Looking After Greyhound Teeth

Finally, we can breathe a sigh of relief as our 12 yr old hound got through his surgery OK and even with a slight collapsing of trachea and laryngospasm he was just fine with anaesthesia (thanks to our amazing recent vet who refused to do it 2 weeks ago on a very hot day, he never takes chances with it like our old vet used to). 

I've written these notes on dental hygiene to give people the benefit of our 13 yrs experience of owning greyhounds in the hope they will not start the dental hygiene regime too late. 

Dental disease often starts a long time before a greyhound is adopted

When we first got Harry his teeth had been neglected with a dental pocket, terrible dark brown plaque, so the RGT cleaned them, and we had a dental every 18 mths and used antibacterial gel on his pocketed area. However, even with all that, he still lost a couple of teefies today where the pocket was and had to have some bone removed. The vet said for a 12 yr old, we've done an amazing job as all his other teeth apart from the pocket we inherited are great and he thinks we are the, ost the meticulous customers in his practice. Sometimes greyhounds have 30+ teeth upwards removed and its not the adopters' fault but it is important to minimise further damage. We have had 4 greyhounds and today, this was our first extraction and root canal debridement. Our other 3 greyhounds have had zero teeth removed in their lifetime. We are proud of that but ts difficult to get other dog owners of sighthounds to listen to our lengthy description of a multi-approach when most are wanting to find, and often do find, a one word tip. 

Today, the teeth were fine, no decay at all, but his gum was soft and a hollow pocket allowed food to get in near his jawbone. In case you think your dogs teeth look clean, so don't clean regularly because of that, and haven't heard of periodontal disease here are the facts. 

Chews, toys, bones, animal parts are unlikely to eradicate all dental plaque 

Chews and toys or bones etc, might clean the enamel surfaces of teeth on the ends,but there is still an unhealthy biofilm of food and bacteria collecting near the gum. Gums become inflamed (gingivitis) and bleed. Eventually with gum disease, the gum shrinks back from the tooth exposing part of the root of the tooth. It's here that a pocket might form. Advanced pockets will show a darker, brown patch or even go grey and black. The root of the tooth doesn't have thick enamel on, chewing bones or chew toys, etc don't help here and can cause further impaction or injury to gums. Bacteria on the softer tooth root eat away and can cause infection in the bone. The bacteria that collect on hounds' teeth can cause cardiovascular disease too, especially in heart valves, and can lead to death. You can't always see pockets or infections clearly unless you peel back lips, look at the back teeth with the mouth open as back teeth fit together like scissors and hide some surfaces. These pockets are definitely preventable if you have a dog young enough or start your regime right away and remember there are no shortcuts. We've had 5 dogs and Zero extractions on teeth we've kept clean. Our Harry was 2 when he retired, 5 when we fostered him and noticed a horrid smell and I think some adopters might've been put off. I recognised the smell as Staphylococcus as my arm had been previously rotted down to the bone by Staph. A. But we could only maintain hygiene and slow down existing pocket development and we adopted too late to get rid of it. 

Greyhounds have notoriously poor dental health. But why is that? 

So why do greyhounds get bad teeth so easily? Some people say neglect, or the type of food given in the racing industry is to blame, but plenty of other rescue breeds don't get bad teeth like greyhounds. But that isn't the whole answer. However, trainers with big kennels do feed dogs chews and pigs ears but don't usually brush greyhound teeth often enough to get rid of food particles (some don't bother at all) or notice the gums that high up or back in the mouth if they've got a lot of dogs. My dogs' previous owners relied on full dental hygiene being done once retired. However, RGT haven't got resources to clean teeth as often as I do. The best reasons I've heard from my vet. He knows customers like to point to one clear reason to simplify matters but it's a bit more complex. These things can affect teeth: 

• Sticky or sweet food as young adults can cause plaque and bacteria to stick to teeth and gums. Of course we let ours have the odd bit of sweet potato mash and other human food. They like those foods but if they are messy, they squeeze up into spaces between teeth, onto gums and can sit in cheek pouches and so chews like dental sticks, chicken feet,bones or toys just aren't reaching those areas. 
• Acidic foods (like tomato sauce) and acid from sugar being acted on by bacteria eat away enamel coating on teeth. It is vile but bacteria love eating sugar but bacteria poop out acid and its often that which is pathological in biology. The root and higher part of the tooth has little or no enamel and bacteria eat at the surface which becomes rough, pitted, and even easier for dental plaque to sit on it. 
• Anatomy. Greyhounds have long, narrow jaws and after eating a meal, they can't quite reach all areas with their own tongue to lick clean and when they drink, they tend to throw water right back to the back of the throat not touching teeth. The teeth worse affected are the ones at the top back, and where they overlap the bottom back. 
• No brushing at all. No attempts by their people to brush food particles out of teeth and plaque off surfaces daily. Ideally it should be done about 1 hour after each meal (so that their enamel hardens a bit and remineralises) 
• Not brushing frequently enough. We brush thoroughly once or even twice daily, we also wipe off teeth and gums with dental wipes once daily (or after sugary food... Veggies, or starchy food like potatoes, peas, beans or fruits like tomatoes can have sugars even if natural) and we add vet dentisept, an oral antiseptic containing Chlorhexadine (like Corsadyl for humans but much more dilute ) inside back teeth and rub along gums to keep mouth healthy at night when they might get dry mouth. 

