sobesmom

I noticed a lump about a week ago, while petting him. It's about a half inch past the corner of his jawbone, in my mind, about where you'd feel a lymph node on a human. The place on your kid's neck that you feel when they say they have a sore throat. I mentioned it to DH, and he said "yeah, I noticed that a couple days ago" . Gee, thanks for mentioning it! Anyway, it was Thanksgiving, so I decided to check it out, watch him and wait a bit. I normally try to take a "wait and see" attitude now. So I measured it with my fingers, it was about 3 fingers wide, oval shaped. He's got no other symptoms at all. I checked it Monday, and it seemed smaller, so - I decided to "wait and see" a bit longer. Still no other symptoms. He does seem to "hack" occasionally - like a cough.... just one at a time, and only randomly. When DH and I talked about that - DH remembers that Sobe started that a couple weeks ago. Apparetly I just didn't pay attention. Tonight I checked it, and it seems to be smaller still.... a finger and a half wide, and now round instead of oval, and not sticking out as far. So - is it possible that it was just a swollen lymph node? Do dogs have lymph nodes in the same place people do? From some virus or cold or bug or something? Do dogs get colds? He's still normal as always. I'll keep an eye on it, but right now, I'm still doing "wait and see". I have NO problem taking him to the vet. I just don't want to run there for nothing.

IMHO - dogs are pack animals. They NEED a pack. For some greys, just a human is enough of a pack. For many of them - the lived with their siblings for a year (not the 6 weeks most pups do).... and they lived with a whole bunch of greys after that. Living without other greys around is a HUGE shock to most of them. Some of them will do fine with it. IMHO - many racing greys have a hard time being alone. My advice, if you want to adopt one, let your adoption group know that - so they can help pick out a grey that will like that lifestyle. I have a foster right now - that would be a very good "only dog". They DO exist. BTW - the greys that may be very good candidates for being only dogs - may be listed as "dog-aggressive", or "not good with other dogs". They're NOT bad dogs. They're looking for YOUR home.

I'm thinking of giving my dogs an all-purpose wormer every 6 months. Fosters come and go, we're out and about, I assume worms are going to show up occasionally, so I thought that doing a twice yearly purge can't hurt. I'm pretty sure that I've read that others do this, or something like it. What brand of med's should I use? I'd like to order from Pets Megastore (in Oz). I bought Frontline through them and was quite happy.

What kinds of raw bones upset his stomach? You may want to pick a different animal bone. Chicken, turkey, beef, deer, there are lots of different animals that you can give bones from.

I "generally" prefer male greys - the bigger the better. Seems like the bigger male it is - the sweeter the personality. (Not fact of course, just my little thing). We have one male and one female - and both are a perfect fit for our household.

I voted "yes", but it was over a year before our first grey was allowed on furniture. He had severe space and sleep aggression, so he wasn't allowed on furniture until we conquered that. Even then, he was taught "OFF" command when he was allowed up. I think it's very important for a dog that's allowed furniture privelages to know a command to get off the furniture. And - if ANY bad behavior occurs - growling, etc - it's an immediate OFF. And stay off for a while. More chances available in the future - but furniture is a PRIVELAGE, not a right. We STILL struggle with the occasional space aggression with Sobe when he gets a "bit" too possessive of the couch. It gets his butt off furniture for a week at least. The couch, and bed, are for humans. Dogs that share nicely are welcome. Dogs that get pushy - are NOT. ETA: I think it's a personal decision, depending on the dog, and the family. I recommend to adopters that have small children, that they never let the dog on furniture. Our other grey, Diana, has had furniture privelages from day 1. She hasn't got an aggressive or possessive bone in her body. But - she still knows the "off" command - and responds perfectly to it - humans control the furniture.

