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KellyandKris216

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    Kelly

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Grey Pup

Grey Pup (4/9)

  1. We installed the new vinyl plank in the "dog room" of our last house, and loved it so much that we're in the process of installing it throughout in our new place. Totally waterproof, dog nail proof, looks like wood, and is super easy to clean. Has some texture so the dogs don't skip and slide like they were on the laminate. Lowe's sells SmartCore which had the underlayment already installed (this is what we went with), and Home Depot has their equivalent called LifeProof. Totally in love with it!
  2. Before the cookie discovery, it was pretty much a battle all spring and summer. We had to mix increasingly elaborate things into his food to get him to eat it, and even then he'd turn up his nose sometimes. Now we're back down to kibble, a squirt of salmon oil, a probiotic capsule, and some water. The cookies he gets aren't even anything fancy, they're literally just Trader Joe's peanut butter dog cookies. It took a while to establish the cookie routine since we had to "capture" the behavior of him eating all his meal first. Once Renny kinda started to understand what we were trying for, we brought our other pup into the fold (he's a vacuum cleaner), and would clank the cookie in his bowl and then look over at Renny's bowl. Well, Renny also happens to be a very jealous dog and figured out what was going on right quick! He's cookie motivated, but even moreso when Indy gets a cookie! I've heard some greys lose interest in eating once it gets hot outside; depending on where you are maybe this could be a factor? Here in VA it's still oscillating between cold and semi-warm, but I've heard places like Phoenix have hit 90 already.
  3. Ryan and Niki who sometimes post here lost their sweet Stella in March. Can you please add her to the list? <3
  4. Renny does something similar this time of year, not being interested on his meals or only eating part and leaving the rest. (He's 80lb but I can count every single rib on him, wish I could put a couple pounds on him!) Anyway, after much testing and trial and error over the last two years we've chalked it up to some unspecific seasonal allergy that exists spring and summer. Fall and winter he has no issue and inhales his food (but still gains no weight. Weirdo). Maybe something similar is going on here? Renny is an extremely food motivated hound, making his lack of appetite all the more puzzling. This may sound dumb, but we've actually trained him that he'll get a cookie if he finishes his meal. We walk over, very obviously check his bowl, exclaim, "good boy!!!!!!" in the most excited voice we can, and loudly drop a cookie in the metal bowl. If he doesn't eat, we hold up the cookie for him to see, tell him to finish his dinner, and then wait (and sometimes walk away and come back a few minutes later). Why the cookie is oh-so-much-better, I'll never know, but it works and I've stopped questioning it lol We've tried Pepcid, Claritin, Zyrtec, and Prednisone with no effect (the last one landed him an emergency vet visit after plummeting 9lb in as many days, please be very careful if your vet suggests this because some greys are sensitive). This year, since it's now started up again I'm giving benadryl a go, which just might be working but is still early days. Crossing my fingers it works, but the cookie method makes a good backup! Edit: I should mention that Renny also has a bit of a cough/sniffle to go with it which pointed us down the allergy route. That may not be applicable here though
  5. Ditto what the others said. Logan is the epitome of a white fluffy (long haired too), but we have two greys (and a third in the past) who get along well with him. Logan rules the house with an iron hiss; Renny fully ignores him and Indy is afraid of him. So white fluffies can definitely coexist with the right hound!
  6. Hi Kathy, Thought I'd chime in. We watched Stella and Dino over Thanksgiving and Stella is doing fantastic! She gets around on three legs just as she did with four, and was even doing zoomies and chasing our two boys around the yard like she's loved to do in the past. You wouldn't know she's missing a leg if you didn't see it! I hope you Beka is up and running around soon herself.
  7. We tried them for Indy's thunderphobia and didn't see a difference even when we gave more than the suggested dose. Fortunately we're (finally) leaving thunderstorm season, but next year I might try the oil itself like Remolacha suggests. If you want to give it a try though, happytailpetsupply.com has trial sizes so you don't have to jump right in with a big bag.
  8. I've used Seresto on our two pups and two cats for the last several years and never had a problem. I can only remember one tick I've found during that time and it was already dead! It really works, and I love that I don't have to worry about touching the oil slick of Frontline for a few days after application.
  9. Never thought I'd be happy to see pudding poop at 3:45am, but it's better than liquid poop! Renny ate another full bland-breakfast this morning. Still not much interest in regular water, but he drank some boiled chicken water. He's passing fluids, though his urine stream is still very thin. If a normal stream is a super soaker, his stream is a $0.50 squirt gun. It's taking him about 10 min of going around the yard before he feels empty enough to come in. He's also having trouble with his "off valve" and has been dribbling all over the house. Nothing I can't keep up with with a towel, but he seems rather embarrassed by it. We started with a belly band, but since he seems to be laying in just a few spots in the house I've put down puppy pads instead (that way the moisture isn't being held against his body).
