ahicks51

Straight off the farm? That's the key. The cardio training he's had is world-class. The stronger the heart, the fewer the contractions it requires to fulfill its obligations, so to speak. I have a foster fresh off the farm, and I should go check him, but I'm sure it'd be under 40 when calm.

My sympathies to you and your pup. It's difficult to imagine how a fibrocartilaginous embolism can be caused by a vaccination; in FCE, the "jelly" inside the cushions between vertebrae somehow makes its way into an artery, blocking off blood supply to part of the spinal cord. How getting stuck for rabies, etc. might cause that is beyond me. We are a bit fortunate in that the vaccines have done their job- virtually eliminated rabies in captive populations, reduced parvo to a manageable level, greatly reduced the risk of distemper, knocked our coronavirus, provided a solution to leptospirosis, and given us alternatives to problems like lyme, bordatella, canine influenza, hepatitis, measles, etc. Is there fallout? Sure. But on the whole, dogs will live considerably longer, healthier lives when vaccinated on the basis of your veterinarian's recommendations.

Please don't amputate unless you absolutely have to (which, from the sounds of it, you're nearing that point!). There are still things to try, from the sounds of it. Crating can severely impede the ability to heal; Dash was very bad off, and improved dramatically when in his first home since he didn't have to be crated there. I thought the tip of his tail would be miserable the rest of his life, but it's perfectly normal now, almost two years later. (He bounced back to us after 14 months for personal reasons.) The hair curlers, pipe foam, and other tricks can work wonders. I've also heard of taping the tail to the leg to keep it from wagging long enough to heal. Never tried it, never seen it tried. Maybe someone else has.

We treated with Frontline; be careful- they'll come off the dogs in the house. Check ears and the underside of feet in particular. We didn't spray the yard; Tito came from the pound with dog ticks and soft ticks- and his fur was so thick, we didn't see them for 3 weeks. Store collected ticks in alcohol. ETA: Cut the grass short and turn off the sprinklers!

How low is the platelet count? Can you post bloodwork results? From: http://www.greyhound-data.com/dir/393/Grey...d_Bloodwork.pdf Platelets Greyhound: 80,000 - 200,000 Other dog: 150,000 - 400,000 Likewise, greyhound platelet numbers are lower on average than other breeds, which might be mistakenly interpreted as a problem. It is thought that greyhound WBCs, platelets, and total protein may be lower to physiologically "make room" in the bloodstream for the increased red cell load. Confounding these normally low WBC and platelet numbers is the fact that Ehrlichia, a common blood parasite of greyhounds, can lower WBC and platelet counts. So if there is any doubt as to whether the WBC / platelet counts are normal, an Ehrlichia titer is always in order. The other classic changes with Ehrlichia are lowered PCV and elevated globulin and total protein. But bear in mind that every greyhound will not have every change, and Ehrlichia greyhounds can have normal CBCs.

Don't you have to soak beet bulp before feeding? or do you just throw the dry flakes in their food? I get the chunky stuff; never tried the powdered beet pulp. I used to mix it in with an equal weight of peanut butter, and that greatly improved palatability. Sometimes I take a bit of blood from the beef heart that gets fed to the "regulars" and let the beet pulp sit in that for a minute or so before I throw it in the bowl with the foster's food. On nights when we cook up chicken thighs, I do the same with a bit of grease from the bottom of the pan- not even a tablespoon. Just a little something to get him to eat it; otherwise, he'll sometimes eat around the big pieces.

Tried talc? Or cornstarch? I don't even know if you can buy powdered talc anymore. Maybe... Gold Bond Medicated Powder?

If the pumpkin doesn't work, try beet pulp (~1-2 tbs per meal). It helps sponge up extra water, changing the stool texture from "pudding" to "acceptable." Concerns about stool quality in greyhounds turns most hound owner chats into pure scatology, so this is nothing new. If you can't get beet pulp locally, PM me and I'll send you a box of the stuff to try.

