[Help Requested for Elderly Greyhound's Care]

3 hours ago, Remolacha said:

I bought a memory foam fold up mattress to sleep on when I needed to stay in the living room with old/sick dogs. You may not want to make that investment, but places like Costco and Walmart have memory foam mattress toppers for pretty cheap that make sleeping on the floor a LOT more comfortable! I am glad he is feeling a little better.

I did the same, and yes, it's much more comfortable. Thanks so much - I'm so glad too!

[Help Requested for Elderly Greyhound's Care]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:46 PM, MandysMom said:

I used Lap of Love when my Sammy was going downhill. They have tools to help you assess quality of life. I also used one of their vets when it was time. It is never easy. Gentle hugs for Leo.

 

1 hour ago, cleptogrey said:

i have very negative feelings about BLUE PEARL pet hospital and i'm sure their hospice is connected. I personally know 2 people who were taken for $30k rides and their team of vets, vet tech, receptionist won't give you the time of day when you call. from what i have been told they never consider quality of life and are out for the big bucks and abuse loving pet owners.I also looked up reviews when my good friend's dog was sent there. They were horrible!

 

have you spoken w/ your vet re: quality of life? if he is down to 60# from 85 that should say something. your hand feeding, letting him out many many times a day/night, your not sleeping.  I'm sad to say he's failing. I just can't believe that your personal vet has not discussed this with you.

I'm hoping for a peaceful time for you and your boy together and ultimately a stressless time for you. We all go thru this, very rarely is it a sudden demise resulting in a quick passing. The pros and cons of modern medicine.

I contacted Lap of Love via their website and they called me within 15 minutes. Thank you for that advice @MandysMom - they were really lovely. No pressure to pay anything, they sent me a bunch of links to helpful info, including a daily assessment that is a life saver!

I'm glad I didn't go with Blue Pearl, and thanks for the confirmation @cleptogrey. I contacted them and didn't get a good vibe. And I'm aware that he's an old dog and will likely not be with me much longer. I understand that we've all been under a lot of stress during the last three years, especially vets, and even though he's not perfect feel good about him. (His previous long-term vet moved out of the state during covid.)  I appreciate your concern, and as much as I desire a stressless time, I appreciate that life gives us what it does. Thank goodness for this forum and help from loving people like all of you! 

Re: the latest, he's doing well, considering. He's enjoying his food, he's walking longer and better, I eliminated Trazodone at night after learning it can make dogs urinate more frequently, and added CBD so at we're both now sleeping better. (I'm still downstairs on the floor with him, but added more padding!) I feel sane again. I know this only goes one way, but that's true for all of us, so I'm doing the best I can for him on his/our journey! Thanks again. 

[Help Requested for Elderly Greyhound's Care]

I've wondered about this. Did you use Blue Pearl Pet Hospice? 

[Help Requested for Elderly Greyhound's Care]

Thank you all for your helpful and thoughtful responses. Leo and I have had a spell of good days, and he seems to be enjoying life as much as a 12-year-old Leo can. We can't walk as long as we used to, but he is able to sniff and pee on most of the things.

On 6/18/2023 at 1:11 PM, Time4ANap said:

 

Rocket no longer had the quality of life he was used to even though he was otherwise healthy and spoiled rotten. No walks, no car rides, no running outside or sunbathing in the yard, and we knew his time was up. Those were all the things he loved and they were no longer an option. 

If you are risking injury to yourself, you have to take that into consideration as well. We were both risking serious injury every time we had to lift our 85lb boy. 

I would have this conversation with your vet and maybe reach out to some other local greyhound owners if you know any and get their perspective and long term prognosis You will know if it's truly time, but often we are so wrapped up in the care of the dog that we don't stop to think if we are doing it for them, or actually doing it for ourself. Only you can decide the right course of action, but be sure to take quality of life into account for both of you. 

We wish you and Leo the best. Spoil him rotten for all of us here while you can. 