Lots of good input - THANKS! I'd almost decided that it HAD to be worms - nothing else fit - but didn't have a chance to take sample to the vet yet - then - a couple days after posting - the poops miraculously were normal again! I've been checking the yard daily and scooping up everything- for days it was pudding poops - then - one day - it was all well-formed poops. Perfect poops for 4 days now. I dunno. Probably they got into "somthing". They're notrious "killers" - and no mouse, rabbit, mole or bird - is safe in our yard. They certainly could've killed and eaten a critter. Or gotten into the trash - the do that if they get the chance. Ususally NOTHING upsets their stomachs - but apparently SOMETHING did! And they never acted sick at all. I'm still going to grab a stool sample from each and drop it off at the vets. It's been over a year since they've been checked - so worms are always a possiblily - especially with as many foster as have been though here. But - for now - the pups are fine again. Thanks everyone!!!

I've only every seen one tick. There's not very common around here. It was on a foster dog - and I think it "probably" came here on here. My dogs have never had one while they lived here - despite the fact that we walk through woods and pastures. I found it while petting her. I felt "something" and when I looked - it stuck out like a sore thumb. Most greys don't have very thick hair, so, by running your hands over them - head to tail - you definately will feel a tick. If you live in an area with ticks, just run your hands all over her - and you'll feel it. I don't know much about ticks - but the one I saw was over a quarter inch long - definately visiable. My neighbor came over and lit a match, put it out - then touched it to the tick, and it dropped right off. I then smashed the heck outta it to make sure it was dead.

Good thought- but no - I buy 50lb bags of food - and we're 3/4 through this bag. So they've been eating this bag for 2 weeks probably before the trouble started. Could be worms, I guess - but they haven't been anywhere in months..... But ..... we did have a foster last year that came with hookworm.... and if I remember my research correctly hookworm can go into the soil???? And now the weather's gotten warmer - would that make worms more active if they're in my yard and re-infect my dogs? Almost a year later?

Our favorite topic ---- POOP. My greys have been on the same food for over a year, and do very well on it. Last Saturday - on poop patrol - I encountered only poop puddles, not actual log looking piles. (sorry to be crude, but you get the point) Since then I've been checking the yard daily and - yep - it's all pudding puddles. Neither of the dogs have Big D .... just pudding poop. So - what would cause 2 dogs - in their normal situation - eating their normal food - to all of a sudden go from well-formed poops, to pudding poops? And they both act fine. No extra "need" to urgently go out, eating just fine, health fine, etc.

I wouldn't think it would cause a problem. I use the powder kind, put it on top of kibble, and add a bit of water - mix it in and the dogs never notice it. If I have a SUPER FUSSY foster in the house - I'll drop a couple chunks of hotdog on top, and he'll never notice.

Really NOT a big deal. Worms happen. Treat and move on.

Have you done research to find out if those mushrooms are even dangerous? There are lots of mushrooms that aren't.

Sobe might need a tooth pulled - broke off a canine. My vet is VERY gun-shy to do work on his mouth. Mine are the only greys they've ever seen - and they're scared to death they they might break his jaw doing an extraction (that skinny long jaw!). OK - the fact that they are scared, and (thank goodness - HONEST about it ) makes me want to take him somewhere else. They recommend Cornell - but from what I've heard - Cornell is about the MOST expensive in a 3 state area. Yes, top notch, but could there be other COMPETENT people? Anybody from southern NY, northern PA have any vet recommendations? Or experience with Cornell?

Sorry I dropped this question then didn't come back. Thanks for your responses. I haven't been able to get back to GT for a while. A few days after I posted, Sobe did it again, this time in the backyard after a run. Same symptoms. My neighbor - a horse trainer, was outside, and saw me and Sobe and asked if everything was OK. So - I told him about the incidents. He came over, and checked Sobe out. He's a fantastic horse trainer, and also - a lifelong breeder and ower of top-notch Cattle-dogs. He came over and gave Sobe a GOOD look-over massage.... head to toes touching, feeling, watching and listening to the dog.....and by the time he was done.... Sobe was FINE. His opinion - Sobe pulled a front leg muscle.... which hurts the back and neck also. A front leg muscle-pull is odd in any dog (usually the pull a back-leg muscle) - but it happens. Maybe an old injury popping up. Probably from running like a maniac puppy - when he's an out-of-shape old man. MOST dogs that he knows, wouldn't do that to themselves but "My crazy high-speed greyhounds" seem to fly into a run when the mood strikes them. So - Sobe pays for it. Basically - his "inspection" of Sobe - was a very CALM person, doing a very slow massage/inspection. And it worked. Sobe was still stiff afterwards, but not at ALL the crying, pacing, mess I'd seen before. He needed to be calmed down - his pain massaged away. Pain only gets worse when mamma is freaking out about it. This will undoubtedly happen again - but - NOW I know how to help him. Calm, reassuring, and massage. I learned this from a horse guy, and a dog guy, but not a "greyhound" guy. But - the Guy was right. He KNOWS animals.

