DaisyDoodle

Greyhounds are definitely social beings. They are more truly dogs than any other dogs. They are raised with their mamas and aunties and littlermates and are never "only" dogs 'til they go into adoptive homes. That being said, most do fine by themselves. I think the playdates in fenced areas and carefully supervised dog parks will do the trick. Regarding the whining--some dogs like to talk. My Daisy (Positive Delta) is a whiner. In Daisy's case, she is very fond of humans; any humans, I don't even get near the top of her list. She cries at nearly every stop light when she sees people in the next vehicle. "Heey youuu, come pet me." Daisy's littermate, MorganDonor (don't ask me how the owner came up with that name) whined the _entire trip_ when the family moved from Cape Cod to Michigan. [i inserted racing names so you can look up genealogy lines of your dogs and mine on Greyhound-data.com.] You will learn what the whines mean. They may sound different or be paired with different behaviors so you'll know. Or, just go through the list and see what makes Neville happy. Sometimes I just go down the list--potty, water, food, cookie til Daisy calms down. If whining occurs while you're gone you could practice alone training, where you increase the time spent apart gradually. If Neville wasn't eating poo outside before, it may just be "poopsicle" season where frozen poo seems like the very best thing in the world. My bridge girl Lucky was a poopsicle girl, so she was turned out into the yard with a muzzle. Daisy's tastes lean toward fledgling birds in the Spring, so she wears a muzzle too. You might also consider changing foods, as dogs who eat grass and stools are sometime having problems with their food. Good luck with Neville. I'm sure he'll settle in fine. Please keep us posted, Donna

Melissa, I'm so sorry about Ave. It was so good to see him so happy on the Jingle Bell Walk after being so unhappy to be held captive in your SUV last year. I'm glad you got the wonderful gift of that extra year.

Unless you can get a vet to palpate a soft-tissue issue (hoping some of the GH track trainers will chime in here to give you ideas for back leg issues), I don't think you're going to get a satisfactory answer without a full set of films, toes to spine, including hips. It sounds like you work at a vets office. If so, why is doing x-rays a problem? you should also check the pads carefully for corns after looking at some other corn threads to know what you're looking for.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Now that I'm on my computer rather than iPhone, I can see striations in the bruise. It looks like she fell or ran into something (the darker, longer part of bruise), then slid or dragged across the object, like it was uneven on the lighter part of bruise.

I'd guess bruise too. Mark it with a marker. If it increases in size over the next few hours, I would get to the vet sooner rather than later.

My Daisy has a compressed disc in her neck. She has run into the slider screen door a few times. Diagnosing this was compounded by a wonky arthritic toe that also had a corn. The toe was removed and her gait is still off sometime. We use Robaxin (methocarbomol), which is a muscle relaxant. It can be gotten inexpensively in most states at places like Target, Wally World, etc that have $4 or cheap scripts. Or, in states/stores where it isn't on the $4 list, a AAA card can be used. I got 90 pills for $13.20 in a RI Target recently w my AAA card. I would also try acupuncture if your dog can tolerate it. Daisy likes to scream when she gets acupuncture, so it's not something we do often. If you do have Enza sedated for films, I would go ahead and do a dental while I was at it. That way you can skip another sedation for a dental later. Good luck figuring out this mystery. It took us a very long time.

Steve & Lisa, I am so very sorry for your loss. Donna, Ken & Daisy

Mary Pat, could you post a picture of this bag/sling? My nephew has a shizhu that was born with three legs. Now he has ruptured a disc in his back and can't really use his rear legs at the moment. I'm hoping this bag/sling will help. Sorry for the semi-hijack.

I currently live part time in an apartment that doesn't have a fenced yard. I have to keep a pair of mud boots by the door to slip on like house slippers to avoid this. Also have to roll up my jamey bottoms (ETA at the waist) so the hems don't get wet Regarding the missing leg--dogs carry the majority of their weight on their front legs, so it easier for them to lose a rear leg than a front leg.

That sounds like a clear message--I'm good mama, but I want a cushy place to sleep. ETA just want to say she's looking good.

