LadyBailey

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 ;(

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Update: Sept 14 So it's been almost a month since Bailey had her episode of bloat after her dental and I am pleased to say that she is back to normal.... man that was a long month. She is eating well - (her normal food), playing, resting and demanding her long hikes out on the trails. All of this is great news and we will be sure to have a serious celebration on Oct 13 for her Champagne birthday - 13 years old on the 13th. If there is one thing that I would share from this experience it would be GO WITH YOUR GUT and never think you are over reacting - no matter what anyone tells you - we know our dogs best and know when they are "not right". Had we not, we would have lost her thanks for all your responses and good thoughts.

You guys are funny! Half greyhound would be just fine with me too - sleeping 18-20 hours a day? perfect! Bailey has me wrapped around her paw - little stinker. We tried a variety of options yesterday but nothing appeased her until....I found the magic bullet. She won't eat anything at the moment that does not have grated dried liver treats on top. You know, the ones that cost a million dollars! So last night, she ate the 3/4 of canned food with shaved dried liver on top. And then this morning, I offered her her regular food and she refused it until I grated dried liver on it. Unreal she went out a did her biz and is now protesting for a walk... which is too early in my opinion, but she is pretty stubborn... which is lovely to see. We will get her out for a walk again once she is eating a little more stable. Thanks so much for your good thoughts and advice on this. They were all helpful and you helped to put my mind at ease.

Sunday Morning Update. So yesterday Bailey slept most of the afternoon soundly. I had to jump out to help my mom with something so Tim stayed home with her. He saw me off from the driveway and when he got to the back door, there was Bailey girl waiting for him. Which was nice to see. Her motility is back a little stronger than before, but I am still worried about her appetite. She didn't want to eat anything yesterday except canned pumpkin and this morning she would only eat dried liver treats. I am going to nip out this morning to get some baby food and see if that will appease her. She isn't drinking as much water as she was a few days ago, so I want to make sure she is hydrated. On top of all of this, I am due in three week with our first real live human baby ... we joke that he may be half greyhound ... so this added stress of Bailey not doing so well is really freaking me out. I just want our old Bailey girl back - dirty teeth and all

Afternoon Update. Bailey seems a little more stable now albeit she is still somewhat weak in her back end and has trouble walking perfectly. But once she gets going, she seems to be fine. She had a 1/4 can of soft food at noon and we will give her a little more in a bit. She is burping and she does drink water without problem. She is still panting a bit at times, but I am considering this normal at the moment due to the fact that she was very bad yesterday. One thing I forgot to mention when we brought her to the e-vet was her tummy was so distended that is was pushing on her vena cava - and she was nearly in shock. So I know that it's going to take some time for her to feel better again. She is able to sleep soundly and she is showing signs of being her typical self. She has three shave marks on her legs - a combination of the dental and then catheters from the e-vet... which she is beginning to lick. This has proven to be the biggest hurdle with her in the past - the licking of the shaved area until they are raw... fun times. But we have a game plan for that too Will let you know how she does over the next few days. Thanks again for your good thoughts. I hate that I had to come here for this, but it's nice to be back on GT. eva

Morning everyone. thanks for your replies and advice and good thoughts. I spoke to the e-vet at 6pm yesterday - he asked that we call him with an update. He was pleased with the afternoon she had and felt that it was really all the anesthetic and stress that triggered the bloating and that if she managed to carry on like she was yesterday with recovery, she should be good to go in a few days. he did say, don't ever put her under again - which we agree with ;0) Yesterday afternoon Bailey spent the day sleeping in about 2-3 hour intervals. We made sure the house was quiet and she was able to rest peacefully. When she needed to pee - she would start panting so TIm would carry her out. By evening - around 10pm, she still wasn't able to stand up by herself when getting up so we had to help her back end up but she was more than happy to walk herself out the door. Once standing on the grass, it looked like she got her bearings even more and then off she went for a pee. We have two stairs that lead to the back door and Tim has been carrying her up and down them for the last 24 hours. Last night she attempted to climb them herself, but we intercepted that brave attempt . We hit another milestone last night, when she was finally able to get into her own bed and lay down without Tim setting her in. This is all good progress I think. She had an uneventful night and even managed to rearrange herself without our help... I found her sleeping in a completely other position this morning, so that is also good news. This morning, she had a few small bites of some soft food, but then started to push it away with her nose when she had enough. She is laying completely laterally and even went into REM a few times and is also sitting up without panting at the moment, so we are starting to see progress in her comfort level. I do have some extra strength Phazyme on hand, but she is maintaining her tuck and not looking too gassy at the moment, so we are going to hold of on giving her anything right now. I picked up some more Ensure to see if she wants that instead of water. Although she is drinking, so that is also positive. Thanks again and I will let you know how today goes. Thanks! I will try that too if needed. We had to feed that our dear Carrier when he wasn't doing well and he loved it. Eat it right from my hand as it seeped through my fingers. Yummy

