[Putting A Grey Down Due To Dementia / Senility ?]

For me, it depends on the situation. As others have said, it's about quality of life. However, for the average person, I wouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't want to deal with a touch of dementia, even if the dog was otherwise happy and healthy. (from experience with other, esp. co workers, who thought the other year that getting a dog door for a dog that couldn't hold it for a long work day (10 hrs) was above and beyond and that "that dog should just be put out of your misery" Urgh. ) In that sense, it wasn't about the dog and her health/happiness, it was about my convenience. Because she couldn't hold it for 10 or more hours straight, it was an 'inconvenience' and according to them, I should have her put down. The fact that I spent the $ first on pee pads (while waiting for the custom door) and then the $ of the door just baffled them.

 

She'll be 14 this fall, and with her door, she is a very happy girl. She can go out when she needs to, without waking me up, and however many times a day/night she feels the need to, whether I am at work or not. She doesn't see or hear as well, that's for sure, and is not as quick to respond, but she still loves life, and is as stubborn as can be. Heck, she can still do her mile walks. Sure, it's not the 3 miles she did a couple years ago, but it's great for her age, and she loves it. So we do it. She'll be with me as long as she can--as long as she has a good quality of life. That is what counts. If life becomes painful, or scary, then I'll know it's time. Though I don't think the average "Joe dog owner" feels this way. I know this is how most here feel, but what I've encountered elsewhere is far different. Most can't get it through their heads that all 3 of my BIG dogs actually live INSIDE. (and they see a vet regularly too , have booties, coats, etc. )

[Corns On Greyhound Pads]

If you do a search on corns, you'll find a lot of info here. There are a bunch of us whose pups have corns, so if you read through you'll find posts on people's experiences with different treatments.

 

Your options are hulling (non-surgical removal of the hard surface part of the corn, must be done regularly), dremeling (grinding) the corn flat, surgery to remove the corn (long healing and the corn often comes back anyway), toe amputation (removing the entire toe that has the corn), or combinations... i.e. have the vet hull the corn and in between hullings use a dremel to help keep it down. Some people have tried things like putting on bits of duct tape (over the corn on the pad), abreva, etc. with mixed results.

 

unfortunately there isn't just a quick easy solution. Hulling does work well, but it doesn't solve the problem. It needs to be redone every couple of weeks to months depending on how fast the corn grows. This is what we do, as well as dremeling to keep it from building up as quickly. Even so, Sully's corn still causes discomfort, so I bought some boots for him to wear on our walks, when he has to walk on a hard surface. The boots provide padding for his foot, and he doesn't limp when he wears them. His corn had gotten bad enough that we couldn't take long walks anymore because his foot hurt too much to walk. The boots solved that, and he'll walk and run all day in them. We still have to keep the corn down, so the boots aren't the be-all end-all, but they really help and help him enjoy his favorite activities again.

 

Sully in his boots:

 

[Corns, Arthritis, Something Else?]

I sure wish they didn't get corns! Sully has a nice big ol' one on his foot, and yes, they can certainly cause major lameness and limping!

 

The pic you posted looks a lot like a corn. Actually, looks a lot like Sully's corn! Sully's will get to the point where he won't bear weight on the foot and will hobble on 3 legs.

 

The hulling procedure really does work, and it is quick and bloodless, no anaesthesia needed, and it provides a good deal of relief.

 

I understand your problem about finding a vet that will listen-- I have the same problem here, and am still looking for a vet that I like since my old vet retired. Part of it probably has to do with my somewhat rural location. Attitudes are really different here in general.

 

What helps us is keeping the corn soft and filed down (some people dremel it down too, same process, dremel just does it faster) and also periodically if I soak his foot long enough, usually I can just pop the corn out. It's just like the hulling procedure, but just with my fingernail since the pad has softened and the corn starts to separate a bit on its own. Luckily Sully is easygoing, and while he doesn't care for it, he tolerates it, especially because he'll get lots of lovins' afterwards.

 

Boots are also a major recommendation. It can take a while for them to get used to them. Sully did NOT like his at first. I started w/ 1 therapaw. I probably should have purchased two so he wouldn't be so focused on just the ONE foot. He got it off and managed to kill it. I ended up trying again, though I bought a different boot to buy, neo-paws (same idea, provide padding for the corn foot) and purchased a pair of them, so both front feet would have boots. He didn't like them at first, but got used to them quickly when he realized boots = walks (he loves his walks, so the boots quickly became associated with a good thing!). They stay on very well, and he could not take his long walks without them. His corn foot would hurt too much. I can't recommend trying boots enough. It has really helped us here!

 

[My Dog Is Lame. Again.]

