greymomnc

That was such a lovely tribute. It was so obvious how much he is loved and I know you are missing him right now. I am so sorry for your loss.

I have ground up food in a blender and drawn it up in a syringe and gently pushed it down their throat. This is a last resort type of thing. The late Miss Magic was in end stage renal failure. The vet said we could try this a couple of times. The thinking was that her stomach was empty and if we could get something in it she might feel better and want to eat. Sometimes dogs LOVE cat food. It is not good for them so I would only try it on a VERY limited basis just to see if she is interested. I hope things improve for her and your family. I know how difficult this can be.

I am so sorry to read this Rita. I know how special he and Robin both were to you and your family. You will meet again one day. It seems like a dog generation has been lost. The times goes so fast. Run Free Toby..............

Sending prayers and healing thoughts to you and your girl.

OK, so every grey we have had is a noisy sleeper to some extent. Growling, barking, whining, running, kicking etc. We have seen it all. Minnie has done something several times that I have never heard before. It is always in the middle of the night. We are all dead asleep...including Minnie. She howls. It sounds like something primal. It is one long continuous howl....it seems to last about 10 seconds non-stop. It is not a roo. It sounds almost melancholy. The first time it happened I switched the light on and called her name. She was awake by this time and seemed fine. She does this every few weeks. Has you grey done this? Once you hear it, you never forget it. She is the first hound of 6 that we have had that has ever done this. I would love to get a recording but chances of that are slim. It doesn't seem to coincide with her active dreaming.

Congratulations on your new boy! First of all, let me say I have never had a hound with SA so I can't really say much about that. However, with our last 3 (we are on #5 and #6 in twenty years) I used the crate quite a bit for about the first 3 days or so even when I was home which is most of the time. Each time we already had another hound at home. After a walk together as soon as we got home, we would let them check out the back yard. Upon entering the house we would let the new hound get a drink, take a quick walk around the house and then into the crate. By this time they are usually starting to pant a bit and you can see the anxiety level going up a bit. They have always just stood there for a minute and then settle down. We always have a crate set up in the family room and the master bedroom. We start them out in the family as that is where the center of activity is. I pretty much ignore them and go about my business...start the washer..and other sounds they will be getting used to. I am coming and going frequently...like every few minutes...so they can see that I disappear and come back. Then I will come in and sit on the sofa and just let them observe. The first couple of meals I feed in the crate. I gradually let them out more and a couple of times they will become anxious and a trip back to the crate solves that. It's just their safe place for a few days. I think they sleep much better knowing they have a safe spot. Crating usually only lasts a couple of weeks in the bedroom and then the new hound is only crated in the family room when I am away...usually just a couple of hours at a time. After a couple of months the family room crate is removed. If they don't like the crate, that will be apparent fairly soon. My new girls have always found it to be a safe spot but some hounds just don't like them. I hope some of this helps. He likely is just adapting a little differently but the settling in period can sometimes be an anxious time...for everyone.

I am so sorry. I know how much your heart hearts right now..... and right now it feels like it will never end...... and you will never feel the same. Take each day as it comes. I was lucky enough to receive a visit from the late Miss Magic after she crossed....yes...they are all there....they are happy and they waiting. Sending prayers for your heart to heal.

Agree with tbhounds. I know the exact opposite thing happened when Jonelle ( a non-kidney disease grey) tired of her food and I switched her to a much higher protein food without changing the quantity. She was leaving food in the bowl. She was not losing weight but I was worried because she NEVER left other food in the bowl. She was just filling up faster on the higher protein food. I cut back the quantity a little on the new food and she was fine. Miss Magic was our kidney disease girl. As I recall, her appetite stayed about the same with her. However, her food to begin with was never super high protein so the switch was not that dramatic.

So sad to read this. Sending prayers to everyone who was touched by this sweet soul. Run Free Quinn

:f_whiteThank you for telling us about him and sharing your pictures. I understand about losing a dog soul mate. Miss Magic was mine and our bond will never be broken. If Timmy has not already sent you a sign, he will. And, you will feel his presence years from now. I am so very sorry for your loss.

A good friend's grey had a lung torsion...not once...but twice! I want to say he was somewhere between 5 and 8 years old when the second one occurred. His second surgery was at the veterinary teaching hospital. He made a complete recovery from both. Based on the availability of care in my area, I would only have this done at a veterinary teaching hospital. Sending prayers that you find the answers you need.

I am so sorry to read this. I remember Magic so well. I cried along with you when he was attacked and was so glad when he made his recovery. I know you are missing him right now. Sending prayers for your heart to heal. Run Free Magic.....

Sending prayers your way.

