ahicks51

Sounds a little like latrodectism, the results of a black widow spider bite. There are some consistencies, except for the high temperature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrodectism Just as a guess- with the hypertrophic muscles of greyhounds, the hypertension, muscle rigidity (tetany), etc., might lead to an elevated body temperature. Muscle relaxants might help some, but if I'm wrong it could be pretty bad for the pup. It just doesn't jibe with snakebite; check the rest of the body very carefully for a bite mark. The front legs are so bony, I don't know how a snake stands a good chance of landing a bite there. Check the depth of the wound on the nose; half the time, snake bites are "dry" bites, with no venom. If it's shallow (less than a millimeter), it could be from a spider. If it's just a scratch- no swelling, no pain, etc.- that's probably not the bite site- keep looking. The good news is, if the dog isn't already dead, there's a good chance she'll make it. The bad news is there may be considerable discomfort for her and worry on the part of everyone else involved. The "listless, stiff, and hot" part of the first appearance of symptoms is certainly characteristic of rigid paralysis such as that found in certain types of envenomations. There *should* be swelling, pain, and other nastiness at the bite site. Not that someone hasn't checked all over already, but another survey to see if something is being missed might be in order if there's any doubt.

Knowing the geographic region in which your friend resides might help narrow down the list of potentially venomous critters.

I wonder if the folks over at K9 Kitchen might be able to help: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/ Monica Segal formed the group (I think), and she's a wealth of information as well: http://www.monicasegal.com/ It's possible someone else has already thought this through, been-there-done-that, and already has a viable solution. I do agree that loading a dog up on corn syrup and "fast-burn" carbs is not in their long-term interest. There should be another way.

With our first grey, we had this problem on a regular basis. Stool consistency was poor some days, satisfactory on others, and just appalling the rest of the time. Eventually, we went to raw feeding- a drastic solution, really, although a number of kibble variations failed to resolve the issue. If there is no clear medical cause, try adding beet pulp to the kibble. Some people have had success with pumpkin (canned, plain, nothing added, 100% pumpkin). We have a foster that is fed kibble, and just ~2 tablespoons of beet pulp nuggets (broken to match the size of the kibble) have vastly improved his pavement products. If you can't find beet pulp locally, drop me a PM and I'll send you some to try. If it works, it should be apparent within a day or two- or, if the problem is intermittent, it should mean an end to loose stools caused by diet. At $10 per 50 pounds, it's an inexpensive "fix." Note: Many kibbles contain beet pulp. Not sure what it is about greyhound physiology that does this, but adding just a bit more seems to push a kibble from "not acceptable" to "acceptable." To date, of the 3-4 people that have taken me up on this offer, all have reported success.

There have been no studies to indicate the efficacy of shark bits and pieces on cancer in controlled studies (where all values of "controlled" = "funded by anyone other than people hawking shark cartilage"). It's based on a huge misconception that sharks and related species don't get tumors, which is bogus. Chondroitin, on the other hand, seems to have some decent science backing it up: Clegg DO, Reda DJ, Harris CL, Klein MA, O'Dell JR, Hooper MM, Bradley JD, Bingham CO 3rd, Weisman MH, Jackson CG, Lane NE, Cush JJ, Moreland LW, Schumacher HR Jr, Oddis CV, Wolfe F, Molitor JA, Yocum DE, Schnitzer TJ, Furst DE, Sawitzke AD, Shi H, Brandt KD, Moskowitz RW, Williams HJ (2006). "Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, and the two in combination for painful knee osteoarthritis". New Engl J Med 354 (8): 795–808. Forsyth R, Brigden C, Northrop A (2006). "Double blind investigation of the effects of oral supplementation of combined glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on stride characteristics of veteran horses". Equine veterinary journal. Supplement (36): 622-5. Barnhill JG, Fye CL, Williams DW, Reda DJ, Harris CL, Clegg DO (2006). "Chondroitin product selection for the glucosamine/chondroitin arthritis intervention trial". J Am Pharm Assoc (Wash DC) 46 (1): 14–24 McAlindon TE, LaValley MP, Gulin JP, Felson DT (2000). "Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Treatment of Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Quality Assessment and Meta-analysis". JAMA 283: 1469–1475.

This is what I posted back in July in response to a somewhat similar query: You'll get better at knowing when a grey should be seen eventually, but as a rule of thumb: 1) ANYTHING that gets infected should be seen by a vet. 2) Penetrating injuries (anything that is deeper than just the skin, such as into the muscle) should be seen by a vet. 3) Anything larger that a nickel, particularly if it is on a part of the body that sees a lot of flexion (and is therefore less likely to heal without assistance) probably should be seen by a vet. The nickel size is just my opinion- some will say smaller. It also depends greatly upon location and cause of injury (and therefore the chance of wound contamination). Most (all?) injuries to the pads of the feet will require assistance in healing. Anything that won't stop bleeding or seeping should be seen by a vet. At the very least, wash out with dilute Betadine (povidone iodine), and cover as best as possible. The way greyhounds are "built," along with their fur, makes it tough to keep bandages on- and greyhounds can be very determined in their attempts to nurse their own wounds- often much to their detriment. That pea-sized nick on a leg can be opened into a quarter-sized wound if allowed. Cover it, tape it, and (if necessary) use a collar.

