GreytNut

Oh, yes. Argus especially was the worst about this. When we were bringing him home from the kennel and he was riding in a car for the first time, DH almost ran off the road because his eyes were stinging so bad. We had to roll all the windows down. Also have noticed that they blow their coats when they're anxious, like on trips to the vet.

Hoping for many more pain-free days.

Oh, no.

What a little sweetheart. I'm sorry you lost her, especially so soon after losing Maverick.

Argus came to us in July of 2004. He was our first greyhound. Confident, bold and brassy, he charmed the socks off everyone he met. He marched up to total strangers and demanded that they fall down in worship before him. He was extraordinarily beautiful—even for a greyhound—and humans and canines alike stopped for a second look. He knew he was gorgeous, too. He would lie in front of a mirror and gaze lovingly into his own eyes. He could be bossy, possessive and greedy. In a human these traits would have been deplorable. With Argus… well, you just had to laugh. But he also had a soft side. He loved to snuggle. He couldn’t fit in our laps, so he made do with shoving his head into our armpits. He did a wildly exaggerated ticklebutt dance. He was always a little bit afraid of the dark. He adored his beloved Floppy Cow and his Watermelon Blankie. Sometimes, just sometimes, he would allow Raven to snuggle in bed with him. He was Raven’s strength and courage. She followed him everywhere, took his cues for everything she did from eating to going potty, watched him greet strangers to make sure they weren’t going to eat her… and completely fell apart when I once made the mistake of taking him to a vet appointment and left her home alone. He was her guardian angel. Argus was an almost eerily intelligent dog. Most of that brainpower was directed toward the procurement of food. He learned to open the refrigerator by watching me do it, forced me to spell out the names of certain treat items (until he learned to spell them, too, and G-R-E-E-N-I-E no longer worked) and once tried to barter me a stuffed toy carrot for some hamburger meat. You could see the intelligence in those huge, beautiful eyes. As a friend said upon first meeting him, “My God, those eyes just look right through you.” At the young age of seven, he was stricken with osteosarcoma. It started with a slight limp which at first I doubted was even real. He was the consummate drama queen, and once came limping to me for a biscuit after I accidentally closed his ear in the bathroom door. But this time he wasn’t acting. From the first signs of limping to an emaciated, pain-ravaged wreck with his leg so grotesquely swollen that it looked like a stuffed tube sock… only two weeks. I still can’t believe it. On Halloween he was “helping” us pass out candy in his little Hogwarts hat… and now he’s gone. He isn’t hurting anymore, but Raven, DH and I are all heartbroken. Raven is a basketcase. She went with us to the vet because she can't be left alone, and the techs fussed over her and kept her distracted in another room while we did what we had to do. Guess it was kind of silly to think she wouldn't know anyway. When we got back from the vet she went into the yard, lay down and wouldn't get back up. She and I are going this weekend to try to find her another guardian angel. He/she is going to have some big shoes to fill. I wish we could be happy that we’re giving another hound a home, but we really just want our boy back. Perhaps he will send Raven her angel.

Carrier looks great. It's amazing how quickly he's healing, and how happy he seems. If things had gone differently and the cancer hadn't already escaped into his lungs, we would have opted for the same treatment protocol for Argus. Good luck to you and Carrier. I hope he has many more happy, healthy years ahead of him.

It's hard.

It's hard to watch a much-loved pet go into decline and know that you can't do anything about it.

It really is mind-boggling how fast they can go from apparently healthy to desperately ill, isn't it? We too opted not to go for a biopsy, as the x-rays were very clear and bone biopsies are very hard on a dog. The vet did do a fine needle aspirate of the fluid around his swollen joint which further supported his diagnosis. Glad to hear that the pain meds are doing the trick for Snowman. That is so important. It's great that he's still well enough to go to fun events and enjoy life. Make the moments count.

Holy cow, that's scary. It could be sleep aggression, I guess... but it really doesn't sound like it. What you describe sounds more like a fit, either a seizure or some sort of brain disorder or tumor. Has he been vaccinated for rabies? If not, or if you have any doubts, get thee to a doctor ASAP just to be on the safe side. You can prevent infection if you get shots right away, but there's no effective treatment once symptoms start. Hypothyroidism can also cause aggression, though I haven't heard of anyone whose dog has gone completely over the top like Gabe did. Just a T4 alone is pretty near useless in diagnosing it, so demand a full thyroid panel. An extremely thorough examination by the vet would be a very good idea. IMHO, your vet doesn't sounds like he's doing much to rule out medical issues before assuming it's a behavioral problem. Be careful. Don't let him sleep in the room with you, and use his turnout muzzle. I hope you're both feeling better (and safer!) very soon.

