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LadyBailey

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About LadyBailey

  • Birthday 06/24/1975

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    Eva

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    http://www.scoobyexperience.com
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    Paris, Canada

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Jr Grey lover

Jr Grey lover (5/9)

  1. Hi Robin, Sorry to hear that Treasure is losing weight. If her teeth aren't terrible, I would recommned not doing the dental. At her age and given that she is losing weight, putting her under might exaperatate things. Of course this is not the case in all dogs, but two months after Bailey's dental, she was dx with bone cancer. I regret so much putting her under as anesthetic really takes it's toll on the oldies. Bailey was also 12.
  2. Here is an alternative to pharm drugs for SA. It's a copy of an email that I shared with a friend, so forgive the way it's written We have another dog (Jackson) that we rescued... he lived in a shelter for 7 years and we adopted when he was 9... so he came to us with a lot of baggage. We didn’t like what Clomicalm was doing to him after a while (vet prescribed) so we searched out alternatives. We found L-Theanine. It worked wonders for our dog and eventually he settled and is now not on it. that took about 2 years through, but Jackson was a special case after spending such a long time in a shelter. I do think that the Clomicalm worked for Jackson in the beginning because it got him over the hurdle of the new life that he was living and then we changed to L-Theanine which carried him through until he finally settled. ABOUT L-THEANINE First here is some background info for you: http://www.dogsincanada.com/anxitane We used L-Theanine (L-T) after trying clomicalm- the pharma drug on Jackson because we didn't like how he was "drugged" out on the clomicalm. The L-T worked wonders on Jackson - it didn't sedate him, but simply calmed him down naturally. He wasn't anxious and high strung when he was on this. He stayed on it for about 2 years... every day and stopped about a year and a half ago and he has been super. PRODUCT INFO: There is an actual L-T product made by Virbac, called Anxitane. But it costs a fortune and you need a prescription... further in my email, I will tell you about a way cheaper option for the same product. Here is the link for your information on the product by Virbac: http://www.virbacvet.com/Products/VirbacAnimalHealthBehavioralHealth/ANXITANEChewableTablets.aspx?webSyncID=0d1e38cd-434b-4111-19eb-572332125e76&sessionGUID=09c5bdde-3783-a7a1-8b54-93ee57db0076 You can get L-theanine from a local health food store for a fraction of the cost of the stuff that you would get from the vet. The brand I got was Natural Factors. http://naturalfactors.com/ca/en/products/565/l-theanine-125-mg Jackson is about 60 pounds and we gave him one - 125 mg capsule, twice a day. Just tossed it in his food. Here is another link for the the generic L-T that you might be able to get in the US. http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU110/ItemDetail?SourceCode=INTL078&CAWELAID=129499631 We were able to get ours from our local health / vitamin store in our very small town, so I don't think you should have any trouble finding it where you are. The cost for us was about $20 for 60 capsules - versus the $100 for the ones that you have to get from the vet. Further: here are some more about dosage: http://www.schnauzerama.org/anxiety.htm We gave 125 mg/ twice a day and it was fine for jackson. Non-herbal alternative treatments L-theanine - This is a new item to my virtual "arsenal" of SA treatments, but initial results seem very promising! It's given good results with the couple of dogs that have tried it up to this point, and would probably be my first recommendation for a non-veterinary alternative. L-theanine is a free-form amino acid, and is recommended for use in treating anxiety in humans, as well. Most health food stores have the ability to order this, if they don't carry it in stock. Dosage is 100mg for a 50lb dog, once per day, scaled up/down from there. Hope that helps.
  3. Our Andy has this problem in the spring and fall when the dew is heavy in the morning. All we did was dry his paws off really well when he came in and it settled the redness no problem. We didn't give him any meds either.
  4. tempt. sounds good to me, but CHECK the increase in dosage w/ you VET! doesn't cost anything to call! she wanted me to start with 10 mg every 12 hours. So I know that going up to 5mg every 12 hours is okay. however, I have stuck with 2.5. The coughing is almost completely gone, but he is breathing more rapidly and panting when up and about. Drinking a little more than normal, but seems comfortable. Will see how tomorrow goes.
