NHNora

I think we're short-changing dogs a little here--yes, they are greyhounds who like to sleep a lot, BUT they are still animals with brains! You wouldn't let your kid lie in bed all day, why let your dog do it? Just because they aren't being naughty, doesn't mean they won't benefit from mental stimulation and quality time with their people. I have a dog who's getting a bit older and doesn't want to play as much, so I was thinking of getting back into some training. My younger dog LOVES training, and gets completely wiped out from it too! I don't have time for a class during the summer, so I bought a book called "101 Dog Tricks" by Kyra Sundance. It has some ridiculous TV-dog tricks at the end, but many of them are simple enough that either of my dogs could manage them, and are beyond the "down," "stay," etc. which we've already done. A book that I saw online, but couldn't find in the store seems interesting too: http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Useless-Dog-Syndrome-Activities/dp/0984053824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306691437&sr=8-1

Here's hoping that you are having a good weekend together! I did not tell my dogs that Sparks is getting homecooked meals 24/7 now . .

How did it go at the vet? After reading your posts, I had a couple of thoughts: 1) It sounds like some of the trouble is that you are having to get to Sparks before he starts getting up. Are you limiting his access to the house, so that he *has* to be in the same room as you at all times? Can you put everything you need into *one* room, and then just camp out there with him until the medications help him out? If you crate him or put up an x-pen, will that encourage him to lie still? 2) You seem very stressed. Obviously, Sparks probably isn't eating much if he is in pain, but he may also not be eating b/c you are stressed out, so he is stressed out, maybe confused about why all this new food is showing up. I know our instincts lead us to fuss, and hand feed, and coddle them when they aren't well! But change is stressful for most dogs, even if it seems like "positive" change. Maybe just put some tasty, easy to swallow food within easy reach, and just leave it for him as close to his usual feeding schedule. Let us know how it goes!

This is a tip that has helped us with ear-cleaning: *Do this outside* Soak cotton balls with the solution Pop them into ears and hold flaps closed Massage for a bit Let go and run away! My dog HATES having the solution squirted in, but enjoys this process. And it's kind of entertaining for us too. MAKE SURE your dog doesn't have ear mites though--that would produce dark, grainy buildup. And you'd want the vet to check that out for sure. It can be really painful and hard to battle without the right stuff.

Is it possible your dog has colitis? My DH has ulcerative colitis, which is classified as an autoimmune disease, but is barely understood in human patients, let alone pets yet. I have known 2 dogs with this, and both ended up with slightly different diets, b/c it seems to affect each person/dog a little differently. The biggest issue is grains--some people can tolerate certain grains, and some people can tolerate none at all. If your vet doesn't have any leads with the bloodwork, maybe ask about colitis and doing a colonoscopy. Get well soon, pups!

Before I fell in love with greyhounds, my husband and I frequently trolled our local SPCA. They got to know us there, and week after week, we could never find "the right" dog. One day, they said "We've got the dog for you!!" His name was Cody, and his previous owners let their cat scratch him in the eye, and then didn't treat it. By the time they took him to the vet, they surrendered him b/c of the cost of his needed surgery. The SPCA just had to get his eye out, b/c it was so damaged. So they let us have a "preview" of him a couple days after his surgery. He was a sweet loving dog, but he did bump into things! They said he would get more controlled once he was used to having partial sight. We loved him and were going to adopt him, but he didn't get on with our first dog. I'm still sad that Cody couldn't be a part of our family, b/c he was a wonderful dog. Fast forward a few years, and my parents had a cairn terrier who needed an eye removed b/c of some genetic issue they are prone to. Unless you knew about it, most people didn't even notice at first that she had one eye. She was already a bad-tempered dog, but she was VERY sensitive about her blind side. She got around the house just fine, but my parents were careful about walking past her blind-side, just b/c it would startle her. (she was old, and couldn't hear well either) AND . . . my first dog's best friend was a one-eyed cattle dog. They played like mad, and you'd never guess she only had one eye. So my life has been touched by quite a few one-eyed dogs, and I think you'll find that your sweet old girl is still the same, once the healing is done! What a terrible accident, but in a month you probably won't even think much of it.

We tried LOTS of things for Nora (I-will-jump-through-windows-and-claw-down-the-door), and we were about to give up until we hit on the valium. That works good for her, but doesn't 100% take the fear away. Out of desperation last month, I bought a DAP and plugged it into the bathroom (where she'll sometimes go to on her own) and now the bathroom is like her doggie-cave. The DAP helps her calm down enough for the valium to really kick in and help her out. I was beginning to think all these things were just voodoo, until now I actually have seen results! (I still can't choke down the cost to try a storm defender cape. . . ) So you may find that a combination of meds and non-med methods will do the trick! It's only taken us FOUR YEARS of trial-and-error to get this far!

Yay Sparks! : ) You stay healthy mister!

Doesn't that also mean you should flea-treat the new dog? Nice picture. It always cracks me up when photos like that turn up in the little gallery images!

It's also in some human-toothpastes, so remember only to use dog products on your dog's teeth!

At our kennel, there was a dog staying who was just diagnosed with an allergy to MOUSE DANDER!! When he stayed at our kennel, he was fine, but when he got home, he'd get all red and allergic again. The lady who owns him lives in an old house, and they just kind of put 2 and 2 together. So she's had a professional exterminator out, and now his allergies are fine. She just has to keep the mice out! Good luck with finding the cause.

