Hi, New Member Here

[Guest tinams8]

I had a dog bloat and it was very obvious and much slower than that.

 

I am so sorry to hear about your devastating loss. I hope you can get past it someday and adopt another dog who turns out to be extra healthy, you have earned it. Troublefree wouldn't want you to be sad for him, when there is another dog out there waiting for a home.

[joejoesmom]

I am so sorry for your loss. Based on your description, I doubt your dog had bloat. It was most likely related to the circulatory system. There was nothing you could have done.

 

I do want to comment, despite the number of people who have had a similar experience on this forum, this is a rare occurrence in a greyhound. This is a very large forum and people have owned multiple greyhounds over many years. If you look at the number of people responding that they had a similar experience and divide that by the thousands of greyhounds that have been owned by the people of greytalk, you will see that this is indeed a rare event. Greyhounds are remarkably healthy purebred dogs. I am so glad to hear that you would consider getting another one. They are such sweet, loving companions.

 

Jane

Edited November 23, 2011 by joejoesmom

[joejoesmom]

Thanks all for the kind comments and thoughts, we miss Troublefree and they help more than you know. My wife and I are long time dog owners, volunteers at two local rescues and all of our four-legged "kids" have been adopted rescue dogs. This was our first greyhound though and this kind of experience has never happened to us before. Some reading I did seemed to imply that *maybe* greyhounds where slightly more susceptible to heart trouble then other breeds but it's not very clear. Anyway, after some initial reluctance, we are going to eventually consider adopting another. They really are very sweet and gentle souls.

 

-Lonnie

Since you are new to greyhounds and might not be aware, I am also going to give you a rundown on my view of greyhound health. In general, I think they are healthier than many other breeds of dogs. They do have a few issues that appear to be a bit more common than other large breed dogs.

 

The major one is bone cancer. All long boned, large breed dogs are prone to osteosarcoma. Retired racing greyhounds appear to be more prone than they "should" be (there is some controversy as to what the actual percentage is). So if you have a greyhound that develops a limp without an obvious cause, it is usually best to get an xray. Treatment of bone cancer has come a long way over the last 10 years, but it is still a very nasty disease. I don't believe that greyhounds are more prone to cancer than other breeds, just that if they get it, it is more likely to be bone cancer.

 

Greyhounds have a very flexible back. This may be why they seem prone to developing lumbar stenosis, an arthritis of the lower back. This is usually well managed with medications and/or injections. It is seldom the reason a greyhound needs to be euthanized, but rather a chronic illness.

 

Greyhounds, like other sighthounds, can develop corns on their paw pads. This is practically unheard of in other breeds. If you have a hound that limps on hard surfaces, but not on soft -- check for corns. They can be hulled, duct taped, creamed, bee propolised, and a host of other treatments. Once again, this is not life threatening but likely will need to be managed for the rest of the hounds life.

 

Some people say that greyhounds are slightly more likely to develop pannus, an eye condition. This is treated with medication and is another chronic, but not life threatening illness.

 

Otherwise, I have not heard of any other significant issues that are more prevalent in Greyhounds than other breeds. As a matter of fact, greyhounds very rarely have hip displasia; common in most large breeds.

 

Greyhounds do have test results that are normally abnormal. Their bloodwork is different from other dogs and can cause mis-diagnoses. They tend to have benign heart murmurs and slightly enlarged hearts (maybe where you got the idea that they may be slightly more susceptible to heart trouble?). They need a special medication called Amicar during major surgery or major trauma. These abnormalities are well documented by various sources. The one I like to give people is by Dr. Bill Feeman:

 

http://www.animalmed...21/e369c6e9.pdf

 

There are certainly other very good sources out there. I just like this one because it is easy to print out and give to adopters.

 

Once again, I am so sorry for your loss.

Edited November 23, 2011 by joejoesmom