Wellness Check Up

[MDBeland]

Well we adopted Marty on the 17th of this month and yesterday we took him to our vet for his wellness check up.

 

Weight:

1. When he had his surgery (neuter) on Dec. 7th he weighed 74.7 lbs. His racing weight was 75 lbs.

2. He weighed in yesterday at our vet at 73.4 lbs.

3 Our vet said the wt loss can be contributed to the differences in scales used, stress from schedule changes and a new home.

4. I have been feeding him 4 cups of a combination of Diamond Hi Energy (adoption center food) and Salmon/Rice Purina Pro Plan Focus. Slowly weening him off of the Diamond.

5. Our vet said once he gets his weight back up to 75 lbs. she would like to see him down to 3 cups of food daily all depending upon physical activity levels.

 

Ears:

1. Left Ear looked good.

2. Right Ear has a yeast infection. The doctor contributed that to an allergy/allergies. So I guess it's good that I'm changing his food to Salmon and Rice - our vet was perfectly fine with this food choice.

3. The doctor cleaned his ear really well and some brown/rust color debris came out. She prescribed Animax Ointment for treatment of both ears 1x per day for 7 days.

4. The medication she used at the office must have been stronger? He threw up when he got home. My wife researched it online and this is a side effect.

5. I called the doctors office this morning to inquire about the medication and if I should administer it today or possible change meds. I am still waiting to hear back from the office.

 

Nose:

1. The bridge of Marty's nose has a brown rust spot/stain on it. I initially thought it was irritation from his racing/kennel muzzle.

2. Our doctor held a black light over the spot to check for fungus - she really couldnt tell so she snipped a little of the hair and held it closer to the black light. She saw a faint florescent color which indicated fungus.

3. She attributed this to the dogs sharing muzzles.

4. She prescribed Conzol 1%. 1 drop to be applied to the affected area for twice a day for 2 weeks and then once a day after that for 7 days.

 

Every thing else check out just fine! We were there for 1.5 hours - visiting with our vet who has excellent bed side manner and took her time answering all out questions and gave our boy a thorough examination.

 

Has anyone else dealt with these issues?

Edited December 27, 2017 by MDBeland

[Roo]

Tessa had a yeast infection in her left ear when I adopted her (same brown goo as you described, and extremely itchy for her!). Vet prescribed Gentizol - 7 drops twice a day for 7 days. Cleared right up! And then it cleared up the yeast infection in her right ear about a month later No reoccurrence (in either ear) since then. She didn't have any side effects from the Gentizol.

 

Many greys stress off some weight when they transition from track life surrounded by buddies (all they've ever known) to adoption group to home (scary and new!). Some drop weight after their spay/neuters. It's pretty common! He should put the weight back on fairly easily.

 

I'm not sure about them sharing muzzles... At PRH, we keep the dog with the muzzle they came from the track with. Occasionally we'll have to borrow from a neighbor or get another used muzzle out of storage to replace a particularly chewed up muzzle, but it's not terribly common to routinely swap muzzles between dogs. I guess one time sharing a muzzle could be enough for a fungus to spread. But it's also possible that it is just irritation from the muzzle.

 

She sounds like a pretty good vet! I love the vets who will chat with you about your pup and answer all your questions without making you feel like you're holding them up.

Edited December 27, 2017 by Roo

[MDBeland]

I forgot my vet also prescribed Claritin for allergies.

 

The vet called and she said in all her treatments using the Animax she has had no vomiting. The nausea must be from the stress of the doctors visit and car ride home.

 

We are going to go ahead and administer another dose of the ointment this afternoon and if he vomits again though Im going to request the medication you used for Tessa - Gentizol.

Edited December 27, 2017 by MDBeland

[Remolacha]

I had a foster with an ear infection and his vet also used gentizol. Worked great with no side effects. I agree it is not unusual for them to loose a few pounds in the transition from track to home life, he’ll probably get back to his good weight in a few weeks! Your vet sounds like a keeper

[Roo]

I forgot my vet also prescribed Claritin for allergies.

 

The vet called and she said in all her treatments using the Animax she has had no vomiting. The nausea must be from the stress of the doctors visit and car ride home.

 

We are going to go ahead and administer another dose of the ointment this afternoon and if he vomits again though Im going to request the medication you used for Tessa - Gentizol.

 

It definitely could have been nerves and the car ride. Hopefully that was it and the Animax won't cause any vomiting!

[Neighsayer]

I’ve used Animax on several greys, and never had a problem.

[cleptogrey]

my11 year old 74-5# male is fed purina pro plan focus salmon and rice. he consumes 3.5-4 cups a day. i just cut it back to 3.5 cups since he's not as active during the winter. 3 cups might be too little, but then again i only add in Nupro supplement and NO canned food only the occasional yam or rice.