Vet NOW. In the meantime NO MEDS!!!!! Your vet may want to use a med that will be inconsistent with some of the usual things you have at home. If you can't go now, at least call the e-vet and ask for advice. There are things you can do, like squeezing his toes, to see if he can feel pain. Good luck. I'm sorry you're going through this. ETA--Bilateral limb weakness/paralysis is not a pulled muscle. It's more likely a neuro issue. It could be a nerve or disc problem--but I am not a vet.

Why is your vet waiting to x-ray? I'd either insist on imaging NOW, or I'd go to another vet who won't wait. It's your money, why won't the vet take it?

My CoCo had an anal fistula. IIRC, we had it surgically repaired once. In her case, it appeared to have been related to Degenerative Myelopathy. For healing, we had a powdered anesthetic/antibiotic in a little squeeze bottle--here it is: ttp://www.drugs.com/vet/neo-predef-with-tetracaine-powder.html

Didn't know Proin worked on boy dogs. My mix Lucky had firm stools all the while she was on Proin.

A good way to check for circulation issues is to feel the feet. If the affected one is cooler than the others, there is probably a circulation problem. I'd definitely remove and replace a bandage in that case.

I'm so, so sorry. You tried so hard. I'm so glad you were with him.

Aw, I'm sorry. What a cute, sweet girl. Thanks for giving her a greyt place to spend her last days.

If you don't know when the wounds occurred and the legs seem more sensitive than they should, a trip to the vet might be in order. There might be some infection setting in. I would put the muzzle back on her and gently apply pressure above and below the wounds. If you get an extreme reaction or if the areas feel puffy I would consider the vet. If you can get this far with no reaction, try just taking out the vet wrap and unrolling a bit. If you get a reaction without even applying the vet wrap, then you probably just have a drama queen on your hands.

Let me say something that is obvious on one level, but painful still on another: "Everybody's got to die from something." All people, dogs, etc have a cause of death. That being said, greyhounds are bred to be athletes, so they are healthier and longer-lived than most breeds of dogs. However, there are a few problems and diseases that are more predominant in greyhounds--osteosarcoma (bone cancer) being the worst of these. It isn't 1 in 10,000, it's more like 1 in 10, or 1 in 5, or 2 in 5 in retired racing greyhounds; I would check Dr. Couto's statistics. The reason greyhounds seem so unhealthy is that folks usually come to Health and Medical here or to Circle of Grey when something is going wrong. We don't typically post there when are dogs are well, unless they were previously sick. I think this makes it seem like we have sickly, fragile dogs. My first greyhound lived to be 14.5 and my current one is over 11. Just a couple of weeks ago at a greyhound gathering, several people commented on how good Daisy looked "for a senior", and I was like 'who's a senior? Oh, Daisy, really?' It never occurred to me that my 11 yo was "old". Try not to worry too much about potential problems--it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's hard to relax and just enjoy your dog. Go hug your dog and stay out of health and medical 'til you need to be here. That's my advice Hugs, Donna

Does he have any other odd things going on? Hind end weakness, intolerance to heat, hemorrhoids? My Coamo had strange warty growths along with these other symptoms when she had Degenerative Myelopathy. Hoping it's just a corn.

I'm so sorry. What a greyt life you gave your pups.

Daisy weighs around 60 lbs. and her methocarbarmol dose was 500mg every 8 hours. I got the script filled at Target and, at most, 90 pills were $12. I don't recall how much since it was a while ago, but the med falls under their $4 list, but 90 pills may be considered more than a 30 day supply. Proin is kind of expensive. What dose is she on? Did they give you an antibiotic first? Daisy had 2-3 episodes of full bladder voiding and was on Proin/PPA for a couple of months. I never got her to the full dose for her weight, and only kept her on it for a couple of months. I weaned her off of it and she's never had another problem since. Lucky, on the other hand, needed higher than the dose for her weight and was on it for years. How much does Girly Hound weigh, and what's up with her to need each of these meds? ETA--if Girly is about Daisy's size, I'd consider that the vet wrote the script wrong, or did the weight calculation wrong. Also wanted to add that 500mg every 4 hours is a human dose as well.

Daisy eats Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison which is grain free. My only complaint is that her poops are much too plentiful. It makes me think she's not absorbing the nutrients very well, but I don't know if that is true, or if that is just the nature of grain free food. I'm thinking of doing Dr Dodd's saliva test for food allergies then possibly trying other foods.