We cleaned up Minerva's belly, and they never came back. Weird.

*nudge* *nudge* Tick panel. *nudge* *nudge*

It sounds like Zippy had a fun little run, and there's some post-exertional trembling going on- the same thing that happens when people overwork a muscle when exercising for the first time in a while. If there was whimpering, check for any injury now, and any stiffness tomorrow. I'm not sure whether dogs get the same ache people do (my legs are still hurting from a caving trip on Saturday!), and I keep mixing up anti-inflammatories and which are safe for dogs so I won't make any recommendations! If there's no problems with LS, hopefully Zippy will get "back up to speed" and be able to hold down her own with Spinner before long!

Yow. Pricey up there. Do they have clinics for reduced cost? I once tried to track down a "Scottish deerhound" (wrong color and size, but that's what the pound called it), and eventually got to the name of the clinic that implanted the chip in Mexico. For some reason, the manufacturer sent the same batch of chips to Mexico *and* Canada, but I found out that one went to Mexico. $300 for chipping a dog- and they never registered it. Sadly, 2-3 days' worth of effort went down the tubes when the dog was destroyed. He'd been in the pound long enough to get a respiratory infection before I could find someone who could translate; nobody at the clinic spoke English. Such a waste. As for cancer- it seems likely that many implantable objects run a risk of forming certain types of growths. It's been said that repeated injury to a given site- just jabbing yourself in the arm or hand, for example- runs a similar risk. A non-biological object lodged under the skin may foster that sort of thing. I suppose earlier models consisted of smooth glass or ceramic capsules; current models have differences in the surface to make sure they stay in place. One wonders if such surface modifications may increase the risk of cancer. It still doesn't sound like a great risk; if the lifetime risk is 1%, what's the risk of loss without the chip- particularly with sighthounds?

In theory. But it's an extra layer of protection. Virtually all shelters, veterinarians, pounds and (gah!) animal testing facilities can and will check for a chip. Chips are harder to remove; unlike tats, they cannot be "overwritten." Not that that sort of thing happens often, if at all. But if you live in an area where the pound doesn't see many racing greys, they might not know to check for tats. But they *will* scan them for a chip. If someone picks up a stray animal and they care enough not to send it to the pound first, they can take it to almost any vet and have it scanned. An individual off the street who finds your dog is most unlikely to know greys even have ear tats.

How's her weight? We have a bounce that the adoptive mommy noted he just kind of lost interest in food. I hemmed and hawed, as he'd always been such a piglet when he was here. He just kind of... lost interest in finishing his meals. We took care of him for a couple of weeks while she was on vacation, and it was plenty clear as to what had happened: he was full! Interestingly, you could still see his rearmost 2 ribs. She'd followed instructions closely, but he was heavy. We knocked him back 1/4 cup with each meal, and he was almost normal by the time she picked him up. Sadly, he bounced about a month later for personal reasons. He's now back to where he needs to be.

Hi! Welcome to GT. 1) Inappropriate elimination with no obvious cause is immediately a flag for UTI, as you've already noted. The vet visit should rule that in or out. 2) Perhaps you're already doing this, but lavish praise and reward is due for any dog that voids outside- versus, say, your carpet. The object is to make the "outside option" vastly more desirable than despoiling the living room carpet. 3) Be thankful she's not a Jack Russel terrier, or it'd be behind the armoire. 4) Anxiety is possible. We have a bounce at our house that started peeing *and* pooping because he apparently wasn't getting enough attention; mom was gone 9-10 hours a day, and despite walks in the morning and in the evening, he would still eliminate improperly (and frequently). Once he came here, he urinated on the carpet once- and it was witnessed, unlike every single event in his adoptive home. (We'd had him as a foster before AND after he got adopted out, so we've had a lot of time with him.) He seems to do vastly better with other dogs- he didn't like being an only dog, and the long hours alone didn't help any. It certainly could be one or more of the causes you note. If you haven't already, working on the praise-and-treat for voiding outside will certainly help- provided the cause isn't medical. Good luck!

Have you contacted your foster coordinator at the adoption agency? They may have specific recommendations as to what to do.

If he keeps licking it, get some baby socks and cover the wound. If it's 4" up, you may need something a bit longer than the toddler socks. Put the sock on, and use some 1/4" waterproof tape around the leg to hold it in place. Tape it about 1" from the top, then fold down the top of the sock so the roll covers the tape. Tape it again if they are *really* persistent about it. A small injury can become dramatically worse thanks to the licking these guys do on their thin skin. And, as Dave Barry once noted, about the only medical care dogs know is to lick!

