?s About He's Just Not Right

[Guest FawnFan]

As some of you know I lost my nine year old named Gunner at the end of May. Since Dawson, who is my oldest, my first greyhound and my only remaining greyhound, seems to be fine as far as grief is concerned. Yet he also seems to be deteriorating health-wise somehow. It is just a feeling for me at this point.

 

So here's what I'm seeing. First, he'll be 11 at month-end. Next, he's been panting more than usual, imho. During the day he'll wake up from a sound sleep (the boy loves his sleep) and lay there, head up panting. After 2-3 minutes or so, he'll lay his head down and go back off to sleep. Gunner used to do this at a more frequent pace yet it reminds me of this when Dawson does it. I have the air conditioning on and he doesn't go outside for long (maybe 5-8 minutes to do his business and then back in) and we don't do walks because of corns on each paw and arthritis in his ankles. He also seems a little tiny bit "wobbly" (best word to describe it) yet I chalked it up to him getting older, the legs are just not working as well as they used to and the corns (he sometimes looks like he's walking on egg shells).

 

If I take him to the Vet, which is not his favorite place, what do I tell her? Just what I'm seeing and noted above? Or do I try an aspirin once a day to see if there is a difference? Or do I give him some of Gunner's leftover meds? I think I have tramadol left and the gabapentin. Ran out of the Rimadyl.

 

I feel like he might be in pain yet there's no real indication as to where other than his feet. And now that I'm typing this out, maybe it is just his feet. We haven't been successful with any of the corn treatments yet. I'm thinking of trying the homeopathic one from Lori Rose.

 

Given all of the above, it seems he just isn't right yet I can't pinpoint what, where, how much it hurts, etc. Any suggestions, thoughts, ideas?

 

Thanks for your help,

Jean

[Walliered]

Can you hull the corms? They can really hurt.

[krissy]

Please don't give any medications without consulting your vet first. You can cause some serious medical problems or if he ends up needing other medications you may be seriously limiting what the vet can give due to drug interactions. There is nothing that makes me cringe more when I am taking my history than the owner telling me they have been giving aspirin... especially when I was going to want to give Metacam or some other NSAID... and then I can't.

 

When in doubt about an animal's health a call to the vet is in order.

[Batmom]

I'd hull the corns and get a physical and probably some bloodwork at the vet.

[Remolacha]

I know what you mean. I lost Fletcher (11 yr old) three weeks ago, and Molly, also 11, has been a bit off. She is not obviously grieving, they got along fine but weren't close, and I have another greyhound. However, I believe part of her behavior is related to the change in the household, I am certainly still grieving, and I know she picks up on that. She has been doing that panting thing, but I am fairly sure it is related to the heat, even though she doesn't go out for more than a few minutes at a time. She is also getting more wobbly, although she doesn't have corns. I am going to see if her vet can see her next week, just to do a general checkup. You know your dog best, and if you feel there is something off, there is, although it may just be corns and age. It wouldn't hurt to have a checkup done, to ease your mind if nothing else.

[tbhounds]

One other thought that crossed my mind when I read about him waking from a deep sleep panting. Does his breathing sound different to you I wonder if he's developing Laryngeal Paralysis --aka LP, Lar Par.

[PatricksMom]

I'd take him in, and definitly no asprin in the meantime. Hoping it's nothing serious.

[Guest FawnFan]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll take him in and see what they have to say.

 

TBHounds, nope his breathing doesn't sound different at all. It is just like with Gunner with the osteo... all of the sudden, he would be up (awake) and panting. And given that Gunner's experience is relatively fresh in my memory, it was the first thing that came to mind.

 

Thanks again,

Jean

 

P.S. I forgot to add, yes I hull his corns as frequently as he lets me. I just took out the two in the back feet last week. His front feet are a little more sensitive and take more time. So I'm working on those. I also try to massage bag balm into his paws too. Sometimes he won't let me do that either. But yes, the corns are hulled when possible.

 

Thanks again

Edited July 8, 2013 by FawnFan

[4My2Greys]

Think about having his heart checked out. Nadir had been doing a lot of panting, which I had been attributing to pain, which I now know was due what is going on with his heart.

I'm so sorry that you too are having to go through this with another sick pup after losing Gunner.

[tbhounds]

Jean-I see you're from NJ--if those corns really become crippling to your guy send me a pm. I work at a clinic in northern Nj that is staffed by an amazing surgeon. She has performed successful corn surgery before. The recovery time is something like 5 weeks (in bandages) but, wow-to be corn free--priceless.

Edited July 8, 2013 by tbhounds

[Guest erssie]

We had the same with our boy. Putting the head straight up in the air, and panting like that, it could be some sort of chest problem.

With our boy, he had a mass in his chest pressing on the trachea which just turned out to be a lung lobe twist, and not cancer at all.

However greys will do that panting thing, whatever sort of pain they are suffering or as a stress reaction to pain. I would ask them to do a full check up, even a chest xray which can be done without any sedative if they can get him to lie on one side. it might be about £50 but with us, not doing that chest xray cost us a lot of time.

There are lots of reasons for being short of breath,or having laboured breathing (panting more than normal) and most of the reasons are not that sinister, but it can make you worry.

With us, our dog was coughing badly but it was not until we videoed it, after 4 mths of having it, that our vet really listened to us and did an xray.

I would take a viddy on your phone, and show it to the vet....what they see before their eyes they believe and can diagnose so much more easily than what they see when your dog comes to the vets or you describe it.

Trouble with greys is that they are standing, wired and adrenalin pumped when visiting the vets and that can mask a lot of things. It is when your grey is at rest, and snoozing, but overbreathing that you probably notice it.

[MP_the4pack]

I was leaning towards a heart problem too.

[Guest FawnFan]

Thanks everyone for your advice and for sharing your experiences. Taking a video is a great idea and I will do it the next time he's in the office with me. And right now I'm still getting over the loss of Gunner to osteo mid-May and the panting reminds sooooo much of G's last few weeks. So initially I was thinking it was pain related yet I also was being in denial too. I will get him into the Vet this week and then let everyone know.

 

Thanks again. I appreciate the guidance and support,

Jean

[krissn333]

Hoping if it's anything at all, it's something easily figured out and treated

[galgrey]

Hoping if it's anything at all, it's something easily figured out and treated

What krissn333 said.

[GeorgeofNE]

Just my 2 cents: as counterintuitive as it may seem, dogs with arthritis REALLY need to be exercised. Just like people. He needs to maintain flexibility, which he won't do laying around, and muscle tone. The more muscle tone a dog has, the more support his joints have. Just like people.

 

Like me...

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I agree with George

 

Also, take care of the corns if you can.

 

As for the panting, my 11.5 year old pants randomly like that, too, and there's nothing wrong with her that I know of.