Sighthounds4me

And after you remove the tick, drop it into a bottle or dish of rubbing alcohol. Alcohol is one of the few substances that will kill the little suckers. We keep an apothocary type jar with a little alcohol in it for just such an occasion.

In addition to what breed, what is the severity of the HD? I know of many HD dogs who have been diagnosed early in life, but have done fine. With proper exercise, the hips can stay very muscular, therefore reducing the pain and instability. But it really depends on the severity of the HD - a dog with greater severity is less likely to do well.

You and Black Jack are in my thoughts and prayers!

Agreed, and we also keep a natural flea shampoo spray on hand. They are both neem-based.

In my opinion, it really depends on what you encounter. I used prevention early last spring/summer, mainly for ticks (DH and I are birders, so we are in the woods a lot in spring during migration. We had found a few on ourselves.). But after about June, I did not use any flea/tick prevention at all. I did see a couple wood ticks on my guys, but nothing major. And sisnce I groom the boys often, I know I will see fleas if there are any...

Well, considering what I have been through recently with a boy, I don't think I should be happy that I have boys, either! But yes, I suspect you made Happy erm...happy.

Clavamox is expensive. If I'm not mistaken, cephalexin (generic) is usually preferred for dentals, and is far, far cheaper. We often get icky tummy from cephalexin, though, so we make sure to always give intestinal probiotics in conjunction with antibiotice. Give the probiotics about an hour before the meds, though, or the abx will kill the good bacteria, too. Oh, and, you can get cephalexin at your local pharmacy too. And if you want, Clavamox is the same thing as the human med Augmentin, but the dosages are different. Often, Augmentin is a lot less expensive, though.

If you brush daily, and the dog will let you scale, you should be able to avoid many problems. But some Greys have bad teeth, no matter what you do. My Naples is notorious. I admit that I am not as vigilant with her as I should be, but I do brush a few times a week. Still, she needs yearly dentals, and always loses teeth. That's the way things go sometimes... As for reasons, I'm sure much is genetic, but much also has to do with the high protien, soft diet they are fed at the track. I do know that my old guy, Gunnar, had horrible teeth when he came to us (we adopted him at 9), but I had been in contact with the adopter of one of his litter-brothers. She is a vet tech, and told me her boy never needed a dental after the first one upon retirement. So obviously, Gunnar's teeth had been neglected. I do believe that he'd have had good teeth if he'd have been kept up.

Well, I'm not sure about snot, but urine is yellow as a result of bilirubin (a by-product of bile, resulting from normal digestion), IIRC. And blood is red because of hemoglobin. You asked! Sorry - in a smart-alec mood tonight!! OK I can buy that. So why is bilirubin yellow and why is hemoglobin red? How did I know you were gonna go there?! Ummmm...yes?

Well, I'm not sure about snot, but urine is yellow as a result of bilirubin (a by-product of bile, resulting from normal digestion), IIRC. And blood is red because of hemoglobin. You asked! Sorry - in a smart-alec mood tonight!!

It can be. Naples' optigook is usually brownish, especially if it's dried by the time I get to it.

What about cutting an old pair of pantyhose to fit? You can cut a hole for the other ear, too.

Thank God she's better now! I was really worried for a bit, there!

Knock on wood, the tape has foiled her so far. I'm sure she'll figure it out, but the bandages I put on yesterday are staying put at this point! Thanks for all the help, guys!

I don't think so. We've been leash walking her, and I have been watching her gait. She's not limping, and she keeps trying to run. We do have Rimadyl for her, but I don't want to give it to her...she needs to know her limits, because that's the type she is. If she does not feel the pain, she WILL overdo it, despite our best efforts to prevent her. It sounds cruel, but that's reality. And, we gave her Rimadyl the first niday ght, and next after the surgery (she had gotten a pain injection at the time of the surgery), and her tummy was a little upset. With the antibiotics she's on also, I don't want to push the stomach too far.

Update, please!

Naples always loses teeth during dentals. This year, it was 6. For her, we soften her kibble with water for several days to a week after the dental. A friend of mine has a 13 year old Shar Pei, who she adopted last year. He has three teeth in his head, but that does not stop him! He eats like a pro, and does not need his food softened! (His name is Wilbur, but we affectionately call him "Furniture." He rarely moves, until someone grabs car keys! )

Tried the sock in the past. It takes her longer, but she still gets it off. It is her front legs - she had dew-claws taken off, after a big tear over the weekend. I didn't want to do it, because I have heard it causes a lot of pain (from a vet friend of mine, among other folks), but she had really banged it up this time. Small tears are one thing, but this was a dislocation, as well as torn skin. Either way, she'd have had to be bandaged, so off came the joints. We opted to do both, figuring if she's gonna be laid up anyway, we'll do it all. And, she has also developed a taste for the bitter sprays. She thinks they are condiments. Besides, with her muzzle on, I think she is just working the bandages with the muzzle, rather than her mouth. I agree, I think I will just duct-tape her mouth shut! Okay, not really. But I am tempted!

Does anyone have good suggestions on how to keep a determined Greyhound from removing her leg bandages? Last night, somehow, she managed to remove her bandage, and I have no clue how. She is wearing a kennel muzzle with a poop cup!!!! I would have taken a bet that she would not have been able to do this! So she did so again while we were at work today, so I re-wrapped when I got home. I had stopped off at the drug store, and gotten narrower Coban (human version of vet wrap, and not colorful), and wide tape. I had some waterproof, aka STICKY, tape here already, so I vet-wrapped, then paper-taped to her leg, then waterproof taped over that... I am supervising closely, because she has already tried to go after the bandage. I don't want to use a cone if I don't have to... ARGH! Why do these beasts need to be so intelligent when we DON'T want them to be?!

Little girl is home and resting. She lost 6 more teeth! It's a wonder she has any left! Poor girlie. But she's sacked out in her crate, enduring the boys' sniffing (She smells funny, Mom!). Front legs are wrapped, of course. She'll be on antibiotics for three weeks, but it won't stop her!

We've always used one tablet per dose. We use the 10 mg tablet, and have also used up to two tablets per day, as needed.

I know that ticked dogs get more and more ticking over time. My boys are a good example (though they are not Greys). They both have developed more and more ticking, especially on the front legs, over the last couple years. Manero actually has some on the bottoms of his feet now, right next to the pads, which can make it "fun" to trim the hair!

Poor kid - I went to change the bandage last night, and really hurt her. I poured on a ton of saline to loosen the blood, and un-stick the gauze. It worked, but I needed to keep adding more saline. She was NOT happy! Thank goodness we muzzled her, because she did try to bite me! I can't blame her! So now, her bandage is much looser (I had put on the first one fairly tightly, to stop bleeding, and provide support), and narower, so it's not down over the pad. Then we both got Rescue Remedy!

Oh, and I meant to say also, we are probably going to have the vet take both of them off at the same time: prevents injury in the future, and if she's going to be laid up anyway, may as well take advantage.

Manero (non-Grey) did that a couple years ago, in our backyard. I had him and his brother outside ona beautiful early March day, and heard a yelp. I went outside, thinking Cooper had done something, because he is always hurting himself. Instead, Manero cam to me with a foot covered in blood. Turned out he had severed an artery, and required 5 skin sutures. It was not pretty. He healed fine, and has had no further effects.