WARNING ⚠ NEVER USE HUMAN OR OTHER DENTAL PRODUCTS NOT MEANT FOR DOGS. THEY MAY CONTAIN XYLITOL OR OTHER CHEMICALS TOXIC TO DOGS. IN FACT, EVEN IF WE DON'T BUY STUFF FROM OUR VET WE NEVER USE ANYTHING WITHOUT ASKING OUR VET WHO KNOWS OUR ANIMAL THOROUGHLY (NOT A VET NURSE OR VET RECEPTIONIST IF THEY DON'T KNOW OUR HOUNDS) IF IT IS OK TO USE A PRODUCT

• Not using a good quality enzymatic anti-plaque tooth gel. You do get what you pay for and the more costly tooth gels like Logic have enzymes that dissolve plaque or tartar (gardened plaque). We use Logic gel (currently around £8.28 to £14 per 70g). And we also use Dentisept gel with Chlorhexadine at around £13 for 20g 
• Not sufficiently training a dog to accept brushing. I've had greyhounds who really don't like the brushing but they learn. Two of my dogs didn't like any touch, not even a pat. They would've had my hand off just for a pat or stroke at times or putting a collar on. However from the moment they arrive here training starts and involves daily handling including mouth. If I have a bitey dog, a muzzle goes on, then a glove on me and for the first week I let a new hound lick an inch of Logic off my finger through a muzzle. As they get used to handling, I train dogs to "open up" meaning mouth, then have a pretend inspection and reward. Just a 1 second look is a huge deal on a bitey dog and doesn't happen right away and takes trust so we don't force it, but build up gradually . Eventually they'll let you hold the jaw, and pull back lips to inspect gums. That is really important because a lot of the nasty dental disease happens to teeth in their cheeks or high up where gums start. Practice just putting something nice and tasty like a small treat, with Logic on, into various places in the mouth. After this,we start putting Logic on a finger brush and build up to moving it up and down and in circles slowly. You can then move on to a longer brush with a small head if you find it easier. Whether it takes weeks, months or several years we keep up this progressive training because getting the Logic and Dentisept into the mouth helps even without brushing. 
• Not giving dogs routine dental scrapes. We get a dog in for a dental usually within 6 mths of adoption. We let them settle first but what we don't do is wait until teeth are bad then have them scraped under anaesthesia because that takes longer with a higher probability of extractions. It's a false economy to wait. Speak to your vet because if you agree to do a dental scrape on a regular basis longterm, with no other work, they will sometimes offer a discount. Prevention is a lot cheaper than curative surgery once there is extraction, and jawbone involvement. My Harry had root canal treatment to treat a pocket (he developed it long before we fostered him and started dental care) it has cost £1,100 so far, with 2 more vets visits, painkillers and antibiotics next visit. Once a dental pocket has formed its much harder to keep clean and normal brushing can't brush into the pocket and it does finally rot the jawbone.

A word about anaesthetics 

A lot of people do worry about putting a Hound under anaesthesia because greyhounds are "different". This used to be especially true many years ago because greyhounds reacted badly to barbiturates based anaesthetics and ketamine based vet meds. However, for at least a decade modern vets choose to use human based anaesthesia which is a lot safer, more effective and clears the system a lot faster. If you had a Hound years ago you'll remember that dogs used to be really wobbly and out of it post surgery for about 24 hrs. These days my dogs have had a number of surgeries and procedures and we've been quite surprised the greyhounds are quite lively when we pick them up. They might be tired and sleep more ftom painkillers or just the emotional strain but when they stand up they aren't wobbly or drunk.

