AndysMom

Haven't posted here in a number of years, but I am still kicking. LOL Moved to Central Texas a few months ago and I'm looking for a greyhound-savvy veterinarian in Killeen, home of Ft. Hood, in Bell County. Our new group uses a vet down in Round Rock but I would like to avoid a two-hour round trip for routine care. Thanks. Lois

Thanks for the suggestions. We'll pass them on to her.

One of our members has a Greyhound who was attacked by a neighbor's Jack Russell Terrier. The Greyhound sustained a fairly serious injury on his snout, near the corner of his mouth. The vet gave him several stitches (don't know the number) and put an e-collar on him. The dog was able to mess with the stitches (presumably with his foot) and had to make a trip back to the vet to have it re-sutured. Now, he won't eat or drink with the cone on. I haven't seen this dog yet so I really can't personally attest to how he is doing. But wonder if any of the folks on GreyTalk have ideas on protecting the injury site for the next 10 days. I don't think the No-Bite collar will help because he'll still be able to get to it with his foot. I suggested putting a plastic turn-out muzzle on him but she thinks the plastic is going to rub against the open wound (not bandaged). I don't think one of the inflatable boo-boo collars will help either because he'll still be able to get to it with his foot. As I understand it, there is a cut and a flap of skin that's been sutured. Today, the vet put the dog on a second antibiotic, trying to fight an infection that seems to be developing. (The injury happened two days ago.) I've run out of ideas. Any suggestions? Lois

We've got an 11-year-old foster surrendered to us a few weeks ago. He got down to 60 pounds and was very skinny. Vet suspects IBD and has prescribed a couple of meds that seem to be helping. The biggest problem is that he wouldn't eat ANYTHING to speak of. We tried everything we could think of. If he ate something one day, he wouldn't touch it the next. This week I may be accidentally stumbled on something that gets him going on a consistent basis. SWAI filets. It's a type of catfish from Southeast Asia that's about half the price of American catfish varieties ($2 versus $4 a pound). Kroger sells it as individually frozen boneless/skinless filets of about 4 oz each, each one separately wrapped in a vacuum seal pack. I nuke a filet until it turns white and smash it into Joey's kibble with the water that drained from the filet during cooking. It's worked 4 days in a row now, which is remarkable for this boy. You might want to see if your local grocer carries swai filets and give it a try.

Check out the Power Paws from Woodrow Wear. They just came out with a product specifically made for Greyhounds! http://woodrowwear.com/ $19.99 for a set of 4 socks (Tell 'em GPA/Louisville sent you!)

Over the years, we've had several geriatric dogs who just didn't have much appetite. Some of the things that have worked for us: Fat Balls (a/k/a Satin Balls) -- My recipe is different than the one above but the principle is the same. I use ground turkey (lower in fat, a lot cheaper than ground beef). $1.39 a pound at Aldi's in 1-pound tubes. Our Tribute gets two mushed up in each bowl of kibble plus a third with his pills tucked inside; his bedtime snack is two more balls. So he's getting at least 8 to 10 of them a day. Dyne -- This is an awesome product. I get mine on Amazon. Puts you in mind of either sweetened condensed milk or a thin cake batter. Strong vanilla smell. 150 calories per ounce. See http://www.amazon.com/Trophy-32-Ounce-Calorie-Animal-Supplement/dp/B00061MRZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319602575&sr=8-1 Ensure -- Haven't seen this mentioned yet. With underweight dogs, I feed half a bottle or half a can of Ensure (get the PLUS variety as it has more fiber and more calories) twice a day. 350 calories total. Vanilla flavor is all I've tried. Our old dogs have really enjoyed this either poured over their food or in a bowl as supplemental feeding. Haven't had any "Big D" issues yet; probably because of the extra fiber in the PLUS variety. Hope this is helpful. Lois

Liver cookies are a big hit around here too! I make mine as "drops", a little bigger than a Hershey's Kiss chocolate candy. I mix up the batter, put it into a ziplock bag, snip off the corner and use it as a "piping bag", as one would when decorating a cake. I find the "kisses" are much neater (less crumbs when the dogs eat them) and I freeze them on a cookie sheet and then store in the freezer.

If you go the x-pen route, you can bunge cord the pen to one or two solid objects -- trees, etc. It will make your set-up much more stable in case somebody pumps the pen.

I vote for switching the radio over to TALK radio of some sort. Sports, news, whatever. Hearing human voices may be more soothing to her than music of any variety.

A Pepcid tablet might settle her tummy, if it's upset.

The 4Health has no corn, no wheat, no soy. Hope that's helpful info. Lois I wish I could still feed the Diamond. Or even the Costso brand (I forget the name) Maggie did fine on them but Sam has a few grain allergies. I'm going to check out the 4Health.

Our dogs are doing greyt on the 4Health dry food from Tractor Supply.

Arathorn went peacefully to the Bridge about Noon on Saturday. It was an incredibly difficult decision but I think it was the right one to make. His pain level had gotten pretty high and we felt it was just selfish for us to keep him here with us when we couldn't offer him a good quality of life. He gave me a kiss this morning, "flat on the lips", which I took as a sign that this was the right step. There's a big empty spot on the couch tonight and it's going to be weird not having to fight for a spot in the bed later but I know he's free of pain and running like crazy at the Rainbow Bridge. Thanks for all the support from our friends on Greytalk.

