GreytNut

I would suggest putting in a call to the vet. Most likely all you'll have to deal with is screaming diarrhea, but the possibility of pancreatitis is nothing to fool around with.

Save the ends of your vegetables when you're cooking (obviously make sure they're OK first - no onions!) Mine love asparagus ends. They can hear an asparagus stalk snap from the next county. Also cucumber ends and strawberry tops. You can feed green beans, fresh or frozen (or low-sodium canned). Those are all very low calorie. You can also purchase smaller dog biscuits or break the larger ones into pieces. I get the Natural Balance cookies for tiny dogs. Riley doesn't care that he's getting a small treat... he just cares that he's getting a treat. And if you have to, chase that dog around the yard. That's what we did with Tiny. The poor guy came to us so overweight that he could not walk without gasping for air. We got him in shape with a combination of strict food rations, limiting treats and using low-calorie treats, and walking him/chasing him around until he literally ran his butt off. ETA: You might try a lure pole for back yard play time. He'll have so much fun chasing the toy that he won't realize he's exercising.

Absolutely show the previous photos to the vet. They will want to know what it looked like. Please keep us posted!

The vet will probably palpate him to look for sources of pain or discomfort. If he doesn't, I would ask him to so you can confirm or rule out pain/arthritis. Bloodwork sounds like an excellent idea too. Most likely it's the weight gain itself. Greyhounds have such a slender frame that carrying even just a few extra pounds causes difficulties or exacerbates existing problems. I have to really watch it with Riley because he's an "easy keeper" and has arthritis in his hips from an old injury. The second he starts to gain weight I notice his movements become stiffer. Charlie will probably feel better when he's back to his ideal weight. ETA: Ditto on adding vegetables to his food to help him feel full (or for treats). Asparagus ends make great low-cal treats too and are a big hit around here.

Pig ears are much beloved by my crew. No problems so far. I know that some cuts of pork are very fatty (and yes, excessive fat can certainly cause pancreatitis), but I was under the impression that the ears were mostly skin, cartilage and connective tissue.

This is very common in older spayed females. A hormone like DES should put a stop to it. Raven gets a DES tablet twice a week and for the last few years has had no more dribbles.

That would definitely concern me too, but he should be fine until Monday. Agree about prepping him for possible surgery on that day, as the vet may want to immediately remove it. Good luck!

Raven does this. I think it makes her feel more secure when she can see me. My confident hounds have not needed to have me in sight at all times... just an occasional check-in to see what I'm up to and make sure I'm still there. But Raven follows me from room to room and watches every move I make. She is timid and submissive, and it seems to be more of a needy thing than actual stalking. I call her my co-dependent hound.

If you can't block access to the area where the trees are (such as with T-posts and snow fencing), then a muzzle with a poop cup should do the trick. If management can resolve the problem that would be a heck of a lot better than cutting down the trees. I could see them possibly eating the fruit if they tried it and decided they liked it, but I doubt they'll eat the leaves. That's mostly a problem for livestock because they pick up leaves--usually unintentionally--while they are grazing. Maple trees are problematic for the same reason. But with the exception of occasional grass-eating, greyhounds don't spend their days grazing under trees. I have cherry trees in my yard and I've never had any kind of problem. Mine haven't even tried to eat the fruit but I would muzzle them if I saw them do it.

Vaccines offer valuable protection against diseases that are far easier to prevent than to treat. I've seen dogs with parvo and distemper and it's horrible. However, I do think that yearly vaccination is unnecessary and probably does more harm than good. I've been a big fan of titering whenever possible and just doing the 3-year rabies shot as required by law. I titered Argus and Raven for 5 years straight for DHPP and their antibodies never dropped below acceptable levels, indicating that 5 years after receiving their DHPP booster they still had immunity. However, since moving to South Dakota I've gotten a lot of grief from vets about this. South Dakota requires rabies every 2 years and the vets are adamant about doing DHPP every single year. No titering. It drives me nuts.

Bribery and distraction work wonders. Riley is the same way. He has threatened to take a chunk out of me on more than one occasion when doing his nails, once going so far as to lunge and snap at my face. He stopped about a half inch from my nose, but the message was crystal clear. So I took a muzzle with a poop cup, slathered creamy peanut butter inside the cup, put the muzzle on him and went to work on his nails. He was so busy licking the peanut butter out of the cup that he ignored me, more or less. So that's how we do it now. Even if he does get cranky I'm protected, but usually the PB lasts for just the right amount of time to get his nails done.