It's not a scientific theory, but when we first got Sobe, and he freaked out at thunderstorms - it was the noise that got to him - so - we upped the noise in our (usually quiet) house to drown it out. We turned on every TV in the house, plus the radio, and turned on box fans, so you couldn't hear the thunder. Fans are really good for drowning out noise, without being too noisy. After he got more comfortable, we gradually lowered to volume. Even a fan in the room he's in might help. A good ole box fan, not a "good quiet" one. Ten bucks at Walmart might help a lot. I can't even hear a thunderstorm at night if there's a box fan in my bedroom window...

This has happened 3 or 4 times over the past year or so. And it happened again last night. We got home last night, Sobe and Diana were super happy -bouncy - glad to see us. Gave them lots of pets- then outside for potty. They ran around for a few minutes in the yard, did their potty. Came in, and I fed them. A little while later, Sobe was panting, trying to get into corners, into closets, trying to hide. Or, when I went to get him out, clinging on me - and quivering. When I touched him, he was quivering all over. Small little quivers all over. He wouldn't lie down, just was trying to hide in any corner or crevice. That to me is a sign of a dog in pain. I ran my hands all over him, and couldn't find any obvious sore spots. After an hour or so, he layed down and was then fine. I worried that I fed him to soon after running around - but the other times it's happened weren't around food. I just don't know what this is. Panting, hanging head down low, quivering all over the body, and trying to "Hide" into the craziest corners he'd never go into. He even tried to get under the drapes. So - I'm a bit scared. Obviously something was wrong. But - I can't go to the vet with a perfectly fine dog and say he acted weird last night.

Well....now there's been nothing. I was more than ready to consult a vet.....but now there's been nothing. So - I'm going to assume that it was giant licking or drooling spots, and I just got overly concerned from finding 2 so closely spaced. Thanks again GT! (and thanks also for not making me feel silly for asking a potentially silly question!)

Yes, BOTH dogs do drool...sometimes a LOT in their sleep. That was the first thing I thought of with the first wet spot on the bed. (When DH worked a different job, Sobe would take his "spot" in the bed when DH got up in the morning, up on the pillows, and there would be a HUGE drool blob on the pillows in the morning.) And Diana DOES lick her feet sometimes, or lick, or actually suck on blankets while she's sleeping. So - I just don't know.

Totally normal. New dogs shed after a bit. And - don't know where you live or the climate, but here, my Sobe sheds like a MANIAC every spring and fall. And - his butt goes totally hairless. Then grows back. I think a fishoil a day is good. Brush every day during the shed. Heck - brush every day through the whole year - it's good for the skin, and good bonding time. No worries - totally normal - and a good question. Keep asking questions, that's how we all learn!

Our dogs sleep in our bed, usually. Male Sobe and Female Diana. It's a tossup where they'll sleep, or if one or the other will sleep on the dogbeds in the room or in the bed. The other day, there was a wet spot at the foot of our bed in the morning. I'm not sure which dog was there during the night. I smelled it (not to be gross) and it really didn't smell like anything. I washed all the bedding. Then a couple days later, DD noticed that the pile of dog blankets in the livingroom had a big wet spot. Again, I smelled it, and it "might" have smelled like pee, or maybe just smelled like a dog blanket. Washed it. I'm not sure what this might be - if anything? The dogs have been very restless lately - wanting to go outside at lot. When one wants to go out, the other does too. Even at night, which happens occasionally, but lately they've wanted outside a lot in the night. We have a fenced yard, so they can go outside any time they go to the door. Over the last few year - if we've have an accident in the house - it's right by the door. It's quite rare, but it happens, and obviously means that a dog wanted OUT and we weren't home, or weren't available to open that door. They've NEVER EVER an accident on a bed! Sobe is 8 years old, and Diana is 5..... young dogs. I don't know which dog it is - or even if I should worry at this point. It just seems....very odd. And, there haven't been any spots in the last couple days. But they're still wanting to go outside a lot. I attributed it to the nice warm weather, but now I'm just not sure.