Greyhounds on modern anaesthetics will have some risk, just like othe larger dogs, and those risks can increase with age but don't let it put you off having regular scrapes. If your dog needs a scrape with no extractions, then he will be under anaesthesia for less time and so risk is lessened. You can choose to prevent tartar build up at a younger age and its best not to keep putting it off and then need something big done when they are elderly. My Harry is 12 this year and still coped with surgery very well. There are things you can do to minimise the risk as well. If it's not emergency surgery and you get to choose when it's fine, choose surgery for a cooler time of year as many UK surgeries do not have air conditioning available for every Kennel and dogs might not recover so well if dehydrated too. A few weeks ago it was hot and Harry was panting a lot and had been NIL BY MOUTH so wouldn't have coped as well after surgery during a heatwave. So we deferred it until this week. If a vet won't allow you to change the day, and its not an emergency, then I'd question whether that vet has your dog's best interests at heart. Also, I'd talk your worries over with a vet. We did and we told them what to look out for in Harry's behaviour that showed he was struggling with heat or dehydration. And we gave them permisdion in advance to stabilise him with IV fluids if needed. Some vets might try to avoid it as it's an extra cost but we made it clear if in doubt, we're happy to pay a bit more. We are also careful about not choosing very cold weather for procedures if we can as hounds have little body fat and might get clinically cold post surgery and it's just better for them to have a cool, temperate day. They burn up a lot of energy keeping warm and will have had little food that day.

Even when we do all of the above, we can still get trouble with our hounds' teeth. But if we try as best we can we'll have minimised trouble with them. Sometimes despite all this you can find gum shrinkage, loose teeth and plaque bacteria getting into the jaw. We've had two dogs with no extractions, one dog with about 5 and our latest has had 10 with another 9 borderline teeth. 

New Vet

I am missing Dizzy a bit, even though he could be a bit of a nuisance. He was very noisy! Mummy and Daddy are looking for a new vet for me. Mummy and Daddy have not been 100% happy with what happened with Dizzy's condition now they have had time to review all the facts.

Originally, back in Feb, Dizzy developed a distinctive cough then had rapid breathing difficulties, as well as being snappy and in pain. So we visited our vet, but he was too busy to see Dizzy so we saw another vet in the same practice who dealt with orthopaedic cases, although this is not why Dizzy had an appointment. Mummy and Daddy did said they thought there was something wrong with his chest, but the vet ignored any questions and just started pulling Dizzy's legs out. Dizzy always squeaks when you do that, and Mummy and Daddy already knew he had joint stiffness and age related weakness....but the chest and breathing was a different thing. The vet told us that all dogs pant and breathe like that, and he was probably just hot. We knew differently and were not that happy. I kept saying 'I know my own dog, and there is something very wrong with him'' especially as Dizzy was snapping at home, and having difficulty breathing out....and I asked if we could have an xray, but the question was never answered. We both asked, does an xray mean he would have to go under a general anaesthetic, and the vet said yes of course he would...so we did not pursue asking for an x ray, trusting the vet would know if we did need one and was not keen to do one. Dizzy was 9 so we did not take a general anesthetic lightly.

The vet handed over to our usual vet, outside of our hearing, and the normal vet came in said he was too busy to have a conversation or answer any questions, so we just had to listen and he just talked at us non stop about Dizzy's back legs and what it could be, and the options....all of us  wanted to say, ''forget the legs...what about the breathing!'' We were prescribed Cimalgex for his bad legs, but nothing for his chest.

That evening the cough developed and worsened and he was very unwell, so we had to go back....and he was diagnosed with a cough and given antibiotics. We had several trips back and forth, where it was difficult for us to get any information across because the vet was too busy or too tired, and he tested the urine and found some blood or protein, and so we continued with antibiotics for a bladder infection with the advice he had probably got a bladder infection from being run down with the chest infection.

The really distinctive straining and coughing and breathing abnormality just got worse but we were just continuing to treat the bladder with antibiotics but Mummy was not happy about not doing anything with the chest. So in May, about 4 mths after the onset of the cough, Mummy talked to the vet on the phone and said she was really not happy about what was happening and that instinctively, it looked like Dizzy was wasting away, refusing to eat, and that there was something very wrong in the chest with loud intermittent honking and straining noises. The vet said  it sounded like a tumour on his chest and we really needed an x ray asap. At last, Mummy thought, and she asked about the procedure, thinking it would be a general, and found that actually, all was required was to lay Dizzy on his side and possibly have a sedative. It was done so quickly, and so easily without a sedative Mummy was wondering why we had waited so long to do it and why we were told it would need a general. So why had he not had one before? Despite going back and forth?

