ahicks51

Sometime in the first few months, the greys tend to blow their track coat. Perfectly normal.

Figure 21-16: from: http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/...r_21/21mast.htm See text around about fig. 21-16, including: "FIG. 21-16 Craniomedial view of the shoulder shows the medial reflection of the deep pectoral muscle exposing the brachial biceps muscle and the intertubercular ligament. (Hohn RB, Rosen H, Bohning RH et al: Surgical stabilization of recurrent shoulder luxation. Vet Clin North Am 1, No. 3:537-548, 1971)"

A punch biopsy, if it means what I think it does, is just for the skin- like taking a disc out of a sheet of fabric with an arch punch, a punch biopsy just takes a disc of skin. That should not relate to an FCE; do they suspect something is wrong with the skin? If it's an FCE, all the damage has already been done; a neuro consult may be of value if not certain the FCE is the cause. At that point, it would mean an MRI (very costly, with no guarantees of diagnosis), but that would probably differentiate between a stroke and an FCE. IIRC, prednisone may be of value early in an FCE to reduce swelling, much like steroids are used to prevent subsequent damage in spinal injuries. Best wishes for you and your pup!

I was going to make the same comment. Any chance Porky was rip-roaring around the yard recently?

And Arizona is WAY cheaper than CA in the medications! By several hundred dollars. Speakin' of which... Is there any reason your doc is heart-set on Sporanox? From Dr. Stack herself, at: http://www.arizonaadoptagreyhound.org/heal...lley_fever.html "Fluconazole (Diflucan), which has also now gone generic and is available at compounding pharmacies, and itraconazole (Sporonox) can also be used but are more expensive. With many greyhounds, the appetite is better on fluconazole. Itraconazole is usually a similar situation to ketoconazole, but sometimes it’s worth playing around with meds if your greyhound has problems with one or the other. The best deals on fluconazole and itraconazole are with the compounding pharmacies in town, such as Pet Health Pharmacy. Most dogs will improve on antifungal drugs if they are not too far gone and are not allowed to continue to lose weight, but may relapse when the drug is withdrawn as pill drug action is fungiSTATIC. This means the drug does not kill the fungus, but merely keeps it from reproducing, leaving it up to the body’s immune system to get rid of the fungus. Some dogs take antifungal meds on and off for the rest of their lives as relapses occur, or more prudently, in my opinion, are maintained at a low dose once apparently “cured” to prevent relapses. Until a few years have gone by without a relapse, many veterinarians consider Valley Fever not to be cured, but only in remission." I had to get fluconazole for Coco's tongue... thing... that grew a few months back, and the vet's office actually told me to get it at Fry's because they couldn't beat their price. I went to Costco first, and they wanted $20-some, while Fry's wanted $10 (!), or about 1/3 what the vet's office said they could do.

If there's still blood, the "bloodstopper" spray from 3M (Nexcare "No Sting" Liquid Bandage) may help. However, if they stop working at it (muzzle with poop cup or tape, etc.), it should resolve on its own.

MRSA. Methicillin-resistant staph aureus. While being methicillin resistant is hardly the end-all for antibiotic resistance, it's sort of a yardstick- a simple enough designation to say "this strain of Staph. aureus is resistant to methicillin, and therefore may be resistant to other drugs as well."

Has anyone tried manuka honey on staph?

Has your vet done a culture to make sure it's staph? If they have, did they do a culture and sensitivity to assure it's not antibiotic-resistant? Many people- and dogs- carry staph. In humans, it is commonly found in the nasal sinuses. It is opportunistic, and nobody really knows why it may suddenly attack, causing skin infections.

Have you run him down to Gary Yocham at Southside Animal Hospital? He's one of the top greyhound vets in the state- used to be the track vet for Phoenix. He's one of the last affordable vets in the Valley to boot!

I'd open the capsules and roll the halves between my finger and thumb until about 1/3 to 1/4 fell onto the kibble; I'd then shake it around and it'd stick to the kibble. Jake would eat it without complaint, and the quantity seemed to be a roughly proportional dose for a dog.

I was gonna say- EVERYTHING has to have an expiration date on it. Some federal law for drugs, etc., but- I googled it AND... http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/products_faqs.asp 7. Do FRONTLINE Brand Products have an expiration date? FRONTLINE Brand Products do not carry an expiration date. We recommend storing FRONTLINE Brand Products at room temperature and keeping them sealed in their original packaging. If stored under these conditions, FRONTINE Brand Products will not expire. Learn something new every day.

