The “Roach”

All greyhound owners are aware of the awesome “roaching” their hounds do. It is something that is almost endemic to the breed. Of course, it has an origin. When cockroaches die (from poisoning or natural causes), they end up on … Read more

Dogs and Fireworks

Living with dogs is fabulous, but there are some rough patches. Some dogs just do not do well with loud noises. Backfiring cars, loud trash trucks, gunshots, thunderstorms, and of course, fireworks. Garrett is one of these sensitive hounds. If … Read more

Sad day for Tate

On Christmas Eve, Tate was a bit melancholy so I took him to the local high school (closed for the holiday) to partake in some zoomies. Since some inconsiderate pitbull owner was hogging the baseball diamond, we went to the … Read more

The Greytest Christmas Gift

In conjunction with the season, we often have friends who gift us cool dog things. This year is no exception. One of Barbara’s best friends grabbed a couple of images of the boys from Facebook, and made these pictures for … Read more

The little things with a Seizure dog

As I have written before, life with a seizure dog is challenging. Seizures come without warning and are terrifying for the hoomans who are around.

We medicate four times a day (anti-seizure medications and his thyroid medication), and have added some canna-companion (a hemp based anti seizure herb for pets). We keep an eye out for signs that a seizure is pending, called an “aura”, and extra medicate when we suspect one, but in the end, whenever the chemical imbalance in his brain gets to a critical point, the seizure will happen.

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Greyhound weirdness – Pooping Rituals

One thing I have noticed about greyhounds, is that they often have very distinctive and different rituals around the evacuation of their bowels. All three that we have owned had their own unique quirks. Oliver, our first greyhound, needed a … Read more

Life with a Seizure Dog

Tate, our most recent Greyhound, who joined our pack in fall 2010 is a seizure dog. The first seizure was in April 2011, and they have happened ever since. Even with medications, we can somewhat control the frequency of seizures, but they will likely be part of living with him until he crosses the Rainbow bridge, a day that is hopefully far in the future.

At first they were terrifying, a loud scream, a three or four minute period of convulsing, and a long recovery period. The first one we naturally ran him to the emergency vet. He was there overnight for observation (most of Tate’s seizures are at bed time, when he is just dozing off). Nothing out of the ordinary.

We had hoped it was a one off event, but the second seizure came about 3 weeks later when Tate was at boarding. Fortunately the lady we boarded with was on top of the seizure, and was able to drag him afterwards to our vet.

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Rescuing Greyhounds

I have volunteered off and on for more than a decade in the service of transitioning Greyhounds from the track to happy homes. It is a worthy cause, and one that I gladly undertake, but it is a never ending endeavor. From helping at the kennel, to running the web properties, it is a fulfilling and rewarding experience. It has also taught me a lot about the hounds, and the enterprise that creates so many greyhounds to be placed.

Like many exploitive industries, the dog racing industry has some issues. There is a lot of infrastructure to get the hounds from their litters to the track, from breeders to kennel operators, and trainers, all with an agenda. However, at the end of the day, the product, hounds racing and being bet on, is a for profit endeavor. Winners are treated well, average hounds survive, and the losers? Well, that isn’t worth thinking too much about.

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