ahicks51

Any chance anyone has looked at whether the topical hair regrowth formulations do anything- to just a small patch, even if they're safe for dogs- with this disorder? It may sound amusing, but if something like minoxidil were effective in regrowing hair in a small patch, it could be diagnostic in terms of figuring out the cause of the disorder.

Yikes, on Vet number one! Dr. B used to laser them off, and send for biopsies of necessary. Same vet as the one that wanted something like $700-800 for general anesthesia and a special biopsy for Coco when he had that strange growth in his mouth. I asked for- and got- a script for an anti-fungal, but also had to take the antibiotic script (I should have said no to that, in retrospect) with a total bill of about $120. I mean, yes- precision is nice, and it beats an educated guess when one ultimately determines what to do. But the cost- financial as well as with the risk of gas anesthesia and the stress of surgery- sometimes you have to say, "There's nothing else it can be, so we'll go THIS route."

Vet #1: Gas anesthesia, removal, biopsy. Total bill: $550-650 Vet #2: Local, snip and discard, presume hemangiosarcoma. Total bill: $95 I opted for vet #2.

The retina? Not that I know of. Cataracts and some other problems are managed quite cleverly, although you can attach a contrail of zeroes to the bill. Ultimately, blind dogs tend to adapt quite nicely. We had a foster here that had ~30% vision in one eye, and he didn't like getting approached from that side. The vet said it could be repaired, but so long as one eye was 100%, there was no pressing concern.

Loose stool in the retired racing grey is a very common problem, and just about every potential solution has been offered here at one point or another. Just a few suggestions. 1) Try changing food. And changing food. And changing food. Repeat ad infinitum. A common component that causes this problem: grains. Grain-free food is pricey. 2) Try add-ins, like yogurt; pumpkin; and beet pulp (pellets available from feed-and-seed stores, very cheap; soak for a bit to make sure they won't break any teeth). The problem seems two-fold: food with TOO MUCH fiber causes loose stool, but adding even MORE fiber seems to turn it around for some weird reason. Main drawback: huge poops. 3) Probiotics (Purina Fortiflora, for one) have been recommended by at least one vet I know of. 4) Feed raw food. Pretty radical, fairly involved, and can be expensive depending upon how and where you source the components. Has the added side-benefit of keeping the teeth cleaner than grain-heavy foods. The added cost of raw food may be offset by what one saves in dental cleanings. Another advantage: persistent loose stool is handled VERY effectively in this fashion. Good luck.

Here's a search that'll help more directly: FCE on Greytalk.

Courtesy Cockeyed.com: the list of the $4 Wal-Mart meds.

Fish, fish oil, the liquid off the top of the tuna fish can, fish fish fish. Another thing they seem to like the most- beef blood. When the liquid collects at the bottom of the bin we keep the beef heart in, we pour that off into the dish. They will often consume that before starting in on the other treats in their bowl. Mixing that liquid with kibbles has inspired Tito (non-grey) to eat on days when he was otherwise picky. Now he's raw fed, and consumes all with gusto.

Minerva was constipated when on Tramadol. We fed her a prune or two with every meal, and it helped.

Very common. Lots of greys gobble their food. There are a bunch of solutions, ranging from special food bowls (the "Brake Fast" bowl) to feeding on a cookie sheet, or putting a piece of chain or a tennis ball or a large, flat rock in the bowl.

