sobesmom

Mods please close the thread. The question has been answered.

A couple years ago my vet put my Diana on Prion for occasional suspected urine leakage while sleeping. His thought was "older females just have this". Not good. I stopped it after a few days. She stopped eating completely (one of the possible side-effects) and just started acting very weird. I decided that we'd either go to another med or used panties on her at night. Turns out, she wasn't "leaking" at all - it was her OCD licking causing wet-spots. Now, as she aged more she "did" have a few night-time accidents, but nothing to put her on meds over. In your case - I think there is an issue. I'd ask for a different drug though. I just don't trust Prion. And, I'd consider getting bad-girl pants and using pads or liners in them. They will get the moisture away from her and help prevent infection.

I don't like the look of that. If the vet thinks it's nothing, I'd do something to stop him itching at it. I hate cones, but maybe that would work. Socks on his front feet might be an option.

"better a day too soon than late," - I quoted you to my DH when we were making the decision. We decided it was time. Made an appointment, and the day before the day of the appointment came she fell and couldn't get up. DD called me at work, I came home, stopping at the vet's on the way, to ask for a tranquilizer until our appointment the next morning. He would have given it to me, but offered to take her in then. When I got home she was lying comfortably on her bed. But I called DH and we took her. It was very peaceful, and I think the right thing to do.

My Diana went to the bridge Tuesday. Diana came to us as a foster when she was just 2 years old. Far too young, small and female for my preference, but that's the way it goes sometimes. She turned out to be the most un-greyhound-like grey I've ever met. She was a lab puppy with stripes. She never met a person she didn't love, a place she didn't want to go or a trashcan she wouldn't dive into. Needless to say, she didn't stay a foster for long. She was my only foster "fail" and I don't regret it for a minute. She was the "real dog" my DH wanted, the companion Sobe needed, and the sweetie that just fit in. She never had a fear or phobia in her life. If something new happened - she'd be the curious one checking it out. Her big brother Sobe would run and hide, and Diana would check out whatever was fun and new. They were great friends. Never cuddly, but each others' shadows. Diana cured Sobe of SA. Sobe cured Diana of excessive jumping, stepping on him, and basically all rude puppy behaviors . They were quite the partners in crime. Sobe would shoulder away the chair I'd prop in front of the cupboard that held the trashcan, Diana would paw it open, Sobe would pull out the can, and they'd share the spoils. They were a daunting combo of brains, brawn and finesse. And the "refrigerator incident"! Oh, what a mess they made of my house!!! When Sobe passed a few years ago, Diana powered on, as comfortable on her own as with a companion. She loved little kids. Whenever any came to visit she'd get SO excited. She loved to kiss them and make them squeal. I always joked that I could drop her off at a daycare center and she'd be in heaven. She was so gentle with people with special needs. She just "knew". She was a jumper when she was younger, but never on older people or kids. She did great around wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. She would put her head on the lap of people in wheelchairs for pets, and on several occasions took very vigorous petting/thumping from kids with muscle control issues and was fine with it. She'd have been a great therapy dog. She was a world-class cuddler. Furniture was her love. Bed, couch, rocking recliner that no other dog dared get into, she loved them all. Wherever we say or layed, she was there. I wake up in the night now wondering why I'm able to move without my legs or shoulder pinned down. Diana loved the vet's office. She thought that was SUCH a fun place to go. And they loved her there. There wasn't a dry eye in the place Tuesday. She was lying down, just so tired, but thumped her tail when her vet and techs came in. Loving to the end. I could tell stories all day long. It's been a GREYT 10 years. I won't regret that I lost her. I rejoice because I had her.

Yep, sounds like Sunday brunch at our house back in the good ole days. Sobe could take down 4 eggs (over easy, thank you), toast, and my leftover sausage no prob. Diana, less because she's a dainty lady! Oh, she prefers hers scrambled. Oh a regular basis (not a weekend splurge), I'd have no issue giving any dog an egg per day. It's a perfect protein. If you get one that will eat the shell - even better. Mine liked hard-boiled, in the shell. I only gave those outside in nice weather. MESSY!!! But good fun!

Oh - I've never heard that! Huh. Guess I was just spouting the party line. That happens sometimes.

That's absolutely NOT a dumb question. You are new to this. The best thing you can do is ask! IMHO - prey drive does not equate to issues with children. Greys recognize children as humans, and won't see them as prey. That said - there can be a real issue with greys with small kids. Many groups won't place a grey in a home with small children. Racing greys were NOT raised around kids. They don't understand exactly what they are. Some greys are very afraid of children. Some treat them like small adults. Many will not tolerate a child's curiosity. If a child hugs a grey around the neck - it might snap. If it pulls it's tail - it might snap. If a child goes to visit a grey on its bed - it might snap. Children love to get close to dogs. New greys are NOT USED TO THAT. Most of them will startle - and either run away or snap. A snap to you or me is no big deal. A snap when your face is the same height as the dog's IS a big deal. That's a bite to the face. And a bite to a child's face means terrible things for your dog. So -MONITOR. Talk to the kids and talk to the parents. Lay down the ground rules, and separate and supervise. Be overly-cautious. My brother had kids 4 and 6 that were "great" with their dog. I didn't let them in the same room as my grey. They were too rough on dogs, and my Sobe wouldn't have handled it. My DIana - was FINE with them. It depends on the dog. Be CAREFUL until you figure it out.

