New Here And Lots Of Questions!

[Guest bobber]

Hello! i have been reading the forums for weeks but this is my first post! We adopted an almost 3 year old male 3 weeks ago! We absolutely love him! But we are having some medical issues! Since day one he has had soft runny poops, they have gone from green colored to orange. His urine is also a very dark yellow, almost orange. The vet put him on E/N canned and dry food to see what was going on and wait lab results. I can't remember all of his lab results but I do know that he had bilirubin in his urine and it was alkaline. When he urinates is pulsates instead of a steady stream. His tick panel came back fine as did the worm test. Our vet was contacting another vet that has more history with greyhounds but I have not heard back yet. We are seriously considering trying a raw diet to see if that helps.

 

And then yesterday he started pawing and scratching at his nose/eyes. He has goop coming out of them now and one is very cloudy. We are doing saline and benadryl for now but will contact vet tomorrow!

 

So sorry this is long and my first post is asking for advice! We have learned so much from this site already and I can see how much everyone loves their greys!!

 

Wendy

 

Bobber, our first greyhound

[BatterseaBrindl]

No advice, but welcome.... and I'm sure you'll get some good advice.

[GeorgeofNE]

Where do you live? You might want to try to find a vet familiar with Greyhounds, if possible.

 

Most newly adopted hounds have soft stool--remember, his entire world has been turned upside down. So part of the issue is more than likely due to stress. The color change could be related to a change of food, if there has been one.

 

If you get the lab results, and post them (blood and urine) people can give you some better ideas.

[Guest dragontearz]

I'm not sure about the eye/nose goop, but as for the food, Greyhounds are sensitive-I went through a week of the big D until I realized I was feeding Oberon the right flavor, but the wrong brand of food, and he was stressed from being in a new household to boot. Even after I figured it out and switched back to the food he was used to, it took at least another week until his poo went back to a state where I could pick it up. There are also those who have good luck feeding a raw diet also. Time will tell,and if you decide to do the kibble but want to change to a particular kind and flavor, so it slowly-it often takes weeks of baby stepping and adding more and more of one kind to get them totally switched over. Even now, if we go somewhere and Oberon has extra biscuits or eats another dogs brand of food, even for one meal, his poo is barely pick-upable.

 

Welcome to the boards!

Edited April 4, 2011 by dragontearz

[Houndtime]

I am sure that you will get some good suggestions here, but, you might want to refer back to your adoption group. This seems like a lot of stuff to be going through as a new adopter and perhaps his health should be checked over by your group vet if possible.

 

Congratulations and lets get him on the road to good health! Oh, and pictures.

[OwnedBySummer]

But not all greyhounds are sensitive to foods. It's an individual thing. My Summer doesn't react to food changes and I never slowly introduce foods, I just stop the one and start the next. I've never switched foods slowly, even with my non-greys. The only time she had nasty poop was when I first got her and she had hookworms.

 

As to some of your other problems, I had a male lab cross who also had pulsating urine. He had no issues other than hip dysplasia. For all I know, all male dogs pulsate when they pee? I dunno -- he was my only ever male dog. The darkness of the urine sounds like your pup is dehydrated and/or over-concentrating. Greyhounds tend to have pretty potent urine anyway but his sounds a bit too much. Is he drinking? If he's not a drinker, are you floating his kibble so you can get water into him that way?

[Guest mbfilby]

Where do you live? You might want to try to find a vet familiar with Greyhounds, if possible.

 

Most newly adopted hounds have soft stool--remember, his entire world has been turned upside down. So part of the issue is more than likely due to stress. The color change could be related to a change of food, if there has been one.

 

If you get the lab results, and post them (blood and urine) people can give you some better ideas.

 

I was going to say the same thing...

 

Welcome to Greytalk..

 

The eye goop sounds like allergy maybe to the food maybe to the medication?

 

Where is your group? Hopefully they are supporting you.