  5. thanks everyone. my hydro bill is a testament to how cold the house is. it's been set to 24C since May! Actually, it's too cold, but we keep it like this for Andy. Dog sitter was there today at lunch and said the whole gang was good. Andy coughed a few times, but no panting. I have been giving him 2.5mg every 12 hours. will see how he is tonight and think about going up to 5mg every 12 hours. Tie back surgery is not an option, so I don't need to worry about that.
  6. Thanks so much for sharing. Your situation sounds exactly like ours and it looks like we had the same mindset when it came to treatment. Andy is overall super happy. Even before this, he was a dog that preferred to just stay at home. He is eating well, able to jump up two stairs clearing about triple that, so his back end isn't too terrible yet. But he does have muscle loss and shakiness. walks are no longer an option. We have about an acre, so he is able to meander the yard and then just go in when he's ready. I am on the LP list and they have been so helpful, but since he hasn't had the surgery, I find we are stuck dealing with general drug interactions rather than post op problems so that is why I turned to GT. Andy has no problem eating. He is ready for breakie and dinner and his secret bed time snack that none of the other dogs know about. I gave him .25mg about an hour ago. How long does it take to kick in if the dose is effective. I am wondering if that dose will be too low for anything - good or bad - to happen. Flaco25 - water in both kitchen and living room, so we are good!
  7. he's been on doxepin for two months... from what I understand it's three weeks max to see if it's working. I think it's working in the sense that he is breathing a little better... but the dry coughing started yesterday. vet thinks it's inflamation and recommends a weaning dose over three weeks to bring down the inflammation. He just had another coughing attack, so I caved and gave him .25mg to start. it's a double edged sword - he can't cough forever, but i don't want him panting either. having gone through osteo with two hounds before I thought I was stong enough to live through anything... but LP is completely different and maybe even worse monster ;(
  8. Hello, Haven't been on here in a while. Our Andy has been diagnosed with Larangeal Paralysis. Surgery wasn't an option as he is terrifed of clinical settings... nearly died at the consult for the potential LP surgery. So we are managing him with acupuncture, and a drug called doxepin. He was doing great until yesterday when he started dry coughing. Vet came to the house to see him and said his heart and lungs sound good, but there is a little wheeze in his exhale. She has prescribed prednisone. He is 85 pounds and the dose that she started him on is 2, 5 mg pills every 12 hours. So that's 10mg every 12 hours. She said this is low as normal doses start at 1mg/kg which would be 20mg every 12 hours. Anyway, I am terrified to give it to him because it can cause him to pant and with LP, panting is the LAST thing in the world we want to happen. Any advice would be appreciated on the doseage or alternatives. Thanks eva
  9. Hi all, Our Andy is 99.9% sure dx with laryngeal paralysis. We are working with our vet to get a referral to either OVC in Guelph, Vet Emerg in Oakville or possibly a clinic in London. We did NOT have a good experience at OVC with Carrier back in 2008, so I am hesitant to go there. We did have a good experience with Vet Emerg in Oakville with Carrier but the situation was different back then - we didn't do a surgery for Carrier there, but rather it was diagnostics on his heart. Has anyone here had the surgery done for laryngeal paralysis? if so which surgeon did you go to in Ontario? Travelling out of the country is not an option for Andy as he is an anxious dog, so the trip alone would put him over the edge. thank eva
  10. If there's no gastric torsion, they may be able to vomit yet still be bloated. Bailey was full on bloated, but no torsion and was not able to vomit - she was retching and this was already almost 2 hours after she started acting "weird". I think the only thing that can we say for certain is - it happens "A LOT" in greyhounds and if you think they are bloating, chances are, they are... so get them to the vet! There is a list of things to watch for - all of which have been mentioned here and in the links provided. we used that as a guide the first time with Bailey and with that list we were able to react and make the right choice to move our butts into the car and off to the vets.
