ahicks51

It's good to hear he's doing so much better!

If the tumor IS real, it could be one of a number of maladies; the most common is oral melanoma, which is malignant. Fortunately, a curative vaccine has been developed for this; a third of the time, it does little to stem the progress. A third of the time, it prolongs life significantly. A third of the time, it cures the disorder- when used in conjunction with other appropriate treatments, which include surgery and (maybe) radiation.

Courtesy of Wikipedia: dermal hemangiosarcoma. Coco's wasn't anywhere near that large. They looked like pimples, except the skin wasn't red.

Our first vet wanted $650 for gas anesthesia, removal, and biopsy. The second vet- the local "go-to" greyhound vet- snipped them off with a local, charged me $95, and saw the next patient. But they were tiny- I can't speak to larger growths. One person who had a grey with a history of dermal hemangiosarcoma informed me that she *thought* the number of new growths was reduced during those periods of time when she fed raw food. Coco's been on raw ever since I had the two small growths removed, and I haven't seen any new ones. But it's only been a few months (6-7 months).

Did you get half the dose in to the right side of the neck? And, as already asked, is the needle out?

Based on what little I can find on them, the microbeads are likely polyethylene. If not, they're probably polypropylene or maybe (not likely) Nylon. In any event, they're not going to swell; unless they manage to form some sort of a bridge in the gut, they shouldn't cause an obstruction. Put some in a glass of water; if they float, they're polypropylene. Some might be foamed plastic, so other types of plastic might float, too. Leave them in the glass overnight. If they don't swell, I can't see how they'd cause a problem. Provided they're plain plastic, they shouldn't cause any reason for concern.

Well, he's cranky about wearing a muzzle all the time, but the wound seems to be doing quite well. I just need him to leave it alone; he's a world-class injury exacerbater, and he's taken off all four bandages I put on there. So for now, I'm just leaving it open and muzzling him so he'll leave it alone.

Unless things have changed in the past year or two, we just sent payment with the sample. Complete an endocrinology form: http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Submittal%...docrinology.pdf Standard canine is test 20010, $41. Note: Sample "May be shipped via regular mail." No special speed required. Premium canine is test 20011, $59. Note: "Refrigerate or freeze sample prior to shipment." and that "We recommended shipment with ice packs and second day or better delivery." Collection protocols are given with each test. http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Bin/Catalo...oid&Id=1388 http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Bin/Catalo...oid&Id=1427 They used to have a feature where for $4 or whatever they'd have an expert in endocrinology interpret the results *specifically* for sighthounds. I don't see that now. Print it out and bring it to your vet when you take the sample. They can ship it, or you can ship it; if you want the premium test, then they can provide you with a small plastic foam cooler and an ice pack. USPS Express will probably run $20-25. They might do this for you. Your PO might have a pickup time for next day service that is BEFORE their closing time, so check first- or use FedEx or UPS. Package the tubes securely to prevent spills or leaks in the event of breakage. Label samples carefully as "CANINE BLOOD- DIAGNOSTIC" or something like that. A blood spill at the PO with no indication as to species will mean they'll think it's human, and that's really bad.

