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ahicks51

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Everything posted by ahicks51

  1. Thanks, Ellen; I appreciate the reply. The older advice on the web comes from Dr. Stack, over in Yuma (AZ), who used to be the track vet at Tucson and has extensive experience with greyhounds. She recommends prednisone + an OTC antihistamine whose name eludes me, along with niacinamide + omega 3 oils. She notes that antibiotics (doxycycline or tetracycline) don't work as well. That seems to have been from around 1999. The current advice as per the literature is doxy + niacinamide, which- again- Dr. Stack suggests doesn't work as well. Our vet has prescribed doxy, and as gauged by the 500 capsules (!), it's long-term. The Stack protocol is shorter, and weans the dog off pred ASAP, then maintenance is supplements. So I'm at loggerheads, trying to figure out if maybe my vet could be swayed by the Stack protocol. Any idea what your hound was on? Pred vs. ABX?
  2. Ginger's lost two nails in the past couple of weeks. About a month ago, there was some foot pain- and the vet caught an air bubble in one of the nails; antibiotics cleared that up, and that nail remains intact. Also, from the "before times" (must've been more'n 6-7 years ago, before we got her), there's a missing nail that- oddly- in the past couple of months has started to regrow. So, I sent these pics off to the vet, and although she has a greyhound and some experience with the breed, I'd be interested in what anyone here has to say- do these pics reflect SLO/pemphigus, or not? If it *is* pemphigus, it looks pretty early to me, but a couple of those nails in the second and third image I'm not sure if the nail is separating from the quick or if it's just... normal. Like I mentioned, the vet got sent the images this evening, but if anyone has any thoughts either way, I'm appreciative of your insights.
  3. The coyote rollers were a suggestion I solicited from great Dane rescue. Unfortunately, unless it's transient, it's an unlikely solution as he's been aggressive towards one of our "regulars."
  4. Big Bob Thundernuts here is probably a lurcher, but he's been returned by the neighbors after vaulting a 6' concrete masonry fence. Curb weight of 95 pounds. He's gon' need a special home.
  5. Salukis are endurance runners; lord have mercy if they escape. And they are surprisingly small as compared with greyhounds. Every now and again, Saluki Tree of Life Association (STOLA) used to get in salukis from the middle east; apparently they are kept without climate control in 100F+ heat. Supposedly they can vault an 8' wall, although the usual recommendation is a 6' wall. I know greyhounds hold the world record for jumping walls, but supposedly salukis can pogo a remarkable height. Two other similar breeds that are fascinating, where rescues very rarely become available: the Arabian greyhound, known as the Sloughi, and the Azawakh, a greyhound-like breed from West Africa. Both are rather small, 35-55 pounds, maybe a little bigger than salukis. Sloughis are generally very healthy; one condition (progressive retinal atrophy) has a simple blood test. Similarly, Azawakhs have been bred for performance (versus appearance) and are generally very healthy. For any of these breeds, one might recommend a GPS dog collar.
  6. Thanks, everyone. He was one hell of a hound.
  7. Minerva split her ear, I forget how it happened, maybe rough play- but we had the same thing. Wouldn't stop bleeding. What we did was slather on "EMT Gel," and then the next day MORE EMT Gel, and the next day MORE EMT Gel, and it kind of kept sticking and formed this hard crust. Eventually, the wound underneath it all granulated, and this big chunk of EMT Gel + fur dropped off, and the skin underneath was beautiful. I have eyed those individually wrapped pear thingies, wondering absentmindedly if they'd work the same way greysmom recommends. They are pretty fragile stuff, so they might have to get replaced daily.
  8. Hazer's gone. He was starting to have a rough night of it, and after weighing all factors, we took him to the E-vet at 4 AM. Not a bad run for 12-1/2, 260-some races and (apparently) no osteo, didn't even need any meds or anything up until 6 weeks ago. Last night for dinner, he was the same as always, shoving his head into our asses to get us to hurry up and feed him. But he decompensated quickly.
  9. How much does Cuoto charge for a consult these days? Last I checked a few years back it was $300, but his website doesn't seem to provide that information. Hazer is at the point where his care is palliative. The X-rays and palpation tests suggest LSS is not an issue here. The data are suggesting it's cancer, probably somewhere in the pelvis, and with the pitting edema he has in his right leg (and, as of today, now his left), I'm guessing he's throwing mets in his lymphatic system. One suggestion has been Pallida, but we got the last appointment of the day, and the vet's office is closed on weekends, so the soonest Chewy or any other online pharmacy could confirm the script is Monday, and then more time to deliver. None of the local pharmacies carry it, it seems to be unavailable in the entire metro area. Costco can get it maybe Tuesday-Wednesday (and for less than any online provider), and it's... very expensive. With side-effects and handling precautions that are not... encouraging. But there are no signs he's in pain at this point.
  10. Seems there are two operating tracks in the United States, both in West Virginia. As racing may be decoupled from gambling soon, that may come to an end by 2025. West coast groups can still get dogs occasionally from Caliente, in Mexico, and there is some discussion Mexico may be starting a second track. Similarly on the west coast, Australian racing dogs are occasionally available, albeit with considerable logistical issues.... and expense. On the east coast, there are Irish racing greyhounds, and galgos from Spain. If anyone "in the know" has had experience with any of these in terms of cost (as in total cost, un-subsidized by the group) and could share those figures, that would be great. My understanding is that Australian dogs to the west coast are about USD$2500, with hounds that are spayed, vet checked, vaccinated for everything under the sun, etc.
