Jump to content

gryhnd_adoptee

Members
  • Posts

    382
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by gryhnd_adoptee

  1. Yes. My Greyhound, and Greyhound/Borzoi/Wolfhound mix both have back and neck issues. My mix girl is mostly neck and middle back, and my Grey has sciatica in her left hip, and a compressed disk in the upper part of her back.. Both are regularly managed with chiropractic adjustments which have worked wonders for them. I try to get them in every 2-3 months, but if either exhibit any signs of discomfort, they get in sooner. I had x-rays done on my grey before starting chiro treatments, and was armed with films at their appt. I was totally amazed when the chiro felt exactly where the problem was before I even told him what the xrays had shown. I am very fortunate to have a great chiro relatively nearby.

  2. My fuzzy girlie has trouble with chicken and fish, and I was finding that even though a lot of foods are not chicken based, they still contain some chicken products further down in the ingredient list. I finally settled on Merrick Texas Beef Grain Free and both girls are doing great on it. They have no itchies now, better coats, cleaner ears, and above all, no anal gland issues which they were both having on fish based kibble.

  3. Our first grey was painfully shy, and it took over a year for us to be able to get close to her, and even then, it was on her terms. She would get very uncomfortable if her space was invaded, or it she was pet too roughly. Her triggers were if she was leaned over, hugged too tight, or "pat" (not pet) very heavily. I had to often tell people to please not pat my dog hard enough for it to sound like a thump on their bodies. My prother especially, who was used to petting rotties, would thump my girls side without even giving it much thought, and it would set her off.

     

    So perhaps this guy was merely leaning over too close, or thumped her side while petting her?

  4. My Grey had constant anal gland issues for the longest time too, and I simply "stumbled" onto what the problem was. We fed taste of the Wild Pacific Stream for a long time until the salmonella recall a couple summers back. While Taste of the Wild is a great food to feed, I refused to go back to it only because it is manufacturd in Diamond facilities (which I have lost faith in - too many recalls).

     

    Anal gland issues stopped as soon as I stopped the fish based kibble. I then figured that because she was not getting any fish oil in her kibble, I would supplement with plain salmon oil, and oddly enough, the anal issues resurfaced. Bottom line is she has a fish oil sensitivity.

     

    I now feed a fishless diet, and rather than supplement with fish oil, I now give red krill which has done wonders. No more anal gland issues :)

  5. My Tessie was a nightmare when we first got her and tried to do nails. I took her to a local groomer who started by putting her into the tub. While I sprayed water on her back feet alternately, the groomer would cut her front toes. Then we would switch and do the same for the back feet. Over time, she became so accustomed to it, that she would hop into the tub on her own for the routine each time we went. She eventually worked up to being trimmed while just standing on the floor while I hugged her during the trim. Took a while, but she is much better now.

     

    The reason for the water in the beginning is because the groomer said they are only capable of focusing on one thing at a time. While she was focused on where I was going to spray next with the water, she was not paying attention to the groomer clipping the nails on her other feet. Worked really well.

  6. I read more than I post here these days, but have first hand experience with my Kare Bear and a chiro. Over a year ago now, Karey slipped while running in the yard, and afterwards was reluctant to do stairs or the couches any more. A trip to the vet and a full set of x-rays resulted in a diagnosis of a vertabrae which looked a little closer than it should be to another about half way down her back. Rimadyl for 10 days and she was better, but never "best" again. It was then that someone I know recommended an animal chiro for her.

     

    Armed with the x-ray information at her first appointment, I didn't even get to tell the chiro where her x-rays showed a problem before he diagnosed the area just by touch alone. He did a bit of very gentle manipulations all along her spine diagnosing all the hot spots that were in need of adjustment from her head, all the way down to her hips. I go to a chiro for myself too, and my chiro did the exact same thing to my back as Kareys chiro did. They are so very well trained in what they do, that they can tell where the problems are through feel without you even telling them where it hurts.

     

    While I always have Rimadyl on hand if she has bad days, I do not have to use it for as long as Karey goes for regular adjustments. If it's really bad, it usually means two or three treatments, each about two weeks apart, then typically every 2-4 months afterwards to keep her spine in line. Karys chiro fell very ill this past summer, so she was unable to keep up her regular schedule, and I ended up at the vet during that time with her holding up her rear leg. Now that he is better and back to doing adjustments, Karey is doing much better once again. It is the misalignment of her spine which causes pinching of the nerves, resulting in mid to lower back spasms and sciatica of her lift hip which is why she holds up her rear leg when she hurts. If you've ever had sciatica yourself, you know first hand the pain that can be involved with it.

     

    As long as you have the x-rays done, it's certainly worth a trip to a chiro to see if they can help Rudy. They are very experienced in what they do, and will give him a good feel over and let you know if it's something they can help him with or not. I love Kareys chiro. He has kept her off pain meds with simple adjustments which is something I am all for :nod

  7. What about Red Krill? Anyone use this rather than fish oil for their pups? I myself replaced fish oil with red krill and I absolutely love it! It has taken away almost all of the aches in my joints which the fish oil did not touch. Was wondering if it would safely do the same for my pups.