I used to be skeptical of this claim, and although I still have skepticism for carbohydrate restriction as a treatment, I do believe it has some benefit by way of preventing it. Whether carbohydrate restriction will keep large tumors from growing remains a bit of a mystery. It is also cryptic as to whether it'll help "microtumors"- the metastatic nasties that they are- from growing. A couple of studies would be interesting. However, such a diet is very difficult and most people are not capable (or willing) to provide a truly ketogenic diet. In order to do so, the animal must be maintained in ketosis; most people think that some vegetable matter is (for some reason) required for proper nutrition in the canine, and are unwilling to provide nothing but meat and bone. It must be done with great focus in that exogenous carbohydrate must be taken to as low a value as possible. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet Although not so much along the lines of a supplement, what Dr. Stack (quite the pro at greyhounds) in Yuma, AZ has to say about her own dog may be of interest. Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 13:37:12 -0700 From: Don and Suzanne Stack <yumadons@GMAIL.COM> Subject: MEDICAL: Tips from osteo survivor << Anyone out there have a long term cancer survivor, a year or more? Could you please forward what treatments, feeding, medicines you did that you feel might have helped your dog become a survivor. >> My greyhound, Aussie, now 9 years old, is > 4 years post amputation (Oct 23, 2003). His protocol: Took x-rays just a few days after noticed him limping. Saw what looked like osteo at proximal humerus (left shoulder). Did not waste precious time with a biopsy - amputated the very next day. Started chemo exactly 1 week post-amputation - the day we got biopsy results back from the lab (we sent in the amputated limb for biopsy). Aussie had 6 carboplatin chemo treatments. No problems except a low WBC delayed the 6th chemo by 1 week. He's taken 3.75 mg meloxicam (generic Metacam) ever since amputation because he's got a bad arthritic hock in backleg on same side. 1 year post-amputation, I started him on 10 mg tamoxifen once daily. Tamoxifen is the anti-estrogen drug that breast cancer survivors take for the rest of their lives. Anecdotally, tamoxifen may be an anti-angiogenesis drug (a drug that stops new blood vessels from branching out from tumors). Tamoxifen can have some problems in girl dogs but is OK for boys. Not approved nor or you likely to be able to find out much of anything about it. I just started Aus on it because a friend's boy osteo grey was started on it by Dr. Ogilvie (ex CSU oncology guru). I figured if it's good enough for Dr. Ogilvie, it's good enough for me. Aus eats the same food as the rest of my dogs, "Enhance Hunter's Edge" by ARKAT. We feed it because it's relatively cheap (we have lots of big dogs) and does a greyt job keeping weight on my greyhounds with once daily feeding. Relatively high in protein, fat, and calories. Protein 24%, fat 18%, ~585 calories/cup. Aus doesn't get any supplements or special treatment and is very fit (we live on 2 & 1/2 acres). Suzanne Stack, D

Coco dove after a cat on a walk three nights ago; I don't know how he did it, but he managed to get a 2" laceration midway up his tail. It's almost parallel to the length of the tail, with a bit of a spiral. I think he got it caught on an old car's fender and ripped it open. I've washed it out with dilute povidone solution and kept it clean; there's no sign of infection, and the EMT Gel seems to protect the wound. I'm just debating whether stitches would do any good- or *would* have done any good as it's been so long. It seems a tough spot to treat with anything; he can't get to it with his muzzle-and-tape combination, and it's well protected. Any pointers as to anything else I can do?

What are you protecting against in the bird poop? Histoplasmosis or cryptococcosis? Cavers get exposed to histo all the time; we call it "guano head." You get it once, and get over it- except for when you don't, and it can rarely get very serious. I knew a woman back in New Mexico whose ex-bf died of crypto. There was a pigeon infestation in the attic or garage- I forget which. No immunocompromise or other problems- he just drew the short straw. Out here, it's coccidiomycosis, or "Valley Fever." The fungus only grows well in undisturbed soil; when the soil is broken up by excavation, etc., the spores are spread in dust. Hence the number of cases have increased thanks to (what was) the construction boom out here.

Perfectly normal around here. Minerva chatters when she's particularly keen for attention!

I had done a quick google of keppra for dogs & saw that it could be used....nobody here ever mentions that they do, though, and I wondered why. Must be SUPER expensive. Many, if not most, of my human seizure patients are on keppra, either alone or with something else. Keppra's patent apparently expires in 2008, but they have exclusivity at least until 2010: "Even though the patent for Keppra expires in 2008, UCB holds the exclusive rights to market Keppra until at least March 2010. By law, the manufacturers can be given extended periods of exclusivity if they choose to perform pediatric studies (studies of the medication in children). This is done to encourage manufacturers to adequately study medications in children (which was not done in the past). Additionally, there are other circumstances that could come up to extend the exclusivity period of Keppra beyond 2010." One of Abbott's main patents on Depakote expired in July (I think), but Depakote ER is good until 2018 from what I can see. One of the patents on Tegretol (carbamazepine) expired in 2007, but another goes until 2011.

I'm way wrong. My bad. I thought they had a vet school because of their veterinary diagnostic lab.

Not to digress too much off the thread- I've only ever seen status epilepticus once, and that's when I was an EMT and this guy would not stop seizing. We had to get him from the second floor of his home, drag him down to the landing, and then out of the house- moving him every time we could between seizures. There was no medic on board, so there wasn't a lot we could do for the guy except hustle. I recall quite distinctly my crew chief getting his hand smashed between the guy's head and the backboard. I forget how much diazepam they gave him, but it was 5 mg at a time until he stopped and the doctor muttered something about it being enough to sedate a horse.

Yes- come to think of it. The OP is down in Tucson, where there's the state veterinary school. I'm not sure how they are specifically with greyhounds.