  10. Thanks MaryJane! Apologies that I missed your oatmeal suggestion before, we have some handy so I'll add it to his breakfast in the morning. He had another full meal at dinner (~2+ cups of chicken, rice, pumpkin, cottage cheese, and water), and though he doesn't show much interest in plain water, he did like drinking the water we used to boil the chicken in. I agree with your assessment, I'd just like to get and keep him stable until Monday and talk over new plans with the vet then. In hindsight I shouldn't have swapped his food all around; when the vet recommended trying different flavors, I figured maybe wet food was different. Should have listened to my gut; we'll live and learn and not do it next time. Poor pup. Still no poop this evening, though he's still passing urine in thin streams. Crossing my fingers for a quiet night!
  11. Renny just went out for his first pee break since coming home, and didn't have any diarrhea (or any bowl movement for that matter). Hopefully that's progress in the poop department! However, his pee stream was very thin and he spent probably 10 minutes trying to empty himself all over the yard. I'm going to guess this is because he's been so dehydrated and finally has enough fluids to spare to pee again? For what it's worth, I went inside and got a measuring cup to catch some urine (Renny looked highly offended but obliged me) and it looked a normal color, not overly dark or bloody.
  12. After a morning of continued liquid diarrhea I called the vet and insisted on bringing him in for sub-q fluids to get him to Monday. When pulled, the skin on the back of his neck would stand upright instead of snapping back into place, so I was pretty worried that his dehydration was worse than I originally thought. We didn't get to see or talk with the vet, but a tech got him the fluids he needed. They told us he's lost 9 lb since his visit on 6/9. Within an hour of the fluids he perked up and looked better, and now he seems to have stabilized somewhat in that he hasn't needed a bathroom break in the last 5 hours. Thanks for your replies and sorry I wasn't clearer in my word-barf! He's had pudding diarrhea since Tues and liquid since Thurs I think. He was only eating about a cup of chicken and rice for each meal since Wednesday before losing interest, and in hindsight, hubby and I don't think he's been drinking much the last couple days either. However, we offered him a meal of chicken, rice, and a bit of low fat cottage cheese when we got home from the vet this afternoon which he ate voraciously, and also separately drank about 2 cups of a mix of half chicken stock (no salt), half pedialyte. I'm hoping that means we've gotten him over a hump; we'll offer dinner in a few hours and see what he feels like. The vet's original rationale for the Pred was the inflammation on the x-ray, combined with trying Zyrtec with no effect in the past. Another antihistamine might work better, but she wanted a course of Pred to try and knock out the inflammation cold. In hindsight I guess this wasn't the best idea. I understand Pred is one of those that can't be quit cold turkey, so I'm loath to stop it until I talk with the vet. Hmm I didn't realize chicken isn't a great option, it just seemed like the blandest thing available. For what it's worth, his regular kibble is chicken (though he's been on other proteins in the distant past, but seemed to like this food best). Should I continue with the chicken for now to avoid upsetting his system by switching to the hamburger? Or is it a mild enough swap that it's unlikely to bother him? I'm unable to get the W/D diet until the vet opens on Monday, but I'll definitely discuss it with them then. Tbhounds, I have a round of Drontal on hand. Would you recommend I give this to him now, or let his system calm down a little more? If I recall correctly you're a vet yourself, right?
  13. Hi all, I'm hoping someone can give me some insight and maybe some perspective on an issue I'm having with Renny (worrywart mom may be skewing my view on this). Sorry it's long-winded, I figured more info was better and there might be something I'm not thinking of. Backstory: Renny is 3.5 and 80 lbs (as of 6/9). Since we brought him home 2 years ago, he's had a periodic but consistent cough/hack that doesn't seem to have any obvious cause, but also doesn't seem to bother him much. Zyrtec didn't seem to make it go away. When we brought him in for his annual exam on 6/9 I asked about it, and long story short we took some xrays that showed inflammation in the lungs/trachea. These were sent off to a radiologist who confirmed there was nothing sinister beyond the inflammation. The vet deemed it probably some kind of allergy, and to reduce the inflammation we started Renny on a course of Prednisone (2x/day for the first week, 1x/day for the second week (we are here), 1x/every other day for the third and fourth weeks). Course started on 6/12. Based on what I read on this board, I supplemented with Pepcid AC 2x/day as well. Renny had what I understand is a normal greyhound reaction to the Pred: drinking and peeing like a race horse, not terribly interested in food (not unusual for him in the summer to begin with), panting, and looking like he feels rather "blah". We put Renny on some chicken and rice and reported the inappitence to our vet who recommended trying him on some different wet foods and cycling through until we found something he liked. Vet insisted that he should be ravenous due to the Pred, rather than skipping meals. We tried one type of wet food for 3 days mixed in with his regular kibble and another type for 2 days. He liked the wet food but not the kibble. Problem: I think this started Tues afternoon, but Renny had some diarrhea in the house between