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Bizeebee

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Everything posted by Bizeebee

  1. I know Purina and Royal Canin have more in terms of protein varieties to choose from, especially if you need fish or something particularly novel for your tummy-troubled hound. Purina also has a whole line of (veterinary) GI foods that might work better depending on what kinds of GI issues you're dealing with, I think RC does too, but I'm less familiar with their offerings. The vet foods are not cheap, but I'm guessing neither is Orijen. No matter what you switch to, it will likely take some adjusting as dogs who've been on grain-free for a long time lack the gut bacteria they need to help with digestion, and it takes a while to build that back up. You'll definitely want to load them up with probiotics (consult your vet for their recommendations) during the transition, because if you judge by the immediate changes you see, you'll feel like everything fails. It takes time.
  2. Obviously you should go with whichever DCM-fre brand works best for you, but for what it's worth, after reading everything I have about DCM I wish I could feed my dog all corn and chicken by-product [those two ingredients are the two richest sources of the building blocks needed to make the heart-saving amino acids]. I have found even Purina, with what seems like a million options, has shied away from corn in a lot of their formulas (by market demand), so you may well be able to find something from their line that meets your needs.
  3. Maybe switch to a harness while on walks? That way you can still keep decent control without the neck straining compromising his body language. And maybe something like this - https://friendlydogcollars.com.au/collections/friendly - would let other owners know he's just very friendly? Have you worked on "wait" or "stay" at home? It's still very early days for training, but those can be helpful tools to have in other situations too. I wouldn't try to train them in the distracted, dog meeting scenario, but if he starts to understand that he gets what he wants when he waits patiently it will help a lot.
  4. Definitely would go to the vet, maybe not emergency vet, but vet nonetheless. Especially with the history of cancer. If there's anything I've learned with these guys it's that it could be anything. We met a hound when we were volunteering at the kennel who had managed to rupture an interior vessel in his groin area and blood was pooling down near his knee, causing big-time swelling. Now, that's a freak thing - even the kennel people couldn't figure out how he could have done it - and not a big deal in the long run, but still took a vet visit to fix. Have you checked for corns on that foot? Corns have multiple causes, and a puncture injury to a pad can be one of them.
  5. ^This It depends on your hound, and if he's having behavioral issues (not related to settling in) that you need to solve, but lots of greys (who raced) don't need or get the formal training you're used to with other dogs that people get as puppies. Our first hound knew something like 3 "commands" if you could even call them that, mostly for fun and weren't particularly useful. I don't even think my SO (this hound came before I did) formally taught them to him, just captured and named behaviors he was already doing. But he was such a great dog, he didn't need to be taught how to behave and he spoiled us for any future hounds (including our current one). The current hound is higher energy, needs a bit more behavioral guidance, but most importantly enjoys the stimulation (and treats) of training (especially during the winter). We'll probably go beyond the basics with him, because all three of us have a lot of fun with it. As much as these dogs have some similar personality traits, each is very different. It'll take more time to figure out yours
  6. I'm not familiar with your particular area, but we did both a greyhound specific class (just had to get enough interest for our local training place to put on a class) and have done a regular (mixed) beginner class, where we were the oldest/most mature pup there. We had great experiences with both! I'd get in touch with a local, reputable training facility and see if there is a possibility for a greyhound-only class, if they had enough people. Your adoption group might know of places that do this also. But, let's assume you are stuck with mixed dog classes; I personally wouldn't worry too much about grey's stubbornness and sensitivity, because most beginner class participants (usually puppies) are stubborn too, and you really should be seeking out a positive reinforcement trainer no matter what breed of dog (notoriously sensitive or not). Any good professional dog trainer who uses those techniques is going to be more sensitive to a dog's needs/learning style than a layman anyway. Beginner classes start at the ground floor, so as long your trainer knows what they are doing, the breed shouldn't really matter. I'd be more concerned about the following: Is Benny food motivated? That's something that could cause a struggle in a training class if your dog is not motivated by treats. Is Benny reactive to other dogs? Our current hound was very chill with all the whiny/barky puppies in our class, but we would have worried more about our previous hound around all those littles - he was more prey driven and less discerning of what kind of prey something was. Depending on your dog, the controlled socialization of a mixed class could be beneficial also. If you have a non-food-motivated guy who is freaked out by noises and reactive to other dogs, then ya, you probably need either a grey-only class or a one-on-one setup. But if not, a regular mixed class should be fine.
  7. I'd ask myself, where did I learn that? Was it from a qualified veterinarian with a background in nutrition? And familiarity with greyhounds? Or was it some rando on the internet masquerading as an expert, trying to get me to go on their website and buy their endorsed products?
