romansperson

This happened with JC too. I think the muscle there just became more developed due to his having to compensate for the loss of the limb.

I guess you can say we did with JC. He was 9 years old when the diagnosis came in December of 2000. We had his leg amputated (the site was in his 'wrist') and did 4 carboplatin treatments. We lost him in October of 2003 at the age of 12 - we never thought he'd see 12. He had a liver/pancreas mass which was never biopsied, so we'll never know for sure what it was, but our vet at the time told us that the liver and pancreas would be an unusual place for osteo to spread - it tends to prefer the lungs, so our best guess is that it was another type of cancer. We opted not to do anything further after finding out about the mass as those types of cancer are hard to treat and he'd already been through so much. When he began to show signs of discomfort from its growth, we let him go. JC was a shy fellow and it was very hard to decide to go through with the treatment, plus he had some complications after surgery, but once he recovered he was a real trooper - went through the chemo well and after everything was said and done we felt like we'd made the right decision. He had almost another 3 years, and the majority of that time was good. He was a playful fellow almost right up to the end.

The vet uses Elastikon too - probably because it's cheap. I've found a couple 3M products online and will order a couple rolls of each. Hope it works.

Anyone? Please?

Yes, that was probably Elastikon. You can use adhesive remover to get it off. Detachol is my favorite, and I keep some in the house all the time: http://www.metromedicalonline.com/04170a.html You can buy it or a similar product at drugstores that sell medical supplies (like ostomy supplies, etc.). You could also ask your vet what they use. I just soak the tape with this and it zips right off - doesn't sting or burn. I also do what Batmom suggests for gauze - I find that even the 'non-stick' gauze pads still stick to wounds, so I glop on some adhesive ointment right where the wound will be touching the gauze - it works great, and our vet does this too.

Does anyone here know of a latex-free alternative to Elastikon adhesive tape? I love Elastikon because it stretches and conforms to greyhound legs and sticks pretty well too. But I think Tough may be a bit allergic to the latex in it - it seems to make his skin itchy if it has been on awhile. I figure there has got to be a comparable product out there - any medical folks out there know of one? Thanks!

Is he in pain? Pain causes panting too.

Our pups' ashes are in urns, but not in a main living area so we don't see them all the time. So there are options. Just wait awhile and see how you feel ... I am so sorry you had to go through this so soon. Of course it's always too soon ... Godspeed Paris.

I've had more experience than I'd like to think about in regards to old dogs and spinal problems. GP vets usually cannot accurately diagnose what's going on. Hopefully the University can figure out what's going on and recommend an effective treatment plan. White light going out to both Robin and Loca - both the human and the dog suffer tremendously during these types of things, I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone. Hopefully this will be a turning point!

Thank you, everyone. Pumpkin was a very sweet girl and while she is greatly missed, she also had a long and full life and for that we are very grateful. Dogs lives are too short. Their only fault, really. -- Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Scotty, your family will miss you so much - but you will have lots of company at the Bridge, with so many wonderful hounds like you waiting there ...

I felt like I knew Bones from all the things that have been posted about him here on Greytalk. I'm so sorry he's gone.

I'm so sorry to hear about Renie - I was so surprised to come into Remembrance and see her thread. I've read so much about her here I feel like I know her. I'm sorry to hear about Link too. No matter how long we have them, it's never enough.

Pumpkin left us today for a better place. We noticed things weren't right on Dec. 23 - her breathing was not normal. Things got worse from there and our vets couldn't figure out what was wrong, so we got a referral to the vet school here. They figured it out. She had cancer cells in her blood, and some fluid in her abdomen. Which was full of more cancer cells. The tumor was in her liver, and they told us it was probably lymphoma, and advanced. She'd only been visibly sick for about a week, but she'd probably had the tumor for awhile - it just didn't show itself until then. And Pumpkin was the tough kind of girl that wasn't going to let a little thing like cancer keep her from enjoying life - at least not until it overwhelmed her little body. On November 20th, we'd been so pleased she'd made it to her 13th birthday, and anyone who saw her couldn't believe she was that old. And now she's gone. Rest well, sweet girl. I'm glad that you weren't in pain and didn't suffer long. I'm sorry we had to take you to the scary vet school to find out what was wrong with those tests. We'll miss you, and your pups (she was a brood mama, with 23 offspring) have big shoes to fill. We'll see you again someday.

Yes, you can leave the T-shirt on until the incision is totally healed. I'd get it checked, though - when Pumpkin had surgery on her leg she didn't mess with the incision for about two weeks and then started licking it. Turns out she did have a little infection there - and it was just pink too. A course of antibiotics fixed it right up. Amputation incisions can take awhile to heal too - took JC's about a month.

