Jiffer

Peeing in the house is definitely not normal for a dog at his age. There's something going on here. I've had several dogs into the 13+ age group where they could not hold it anymore (poo and pee) so I certainly sympathize with your situation. It's difficult. Have you noticed a difference since giving the Antibiotics? Did they culture the urine? Did they check his prostate? Since he must have some anxiety issues (being on prozac), I wouldn't completely rule out this being behavioral either. Has anything changed that could cause an increase in anxiety? Is there more construction nearby, noise? Change to any one of his humans' health? These are all things that can trigger a dog to have issues. As a matter of interest, when I had my five pack, I could not give Dentastiks treats. They would cause incontinence in them, so you may want to consider everything in his environment if medical continues to be okay. Wishing you much luck! It can be so frustrating to deal with incontinence.

I've been making bone broth for about six months. A batch lasts me about a month (I freeze most of it so it doesn't go bad). It's actually super easy in the slow cooker... fill your slow cooker with raw bones. I usually use beef rib, leg, back, joint bones... or whatever rmb is handy works. I found that chicken feet weren't that great in it, but some folks swear by them. Toss in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar (never measure it, just pour). Add herbs of your choosing.. I like thyme, or rosemary, or dill.. just for flavor. Add several heaping tablespoons each of Kelp Meal and parsley (if desired). Fill the cooker with water so the bones are submerged and put on high for about an hour, then set to low for 24 hours or so. Some cook it longer, some shorter. I found 24 hours seems to be perfect for my cooker which seems to run a bit hot on low. Once the broth has completed cooking, remove the bones and strain out any large bits. Refrigerate for a few hours to cool. The fat will rise to the top and you can then break it off and throw it away. At this point, your broth should have become like jelly. Portion out and freeze what you don't need right away. The ice cube idea is awesome.... I keep forgetting to buy extra ice cube trays to do this myself. I feed raw so I add a tablespoon or two to each meal. Beamish gets silly excited when the cooker gets filled with his bones. He knows he's getting a bonus treat in his food. He loves it. When Mo was still with us, it was a great additive to her food. She suffered from lymphangiectasia so the nutrition boost was optimal for her. In her case, her improved condition was reflected in her bloodwork.

I have no advice, but can only offer my sympathies and warm, comforting thoughts. I've lost two pack members and a foster in the past six months.. it hurts terribly. I know what you're going through :'(

How do I write a farewell about such a wonderful soul? I could not imagine my life without her, but yet, here we are. She was born Windy Bear and called Wendy in her first home. Through tragic circumstances, she joined our home in August 2008. She was a foster for all of ten minutes, maybe less. She immediately bonded with my hubby and angel Uber. Hubby donned her with the name Mojito because she was sweet but without warning she'd knock you on your behind. Most of the time we called her Mo, Mojo, Mimosa or Mosa. But she was always our little Windy. She had been through so much four years ago when she was diagnosed with lymphangiectasia. I thought for sure she'd last weeks or maybe months. Being resilient and strong, she pulled through and became herself again. I was grateful. She thrived once more. Mo spent most nights sleeping between hubby and I, more often than not with her head on my pillow. She asked for little but gave so much. She loved going for her walks, and playing with her toys. Her favourites were a stuffed puppy and a stuffed squirrel. She learned their names too and could be asked to retrieve either. She had integrated into our pack so seamlessly, it was almost as if she was borne to it. When we lost Miss Echo, she gracefully took up the position of matriarch in the pack. She loved having her boys. About three months ago, she started having issues breathing that we initially attributed to her advanced age and laryngeal paralysis. We took precautions to keep her calm and did whatever we could to prevent her breathing from getting worse. Only, it did. Nothing we tried was helping to improve her breathing. On Friday, March 3, I brought her in for yet another checkup on her breathing since it was becoming incredibly worrisome. Xrays were taken that showed natural advanced aging effects in her lungs, but also that the bottom of her lungs were not inflating. We added theophylline hoping that opening her airways and bronchioles would do the trick to improving her breathing. There seemed to be some slight improvement so I was encouraged. Wednesday, March 8 came and she seemed in good shape in the morning. Hubby came home from work and said all was well as he went about his usual routine. I arrived home and Mo immediately went into distress. Whether it was the excitement of my return home, or some other unknown, she could not breathe. Hubby and I whisked her to the vet clinic faster than I've ever done before. Our vet could hear no lung sounds. They were both collapsed and we were already losing her. We released her from her suffering. In retrospect, I realized that her circumstance was so apt for you see, Mo and her litter were born in a hurricane, and March 8 was one of the most wicked wind storms we've seen in years. She came into this world Windy Bear in a hurricane, and passed unable to catch her breath, in a wind storm. That's my girl. Beamish is handling the single life well. Though his ego is going to be hard to keep in check. It seems so unusual that our house, once full of greyhounds, is now down to a single one. Whether we'll adopt again is hard to say. At this time, I need time. I'm sure if the right hound presented itself, we would certainly consider them. We're not ones to turn away a hound in need, afterall.