You've all helped with amazing info, research sites and experience as we've dealt with Diana's kidney disease. We've had some changes in the last couple weeks. She stopped eating. We've tempted her with darn near anything. Sometimes she'll eat a smidge, sometimes not. My friend made her up a venison-burger, rice, and no-salt broth dish that she actually ate! Then ... didn't. She's loosing weight fast. She lays around and barely even goes outside. And in the last few days - she's started vomiting. Twice now in 3 days. I'm taking her back to the vet Monday. But, where are we? Really? She also has a secondary issue - nerve damage that wiped out the muscle above her right eye, and in the last 2 weeks totally took the muscles below the eye. She has just a cheekbone sticking out on that side now, and her eye is obviously compromised so she's becoming leery when she walks around. She's still happy. She loves pets, and gets excited when anyone pulls in the driveway. She doesn't appear to be in any pain, other than a bit shaky and stiff. She loves her couch, and our bed at night, although she paces around to get herself worked up to jump up there. (I've tried to help her up and she won't have that! Also - she can't do steps so that's a no-go to try to get her in the bed easier). I think I'll start sleeping on an air mattress on the livingroom floor so she doesn't feel "obligated" to jump up on the bed. She still might though! She's got her spunk! Last time I had her at the vet he said to keep her comfortable, feed her the best kidney appropriate foods we could get into her, and it was a toss-up if the kidney failure or the nerve issue would send her to the brink first. He was very surprised that she was doing so well with the nerve damage being so severe, and that was before it took the lower muscles. I took a hard look at her tonight. She's SO thin. All her ribs are sticking out, and her hip-bones. Her face is a mess, her eye is a mess. If I saw this dog not knowing her - I'd wonder what horrible owner she had. My Sobe told me when it was time to go. He just couldn't move one day. I sat on the floor, he layed down and put his head in my lap, and I KNEW that was his day to go. I'm not so sure DIana will be as obvious.

My DH tried to pry a dead rabbit out of my Sobe's jaws years ago. That didn't work at all. I finally walked out with his food dish and poured kibble into it - that worked. Training "leave it" works for some, not all. Worse case scenario - if your dog eats the rabbit, he'll be fine, provided he's had his shots. It's what they do.

Ok - I agree with everyone else - you need a full medical screening. If everything medical comes up negative - I think you need to do house-training 101. You need to shampoo all your carpets to get the scent out, then tether-train.

There are things you can do. Search my threads. You can change your dog's diet and prolong quality of life.

Thanks all. Really good advice, and I appreciate it. I'm going to get her back to the vet for bloodwork as soon as I can get in. I really think she needs a phosphate binder. She's got "death breath" again like before she was diagnosed, so the toxins are building up. We're still trying to give her inventive low-phosphate, low salt and additive foods. The weird thing is - she's acting totally normal. Tail-wagging, interested in everything. Her energy level has dropped again. She sleeps a lot. She doesn't act hungry at all (but she must be). She's still her happy, outgoing self. No signs of pain or discomfort, no nausea. I did manage to interest her in peanut butter. Back when my first dog had SA we'd give him an almost-empty jar of peanut butter when we left. I tried this with Diana and she had a blast licking it out of the jar, and got a few calories in her belly. She had so much fun rolling it around and licking it out. I'm going to experiment with putting different things in the peanut butter jar. Heck - if she won't eat out of a dog-dish but she has fun (and eats) out of a jar - WHY NOT? ETA - the nerve damage issue that wiped out the muscle above her cheekbone, now wiped out the one below it. It disappeared in the last 2 weeks. The vet will be shocked that the deterioration happened so quickly and yet her motor skills are not yet impaired.

Diana is still drinking. Purchased Distilled water. Our home well-water has too many minerals. That was one of the changes we made when she was diagnosed that really seemed to make her perkier. We've had Diana since she was 2. She's been a skinny thing her whole life. I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. I'll make a new batch of home-cooked tomorrow. Use little noodles, (DH thinks she doesn't like the large shells I used last time) leave out the eggs and see how she likes it. It won't be quite as nutritionally appropriate as it SHOULD be, but it'll be close enough. The "perfect food" I was feeding her, isn't working anymore. So I'm still hanging on by a thread and trying to give her "close" to "right". DH is going to give her whatever she will eat. Neither of us want to see our baby-girl hungry or wasting away. I guess we'll both do what we think is right by her. I've heard of dogs living for years with kidney disease, Diana was diagnosed less than a year ago. She perked up amazingly when she was diagnosed and we changed her diet. But now - it's getting rough. She also has nerve issue, which isn't awful, but we have to watch that it doesn't progress to the point of impacting quality of life.

