scullysmum

I could not have put it better myself, often the only way you learn is the hard way, which is not fair on anyone so this dog may not be the one for you

Rest is probably the best cure, if there is nothing broken and no obvious swelling or heat then there isn't much, in my opinion that you can do. I am sure others will chime in.

Good to hear she is doing so well

I just wanted to add re weight loss that the seniors lose a great deal of muscle mass all over which clearly makes them much thinner, this is often simply due to the reduced level of activity as per humans of advanced age. It is not necessarily a sign of illness. But I agree with others who say feed her whatever she wants and likes, maybe even giving more feeds per day if her digestion can take it. This is what I did with my angel Sadi when she got really old, eventually she did have increasing digestive problems and although nothing specific was diagnosed (it probably wouldn't have been possible without being too invasive) along with her other problems it added up towards making her final journey. I hope you can find things that will make her more comfortable, enjoy every day with your precious little old lady.

I have had my current greyhound for just over three months and I call him the "manners police". He gets on really well with other dogs, even my friends lurcher who is slightly brain damaged and does not speak "dog" very well, but he finds some dogs that are impolite hard to deal with and can be snarky with them. I think it may be because greyhounds actually get to "grow up" as it were, and pet dogs (particularly certain breeds) stay puppyish for most of their lives. I think that gradual introduction to the others dogs, supervised and preferably one at a time might do the trick. Your boy needs to just learn that the other dogs mean no harm, they are just different. The reason he gets on so well with the Aussie is because he's known him since he was a puppy, dogs are almost pre-programmed to be kind to puppies.

Is it actually a joint in the toe that is swollen? If so, and you mention a recent accident it is possibly the beginning of calcification of that joint. What happens is that following a trauma there is a bleed into the joint and as the blood cannot escape it calcifies eventually leaving a bony lump. One of my bridge kids had this on all of his toes, he had the lumpiness toes of any dog I ever met, but the vet told me that often it can be a good thing because it can stabilise the joint and help prevent further injury, this was indeed the case for my boy. I think you need to just watch and monitor for changes. I am sure others will chip in with more advice soon.

Same advice applies I'm afraid, due to the risk of infection.

I presume you mean the large pad of the foot? Regardless of whether or not you can see tendons she needs to be seen by a vet asap. If you have bathed it then cover it with a clean plastic bag and secure it to keep any dirt out until she can be treated. There is a real risk of serious infection in a wound like this due to it being in contact with the ground. Hope she's ok. Keep us posted.

My boy doesn't roach or roo or get on the sofa, he does like our bed though, looks like someone forgot to give our pups the "how to be a greyhound" memo!

Oh no! I am so sorry.

Another beautiful angel, much missed.

Nobody likes a bully, if you think that the way your dog is playing is too rough or inappropriate in any way call time out. Here in the UK it is normal for dogs to be off leash most of the time in suitable places we don't have dog parks and I often encounter this kind of scenario. People will say "They are just playing" and then it gets out of hand and a dog gets hurt. People's children sometimes need to be told to "play nice" and so do their dogs IMO.

I am so sorry. What wonderful memories you have though to help ease the pain a little.

Good thoughts being thought and sent, feel better Greta (a poet I ain't)

I think you need to get a more definitive diagnosis of what kind of spinal problem you are dealing with. Many of Jeffie's symptoms you describe like not appearing to know where his feet are (propriorception sp?) sound very similar to what Sadi was like, she didn't have LS she had Spondylosis of the lower spine, which is basically when bone spurs grow from the vertebrae and can restrict movement in the spine and impinge on nerves in the area too. I used to joke that her front legs and back legs were on a different planet! but that is sometimes what it seemed like, they weren't working as a team anymore. From what I have read (but I am sure others with more experience will correct me if wrong) LS tends to be painful, whereas Spondylosis less so, in fact Sadi did not seem to be in pain at all, she just had an increasing loss of sensation and control of her back end. When my vet diagnosed Sadi he said he would put her on a course of Prednoleucotropin (PLT) and if it worked for her I would notice an improvement in a couple of days, but if not then nothing else would really help her, sadly it did not help her. I hope that you can get to the bottom of what is causing Jeffie's wobbles so you can find something to make him more comfortable.

What a beautiful way to remember your girl.

Tomorrow it will be one year since I had to let my beautiful angel go to the bridge. I did not post many pictures of her in her last couple of years, mostly because I was too busy, but we still had some lovely pics of her from then, that was until the computer had a hard drive failure and we "lost" them....well we have managed to find them (I say we because I have the technical know-how of a vegetable , it was all DH's work So here she is in all her loveliness... I will never stop missing her, she taught me so much, not only about dogs but about myself too.....and she picked her successor with great care, she made sure that I would appreciate why she was such a difficult girl for her first year, cheeky little madam

Firstly I want to say that I am sorry that you are at the stage when you need to be thinking of saying goodbye, it is so sad. Last year when I had to make that decision for my Sadi it was a case an accumulation of things starting to drag her down. She had arthritis in her spine which did not really cause her pain but made her hind end weak, she dealt with this quite stoically but when she started to not want to eat much (probably because she didn't move around much) it was sad because she always had such a good appetite and I always said that the day she didn't want to eat was the day she was really ill, that day never actually came but she started to get infections and have digestive problems and as moving around became harder for her I could not bear to see her suffer. The hardest thing of all was that her spirit was still strong but her poor old body was worn out. I'm not sure we ever know what the right time is, every dog is different and even when you have made the decision feeling you have got it right you will question yourself. I always think that dogs lives are about quality not quantity. Enjoy your time with Magic. Hugs to you both.

Ditto to this, never be afraid to ask questions if you need to and please do post pics.

I just wanted to say that none of our greys has ever slept in the bedroom with us and they didn't have any trouble bonding with us. I actually think that it can help them to be more self reliant thus reducing separation anxiety, but it probably depends on the specific family/home environment. It may help this dog.

Sounds like a happy dance to me, isn't it lovely that after years they still keep changing.

Ditto to all the above, she is probably just a bit overwhelmed at the moment. If she will take treats then use them to encourage her to venture a bit further, if she stops taking them she's probably had enough for that walk.

My guess is that his tummy got too empty. My boy Scully used to do this quite frequently, only he used to make me go out and pick him some grass! I don't know how late use usually feed Willis, but if it happens again try giving him a small snack at bedtime.

Cook up a feast with your new angel friends Seamie, I know a few of them who loved to eat more than anything else! I am sorry you are without him on his special day. That's a beautiful Day Lily.