The vet phoned us, told us he had found a really big mass in front of his heart and it was probably a cancer like thymoma, or lymphoma. He kept telling us, if he did open the chest and it was a thymoma he had treated several dogs in the same way and they all lived. However, that changed to a diagnosis of cancer after needle biopsy with a rare chance it could be something mimicking cancer, but no suggestions as to what diseases could give such chest symptoms and results. We talked over the treatment options and he advised us if we decided to go elsewhere for oncology, then Dizzy would get treated without our consent and they would 'take over' our dog and we would 'not get a say in what happens' like we do at our nomal vet....Mummy and Daddy were suitably worried by that, so decided to stay with their trusted overall general vet. Dizzy did love being there. We were told it was about 99% a cancer tumour, and that surgery was very risky and a big deal, so we were advised to have chemo.

So poor old Dizzy went through lots of chemo treatment and came out in sores, stopped eating, but kept  getting the same symptoms of the cough, struggling to breathe and a dipping spine and laboured panting....and each time the only thing that relieved it was draining the fluid off. We got to know the hallmark symptoms of fluid building up really well and specifically requested that Dizzy was drained sooner, rather than later, to avoid it becoming a painful crisis like it had done each time. However, the last time it built up pre surgery the vet said there was no need to drain it because he could see outwardly that his breathing was fine and his bloods were so good, but we were back in 2 days for it to be done as it was another crisis and Dizzy in huge pain. He was not fine, he would stand in front of the TV for attention for hours, panting in and out, and if he tried to move or lie down he would cry out, grown and growl and get up. He got so tired he would collapse on our hands. But all the time, we did not want to think the vet was wrong and trusted his judgement.

Then the last time he had fluid drained, a simple needle procedure, the fluid built up in about 4 or 5 days so it got to the crisis of surgery being needed and he was in so much pain and digging at the floor and totally unable to sit or lie down for about 12 hours, not even in the car and he was tired...he looked like he was dying to us, and I think he was.. So he had surgery and we were advised that the lung had become necrotic, and it was biopsied for cancer and removed and we were told it was probably cancer but could talk over treatment options.

Dizzy came home, became swollen in his legs which bothered him. but not that much.
However, the old symptoms of fluid inside the chest cavity came back. Mummy knew it was there and Dizzy would tell her by his behaviour. So Daddy took me back to the vet to see if we could drain it. A different vet saw Dizzy, and remarked that the wound was closed to the chest cavity and had no way of draining the fluid and advised that he would be kept in to open up the wound and drain the fluid out of the chest. And extraordinarily, he advised us this was not cancer at all, it was actually a twisted lung lobe. We were told his chances of survival were very good, provided the fluid can be drained etc and complications managed. That morning was the last morning I saw him alive. At home, we had a little party because we thought he was through the worst. Mummy researched lobe torsion and found that provided the twist is not untwisted in situ, and removed whole, and the chest kept free of fluid that dogs had a fairly good chance of recovery but obviously can die easily in the first 7 days. We were up to 8 or 9 days so should have been past danger. We did keep pushing for the chest xray, but being told it was unkind and too much to put him through.
Mummy was very concerned about there not being a drain or some kind of shunt to get rid of fluid in there. And his skin was crackling, like plastic everywhere, which we now know is subcutaneous emphysema where air tries to escape the chest cavity and comes up as bubbles through the skin and can be a sign of a serious underlying condition. That meant as well as fluid, he had air in the chest, and if that air got to the heart it could be fatal.

However, when our own vet came back on duty, he decided to not drain the main chest wound or chest cavity and treated the oedema in the legs only with pressure bandages. On the phone, we kept asking for the chest to be drained as we knew 100% what Dizzy's symptoms were telling us with his difficulties and pain and were advised, his breathing is fine so they do not feel we need to put him through the discomfort of xray. We were not invited to visit, and each day got ready to pick him up and also kept being told he was scoffing his food, but then when he was home it was really difficult to get him to eat. He was very weakened by lack of food, and lack of sleep. Mummy was grief stricken on the Wed and Thurs, she had a really bad feeling about this and kept pushing and pushing for someone to drain that chest. They did eventually open the chest, after Dizzy had died and loads of fluid came out.

Mummy also mentioned she was upset that Dizzy was suffering so much pain, we knew how bad it was when he tried to dig a hole in the carpet. He kept laying his head on her lap and looking so pathetic and in need of pain  relief. However, when Mummy asked about it she was advised that blood pressure could drop and put the dog into crisis so she understood why they were withheld. But the vet did make a comment about Mummy being uncomfortable about the pain, rather than Dizzy, and that it might be a case of making Mummy more comfortable rather than what Dizzy needs. After asking around, it turns out that a lot of other greyhounds have had similar or even less serious operations and had always had some form of strong pain relief. The research also said after lobectomy, patients improve faster if they are without pain because mobility is so important to avoid complications. I think if Dizzy had not been in pain from the fluid, he could have perhaps walked a bit more....and moved it. But why did he not have a drain? A greyhound has to wonder about that....it seemed obvious to me.

