sobesmom

In my experience it takes about a week for dogs to adapt to the time change. Just stagger it for a week, moving toward the new time.

We shall see. She's on the decline, physically, but we're doing what we can to keep her as healthy as possible. She seems oblivious to the issues that we see in her, and is still her happy, loving, active self. So her hind end is a bit weak, and she's loosing weight, and she feels a twitch in her face. No worries to her! We just help her a bit more. We go for shorter walks, and play anytime she feels like it, and feed her any time she'll eat. The other night she went to get into our bed and struggled so I decided to sleep on the couch and she layed there with me. The next night she jumped in the bed - no issue. Every day is a GOOD day for Diana - and us. When we don't have a good day for her - we're going to have to make a hard choice. But I WILL NOT let my vibrant, crazy, thinks-she's-a-lab-puppy with stripes ever have a BAD day. She deserves better than that from me.

I did some more research and the typical diagnosis for facial nerve damage is idiopathic. Which means "unknown cause". She does seem to have an "itch" on her face/ear, and rubs it. So we rub her ear, and she likes it. The vet suggested it might feel "tingly" to her. So she gets a lot of rubbies. The symptoms don't seem to fit.

Wasting is a very common side-effect of kidney disease. I'm glad she likes the food! I couldn't find anything suitable that my kidney dog, Diana, would eat. So, we're doing home-cooked supplemented with Neo canned. Some days she doesn't eat well at all, and some days she eats like a horse! Lately we've had a lot more good eating days than bad (guess she likes my cooking LOL). Diana is probably eating more by volume than she's ever eaten in her life, and she's still lost 9 lbs since April. Kidney diets by definition are quite low in protein, so they're probably not going to sustain as well as "normal" food. I'd suggest feeding more often, as much as she'll eat. If my Diana even looks at her food dish - she gets food in it! If she'd eat a suitable kibble I'd free-feed 24/7. Feed her and feed her and feed her. All she'll eat. She'll probably still loose weight, but the longer you can keep it on her the better she'll feel.

I personally wouldn't continue the Benadryl that long if you need to start another med and the sting symptoms are gone. When Diana got stung in the mouth she was only on it for 2 days (no vet visit) and was fine.

This is just weird. I noticed the other day that Diana seemed to have a dent over one eye, or a protruding cheekbone. I convinced myself it was a protruding cheekbone (optical illusion making it look like a dent) because it made more sense to me, and took her to the vet. Maybe swelling from a bad tooth? Nope, it's a dent in the head. Apparently she has nerve damage in her face. Don't know why, it just happens sometimes, and it's caused the muscle above her eye to atrophy. The vet speculated it could be from a long-term pinched nerve in her neck or elsewhere, or something like Bell's Palsy that people get, or a brain tumor. Regardless, the vet offered no treatment, or diagnostics that would't be crazy to try, and he won't. Her eye and mouth aren't drooping (yet) which surprised the vet. She's not in any pain and doesn't seem to have any issues from it (yet). It must've been going on for a while for the muscle to shrink away, but apparently I never noticed. You can really only notice it if you look at her straight on, which never happens because she's never still (except in sleep). Apparently it's not that common since the vet had the other vet in the practice and all his techs and assistants come look at her. (Or it's just easier to see on a greyhound face). Of course, Diana just loved that! The vet wouldn't speculate on how quickly she'll start to loose sight, mouth function, or whatever else. Her eye is dilated and non-reactive, but her vision seems ok. She's got chronic kidney disease, has lost 9 lbs since April, and now has a dent in her head. She's still the happiest, sweetest dog ever, and shows no signs of discomfort at all.

It was Proin. Thanks.

Well, you have a bit of a stinker on your hands . All advice given here is really good. May I just add, you might want to re-think where you keep food. I'm NOT judging at all. I'm offering you the voice of experience, if you have a dog that gets into food. I had a grey that would eat anything that was not under lock and key, and he taught it to his sister. Ever clean a carpet after a dog eats a 5 lb bag of sugar? TRUST ME - you don't want to. Why did he eat the sugar? I'll never know, but it still gives me nightmares. Anyway - don't leave any food out. Ever. At all. Put it in a high cupboard, or a closed pantry. Just save yourself the grief, and lock ALL food away.