Mike and I have decided to say goodbye to Arathorn tomorrow. My heart is broken. His tumor has doubled in size in the past couple of weeks, he's not putting any weight on that leg at all now, he cries out in his sleep occasionally, he doesn't want to eat without major enticement (and then only reluctantly) and I believe his pain level has increased significantly. The meds just aren't doing the trick anymore and I cannot let him suffer. We are 5-1/2 months post-diagnosis and every single day has been an enormous blessing. This is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done! Lois

Tractor Supply sells "FRONTIER BRAND MOO SHOES DOG CHEW" http://www.tractorsu...og-chew-1130832 These are more than just the pair of the hooves; it includes the very end of the foot itself.

The whole litter was named after Lord of the Rings characters. A lot of people don't "get it". Arathorn was his racing name. Boromir Elladan Finduilas Thranduil Arathorn Dodge's Rohan Mordor Tolkien Frodo Gimli King Aragorn

Falconschild, I know how difficult this is for you as you try to make the right decision for Toby. We're looking ahead to the same situation in the very near future and I would rather make the choice to have our Arathorn put to sleep a day early than to risk doing it a day too late. I really don't want to wait until his pain is uncontrollable to let him go; that would just be selfish of me to keep him with us too long. If you trust your vet, let him/her offer you some advice as to Toby's pain level. We'll be thinking of you and Toby as you make your decision. Lois

DH snapped this photo of our Arathorn (4.5 months post DX) this weekend: He had a check-up with our vet yesterday. We're still status quo on the pain meds. Tumor is larger but his cancer does not seem to be especially aggressive at this time. Every day's a blessing! Lois

Tractor Supply is offering FREE 5-lb. bags of their 4Health dry food (for dogs and cats) through December 24, 2010. The cashier should have a coupon to scan at the cash register.

RedTigerJazz recommended it in a different thread.

I second RedTigerJazz. Our pack's doing really well on the 4Health Large Breed from Tractor Supply. 40# for about $30.

So very sorry to hear Gracy and Gypsy each took turns for the worst. This disease is just a nightmare for everyone it touches. It's important for us to remember that their suffering has ended now and they're all running free at the Bridge. As for checking in, Arathorn's still fighting the good fight. His tumor's not much bigger and the Tramadol X3 and Rimadyl X2 seem to still be working so far as managing his pain. He went to a "Christmas party" on Saturday where I got his picture taken with our 12-year-old Tribute. I'm afraid neither one of them will be with us much longer. But, Saturday, he was happy to be out and working the public, his tail wagging a mile a minute. We did have an incident last Friday. Arathorn's still sleeping in bed with me. About 4 AM, I must have bumped his leg in my sleep. His face was near mine and I woke up when he snapped at my face. Unfortunately, he caught my upper lip, but didn't go all the way through. I've got a 1/2-inch laceration but it's not very deep. I'm certain he didn't do it intentionally and that it was a startle reflex. He's still sleeping in bed with us but a friend suggested putting a muzzle on him at night. He doesn't seem to mind the muzzle and he really, really wants to sleep in the bed. This seems to work for all of us. Some day (too soon) he won't be here and I'll really miss sharing the bed with the little devil. Arathorn is now 4.5 months post-diagnosis. And every extra day is still a blessing. Lois

Several of you mentioned shopping at Tractor Supply. We've been feeding their "4 Health" brand foods (Tractor Supply exclusive) for 6 months or more now. Price runs about $30 for 35 pounds. Several varieties available, including Large Breed. All with no corn, wheat or soy. Our dogs all have excellent coats, well-formed poops, and seem to enjoy the product. http://www.tractorsupply.com/content/storeevents/4health

Wish us luck. Arathorn is 3 months post diagnosis and maintaining status quo. Tomorrow is our big GPA gathering here in Louisville. DH is the President and I'm the event organizer. We're taking all four of our dogs so I bought a new x-pen just for Arathorn where he can rest and relax without worrying about being bumped or stepped on. The rest of our dogs and the dogs belonging to other folks actively working at the event will be in an adjacent/attached double xpen. I hope all the excitement's not too much for him. He loves being loved on and I know he'll get a lot of attention. I have to remember to take his pain pills with us as it will be a full day. Lois

Sorry to see a "new member" to this thread. Glad you found us; this is a wonderful group of folks who are all in the same boat. Arathorn ran into some "complications" last night. Another of our dogs bumped him yesterday afternoon and apparently hit his bad leg. They tore into each other. Mojo got in a "lucky shot" and bit Arathorn just below the ankle, where his tumor is located. Upon inspection, we found the tendon was EXPOSED! Rushed off to the vet at 8 PM last night; left him there overnight; they did surgery Thursday night and fortunately were able to close the wound, which was a concern because there is very little flesh and skin to work with in that area between the foot and the ankle. Arathorn came home this afternoon with a bandage and an antibiotic Rx. Thanks to what I've learned on this thread, we discussed adding Rimadyl to his Tramadol (3xday), which the vet agreed might be beneficial. So we're starting that as well. We didn't discover until this evening that Arathorn tore up Mojo's ear pretty bad. The lacerations are all inside the ear flap; no punctures and nothing visible from the outside. So, he's on antibiotics too. I've spent the last 2.5 months worrying about Arathorn and his battle with this evil cancer. I never imagined I had to worry about him getting into a fight! Lois