You can use a human dose of Imodium tablets to treat diarrhea in greyhounds (probably half that or less for a small dog, though you should call your vet to find out the correct dosage), but I have found that red raspberry leaf capsules work much better. You can get them at most health food or vitamin stores. I give two of them a couple of times a day during bouts of diarrhea and it works like a charm. For a smaller dog, maybe only give one capsule at a time. FWIW, I've had decidedly mixed results with Imodium and pumpkin. Bonus: Red raspberry leaf also works for humans and alleviates diarrhea and menstrual cramps with remarkable speed and effectiveness. ETA: It's a good idea to get the owner's permission before dosing him with anything.

Oh no! I'm sorry. It sounds like he had a long, good life and was much-loved. Doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye though.

It's probably just fine. If it's not better in a couple of days, take her to the vet and have it looked at. That she's not acting "off" in any other way is good. They do frequently get soft tissue injuries, sometimes from something as simple as stepping on a rock. But if it doesn't resolve itself, don't let it go.

Don't know what advice to offer, going through something similar right now and equally confused. I do suspect they have good days and bad days during the course of an illness, and maybe Peatie's having a rough day and just needs to rest. I can see how it would be hard to tell the difference between him having a bad day and him being ready to throw in the towel. Maybe he will "tell" you when he's ready to leave. Good luck and hugs to you.

Ask the vet about Metacam. It tastes dreadful to them and it can be a challenge to get it down, but it seems to really work wonders!

Whoa, that's spooky. It could be coyotes, could be a loose or feral dog. As Meakah pointed out, it's also possible that the others were freaked out by the intruder and turned on her in a fit of misplaced aggression. Hopefully all is quiet soon, and Jax is quickly on the mend! Makes you want to put those little spy cameras around your house, doesn't it?

Thank you for giving her a home to enjoy the final months of her life in. It can be hard to take in a senior, knowing they may not be with you for very long, but they deserve that love as much as any other hound.

I'm sorry you lost your little ones. There's just something special about those little "eeps" and the house sounds too quiet without them. I still miss mine. Just because they're small doesn't mean the loss is.

I'm sorry for the loss of your Scooterman. He was a special guy. There was a pic you posted of him a long time ago with him all dressed up in Mardi Gras beads with a great big happy grin on his face, and that's what I remember when I think of him.

The vets I worked for would do simple procedures such as vaccinations, exams or microchips in the room with the owner. That gave the owner a chance to ask any questions and to observe the vet's (or tech's) manner with their pet. The owners always had the choice to be present or not with euthanasias. As a pet owner, I think anything that can be done in the exam room should be, as I too want that opportunity to question and observe. But... we always took the pets back to the treatment room for difficult or potentially upsetting stuff. Blood draws are hard to do because the pet will frequently jump around, and you're trying to tap a vein (sometimes the jugular). Not something you want to mess up because you're distracted. When a pet is sedated, their eyes are open but glazed over and they appear to be dead. Many pet owners would find it a distressing sight. Some stuff is just plain gross, like anal gland expression. And some owners are "back seat drivers." They'll either tell the techs or doctor how to do whatever it is they're doing, or they'll coo at the pet, trying to comfort it... and the pet will obligingly go NUTS. Generally it's not a matter of secrecy or shiftiness... it's just quicker, easier and less stressful for all involved to take the pet to the back and do what needs to be done.

Oh, no! What is the vet's plan for treatment? Big hugs to you and Scooter-Man.

FWIW, if it helps, many vet hospitals accept Care Credit. It's like a credit card, only it can only be used at vet's offices, dentists or doctors. They often have special promotions, i.e., no interest for a year while you pay it back, which can really help. You can apply at your vet's office or online. When I worked for the vet, it helped a lot of our clients to pay for procedures they would otherwise have been unable to afford. Best wishes for you and Phillie.

Vet. The type of candle and materials used to make it would be the determining factor in whether or not it was toxic. A plain unscented beeswax candle... most likely okay. A paraffin candle with lots of colors and fragrances... maybe not. Since she's showing obvious discomfort, I'd err on the side of caution and take her in while you have the day off.

It's cheap insurance. Collars can fall off or be removed, and NGA tats only work if the person finding the dog knows what to do with them or if your dog is registered to you through the NGA. If your dog is stolen, it's proof that the dog belongs to you. Microchipping is simple, quick, and despite the big scary needle doesn't seem all that painful. Mine barely flinched. Usually you're handed the registration paperwork to fill out and send to the microchip company (some companies will let you do it online) along with any applicable registration fee. It's important to do that, because otherwise all that microchip is is a number... no personal info is actually contained within the chip itself. When you register your pet with the service, they keep that number and your personal info in their database so that if they're called because someone found/scanned your pet, the company can then notify you.

That's happened a couple of times with Argus. He apparently had a Charley horse and woke up shrieking. Scared us half to death. He eventually calmed down and went back to sleep. Hopefully that's all it is.