We lost our beloved Jonelle in September of last year. She died very suddenly early one morning. When we found her she was still warm. I know the hurt you feel and that will take time. However, please don't think that you caused this or there was something you could have done. Trust me, I have been down this road and I can save you the trip. It happens this way sometimes. If she had been at the vet the moment it happened it would have ended the same way. I am so very sorry for your loss of your girl. Sending prayers for your heart to heal.

:f_pinkI'm so very sorry. No matter how long we get, it's never enough time. Sending many prayers for your heart to heal.

I am so sorry you are at this point. It seems with all of mine...except Jonelle who passed away suddenly one morning with no warning or symptoms...it was when they stopped eating. But, I have never had one that had trouble getting around so I can't really speak to that. That is a whole other dynamic I am not familiar with. I always knew with mine...I can just read something in their face that says..."I'm done and I'm ready". I'm sure you will make the very best decision for Magic when the time comes. I wanted to ask is your Magic the Magic that was attacked by another dog several years back? He looks like the one but there have been several "Magics" on GT...I even had a cow girl named Magic.

I am so sorry! I just read through the entire thread and thought for sure he had turned the corner. My heart sank when I read your last post. I know you are missing him right now. Sending prayers for your heart to heal. This one makes my heart hurt for you.

Jan, I have not been on GT in the last few weeks. I just now read about your precious boy and I am so very sorry. I know how much it hurts and how you miss him. Sending prayers for your heart to heal.

See update Post #1.

Thanks all for your replies. Today, it was actually a bit smaller...then she decided to lick it and it bled....quite a bit. I cleaned the entire area up and put more Neosporin over it. I have it lightly bandaged just so she will leave the Neosporin alone. I am going to take it off later and look at it again.

She will be going to the vet first thing Monday. They are closed the rest of the weekend. Just trying not to worry until then. I am wondering if soaking in Epsom salts over the weekend would hurt?

Hi All, This morning I noticed a red area on one of Minnie's front toes. I put some Neosporin on it. Now it looks like this....which is NOT how it looked this am. Does anyone know what this is? We have had an ice storm here and I thought she may have skinned it trying to walk in the hard snow while out to potty. Here are some pictures. The last is an extreme close-up. Thanks in advance! Carla and Minnie UPDATE: Hi everyone! We are back from the vet. The lump had scabbed over quite a bit after the big lick-a-thon yesterday. She was not 100% sure what it was. I showed her the pictures posted below so she could see it before the scab. They did a fine needle aspirate and none of the cells looked suspicious to her but we are sending it out for review to be sure. It has gone down a little more since yesterday. She said to keep applying the Neosporin and it should likely heal within the week. I thought after she licked it and it bled that there might be something else in there. Minnie let me poke around quite a bit but all I was getting was blood when applying pressure with a cotton swab. We should have her results later this week. I will advise when I know. Thanks for all of the advice and good thoughts. Hi all....the results are in....epithelial cells. There is one type of benign tumor that can grow into the bone. I forgot the long name the vet mentioned. Started with a "C"....maybe. Anyway, this type normally starts by the nail and Minnie's is a bit away from the nail but the vet stated if it does not heal within a week or two we will want to remove so there is no chance of growing into the bone. However, it is shrinking and she is leaving it alone. Thanks everyone!

I am so sorry. We lost our Jonelle very suddenly in September and I know what a shock it is. What a beautiful boy. Sending prayers for your hearts to heal.

She has been here three months. I am going to try to listen for anything that might be happening right before or during the the next episode...that would be tonight.

Minnie sleeps in her crate in our bedroom at night. Streak sleeps on a dog bed in the same room. About 20-30 minutes of going in her crate, she begins growling. She is black and I can't tell from her eyes if she is asleep or awake. The growling gets progressively louder, until we tell her "that's enough" or "settle". When she sleeps on a dog bed the rest of the time she might yip or whine a bit in her sleep but does not growl. I have tried several times to just let her sleep on a dog bed in our room, but she wants to go in the crate at night. She will just pace the room until we put her in there and lock the door. I tried just leaving the door open and she could go in if she wanted, but she just paces. Once we close the door, she settles right down. Do you think she just goes into a really deep sleep in the crate? She seems to sleep pretty deeply elsewhere on a dog bed. We have tried to figure out if she is seeing something...like the light from the TV bouncing off the mirror...we covered the mirror and she still did it. When all of the lights are off she still does it. I wonder sometimes if she can hear something we can't. Streak is totally non-reactive to everything including the growling. The two of them get along perfectly fine with each other. Just curious if your grey does anything like this and if you figured it out. It's getting to be comical as you can just about set your watch by the growling. I should add, it's not a threatening type growl...but it is steady, loud and escalates.