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Freaking Out...


Guest momof1now3

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Guest momof1now3

Just wondering if I could get some thoughts on this…..I’m going crazy and can’t get Lenny into the vet until Saturday for a full check up, this doesn’t appear to be “today life-threatening” but I am freaking out nonetheless.

 

Lenny is our 10 year old greyhound, 100lbs, not overweight, and we’ve had him since he was 6. He gets a regular annual check-up and his teeth cleaned once a year.

 

In the past week, he has begun this persistent, deep, hacking cough that appears any time he wakes up, gets up from laying down, comes in from outside, eating/drinking, and when we enter the room and he sees us. It typically stops a few minutes later but he will sometimes hack 10-20-even 30 times. There are no other clinical signs and he has no other health issues present. 2 years ago, he also did this, not as bad, but we did take him in, nothing was found aside from a “shadow” on his chest x-ray, lungs were clear, we were given antibiotics, the hack cleared up, and that was that.

 

Worried is not the word for how I feel right now. By friend has checked him out, she’s not a vet, but she’s done this for many, many years, some of the possibilities thrown out are, that stupid spot from two years ago could be cancer, congestive heart failure, upper respiratory infection, or heartworms.

 

I know, you are asking, heartworms?!?!?! What about his preventative maintenance, I admit, I do give him Revolution, do I do it as regularly as I should, probably not. I like to say I do it similar to a woman taking birth control pills, some of the time. In no way is it effective, and that’s my fault, which is probably why I am freaking out that this is heartworms and all my fault. I know better, I have the flippin’ medicine, the months just seem to pass by and we do occasionally miss. We are testing him for heartworm tonight, but I have to wait until I get paid on Friday to do the bloodwork and chest x-ray.

 

Am I hoping for an upper respiratory infection? Absolutely, but he has no other symptoms at all and is not in contact with any other dogs ever.

 

Cancer, I’m screwed, congestive heart failure, screwed again. Any other ideas what could be causing this?

 

I have small kids and can’t imagine something happening to him, much less something that is MY fault, but I am just so worried about.

 

Do greyhounds have a high incidence of cancer or congestive heart problems? Do they get heartworm easily? He is never left outside, but even outside for 2 minutes doing his business is time enough for a mosquito to bite. His last heartworm check was in March, by now he could have gotten them as far back as last September, since I think it takes six months for them to even show up. If it is heartworm, what do you recommend? I don’t want to do the intravenous arsenic, that sounds horribly painful, not to mention super expensive, but I would put it on Care Credit if I HAD to, but it is most certainly the VERY last option. What has worked successfully in the past for greyhounds. I know I am jumping the gun, but I want to be prepared, and if he doesn’t have heartworms, you can be sure I will never, ever, again forget his meds!

 

Thanks to all who respond in advance!

 

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Guest Greyt_dog_lover

I am not sure where you live, but in various places around the US (Florida, and Chicagoland area to name a few) canine flu has been reported for the last few months. This flu appears to be kennel cough at first, but the hound will run a fever and possibly have diareah. Your dog can catch this from indirect contact with other animals, it does not have to be direct contact. As far as your other ideas of heartworm, congestive heart failure, cancer, obviously those issues require medical testing. I wish you the best.

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Guest momof1now3

I do live in Florida and my husband's first thought was kennel cough. Wouldn't that be nice if it were that easy? Haven't seen diaharea but I haven't checked his poo out lately, that's a hubby job! LOL!

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Guest 4Irishgreys

My 12 year old Ginger had that cough and when I took her to the vet for her regular check up the vet heard a heart murmur. She was diagnosed with "mitral valve regurgitation". She is now on Enalapril twice a day & the cough has gone away so I'm assuming the med has worked.

 

Shirley

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Guest KennelMom

Woah. Calm down. Your vet needs to do the exam. It could be as simple as a little bug or kennel cough or it could be something serious like cancer. Our old dogs tend to hork and hack a bit if they've been resting a while so it could be that he's perfectly fine and you are reading too much into it.

 

100lb greyhound??!?! He's a BIG boy! What was his racing name?

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Guest momof1now3

I know, I should calm down, I'm trying, I swear!!!!! I'll feel better tonight once we test him for the heartworm.