[tbhounds]

Welcome! I would ask your vet for panacur. You can't rely on a fecal check to determine if they are truly worm free. Fecal floats check for eggs and if the parasite is not shedding eggs at the time you got your sample it will come back as no ova and parasites seen. The lab will never use the word "negative". Its a good idea to de-worm them regardless of the results. Panacur is a good choice because it's a broad spectrum de-wormer-- it will not help with coccidia but 9 out of 10 times that will show on a float.

I second the idea about contacting the adoption group-- I'm sure they will be a wealth of information for you and may be able to offer you a grey savy vet's name.

Congrats on your adoption!

Edited April 4, 2011 by tbhounds

[Guest bobber]

Wow thank you for all of the warm welcomes and great info!

 

Just to answer a few questions/ give more info. He raced is last race Dec 30, 2010. He arrived at the adoption center at the track on 3/2/11. We saw him on 3/4-5/11 and brought him home on 3/12/11 (he was neutered on 3/9/11) So we adopted from the track adoption place. I can try to contact them but I am not sure how much info I can get since he was only there 11 days.

 

I have read about the dewormer and have thought about asking for it, will discuss that tomorrow with vet.

 

He was not drinking much water, so we started adding water to his kibble/wet food and he loved it (seems to like anything so far) We also added some chicken broth to water bowl to get him to drink. This didn't seem to help much but we were advised to stop since it could make the big D/soft stools worse!

 

Oh and we are in Texas, just north of Houston. So I know there are vets out there, might need to do that. Our vet is a friend but we might need more of an expert! I am going to get a copy of the labs tomorrow so I can look into that more.

 

As far as switching foods, at this point I really would like to change him off the prescription food.... it is chicken and rice so I am sure fine but there has been no change and it is expensive!

 

thanks again for all of the info/advice and the welcome!

 

Wendy

 

Our whole family totally loves him! he is the sweetest thing and loves for us to pet him. I have two boys (8 and 3) and it is so cute to watch his ears perk up when they walk in the room!

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

The big D could be a few things... stress, food change from the track, water change ETC....

when switching food remember that many greyhounds are not used to super high end rich dog foods on the market. from what i have found there are a few foods that seem pretty easy on the belly for dogs fresh off the track (diamond, authority, and kirkland) all are reasonably priced.

if you are willing to try it out Raw is always a easy on the belly and you get less poop after, Greyhounds on the track are used to a mix of kibble, ground beef, and a mix of veggies, grains and fruits (depending on the kennel).

Here is a link to a great thread from a while back.... track food The Doggfather, Cheryl2, Chicocat,and wmlcml6 all have worked in the kennel, train greyhounds or own greyhounds so they know their stuff.

 

Like someone had said find a Vet who is greyhound savvy, it will save you so much hassle and issues later on.

[OwnedBySummer]

I've read that many greys get bad poop from food with chicken in it. So it could also be that. I have also been told that most if not all dogs coming from the track have internal parasites of one kind or another. I don't know if that's true or not but it sure seems to be, based on talking to people with new greys.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

I've read that many greys get bad poop from food with chicken in it. So it could also be that. I have also been told that most if not all dogs coming from the track have internal parasites of one kind or another. I don't know if that's true or not but it sure seems to be, based on talking to people with new greys.

 

many kennels and trainers now give wormers and other parasite control in their kennels so that is a big misconception, it could be a parasite or many other things. Its not always the chicken its the way its processed, i can do raw chicken with no issues and Authority brand dog food but no other type of chicken, also another reason many hounds dont do well on the chicken is the type of fat chicken has they are used to beef their whole lives and chicken doesnt process the same way.

[Guest d0ggiem0mma]

Welcome to the board and congrats on your new addition!!!

 

I don't think the soft poo is a huge issue, as long as it isn't super runny or watery. It can take a good 6-8 weeks for them to get adjusted when they are fresh off the tracks like yours. Pick a food, switch slowly over a week, and stick then with it for at least a month. My rescue group uses Science Diet Active. OSU gives the blood donor greyhounds mostly Eukanuba Lamb & Rice. Folks here on the board feed just about everything from Purina, to Wellness, to EVO, to raw. You just have to find what works for you and what works for your hound.