 

their weight can vary from day to day. watch the # of vertabrae and hip bones, it's the easiest way to see if they are stabile weight wise. he may have either peed or pooped a lot before seeing the vet.

[MDBeland]

Well it looks like my boy is having irritation with his right ear. He keeps pawing at the right side of his face. (I kept thinking his eye was irritated because they have had a reddish tint to them ever since adoption day but I think its more to his skin tone because he has a pinkish skin color - hes mostly white with black spots.)

 

Anyway the inside of his right ear is red + the medication drops Im sure doesnt feel good.

 

I gave him 10mgs of Claritin as recommended by our vet to help. Hopefully this clears up in the next 6 days. I cant stand having him go through itching his ear/face.

[MDBeland]

@cleptogrey.

 

Our vet recommended giving Marty some raw green beans, carrots, broccoli, or colliflower mixed in with his food (not too much though to avoid gas) to somewhat help with teeth cleaning.

 

Also, I have been adding a cup of water to his 2 cups of food for each feeding. I am just concerned he doesnt drink enough. I hope this is not too much water for the food? He does eat it all before it even has a chance to soak or even get soft.

[GeorgeofNE]

I'm glad you liked your vet.

 

None of those issues are serious or even unique to greyhounds.

 

One yeasty ear on one visit does NOT scream "allergies" to me (disclaimer: I am NOT a vet), and you should understand that a dog, like a person, can be allergic to literally anything. One yeasty ear is a POSSIBLY indicator of an allergy, but I'd treat is, see if it clears up, and only if it comes back would I start to wonder about allergies.

 

Many retired racers have assorted scars and bald patches, which anti racing people love to tout as evidence of abuse and/or neglect, but are more a commentary on how fragile greyhound skin is. I've actually never heard of a retiree having a fungus right there (because it is likely a bare patch from his muzzle that will fill in eventually), but it's not a big deal if it is.

 

And I would not worry at all about your dog barfing once after what was undoubtedly a stressful trip (that's an extremely LONG time to spend at the vet for a wellness visit).

 

Now, where it the photo of this fine fellow??

[Roo]

Also, I have been adding a cup of water to his 2 cups of food for each feeding. I am just concerned he doesnt drink enough. I hope this is not too much water for the food? He does eat it all before it even has a chance to soak or even get soft.

 

I grew up with a grey who absolutely would not drink water out of a bowl (it could be sweltering in the middle of summer and she still wouldn't drink!). We soaked her kibble in a reasonable amount of water (enough to make it float) and she never got dehydrated.

 

One yeasty ear on one visit does NOT scream "allergies" to me (disclaimer: I am NOT a vet), and you should understand that a dog, like a person, can be allergic to literally anything. One yeasty ear is a POSSIBLY indicator of an allergy, but I'd treat is, see if it clears up, and only if it comes back would I start to wonder about allergies.

 

Now, where it the photo of this fine fellow??

 

Agreed! Pictures please

 

And yeah, Tessa doesn't appear to be allergic to anything - just had a bit of a yeast problem when I got her. She's been yeast-infection-free for a couple months now and I haven't changed anything (other than treating her yeast infection!).

[XTRAWLD]

Ryder had what seemed like coffee grounds in his ear when he was adopted. It took a few flushings to get it all out. Could the ear perhaps be flushed again for some additional relief? I use Hexadene here.

 

Edited to add: I don't understand the link between food and ear infection. While I sympathize and had a dog with allergies and itchy ears (my boy Kasey, not Ryder) it was never a matter of yeast. These are separate issues IMO

Edited December 29, 2017 by XTRAWLD

[MDBeland]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Wedge2566/79EF59C0-AB2C-42D4-B0C6-83D1E0870A46_zpsggcbpmci.jpeg%5B%5Cimg%5D

[Remolacha]

love that picture

[Roo]

So cute!

[MDBeland]

Ryder had what seemed like coffee grounds in his ear when he was adopted. It took a few flushings to get it all out. Could the ear perhaps be flushed again for some additional relief? I use Hexadene here.

 

Edited to add: I don't understand the link between food and ear infection. While I sympathize and had a dog with allergies and itchy ears (my boy Kasey, not Ryder) it was never a matter of yeast. These are separate issues IMO

I dont know about allergy - that is what our vet mentioned. I think the infection is just from being in the track kennel and then being with all the other hounds at the track adoption center.

 

His ear looks a whole lot better since being on the medication - looks very clean.

 

The nose fungus shows no improvement so far but we still have 15 more days of meds with that issue.

Edited December 30, 2017 by MDBeland