 

His racing name was Zone Press, he was apparently pretty good. He has gained some weight since we got him, but he was stick thin when we got him. I'm going to attempt to attach some pics!! I want to say at his last weigh in he was 96lbs.

 

 

Ok, I can't figure out why I can't insert his pics. But here is a link to them...

 

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9QZMmTNm1abY

 

 

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I wouldn't wait until Saturday if he is coughing. If it is a lung involvement, waiting that long could be disasterous.

 

He raced at 73# so the most he should weigh (unless they made a mistake) is 80# which means he is a tad overweight :rolleyes::)

 

I do live in Florida and my husband's first thought was kennel cough. Wouldn't that be nice if it were that easy?

 

kennel cough can be nasty if not tended to fast!

Diane & The Senior Gang

Burpdog Biscuits

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I wouldn't wait until Saturday if he is coughing. If it is a lung involvement, waiting that long could be disasterous.

 

He raced at 73# so the most he should weigh (unless they made a mistake) is 80# which means he is a tad overweight :rolleyes::)

 

I do live in Florida and my husband's first thought was kennel cough. Wouldn't that be nice if it were that easy?

 

kennel cough can be nasty if not tended to fast!

 

:nod :nod Agree with Burpdog on all accounts :)


Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi.

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Guest momof1now3

I would certainly agree that he is a tad overweight, but not too, too bad. He has kept his muscles and has not gone flabby at all. We have a huge fenced in backyard and he runs out there at least 3 times a day. Check out his pics, the dates are wrong, but you'll get the idea.

 

I'll weigh him on Saturday. If it gets any worse, trust me, we'll be in tomorrow. I should have clarified earlier, my best friend is a vet tech, with 20 years experience, so she is keeping a close eye on him, but will take him tomorrow with her to work, if needed. I just want to be there and don't get paid until Friday, so that's why I was shooting for Saturday.

 

Keep your fingers crossed it's something easy!

 

 

 

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He's beautiful!

I hope it's nothing serious.

SunnySophiePegsdon.jpg

When a relationship of love is disrupted, the relationship does not cease. The love continues; therefore, the relationship continues. The work of grief is to reconcile and redeem life to a different love relationship. ~ W Scott Lineberry

Always Greyhounds Home Boarding and Greyhounds With Love House Sitting

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Guest fastdogs

Take him to the vets and while you're there ask him about his weight. But that's not what is important right now, it's his coughing.

Edited by fastdogs
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Guest momof1now3

Well, we are clear on the heartworm, all negative there. That doesn't mean he hasn't gotten it in the past 6 months, but it does mean that shouldn't be the stem of his cough. So I have to be sure to give it every single month, and test him again in a few months, but at least I know there are no worms squiggling around his heart causing him to cough.

 

I haven't heard him cough this afternoon, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that it's kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection.

 

Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. We will certainly address the weight issue, but that is a worry for another day. He is such a little piggy,so it'll be tough scaling back, especially with him eating the dropped food from my toddlers. LOL!

 

I will keep everyone posted, thanks again.

 

Dang it, just heard a hack, just one, but still.....

 

 

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Guest Greyt_dog_lover

I am glad the results came back negative. Has anyone ever told you the "ideal" weight for a greyhound? I was told that you should be able to see the last 3 ribs of the dog. That will be the ideal weight. My guy raced at 78lbs, and he had almost all his ribs showing. He now weighs in at 81, and has only 3 ribs showing. I have been told by my adoption group that he is at his ideal weight. Any more and you risk long term issues with joints and such since they put so much stress on their joints during their racing career. If you guy is nearly 30lbs over his racing weight, that is almost 40% overweight, in human standards, thats considered morbidly obeese. Please do not take this as me trying to lecture you or otherwise insult you, that is not my intent. I am simply trying to maybe let you know something that could help prolong your little one's quality of life.

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Guest momof1now3

No lecturing taken. Now that I think about it, I should have said he isn't "obese" , he definitely is overweight, but again, I have seen some greyhounds that are downright flabby and pudgy, we do not have that going on at all. But, like you all said, he does need to lose some. I will work on cutting back on his food after the stress of going in Saturday is over, plus I'll know exactly what he weighs.

 

He's such a whiner too, if I don't fill his bowl to the rim, he sits and whines at me because he wants more, I know, my problem, not his!

 

 

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