phall

Hi GreyBoy - I tried to pm you but can't yet due to the newness of your account on Greytalk. Here's my email address - pwhall@verizon.net. Feel free to be in touch. Pat Hall

Hi GreyBoy - I'm so glad you posted here. I adopted Lucas last October, knowing at the time that he had progressive retinol atrophy (PRA). Lucas is two as well (he will be three in September). The group I adopted him from told me about his diagnosis and that he would be totally blind in about 12-18 months. They really wanted to get Lucas into a home while he could see so that he could adapt as he lost his sight. After I got him home we had an appointment with a veterinary opthamologist. She is wonderful and is so kind and gentle with Lucas. She confirmed what the adoption group told me and based on the exam she gave him, she said she would estimate that Lucas had lost about 60% of his sight at that time (last December). She also said she was amazed at how well he had adapted at that time - she said she never would have guessed he had lost so much of his sight when he first walked into the exam room. His sight has continued to deteriorate a bit between now and then. I was advised that Lucas would adapt well and would learn to navigate the house and yard. They (opthamologist and director of the adoption group - who has a blind dog) advised me to treat Lucas normally and let him do, with care, all the things a sighted dog would do.They have been so right. It's evident that Lucas doesn't see well. If things get moved around the house and he is excited and not focused on trying to see things, he'll bump into things. When he's offered a treat he doesn't find it by sight - he'll sniff around your hand or the floor until he finds it by scent. His sight is worse in low light and at night. When he's sleeping on his bed if I or my other greyhound walk quietly around him, he may startle (jump up growling). So, things I have done to help him adapt - be careful about moving things. When I get up from the recliner I put the foot rest down so he doesn't run into it. At night I keep night lights on throughout the house in case he gets up in the middle of the night for any reason. Whenever he's sleeping and I need to get around him, I speak to him so he knows I'm there. For my other greyhound, I put a small bell on her collar so he always knows where she is (this worked like a charm!). Things are going great. I'm SO amazed at how well Lucas is adapting. I'm sure your boy will as well. Lucas is figuring things out - he easily but careful navigates the full flight of stairs from the downstairs to the upstairs of my house. When we go for walks he tends to walk leaning against my side, using me as a guide on where we're going (he figured that out by himself). He and my other greyhound, Sox, have become very good friends and he tends to be near her most of the time. Things I would recommend - there is a great book - Living with a Blind Dog - that I heartily recommend. Get a vest or harness that says "I'm blind" or "Blind dog" on it so that when you walk people are aware and approach more carefully. Join the facebook page for Blind Dogs. It's wonderful and has given me great support and suggestions. I'd love to stay connected as we both go through this with our greyhounds. Feel free to ask me any questions. If I think of other things that I've learned over these last 7 months, I'll post them. Good luck. I'm sure your boy will do well with your love and care. I have be so amazed at how resilient these dogs are and how well they handle things like this.

My boy, Lucas, pulled off his whole nail a number of months back. It was sore for quite a while, but never swollen. I'd have it checked by your vet.

I have had problems with hooks - they are SO hard to get rid of. Last fall my vet had me put my two on Advantage Multi - that is supposed to prevent hook infestation. So far it has worked. The last few fecal tests have been negative. I also treat my yard with Wondercide. I truly hate hookworms!

I'll be there from Thursday to Sunday. I'll be going dogless, but know I can get my greyhound fix while there. I'm staying at the Aspire. Can't wait to get there and see everyone!

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. We'll keep at it. I'll keep you posted.

I’d love hear suggestions from those of you with greyhounds with sensitive ears. Some background information: I adopted Sox last October. She’s a petite, wiry little girl, just two and a half years old. She’s very shy but has adjusted well to me and my home (and my other greyhound, Lucas). She’s an active girl and I just love her fresh and feisty personality now that she’s comfortable with me. Right from the beginning, Sox has been very sensitive with all areas around her head. She doesn’t like having her eyes checked at the vets, and she really dislikes having anything put into her mouth. It’s taken me a number of months of slow and gentle work for her to finally let me brush her teeth with a finger brush. She is not yet comfortable with a regular toothbrush. She’s especially sensitive about her ears – one ear more than the other. She won’t tolerate the ear scope at the vets or anything hard going into her ear. I’ve been working with her on this and have gotten to the point where I can massage her ears and I can put my finger gently about half way into her ear. Recently she was prescribed by my vet an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal ear cleanser due to some crustiness on the tips of her ears and some yeast build up in her ears. This has been a challenge as she won’t let me put the tip of the bottle of cleanser into her ear to squeeze the drops into her ear. (By “won’t let me”, I mean that she jerks her head away and screams.) What I have done, as suggested by my vet, is to put some of the liquid into a small dish and warm it slightly in the microwave. Then I saturate a cotton ball with the liquid and am able to rub it on the tips of her ears and on the top half of the inside of her ears. I then squeeze the cotton ball so that the liquid drips into her ears without pushing the cotton ball into her ear. We’ve been doing this for four days and so far this has been working fairly well. But now, as of last night, she has figured out our routine of applying the liquid (twice a day – morning and night) and is beginning to get fidgety/uncomfortable with me squeezing the liquid from the cotton ball into her ear. I’m interested in hearing about the experience of others and if there are other things I can do to get the liquid into Sox’s ears with minimal discomfort to her. As anyone had such an experience and, if so, do you have other suggestions to help Sox get comfortable with this, or at least tolerant? Thanks in advance. Pat

We had a problem with hooks too when my two came home. We started with a course of Panacur and now are giving Advantage Multi. I'm due to bring in a stool sample soon to test....I'm hoping it works. Hooks are awful.