This is SO helpful. When Leo came out of the water treadmill without the ability to stand on his back legs last week, I saw for the first time how instinctual it can be to know where the line is when it comes to keeping them alive. It was like a gut-punch. Thankfully, like I said, he's back to walking, and I'm supplementing with Myos Muscle Formula which should help steady him. Luckily he's now only 60 pounds (he was originally 85!) and I can get him in and out of the car relatively easily, without hurting myself too much.  

And he is DEFINITELY a spoiled boy, although I feel sure he doesn't think so. 

On 6/18/2023 at 1:13 PM, greytpups said:

I would reach out to your ex if you have evaluated his quality of life and it’s still good. Sometimes we need to ask hard questions, such as what are you waiting for? I’d also be concerned about the amount of pain meds and if he is truly out of pain. 

Perhaps you need someone to come in and take him out for you to give yourself a break. You obviously love him dearly, but it sounds like neither of you have a good quality of life right now. Hope you can find some answers.

I have considered reaching out to my ex, but it's been lovely having him out of my life all these years, and the idea of inviting him back in is a deterrent. However, my housemate stayed downstairs with Leo this weekend all day Saturday so that I could go upstairs and take a long bath and then a nap in my bedroom in my own bed! It was glorious! Thank you for your suggestions and reminders about good quality of life and giving myself a break.

23 hours ago, MP_the4pack said:

Is a dog door an option? It's been a life saver for me with older dogs needing to go out frequently. 

Unfortunately, a dog door is not an option. (I wish!) We have too many steps to get to the ground in the backyard, and he really struggles with them. 

On 6/18/2023 at 1:44 PM, FiveRoooooers said:

Ask yourself is Leo still getting around under his own power, is he still able to eat and enjoy his meals, does he have more good days that not. But also, how progressed have his ailments become and could a crisis be lurking. That is something we all try to avoid as much as possible. You don't want your last memories of Leo to be of him in crisis, nor would you want him to go through that (thinking a fracture here). Have you asked Leo what he wants? It's not so woo-woo. Sitting quietly and having a heart-to-heart can often bring things to light.

Yes, thank you for this! He is still able to get up and down from his bed and go for walks. He enjoys his meals and seeing his people (and neighbor dogs). I am concerned about a crisis. He's recently had lab work and x-rays which all look good. He seems to be in good health according to his vet, which adds a bit to my confusion. (Again, he's my first dog.) Part of my reason for reaching out here is to get an idea of what could happen, while understanding, of course, that no one can predict the future. I love your idea of sitting with Leo and asking him what he wants. It'll be interesting to see what he says. (He's a very talkative hound. )

 

22 hours ago, greysmom said:

At some point, you can't stop time.  If you have a vet you trust, or his rehab staff, ask them for their opinion.   Talk about his real level of pain and if you can help lessen that any further.  Talk about his level of physical deterioration and if there is any realistic and concrete steps you could take to get him any better.   Really evaluate how you could/will manage as his condition deteriorates even further.  And I always think about what *I* would want to have happen if I was in the same physical state.  

Considering euthanasia isn't a failure.  Releasing them from a body that has become a burden to them is the final gift we can give our companion animals.  And I will second what's been said - better to let them go a day too soon rather than a day too late.  A day spent with them feeling (relatively) good, rather than scared and in pain at the e-vet from a medical crisis.

Are you actually in Portland, OR??  Or is it the Maine one??   If you're in OR, we have used these folks both for dogs and cats, and have loved their gentle direction and compassionate service.  I will use this way every time I can as it's much calmer and easier on everyone.

Compassionate Care - In Home Euthanasia

Yes, I'm in Portland, OR, and have Compassionate Care's information in my phone for when the time comes. Are they able to give advice prior to the decision to euthanise? 

And I should be able to have a more in-depth discussion with his PT vet in a couple of weeks at our next follow-up, where I can ask better questions about what to expect. 

You all are wonderful! Thank you for your care and please give all of your pups scritches and hugs from me and Leo!