On friday, poor Dizzy collapsed and could not be revived. He was xrayed and it was discovered he had a completely filled chest cavity. The vet says he cannot say what the cause of death is and was quite tearful about the experience. Mummy however feels she knows what the reason could be. Weakened by pain, fatigue of not being able to go to sleep and not able to eat his organs were probably in a very poor condition despite appearing 'normal'. But if that chest was so full of fluid, that it was causing him that much pain and pushing his chest out, how could a heart muscle keep pushing and beating against that pressure? Mummy and Daddy strongly feels they have lost confidence in their vet. Throughout the whole of this condition it seems as if treatment was reactive instead of proactive. Mummy and Daddy were so familiar with the conditions of him having pressure build up from the fluid, that they  could pinpoint how full that chest was....but sadly, they were made to feel as if they were neurotic parents and the vet knew best. However, they feel that if Dizzy had been sent for MRI or CT scan, it would have cost less than the chemotherapy did anyway (which was unnecessary) and then a vet might have operated and fixed that twisted lung. They feel that with the correct surgery, there probably would have been a drain or outlet put in....either tube or shunt...and that his chances were pretty fair. In January, he was a very fit and active dog...he went so downhill and got skinny and wizened and in poor condition, and at his very worst he ended up having the surgery. There were decisions being made after the event, but no particular hurry to try and get a clear treatment plan. And Mummy and Daddy are not qualified vets. But they feel their vet let them down in not listening and draining the chest of fluid before eventually it finished him off. The vet did cry when Dizzy passed away, but I wonder if he was crying for Dizzy and us, or feeling inadequate in some way. They could have been genuine, or could have been crocodile tears.

We were never actually told by our main vet that Dizzy did not have cancer, and never had the lung torsion explained to us at all by him. In fact, we suspect that when he removed the 'tumour' he did not actually know it was not a tumour, and that it was just a necrotic lung lobe as he did nor recognise it. And if he did not recognise it right away, (and Mummy and Daddy could have done now they have images of what they look like), then did he follow the procedure for tying off the drainage to it, so that necrotic fluid did not flood the other organs? As that is a major cause of death in a twisted lobe lobectomy surgery. And if Dizzy did not have cancer, and was doing so well in hospital...then why did the vet sound so miserable and spoke with a guarded (funereal) voice when we spoke to him, why did not say ''hey guys, good news, I was wrong, its not cancer after all'''?

Also, during Dizzy's treatment 3 times he was prescribed with an antibiotics that he has intolerance of and causes him severe vomiting and diarrhoea, and it was not written on his record. And several times a suggestion of a prescription were given but then the meds did not turn up in the dispensed drugs when we got home (or in the case of post surgery, we were only given one days supply of rehydration powders, no diuretics and only the min of one Cimalgex a day)And he had major, major surgery but no pain management as such other than taking one Cimalgex. Mummy understands pain relief can cause a drop in blood pressure etc, but really, for a major thing like he had...he was suffering. She did give him a little extra pain relief herself in addition, and found he was much recovered and able to walk and eat. All the evidence Mummy and Daddy found online about this major lung surgery showed that being pain free helped more in mobility aned then recovery.

We also got the opportunity ourselves of the referral to the Ohio SU and greyhound wellness program all set up  for our vet. But he didn't follow it through as requested, and then it was too late and Dizzy went into crisis and needed surgery.Mummy and Daddy had given him the tel no of a lady at the Ohio State University Wellness programme for greyhounds; they treat a lot of sick hounds there and are the World's expert in greyhound medicine....what a waste of a resource!

It is easy to blame someone when things go wrong, but we cannot help but think we could see all the warning signs and nobody was listening to what we knew of our own dog. Apparently, we are not the first people to have experienced these sorts of problems with vague diagnosis and treatment plan, and vague post operative care and not sticking to procedure. The vet is a lovely, lovely, man but we we cannot help doubt his expertise and ability to manage serious conditions. The RCVS had problems on previous cases with this vet, but we did not know of this until after Dizzy's death. We believe that half the problem of him being reactive and just treating what is visible in front of his eyes is down to plain overwork. He does not have the time to listen to our symptoms or descriptions, or look at our own suggestions or follow stuff up. He was always asking us to keep our information back, until the next time we speak, as he was seriously rushed off his feet and had a mental day. This was what he said on every appointment and of course, it did not help communicate very vital information about our dog's health and it was difficult to ask questions. We were invited to email instead and send pictures through, but he never even opened or discussed the emails.