Diana now occasionally pees the bed at night, starting a couple months ago. She's 11, and has chronic kidney disease. About a year ago I suspected that she was leaking pee occasionally at night, asked the vet, and he put her on meds for "older female dog night-time incontinence". Well, one of the side-effects of the meds is anorexia! She totally stopped eating. So, we stopped the meds, and figured out that it was probably her OCD licking that was causing the wet spots. No - there's no doubt, as this is different than before. This is NOT a big licking wet spot. This is her emptying her bladder in her sleep. She sleeps in our bed. If she wants out in the night, we get up and let her out (fenced yard). No biggie. She's older and if she needs to go out during the night that's fine. She wants out during the night maybe twice per week, otherwise she's fine all night. This morning I got up early for work, Diana and DH were snoozing happily. She didn't get up to go out. An hour later, DH woke up in a puddle, and Diana was still sleeping. This has happened once every 2-3 weeks over the last few months. She's obviously occasionally releasing her bladder in her sleep. But I don't want to put her back on the incontinence meds. She's thin as a rail anyway from the kidney disease. BTW -she always goes out before I go to bed between 11-12. Thoughts? Advice?

Yep. Rosey needs to learn that your DH is a good caregiver too, and someone she can trust. He needs to be more involved in her activities (feeding/walking,etc) without you so she learns to trust him too. Something as simple as him giving meals, or doing a walk, can quickly gain her trust. This is NOT that weird. Also, not that hard to fix.

That's true. I have a fenced yard and I know my dog doesn't get the regular exercise, and walking-time-bonding that she'd get if I didn't have it. We do take walks, but not for every potty break. But I DO love my fenced yard, and I'm quite sure in bad weather my dog wouldn't get much more exercise if she was leash-walked. She'd do her business and want in immediately. We also play in our fenced yard. Greyhound fetch, running around together, and she follows me while I do yard-work, my little shadow. Ever try to rake leaves or plant flowers with a greyhound under your elbow or between your legs? LOL! But if I didn't have a fenced yard, I wouldn't have dogs. It's a lifesyle choice.

There is medication for senior female incontinence that could help. 11 isn't "that" old. Many 11 year old can make it through the night. I'd consult the vet first.

Hang in there. Your dog is happy and healthy and well. Yes, extra exercise and training and classes will help. You've got a whole lotta fired-up energy to deal with. Your dog has thousands of years of breeding in his veins telling him to DO SOMETHING! HUNT! RACE! DEFEND! He's got the genes that make him want to DO something. This is NOT a lap-dog. Give him a job. A purpose. This is not a retired racer looking for a couch. This is a young greyhound with his breeding coursing though his veins. Give him work. Give him a purpose. He'll love you for it. And then, he'll mellow out in time.

I'm the OP, and I know this is an old post, but I thought I'd chime in. Actually, I'm glad the post got some good discussion and information flowing! Although I've always been a big believer in flea-control meds (Frontline, the new chewable, etc) - I decided not to give any to Diana this summer, due to her compromised kidneys. I talked to the vet, and it was a gain vs risk scenario to him. He was OK either way, any couldn't quantify the damage meds could do or the damage fleas or ticks could do in DIana's condition. Anything put into the body without working kidneys can be a risk. But - fleas and ticks are a risk. I decided to go no meds - watch closely - and deal with it if I have to. Luckily - no fleas or ticks. She hasn't been out and about much, so that probably reduced her risk. I'm glad this time I went "no drugs". But - if she'd had a bad flea infestation - I would've regretted that decision. Ya roll the dice - ya take your chance. With a healthy dog - I don't take the chance.

Sounds normal to me, which is why I swore I'd never adopt or foster a grey under the age of 4. Of course, I DID get stuck with one 2 year old foster who was a nut-case not only because of her age but also because nobody told her she was a greyhound. I kept her. She's now the 11 year old ding-dong that's butting my hand while I'm trying to type because she wants to play. But she's an anomaly. Most of them do grow out of it. Diana is just a hyper grey. But her mood swings went from age 2 to 5. The hyper never went away. She's a just a lab puppy with stripes. But after having her for a short while I really put my foot down and NEVER fostered a grey under 4 again. We had a dozen fosters after that, then took a several year break. When I start fostering again, I'll raise my age-limit again. 7 sounds good to me. But to answer your question - that's just a teenage brat!

Regression is also normal. You may have thought "this dog is great! all the books were wrong" and went too fast. I did it with my first grey. Start over. Pretend you just brought him home today. Follow all the newbie advice. A CRASH after the honeymoon period is not unusual. Go back to square one, and it'll be ok.

Possible pinched nerve.