[Help Requested for Elderly Greyhound's Care]

I'm hoping someone can help me with my 12-1/2 year old greyhound Leo. I've had him since he was 1-1/2. He has had a multitude of health issues over the years, and he now has arthritis, disc issues, hypothyroidism, mitral valve disease and some weakness and neuropathy in his back legs. I started taking him to PT about three months ago since he became unable to climb the stairs to my bedroom and started struggling during walks. The journey's been up and down and all around. The PT vet is amazing, and he's had adjustments and acupuncture and shock therapy, and I am able to do TENS treatments now from home. They tried the water treadmill last week and he was unable to use his back legs at all. Now he's got feeling back so the treatments are much more conservative, with mobility and other manual strength exercises. 

I love him, of course, but he is challenging many ways. He's very needy and barks if I'm out of his sight for too long...like five-ten minutes. (Unless he's asleep, or, strangely, left completely alone in the house.) So, at night I have been sleeping downstairs with him on the couch or on a roll out bed on the floor. He also needs to go out in the middle of the night to pee and/or poop 9 nights out of ten, usually about 11:30 and then again at 4-5 am. So, it also just makes sense to stay downstairs since we'll need to go out anyway. 

I cannot keep this up. And I can only afford his care, of course, if I keep working, but I may not be able to keep working if I keep this up. I have him because although my ex-husband wanted him, he bonded to me, and I was willing and able to care for him. I am trying my best to care for him and do his daily exercises, but I also work full-time from home, and between taking him out 6-9 times a day, feeding him by hand due to his cervical issues, and all of the other Leo-related tasks (including driving him to and from PT once a week) I'm losing it. I'm basically a wreck, between body pain from sleeping on the couch/floor and extreme fatigue from never sleeping through the night. 

He's on of drugs and supplements of course: gabapentin and l-thyroxine and enalapril and trazodone just to name a few. (Though I'm starting to reduce trazodone because although it knocks him out, which is wonderful, when he's awake he's unsteady and unable to walk.) 

Another hitch to all of this is that I have a roommate, so I can't just let him bark at night while I sleep in my bed and am hesitant to leave him alone because if she's home he'll bark constantly.  I have no idea how all of this will play out and am looking for advice and information from those with more experience. I know that he can die suddenly from something unexpected, but he can also go on for years. What will those years be like, especially if he's losing feeling in his back legs and is having trouble walking? As most of you may know, it's hard to get much time with your vet to have this kind of conversation post-covid. If there's someone else I should talk to, or something else I can read, please let me know. Thanks for any help you can provide! 

[What’s New In Corn Management?!]

This greyhound corn cream worked for Leo: https://glutathionepharmacist.com/product.html?id=0a498e18-eb73-11e6-e8a3-0b2f21afbb7d. I’ve only had to buy one jar and it has resolved his corns—I haven’t had to think about them for years. (I still keep it in the refrigerator just in case!) It’s a bit of a regimen but I followed it every time corns popped up and eventually they were gone for good.🤞🏽Good luck!

[£$%** Corns]

I know this is a late post, but if you're still needing something for the corn, pick up some Greyhound Corn & Callus Cream and Hyaluronic Acid from Murray Apothecary at https://maapgh.com/greyhound-corn-cream.html. My greyhound Leo started limping two years ago and his vet couldn't figure out what it was. Once I identified the corn, she would hull it, but the hulling didn't make any difference, so I scoured the interwebs until I found information about the corn cream, bought it, and started using it. It's not cheap, but you don't need much and the jar's lasted two years. I would apply it twice a day per the instructions, and later bought a Therapaw boot that alleviated the limping while treating it. Since 2019 there have been a number of occurrences, with the corn cream working to the extent that he could walk bootless and pain-free, only to have the corn come back and the treatment start again...until FINALLY it's truly gone for good! (We have other issues, of course, because he's a ten year old greyhound, but the corn is not one of them!) Anyway, it works! Hope this helps someone!