DaisyDoodle

Just be aware of the temperature. The one year I went to Dewey I drove alone and it was above 90F in October. I was completely freaked out having to leave the dogs in the car, but I had to make a bathroom stop. If you're driving with a second person it will make it much easier to stay with the car to keep the AC running if it's super hot out. Also, make sure you've got all your immunization papers in order and that you're allowed to carry your brand of dog food both ways across the border.

Oh, my. I'm so very sorry. What a special girl, and what a special family for caring for your racing babies. Hugs, Donna

Hair loss, and flabby belly can be related to Cushing's. I think weight gain may be related, but don't remember for sure. I think these two symptoms can also be related to thyroid issues, IIRC??

Welcome from SW PA--Fayette County.

All of the above, and with long-term use, iatrogenic Cushings.

Oh, I'm so glad! It sounds like you found a really good chiro! Who was it? What greyt news.

I think Denamarin isCoQ10 & milk thistle combined. Expensive but supposed to be better than 2 supplements separately. This is used for liver support. I'd ask vet about high protein &/or hi cal food given possible liver or pancreas issues. I think hi protein or hi fat may be an issue w pancreatitis. How about Ensure type liquids? That might be easier to deliver by syringe. Do you think Ruby's head or neck position and comfort might be making a difference in her wanting to eat? Maybe it's a posture/pain issue rather than lack of appetite? Notice her position when she does accept food. Maybe you could try an elevated feeder or alter her position to see if it makes a difference.

Is there someone--a relative, neighbor, or GH group person--who can come by and spell you for a while? You sound really tired and she may be picking up your stress about the situation. If someone else could try to feed her the novelty may help her, it will give you a break and will give you some company. When Cosmo was on chemo, I heard of some drug that vets gave to increase appetite. IIRC, it is typically a cat drug that is used as an appetite enhancer for dogs.

Is she the one with IBD? If so, might want to give a call to GI vet. I certainly woudn't induce vomiting in a healthy dog, but don't know about a severely IBD dog.

Ask on Circle of Grey. There are a wide range of things folks have seen there. CoG is a Yahoo Group. Ditto--I'd also recommend OSU.

Lisa & Steve, We're so very sorry for your loss. Hugs, Donna, Ken Daisy & Lucky

Lip-licking is a "calming sign". It can be dog's way of indicating that it is trying to calm the situation. Are you feeling stressed? Is there wretching also? It could be nausea also. Finally, in humans, some psycho-active meds cause a very bothersome side-effect called Tardive Dyskinesia, which involves tongue thrusting. It can become permanent even after the drug is discontinued. I would urge you to contact your vet &/or Ohio State to see if this is possibly what is going on. Please let us know what you find out.

Diane, would Valley Fever cause a tumor or what appears to be a tumor on the brain? There was something on the MRI, the question is is it actually a tumor, that is why she wants Dr. Couto to review the MRI. Or, could the fungal infection produce some sort of mass that would mimic a brain lesion on MRI?

I'd get a copy of the MRI on a disc, make a copy on your home computer, then send it to Ohio State. If possible, I'd get a video of any strange behaviors/symptoms that are being observed. It doesn't matter how smart this vet is, if he isn't open to working with the foremost greyhound expert IN THE WORLD, then you need to take matters into your own hands. Don't wait, hoping that the vet will forward the MRI. It may be too late. If the file isn't too large, you can send the MRI file electronically via OSU's greyhound wellness website. Even if you have to send the disc, submit a consult request via the GH Wellness website.

If her read end is functioning, her spinal cord isn't severed. That means that there is a local issue going on in the neck or whichever area in the spine where the nerves come out to deal with the front end. Either a nerve is "pinched" by something or is being impinged by a disc. Is there something that can be done locally to ease that area? Maybe a local shot of steroids that might help? (This is not without risk as two humans--one GTer and one GTer's mom suffered paralysis from having steroid shots, but relative to the alternative for your pup possibly worth the risk.) I, too, don't understand the idea that the dog isn't in pain. She isn't completely paralyzed, so I'd assume she's in pain and treat accordingly. What would it hurt to treat her for pain? Keep her quiet and don't give her NSAIDS and watch for adverse reactions to pain meds, n'est pas? In rereading what I've written above, it occurs to me to again recommend chiropractic treatment. If something is jammed in the wrong position, it would be better to alleviate that problem sooner rather than later before any damage becomes permanent. Unless there is a high chance of causing permanent or more damage, is there a reason that the current vets would recommend against it (other than they don't think it will work)? Hope Ruby feels better soon, Donna

Lawn treatments? Sand spurs? Fire ants? I would keep a log to see if you can find a pattern. Yard time only, where do you walk, when does redness show up--month/day/time of day. Note when you give baths, use flea/tick treatment, when your exterminator comes, when you go places, etc. Does he chew anywhere else on his body? If all else fails, I'd consider that it might be a food allergy to see if it makes a difference. It does sound like contact dermatitis though.

If you need to make a road trip, or need a hand, I'm still here in SW PA for a couple of more days before I head back to NE. You might want to give Jim Radcliffe a call if you can't connect with a neurologist. Jim's an orthopod, but he's a greyt greyhound guy.