Yup, I'd run bloodwork. Have them look at her total protein, globulin and albumin. Ultrasound may be necessary as well. The reason: Miss Mojito developed lymphangiectasia in 2012 and her belly filled with fluid (protein dumping), she was 9 at the time. At first, this was the only symptom! Her body could not process fat so it was dumping all of her protein into her abdomen. Truthfully, the treatment nearly killed her (high dose prednisone), but here we are 4 years later and she's doing just fine on a low fat, high protein diet and low dose prednisone. Sending white light!

I'm so very sorry Corinna had to leave. Run free sweet girlie. May you find peace in her memories.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. Uber's urn is ready to come home. I know I'll feel so much better to have him home to join the vowels. <3 My house is so incredibly quiet. He sent me a sign a few nights ago. We were driving into town for a walk and a beautiful bright rainbow shone in the sky. It was so bright that it's shadow was brighter than the rest of the sky. I felt him in that moment. Of course, I forgot my camera at home, but it was very reminiscent of the rainbow that Icarus sent me after he passed in 2007.

I've been struggling the past few months on whether to make the decision for Uber. My usual techniques for quality of life didn't fit him. For years, we saw a gradual decline but he never seemed unhappy. He still yelled at us for everything: food, bed, boredom, outside. His anxiety prevented him from leaving our yard, but he still ran like a damn fool from the back of the yard. Legs flailing in all directions. About a year ago, we noticed that his back end would fall asleep when he'd be laying down for any length of time and gradually, he lost all feeling in one of his legs and we were dealing with chronic bowel incontinence. Did it bother him? Nope. Not one bit. Then the dementia and laryngeal paralysis set in earlier this year. LP was easily controlled, he wasn't so active that it flared up much and when it did, I could manage it. The dementia was a bit trickier and somewhat amusing. Nothing like watching your old dog run into the back yard, come to a dead stop, and stand there until you remind him that he's outside to go pee. <3 Uber came to us a spook. At least, that's what we thought when we saw him at the kennel the first time. I met him in 2006. A stunning white and brindle boy with the call name Killer. Except this "killer" would wet himself when you looked at him. Over time, he started to trust me a bit more and I was able to sit on the floor and hand him cookies over my shoulder. The day came that he went to his first home. I was devastated. Almost a year later, he reappeared in late January 2007. I could not believe my eyes when I set foot in the kennel and there he was.. wetting himself again. He had completely regressed and was now called Casey. I pleaded with hubby to let me have him. He was meant to be ours so on February 8, 2007, Uber joined the pack. He spent 3 weeks, when not outside or in his crate, hiding in our bedroom. Then one day, a switch went off. He became loud, noisy, in-your-face and would demand attention. I remember thinking at that time that we had been swindled. My spook was no longer a spook in the house, save for a few odd quirks (I never understood why aluminum foil terrified him). Uber was a funny dog. Funny as in both odd, but also hilarious. He did things to make us laugh. Like trying to squeeze into spaces not meant for an 80lb dog or laying on top of me (or anyone, dogs included, he deemed worthy of snuggling). He was also an energizer bunny! He'd run and run and run, then ask to go for an hour or longer walk, then run some more. He had two speeds: asleep and fast. Even in his senior years, he still maintained that. I never "walked" into the house, he bounded. Last weekend, we noticed a more significant decline. He looked more tired than usual. He was a bit more listless than normal. I tried to ignore it but I knew it was time. I couldn't have him hold on because I wanted him here. We spent as much time together in his last week as I could. He enjoyed one last dehydrated chicken foot before he took his final car ride. I feel such an absence in our house. He was our spooky boy with a huge personality. I miss him terribly. Uber Killer Cormier Race Name: De Akiller DOB: March 7, 2002 DOD: September 30, 2016 (age 14 years 6 months 3 weeks)

Uber does this. For him it typically means he has an upset tummy, but he will also do it when he's in pain for any reason (teeth, back, legs...) I'd be concerned with your vet's lack of concern. If he's in pain, the vet should at least check his soundness. Sending scritches to Iker.