I had a cat with this condition. The only real fix was to have all of her teeth pulled. That sounds drastic, but it's a heck of a lot easier for them to deal with having no teeth than to live with constant pain.

Poor Sammie! What an experience for all of you! You've got to check the girl parts, too. Several years back Raven apparently got pyometra even though she's spayed, which was a complete surprise. According to the e-vet we saw the uterine stump can become infected, though it's very rare. The first sign that something was off was that she had unusual vaginal discharge. If it had been allowed to progress it would have become life-threatening.

The only incorrigible marker I've had was a little female. My boys have been clean as whistles. The worst I've had is a couple of accidents right when they first got home and didn't yet know the rules. I have found boys to be big love sponges and girls to be a little more aloof. Both are great. It comes down to personal preference and the individual hound.

Man, what an awful thing to come home to. I'm sorry. FWIW, even muzzled dogs can kill a cat. It only takes one good whack with a paw to break a cat's spine. The only truly safe solution is to keep dogs and cats absolutely separated when you are not immediately around to supervise. And cats and greyhounds can live safely together for years and then suddenly have an unfortunate incident. Even my "bomb-proof" hounds have always been separated from the cats when I leave the house. Now that Riley's here and more cat workable than really cat safe, I put the cats in their room even just to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately kittens are a different story from adult cats. They're tiny, they squeak and make quick darting movements, they have no sense of self-preservation and tend to do dumb stuff like jumping on a hound's head while it is sleeping. Until they're fully grown, they are much more attractive to any hound with an ounce of prey drive. I have an energetic Oriental Shorthair who, at 11 years old, still behaves more like a kitten and I have to really watch Riley around her. It's constant vigilance with Evita. Squeak is much more cautious and seems to have Riley's number. She gives him a wide berth and doesn't make sudden moves around him. A lot depends on the individual cat and the individual hound, but I never completely relax my guard. I am so sorry this happened to you and Tia. You've lived one of my worst nightmares.

I'm another one in the don't worry too much camp unless he's truly emaciated, and it doesn't sound like he is. Your guy is in the scrawny adolescent phase. Besides, they are supposed to be lean machines. I like to be able to see the points of the hip bones, a faint outline of the spine--he shouldn't look like a stegosaurus--and 2 or 3 ribs (though the rib thing can vary based on the hound's build). It's hard on a greyhound to carry much excess weight. Alas, there are so many tubby greyhounds that your vet may be accustomed to seeing that.

I would read the ingredient list. If the cake has xylitol in it (since it's a diet food, it may) then that is cause for concern. If there are no artificial sweeteners, I wouldn't worry too much.

Thanks. Inquiring minds wanted to know how big a door was needed for a reeeally big grey.

I had a 10.5 x 15 with a 12 inch rise for many years. Worked fine for 80+ pound boys, a petitie girl (she'd put a rear foot on the bottom and hop through) and Poodle and the terrier who hop through like circus dogs. I got a new back door and the same size door last year but put it on a 9 inch rise as Bella was having mobility problems and there was no big boy. Then two months later came my pony Buddy and I had to put in a bigger door. I have a VERY gently used Ideal 10.5 X 15 through the door dog door I keep meaning to put on Craigslist. What size is the new door, and how big is Buddy?

If he's not a jumper and the spacing of the slats (including the space between the bottom rail and the ground) is narrow enough that your arm has trouble squeezing through, it's probably OK. Make double sure that the gate is securely latched and that someone doesn't come along and open it while he's playing. In her younger days Raven was nicknamed the Rubber Dog because of her ability to escape from nearly anything so I can certainly understand the concern. If you don't feel comfortable with it, don't take the chance. None of us are actually there to see the fence and photos can be deceptive. P.S. Many dogs will eat happily eat horse poop. This can be a problem for many reasons. You are probably already well aware of that but just in case....

Some hounds are toy lovers and some aren't. My first three hounds had little to no interest in toys. Argus would pile them up and guard them but never played with them. Raven has never shown much interest. Tiny would play once in a blue moon but only if he thought no one was watching. Riley is a maniac and started enthusiastically playing with toys on his first day home. It's fun to finally have a hound who really enjoys stuffies. Your hound may discover toys on his own or with some gentle encouragement. Or not. But don't worry about it either way... there's nothing wrong with him if he doesn't play with them. ETA: Try different kinds of toys. Some of them squeak, some crinkle, some giggle. Some have interesting textures. Some are big and floppy (those are the ones Riley loves best). If stuffies don't get him playing, you might try a clutch ball or lure pole (outside, of course). The only toy that really excited Tiny was a partially deflated basketball. He loved that silly thing.