  11. I would have to disagree with those who say it's not common in greyhounds. We have had three GH's and two of them have bloated. Our first was Bailey. We knew the signs to watch for from reading all the greyhound books - attempting to vomit, looking like they swallowed a watermelon, pacing, panting, but in our first experience with bloat - these signs weren't that apparent in Bailey until about an hour after she started not feeling well. That night Bailey woke up around 2am and she walking around the house restless. I let her out to see if she had to go, but she just stood there looking at me - panting every once in a while. So then we went back inside, she would try to sit down, do it for a few seconds and then quickly get up again... at this point her body didn't look any different than it normally did. this "sit down and getting up" lasted for about 15 mins if I recall and then she actually sat down and settled for about 30 minutes. we watched and waited to see if she was okay - then all of a sudden she jumped up and tried to throw up but nothing came out and at that point her tummy looked big - like she lost her tuck. Off we went to the e-vet. she was indeed bloated. vet xrayed her to confirm, tubed her to release the gas and kept her overnight. She bloated again and they tubed her again. we made the call to have the surgery to tack her stomach to avoid twisting. Our other time was with Andy - this time it happened at 2pm and he showed the same signs. walking around not being able to get comfortable. Tim was at home at this time and noticed this and quickly realized that Andy was bloating - so off he was rushed to the e-vet. they took xrays and he was bloated - 15 mins later while they were still at the vets, Andy twisted and they did emergency surgery. one thing I would recommend having on hand at home is Phazyme - contains simethicone. give two/three pills and go to the vet immediately - this will at least aid in moving some of the gas out. do not give this and think that all will be okay - it's just to buy you some time while you are driving to the vets. Our best indicators were that they dogs could not get comfortable - the sitting down and then jumping up was a huge red flag for us. especially since there wasn't any other signs in the beginning Bloat happens for no apparent reason. In both cases for us, the dogs weren't running around like crazy that day after their meals. They both eat from raised feeders. They both eat raw food. I will say one interesting coincidence, was that they both bloated about 8 hours after their meals. I hope you never have to deal with it, it's scary - but now having gone through it twice, we know when and how to react and thank fully our vets are also experienced with this. If your dog is vomiting successfully, then it's not bloat...it's something else, and still requires a vet visit.
  12. We let our dear Bailey go yesterday. She was our first dog and she was the best. There is not much more we can say right now... We can't believe she is gone. Eva & Tim
  13. Thank you everyone. GT support is a wonderful thing. Wonder, I am sorry to hear that sparks going through the same thing. Our carrier battled through one of the worst winters here as well and iit was tough. Sparks was one if the early dogs on GT wasnt he? We spoke to dr C to see there was anything we could do and we dicussed pamidronate. Our vet was even willing to do the IV in our home over the 6 -8hours. But after speaking to dr outo again we agreed that only doing the pamidronate was like putting as small bandage in a large wound as dr. C described it. When he told us that most of all osteo patients break a leg before the cancer spreads, I asked if it was a hair line fracture or what. He said " no Eva. It's a catastrophic fracture". These words haunt me. I am on mat leave so I am able to be home with Bailey as much as needed but my goodness this freaks me out. I am so careful with her as she is still able to walk up the few stairs leading outdoors but the thought of the leg breaking is terrifying. ;( It's so tough. But in the end I wouldn't trade a thing to not have these dogs in our life.
  14. I haven't been able to get on to GT from home as our IP is blocking it for some reason so I am on thru my phone ... Could cost a fortune just wanted to let those of you who know Bailey, our first greyhound, has osteo. Same leg... Same spot as our angel Carrier. Bailey is 13 now so given her age, her reaction to clinical environments, and a weak back end, we have decided to manage her pain and ensure that she comfortable and happy for what time she has left. I can't believe that she is going through the same thing as Carrier. It's heartbreaking to watch and even worse knowing that things will only get worse as time goes on. With carrier we were distracted by hope ... Amputation, meds, chemotherapy, more meds. But with our Bay, it's just time. We are trying our hardest to make it the best for her but with This crap weather it makes it tough even for our able dogs. Will let you know how she does in the next little while. She was officially diagnosed on dec 28. But she had been limping on and off since the beginning of November. On dec28 the vet thought we only had about a month left so we are happy to see February around the corner. She is a strong dog and is pretty stubborn... She is still playing and engaged with the others so we are very happy to see that. Sending hugs and healing thoughts to all of you going through something like this Eva
  15. Funny you ask... I am in LABOUR! Just killing time on the computer and trying not to think about it!. the dogs on the other hand are like, "are we going for a hike today?" ummmm... "no" sorry guys. Will let you know when the part greyhound is born eva
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