The newer baits are much safer for dogs. From one website (an animal hospital), emphasis mine: "Bromethalin is a new nonanticoagulant (Assault, Vengeance) designed to be lethal to rodents after a single dose. The minimum lethal dose for the dog is approximately 21g bait per pound body weight, meaning that a 30 lb dog would have to consume 630g bait (or 15 packs of bait) to receive a lethal dose. Ingestion of rodents that have consumed bromethalin does not cause toxicity in the dog. Thus bromethalin is a safer rodenticide for use where dogs are present than the anticoagulant rodenticides. Bromethalin is a neurotoxin directly affecting the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Clinical signs associated with ingestion of bromethalin appear about 10 hours post-ingestion and include severe muscle tremors, excitability, running fits, seizures and depression." Not that I'd use it. I'm a big fan of snap traps. As for keeping them out of the home in the first place- steel wool and plaster. Fill every imaginable void to keep them from getting in. Then live trap 'em and evict them.

Was there a thyroid panel in there anywhere?

So, if 20 mg/kg is an actionable level, a 20 kg grey (44 pounds for the metric-impaired) would work out to 400 mg for a tiny greyhound. If all this is true, it would seem she's in the clear. Let's all hope!

Iron pills tend to cause constipation and dark stools even when used at therapeutic levels. From the Merck Veterinary Manual (emphasis mine): Multivitamin preparations contain varying amounts of iron. Unless otherwise listed, iron should be assumed to be elemental iron. Various iron salts may contain 12-48% elemental iron. Iron has direct caustic or irritant effects on the GI mucosa. It can also be a direct mitochondrial poison. Once the iron-carrying capacity of serum has been exceeded, free iron is deposited in the liver where it damages mitochondria, leading to necrosis of periportal hepatocytes. Signs of iron toxicosis usually develop within 6 hr. Initial vomiting and diarrhea, with or without blood, may be followed by hypovolemic shock, depression, fever, acidosis, and liver failure 12-24 hr later, often with a period of apparent recovery in between. Oliguria and anuria secondary to shock-induced renal failure may also occur. Ingestion of >20 mg/kg of elemental iron generally warrants decontamination and administration of GI protectants. Additional treatment and monitoring will be necessary for patients that have ingested >60 mg/kg of elemental iron. Milk of magnesia can complex with iron to decrease its absorption from the GI tract. Serum iron levels and the total iron binding capacity should be checked at 3 hr and again at 8-10 hr post-exposure. If serum iron is >300 mg/dL, or greater than the total iron binding capacity, chelation therapy may be needed. Desferoxamine (40 mg/kg, IM, every 4-8 hr) is a specific iron chelator and is most effective within the first 24 hr post-ingestion, before iron has been distributed from blood to tissues. Other signs should be treated symptomatically.

I'm glad you posted this because I've wondered about peroxide. I was always told that using it once was fine but not to continue with it because it killed the good bacteria. Peroxide can kill live tissue, which in turn becomes food for saprophytes. It is particularly dangerous with puncture wounds. (Not that there were any puncture wounds here- I'm just sayin'.)

If you crate, look on the carpet nearby reeeeal closely for a tooth chip. Or check the crate for signs of chewing. They may be demonstrating anxiety in your absence.

Any chance you can post a picture?

For those of you who haven't seen it: Causes, management of osteosarcoma bone pain Feb 1, 2008 By:Kim Cronin, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM She advocates the use of pamidronate (Aredia) for managing the pain of osteo. Areida is an intravenous drug (versus the oral meds) for treatment of osteoporosis. In preventing bone resorption, it can reduce pain. In one study, it provided "significant" pain relief in 12 of 43 dogs tested (28%) over an average duration of 231 days (Fan TM, Lorimier LP, Charney SC et al: Single-Agent Pamidronate for Palliative Therapy of Canine Appendicular Osteosarcoma Bone Pain. J Vet Intern Med 2007;21:431-439). Thought I'd mentioned it here for its obvious applications. In the experiment, it was added over a period of two hours; I can't tell from Google whether it's still on-patent or not. So, administration is time-intensive (reads: pricey), and unless it's off-patent, it'll probably be an expensive drug. The molecule is small and tidy, though, so if it's off-patent, it's probably pretty cheap. ETA: Looks like the patent expired. A couple of websites are saying there are multiple generic versions now available, so it should be relatively inexpensive.