So now we are looking for a vet who is not taking on too much, who can listen and proactively guard against complications rather than react to them.

Choking or Inhaling Food

It can be a common problem for sight hounds, in their greediness, to eat their food so fast that they can inhale kibble pieces up their nose or in their windpipe. When we had only been living with Lily for a few weeks, Steve was feeding in her in the kitchen and called me in a frantic voice as Lily was choking and she could not clear the obstruction. The noise was horrendous, and blood came out of her

nose. Steve picked her up and smacked her rib cage and she eventually coughed up more blood and the offending piece of kibble and wet fish. I reckon there was every possibility Lily had it stuck in her windpipe, but also her nose, thank goodness it has only happened once in 10 months now.

I can confirm, that after talking to some vet nurses and read other sources, that the SPCA advice for doing the Heimlich Maneuver for Dogs , really is the right way. You have to aid the dog to cough up as well as let gravity give it a bit of an advantage. I don’t have the strength to lift Lily pads totally upside down and swing her, but I do support her shoulder, put my hand round middle, and lift back legs up so her head points downwards. Then I pat the ribs, whilst saying "Cough it up" and after having done this 3 times now since we have had her, she does breathe in and give out a really big snorty cough on demand.


Thankfully, she is quite a quick learner when it is anything to her advantage. She does not seem to be in a state of panic though as once she has coughed up, even when there was blood she just went back to her food greedily.

These are the things that made the situation worse: for Lily, I can't say it is the same for every dog

Increasing size of kibble
Wetting kibble or adding water
Mixing any other food with the kibble
Feeding her side by side with another dog
Allowing anyone to stand near her, or lead her to think the food is going to be taken up
Being given her food first, where she thinks she has a fair chance of scoffing in time to go over to another dogs bowl

What helps Lily:

Choosing a medium sized round kibble rather than the pointy triangular kind or very small pieces
Choosing a kibble that has a fair amount of oil
Avoiding kibble that is dry and dusty or cracks easily
Giving the food dry i.e. no water
Giving the food plain, without mixing in any other food. Fish, eggs, supplements or meat put in a different bowl
Feeding her away from the other dog, and well after the other dog so it is not direct competition
Letting her eat in peace without people crowding round (especially strangers)
Putting bowl onto a chair, where she has to reach the head upwards a bit to get food
Over time, Lily learning that we are not going to take food away, or she will not lose food to siblings (she was kept in a field like cattle at some time in her life and had to fight for her food)
Teaching Lily to take food politely at all other times, and training her not to snap at it convulsively*
What made absolutely no difference to Lily but might be worth a try for some dogs
Putting things into her food like chains/balls, or dividing food into sections
Feeding by hand one at a time (she can still inhale single biccies in her greediness)
Putting bowl onto a dog feeding stand (still too low, see above)
Putting bowl onto floor (as some people had suggested stands are worse for choking, not so with Lils)

A bit off topic, but this was our training for snapping as Lily used to snap at fingers in her eagerness to get a biscuit when hand fed during training. We have taught her to do this less in the following ways:

Close hand over kibble tightly, let her sniff around hand
Open hand slowly, and if she does snap and make contact say “OW!” in a really loud yapping voice so she knows she has caused pain
When she has stopped snapping/mouthing and is just gently licking, open fingers slightly and allow her to tease the biscuit out gently.
Always use the “OW!” reflex when teeth contact with flesh, even during play when it might be an accident. Dogs communicate this to each other, and it teaches good manners. Greyhounds are very very precise, there should be no such thing as accidental teeth on fingers, they are being unnecessarily clumsy or disrespectful when they do this and they can if they want, avoid your fingers even in play.
I can report, we rarely have any teeth contact from Lils now, and to think she was totally feral and unhandleable and bitey about 6mths ago!

Lily is going Bald

Alopecia is quite common in rescued greyhounds. Sometimes it is because they have been lying on hard surfaces in kennels, sometimes it is due to diet, and other times due to thyroid, stress or hormones.

Lily had a tiny patch of fur missing and bald legs when we got her. The legs have a much better covering of hair now but the patch on her neck has got worse.

The vet's opinion is that she has a mineral deficiency and that she has seasonal hormonal inbalance. The cure, is to try taking PetTabs as a vitamin and mineral deficiency so that is what we are doing.

Dizzy's paw update

Last night was Dizzy's last chance, to see if the ulcer on his pad had healed (it has been there for 4 mths now!) whilst taking the extraordinarily expensive antibiotic Marbocyl. The verdict was to let him have another course of these antibiotics, this is his 5th course (or more) and 3rd or 4th of Marbocyl, I can't bear to look at all the bills in total, it costs £116 for each packet for 2-3weeks.
Our bill last night was £230.