The latest from ProMED: Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:45:50 -0400 (EDT) From: ProMED-mail <promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu> Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Influenza, canine (H3N8) - USA INFLUENZA, CANINE (H3N8) - USA ****************************** A ProMED-mail post <http://www.promedmail.org> ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org> Date: Tue 18 Aug 2009 Source: Discovery News [edited] <http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/18/dog-canine-virus.html> Canine influenza, the potentially deadly H3N8 virus commonly known as dog flu, is spreading. So far the virus has led to the death of one dog last week [week of 10 Aug 2009], closed down the kennel at Virginia's Fairfax County Animal Shelter, and, according to experts, is now affecting dogs in at least 4 other states: Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. While the reason for the shelter outbreak, which killed a 15-year-old whippet owned by a clinical technician and sickened 26 dogs, remains unknown, it's possible that one or more infected dogs from Philadelphia or Washington DC introduced the illness to Virginia. "Dogs often move in and out of shelter systems over long distances, such as via breed and rescue groups," Edward Dubovi, director of the virology center at Cornell's Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, told Discovery News. "Boarding kennels and even elite doggie day care centers can also result in cases, since, as for kennel cough spread, the virus is highly contagious and dogs may catch it from one another," added Dubovi. He first isolated the canine influenza virus in 2004, after University of Florida researchers sent him fluid and tissue samples from greyhound race dogs that had died from a then mysterious respiratory illness at a Florida racetrack. Dubovi and his team determined the cause was the H3N8 equine flu virus, which jumped from horses to dogs. In addition to spreading from dog to dog, canines can also catch it from humans, who may have come into contact with infected animals. The illness has not yet sickened any people. Signs in dogs can include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, and a respiratory infection that may last a few weeks. One to 5 percent of victims die from related hemorrhagic pneumonia. Although 30 states have reported cases over the past 5 years, Dubovi said outbreaks are "usually sporadic and then die out." "For example, we've seen outbreaks in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh, but those all ended," he explained. As officials work to contain the Virginia cases, nearby states and cities are also on guard. Tara deNicolas, a spokesperson for the Washington Humane Society, told Discovery News, "No cases are currently in our shelter." She added, "We're being very proactive, however, and are ordering tests whenever any possible symptoms surface." Just last month [July 2009], a vaccine was released for canine influenza. Dubovi said that, "in clinical trials, it reduces viral shedding and diminishes signs" of the illness. It's given in 2 doses, 3 weeks apart. Dubovi would like to see "blanket vaccinations in affected areas, as it would be nice to get this virus out of the dog population." The virus at present is more adapted to horses than to dogs, so wiping out the illness now would prevent future possible mutations within canines. Since dogs are in regular contact with their owners and other people, the illness could potentially spread from dogs to humans in the future, he suggested, given that it has already jumped from one species of mammal to another. More bad news appears to be on the horizon. Next month [september 2009], Dubovi said he will announce the discovery of yet another new virus. In the meantime, researchers continue to study why some viruses jump species, and what can be done to eradicate these illnesses. [byline: Jennifer Viegas] - -- Communicated by: ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland [This article sounds like cliffhanger soap opera television show: next month he will announce the discovery of yet another new virus. What is his motivation for waiting to make the announcement? Marketing of another vaccine? Further confirmatory research? Or waiting to see if it is already loose in the population? One conjures up many endings to such a tease line, but let us hope the delay is because of on going research for exact confirmation. When dealing with canine influenza, it is critical to get early medical intervention to prevent the death of the pet. We will all welcome a licensed effective vaccine. It is equally important to emphasize that this virus has not affected people and is not a threat to human beings. - Mod.TG] [Virginia and the other states mentioned can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of the US at <http://healthmap.org/r/00I3>. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ] [see also: Influenza, canine - USA: (NJ) 20090704.2405 2007 - ---- Influenza, canine - USA (PA): corr. 20070802.2495 Influenza, canine - USA (PA) 20070801.2482 Influenza, canine - USA (Multistate) 20070208.0502 2006 - ---- Influenza, canine - USA (FL) 20060620.1703 Influenza, canine - USA (WY) 20060503.1279 Influenza, canine - USA (multistate) 20060325.0921 2005 - ---- Influenza, canine - USA (multistate) (03) 20051002.2883 Influenza, canine - USA (multistate) (02) 20050925.2830 Influenza, canine - USA (multistate) 20050923.2811] ...................................tg/mj/lm ------------------------------

Interesting. Searching for "Marfan" + "atrial fibrillation" came up with some surprisingly relevant hits. http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&...9fe100d9e542c1e

I will agree that there's no chewing involved with chicken necks. I would contest the idea that they're not of benefit; they have no carbs, no grains, none of the stuff that allows bacteria to build up calculus on the teeth. As a result, while they may not improve things, they don't worsen it. In this context, chicken necks may be mildly beneficial. We feed a lot of chicken necks here; the hounds have very nice teeth. We used to feed turkey necks until they became hard to find. We do feed turkey backs; they provide a lot of crunch on a per-dollar basis.

Wow! That certainly is interesting! I'll pass that along to the family... Haven't heard back on the tests from today yet. I'll call them tonight and may get more info. Thanks! Jen The lead author on that paper went on to U-Penn vet school, but is now working for Novartis. Can't find a contact email for them, but she's on Facebook. Unlikely she's done anything along those lines since that paper came out.

Great horned owl- about the largest hunter/killer of the skies you'll find in this neck of the woods. Most hawks would be almost as bad in terms of claw marks, although they can't lift as much (pound per pound) as an owl. And if it was a big cat from out here, you'd be lucky to have anything left to identify your dog.

A large GHO might manage to lift 7-8 pounds, but their talons would leave clear marks of their passing. I've heard of handlers who have had the talons go through a glove, through the webbing of the hand, and back out the gloves from the other side. Whenever I handled them, I wore welder's gloves; nothing else would stand up to them.

