ahicks51

Momma once said, "Son"- because, you know, being her son and all- "if anyone ever says you're the voice of knowledge and reason in the room, tell them they need to get out more." She never said that, but she probably should have. If she would have, it probably would have been after some catastrophic "learning incident," possibly involving venomous insects or possibly a hostile arachnid, something like that. Maybe a snake. It would almost certainly have involved an emergency room visit. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Only the front paws. Pads look normal. 41 races, retired for a pulled muscle, 2-1/2 YO male. Vet (retired greyhound track vet) said it was from tendon damage, but didn't know the dog as a racer. Anyone seen this before? Doesn't seem to cause him any pain.

Most likely acepromazine, an antiemitic sedative widely used in the veterinary realm.

One thing I'd recommend is a belt, and some way to secure the leash to the belt, like a carabiner. It helps keep the hands free, which may come in useful if you run into un-friendly dogs, or if you trip- even get knocked out or experience a medical problem. At the very least, you won't have a missing dog to have to worry about.

And now that someone mentioned it in Off Topic for a completely different application, neem oil might work on spiders. The local hardware stores have the stuff; cut the grass short, sweep out any webs- use a shopvac to get right down to grass and nothing else- then use a sprayer to throw neem oil anywhere you might find spiders. It's used to kill spider mites- which are also arachnids, same as brown recluses and other spiders. Problem is, it has to coat the body as it is an asphyxiant. It may have some growth regulator properties, but if the spiders are mature, it won't effect them.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) would probably work on brown recluses. It used to be used to worm dogs, so it's safe even for consumption. However, if the spiders aren't on surfaces where the DE lands, they won't be affected- and DE will end up on the ground after a few hours. And since spiders travel on the tips of their legs, they might not get enough. Pyrethrins are used to get rid of fleas, etc., and are generally considered safe for use around- and on- greyhounds. A yard spray normally used for controlling fleas that contains pyrethrin (usually with the synergist piperonyl butoxide) would probably work. Coverage might be tedious. However, the experts suggest that the stuff that is most readily available doesn't work on spiders. See also: http://www.pestproducts.com/spider.htm#SPIDER%20ELIMINATION Cynoff and Demon WP are cypermethrin- a semi-synthetic pyrethroid, but not something I'd use around dogs without checking it out. Suspend SC is another semi-synthetic pyrethroid, and who only knows if it's safe around dogs. Arachnids are tough to kill with pesticides. Lots of local places boast they'll get rid of scorpions, but I don't think any will put it in writing.

Be careful about trying to crate a dog that protests. Aside from the obvious injuries, they can crack teeth very easily.

Use butyl rubber gloves with DMSO. Anything else risks carrying anything contained in the DMSO, or picked up from the gloves, into your bloodstream.

The consensus is that telling what caused the bite from looking at it is like telling which way the train went by looking at the tracks. The studies show that when medical professionals looked at bites from known causes (without knowing the cause), they were no better than chance at telling what did it. However, with the first signs of necrosis at any envenomation site, you may have to consider debridement as that could be brown recluse. If there are two wounds at least a few mm apart, then it could be snake envenomation; snakebite would likely have hemotoxic effects- you wouldn't have neurotoxic snakes up there, unless one got loose from a collection- and those could show up in a blood panel. There are rattlers in Minnesota, but they're pretty rare. Often they'll bite the nose, from an inquisitive dog; if the snake got stepped on, that might explain the foot/ankle bite. There may be too much swelling to tell by now where the original injury was.

Count the number of legs. If there are not four, the adoption agency may have given you a python, either accidentally or intentionally. If this is the case, you may wish to return it.

I remember since when I joined GT, someone posted pics of a grey that had somehow made it to 21 years of age, IIRC. The hound was still alert and happy; they would take him or her on walks in a red cart, from what I remember. I just built a support chair- a wheel chair for the hind end- of a greyhound that is 12-1/2, something like 10 years post-amp for osteo- so she could go on walks in the neighborhood. Her hind end sags a bit when she's been standing, but she's mentally and physically "still there," ready to go. Wish I had some more intelligent advice, but- barring any unmanageable pain, I honestly don't know. The "three rules" might apply here: so long as there's three things the hound is happy to do, it's too soon.

If your yard fenced? Is it otherwise safe for him to be unleashed, and not under direct observation? (While I appreciate that many GT'ers have "eyes on" their dogs at all times when in the yard, we have done our best to winnow the threats such that we can let them out and peek out the window now and again while preparing breakfast.) Is a doggie door an option?

Muzzle at night.

But he doesn't vomit after the morning meal? What happens if you feed him after 8 PM, or once he's done with his run?

Just a way off-the-wall suggestion- I don't even know if it's safe for dogs: 5-HTP is a precursor molecule of serotonin. So, instead of being a "reuptake inhibitor," 5-HTP is a precursor and- therefore- may foster the production of serotonin. It's OTC, pretty inexpensive. Tweaking in the dosage can take some work.

