tamborine

About 15 years ago, I had a lot of problems with my knee - pain, swelling, etc. Went to a bunch of different doctors. They thought I might have rheumatoid arthritis, among other things. Finally went to an orthopedic surgeon. Turns out there was a bone chip floating around in there that was difficult to see on xray (I had to have an mri). Had it removed arthroscopically & no problems since. I realize that human & dog legs are a little different , but like some of the others, I think you should get another opinion, preferably with an orthopedic specialist.

Emma, I use the Tropical Traditions organic expeller pressed coconut oil for when I want to cook without a coconutty taste. It's pretty tasteless/odorless. But if I'm making a Thai or Indian type dish, I use the virgin CO. Which I also eat right off the spoon, . Dogs can eat it with their food, or just eat a blob of it if it's solidified!

I use the laminated pads from EZwhelp. They're nice & thin, absorb a lot, and wash well. But they also sell new & used hospital-bed type pads very reasonably. The used ones are about $4.50 apiece for the standard 30 x 32 size. I had a lot of housebreaking problems with my 3 when my sister lived with me; I worked, and she wouldn't let them out regularly. It was a nightmare! Now that she's gone, I have them trained to go on the pads (I work 12-hour shifts 6x/month) or outside. I love the laminated pads, for the reasons I mentioned above, plus they come in various sizes - I use 48" x 60". But the best thing about them is they're brown , so they kind of blend in on the wood floor.

Hi Alyssa, welcome to GT! Have you considered volunteering with one of the local adoption groups? It would give you a lot of good experience for when you eventually get your own grey.

He ate his TOTW before & has been fine. No swelling at all. His teeth look ok, too, but I know that doesn't preclude an abscess. Right now, I'm leaning towards the sting/bug bite. I'll see what the vet has to say when I take him. Thanks for the input, everyone!

The same thing happened to our bridge boy, Phantom. He snapped down on a bee while lounging in the grass one day, and his poor face swelled so much his eyes were just slits. The Benedryl helped, but it took a couple of days before his face stopped swelling once it wore off. We ended up taking him to the vet to get a cortisone shot, which seemed to end the issue. I hope your boy is soon on the mend! So I guess I have to add bug bite back in to the list of possible suspects! But I'm still not going to give him the Diamond Naturals anymore. He's totally fine now, no swelling. I'm just about to feed him the TOTW - I don't know what I'll do if he swells up after eating that! It would point me toward the salivary gland, I guess. He did eat a giant Milk Bone a couple of hours ago with no reaction, though...

So you think maybe it's just a coincidence that he swelled after he ate the food? Maybe it was swelling from a bug bite coming back because the benadryl wore off?

Thursday night Bama had an episode of facial swelling: original thread Friday night, the same thing happened, only the swelling was more "droopy" and under his jaw. Both times I gave him benadryl & the swelling subsided, although early Saturday he still had traces of it under his jaw. He had eaten Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice; we only started it a few days ago, Wednesday, I think. Yesterday I gave him canned food (Retriever Chicken & Rice) that I'd picked up in Tractor Supply just as a one-time thing because it was cheap. He ate it with no reaction whatsoever. Today I went out & got a bag of TOTW Lamb, but I haven't fed him yet. Previously I'd been doing rotation with all the TOTW flavors, and he was fine. But I changed to 4Health for a couple of bags when TOTW suddenly jumped $10 in price. Then I went to buy food and they were out of 4Health, so I got the Diamond Naturals, which, I've read, is practically identical. But I've been wavering back & forth as to whether it's an allergy to the food, or something with his salivary gland. Could a food allergy manifest itself as one-sided swelling? If it were the gland or duct, wouldn't the saliva continue to collect, or would it be absorbed? If he were allergic to chicken, he would've swelled with the canned food too, right? I am going to have to bring him to the vet regardless. If he has an allergy to some unknown substance, I want to have an epi-pen for him just in case. But am I really dealing with an allergy, or is it something to do with his gland? How would they (vets) make the diagnosis?

I'm so sorry for your loss...