 

The urine is more troubling. I'd really like to see the lab values for the bloodwork and urine.

 

Make sure your vet has a lot of greyhound experience. If you don't already know, greyhounds are medically very different from other breeds. Their bloodwork reads differently and they react very differently to some medications. A vet that doesn't have greyhound experience can easily mess things up!

[Guest Desonia]

The big D could be a few things... stress, food change from the track, water change ETC....

This is exactly what I've would have said (but I'm french so with few mistakes) Our Marty had the big D when he arrived and his pee was orange. I think he was stressed, poor him, now he's fine. We feed him 100% raw. About the water drinking, Marty didn't drink a lot ether, but now he's ok. I think he was to shy, and didn't 100% trusted us...

 

Welcome on this marvellous forum and congrats on your new addition

[Guest katethegreyt]

Oh and we are in Texas, just north of Houston. So I know there are vets out there, might need to do that. Our vet is a friend but we might need more of an expert! I am going to get a copy of the labs tomorrow so I can look into that more.

 

Welcome. I live downtown = ) How far north are you? Did you get your houndie from GPA? If so, they are SUPER helpful, so I would give them a ring. If you live relatively close to Houston and did not adopt from them, you can still join their group. I got our girl from Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, but I then joined GPA because they have a lot of knowledgeable members and do a lot of events (meet and greets, playgroups, parades, etc) so my girlie can see other greys.

 

What type of food are you feeding your boy? There are LOTS of threads on here with food suggestions. I'm currently feeding Taste of the Wild, and my girl is doing wonderfully on it. I'm a newbie too, but from what I've read around here, at 3 weeks in a new home, and with a grey that only finished racing at the end of last year, he may very well be just in transition still.

 

Also, if you have the time and place to feed and prep raw, I would certainly consider that route. There are some dogs that just can't do it, but most seem to thrive on it = )

 

GPA would probably also have some greyhound savvy vet recommendations too, and I think there is also a sticky on here with a list that includes some Houston area vets.

 

 

[carronstar]

Welcome, you have a lot of great advice so far so I really have nothing to add aside from the welcome. You indicated your vet is your friend so I assume that means that you already have a good comfort level with him, as long as he is willing to confer with the grey savvy vets in the area, and learn what he needs to about this breed then you might not need to find a new vet. There is a lot of info on this board about what the blood/urine, etc. levels should be.

[Guest bobber]

Oh and we are in Texas, just north of Houston. So I know there are vets out there, might need to do that. Our vet is a friend but we might need more of an expert! I am going to get a copy of the labs tomorrow so I can look into that more.

 

Welcome. I live downtown = ) How far north are you? Did you get your houndie from GPA? If so, they are SUPER helpful, so I would give them a ring. If you live relatively close to Houston and did not adopt from them, you can still join their group. I got our girl from Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, but I then joined GPA because they have a lot of knowledgeable members and do a lot of events (meet and greets, playgroups, parades, etc) so my girlie can see other greys.

 

What type of food are you feeding your boy? There are LOTS of threads on here with food suggestions. I'm currently feeding Taste of the Wild, and my girl is doing wonderfully on it. I'm a newbie too, but from what I've read around here, at 3 weeks in a new home, and with a grey that only finished racing at the end of last year, he may very well be just in transition still.

 

Also, if you have the time and place to feed and prep raw, I would certainly consider that route. There are some dogs that just can't do it, but most seem to thrive on it = )

 

GPA would probably also have some greyhound savvy vet recommendations too, and I think there is also a sticky on here with a list that includes some Houston area vets.

 

We did not get him from GPA but did get him from Gulf Greyhou0nd like you did! I have been reading the GPA Houston site and will probably join. The events sound fun and the playday is not far from us. We are in the Conroe area. The more I read the more I think he is just in transition. I mean he was reloacted twice in less than two weeks! We are going to switch to raw this week.