romansperson

I just wanted to let you all know that Celebrating Greyhounds has agreed to publish my article - both the first part I linked to and a second part about current research and possible future treatments. The first part will probably appear in the Spring issue. They want the images to be as high-res as possible (300 dpi) so I may be contacting some of y'all about that to see if there's any way we can make that happen with some of the shots. Thank you so much!!

Hi all, I just wanted to provide an update. I finished my project and it's been graded, and I got a great grade for both the project AND the course (of which the final project was a significant part), so THANK YOU!! for your contributions! Y'all rock, and the pictures were integral to making the whole thing work. Unfortunately, due to limits on the length, I wasn't able to talk about everything I wanted to, so for right now just the first part is finished - the part I submitted for a grade. It explains what osteo is and what the current treatments are. I plan to do a second section that discusses current research and possible future treatments. I've sent in a query to Celebrating Greyhounds to see if they are interested, and what form the second part takes will probably depend on whether they want it or not, so we'll see. If you want to see what's done so far - take a look here: http://nbeach.web.unc.edu/osteo/. I'll update as things progress. Constructive comments welcome!!

Cully, thank you! Everything helps.

Thank you for offering, and yes, you can email them to me: thebeaches2001-om at yahoo dot com.

Thank you! I will PM with a couple of questions.

ZoomDoggy, those are beautiful photos of your pup. Thank you! And NeylasMom, I'll try to PM you (and you are right - it didn't go through. You can email me at: thebeaches2001-om at yahoo dot com).

Deanna, Thanks so much for these! I really appreciate your willingness to share them. I too have a lot of photos of my JC after his amputation, but yes, it can be hard to tell in a lot of them that he was a tripod. Thank you! She's on my FB friends list and I will contact her, thanks!

Not yet - I've just started contacting people about this, so we will see what the responses are!

Thanks Robin - palliative care is one thing I want to mention in the article if length will permit it - there are so many issues that could be included, this could actually be a series. The whole reason for my doing this is because I was a newbie to osteo myself at one time, and if I can help anyone out there who may be unfamiliar with this ordeal to understand it a bit better when going through that horrible decision-making process, then I will consider the whole thing a success. Obviously illustration can help a lot with that. And please, any of you who know someone who might be interested, please feel free to cross-post.

Hi all, I would like to ask for your help with something. I am working on a final project in a graduate-level research class I am taking. Since it has been a long time since I've seen a published article about osteosarcoma in dogs and it unfortunately is still a grave concern not only for us Greyhound owners, but owners of other large breeds as well, I decided to do my project on that. The article will explain the disease, cover current treatments and talk a bit about what's currently going on in the research world. It will be a web-based article that I will post as a blog article to submit it for a grade, and then I will try to find a permanent home for it. I have a couple publications in mind. It's possible the article may have to have some revisions or be updated somewhat if they decide to accept it. One thing I really need are photos - copies of x-rays, photos of tumors before removal, and photos of tripods who have had successful surgery. Would any of you who have been through osteo treatment with your greys (or other breeds) be willing to submit one of these things for possible inclusion in the project? Your pictures will of course be credited. Please send me a PM or email if you have any questions or would like to submit something, and thanks for your consideration! Nancy

So Tough has been itchy and we've not been able to figure out what's going on. Took him to the vet today and she says ... fleas! Really? We've not seen any on him, nor have we seen flea dirt, but she says the fleas are especially awful and sneaky this year due to the mild winter. She did find a couple on him, but that's happened before at the vet ... because there are often fleas at the office. She's telling us that even dogs who are on regular flea prevention (Tough isn't because while we have issues with ticks, fleas haven't been a problem at all and Frontline no longer works on our ticks) are still coming in with flea allergy problems due to how bad it is this year. They've been suggesting using Comfortis in addition to topical treatments such as Advantage for more difficult cases. So tell me your flea stories for this year and what you did/are doing. We're in central NC. Thanks!

I'm so sorry Diane. She was a beautiful girl. "You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend. I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures To the end and far past the end. If this is my end, I am not lonely. I am not afraid. I am still yours." - From 'The House Dog's Grave,' Robinson Jeffers, 1941 Godspeed sweet Grace. I'll hug her brother extra-tight tonight ...

Unbelievable. I was really hoping that with the good genes she'd inherited this would not be the outcome. Grace's big brother Tough sends licks and nits. The humans send gentle hugs for you both.