If I have my neurology correct, all seizures belong in the brain. Unless the voltage traveled through the head, I doubt it could affect the brain; electricity takes the short route through the body- although higher voltages travel through the skin (the so-called "skin effect") as electrons repel. Normally the thing to worry about is kidney failure- rhabdomyolysis from the muscles being "cooked." However, it is conceivable that the mechanical action of the electrical current caused convulsions and thrashing, which could cause organic brain damage, same as any other mechanical trauma. So, while it might be related to the electrical shock, unless current traveled through the head, I don't see how it could be caused by electricity directly.

Makes sense to be considerate. In that event, she could carry a liter bottle of water, and dilute the spot where they urinate. As before, the solution to pollution is dilution.

If you get them small, it's manageable. Dermal hemangio is not uncommon, and they can be removed when they appear. Purely anecdotal: a correspondent of mine from the greyhound mailing list noted that she thought the incidence of hemangios was smaller when her dog was raw fed. Apparently, this hound had them removed on a regular basis- I'm guessing tens of spots, but that's a guess. So, Coco had one removed- very tiny, maybe 2-4 mm diameter, if that. We didn't even send it out for biopsy- simply assumed the worst, based on the judgment of a very skilled vet. 16 months later, I bring him in again for what I think is another hemangio. Instead, it's a nipple. Shows you what I know. But- being thorough, the vet found one I had missed, on his knee. Again, very tiny. On the way out, he noted that a recurrence after 16 months was a long duration, and I noted that we were providing him a strict, predator model raw food diet, suggesting perhaps that could be at least partially responsible. He agreed.

Yard burn is caused by salts dissolved in the urine of your pet. Inasmuch as there's no reasonable way to remove these (what comes in must come out), the solution to pollution is dilution. Alternatively, train them to pee in one corner of the yard.

Curcurmin is from turmeric; The Lisa works in a protein crystallography lab. One of the grad students there has a relative in a developing country that was sent home to die after being diagnosed with bone cancer. The family reportedly fed him large quantities of honey + turmeric, and the tumor supposedly disappeared. The doctors were a bit taken back when he came into the hospital several months later- quite alive, and with no sign of the osteosarcoma. I don't know why amputation wasn't considered. The story may be apocryphal. I don't have any other details. Anyway- honey + turmeric is a very old combination that has been used for a number of maladies. The only caveat would be that I doubt there have been studies on how toxic turmeric may be to dogs, particularly when fed in large quantities. Although it seems to be safe for human consumption even in relatively large amounts, sometimes stuff that's okay for humans may not be so for dogs- avocados, chocolate, onions, etc.

State of Connecticut: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/FC/2006SB-00411-R000268-FC.htm ( A licensed veterinarian may grant an exemption from vaccination against rabies for a dog or cat if such licensed veterinarian has examined such animal and determined that a rabies vaccination would endanger the animal's life due to disease or other medical considerations. Such licensed veterinarian shall complete and submit to the department an exemption from rabies vaccination form approved by the Department of Agriculture. After receipt of such form, the department shall issue a rabies vaccination exemption certificate, copies of which shall be provided to the veterinarian, the owner of the dog or cat exempted from rabies vaccination and the animal control officer of the municipality in which the owner of the dog or cat resides. Certification that a dog or cat is exempt from rabies vaccination shall be valid for one year, after which time the animal shall be vaccinated against rabies or the application for exemption shall be renewed. Unfortunately, if your dog bites someone, that'll probably be the end of them. Dunno what happens if you have a rabies titer on hand.

Well, there's Ant Baits III (abamectin), Double Control (abamectin), and Max Double Control. Can't seem to find what Max Double Control has, but it may be abamectin. Anyway- it's fairly safe stuff for dogs.

Which brand was it? I've examined labels off of the commercially available ant traps, and with one notable exception (which has recently switched to a safer alternative), they're all safe- all the ones I've seen, anyway. A couple use fipronil, which is just Frontline. The Raid III ant traps have abamectin, but in such tiny quantities that dogs wouldn't be harmed. Maxforce: fipronil. Advance: abamectin. Maxforce granular: hydramethylnon. 99% inert ingredients; animal feeding trials show some liver effects at 3 mg/kg/day. Anyway- the newest generation of pesticides are remarkably safe in these quantities.

Also note that from a nutritional standpoint, fats and proteins (minus allergenic components) seem to be safer in IBD. One human dietary component is coconut oil, up to 3 tablespoons/day may be well-tolerated; it's emulsified by pancreatic juices, and absorbed high in the small intestine, before it gets to areas that tend to be more affected in the large intestine. Ditto with other fats, but with conventionally-fed dogs, the risk of pancreatitis is real; Stefansson and others report feeding large amounts of fat to their dogs while in the Arctic, so- from a tolerance perspective- it's been done before. I would suggest adding supplements one at a time; if a single product were to have adverse effects, you would be unable to determine which one it was. Glutamine is almost certainly safe, provided there are no other components mixed in there.

Is budesonide a drug that is available for veterinary use there in the UK? If so, has this option been discussed?