"For example, dogs ingesting significant amounts of gum or candies solely or largely sweetened with xylitol may develop a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures. These signs can develop quite rapidly, so it is important that pet owners seek veterinary treatment immediately. According to experts at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, some data also appears to point to a possible link between xylitol ingestions and the development of liver failure in dogs." From the ASPCA poison control page

I don't know if allergy testing is better for dogs than people, but a few years ago I had a mysterious anaphylactic reaction to something, and they tested me and told me I HAD TO BE allergic to corn, b/c that's something I had eaten for dinner. Uh . . . no! They poked up my back and arms, got NO reactions, and settled on corn for some reason. So now I have an epi pen, have only had one other mild reaction (again mysterious), and have been safely eating corn for years. Seriously though, we had Nora in b/c she has had a bad coat and itchy skin forever. Our vet said it's probably canine atopy to something that's always around, like dust. He said just to give her Benadryl when she was really itchy and that there was no reason to do anything further unless she went naked, started opening sores, etc. So we give her one or two a day, during periods when she seems itchy, or if her eyes get red when OUR allergies are going.

Nora drops hair when she's nervous, but the funniest was my first dog: she was a lab/husky mix with LOTS of undercoat. We went to a friends' summer home once, and she had to ride on the mail boat to get there. All the poor people on that boat with us were SO kind, as a storm of white fur came flying off our dog! They just calmly brushed it away from their faces, while I was madly apologizing, and trying to keep Sophie from getting wedged under my seat. So I think that hair loss is in direct proportion to the level of fear! :lol

My first dog had hiccups a lot. She was a lab mix and she would get them right up until she died. I still get hiccups and I'm 30--I didn't realize they were age-dependent!

Poor Bueller! I don't know if you have heard of this, but there is a citronella-spray that is in a mace-style can called Direct Stop. It can usually stop an attack (IF you can see it coming! my gosh!) but it can also distract the attacking-dog for a few valuable seconds to pull them apart. It's about $10 per can. Get well soon B!

Nora runs between 52 and 56 pounds (depending on how picky she is about eating . . .) so the "dosage" we were buying went up to 88lbs and it was ridiculous! The stuff just ran all over. So last year I bought the small dosage (that goes up to 45lbs?) and used that. It worked just fine--she never got fleas, even though I work at doggie daycare, take her to pet stores, and the parks. I bought that smaller dosage again this year. I have also heard of people using only half the package when they buy the big dose. (But then you have to be able to store it safely somewhere.) Reading the fine print last time, I also noticed that the package says right on it, that testing showed that one dose lasted up to 3 months for fleas, but you must use it monthly for the tick-ingredients. We live in the city, so I'm going to stretch them out to last longer. I'm glad they work, but I still just hate the idea of putting gross chemicals on my dog!

When we leave our dog with someone, we write a note that says "I give NAME permission to initiate emergency vet care until I can be reached at 999-999-9999 to make further decisions. At this time, I will also supply my credit card number for payment." And then we sign it and put in any contact info that we have. My first dog was acting tired and a bit lame, so we started her on lyme disease treatment, and then had to leave for a wedding. My roommate was watching her for us, but one night Sophie collapsed and she had to rush her to the e-vet. She ended up having a horrific cancer, but we were able to fly home the next day and get her into surgery. She died about 2 weeks later, but I am so thankful to my roommate, and never doubted her for a minute. My roommate remembered to take my note the e-vet and they called me immediately, got Sophie stabilized and started treatments. So don't worry--I'm sure your friends are just glad you were there to act responsibly!

People can recover some of their lost abilities after a stroke--can dogs improve a little too? Good luck Gilbert! Hopefully he just needs a little time and rest, and can adjust to these new changes.

Nora blew her track coat and started to grow in some nice hair in the first few months we had her. It lasted about a year, and then each shedding cycle, she'd be bald again just like Abe. One winter, she got fleas at the dog park, and developed flea-dermatitis. Well, that pretty much took care of any nice hair growth--even her throat went bald. We tried many many different supplements, and had little to no hair growth with them. Last fall, we tried "Hair of the Dog" by Doc's Blend, and within 3 months, her throat was grown back in. After about 4.5 her hiney started to get furry, and *now* there is a fine layer of hair growing in on her tummy and lower chest. When people pet her now, they comment on how soft she feels, and her coat is much shinier--it used to look kind of dry and rough, and she had lots of dandruff. A woman from GPA-Wi recommended it. She's probably laughing when she sees all my posts about how amazing this stuff is! But really, I just never thought Nora would ever have a nice coat. Now I'm so happy that she does! It's a little expensive for shipping, but I think it's totally worth it. And Sara mentioned that they might be changing the packaging, so shipping might be less now. http://www.docsblend.com/

If it's okay for him to walk around a little, could you "hide" some treats (or kibble) on the edges of furniture, and other easy places. Then let him into the room, and let him wander around finding all the surprises. This was a rainy-day game we played with our first dog (a lab mix) but Nora isn't as food motivated, so the "hiding" has to be pretty obvious, or she'll just lay down and go back to sleep! What about doggie-movies? Does he respond to the TV ever? If so, you could rent him a wolf documentary, even just for the sounds. And the doggie-massage might be a great thing--in the winter, Nora's paws get all cracked up, so we spend time trimming her nails and rubbing udder balm into each of her pads, and she LOVES it! Then she sleeps some more. . .

Nora had a knee injury that inflamed a tendon. We were afraid it might tear, so we limited her exercise and the vet gave us something called "Liquid Health Level 5000." She was on that (and rest!) for about 4 months, and recovered from her fall. That was over a year ago, and still no troubles! You just spoon some over food, and it wasn't terribly expensive. I think the jury is still out though, whether glucosamine *actually* helps, but that is a product we used.

I love the name Badger! GT is full of helpful info if you *ever* have questions!

Hi! I really love GT for all the helpful health and training info, but you've probably got the "health" part down! Welcome!

I love that : "potty connected" GT is great. For a while I was partially unemployed, and spent some of my lonely afternoons here. It's almost sad now that I work again . . . Welcome to you and Nite!