  8. My girls had been on Interceptor for years until it was discontinued. They are now on Heartguard Plus, and I swear it knocks them off their feet for even longer than the Interceptor did. When I brought it up to our vet, he kind of looked at me like I had three eyes, and said he is not aware of any reactions to it. I know my dogs well enough to know that when they seem more lethargic, refuse to eat, and are just sorta blah, something is bugging them. This is worst for the first two days after dosing, but typically lasts for 3-4 days overall. It breaks my heart to have to give them any of this stuff.

  9. One of my girls cannot take fish supplements, nor any food with fish in it as it makes her itch. I never noticed that was the culprit until the TOW recall last year. They were both eating Pacific Stream, and I thought they were doing so good on it, but when I stopped feeding it, her itchies stopped. She doesn't shake her ears anymore, scratch at herself, and her anal glands even cleared up. I used to have them done twice a year for her. I just assumed fish oil was good for all, but seems it's not so on her case.

     

    Just in case it was just the food, I started her on the Grizzly salmon oil after the food recall to continue supplementing with fish oils, and she was back at worrying about her butt again, and her eye rims would be pinker then usual. No fish oil for her.

  10. I have the same one and love it! My last one was the Minimite, and it was good until the battery would no longer hold a charge after several years. I bought a replacement battery for it, but it wasn't much better. Bumped up to the 8000-03 and it's much faster, with more adjustable speeds than the old one which only had two. Not as comfortable in the hand compared to the smaller one, but I like how fast it gets the job done.

     

    I got mine at Amazon.

     

    We've gone through about 5-6 Dremels. Our current Dremel is model 8000-03 which is working very well, and holds a charge nicely. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Tools/Pages/ToolDetail.aspx?pid=8000-03&WT.ac=SPT_8000_8000-03

     

    We also use 60 grit sanding bands, and sometimes 120 for an extra smooth finish. (If we leave nails too rough, they tear up our carpeting doing zoomies.)

     

    If newbies are reading: We're careful to not stay on one nail any longer than 3 seconds. This helps prevent painful heat build up in dogs' toes.

  11. I also give the Springtime Joint chewables. They came out with an Advanced formula with Boswellia Extract, which is supposed to be better than the Traditional Joint tablet, but I cannot get my girls to touch them. I personally like the smell of them, but the girls don't want any part of them no matter what I hide them in.

     

    I have also given SynFlex liquid on occassion mixed in with a couple tablespoons of yogurt.

  12. I know you said they are fed raw, but what about a good quality grain free dry kibble as a snack between meals? My girls get their meals twice a day, and then a handfull of Core Grain Free as a bedtime snack. It keeps just enough on their bellies until breakfast, and because it's not the same as their dinner kibbles, they see the Core as treats.

     

    This routine began when my second grey developed seizures out of the blue. Feeding a handful of kibble before bedtime was a way to help her from having a carb crash between dinner the night before, and breakfast.

  13. I stopped giving this one because of the size, and sharpness of the bones. Like you said, they were whole bones, and the ones I've found had sharp ends on them. I pulled them out at the time, but just don't buy it anymore. It was on of their favorites too.

  14. I always did canned food add ons, but they seemed to be getting bored with it. One day I was making a pot of spaghetti sauce and gave the girls some of it on their dinners, and they have never looked back! I have sauce dogs! Every time I make a big pot now, I freeze a bunch of it into ice cubes and store them in the freezer. One or two cubes in the microwave at dinner time and they are lovin' life.

     

    The best part is that I know everything that goes into my sauce. I can 10-14 bushels of tomatoes every summer, so even they are very limited in ingredients with just lemon juice added at the time of canning. I do the same on occassion with my pots of soup too. I make it extra brothy so I can freeze a lot of it for the pups. They even like the soup cubes as treats!

  15. You can also give Claritan for allergies, and as mentioned above, be sure it is without the "D" (decongestant).

     

    I gave Benedryl before trying Claritan, and while it worked, it also seemed to dry the dog out. I think Greys tend to have a dry mouth anyways, and I noticed while on Benadryl, my girls mouth became drier, and more tacky. Benedryl dries me out too when I take it, so if it's just being used for allergies and not for the sleep effect, give Claritan a try. I buy my grocery store brand of generic Loratadine....works great, and only needs to be given once a day.

     

    http://www.vetguru.com/2012/06/25/claritin-for-dogs/

  16. Please PM me, if you are comfortable in saying what that dosage is, but would rather not say so publicly.

    The dosage I was given for her is 75mg every 8-12 hours. She was still growing at the time and was 74lbs then, so it works out to be about 1mg per lb. She is 80 lbs now, but I would think the 75mg would be sufficient. Here is a link to a website which supports the same dosage.

     

    http://benadrylfordogs.net/what-is-benadryl-and-why-should-i-give-it-to-my-dog/

  17. We discovered Tessie is a bee hunter when we adopted her. I asked the vet to give me the dosage she would need in case of emergency. I keep that dosage taped inside the kitchen cupboard where the Benadryl is kept. I also have the information programmed into my phone, and sent myself an e-mail with the dosage also.

×
×
  • Create New...