his lunch pee break at 1pm and us getting home from work at 5pm. Stool was a very soft pile, not pure liquid. Wed he had another accident in the afternoon, went out 2x Wed night, and an accident around 5am Thurs morning because I missed the sound of him going downstairs. Thurs morning we switched back to straight chicken and rice, which he's since been only mildly interested in. Thurs at lunch my husband was greeted with 2 more soft piles of diarrhea on the kitchen floor. At this point I called the vet. Vet thinks it was all the food changes that caused the diarrhea and recommended chicken, rice, pumpkin, and probiotics going forward until his stools firm up. A few hours after my call he had liquid poo and some bright red blood at the end. Called the vet back and left a message with the front desk; not entirely sure this made it to the vet because I never got a call back (I'd figure blood = call back). Having not heard back by 9pm, called SIL who is a vet in CA. Described his symptoms, she said the blood, since it was bright, was probably from his colon and a result of irritation from all the diarrhea. Keep up with chicken and rice and keep an eye on him. We let Renny out 3x overnight between Thurs night and Fri morning. Fri morning, stool was still liquid and mucous-y, but no blood. Had to run to work between 9-11:30, came home to liquid poo in the kitchen. Called the vet and requested a tube of Proviable to stop the diarrhea. Renny got 2 doses of this on Friday. He's going out about every 3 hrs, including 3x overnight Friday night. Hubby may have given him another dose of Proviable at 4am, but he's still asleep so I don't know for sure. This morning, he still has liquid, mucous-y poo, but no blood. In the past, the Proviable would have at least firmed up his stool a little after a couple of doses, not still be pure liquid. He's still on the boiled chicken and rice, pumpkin, Pepcid, and Pred. Help needed: When I last talked to a tech on Thurs afternoon, she recommended staying the course until Monday. If he was still having diarrhea by then, bring him in for a check. They are open today (Sat) until noon though. I'm unsure if I should insist on bringing him in today for say a blood test, fecal, and fluids, or wait it out until Monday. Admittedly, I'm loath to spend another few hundred dollars if all they're going to tell me is more chicken and rice. He doesn't seem in imminent danger and diarrhea is messy but manageable. On the other hand, there's been no improvement despite a couple days of chicken, rice, and probiotics, and he looks downright emaciated. I wouldn't be surprised if he's lost 7-10 lbs since this started based on how he looks (I tried picking him up and standing on the bathroom scale, but it can't read the two of us). On the other, other hand, his looks could be what's causing my concern level to spike, when really he'll be fine to wait it out until Monday. Any advice or perspective? Would you bring him in today or wait until Monday? Should I "sit down and stop touching the dog"? Thanks a million! And sorry for the incredibly long-winded post.
  14. Found it! Greyt_dog_lover (Chad) was kind enough to write the following guidelines for new Greyhound adopters who live with cats. Quoted from GT post Jan 9, 2015: My own note: depending on the dog, you may be able to accelerate this or may need to slow it down. The remarks under the "NOTE" are especially key; do not trust the dog alone with the cat for several months at least, no matter how uninterested they seem. We always crated our pups when we were gone so we didn't have to worry about something happening to the cats when we weren't there. Nowadays everyone roams free, but we still have one room baby gated as a cat-only room to give the cats their own space if they want it. Also helps to keep the dogs out of the cat food Good luck!!
  15. Our first grey, River, showed some mild interest in the sense of "Hey, what's that creature? I've not seen one of those before". We'd toss treats to him in his crate while encouraging our one cat to walk around the room. The cat hadn't lived with a dog before so he was curious too! We eventually let River meet him with a muzzle, and once his curiosity was satisfied he left the cat alone. Our white fluffy cat spent the first few weeks living under the bed before discovering that the dog was big but not ferocious. River's ears would perk up anytime the cats would do zoomies around the house, but he'd never follow. When we brought Indy home, he was downright scared of the white fluffy cat, who by this time had gained some confidence. He wouldn't even walk through the hallway for a bowl of dinner if the cat was in the way! And no, he wasn't a failed racer either! He's gotten over his fear now, but still defers to the cat at all times. Renny was fostered with a geriatric cat so ours weren't the first he'd seen, but he walked right in our house and has been oblivious to the cats since day one. I'm not entirely sure he knows they're there; he only seems to take notice when he steps on one who then swats at him (and rightly so). The cats ignore him in return; I've watched one literally walk across Renny's body and use his head as a stepping stone because the dog was blocking the path to the cat bed. Cat-proof and cat-trainable greys are absolutely out there. We've been pretty lucky, River was really the only one we needed to work with and even that was just to curb his curiosity rather than any kind of prey drive. Take it slowly and use tons of treats to distract them. And don't forget to treat the cat, this is a big change for them too! There's a fantastic post somewhere about introducing your grey to a cat; I'll see if I can find it.
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