Crazy hound was bouncing all over the house this morning. It will be fun keeping him quiet for awhile!

Hm. I shall have to research a bit more. Care of the Racing and Retired Greyhound mentions surgery, but since Tough is retired, that seems a bit extreme, plus if that is going to be done, doing it in a timely manner is important. Though Tough doesn't seem to remember he's retired! I know rest and leash outs are important, but the length is the question.

Funny part is, he seems to be in little to no pain over this. If we tore that same muscle, we'd be all #@$##I%! I see greyhead said two weeks. Long enough?

Tough chased and caught a rabbit Thursday night. Saturday morning, we noticed his upper left thigh, both on the inside and the back, was all bruised. The inside is quite swollen as well. Looks exactly like the image floating around the Internet of a torn gracilis muscle. It doesn't seem to bother him at all - his appetite and attitude are the same as ever - but he's being leash walked every time he needs to go out until further notice. Anyone deal with this before? What did you do to help it heal? Tough is 7, will be 8 early next year and he's very hard on his body. He likes to run hard every day. I hate to restrict him too much but of course I don't want him end up permanently crippling himself.

We used the tetracycline/niacinamide/fish oil combo. I was very resistant to the idea of using prednisone, especially long term. It worked - after Idol's nails regrew, we were able to stop the tetracycline. Eventually all he needed was the niacinamide (we stopped the fish oil caps after a problem with his digestive system developed and he couldn't tolerate them any more).

How very sad for the greyhound community and her family.

Run free, sweet girl, and thank you for raising our Tough boy. You did good. Robin, I'm so sorry you had to lose her, and thank you for sharing the photos and stories of your special girl.

Well, upon examination tonight, I found a swollen tonsil on the right side. Everything else looks fine - there's nothing stuck between the teeth and I didn't find any swelling or cuts anywhere else. I think this might point toward a tooth - not sure what other reasons would cause a swollen tonsil on one side only. I'll call the the vet again tomorrow to see if they can find any openings for us. In the meantime, adding some water to the kibble to make the pumpkin less thick and sticky seems to work for him - he seemed to like that for dinner. I'm not getting any impression he doesn't feel well, so there's that at least.

I haven't found anything in his mouth so far - but I'll take him outside (hopefully I'll have some bright sunlight to help me out) when I get home from work and see if I can do a thorough inspection of the inside of his mouth. He's pretty good about letting us check the outside of the teeth and gums - the inside, not so much.

I've noticed over the past week or so that Tough's eating habits have changed. He's typically a Hoover dog, but lately he's been eating slower and seems to be having a little bit of trouble. For example, this morning I noticed him actually chewing (!) some food and he let quite a bit of it fall out of his mouth onto the floor (which he then subsequently picked up and ate). He still eats everything, and wants to eat - but something ain't right. He seems a little more tentative when eating his Milk Bones too, though he still begs for them every time one of us gets near the jar. Right now I'm thinking that maybe there's a tooth bothering him, though he did have a dental just a few months ago and everything was fine then. I'm trying to book an appointment for him with the vet (which is frustrating - they are always booked, it seems, so I have asked them to call me if there is a cancellation tomorrow afternoon or Saturday), but in the meantime I'm wondering if it could be anything besides a tooth. He gets kibble (Pro Plan Select) and pumpkin. We have recently opened a new bag of kibble and a new can of pumpkin, but I'm pretty sure this behavior started before that. Both the kibble and the pumpkin look and smell fine (and the pumpkin is actually quite good, but it's also very thick, which makes the kibble stick together). I will be picking up a new bag of food on Saturday so we can always try that to see if it helps. Otherwise, he's his usual bouncy self.

We got gabapentin for Idol a few years ago. The original prescription was from the vet school here, and when that ran out we got refills from WalMart. It was not a problem to get at all. It was actually cheaper from the vet school, but as they are across town from where we live, it was easier to get a refill from WalMart. I cannot remember the dose now (he had osteo and it was part of a mix of painkillers he took), but I seem to recall it could be given up to 3x a day and the pills were capsules of a pretty standard size - not large.

We gave our hound JC Valium for a 4-hour trip. The vet told us 10 mg an hour before starting and 10mg every hour afterward (I guess dogs process it out much faster than people). It didn't help. At all. It would have been better if I'd taken it, . JC was anxious/carsick his entire life, and we tried just about everything (expect acepromazine, didn't want to go there). Sometimes all you can do is lay down a tarp and tough it out.