How good is the vet with greyhounds? With the track down there, there should be plenty of good options for grey-savvy vets, but if not- consider Dr. Yocham in Phoenix for a semi-local consult.

I have not seen any good data to support the idea that fish oil supplements present a reasonable mercury risk. First off, organic mercury is not fat-soluble. Secondly, fish oil these days is often (always?) treated (distilled) to remove what little mercury exists: From a 2005 study: www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fsis8005.pdf 9 samples of 100 had detectable mercury; detection limits were at 0.0014 mg/kg, or 1.4 parts per billion. The EPA limit for mercury in drinking water is higher than that (2 ppb). The Environmental Defense Fund asked companies how they controlled mercury and PCBs in fish oil supplements: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=19376 http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=16536 80% replied that they conformed with FDA regulations for mercury, PCBs, and dioxins; the results are given in that second link as to the companies whose products they recommend. Also note from the January 2005 Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, "The levels of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorines were all below the detectable limit" in OTC fish oil supplements. From the same publication, Measurement of Mercury Levels in Concentrated Over-the-Counter Fish Oil Preparations: Is Fish Oil Healthier Than Fish?, Foran et al. found that "The levels of mercury in the 5 different brands of fish oil ranged from nondetectable (<6 μg/L) to negligible (10–12 μg/L). The mercury content of fish oil was similar to the basal concentration normally found in human blood." If there are studies indicating that currently available product is dangerous, I'd be interested in those numbers as I consume the stuff myself.

Good idea to put something on legs to cover them while he is out. Sometimes the best ideas escape out brains when we are trying to think too hard about what to do. I read on this site somewhere about cutting out kids shirt sleeves to cover legs with. I will try it. A size large sweatshirt does a good job at covering much of the front part of a large greyhound. You will either have to roll the cuffs or cut them short, but the sleeves are great for keeping the front legs protected. The big, goofy boys can be real "boo boo puppies" fresh off the track. They tend to slow down a bit and get dinged up less as time goes on, so it's not hopeless!

The Merck Veterinary Manual lists the following first-line anticonvulsant drugs for use in dogs: Phenobarbital KBr NaBr Diazepam It lists the following as second-line drugs, again for use with dogs: Clonazepam (Klonopin) Clorazepate (Tranxene and Tranxilium) Felbamate (Felbatol) Topiramate (Topamax) Valproic acid (Depakene)- this is apparently Depakote minus the sodium valproate Zonisamide (Zonegran)- same class as topiramate

A fish oil capsule daily will help; but some greys have naturally coarse coats. If you find it coming out, a "Zoom Groom" will help take out much of the loose fur during shedding.

Well, you could really do your homework and look up each component individually and do the math: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ Or you could just cut out the sugary stuff, which is ultimately what you'll have to do anyway. The geniuses at K9Kitchen (Yahoo! group) are very helpful folks. Tell them where you want to go, and where you're at now (in terms of allergies and a medical condition you wish to treat), and they may have some brilliant insights.

It's a matter of percentage of calories from carbohydrates, not whether there are sensitizers such as gluten. I'd have to re-read up on the subject again, but I think the general recommendation is <10% of calories from carbs. i think.

A ketogenic diet. Cut the dietary carbohydrates to an absolute minimum. In the canine, this is different than in the child, of course; one simply feeds raw meat and bone- no kibble. Oddly, after two years on this diet, some children may resume eating "normally" without facing the return of seizures. For those that have been seizure-free, there is a 20% chance their seizures will return. While that doesn't constitute a "cure," it does mean that perhaps 80% do not have seizures again. Holy heck.

Also note that the chemist's toolbox at the trailing end of the ingredients list of bagged kibble is there at least in part because the corn, wheat, and other vegetable matter chelate and remove many of the nutrients that are found in meat. They're anti-nutrients. The two guys who got locked in Bellvue and ate nothing but meat for a year (well, one was locked in for a couple of months while the other was allowed to roam free- but their urine was tested for ketone bodies to make sure they ate nothing but meat) were observed carefully by some visiting scientists from Europe who had never seen scurvy and wanted to observe its effects. They were disappointed as it never materialized. There are two lines of thought: either they were consuming vitamin C as part of the meat (the eskimos used to divvy up the right glands to make sure this didn't happen), or the carbohydrate restriction caused the body to conserve vitamin C so no more needed to be added. Now, dogs make their own vitamin C (as do almost all animals, excepting a few primates and some other critters), but the point is that adding such large amounts of carbs like those found in kibble may not be good in terms of nutrition.