This is for my friend's dog, a basset, but my greyhound is nearing the same issues. The basset is kidney-compromised (crystals, not chronic kidney disease) , and is in early stage arthritis. She had a really bad spell and could barely walk. The vet put her on a 7 day med. I had my friend ask about glaucosamine, and the vet said NO. It would interfere with her kidney med. So - is there anything dietary that my friend can do for her dog's arthritis, and for my dog with chronic kidney failure, would glaucosime be bad? Is glaucosime bad for the kidneys?

Is it something to worry about? Well, yes, if you're a worrier. No, if you're a do-er. It's certainly something you need to deal with. There are stupid people and rude dogs in the world. You have a dog with prey drive. Those are just facts, not judgments. Accept them and deal with it. So - keep your eyes open for small dogs (or any dogs) off-leash, or on way to much leash. If you warn someone off and they don't get their dog away, change direction, shorten leash to nothing (like at the collar) , and get your dog away. I've had high-prey dogs, and had incidents like yours that didn't end in an attack because I got my dog away. If I hadn't there'd have been a dead JRT in the vet's office parking lot. I'd have end up at fault. The big dog is ALWAYS to blame. Protect your big dog by getting it the heck away from rude dogs and stupid owners. And don't be afraid to respond to "Oh my dog's just friendly" with "Mine is NOT. It will bite your dog!" Whether you believe it or not, it shocks people enough to protect and curb their own animals. So what if they think your dog is aggressive? You're avoiding an incident. Just my way of dealing with it.

We feed her as much as she'll eat, as many times a day as she'll eat it. Wasting is a big issue for kidney dogs. They just wither away. I don't measure, but I'd guess it's close to 5 cups per day, total, on a really, really good day. On a bad day - one. Or none. We have those days. The average is probably 3 cups per day. It's certainly not right for a normal, healthy dog. I use a 6 quart crock pot, 3/4 full. That lasts about a week. Sometimes less. She had a really good eating week this week, and I cooked again after 5 days. We also supplement with canned Hi-Tor, as needed. I could fill the crock more, but then I'd freeze some of it. I'm just not comfortable with it in the fridge beyond a week.

Walmart! LOL! Herb-ox brand, sodium-free. Beef flavor bouillon, by Hormel. Red box, yellow top. I don't bother to portion out the food from the crock pot into single-serve containers. I just put it all in a big Gladware container in the fridge and just scoop out whatever she'll eat whenever she'll eat it. Might be 3, 4, or 5 times per day. I add water or no-sodium broth each time. My goal is to get as much food and water in her as possible, so if she looks at the food dish - we put a scoop from the big bowl in it. I wouldn't do that with a dog that didn't have medical issues, of course. Just for this medical situation.

Well said. May I remind everyone - the OP asked for advice. Perhaps we could give advice, and not flat-out judgement. The fact is - LOTS of greys are trained to be off-leash. TRAINED being the operative word. The OP is probably asking for TRAINING advice! Let's not scare off a new member with judgment. Let those with advice offer it. Of course, they're probably scared to do so.

Yep, I'm with everybody else. Stop it. There is NO reason for a dog off the track to be going out all night long.

Congratulations! And it's awesome that you did your homework ahead of time, and are now asking questions! First of all Cooper is gorgeous. Second, it sounds like he's settling in amazingly well (probably due to your diligence and research ahead of time). And third, your list of questions and issues - you have questions - but you don't have issues IMHO. Everything you listed is totally normal. Just adjustment stuff. It'll work itself out. The only thing you mentioned that'd I'd watch is the possessiveness/growling. BUT - you were able to shift his attention - and that's actually a great thing. That means (IMHO) that he's just a bit unsure, protecting something cool BUT was able to be distracted by his master. That's a GOOD thing. The fact that you could break his attention means he's accepted you as his leader, wants to please you, and wants direction. I wouldn't worry about it. I'll bet it'll just go away as he gets more comfortable in the house in the next couple weeks. New dogs tend to "cling" to things they like, it's a comfort thing for them. But once he realizes he's cool there, he's staying, all his stuff is staying - he won't feel the need to "Guard" it. Probably. If it escalates after a while, well, then you have an issue to deal with. But for now, relax. Wait it out. New greyhound are like the weather. If you don't like it, wait a day and see how it changes!

Thank you. That was a very insightful post. And a reminder to all of us in the US, that although we Americans are the majority of the online GT community, we didn't "discover" greyhounds. They've been thriving across the pond for a VERY long time, and we might have something to learn from those that keep them there. Also - we should all try to note where a poster is from - norms are different depending on where we live. What might be taboo in the US might be a perfectly valid and workable situation elsewhere, with a little help and advice and support.