Doesn't something similar occur in hock fractures that are left untreated for whatever reason? i.e., the bones fuse on their own? The stem cell option is interesting. I had heard treatments were available, but had no idea they could use them for ortho work- let alone anything more than tentative experiments!

Now it all makes sense. The lab charges $60, so IDEXX doubles that to make their money. Then the vet takes the IDEXX cost and doubles that to keep their doors open. That's $240, and then the $52 is in shipping and packaging. (Seriously- that's probably pretty close to what's happening.)

PCR is polymerase chain reaction, which involves an extremely sensitive test that will actively seek the DNA of the disease-causing organisms. I believe there are other tests out there that are just antibody reactions, which are kind of flaky. PCR is the gold standard. IDEXX is a commercial testing lab- one of two big movers in the veterinary industry. I think there are some preferred labs when it comes to tick testing (North Carolina State U? and ProtaTek Labs). It is possible IDEXX will simply take the sample and pass it on to a specialty lab; I'm not sure.

So- maybe 1200 mg ibuprofen max? Merck Veterinary Manual sez "An acute single ingestion of 100-125 mg/kg can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and anorexia. Renal failure may follow dosages of 175-300 mg/kg. CNS effects (ie, seizures, ataxia, depression, coma) in addition to renal and GI signs can be seen at dosages >400 mg/kg. Dosages >600 mg/kg are potentially lethal in dogs." So- a 44 pound greyhound (very small) = 20 kg, and 100 mg/kg * 20 kg = 2,000 mg. If you're not seeing any "vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, or anorexia," I'd say you're in the clear after 8 half-lives (4.6 hours * 8 = 36 hours). If you haven't seen any of those yet (and your hounds are almost certainly larger than the 44-pound example), y'all should be OK.

SNAP test for Lyme and Ehrlichia, but no complete tick panel yet? Have you considered raw feeding for the dental problems? ETA: What FullMetalFrank sez, down below. Oral pain could be enough that eating just isn't worth the pain. Full dental to route out bad teeth may be required.

:nod It's the beet pulp. Beet pulp is available as shredded or pelletized material, and can be added to any kibble. Many brands already have beet pulp added; for some reason, just a bit more seems to radically improve the stool quality. 1 tablespoon of beet pulp (mixed in with 1 tbs peanut butter to improve palatability) seems to do it quite nicely. Check feed and seed stores; a 50# sack runs $10 locally.

If it were connected, it'd look like Madeline McCann's eye? Except it's not connected, which means it's polycoria. More precisely, dicoria (as there are two). Assuming it's not just coloration of the iris, of course.

Is he fed the same food as at the foster home? If there's no underlying medical cause, try pumpkin. If that doesn't work, try beet pulp (1 tbs/meal, mixed with an equal quantity of peanut butter for palatability).

One thing you could do is measure out how much food he eats in a 24 hour period; weigh it or do it by volume. Put out X amount one morning, and then compare it the next day at the same time. Divide that in two, and feed slightly less than that twice daily. So, for example, if he eats 5 cups/day when free-fed, give him 2 cups/day morning and night. Keep doing this until the appropriate weight is reached- which can take weeks, but it's so slow they'll barely notice. The first few days, the hound can be fed substantially less, in fact- 1-1/2 cups twice a day, for example, for the first week (in the above example). For treats, take a hot dog and slice it as thin as a coin. Dry it in the oven on cookie sheets; if you have a gas oven, the pilot light will be plenty. A hot dog works out to 50-100 treats when done correctly- inexpensive, non-fattening, and enjoyable. Good luck!