If her other toenails all look normal, I wouldn't worry too much. Dogs with SLO have crusty, funny looking nails, usually, just like the photos in the link you posted. Our boy Idol had SLO, and when he'd lose part of a nail like your pup did, our vet would cut the remainder of the nail off at the top of the toe as well, but would either sedate him first or use a local anesthetic, along with a shot of painkiller. Just keep the toe clean and dry and it will heal over quickly. Nails that have jagged remains or a red quick left exposed are better off being cut competely off, but I would lobby for pain relief if you need to ever have it done again!

Old dogs can lose muscle mass as they age, and of course it can be really noticeable on a greyhound. I had two do that - with JC feeding him more made him look better but unfortunately feeding more won't put the muscle mass back on - it just increases the body fat percentage. Still, if they love to eat and are still doing so with gusto, why not?

There's also Trypzyme, which is also sold under the name Granulex. I've used it on some fairly large wounds and it works. Our vet recommended it. It seems to have some soothing properties as well, and it keeps longer than EMT Gel. I've found EMT to have a fairly short shelf life, at least around here. It gets gooey and weird after awhile.

I use a small, old Teflon-coated frying pan. It's easy enough to slide under a girl from behind before she figures out what you're doing , and the Teflon mutes the sound so that doesn't scare them. My boys have always been rather unconcerned about collection, but I imagine that'd work for a shy boy too. Our vet has used a very thin needle into the bladder to obtain a urine sample in the past when they've decided they've needed a sample on the spot - I wonder if your vet could do the same?

The House Dog's Grave by Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) I've changed my ways a little; I cannot now Run with you in the evenings along the shore, Except in a kind of dream; and you, If you dream a moment, You see me there. So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door Where I used to scratch to go out or in, And you'd soon open; leave on the kitchen floor The marks of my drinking-pan. I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do On the warm stone, Nor at the foot of your bed; no, All the nights through I lie alone. But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet Outside your window where firelight so often plays, And where you sit to read‚ And I fear often grieving for me‚ Every night your lamplight lies on my place. You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard To think of you ever dying. A little dog would get tired, living so long. I hope that when you are lying Under the ground like me your lives will appear As good and joyful as mine. No, dears, that's too much hope: You are not so well cared for as I have been. And never have known the passionate undivided Fidelities that I knew. Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided... But to me you were true. 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.

If you want any medical articles about it, I can probably get them - but it would probably be a good idea to wait until the surgery biopsy comes back to know for sure what it really is. Yeah, I know, it's hard, but I would try not to worry unnecessarily. Pumpkin developed a lump on her leg that the vet thought might be a mast cell tumor. It wasn't and she's absolutely fine. The term "retroperitoneal" just means it is outside or behind the peritoneum, which lines the abdominal cavity. So this growth isn't in the abdomen where a lot of vital organs are, which could very much be a good thing if it's a non-aggressive growth.

I took the Red Cross class too, and they brought a CPR dummy with them for us to practice on - yep, a CPR dummy dog! They show you how to do the Heimlich on a pet, too. I used it once and it worked!

If they are in your yard, get rid of any brush, pine needles, leaf litter, long grass, etc. That's the stuff they hide in and making the environment unfriendly for them is more effective than anything else I can think of. On walks we keep the dogs out of long grass, pine needles, leaf litter, reeds, etc. If we go for a walk in the woods they are examined immediately after leaving and before we go home. Our ticks are very resilient - Frontline doesn't work on them so we have to be vigilant.

We've always used cotton crew socks. Cut the foot off, use Elastikon to hold it on the leg just above where the cut is (just make sure it's not just below a joint - tape above the joint if it is). We leave the bottom of the sock open so air can get in, and it's easy for us to check on the owie. They can lick the sock - it won't hurt anything since their tongue is not getting to the owie.

There's nothing wrong with calling the vets in your area to see if they'd be willing to do the hulling thing. We have the same problem - revolving door at the vets' office we use. Our favorite vet is in Charlotte now and I've thought if we needed to we could drive Pumpkin down there! Currently, some are comfortable with doing it and some are not. Pumpkin's got one corn that is different, too, which complicates things. It seems to have its own blood supply and does hurt if you try to manipulate it, so that one only gets done if she needs to be asleep for something else. The other one, if it grows out enough, can be pulled out just as others have already mentioned. So weird - doesn't hurt her at all. In between vet visits we use the dremel - I just do the corns while I am doing her nails.