cgingrich

This is a lovely story and another testament (like mine, with my girl Molly) on how special these dogs are!

Thank you! It does help that she's with other angels. Two months today, I miss her like crazy :-(

Just a note that this describes Mr. Gayle's dog ~

We wanted a big dog, but not too big; a young dog, but not a puppy. We came home from the rescue centre with a huge eight-year-old hound Although I am naturally quite shy, we talked to strangers all the time on our walks. I say “we” because while Sail, my rescue greyhound, was mostly silent during these interactions, I was keenly aware that without him my daily chats wouldn’t happen. My wife had lobbied hard for a dog for years, but I come from a family that doesn’t really do pets. Over time, my stance softened and we welcomed Pip, a netherland dwarf house rabbit, into our lives, followed by another, called Milo. Lovely though they were, they weren’t a dog. Every parent who, like us, had teenagers insisted that dogs were great for family bonding. The tipping point came when friends brought over their rescue lurcher. Rather than being yappy and excitable, she was chilled to the point of being horizontal, napping contentedly on her bed for the entire visit. This, I decided, was my kind of dog. Overjoyed that I was open to the idea of a sighthound, my wife booked us in to see a four- year-old female rescue greyhound. In theory, this pooch fitted the bill perfectly: we wanted a big dog, but not too big; a young dog, but not a puppy. Reader, we came home with a huge male dog who, at eight, was easily one of the oldest hounds at the centre. The beautiful blue with the soulful amber eyes got off his bed to sniff us through the bars of his kennel and immediately had our hearts. We took him for a test walk and, halfway through, I begged my wife to call the shelter in case anyone nabbed him before we could. “He has to be ours,” I said. “He was made for us.” Sail was with us for the rest of his life, a total of five and a half years. And what wonderful years they were. I will never forget the day he stole a huge baguette from the dining table, or the time he picked up a dead squirrel in the park, forcing us to remove it from his mouth. Fun times, indeed. But it is our walks I remember most fondly. My proximity to such a handsome, elegant dog seemed to encourage people to stop and chat. They would scratch his ears, ask his age and enquire about his former life as a racer. Some told me their life stories, others simply passed the time of day, but all engaged with me in a way they never would have if Sail had not been with me. The end, when it came, last October, was mercifully quick. His back legs became weak, he went off his food and an emergency visit to the vet confirmed that it was time. On his final day, we treated him like the king he was: snuggled up on the sofa, he ate smoked salmon and scrambled eggs for breakfast and M&S chicken for dinner; in between, he was showered with all the hugs and kisses he could handle. We were devastated at his passing and the hole he has left in our lives is huge. He gave me a glimpse into how friendly the world can be when you walk through it with a wonderful dog by your side.

For November -- Molly

Hello-- is it still possible to find Celebrating Greyhounds online? Thanks!

A few days ago, I received new test results for my greyhound Molly. For the first time that I remember, IDEXX had a notation: Greyhounds require different reference intervals for many common parameters. Please visit go.idexx.com/greyhoundRI (that's a capital I as in Irish) for breed-specific reference intervals. The list is extensive and includes T4, renal values and hematology. Perhaps this will help us from saying to our vets "But she's a greyhound!!!" The result numbers on my printout were still for non-greyhounds and my vet missed the correct ones, but it's a start! The info is finally there!

On the latest IDEXX tests for my greyhound girl, Molly, IDEXX included notes that stated that "Greyhounds require different reference intervals for many common parameters. Please visit go.idexx.com/greyhoundRI for breed - specific reference materials." I knew that some of greyhound values were different but never have seen the list in one place. Not sure of differences between US testing and UK testing, but the reference value for IDEXX SDMA was 0 - 20 ug/dL ~

I'm interested in hearing about successful use of an indirect monitor for oscillometric measurement. I think that's the easiest method for non-vet people to use. It could be an instrument for human use, or specifically for vet use. My greygirl has white coat fear and, with covid, has not had reliable readings with our vet. Frequently, it's "can't get a reading."

Thanks, I'll keep checking back!

Hello ~ I know this has been discussed before, but I'm seeking updates from anyone that has successfully used a home BP monitor for their grey. My Molly and I say thank you!

