing OK, I did not see any blood at all today and I have not seen Onyx licking that area. Hopefully it will just clear up!
  17. Hi Folks, A couple of days ago I noticed that Onyx had what appeared to be diluted blood drops dripping out of his "boy parts". That area looked kind of raw and red and it was bleeding, (not much just enough to send me into an anxiety attack). He has also been liking that area more frequently. He shows no behavioral changes. His appetite is good, and he is not glum or seems to be in any discomfort, (other then licking his parts). He is urinating normally, not straining or going more frequently, no accidents in the house. Took him to my vet today. He did an exam, but could not do a UA, due to Onyx having an empty bladder. I went home with 10 days worth of Baytril. Hopefully it will clear up in a few days. I have only had male greyhounds (6 over the past 20 years) and never had this issue. It is more common in females is my understanding. Onyx is 4 and is a heathy and active greyhound. Both of my greys are on a raw diet. I am wondering if anyone else had this happen to a male grey? I hope it's just a UTI and nothing more serious.
  18. Hi Carolyn! Welcome to the club! Italian Greyhounds are adorable, we have quite a few of these little sweeties in our neighborhood, (in Brooklyn, NY).
  19. Wishing Katie and you all the best. I understand how nerve wrecking it is when a greyhound starts to limp. I lost my soul dog Primetime to osteo this past July. He was only 8 and was the picture of perfect health, active and happy then the limping started and there it was. I was crushed. But on the other hand, Henry passed away just two months short of his 15th birthday and over the years had so many "limping scares", my mind would just automatically go to the worst possible diagnosis and yet he never got osteo. Not ALL greyhounds get osteo, but over the years I did learn that they are somewhat more prone to orthopedic issues, all kinds of minor injuries that can be from past racing injuries to just playing too hard. Try to stay positive.
  20. I had allot of issues with corns on my dear Henry, he struggled with them for years. My regular vet thought Henry had a foreign body or some kind growths in his foot pads. I took him to an orthopedic vet and she diagnosed him with hip-dysplasia, without doing ANY testing. My guess is she was so used to seeing hip dysplasia on so many dogs, that she assumed that is what must be wrong my greyhound. I refused to pay that vet bill. Another vet thought Henry had an infection and so on.. It was ridiculous. I finally took him to a really greyhound savvy vet who was not only familiar with corns, but his own greyhound suffered from them. Henry's corns was terribly painful and yes he was better walking on grass, dirt or sand then on any type of hard surface. There is a good group on Facebook: Greyhounds with Corns. The group has lots of information and people sharing their experiences with this affliction. Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Greyhoundswithcorns/?ref=ts&fref=ts
  21. Hi again Everyone, Sara I would love to get together in central park, I am glad that I am on the meetup! I don't have 50 posts, but I am happy to plan on something or join you and other greyhounds in the park if you already have a group get together in mind. Again my mail is: innak118@hotmail.com Claudia, how can I get more details about the group walks on Sunday at Mill Pond Park in Wantagh? Is there a website or a Facebook group? If not, please feel free to email me, we would really like to attend! Thank you everyone for the nice welcome! All of your greyhounds are so beautiful! I will figure out how to post photos and put some of my two boys up. Thanks!
  22. Hi Sarabz-I would love to go for a meetup walk and everyone else here who expressed an interest in doing so! Would we be able to do a sunday? I work monday-saturday and sunday is the only day off I have so that would have to do. I send a request to Greyhound Meetup a couple of weeks ago, still waiting for an approval though. Claudia-wow 20-30 greyhounds going for a walk! That must be quite a site! I live in Williamsburg and we are not too far from LI. I would love more info, perhaps we can join you on a Sunday? Do you know the folks at Grateful Greyhounds? I have adopted from them over the years, (one of my current boys is from GG), they do a good job and really nice folks. Carronstar-I know the little dog park near the Planetarium, my BF used to live right across from there. We used to walk in Central Park late in the evenings with the greyhounds, they loved going there. How do I send a PM? Sorry, not yet familiar with the site. And I have to figure out how to post photos as well. Here is my email address if anyone would like to email me to organize a group walk: innak118@hotmail.com
  23. Hi Nycelle! Having greyhounds in NYC is pretty easy, I think. They make good apartment dogs and unless you have a spook, are usually not too overwhelmed by the city, they get used to all the sight and sounds pretty fast, at least all of mine did. The only issue I have with living in NYC is finding a safe, fenced off place for them to run off leash. I am not a fan of official dog parks and never go there with my guys. They all tend to be too small and have too many unpredictable dogs with owners who don't pay any attention. I see too many fights breaking out so dog runs are not for us. I would love to go for a little group walk in Central Park though, it's so nice there in the spring time! We can definitely organize something. Carronstar, I also signed up for the greyhound meetup but my understanding is they all meet at the local dog parks and I a not a fan of these places at all! We can exchange emails perhaps and set something up? My two boys really like meeting other greyhounds. :-)
  24. Thank you for the welcome everyone! Sarabz I am not too far from you, I live in Williamsburg and we have a couple of greyhounds around here as well. Do you ever do playdates or maybe a group walk in central park or something fun like that? My boys love meeting other greyhounds and we can maybe get together. What group did you adopt Bella from? I will try to figure out how to post photos on here. Hubcitypam, nice to see another greyhound person from the old GH-L! I remember these heated debates all too well. Poor admins! A couple of us from the 90's days of GH-L found each other on Facebook. Some are no longer into greyhounds but are still into other sighthounds. One person who was one of the founders of a well known east coast group is now only into AKC greys, (she said she could no longer handle loosing a dog to cancer at age 7). Kind of sad but some of us are NGA greyhound die-hards and will continue to adopt retired racers.
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