I'm so sorry that Turbo is still hurting! Corns just plain suck. I can see where the three-legging it and limping would throw the rest of him out of whack too. It puts a lot of stress on the other legs and his back/spine moves differently, so he's going to hurt more everywhere. Give him a big ol' hug. :grouphug

 

I think I might ask around about the laser as well. Gosh, it would be so nice to not have to worry about the corn!

 

I feel the same way about toe amputation. I had it suggested to me by a vet as well, but I just can't see losing an entire toe because of a corn. And if he gets corns on the other toes? How many are we going to lose?? You can't just keep lopping off toes for every corn! (I understand amputation w/ bad breaks, etc. where it really makes a huge difference, and it's not likely to develop on other toes too)

 

Booties truly have been a godsend here, though now, it's too hot for walks. The pups are perfectly happy to crash in the AC. They want nothing to do with being outside today! (it was 90 degrees at 8:00 this morning. )

[My Dog Is Lame. Again.]

Sully's overgrowth looks like hyperkeratinization. However, now that we file it down regularly, it just gets rock hard and tough before it needs filed. (I guess we're filing it before it gets to looking like it did before)

 

It started w/ limping, and then the corn appeared. We kept it hulled, and that helped. Later, we noticed not too long after his corn had been hulled that he was limping again, and there was this excess hardened pad area all around the corn (however, it was never big enough to outgrow the sides of the pad or over the corn, just a weird area around the corn). So, DH filed it down and it made a big difference. Filing the tough growth down is now part of the regular corn maintenance schedule. Anymore, I do the hulling (Can no longer find a vet willing to do it around here. It's not hard, and the corn usually comes out easily-- literally just like the hulling info page) DH does the filing. While one of us works, the other rubs Sully's ears. He doesn't care for it, but doesn't seem to mind it too much, as long as he gets some love. :lol

 

Sully's boots have an extra neoprene insert for padding. Do you think a bit of extra padding would help Turbo?

[My Dog Is Lame. Again.]

Sully also gets a huge callus/buildup around the corn area on his toe. We usually take an emery board and sand it down. It seems to help relieve some of his discomfort. Corns are the biggest PIA . I hate seeing Sully gimp around as well, all because of a corn. It's amazing that something so small can cause so much trouble.

 

Hugs to Turbo! I hope he feels better in a few days so that he can go with you to the Expo!

[Please Send Prayers For Johnny, It's Bloat Update W/pictures]

Sending lots of good thoughts and prayers!! :hope :grouphug

[Brady Needs Your Good Thoughts]

Sending lots more prayers to Brady!!! :hope :hope

[Brady Needs Your Good Thoughts]

Sending lots of prayers!!! :hope

[Black Jack.... Is All Better :)]

BJ, sending lots of prayers and hugs to you and Black Jack. I'm praying that it's just a soft tissue injury.....

[Greyhound Corns]

I agree that it looks like a seed wart/papilloma. Sebau has a few on her legs, but none where they bother her, luckily.

[Greyhound Corns]

Hull that sucker: Corn Hulling

 

Seriously. Don't let your vet convince you to do surgery. It's painful for the dog, takes a long time to heal and the corns will very likely just come back. They are evil. Hulling is a good, pain free way to get them under control and works well for most dogs.

 

Buy thee some Therapaws, too. That'll make your pup more comfortable between hullings: therapaws

 

What works best for my boy is therapaws+tramadol (50mg) between hullings. We had a lot of success for about 6 months and were meds/bootie free. The Evil Things have returned, however, and we're due in for a second hulling on a corn that has decided to erupt on a different toe.

 

Good luck

 

Oh, and soften the pads with kerasolv, abreva (good for its antiviral properties) or even plain ol' vaseline - it makes it easier to pop the corns out and the abreva may help prevent their return (or at least allow them to return smaller).

 

Oh and no worries on the corn hole - it fills back in very quickly

 

Sully has developed a persistent one that we keep hulled. In between hullings, we keep it filed smooth and put bag balm on it to keep it softer.

 

They are the most frustrating little things!!!! GRRR! It's amazing how much of a pain something as small as a corn can be!

 

--Manny, you shouldn't be getting bleeding like that from a corn. Sully's corns are bloodless, even when hulled.

[Platelet Count]

Hoping everything is OK and it's just a false/inaccurate reading!

[Major Big D In All Three Greys]

Just checking in and hoping everyone is feeling better!!

[New Vet For The Pups]

Baytril works well. When D had a UTI the other year, the first round was with cephalexin. He got better, but then in a couple weeks, it was back, and really nasty. The second round was an extended round w/ Baytril and that did the trick.