  8. I think I'd double check with my vet, if it's only for cats then it hasn't been tested on dogs. It also has a repeat of what's in Drontal (the praziquantel), you might want to consult someone other than this vet (maybe the mfg) about the safety of doubling up on that component. If you're in the US you should really be using something with moxidectin as the active ingredient (Advantage Multi, Coraxis), that's the only thing that seems to help with the larvae of hooks. Have you checked out the recent hookworm threads here, or the facebook group "getting rid of parasites"? If your pup has US hookworms then it's probably going to take a while to get rid of them, and your vet probably isn't familiar with the problem as it exists today, or the protocols to deal with it. We had to educate ours.
  9. This is what we do now that we're post-protocol (but it should be fine during as well, it's the mox that's the important component). Coraxis for worm larvae and something else (we do Credelio) for fleas/ticks
  10. I love this clip of this dog wanting his ears cleaned https://i.imgur.com/4o5oR3z.gifv My grey isn't exactly begging for it, but he seems to like it
  11. I've found that cotton pads work better than balls, and then just getting in there with the pad on my finger. I've only used solution to moisten the pad when the gunk I could see was too dry to stick to the pad. A headlamp is helpful too, because you almost need three hands - 1 for the cotton, 1 to hold the ear in place, and 1 to shine the light. And maybe another to give some treats
  12. Even though Merrick is technically under the parent company that owns Purina, I don't think it meets the WSAVA guidelines fully. Just because it's the same parent company doesn't mean it's the same food. I personally find it alarming that there were enough cases of DCM in dogs on Merrick for the FDA to call them out by name. My understanding (after many hours reviewing materials on the DCM facebook group) is that only Purina, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, Hills and Iams meet WSAVA standards and have had no cases. Other brands under their parent companies do not necessarily meet the guidelines. It's also important to note that the WSAVA doesn't recommend specific brands, or give them any kind of seal of approval. When a brand meets the guidelines set down by WSAVA the company can claim that on their labeling.
  13. An Xray, as others have said, would be your first way of detecting a significant (not just greyhound) enlargement. If your vet hears a significant (not just greyhound) murmur they may also want to do more testing. They can test for taurine levels in the blood, but be aware that in many DCM cases taurine levels have been normal. An echocardiogram is the only real test that can definitively diagnose the issue, but your vet will be able to talk more about whether they think you should do that. Some clinics have held echo clinics so that lots of dogs can be tested in a short amount of time, and at least for us, I think an echo was going to run us around $300 (cardiologists advised it wasn't necessary in our case). So depending on your level of comfort/ability to spend, you can see what you can/want to do in your area. The biggest thing right away is to get on a different food, which it sounds like you have done.
  14. Depending on how long you've had her, this may pass in time. The first few months can be emotionally hard for a new dog, even if they seem like they are doing fine. She may also never like this particular dog, for reasons you may never know. Try not to think of this as aggression, especially if it's happening as you describe. She is using the only language dogs have to tell him he's doing something she doesn't like, and if she is only growling and moving away, but not lunging/attacking, then think of it as talking, not aggression. But don't push it either, these dogs don't have to be friends just because they are both greyhounds. Look up Turid Rugaas, she's a Norwegian dog trainer with a lot of good info out there on dog body language and calming signals. It will really help you to kind of decode what your dog, or any other dog you're meeting, is thinking/saying with their body.
  15. I honestly think that's probably true, but getting his stool back where we want it might makes us (and him) feel better, it doesn't really solve the problem. His poops were fine (on purina one) all while he was losing weight and constantly starving. Our real test of success is the malabsorption challenge, which he won't pass until the inflammation heals (I guess?). That's the struggle right now, success is invisible and impossible to measure on the day to day. Success is when he gains instead of loses weight and isn't crying to eat all. the. time.
  16. If you haven't been there yet, that DCM facebook group has some resources for people in your situation (albeit with dogs of all types). I know I've seen discussions of nutritionists and online resources for owners who are forced by allergies/etc to make their own food for their dogs, but there is also a lot of information about the various veterinary diets and limited ingredient diets from brands that have not had any DCM cases. And there are good resources there, and here, to help figure out what your dog is actually sensitive/allergic to and how to deal with what you find out. (PS - I dont think hashtags are a thing here on GT....:) )
  17. I'm thinking you might have copy/pasted the wrong link, this one just takes me right back to this thread. I'm guessing this is the one? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24112400
  18. I know not every dog likes the crate, but many do take comfort in it. You may not need it forever, but it would definitely be worth a try. In addition to I'll Be Home Soon. I also have to ask, what do you mean by "he doesn't like it" when he's alone? Crying? Messing in the house? Destroying things? Ours cried when we left for work for the first couple weeks but didn't get into trouble or destroy anything, but eventually he realized we were coming back, and is now fine during the day. You're only a week in and you might find the same thing to be true once more time passes.