Although hair is an ongoing thing, unless the skin is absolutely removed in that area and replaced with scar tissue, it'll grow back in with the next "wave" of hair growth. You might want to walk the yard and look for anything obvious- branches down, damage to the fence, a wire at a bad level- all of which is a good idea to do even if your hounds aren't getting scraped and injured. Ours fly around so fast, I wonder how they manage to keep their eyes from getting injured. We do the best we can to prune the trees so there's nothing within 6' of the ground, but the wind will occasionally knock a big dead branch out. A quick walk around the 'hood will take some of the edge off before they romp in the yard; just a few minutes might tucker them out just a bit. You might want to skip the hydrogen peroxide; although the fizzies it does make it look like it's doing something, it's also killing living cells- giving bacteria something to chew on. The Neosporin isn't a bad idea.

It certainly could be the stress of separation, particularly with a very sensitive animal. What do you normally feed?

Primor is composed of a sulfa drug (sulfadimethoxine) that is made more effective through the addition of ormetoprim. In this sense, it is very similar to sulfamethoxazole / trimethoprim, which is also known as Bactrim. There are something like 300 sulfa drugs, most of which are used synergestically with another drug. In the case of trimethoprim, a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor. Don't know about ormetoprim, but the name implies it probably works the same way as trimethoprim. Such drugs aren't just bacteriostatic (halting the growth and proliferation of bacteria), but bacteriocidal (killing bacteria). I suspect the culture and sensitivity also indicated that Bactrim (SXT/trimethoprim) also worked; Primor is probably still under patent, and I wouldn't want to guess how much it costs. Presumably there is a reason your vet chose Primor over Bactrim, and given the institution, it's probably a good one. As with virtually any drug, kidney and liver problems are possibilities. Sulfa drugs are *usually* well-tolerated. Out of curiosity, have you tried alcohol compresses on the staph? I've never seen this suggested or recommended, but bacteria have poor resistance to alcohol. A dermal infection would be particularly susceptible to exposure. If there are specific areas of the skin that are affected, you might try padding a cotton ball or paper towel (with 30% or 70% ethanol) on one or two small spots to see if they clear faster than a control. You'd probably have to hold it in place 5-15 minutes. Acne can be cleared up in this fashion, implying the alcohol can penetrate deep enough to disinfect. It doesn't seem to hurt human skin, but I have no idea how it might affect a dog. Good luck with Monty.

I don't own any, but I have some buddies that could sell you some!

I should also note we have him on Clavamox, an antibiotic. However, although there is some crossover between antibiotics and antifungals in *some* instances, I'm pretty sure it's 99% Coco's immune system and the anti-fungal. Here's an older picture, but he hasn't changed much since then. He slouches, so he doesn't photograph well!

Michigan state IF they are back to doing it by dialysis! Haven't had to send them a sample recently, so I don't know if they're back to doing it that way.

We've found that feeding raw food kept our Coco from wetting the floor while we were at work. For some reason, he drinks less AND urinates less on the raw diet. Does switching to feeding one big meal do anything for pups in this situation? In other words, one large meal for dinner, no food for breakfast? I'm thinking that kibble is "salty," and excreting that salt and water is where the urine is coming from. Or perhaps a much smaller breakfast, and a larger dinner to make up for the caloric difference. If it's not medical, perhaps a dietary change could help.

Well, the doctor wanted me to bring Coco in today, a week after first seeing him for the strange white stuff on his tongue, but given that his condition seems to be completely normal as of today, I just gave a quick call. She said to stay the course on antibiotics and anti-fungals, and c'mon in if anything changes. I'd like to pull him off the antibiotics (three weeks' worth seems a bit much, particularly that it's a fungal condition), but I know staying on the drugs for the entire time is the best thing to do. So- for future reference, if anybody else comes across this sort of thing: 1) Panic 2) Stop panicking 3) Go to the vet 4) Get an "I dunno" 5) Get pills (diflucan, please!) 6) Give pills with food 7) Notice how the yeast-y smell goes away after day 2-3 7a) Notice how the coughing that started the day before goes away after about 24 hours 8) Relax. Stop digging those fingernails into the armchair! For those who want to see the image that started it all: Still working on why his immune system went whack-o. I'm happy my gamble (skipping the gas anaesthesia and biopsy, go straight to meds, do not pass go, do not collect $200) was apparently the correct one. Perhaps this can be a learning experience for someone else, as I've not seen this before on Greytalk since I got here.

We've had that happen once or twice. Don't know if it was a bad dream or what, but it's tough to know what went on. There has also been an occasional paw entrapment in a cushion. They *really* don't like to wake up to that. Ack!

Beef heart! I get a good-sized piece of raw beef heart and put a slit in it. Stuff the pills inside. A chunk up to 2" on a side (and sometimes much more!) is swallowed in one piece by our dogs. If not familiar with it, they may chew it, but a smaller piece may work.