Of course, Greyhounds are runners! Running is the reason we have the modern Greyhound. But Greyhounds are not bred for the type of running most human runners do. Here are a few ideas on how to transition your sprinter into your best running buddy.
Is there a difference in sprinting and distance running?
Yes! Just like it takes time to work up to a 5K, 10K, or 10 miler it is going to be a process for your hound as well. The first step to is make sure your Greyhound is sound and does not have an old injury or arthritis that could cause him pain with increased activity.
I recommend starting with the walk run method based the distance of his current/previous walks. Be sure to keep a close eye on his toenails—they should be short!
Be sure to bring water and poop bags. No one likes a dog owner who is not responsible and does not clean up after his or her pet.
Consider a hands free leash. I don’t like carrying a leash when running. There are plenty of good options to try. I prefer options with a handle so you can grab the dog quickly if needed.
How much exercise is too much
I have a very energetic go-go Greyhound and when he becomes disinterested I know we need to slow down and head home. Look for simple clues from your hound. They will let you know when they are done.
Keep in mind, your Greyhound may not be able to run that 10K with you and that is fine. I run a loop around the house and will pick-up/drop-off the dog depending on what I am planning to do and how he is looking/acting.
My dog sniffs constantly—what do I do?
Darla is a sniffer and it drives me NUTS. She is not a good dog to run with.
I try to let Darla be the dog she is. Someone once told me taking your dog out and not letting them sniff is like taking a kindergartener to the zoo and not letting them ask questions—close to torture in the doggie/kindergartener world. When I hike or walk with D I give her plenty of smell breaks but I try to control when these break occur so we can actually get some exercise!
Jethro developed a spontaneous spinal hematoma about three
years ago. After his surgery and rehab
he slowed down a lot—it seems like the injury prematurely aged him.
Caring for an old dog is different. We have to plan our activities and adjust to his needs. There are a few things that have made a huge difference in our day-to-day life and I want to share in hopes these tips can help other families with geriatric dogs.
1.) Naps- Let’s face it, Greyhounds are excellent sleepers but believe it or not they need more sleep as they age. We make sure that Jethro gets plenty of rest during the day. This seems to help his pain and if he is restless it is generally a sign he may be having a bad day and we need to reduce his pain to help him relax.
2.) Heat- Old dogs like to sun bathe but beware of overheating! Jethro loves to be outside and lying in the sun. We have to monitor this closely over the summer. With the hot temperatures and the high humidity we notice that Jethro becomes short of breath quickly. Unfortunately, we had to cut his vitamin D time down but have reached an agreement with him. Jethro lies on our screened-in porch during the day with the fan going. He is able to stay cool but also keep a watch on the yard.
3.) Decrease exercise- Jethro cannot go on long walks anymore. We take him down the block and allow him to play for short periods outside with the other Greyhounds but have to be cautious of overheating. Jethro loves squeaky toys and we are able to engage him indoors which helps to keep him engaged but not exhausted. Jethro approves of this toy.
4.) Food- Keeping Jethro’s weight up is not easy. Jethro weights 55lbs and he eats as much as a Sashi, our 75lb male, and always looks skinny. I have had to adjust his rations to more than the recommendation to keep his weight stable. He is a good eater and also enjoys his fair share of human treats—Fried Eggs anyone?
5.) Incontinence- Jethro had a spinal injury so he does have weak bowel/bladder control. We notice that his bladder is fullest after he has been sleeping and that is when most of the dribble occurs. We use these bellybands with incontinence liners to help with the mess. He does not mind the bellyband and I buy cool patterns because I love accessories!
Old dogs are fantastic but need certain accommodations. We love Jethro so much that these changes don’t seem to be that big of a deal. As my husband says, “Jethro is still the cutest dog in the world.”
Does anyone ever feel like ever changing science makes it
hard to do the right thing?
Due to ongoing scientific inquiry things are always
changing.
Believe it or not there is a lot of science that goes into dog kibble. Love it or hate it the government and private corporations study dog food and negative/positive outcomes associated with what we feed our pets. Recently the FDA was alerted to 524 cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) occurring between January 2014 and April 2019.
So you might be wondering why the FDA is monitoring this. The FDA depends of reports from consumers to investigate concerns and felt that this trend was concerning. While DCM is not considered to be a rare disease it affects certain breeds disproportionately. And the new cases were unsettling.
The animals affected, while a small number, were not animals (breed or sex) that typically get DCM.
When my vet brought this to my attention in April and I was floored. The kibble I was feeding was on the list and I didn’t even purchase it because it was grain-free. I selected it based on “quality.”
Currently, there is not a 100% link between grain-free diets and DCM, however, the takeaway for pet owners is that there may be a link and we need more data. Sure, there are all types of confounders that were not considered within this report but nevertheless trends are important. Another important consideration is that reporting oftentimes is low and does not represent the entire landscape that has been affected. Reporting is not required by law and takes time.
I switched my Greyhounds to a new kibble and things are going well. I trust my vet and her recommendations. If you have concerns about what kibble is best for your pup discuss diet with your vet. Vets understand animal nutrition and have your pet’s best interest in mind.
