Dave_P

Thank you all for the support. Could not have had such a great dog without your help. He is in Gods hands now. Be free, Milo!

Well, I had to say goodbye to Milo today. Too many days and nights spent crying out in pain. Meds barely dented the pain. Sorry milo, but we had a few good years together. I am glad you were in my life. Hope you are running like the wind now, being free of pain and suffering. I miss you, Dad.

Another update to Milo. He has been wonderful and happy the last 8 months. But now he is stumbling a bit, and almost collaspes jumping down a few steps. All 3 of his legs seem a bit swollen - I don't see the veins and tendons like before. And he wimpers in pain. His front leg causes pain, especially when I squeeze it. Gabuprofin for pain. Thoughts? TNX Dave

December update. Milo is doing great now! Great attitude and appetite, can handle steps to the house pretty well. And he can run fast, keeping up with the others doggies. If he is galloping along, it is most like skipping, using just one back leg. He sez : I am still faster than you!"

Thank you all, very much. I stopped the pain pills. He pees all over the house, and I think one stitch popped, and is leaking bloody pus. Looks like it is old stuff, just draining out. Monday back to vet for stitches out, and see what they think. Sometimes his tail is up and he is happy, and sometimes Milo seems depressed. Sleeps in odd places, not much appetite ...

Milo is back home finally, after 4-5 days at vet. They took the whole shoulder off. But he is happy, jumped out of the truck by himself, walked around the yard - he is good! Hope I can keep him happy for a few months.

Well, it has been a month now. Swollen wrist is bigger. Leg is pracctically worthless. Took him down to the U of FL vet school yesterday. Biopsy says osteo sarcoma. Fast acting cancer, not much one can do to stop it. Full of pain pills. We had a nice afternoon in the yard, beautiful North Florida fall day. We will see how he holds up in the next days/weeks. He is just dragging along his front foot - very little use to him.

I assume the biopsy if of the lump, to see what it is. So far, the lump seems to be growing on the bone, a separate growth. I will request a tick panel also.

WELL, we had x rays last week. $350 sounds expensive. Doc wants to do a biopsy next week, to see if this bulge is benign or not. Don't know where that will lead us.

I will talk to vet on monday, ask about tick panel. Swelling has not changed, but Milo is happy as a lark!

Well, so far the xrays are positive. The lump is not part of the leg bones. So no cancer suspected now. That is a relief, of course. Doc is sending films to an expert to also evaluate them. Pills for pain and reduce swelling. He is also running a fever of 103, I think she said??. Milo was so happy this am, as I was letting him out to pee. Jumping around in circles -- what a wonderful dog! Did I also say he gets along gr4eat with 3 new horses my son got? Milo just does not care about them. So, life is good this weekend. Hot as Hades. Praying for those poor souls in the Carolinas - been there, done that,, too many times. Dave

OK, OK - quit beating me over the head. Will see the doc on friday.

5 y/o Milo (ex racer) has a swollen joint, front left wrist. That joint is maybe 1/4" larger in diameter that the good leg. He favors it, limping around the house. But he still jumps down the steps to go out, And, he will still run flat out, without complaining. The joint is hard, not mushy at all. I can bend it and he seems fine with that. If I squeeze it hard he will cry. Been going on a few days here - may still be growing - hard to tell. Anyone want to speculate? If it does not improve soon, I will take him to the vet. Thanks, Dave

That seems to make sense - I think/assume the dogs wear muzzles whenever they are near the track. Minor Facial scars from my other 2 dogs heal up pretty fast. Milo is actually acting very Alpha Dog-ish sometimes . Gets into a mess of positioning/biting/asserting with my little german shepard. He can get vicious! Hair problems: he is losing hair on his butt and the back of his front shoulders. No wear and tear on those places. Don't know why. Hope you all are enjoying the winter! Dave

Seems that many greyhounds dont like stairs, at first. Took me a few weeks to get Milo comfortable with 4-5 steps. I am sure there are better ways, but strapping a large towel or belt behind his front legs (if you are strong enough) and making him do the steps might work. Dave

Feeding pills: what has worked well for me in the past -- open his mouth wide, and shove your fingers way down his throat (with pill attached). As far as you can. So your whole hand is in his mouth. Then he has little chance off coughing it up.

I have had Milo for 7 months or so. About 5 years old. He came from the breeder, where I think he ate raw meats. Anyway, his breath was terrible. People 6 feet away avoided him (ha ha). He lets me try to remove plaque with a strong dental pick, but it is on there good. So I have been preparing myself for a large bill from the vet, to clean his teeth. Instead, I bought the chewy things for his teeth - I think its the same company makes those big red erasers for school kids. OraVet chewys. I give him just a couple every week. What a difference in just a few weeks - I can kiss him now, and don't feel like i have to puke afterwards! Big thumbs up for OraVet! And, FYI, after 7-8 months here, he is acting almost like a normal dog. Plays with my other 2 dogs, goes outside on his own, etc, etc. So to those new owners: keep your chin up - your dog will be a fine addition to your family. I still can't get him into my truck, nor will he walk around my neighbors house. But check back in 6 months or so - maybe we can master those tasks also. Dave PS some of the skin damage/ bare spots he came with, have not changed. Guess he will have visible scars for life, from the track life. Oh well. He gets scratched up plenty wrassling with my other dogs and they heal up OK.

Any dedicated indoor dog lover should have no problem cutting a few strategic holes in yer walls, that allows the beast more paths and shortcuts to take, in his quest to elude his invisible chasers.

I just warmed in microwave for some seconds. Gets nice and slushy. Stopped using oil the second week. And by the 3rd week all soft stools were gone. Great stuff! No, I don't use it any more - no need to now that Milo is settled in.

I always liked to use the doughnut, instaed of the cone. Is a greys neck too long for the doughnut to work?

"We recently moved to a new state and into a new single family home in June." Night lites maybe leave a radio/tv on for him? "About an hour after we fall asleep, he will stand up from his bed, walk over to the doorway, out to the stairs, look around for a minute then pace back into the bedroom." Is he checking the security of his family??

Poor old Milo has terrible breath, and has had since I got him 5 months ago. I assume it is from dirty teeth, with a lot of tarter build up. So I guess I will let the vet clean him up one of these days. I hate to put an animal under, for such a "simple" procedure. (maybe I should try scraping them by myself, first?) Question to the group, is: estimated cost of this procedure? I am guessing $100, but will call the vet next week. Thanks!

Milo had similar bowel issues when I got him - he was in a whole new world, so not surprised he was anxious. I fed him dry food, mixed with the carrot concentration powder, for a few weeks. Worked fine, and just feed him dry food now - no issues.

"How do you keep you anxiety under control ?" I would think this is the first thing to work on - your attitude. If you are uptight around strange dogs or locations, I would not be surprised to see your dogs pick up on that. How?? Heck, I don't know.

That is good news!