Dizzy relaxing in my knitting boudoir..ahem some rules have been relaxed

Someone somewhere made a silly mistake allowing that to develop in the way that it did and now we are paying the awful cost. However, I decided to make a decision with regards to treatment without taking finance into the equation, just to see what is the best way forward. So, we could have opted for 4 days on 4 days off to see if that would be just enough to control any infection but having skin ulcers myself, that take years to heal, I just wanted to give him the best chance of healing, he deserves it.

The paw has cost us at least £500, if not more and he may eventually have to have another operation to debride it. Apparently, when he was returned from his first owner, who said she 'it's not him, its me, I just can't share my space with him', he had a wound and we were told that it was because she had walked him so much, didn;t have a car and so it was a blister from pads on the hard surfaces. The vet was not sure about this, he thought it was unlikely to have been a blister from walking and more likely to be a wound where a foreign object penetrated, he did find a stone lodged in there during surgery.

Well, we just have to press on, and it doesn;t look anywhere as bad as it was, but it is quite deep and makes him limp.

Poor Dizzy Rascal!

Dehydration, Copraphagia, Agoraphobia

Dizzy was ill with diarrhoea, then he ate it to clean it up, and started vomiting. Anyway, we found two useful tips to help us out. Diarolyte given in a dogs water bowl, mixed up as for a child, quickly helps to stabilise any electrolyte inbalance. And, eating their own poo, copraphagia as it is medically known, is quite a common greyhound trait. We think thay Dizzy did this either because he was losing weight due to diarrhoea following penicillin treatment and was lacking in nutrients OR it was a guilty attempt to clean up because he kept having little accidents indoors Well, giving a dog either fresh pineapple or pineapple juice breaks down to a foul tasting element in their poo which quickly discourages them from continuing that habit.

Lily is doing well with her desensitising programme but seems to have a real block in the pet shop where she quivers and shakes like a jelly whilst digging her claws in to the ground. Strangely, she does not have this reaction at the vets where we would expect it. Also, it is sad but Lily does not really enjoy going on walks outside the house at all. She has become so happy and comfortable here that she either pulls to drag us back to the house or turns into a statue before she leaves the house and lies down on her bed. We take her regardless and try to make it as enjoyable an experience as possible but she would really rather not go. One of the things that makes her unwilling to continue a walk, is that due to her nervousness she won't pee anywhere except our own garden. Taking her on holiday will be interesting, she will have to go then.

Cruel Lampshades!

I will be very happy when these silly collars can safely be left off the hounds. They have both been neutered so have stitches, and poor old Dizzy actually had a stone wedged up inside his paw. They get over excited in the middle of the night if I nip to the loo and keep getting their lampshades wedged in silly places and need rescuing. Lily likes to lie behind Dizzy and then she bashes her head again and again clashing collars with him until she has managed to squash it into a shape that she can comfortably wedge down the back of the sofa.

These poor hounds probably think they have been rescued and subjected to more cruelty in their new homes than in their previous racing lives!

Dizzy much prefers to be covered up and pampered with my hippy scarf. It might be Glastonbury festival weekend, but this hound is not camping outdoors!

Going to the Vet

Doggie Hospital

Our greys are in Doggie Hospital today. They are being neutered, having nails clipped, vaccinations done, microchips and blood tests all under anaesthetic. dizzy is a little bit lame as he has an ulcer on his paw so he is having that looked at too.

The vet confirmed my suspicions that greyhounds are big babies and cry and shriek with the least bit of discomfort so it was best to get these things done whilst they are under.

The price for everything is going ot be £300 - £400 and I think that is very good considering it is a complete overhaul. This is a link to The Animal Ark.

Our vet Lyndon Basha was understanding of Lily's nerves and her hatred of men, although she is improving. She couldn't bear Dizzy getting all the attention and went in for a quick brush of her nose against our male vet's hands. He is going to give her time to come round to him, and avoid any traumatising events that might set her behaviour pattern in stone. Lily did not backflip, try to pull out of her collar or show any outward signs of nerves other than wariness to approach. I could feel her little heart pounding in her rib cage though. She does seem to settle well when with the pack (the two humans and two dogs).

Poor Lily despite having been treated for it, still has worms and I was horrified to see big flat pink things squirming about in her poo! I guess these are tape worms, although they had a curious hourglass type shape, must look into that. They have received more treatment for these today as a double up to treatment given by Essex Greyhound Rescue a few weeks ago.

We pick them up later although have heard both have come out of anaesthesia and are perky. What a relief! My biggest worry is that they might think that this home was just another one of their many fostering places and so I can't wait to bring them here again and reassure them this is their forever home whatever happens.