I used Petzlife for several years and I think it helped a bit - not hugely though. I switched to Tropiclean - the gel - and have been using that for a couple of years now. I apply it to both Lucas and Sox's teeth every night at bed time so that it stays longer in their mouth/on their teeth. In the morning I brush their teeth quickly with enzymatic toothpaste. Both Lucas and Sox are fairly new to me (both came home with me last October) and they both had a bit of plaque build up on some back teeth. After a few months of this protocol the teeth of both of them are looking much better. My vet will be pleased.

Both my greys do this and the Pawz booties (as mentioned above) have solved the problem. They get snow/salt on the pads of their feet, and sometimes little snow balls in the hair between the pads that causes them to hop and even to lay down and lick their feet. The first time I put the Pawz on, they didn't like them but I put them on immediately before walking out the door so they couldn't fool with them. They got used to them quickly and now seem to know that they are going for a walk whenever I get the booties.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experience and what worked for you. This is so helpful.

My boy, Lucas, has lost the complete toenail off of one of his back toes. (I heard him cry out when he was out in the yard and assume he caught it on something). The whole toenail is gone and just the red "flesh" of the quick that is under the nail is there. It looks clean and he's walking on it without limping - will the nail grow back? If so, I expect it will take a long time. Anyone had any experience with this?

That's a great idea about the scents. I will pick some up. Also good idea about the bell. I was thinking along that line. I so appreciate all this advice. It's so helpful.

Thanks so much, Cathy, for bumping this. And thanks, too, seeh2o, for sharing your thoughts/experience. I will check out Occu-Glo. I will also check out the Yahoo Group - that sounds great. Pat

I will soon (this coming weekend) be bringing home a greyhound (Lucas) with progressive retinal atrophy. He is just 3 years old and was diagnosed a few months ago. He still sees well - has some problems in low light. I'm glad to be getting him at this early point in the disease so that he'll bond with me and Sox (my other greyhound) and get adapted to our home. Lucas is a wonderful dog. He's social, playful, and very loving. I can't wait to get him home. Has anyone had experience in working with and helping a greyhound adapt to slowly progressing blindness? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience and advice. Pat Hall

Welcome! I agree with what several others have said that maybe you should wait a bit longer before taking your girl to the field. I've had several spooks over the years. The first one I got a long time ago, I took to a large fenced field after I'd had him for a month or so. There were some other greyhounds there (it was greyhounds only) I thought he'd want to run and enjoy being off-leash. It was too soon for him - even though he and I were fairly well bonded, once I let him off leash he walked around a bit but was visibly nervous about the situation. Not only would he not come back to me, he wouldn't let me approach him. He was too uncomfortable in that situation at that time. It took me quite a while to be able to slowly approach him, with lots of calming signals and talking, to get him back on his leash. I'm not a fan of dog parks, but if you do decide to go, I'd wait until you've had your girl a bit longer. Good luck!

My boy, Star, has to have a good size snack at bedtime - 1/2 cup kibble and 1/2 can of food mixed with warm water. I give him that right before I go to bed (usually around 9:30) and we're up at 5:30 for breakfast (then back to bed). He's a dog that can't go any longer than that without food in his tummy. My girl, on the other hand, doesn't really need a bedtime snack. Each dog is different, for sure.

Yes - Debbie is great. She has helped me a lot in the past too.

Done for Faye.

I felt awkward asking for a prescription, too, but decided it was worth it given the savings. My vet was fine with it and now whenever I need a prescription she always asks me if I want her to fill it or write a prescription.

I will get some baby wipes and also get some ear cleaning solution next time I'm at the pet store. Thanks to you both.

My greyhounds spend a lot of time in our fenced yard now that the weather has gotten nice here in New England. They enjoy digging and laying in holes but as a result, they're ears are a bit dirty - not bad but with a little dirt in the crevices of the ear. I clean them with a cotton ball damp with water but wanted to check in to see if there's anything I should add to the water to help with the cleaning. Thanks! Pat

I'm so so sorry, Jordan. My heart goes out to you. Pat

Nancy, I'm so very, very sorry. I'm sending you hugs and deep sympathy. Pat

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your experiences and for your advice. We did try Faye on the medications but she did not tolerate them well - constant needing to pee, nausea, etc. so we have decided not to continue with them. Faye is not showing any symptoms of the cancer aside from the presence of the lump above her eye, so we have decided to not treat her and keep her as comfortable as we can for as long as we can. Thanks for keeping her and me in your thoughts.