God. what if it was that? then what? I would imagine the vet would never know now and if they did they wouldn't admit to it

The e-vet first said that we should probably leave her with our regular vet for the day but then we decided against it since they were the ones who originally sent her home in this state to begin with. The e-vet was comfortable with us taking her home after the hour that we spent there this morning, because she seemed to settle. He is actually on call for the weekend, so if anything happens we are more confident taking her back there rather than our regular vet. She has been slowly seeming to get better compared to what she looked like this morning. She is sleeping soundly, laying completely on her side - which I think is a good sign, because if she was in pain or uncomfortable I know that she would not be in this position. Her eyes seem to be looking better too - not glazed over and druggy looking. She is also pawing us for rubs when we sit with her. I am calm for the moment because she is resting well. The other 3 dogs have been amazing - very calm and quiet, so that is a huge help to her and us. In regards to the Gas - X the e-vet was hesitant to "prescribe" that because at time he couldn't say for sure why she was bloating. We suspect it was the stress of the surgery and the drugs and the panting - aka swallowing a ton of air.. her xrays looked normal aside from the air her tummy when they were taken. I will ask the e-vet again, who I will call at 6pm tonight if he thinks maybe giving her something like gas-x is now an option since we have a little more detail on when the bloating feeling occurs. She needs to get some nutrition into her, so I am thinking maybe Ensure is the safest, since she is drinking water - this would be a good substitute. ... I think? Any other ideas would be great appreciated.

So Bailey (12 years old) had her dental yesterday and the vet said everything went well. She lost two small teeth and the others were fine. When we picked her up at 4:30 I noticed that her tummy looked a little bloated, but I figured that she was probably like this due to the surgery etc. Also, her legs looked like they had taken a hose to her because they were completely soaked from her panting all over them. So we went home and by 5:15 I thought for sure she was bloated. Called the vet and they said, she was fine when she was here. We decided to keep an eye on her because she managed to settle. By 7:30 we were at the e-vet and it was confirmed that she was bloating. She bloated two and half years ago and we actually had the surgery to have her stomach tacked at that time. So we were lucky that nothing happened yesterday with her stomach flipping... even though the vet said that it is a possibility. She spent the night at the e-vets and they said that she had a quiet night - sleeping and only panting when she had to pee or felt a uncomfortable. We picked her up at 7:30 this morning and she started shaking and could barely stand and started bloating again. The e-vet (who was amazing) picked her up and the pressure on her belly forced a burp and a fart and a pee. We got her to the back and sat her down where we sat with her for an hour waiting for her to settle and decide on what we were going to do. During this time she burped a few times and managed to settle down. The vet recommended that we take her home where she would be less anxious and of course if anything changed to bring her in. So we brought her home and she has been able to rest for most of the day and only is uncomfortable when she has to pee or burp. When we take her out for a pee, Tim has to carry her and walk beside her because she is completely wobbly and can't manage to walk straight - she is weak. Her panting seems to bring on the bloat. Tim has managed to burp her - literally by tapping her ribs as if she was a baby. and that seems to pass the gas. I am going on here... but I guess my question is what do we do now? I am afraid that she might not recover from this;( and I feel terrible for choosing the stupid dental for her. She hasn't eaten in two days - she has some ensure yesterday evening, but it seems like anything that goes in her causes her to bloat up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. eva

Thanks everyone! I spoke to the vet and we talked about everything that you have mentioned here. We are all set for August 19th. Will let you know how she makes out.

Hello all, I haven't been on here in forever ;( I am looking for some sound greytalk advice Bailey will be 13 in October and her mouth is rotten. The last time she had a dental was when she was 4 years old and she and we, managed to keep her teeth super clean up until about 1 year ago. We stated to notice that regardless of brushing her teeth were starting to look terrible. We even started incorporating the Leba Dental spray, but after looking at her teeth this weekend, we know we have to so something. They are green on one side of her mouth and she has a loose tooth. She had a full blood panel done in May and it came back perfect. For her age, she is doing well overall. She has been becoming more picky with her food, so we are thinking her teeth may be starting to really bother her. We are afraid to put her under given her age, but we are completely aware of the other problems that can arise due to a rotten mouth. She had bloat surgery two years ago and it took about a week and a half for her to recover from that... mind you that was may more serious than just going under for a dental, but regardless she was under. So my question is should we do the dental give her blood is good and overall she is pretty vibrant for a 13 year old? Are there any other precautions we should take? Thanks. eva