7 days later, Lily's Hardest Day Yet

Today we took my nervous hound Lily along with Dizzy Rascal to our local country park which was hosting the Race For Life event in which approx 2,500 women were running.

Of course, as we approached the edges of the park, we made sure that Lily slowly crept up on the crowded areas and we stopped at each point for a little rest until she had acclimatised. I was like a proud Mum, she was fantastic on the lead. Her face looked wary but she was looking at everything and taking it in. As the morning progressed, it got more and more busy but as the majority of people attending this event were women, then I think Lily had less reason to be nervous. I never once had to grab her by a very short lead. I did take the precaution of muzzling her because anything could have spooked her in a crowd and she might have snapped. Also, I know that her wearing the muzzle is more of a message to onlookers to be careful with this dog which is no bad thing.

What a gorgeous little star she was! We took her to the pub with us and she was calm but wary. Her confidence is growing, we are definitely progressing by going out as a pack, and the 2 of us and Dizzy acting as if there is nothing to fear so that she gets the message.

Now, I read an interesting thing in the RRG's for Dummies and it suggests using a safe word for loud noises and crashes. If something ends up being a bit noisy and it startles the hound, she will look at me for reassurance and I can either pretend I haven't noticed or I can make it known I have heard and that it doesn't bother me. So, when I opened my new tape measure and it made a ratchet-like noise, I said "Oh what a racket Lily isn't it" in a happy voice. This had the effect of her creeping further and further to the source of the noise and investigating rather than cowering or bolting. I used the safe words "What a racket" for most noises, and she seems to take this in. Her little brain is thinking "Mum told me that this loud noise is OK, even though I never heard it before". however, there was a lady in the pub car park talking to her friends, obviously having a good old bitch about someone and as it sounded venomous, no amount of encouragement would make Lily come forward to jump out the car. I did want to go over and complain about the disturbance of the peace, but thought never mind, Lils has to get used to this sort of thing. So I just kept saying "What a racket" until we were out of earshot. Lily had her hardest day yet, and was so tired and snoozy she slept through me massaging her pads and grooming her paws and claws. Bless her!

Dizzy Rascal gets more well...... rascally!

This boy has caught on to the fact that if he squeaks as if someone is murdering him, a person will stop from either embarrassment or real concern that they are injuring him. So, at the moment he is using it to delay going out for a late night bit of business in the garden, or sometimes he is just using it on our friends and continuing to cry like a baby until the cuddle him. However, I am fully aware that what is happening is firstly he is getting the better of us at home by not budging when we ask and secondly getting huge rewards for behaving like that from people who don't speak 'dog'. If I try to put a lead on him and drag him and he is having none of it, he makes a terrible gurgling coughing noise as if I am choking him. I thought I was! So I gently slipped a hand inside a very loose collar in the house and left it there, not even touching his throat or pulling and he started making fake choking noises. He has even done this before anyone has touched him! Whereas Lily's new confidence is progress, with this hound it is regress, to a puppy baby! An expert in handling greyhounds from the kennels where we got him said some greyhounds are like that,big babbies and they yelp and squeak before you have even touched them. It must be learned behaviour from a puppy which worked on humans and was rewarded.

It is very hard to train him out of habits already learned and prevention would have been key but he is 3 yrs old now and has been doing this for a while. Greyhounds do not respond as well to correction as other breeds would. They are sensitive so raising a voice makes them freeze, even a stern low voice can upset them. They also turn into statues if you try to push or pull them to encourage them and this is one of the reasons it is difficult to get them to do basic obedience exercises. Everything becomes lure based but I feel like it is a bribe.

All I can do for the moment is completely ignore his yelps, but not touch him and when he does respond give him lots and lots of praise. I am not looking forward to obedience classes in that respect because last time we had a collie who was easy to push into a 'sit' or a 'down' and other positions and greyhounds just freeze under pressure. They can't really sit either, they just don't do that and they are stiff and awkward when plonking themselves into a down position. I do hope that the training instructor we get can understand a greyhound's special needs without thinking we are making excuses. Iam certainly not going to let a class instructor ruin the progress I have made with Lily by making her do things she really is not comfortable with such as pushing her around rather than encourage her.


These gorgeous dogs just want to please, they do want to know what is expected of them, of course they can give you a bit of cheek but on the whole, they do love getting praise. My little Lily yelps with delight when she has done a poo or a wee and hops around whilst she is doing it because I am saying "Good girl" in a squeaky voice to her and she is so proud! Sometimes she will come back into the house to get me to follow her, just so I can see her doing the wee and praise her for doing it outside on command.