 

I hope she's feeling better soon!!

[Loca Misdiagnosed?]

Batmom could be right. When I did the Newsletter for our OS, picture file size was an issue. It was one reason I switched to Comcast (and sending big files via modem, well.. it sucks...). Even so, because of file size restrictions on the receiving end, it could still be an issue. Can you try sending each picture individually, since they are such large file sizes?

[Loca Misdiagnosed?]

Checking in and sending more prayers... :hope

[Heartworm-medicin ?]

A lot of people do stop it for a few months in the winter since it gets cold here. If so, it's generally recommended to get a test before re-starting, every spring.

 

I give mine year-round, it's just easier to stay on the schedule that way. I also usually order my HW medicine for 6 mo or a year supply at a time.

[Loca Misdiagnosed?]

Keeping my fingers crossed and sending lots of prayers that it's true.... :hope :hope

[Lyme Part Ii!]

Sebau never had any skin issues with Lyme, but if her body is trying to fight the Lyme, she could've picked up a secondary infection, i.e. a staph infection or something along the way.

 

The 500mg doxy is the correct dose, and she should be on that for a good long time. (not just a 10 day course, at least a month. At times it's even given for 8 weeks). At least here, doxy is one of the cheaper antibiotics to buy (actually, just about the cheapest). She should start to feel better in a week or so, though she may need something extra for the skin issues.

[Arthritis Care]

I've been trying to help my old girl Sebau (13) be comfortable. We do the fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM. I also added nice soft pillows (human pillows) to the dog beds to make them extra floofy and comfy. She really seems to like that!

 

Most of the time she gets around pretty well, but there are some days where you can tell she's really stiff and sore. On those days I give her one of my tramadol. We've tried Deramaxx (did ok with her stomach, but didn't seem to help her feel any better) and rimadyl, and her stomach can't tolerate the rimadyl. The tramadol really makes her feel better, it's amazing how much she perks up.

 

We are replacing our carpeting with hardwood (bamboo) including the steps, but we are buying a runner for the steps so that the pups can have traction.

[Dee Update]

Sending lots of good thoughts to you and Dee!

[Arthritis Meds]

I usually stop at GNC on the way home from work to pick up the gluco/chondroitin/msm. (the MSM is separate, the gluco/chondroitin is a combo.) I also give it to the boys, I figure they're 8 now, and had racing careers (and D's got the nastiest twisted gnarly feet-- they don't seem to bother him, but they look awful. My old vet who retired also thought they looked awful and recommended glucosamine/chondroitin, but since he doesn't even seem to notice, he didn't need NSAIDS, though he may as he ages)

 

I also try to keep her weight down (not easy-- one of her nicknames is Piggylina!! ) to reduce stress on her joints and keep her walking/moving. My old vet said that keeping her in shape was one of the best things I could do as she ages. She still loves her walks!

 

Her main problem happens to be when there are big weather changes, she seems to get really stiff and sore, and of course when she first wakes up in the morning.

 

I wish they didn't grow old so quickly. It's just not fair. It seems like just yesterday that she was a young pup.

[Arthritis Meds]

She already gets glucosamine/chondroitin and fish oil (and has for years-- I DO think it has helped keep her mobile). I did give her stuff for her stomach when she took the rimadyl, but it didn't seem to help. She's taken it before years ago, but had never needed it for more than a couple days after an injury, and I guess also being younger, it didn't do this to her.

 

Sometimes where I am feels like being in some podunk backwater.... the closest vet chiro/acupuncturist in MD is about 2 hours away-- if 95 and 495 have no traffic issues. There are LOTS in the DC area, but none up here (not really surprised though: I live in a place where most animals are lucky to even see a vet or live in a house. In general the attitude toward animals is totally different.)

[Arthritis Meds]

Sebau is 13 now, and is getting stiffer and having a bit more trouble getting around. So far, we've tried metacam, deramaxx and rimadyl. The only one that seemed to make much difference was rimadyl, but after a couple days, she'll stop eating, so that just isn't a good option. (and she's a major PIG... girlie LOOVES her food) Her Lyme isn't flaring up (her titer is fine), so it's just age creeping up on her.

 

What other options are there? When she's been having a bad day, I've been giving her one of my tramadols (standard generic tramadol, 50 mg) and it seems to give her some relief. Usually then after a couple hours she feels ornery enough to get into something or really boss the boys around!

 

And I still haven't found a vet I like. A couple local ones now think I'm cuckoo for doing so much for a geriatric dog's arthritis, and think that a titer for Lyme was nuts. (I live in a rural area... in some ways very "well, she's old. What do you expect? Let her sleep, give her a warm spot, she's fine" )