My Molly sheds 12 months a year, 24 hours a day, and has for years. This year her partly bald backside has filled in a lot, with longish hair. :-)

Hi greydad92 and Spock! Molly says hello to her fellow P & P member! It's greyt to hear that Mr. Spock is doing well, and you are too ~ I would also not worry about the cataracts. Molly's 12 and has had them for years and seems to have no problems. As for the dental. Molly had one in Jan 2019 at age 11. This was her second at the same practice (IAHC in Bolton). The first one went fine, the second not so much. She's fine now, but was under for a reported 2.5 hours for a clean and single extraction. We were at the practice for 6+ hours, waiting and waiting, then she was brought out to us, very loopy, with no instructions, for another hour. At home, she recovered well, and ate well, but had peeing issues for months. We do brush and also use a dental gel but her teeth are not great after a year. If she had to have another cleaning, I'd look for a non-anesthesia dental (IAHC does them) and for a worse tooth issue, there's a dental specialist in Boxborough -- Stay well! We hope to see you guys at GF in the fall!

Our 12 year old (but very fit!) greygirl has started to leak urine while sleeping. There are stress factors -- we lost her borzoi brother in February, so she is a single dog, and COVID-19 doesn't allow her much of her regular dog interactions. I won't give her Proin, DES or Incurin, but are trying the homeopath "Leaks No More" and VetriScience's Vetri Bladder Canine. Has anyone tried these? Many thanks!

Poor Sweep and you too for not having your girl there at night! Gus, our borzoi, has had a behaviorist for many years (he was a wild, scared puppy!). She's also his reiki person / communicator and is convinced that his problem with the steps is vision. We'll be working on that soon, but in the last week, he's been on a minor hunger strike, which has us freaked. Seems to be improving today..... My greyhound Molly almost always insists on a second trip out to pee at night, knowing that she'll get another treat. And, last year when she had her teeth cleaned and a tooth pulled, she was under a long time -- in the weeks after, she was going out about every two hours. I had a UTI done, totally fine. It resolved and she's back to her normal second biscuit at night. I also catastrophize about everything and Molly is my first hound! Sometimes I think these dogs know us far too well! I'll let you know if the "improved vision" plan works, as soon as Gus is back to full eating. Hugs to Sweep! Molly is a fawn girl too ~

Hello -- I just saw your post. We have both a greyhound and a borzoi -- it's our borzoi that's going though a similar issue as Sweep. He won't go up. The only way into our house is by the lower level and we have beige carpeted steps to the upper level. They are 5 steps, an 180 degree turn and then 8 steps. He will "bound" up the 5 steps, but rarely go up the 8 steps. Going down is not a problem. He goes both up and down outdoor steps fine, one by one, foot by foot (like his greyhound sister). He's 11 and has some back issues, but walks well, chases squirrels and is in good health. He gets chiro once a month. He jumps into the car without a problem. We've considered fear problems and also his eyes and the fact that the steps may all blend together, and will try taping them to make them more separate. Also working on back leg strength with step ups. Please continue to post how it goes with Sweep -- we're sleeping downstairs.....Thanks!

Many thanks for asking this question!! My greyhound's brother, borzoi Gus (11 and 85 pounds), is doing exactly what you describe. Our stairs are carpeted and we have installed treads on top -- too early to tell. There are recommendations on Greytalk titled Recommendations for Ramps and Back-End Slings. I hope you get more ideas!

Does anyone have recommendations for a cooling bed? For my grey's brother borzoi. Not a happy boy in the heat. Thanks!

For my borzoi (my grey's brother) -- we use NuLeaf. Works well for him.

My 11 year old girl raced at 51 pounds until she retired at age 2 1/2. Since then, she's been as "heavy" as 53 and as low as 42. Lately, she's about 47 lbs. My vet is not thrilled about this. She eats well (about half raw, half cooked), and is on twice daily .4mg of thyroid (yes, I know, she probably doesn't need it, but that has been addressed with my vet). She doesn't have as much of her racing muscle mass of course and is really not thinner than many I've seen. She's as active as any other grey zzzzzz. I'm giving her 1600 calories a day. Any thoughts out there? Thx!

We got excellent results with acupuncture ~

Sending the very best thoughts! Dentals are scary, but I think my girl's last one was harder on me than on her!

Just an update that the peeing has improved so that she now can go 6 hours overnight. She's her usual self and eating fine. Her gums are a rather unpleasant red on both sides -- she had the tooth out on one side and a gum flap stitched down on the other side. I'm brushing very gently and using VetzLife Gel on her gums. Wondered if anyone has seen an adverse result with this? She sees our regular vet in 2 days. Her dissolvable stitches are still there after nearly 4 weeks. And we're having the blood tests redone.

Poor girl! Feel better soon, Peggy!

Hi -- Molly the greyhound and I live in Boylston MA --