Here's a paper on spontaneous dissecting aortas in a border collie and a border collie mix where they refer to Marfan syndrome no fewer than 19 times. There may be some histo information in there that a good pathologist might be able to use. http://jvdi.org/cgi/reprint/17/5/492.pdf

One thing that comes to mind is to double- and triple-check that the hound didn't get into something they shouldn't have, i.e.: chocolate. If the dog gets markedly better for no apparent reason, this could be the case: a near-miss poisoning. Similarly, make sure there's not a new bag of food involved.

Yes, when she walks in, it's right up to the counter, paws up, greeting everyone and looking for any wiener dogs that might be hiding back there. When we first met her, she walked into the adoption room and put her paws up on the counter and looked a lifelike greyhound statue in the face. When she first came home, it was paws up on the sink and sniffed the ceiling. She's a big, leggy, tall girl. Interestingly, she only counter-surfs when we're not home- which is why we muzzle. I was all worried about getting her into my friend's SUV for the trip home, but she just walked right into it. If we hadn't hurried up, I'm pretty sure she would have stolen the thing and driven off which would have been a problem because she doesn't use turn signals.

Here's Her Royal Majesty's zipperneck, now post-op 17 days or so. The minute we got her stitches out, we got her collar back on her for the first time since the operation. We also gave explicit instructions at the neuro center to be extra careful with her and other dogs, and if she was ever let out of her pen for any reason. They don't have a fenced-in run for potty breaks, so they walked her on two leashes with a harness on while she was admitted. She's a gorgeous, wonderful, loving dog, but one stray cat or a stuffie-sized dog, and WHAMMO! She'd be off and running- inside the clinic or out. They did an excellent job at keeping her isolated and under control. There have been a couple of peeps out of her since the surgery, but the frequency and intensity have diminished. Probably the worst part was the constipation from the tramadol; we started giving her a couple of dried prunes with every meal. It seemed to help. Thanks for the info on muscle wasting; I had no idea. We've held off on walking her quite so much, in that part of our usual walk is frequented by stray cats. So, we've been walking her around a smaller block of homes, but we took the "rest and relaxation" advice from the vet's office very seriously. We had diazepam (Valium) available for the first couple of weeks or so, and that seemed to help.

She's good; she had her stitches removed yesterday. She walked into the vet clinic, put both paws on the counter and looked everyone in the face. I'll post a picture of her when I get a moment. She's lost a lot of weight, and it doesn't show; she's normally 69-70 pounds, and she weighed in at 60. I figured their scale was off, so I weighed her when she got home. Dangit, 60 pounds. And I have no idea where those ten pounds went to. She looks just the same. We even fed her extra to keep up with the added appetite she had from her pred; she's always been a voracious eater, and it got worse with the meds. Why she's down 10 pounds is beyond me.

I just stumbled across this today: a drug called octreotide (Sandostatin) is used for management of chylothorax in people. No idea if it's safe for use in hounds; it was discovered in 1979, so it should be off-patent. Best wishes for you and your hound.

D'OH! OK. This site says diskospondylosis is the same as spondylosis deformans: http://www.familyvet.com/Dogs/Nervous.html And it's managed pretty much how you think it'd be managed: NSAIDs and cortisol. I would say that- if the disease is the same as ankylosing spondylitis in humans (which it probably isn't)- you might be able to play with a few nutritional variables on top of taking away the grains. Specifically: fish oil can lower the response of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). One of the "heavy hitter" class of drugs for AS includes TNF-alpha drugs, all of which are toxic and very dangerous- and only for use in humans. They cost several thousand dollars per shot, at one per month. But TNF-alpha can be "toyed" with using fish oil, vitamin D, zinc, and selenium- in humans. No idea what this means in the canine. I'd have to really hit the books to guess the best levels for immunomodulation. Other pure stab in the dark: controlled hookworm colonization, preferably Uncinaria stenocephala. But that would be tricky and very involved on your part. Plus, no sane vet would ever go for it. But hooks cleverly modulate Th1/Th2 response in favor of anti-inflammatory activity. A couple of folks on here have wondered aloud (or at least typed) that the advent of GI and autoimmune disease seems to be once dogs are in homes- by which point they have been carefully wormed, of course. If SD is autoimmune in this sense, it is conceivable the absence of helminths could be a mitigating factor.

This site claims it's due to infection, and that antibiotic therapy is called for. I know nothing more about it.

The going theory is that cutting out the starch may slow or halt the progression of the disease; damage that has already occurred would not be repaired. Spondylosis deformans is common to dogs, often without signs of debilitation, yes. Some breeds (boxers come to mind) suffer from it more frequently than other breeds. Don't sweat the protein levels in grain-free food. Once you take out the carbohydrates from the starches, the other caloric sources must balance. Carbs down, protein and fats up. Simply put, grains are not a natural component of the canine diet; they are added to ease processing and storage, and decrease the per-pound cost. They afford little benefit that is intrinsic to canine health, while causing debilitation- starting with the teeth.