The right side of Bama's face is swollen. I gave him benadryl just in case. He took the benadryl in cheese right away, and he had eaten his dinner with his usual gusto. It's not painful when I palpate it. It's not hard; it's a soft mass on his lower right cheek/jaw. He's not having any trouble breathing, and it's only this one site that's swollen. Does it look like it could be the salivary gland? Or maybe it's some kind of bite? I'm going to take him to the vet in the morning. I got home from work about midnight, but didn't notice anything (not that I could really look at him as he was jumping & spinning around). But when things settled down after they ate & went out I saw the swelling. I was with them in the yard; all he did was run around for 20 seconds, pee & poop. He's lying peacefully on my bed right now, and his breathing is regular, but I'm going to be a wreck all night. 3 am - Nevermind! The swelling is gone! Hope it stays that way Must've been some kind of bite, I'm guessing? Or maybe if the gland was blocked, it unblocked somehow? But I'm going to keep monitoring him for a while (after I get a few hours sleep, that is).

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I went to Tractor Supply to buy TOTW the other day and I was shocked that it had gone up from 37.99 to 46.99 a bag! Since I was almost out of dog food I wound up buying 4 Health, but I'd prefer to use a grain free food. I'll have to check Costco next time I go. Anyone know if Edison NJ Costco has the Nature's Domain yet?

Good luck, Idol! Hope you feel better soon.

Xan, I've been in shock since I saw your facebook post before. And cried a bunch over a dog I never met who lived 3000 miles away - but she was that special. I'm so, so sorry you lost your precious girl Wabi.

Great news so far!

Sending hugs & good thoughts for you and Wabi! And of course Stephanie sends extra love...

My first 3 greys were certified therapy dogs. We used to visit the rehab hospital where I worked, but I did it on my own time & was covered by the therapy dog group's insurance. I really enjoyed it, even though it meant being "at work" on my nights off!

Think I'll try this! It's funny, I only moved 40 miles south, but it's like a whole different world for me here. Farms, horses, weird bugs...

These don't *appear* to bite - Bama doesn't react to them, at least. Just wish I could keep them off him! I'm starting to itch just thinking about them, though. They give me the creeps!

I just moved to the "country" (Hamilton, NJ ) a few weeks ago, and several times I've noticed these little flies or gnats when we're out in the yard. They're so small - practically invisible, but I can see them swarming around Bama if he's in the right light. They don't seem to go after Stephanie & Henderson, I guess because they run around so much, or maybe I just can't see them near them. And they don't seem to swarm around me (again unless I just can't see them!). They seem to come out around dusk. Does anyone have any idea what these things are, and if they bite or sting or transmit any kind of disease? They don't seem to bother him, but still. Is there any safe way to get rid of them, or some kind of safe repellant I can put on Bama? They swarm around his legs and genitals, not his face or top side. The yard is just grass, and it's pretty short. At this point, my action plan when I see them on him is to try to whisk them away, and take him back into the house! These bugs are so tiny, I've never seen anything like them! Any gnats I've ever seen were a little larger.

It might be dislocated - if so, the vet can pop it back into position, and may put a soft cast on to make sure it stays in place.

Isn't it something how fast those mats form?! Since the groomer gushed about how good Max was, and how he loved the whole procedure (I somehow find it hard to believe ) I'm considering getting him done every spring from now on. But I think I'll take Lovey Hound's advice and not have him bathed next time. Too much commotion ensues!

I'd love to see pictures of her! Since this is the Training/Behavior section, we should probably start a thread in Off Topic, "Lion Cats of GreyTalk"!!

I'm glad the general consensus is that they'll get used to him & cut out their shenanigans! It may be starting to taper off - now they only go to sniff him if he's on the move. At first, all three of them constantly had their snoots shoved into him like 3 vacuums, even if he was just sitting there. He's not as pissed as he seems - the camera adds a level of p.o.'d-ness that's not present in real life!

Here's Max and his new 'do. He developed several pretty bad mats, due to a combination of me not being diligent enough with the furminator, and him getting too old to effectively groom himself anymore. You can see in the pics where the mats were - they had to shave all the way down to the skin. My poor old man! I'll never let him get like that again. And these dogs are just adding insult to injury with all their sniffing! Thanks for the ray of hope! Only one of my other cats seems a little p.o.'d; the other cats are all business as usual. Can't wait for things to settle down around here!