  11. Sorry for the late reply. I ran the largest cannabis analysis lab in the state for 4-1/2 years, although it's been a while. I can say that (at the time) "Bluebird" brand was reliably as labeled, every time. I do not know if they have maintained this level of credibility going forward.
  12. I'm going to try to get him into the vet, of course, but she is agnostic as to the value due to findings from X-rays taken ~6 weeks ago- some stuff on the pelvis that couldn't be identified by the vet nor the veterinary radiologist; it wasn't consistent with osteo (plus, it would be an odd location), there was some thought it could be "Valley fever" (cryptococcus) so we put him on diflucan until the blood tests came back- negative. So- my dumb question: do the nerves for the distal portion of the hind leg leave the cauda equina same as in humans? I'm not understanding how a growth on the pelvis (if that's even what it is) is interfering with nerve transmission to that part of the leg. I'm hoping we can get him in and give the Stack protocol a go, but I don't think our vet has ever administered it.
  13. Can lumbosacral stenosis be unilateral? Honestly, I don't think painkillers are the answer- we're not seeing substantial differences with Rimadyl, I just keep giving it just in case.
  14. Vague title, I know. Hazer is a 12-1/2 yo cowdoggie, a big ol' boy that had a racing record with >260 races. Mid-December, he started having some problems with his right rear foot; X-rays didn't reveal anything terribly interesting. He was put on Rimadyl, and later gabapentin. Pain does not seem to be an issue with him, and I continue to deliberate as to whether even these are necessary. His limp continues to get worse, although he still gets around and he's adapted to getting up and down. But on Saturday, the bottom 6-8" of his foot and leg swelled up, and the symptoms are consistent with lymphedema. He continues to be happy, hungry, loves to go on walks (although they get shorter and shorter), and we're just making sure he stays happy. Although there are some recent problems in terms of defecation (they are small, soft, and he seems to have problems in that he paces and occasionally squats unproductively), he is otherwise healthy and on no medications. With that in mind, is a hind limb amputation a bad idea with a hound of this age?
  15. Yep. Vet won't prescribe without a visit, though.
  16. We're in a bind because we can't get in for a vet appointment for at least another week and a half. Vets out here are swamped. We have a 6-7 yo girl that yelps when she picks her head up from a prone position. It got substantially worse, then better, then worse again. We tried a dose of Tramadol with no success. What *has* worked is 325 mg of aspirin. Of course, we don't want to keep her on that long-term, but we also don't want her to be in pain. She's completely stopped yelping, and is acting more normal than she has in 3-4 weeks. Can anyone recommend a brand of 81 mg aspirin that is dog-safe? We'd like to drop the dose to the bare minimum- right now, we're stretching the time between doses from 12 hours to 14, even 16 hours, and the yelping hasn't come back.
  17. Just read this today. We had a girl that was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy; biotin is a precursor to myelin synthesis, so we started supplementing with ~100 mg/day of biotin, purchased from a bulk supplement company. She was likely misdiagnosed, or the biotin was a miracle treatment, because she lived a couple of years after that with no additional symptoms.
  18. It gets weirder. He never raced, and I don't think he was ever registered (maybe the entire litter), but the right ear tat is 10T. January 2020, A, B, C, D, E.... T. 20 in a litter? It's pretty clearly a letter T.
  19. He's not really all that soft, probably because the coat is growing back in while the undercoat is doing its own thing. He looks a lot better today, the coat is growing back in quite nicely. Notable: He came in with a big 'ol soft lump on the side of his neck, and it's gone. Weird.
  20. I've left the "serious" questioning for the adoption group- I thought I'd ask here just to see if something is going on, or there's a perfectly cromulent reason that I can't parse. The last time I tried to figure out why a foster was off (came in 20 pounds under race weight), I hit a wall at every turn. Interestingly, the person who took it most seriously was the track rep in Alabama. It's a real butcher job on the haircut, but no worse than I would be with clippers. Oh well- another one of those mysteries for the ages. For anyone who wants to know what a red fawn looks like when he's been shaved-
  21. I should have added the undercoat is still there but short, he's not a Chimú or anything, but it's just weird. No signs of injury, no signs of tar... and if they were prepping him for Arizona, why was he the only one on the haul that they shaved? There's some hair near the shoulder blades where it's not trimmed quite so close and it looks pretty normal length there and on the upper part of the neck and the head. We're stumped.
  22. Foster number 40-something came in from a Kansas haul, one boy who never raced along with a bunch of broodies. And he's shaved. Not like "the leg was shaved for an IV" or "shaved torso for surgery," no- the whole body, halfway up the neck but not the head nor the short hair on the legs. Some of the tail was shaved. And it's not like there's signs of tar on the skin, or any other reason to get shaved. Why the heck would the greyhound kennel shave a dog like that?
  23. We're fortunate in that in Arizona, it's generally too dry (and for much of the year, too hot) for the eggs to hatch and the larvae are generally unable to survive in the ground. Provided any stool in the yard is picked up before the eggs have a chance to hatch (1-2 days under warm, moist conditions), the number of larvae in the soil can be controlled. We frequently get in fosters, so provided we pick up after every dog every day, it's possible to prevent spread. Given enough time, worms will "age out," and die within a year or two. This is a reasonable way to treat low-level infestation, as well as control the spread from new dogs.
  24. Not on FB, but I found the group she's with and dropped an email. Thanks!
  25. Anyone know how to reach the Birmingham Racing Commission, or anyone else in Alabama that can tell me why a given dog was a vet scratch on a given date? NGA isn't helping, says the records are owned by an individual, and that person does not have voice mail set up.
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