We wash our greys by hose all the time; even when it's getting pretty cool, the greys tolerate the water pretty well. If it's exceptionally cold (remember- it's Phoenix, not Michigan, so "exceptionally cold" might mean 55 F), they get crazy zoomies to warm up afterwards!

Have you tried using colder water? Warm water can cause vasodilation, which lowers the blood pressure. It's not unheard of for greys to collapse in a warm bath or shower.

How about lupus? How much weight loss is common in SLE? But I agree that OP needs to have tickborne diseases ruled in or out.

Dr. Cuoto at OSU is in Columbus, about 3 hours from Pittsburgh.

How big is the margin of chemo over radiation in terms of success rates?

I know some folks have had success with the raw diet; if (and that's a BIG "if") IBD is related to some other gut diseases, it may come back to a bacterium called MAP that is widely found in ruminants (cattle, etc.). Of course, you feed a cow grass, corn, and other foods rich in long-chain carbohydrates, and MAP seems to do very well in that environment, causing Johne's disease. There is no clear manifestation of MAP and Johne's disease in the canine, but BOY would it make sense if at least some types of IBD are related to MAP and Johne's. So- just to "bump" the article and say something vaguely related to IBD.

Just a longshot- maybe someone with a VF dog can speak more intelligently to this- but did your pup ever live or race in areas in which Valley Fever (coccidiomycosis) is endemic- Arizona, New Mexico, California? (Maybe Mexico, too- Caliente dogs, anyone?) You might read this bit by Dr. Stack. http://www.arizonaadoptagreyhound.org/heal...lley_fever.html Among other notes there: "These ADR (“Ain’t Doin’ Right”) dogs inevitably go on to develop more specific signs if undiagnosed and untreated. The most common signs are poor appetite, weight loss, lameness, bone pain, spinal pain, and coughing. This is because in the early (“primary”) form, the fungus infects the lungs, then moves on to infect bones (“secondary” form). Lungs and bones account for most cases; other places cocci can go are the central nervous system, eyes, and rarely, heart or skin. With greyhounds, we seldom see the coughing stage." Not exactly what you're seeing, but it may bear investigating.

One thing that has worked well for us and others is to add beet pulp to the feed. Many bagged kibbles add beet pulp (check the ingredients), such as the brand we feed our foster and Tito (the others get fed raw). There seems to be something odd about the greyhound gut; for some reason, in many members of the breed, the stool is not always adequately de-watered. Anything much over 80% water, and the stool becomes too loose and it's messy. For whatever reason, added beet pulp pushes things back towards normal- presumably by de-watering the stool through absorption. Beet pulp can be found at any feed and seed store that caters to folks with horses. A #50 sack ran me $10 the last time I bought any. If you don't have access to it, I can send you a small box to try out. Or, if you want a big box, I'll fill a USPS fixed rate shipper and send it to you at cost- the cost of shipping. A number of folks that have gone this route have reported success- usually within 48 hours. Add ~1 tablespoon of nuggets per meal; if they don't eat them directly, mix with peanut butter.

I believe Lasix is the frontline drug for this- it's been around for a long time, and is very safe and effective. I think it's pretty cheap, too. The next string includes the ACE inhibitor enalapril, which goes by a number of names. If there are also kidney problems, then the drug of choice (IIRC) is benazepril.

Are there any signs of crate chewing?

I seem to recall a number of the anti-osteoporosis drugs have been tried, including ibandronate (Boniva). Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) has been tried in the lab to slow osteosarcoma cells in vitro, and I think it's in a few trials with humans- but would probably cost far too much for use in dogs as it's still under patent. It would be interesting to see if Coley's fluid had any effect on osteo.

OK- now I'm mildly confused. Turkey baster as in down-the-throat with a hundred cc's of 100% cranberry juice for a few days in a row- or the rest of his life? Ditto with the SAM-e and chondroitan- every day, or...? We're currently giving milk thistle, although I confess some guesswork goes into how much to feed him.

The rule of thumb is to either muzzle 'em all, or muzzle none of them. A dog wearing a muzzle is without defense in the event of a fight.