Diana's been doing fabulous for many months after being diagnosed with kidney failure. We put her on a well-researched home-cooked that she thrived on. In the last few days she's refused to eat. DH can get a bit of bread or meat into her by hand-feeding her, but she barely had interest in that. I gave in and bought some (not-diet-appropriate) canned food just to try to get something in her. She ate a smidge. She's had her spells with bad eating before, but she's so thin now. I'm trying to get food in her that won't crap up her kidneys, but I just can't see my dog not eat. For over 48 hours. So DH wants to give her whatever she will eat. I'm torn. I'm going to make her a new batch of home-cooked tomorrow, but leave out the eggs and eggshell powder - maybe that's what turns her off. She's NOT an egg fan. At what point do you just feed them whatever they'll eat? Even if you know it'll hurt them?

This doesn't sound odd at all to me. I'm going to give you some very simple advice. What do YOU think the right thing is to do for YOUR dog? Don't look for deep meanings. Greys are quirky, my friend. You'll go crazy if you try to figure out the "why" of their every behavior - especially with a new dog. You can do all the research in the world, and that's a great thing, but they will have their quirks where you just need to shrug your shoulders and roll with it. So - if your dog is uncomfortable with you trying to cuddle her, even though she's totally cool when she's the one trying to cuddle you, so it seems illogical - STOP THINKING. Stop trying to rationalize it. You aren't in the dog's brain, and you never will be. Greys are quirky. Do what works for YOUR dog in YOUR house, on THIS day. In this case stop trying to put a cuddling hand on her. She told you that. Listen. Now - a week, or a month, or a year from now that could totally change and she might love it. Listen to your dog today. A new dog is all about changes. And your job is to roll with them. Be consistent with the basics, but don't stress over the quirks.

I adopted 2 greys, and fostered 14. I only had one with severe sleep startle. He was my very first. He got better over time, but we were always very careful around him when sleeping. And NEVER let visitors or children near him when sleeping. I eventually got to the point of letting him sleep in my bed, but a couple times I rolled in my sleep - and he bit my head. No hard - just a startle nip. Be VERY CAREFUL with a dog with sleep startle/ sleep aggression. Someone could seriously get hurt. Respect the issue. Give them a safe place to sleep, and just don't mess with the sleep space.

You have nothing to worry about. Killing a rabbit is normal instinct. That has NO correlation to your cat.

The vet said it was quite like Bell's Palsy (that ironically my brother recently had). But because it lasted long enough to cause muscle atrophy, is more likely long-term nerve damage we never caught. She was never in any pain, so it's likely a small facial nerve that just shorted out, and never recovered.

So - I think I posted the same thing a year ago about my Diana. At around age 10 she'd take food or leave it. Mostly leaving breakfast, but almost always eating dinner. Her weight didn't drop, so after asking advice, I quit stressing. I did starting offering food right after work, and then dinner, if she refused breakfast. I didn't go to add-ins or anything to entice her to eat. She just has always eaten what she needed, even through her younger years when I tried to fatter her up. I still refuse to call a 10 or 11 year old a senior. I just don't see it. I'll call them a pre-senior. A pre-senior has some changes going on. Slowing metabolism, etc. So - if there are no medical issues, offer Conner breakfast, if he doesn't eat, give it to him later. Maybe go to 3 smaller meals later through the day. Or he might be fine eating one some days, 2 some days. No worries. This is a transition age. That's ok. I've loosened up my strict feeding times a lot. And it's been fine. No need to panic - just adapt a bit. Heck, when I retire I'm going to eat breakfast at 11:00 am and snack at 7:00 pm and another snack at 11:00 pm.

I know nothing about what's in CA, but I'd definitely continue Interceptor. There's really no reason NOT to. Even when we didn't have heartworm here, I kept my dogs on it while we were fostering to protect them from anything the foster-dogs brought in.

My mistake - I had to check to confirm. She's a sprightly 11 until January!

She's 12. She sleeps more, and runs less than she did a few years ago, but she's still a busy-body, always on the move.

Take all the advice given, sort through it and use what works for you. In the meantime - this is a HUGE change -expect some issues for a while. When that time has passed, figure it out.

I'm not a good trainer. I only teach what is practical in our house. But one thing I teach that is practical, that may qualify as a "trick" is "wipe your feet". Basically, it means, when a dog comes in from my fenced yard, walk around in a small circle to wipe their feet on the mat. Basically to teach it, you catch the dog coming in the door, and hold a treat over their head, and move it around in a circle which they follow with their nose, and of course their feet. And say "wipe your feet". (or whatever - go in a circle). It gets them to walk around in a small circle a couple times on the floormat to clean off their feet! I now leave the door ajar and when DIana comes in from the yard say "wipe your feet!" and she does a couple circles on the door-rug then comes for a treat. I'm all about practical training. But this could actually qualify as a trick. Oh - have you tried STOP? Just hold a hand up and the dog stops moving? This is another one I taught out of necessity in my house, but it works fabulous when getting a dog on the scales at the vet's office. They walk on the scales, I lift up my hand and say "Stop" and the dog stops. Very useful. The vet techs are always very impressed by that one.