Steroids were my first recommendation. PLEASE do not give NSAIDS while using steroids--it can be a deadly combination. I would investigate acupuncture and chiropractic. Someone from the city could tell you better than I could where to find the best folks. I have resources in Wheeling/Moundsville, but there are certainly specialists closer to you. Since you can't use NSAIDS, you might want to ask for a pain killer and/or a muscle relaxant. These will help with the discomfort and keep secondary issues from cropping up. Daisy has also run into the slider, developed a neck problem, which affected her gait, which caused a corn on an already wonky toe, which required a toe amp. You want to nip that cascade in the bud before it happens. I would use a harness from now on rather than clipping a leash to a collar. It will reduce the strain on her neck. For a week or two I would leash walk rather than being free in the yard, and restrict her to an x-pen. You want to keep her quiet so she can heal. Good luck. DD ETA Possible meds: Tramadol for pain, Robaxin, methocarbomol, flexeril for muscle relaxants; even Benedryl for the sedative effect so she'll stay quiet. It also has some anti-inflammatory properties. ETA2: If she stays on prednisone for more than a couple of weeks, make sure the vet gets you on an every-other-day dose schedule. Everyday use of prednisone can cause iatrogenic Cushings (I did this to my Bridge girl CoCo).

Daisy had bruising like that when she had liver issues. She was given vitamin K (and I inadvertently doubled the dosage) and the bruising went away very quickly. We never did find out what Daisy had either, but after a few days she was fine.

Aw, how sad. Rest well sweet girl. Please let her dad know we are thinking good thoughts for him.

Sorry, when I first replied, I didn't realize this was a chain situation. I have never heard of VCA and have never been to, or even come across, a Banfield location. That certainly would make me question using the place as well.

Don't know how well they know greyhounds, but that is where several Animal Planet tv shows/series were filmed. If you go there, please get a pic of Dr. Fitzgerald for me. It's a huge place. If I lived in your area, I would certainly give them a try. I'd definitely ask for the resident greyhound/kidney expert. ETA link: http://www.vcahospitals.com/alameda-east/our-team/veterinarians.html

My contact in the pharmaceutical industry did confirm what I thought, that a dog's foot pad has very low permeability (the drug won't go through easily). However, a lidoderm patch on broken skin would saturate the underlying tissue much more easily. The reason the label says don't use on broken skin is because they don't test it on broken skin. Also, there's enough lidocaine in a lidoderm patch to mess up your heartbeat if you absorb a lot. So, I would check with your vet about applying Emla after removing the corn. Since you can put just a dab of Emla cream on, you might be able to use a small enough dose not to cause a problem, but I'd check with Jake. Ditto on the Abreva, I don't know how it works. You might want to consider some sort of mild sedative (Benedryl or even Bach Rescue Remedy) before doing the corns. If you do the soak then pick at one for just a few minutes, it might be a start. You don't want to even remove one the first time you do it. Just do a little bit at a time. Jake might be able to do more, but the most important thing for you at this point is to try. You can't keep going to the regular vet for these, and I don't know if it's financially feasible to have Jake come by regularly. You'll surprise yourself and be so pleased when you do get one to come out. Ask Jake to do the bad ones and supervise you on one of the minor ones. Good Luck!

Here's a summary to the list of ideas-- Any cream, ointment, lotion will soften the pad and the corn and make it easier to hull. Not sure if there is a magic pharmaceutical ingredient that makes one product better than the other. Emla will serve this function as well as act as a numbing agent, so it will hurt less when hulling--if it works on paw pads. I would try Emla, but since paw pad are very dense, the Emla may not penetrate. However, if it doesn't work initially, I would definitely apply it after a corn is removed. The live, fresh tissue under a corn should almost certainly absorb the numbing agent. Any tape, etc with adhesive will "occlude" the corn--that is, close it off, seal it. This will also retain moisture. Baggies over cream/ointment will serve that same purpose--just secure the Baggie with vet wrap. Additionally, when removed, tape/adhesive will remove a layer of dead tissue, so is a very minor kind of hulling/dremeling kind of action. Hulling is much less invasive than surgery if I understand both procedures correctly. And you can do it nearly for free. I would soak, use cream, ointment, occlude, then pick at the edge of the corn with a finger nail or a dental instrument you can get in any drug store. Orangewood sticks or metal pointy nail files will also work. I would also work with fresh tape to see if application and removal of fresh tape will aid removal. A dremel tool will also help to reduce the bulk of the corn and get you down to newer, fresher cells. Ideally, your goal is to remove a little cone-shaped mass. The pointy bit is the root of the corn. It's unlikely that you'll ever get all of it, but since surgery doesn't either, what have you got to lose. In thinking about the above, it occurred to me that you could try the Dr. Scholl's product that has adhesive on one side and mole skin or flannel or whatever it is on the other. It would act as a tiny little cushion to the pad while still functioning like duct tape. When Daisy had a corn, which I successfully removed once, it took several iterations of the above over a couple of days before the corn came out. In the end we amputated the toe because it had severe arthritis from having been dislocated. The misalignment of the toe is probably what caused the corn in her case, but it also caused gait issues and neck pain, so the toe had to go. (Since it was only one toe, that was a possibility, unlike your circumstances.) There are probably people in your area who know how to do this. I'd ask around greyhound peeps to see if someone knows someone who can walk you through it. Good Luck, Donna

I'm so sorry.