Urinalysis is fairly cheap and it's better to know that her kidneys are functioning well, then to bypass this if you're considering dental work and anaesthesia. We recently ran routine blood work on Uber (age 13), and found his creatinine and urea were both elevated. His urinalysis, however, showed no issues, so we're chalking it up to a normal read for him since he's raw fed. Cost of the urinalysis was $60 and a wet hand. As MaryJane said, make sure it's a morning sample in a sterile container so they can check concentration.

Dissolvable sutures sometimes take a long time. This does have to do with body chemistry and the "moistness" of the area. Essentially to dissolve, they need water, so if the area isn't "wet" all the time (like on the outside), then they take that much longer. If they're securely under the skin with nothing poking through, then I'd just leave them be. When Mojito had sutures on the inside of her leg, the spot kept opening and weeping after the sutures were pulled. I couldn't figure out why it refused to stay closed, until I found the tiniest piece of dissolvable suture in the wound. Once that was removed, it closed and healed up in almost no time. The suture should have just dissolved but for whatever reason it wouldn't. Point is.. They all react differently to them.

NeylasMom reminded me of another local Vet who does alternative therapies.. Dr. Leslie Woodcock: http://www.paws4dogs.ca/ She's located just off the 401 at the Guelph exit 299... not too far from Brampton.

All of my 12 + year olds have had hind end weakness, you can fend it off, but ultimately, it does progress. We've done everything from chiro to acupuncture to medication to injections. In all of them, we had some level of bowel incontinence which was fun.. not LOL but we grinned and bore it. You have to take the good with the bad and as they get older, they just need a bit more patience in dealing with their aging. Orion was the worst sleep-pooper! and Mojito didn't help because she'd bury it in the blankets and completely smear poop everywhere. Uber who just turned 13, is starting to show signs of hind end weakness. He's been getting acupuncture for several years now and I suspect we may be looking at adding in some medications on top of his supplements to help him along. Our acupuncturist is MacDonald Mobile Veterinary Service, who does in home acupuncture. She's away til the end of the month, but maybe give her a call and ask if she knows any acupuncturists local to you. As our vet keeps reminding me.. gotta keep them walking and moving. The more muscle they retain, the stronger they stay. Winters are hard on them for this reason because with the snow and ice, we walk less which means the muscles have time to atrophy.

Bloat is one of those things that they really can't pin down. Yes, you can take precautions, but it doesn't mean that it couldn't be spontaneously initiated. I've known dogs to bloat over nothing. I saw a story on TV of a husky who bloated spontaneously (the people were at work all day and he was at home tied out; when she arrived, they suspect his excitement caused his stomach to flip because he would have been empty). Beamish likes to do a run after he eats (or before sometimes). We just watch him closely and try to push his after-food potty out for a bit of time, depending on how badly he has to go. I prefer if he runs before a meal with a short cooldown before he eats. Beam is a funny kid.. sometimes he just REALLY has to poo after he's eaten. If you're really worried, then I agree that leash walking is a good idea. In terms of raised feeders that someone else brought up, I've heard from different vets that using a raised feeder can cause it and NOT using a raised feeder can cause it. So really who knows if it does or doesn't. My feeders are raised as it's easier for my 13 year old to eat (and the previous seniors), and since Mojito has a chronic neck/shoulder issue, it makes it more comfortable for her as well (for several months she could not bend her head near the floor).

@Hollis: That's not bad. I've never paid less than $900 CDN for a dental (between bloodwork, pretests, extractions, cleaning, anaesthetic...)

We've had 5 dentals done, and only one was bad. It wasn't a bad experience because of anything to do with the work either. My poor boy, Orion, lost 16 + teeth (they stopped counting because his teeth were coming out in chunks they were that far gone), however, we discovered during his dental that he has a condition called malignant hyperthermia. They nearly lost him on the table and it took him hours to rouse from the anaesthetic. When I took him home, he was still trying to come around but the clinic was closing and they didn't want to keep him there unattended. It took a couple of days for him to recoup and he was on order to not be put under anaesthetic again. I was lucky that there were two vets working on him that day. One was doing the dental work while the other (our regular vet) monitored his vitals. They acted immediately when they noticed trouble starting and that saved his life. This was despite pre-anaesthetic bloodwork and a full physical before hand. The other four dentals were done on mostly senior dogs and we had no issues whatsoever. Recovery was quick and short. Just be sure that pre-anaesthetic bloodwork is done for sure. I do this regardless of the dogs age just to make sure nothing is missed. It's stressful, but all the better for them in the long run! Good Luck!!!

