General Health & Maintenance

[Guest Nat13]

Hi everyone,

 

I've had my lovely Grey, Nina, for 4 months now and she's settled in really well and really come out of her shell!

 

I was hoping for some advice on general care and maintenance for her, as I want to make sure I'm not missing anything! We've taken her to the vet for a general check up and vaccinations (she's recently been on a holiday to France with us so we had her wormed before re-entry to the UK). So I'm wondering about the following:

 

- Regular vet check ups? Should I be taking her to the vet for a general check up every 6 months / year? Or only if anything is wrong?

- Teeth cleaning? We've brushed her teeth a handful of times but I guess we should maybe be doing this more regularly? Someone suggested beef bones would help keep her teeth clean but when I got a bone from the butcher I think he gave me rib and she looked like she was trying to eat the actual bone so I took it off her. She regularly has dental stick chews.

- Nails? We've taken her once to a groomer to have her nails clipped, and it looked fairly straight forward so I think we may get some clippers so we can do it ourselves more regularly. I guess the frequency with which this needs doing will very much depend on how much they get worn down whilst she's walking?

- Flee treatments? I haven't given her any treatments yet. I know greyhounds have to have a specific type of treatment, so do I order this online or go to the vet and again how regularly?

- Baths? I've given her one so far with a medicated shampoo to help with some dandruff she had, which worked well, although the dandruff is coming back now so I may give her another one soon...

- Do I need to clean her ears?

- Anything else?

 

Basically as she can't tell me what she needs I just want to make sure I'm looking after her properly and giving her all everything she needs and that I haven't missed anything!

 

Thanks,

 

Natalie (me) & Nina (my Grey)

[MP_the4pack]

Do brush her teeth. One of mine has gorgeous teeth. The other not. I have to not only brush daily but give her a dental twice a year.

I've had a couple of dogs that ended up toothless. While they still ate just about everything, they had the pain of bad teeth, pain of extraction and struggled with the hard treats.

 

Too many baths will dry her skin more. Try adding fish oil to her food. Or eggs. Since I have chickens they get eggs regularly.

 

Yearly checkups are plenty unless she has prob.

 

Also they are usually easy to do nails. Search for dremel in this topic or in EVERYTHING to learn how to dremel their nails.

 

Does she have fleas? I'd treat only if needed. But if you have heartworm disease in the UK definitely give her monthly meds for that.

 

Also, there are great books for caring for greys. One is Care of the Racing Greyhound, another is Greyhounds for Dummies. (I hope I got the titles right)

 

And congrats on joining the greyhound cult!

[Hubcitypam]

Once a year to the vet should be fine unless something comes up...but in my case with every grey something did come up. I don't think any of mine ever went a year between vet visits.

I'm the devil incarnate as I don't brush my dogs teeth. Of my six greyhounds only Buck ever needed a dental.

 

I can trim light and horn colored nails but black ones I let the groomer or vet do. Dremel is good advice.

 

I always have Advantage on hand but don't use it until I see a flea, which is one or two times a year. Then I wash al the bedding and spay everything that isn't moving with Adams spray.

All my greyhounds were bathed twice a year in the backyard with oatmeal dog shampoo and the water hose. I never cleaned their ears and the vet never said anything.

[RedHead]

I do yearly checkups at the vet and don't go otherwise unless needed. I know they suggest older dogs visit the vet every 6 months, but I have never done that personally.

 

Some greys have great teeth, others not. I brush every day, use dental gels and give loads of chew bones, but my guy still needs cleanings almost every year. My other dog, has perfect teeth with virtually no maintenance.

 

I rarely bath...maybe once a year. I clip nails myself, they grow fast so I find I have to do them every few weeks. I just use regular dog nail clippers, but my guy is very chill and I can do it while he is lying down. I check his ears, but very rarely need to clean them.

 

I don't have big flea or tick problems where I live, so I only give flea meds if I see a flea (twice ever). Lots of people give them as a monthly preventative though. Just depends on your location/vet advice/personal preference.

 

 

 

 

[GeorgeofNE]

So, I am guessing you've never owned a dog of any kind before?

 

I'll just address the bathing--dandruff is a normal greyhound thing. More frequent bathing will most likely make it worse, not better. Adding some omega fatty acid supplement (AKA "fish oil" ) to her diet will improve the condition of her skin and make decrease the dandruff, but greyhounds have, by nature, dry skin which is why they don't smell like most dogs-- A greyhound should not need a bath more than once a year, and many people NEVER bathe them.

 

An annual visit to the vet should be sufficient for a young healthy dog.

[Guest Nat13]

So, I am guessing you've never owned a dog of any kind before?

 

No you're right I never have had. My husband's family have dogs, but they're French Bulldogs so completely different!

 

Thanks everyone for all the advice, it's greatly appreciated!

[DocsDoctor]

Everyone else has already given you greyt advice, and I agree that just a yearly vet visit for booster jabs and a health check is fine, if she's healthy and happy.

 

However I would give the vet's a call about flea/worm/ etc preventatives now, if I were you. This is because the situation varies from area to area even within the UK, and your vet will be aware of local risks. Down here for instance mine checks whether we walk in any of the Royal Parks (which have deer herds = possibility of ticks), lungworm has also recently become an issue. So that means I need to apply Advocate (prescription-only) monthly and give a wormer every six months.

 

You don't have to buy the preventatives from your vet, it often works out much cheaper to buy them from an online chemist. If you need a written prescription your vet must supply this though s/he can charge - I paid around £12 for one for a year's supply of Advocate, well worth while as it was so much cheaper online.

[Guest newyorkgrey]

I just bought salmon oil in a pump yesterday, like a soap pump bottle. I was feeding them the capsules, and it makes a high difference to their coat. The pump will make it easier to mix it in. One of the numerous vets/specialists I've been to this year suggested omega 3s daily. So, I'm upping their intake and also taking a look at a multivitamin. My dogs don't get or need baths other than the rare wipe down. The older one grooms the younger one, unfortunately its not reciprocated, but the older one is very clean.

 

I don't do 6 month check ups. Most of the quality of their daily life comes from you. 99.9% of it.

 

I let them brush their own teeth - basically I made them think the toothbrushes are fun, so I put the paste on and they run off and chew the bristles and gnaw the brush.

[Guest Scouts_mom]

Be careful giving your dog bones as they can crack their teeth. A better choice is bully sticks, raw turkey necks or kongs. If you do give bones, you need to get the big, thick bones such as leg bones and always raw. Make sure anything you give your dog is made/grown in a country with strong (enforced) quality control. It may be an urban legend, but Chinese rawhides, etc. can be poisonous.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Scouts_mom

[juliemac]

All good advice ... now we need PICTURES!!