With regard to PetMeds and online pharmacies, when I worked for a vet we heard a lot of complaints that customers were receiving stuff like a year's supply of Heartgard that was only 2 months away from expiring, and were also told that their warehouses were often not climate controlled (many medications are temperature-sensitive). I don't know if that's still true but since it's only a few bucks more at the vet's office I prefer to buy it there and eliminate the doubt. This year we haven't needed to use anything at all. Fleas don't do well in western South Dakota and the ticks haven't been bad. Usually I do Frontline Plus during the summer months. When we move to Indiana we may need to rethink that.

Me too. I adopted Riley because he was a good match for us. When I saw Gable Dodge in his pedigree I went forward anyway even after losing a previous Gable pup to osteo and suspecting that the line was prone to it. There's a whole lot of good to be said for Gable dogs... I have observed that they tend to be very smart and have great personalities. There are no guarantees in life. Riley might never develop osteo. It would be a shame to turn down a perfectly good dog because he may or may not succumb to a specific disease. Every dog will die of something. All large breeds with a lot of bone are susceptible to osteo. I seem to recall that Rottweilers actually have the highest incidence, if memory serves. But by and large, most of the health problems that plague other purebred dogs have been bred out of greyhounds. For example, you almost never hear of a greyhound with hip dysplasia. I suspect that because many of the other health problems have been weeded out, it probably appears that osteo is more of an issue than it really is since it's one of the few left. I will continue to adopt greyhounds because I love the breed. I'll continue to choose individuals regardless of pedigree. And if research is indeed able to isolate the specific gene that causes osteo and determine whether or not a potential sire and dam carry it, perhaps we can greatly reduce (if not completely eliminate) osteo in our hounds.

Argus (Gable Republic) had osteo. He was a Gable Dodge pup. He had Wigwam Wag on both sides. Tiny (EL Tiny) also had osteo. He was an HB's Commander grandpup. Raven (TV Fat Fanny) is 12 1/2 and no osteo. She doesn't have any of those in her pedigree. No Onie Jones either. Wonder if that's coincidence. Riley (TNJ Matador) is a Gable Dodge grandpup. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.... I understand not wanting to hurt the adoption chances of retired racers, but if the findings of the study remain a secret, won't breeders keep using those lines and passing on the genes to more generations?

Osteo is a cruel SOB. I've lost two of my boys to it. The first hound Argus was a poor candidate for amputation because it was already in his lungs and because he had a very low tolerance for difficult procedures. He was our "drama queen." He lived 2 weeks post-diagnosis before his leg swelled up like a stuffed tube sock and for the first time ever he wouldn't eat a hot dog. All the light had gone out of his eyes and I think I waited too long to let him go. Tiny's cancer was not only in the shoulder but in the surrounding bone. He was a trooper and he held up longer than Argus did, about 2 months. He never did stop eating and he still seemed to take pleasure in life. I wonder if I let him go too soon. Argus's pain management included Deramaxx, Tramadol and morphine extended release. Tiny's protocol was Rimadyl, Tramadol and Gabapentin. In both cases I increased the meds as their pain increased, until I was giving them ridiculous amounts of medication. At that point I was forced to consider that if I had to give them enough pain meds to knock an elephant into oblivion, it was probably time to think about letting them go. One thing that I think helped Tiny last longer was that he was very careful with his bad leg. At first he ran around the yard and played like he always had, with just a bit of a limp afterward and eventually I had to restrict his activity. As things progressed he seemed to know that there was danger there and that he shouldn't test it. He stopped running and did not put any weight on it if he could help it. I don't think your boy broke a bone. I suspect he experienced "breakthrough pain." He banged his leg hard enough to hurt right through the meds. But if it was broken he'd be screaming and you wouldn't be able to comfort him. Amputation, should you choose to go that route, would eliminate that concern for a while. Eventually the beast will rear its ugly head again, but it may (hopefully) buy him some quality time. Your choice is a sorry rotten miserable one to have to make. ETA: Osteo does age them amazingly quickly.... Tiny shortly after he was diagnosed, still feeling good and not realizing anything is wrong. 7 Shortly before I let him go.