  19. My first instinct would be to remove that blanket and, depending on the layout of your house, gate off that hallway so that she can't be there when you aren't home. If she's treating an area like it's her space but it can't safely be her space, then she shouldn't be there (whether it be the couch, a human bed, or just a specific place like this). But, I also wonder if this isn't so much a "this is my space" thing, as it is a "you are a stranger and I'm guarding the entrance to my house" thing. Again, depends on the layout of your house. A behaviorist doing a home visit could probably see a lot more accurately what exactly is going on, your adoption group probably has someone in your area they could recommend. But you'll do different training if it's resource guarding versus fear of strangers entering the house. Is she never in a crate? If it's a safe space she is craving, then maybe think about transitioning away from this enclosed hallway space to a crate.
  20. You do know that Dog Food Advisor is run by a dentist whose only credential is "a passion for canine nutrition"? And that makes money purely on people clicking on and buying the things they recommend? Have you checked out all of their cover-your-a$$ statements? https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/disclaimer-and-disclosure/ Not exactly the source I'm going to be relying on for information about this serious issue. Sites like that are part of the reason so many people got sucked into the grain-free trend in the first place.
  21. If you have the link or remember where it might have been published, let me know, I'll definitely have to look into it. I'm guessing this will be part of our journey soon... His reaction to me asking really threw me for a loop too, but maybe I used the wrong name/words when asking and he misunderstood? Do you know if it's something the average vet does in their in-house lab? Or is it sent out to a particular place, like Texas AM? OR maybe the fact that the malabsorption/inflammation doesn't seem to be responding to tylan or met is a sign that it isn't bacterial overgrowth after all... I'm just wondering if we need to insist that we blast him with some strong ABs before we move onto a biopsy or steroids. Do you mean a food trial with hydrolyzed protein that just isn't chicken? Or something homemade? He's been on a hydrolyzed food that's mostly soy, but does have some hydrolyzed chicken (for flavor) and only eating treats without any meat proteins. But, honestly, the only reason we found out about any of this GI stuff was a blood test for malabsorption; he didn't have horrible stools (or even gas) while on regular old chicken/turkey food and his stool was not the reason for any of the testing we did at the start. I highly doubt this is a food sensitivity, especially with how closely I've been reading ingredients and charting his progress as this has gone on. At this point, I believe that at least a part of the problem is that we have to feed him 6 cups a day in order for him to get enough calories (I hate how low calorie this vet food is) to gain and keep on the weight that he'd lost (that was the concerning symptom that started all this). I've read over and over that too much food will cause soft stool, and while at this moment we're definitely beyond "soft" I do think we're bound to hit a wall in how good it's going to get while we're still on this food. But, the vet is hesitant to have us take him off this food until the inflammation settles down, which it doesn't seem to do no matter what we try. [We don't buy this food from the vet, so I don't suspect it's a profit thing] My instincts are saying that we are dealing with way too many variables and that we should just cut out all medications, go back on normal food, and just start again.
  22. They do have most of the researched resources on an outside site - https://taurinedcm.org/taurine_dcm_pdfs/ The group is great, in some ways, but also demonstrates some of the reasons people are social media averse (for good reason!) Get 70K people together in one group, and there's bound to be a bit of drama, but it is pretty well moderated. If you need/like the emotional testimonials (it's tragic how many there are) then it'd be good to check the group out.
  23. We've just started a longer course of met, so we'll see how that goes. Do you remember whether your vet sent the culture out, or did it in house? If it went outside, do you know where they sent it? When we brought up the culture to our internist he was interested in the idea (because he'd never had one done before) but skeptical it would actually help us - which is why he hadn't pushed for it all along. His perspective is that there are too many bugs and we don't know enough about them for the culture to help target treatment. Which makes sense on it's own, but is not at all in line with what it seems like a lot of people here on GT have experienced. I just wonder, because this dog has not been on any ABs (other than the met and one course of cefpodoxime for a sheath infection) the whole time we've had him (almost a year). I'm definitely in favor of any medical professional who doesn't just throw a bunch of antibiotics at every problem - our regular vet and this internist are both hesitant to use them without solid proof - but I just wonder if we need to at this point, just to see if it would do anything.
  24. If you haven't already, mosey on over to the Nutritional Dilated Cardiomyopathy group on Facebook. It dives into this issue a lot more (it's not as simple as "avoid grain-free"), and the vets and admins there have been saying the same things the FDA just officially said, for MONTHS.
  25. Sort of Our guy had a baby bunny snack a few weeks back when I couldn't get him away from a newly discovered nest fast enough. He also regularly finds and eats bird remnants (heads, wings, feet) that I think some larger bird of prey tosses down from the trees into our yard Dog stomach acid is much stronger than ours and should easily dissolve any bones from such small animals. There's always a small chance that they can pick up some bug or another from eating anything weird outside, though with a freshly caught sparrow you probably won't have too much of that to worry about. Obviously if Spirit starts acting weird or unwell give the vet a call back, but my guess is that it'll be fine.
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