It's just tapeworms. No biggie. Get some Panacur and it'll be fine. Yes- it's totally gross - but not a big deal - and certainly no reflection on you. If Strider hasn't had any poop issues, you've caught it really early on. If you want to talk GROSS - let's talk roundworms or....the WORST .... hookworms!!! Those are WAY nastier - and WAY harder to treat. In the realm of parasites - you got the easy ones. BTW - if it were me - I wouldn't bother with the vet visit and stool check. I'd just call the vet - tell them my dog has tapes, and ask for the meds. Could save you a lot of $$ if you know what it is, and your vet is ok with that. My vet knows me, and knows we have fosters and deal with.....stuff..... so if I call and say I need med's for tapes - I just get the meds for tapes. No $50 visit, or $15 sample analysis necessary. But - I did go for a visit the first time I saw parasites - so it you want to that's ok too. Once you've seen them though - you know what it is. ETA: for tapes, I only treat the dog (the foster ususally) with tapes. But if a foster brings hook or round, I treat my dogs too.

I'd strongly suggest using Fish Oil capsules instead of olive oil. You can buy them at Walmart or a drugstore in the vitamin aisle. Olive oil is OK, but it's vegetable based. Dogs process Meat based things better. I give my dogs a fish oil cap daily year-round, and Sobe gets triple that in the winter when our house is very dry. I'd also suggest a raw egg in their food daily. You can leave the shell in there too if they'll eat it. Meat based oils seem to help more than vegetable based oils. Dogs ARE omnivores, but they process meats better than veggies. I'd also suggest feeding them canned Salmoln, tuna, or JackMack once or twice per week. (JackMack STINKS, BTW, but my dogs ADORE it). The cheapest brand is FINE. The cheaper it is, the more natural fish oil in it....which is exactly what you want! Or any fresh fish. Fish has a lot of good oils in it that help the skin and coat. In summary - fish - fish - FISH. ETA: There are topical treatments, too... but personally I try to treat from the "inside".

We adopted Sobe when he was almost 5, just retired from the track. He'd had a good, long racing career. He's almost 9 now. Ever since we adopted him "occasionally" during a good fun run, he pulls up yelping.... holding up his back left leg. Scared the heck outta me the first few times. I took him to the vet for it a couple times, who couldn't find anything structurally wrong, and diagnosed "pulled muscle". Rest for a few days. Now - he's certianly NOT in race-training condition any more. But - he's very healthy, has a good diet, which includes keeping him at a "good" weight. (He'd LOVE to be a porker if we let him, but we don't after one FAT time - then I learned my lesson!). He gets a good amount of exercise. As much as, or probably MORE than his lazy butt wants. But every once in a while, and it's becoming MORE often, at a run - he pulls to a stop screaming in pain - and holding up the back left leg, comes gimping 3 legged into the house and crashes. The same one, every time. He's getting so it takes a day or more to be back to his "normal" self after "coming up lame". It happens more often now, and his symptoms last longer. My vet says it's just a simple pulled muscle from running too fast. (How do you tell them to run slower??? ) My concern is - it's ALWAYS the same leg. And, it's getting more frequent. OK - maybe he should be "warmed up" more before running (like a brisk walk) - but - how do you do that for a dog that's just going out to potty in a big fenced yard, and SOMETIMES - gets a frisky mood and just decides to RUN????? I'm at a loss here. It may be nothing. It may be something.