I am so very sorry Diane. Huston was a very special guy.

What an amazing story and a wonderful tribute! He had a very special life with you, Kevin and the "wherd".. folks who understand the uniqueness that is being a spook. Run free Danger....

I have two Ruffwear Webmaster harnesses and I just love them. I have used them on all of my senior dogs who ended up with hind end weakness. It's a six point harness with a handle. angel Atlas hated his at first. To "get me back" for making him wear it, as I would guide him by the handle, he'd launch himself down the four stairs going out the door essentially forcing me to carry him like an oversized suitcase while he hung limpish in the air. He never did that with his WWW harness.

If they're worried at all about bleeding (and I do it prophylacticly for all procedures, anyway), give her Amicar pre- & post-surgery. It should prevent any undue bleeding. From Dr. Couto's studies, greyhounds don't normally show positive for von Willebrand's disease, but they can bleed without cause so better safe than sorry. Dets on Amicar: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=301&A=3482&S=0 For me personally, I'm a wreck anytime they have to go under so if I were to stay with them until they go in for their procedure, I would only aggravate their nerves so I usually drop them off quickly rather than stay. It's up to you, however, but just remember, greyhounds are emotional sponges. What you're feeling, she will feel.

You are on the right track. Our newb, Beamish, went through six months of waking me up at 3 a.m. every night. Partly my own fault, Miss Mo was on a high dose of pred and needed to go out at 3 am every night or she'd sleep pee in our bed, so he developed the habit. Once we weened her pred down, she no longer needed the middle of the night potty, but I hadn't counted on Beam having developed the habit. He'd pace and pace and drive me mad until I took him out and of course, I gave in. He didn't NEED to pee or poo. He just wanted to patrol the yard and make sure no kitties or other critters were hiding out there. Then he'd happily come back in and beat me to the bed. Like you, I started playing dead when he'd start his pacing, or telling him "Beam, Lay down" and slowly, he started to listen so it ended up being every other day, then a couple times a week until he stopped completely. You truly have my sympathy though. I've been there.. that point of exhaustion where you are functioning but just barely, and you're really trying so hard not to be mad at the dog for putting you through this. They are also just way too happy to see you awake at 3 in the morning.

You're doing exactly what I would with a puncture. Unless it swells, or starts to ooze, I'd just keep at it.

If it hasn't been done, they should do a full medical work up.. blood, urine, physical. They need to find out if there is something paining him that is causing him to lash out. Examine the circumstances surrounding the bite/snap. I have little experience with lupus, other than owing a dog with a peely nose and odd paw pads, and fostering a dog with a peely nose; both are suspected of having lupus, but neither have been tested. I did not find either boy had or have aggressive issues. In my research, I didn't find anything about lupus being related to aggression either. I think they really need to turn to the professionals for advice on this one. There are a number of things that can cause aggression, but the one thing that concerns me is that these people, despite experience, may not be the right family for the dog. The reason for this is that usually between 6 months to a year, he's settled in and should be showing his true self. If they are at all a pushover with him, then the aggression could be dominance related. Hard to say though without knowing the full circumstances surrounding the snapping and biting (ie: was it completely unprovoked? Did he race across the room to bite or were they near him when it happened? Was he laying down at the time? Was he eating something? Are they firm with him? ...etc.) It might be a little beyond the scope of this forum to offer them advice. I think they're on the right track by speaking with their vet and a behaviorist. But they need to ensure they are 100% honest with both. Full disclosure, even if they did something stupid, will help them get over this hurdle.

What the others said. A basket muzzle with a poop cup installed or duct tape to prevent licking through. Works like a charm in this house. Feel better soon, sweetie!

I'd hesitate incorporating more pain meds too. They will act sore because they are sore, but that's a good thing. You want them to stay calm and give those wounds and stitches a chance to heal. If they weren't given antibiotics, I think I'd be checking with my vet on that. I've never had a bite that didn't need antibiotics because their mouths are very germy. I've never used e-cones for anything, but I do use barriers like T-shirts/shorts or muzzles with poop cups installed. I find the cones are just way too uncomfortable for them. I've also considered a "bite not" collar, which just makes their neck rigid so they can't bend to lick the wounds.