Seizures are a bummer. Any owner who has a seizure dog can relate to the stress of going out of town because of a complicated medication regimen, the fear of the seizure dog getting out with the pack while no one is home, the concern for possible injury with cluster seizures, and the balance of keeping a few extra pounds on the dog in case they have a severe cluster.
Seizures can be caused my brain tumors, autoimmune disease, and infections. However, the majority of seizures are idiopathic meaning that no one knows why they happen.
Darla has idiopathic epilepsy with severe clusters. Meaning once she has one seizure she is going to have another and another. She recently spent a few days in the ICU to get her medications adjusted and so far she is doing better. She currently takes two medications—levetiracetam and phenobarbital. We also have a “cluster buster” pill that she takes once she has a seizure. After discharge from the ICU she was receiving medication four times a day, it was a full time job to make sure she was getting what she needed.
Due to the complexity of home care for some seizure dog I wanted to highlight what we have done to simplify things.
Get a pill organizer—I used to question if I had given her medication or not this helped.
The seizure dog needs an identifiable food bowl—the dog that needs the medication, CBD, or supplement needs to get it! I recommend stainless steel bowls like these
If possible switch to extended release medication—our four times a day dosing was reduced to two times per day (remember these extended release tablets cannot be halved or they become immediate release).
Medication coupons—we have a 50% off coupon for one of her medications through GoodRx.
Take the kid gloves off—After Darla has been sick I want to keep her calm and in the house, not fun for Darla. Make sure that your seizure dog gets to do doggy things. A slow easy walk always seems to lift Darla’s spirit after she’s been sick—remember to take it easy, muscles are very sore after seizures.
Feed your seizure dog! I tend to keep a few extra pounds on Darla and after a seizure I feed her a larger portion. She burned a huge amount of calories and needs fuel.
Life is different with a seizure dog but is still very good! These ideas are simple and make life easier for us and hopefully more enjoyable for Darla.
I love science. Most of all I like learning about the brain. I am interested in both the psychological and neurologic aspects of the brain. Because dogs learn so quickly and adapt to us I am very interested in applying my human neuroscience knowledge to my dogs. I relish seeing their minds work when I ask them to complete a task.
I became very involved in canine neurology, not by my choosing, a few years ago when Darla was diagnosed with a seizure disorder also known as epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a chronic condition and affects 2.2 million people in the U.S.(4) Working in a neurology practice I encountered patients with epilepsy. I understood the basics but epilepsy is not my passion.
I felt very frustrated when Darla had her first seizure—I knew that we were headed down a long and twisting road, not quite sure what could trigger her next event.
Seizures are caused by deregulation of neuronal activity—Just like our heart; the brain has an electrical circuit. When this circuit is disrupted it can become hyperactive causing deregulation of cellular signals and produce a seizure. This deregulation can be secondary in nature meaning that there is something in the brain causing these changes such as a lesion in the brain, irritation from blood (hemorrhage), increased pressure in the head, infectious, toxic, and metabolic causes. Most often we have no idea why a patient is having seizures and they are diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy or primary epilepsy. The pathophysiologies of canine and human epilepsy are very similar. (2)
I remember the first night Darla had a seizure. She was in the living room lying on the sofa—her normal spot. About 2 AM I was awoken to a loud crash followed by repetitive banging. I jumped out of bed and ran to the noise. I found Darla in-between the sofa and the coffee table having a tonic-clonic or grand-mal seizure.
I am not sure what I felt at that time. I am sure that many other medical providers would agree with the following statement: you don’t feel, you do. I immediately moved the coffee table to keep her head from hitting it and I began to time the event. Her first seizure lasted about 70 seconds. She lost control of her bladder function and created a large amount of foamy saliva. Like most epileptics, Darla was out of it after her seizure. She had no memory of her name and she was very confused—she could barely put one foot in front of the other without falling.
I called the vet and they stated that she did not need to come in immediately as the seizure stopped and as long as her seizure did not last over 2 minutes and her temp remained normal her episode was not an emergency.
In the following days Darla continued to have more seizures—I was terrified that her food, treats, and certain activities were triggering her seizures. I was obsessed with figuring out triggers so I never had to see her suffer from these seizures again.
After Darla continued to have events I knew that she needed an intervention and my vet agreed. I knew that the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) available to dogs at her time of diagnosis were not nearly as advanced as human drugs and these agents have terrible side effects. I hated to put Darla on one of those agents but I did not have a choice. You see, epilepsy is not just a chronic condition without a cure but it comes with risk of death. (1) Darla had to receive treatment.
We tried phenobarbital and Darla did not do well with it. She was very lethargic and had some ataxia. I was talking with a training friend when she mentioned a herbal supplement that had been very helpful for other dogs. Fortunately the supplement worked well for Darla. She was able to gradually stop phenobarbital and was very well controlled for about two years on herbs with little to no adverse effects. I was so happy for her.
After having such a good run with herbals Darla deteriorated a few weeks ago. I had been out and came home to a flipped over crate and a post-ictal dog that was acting fruity. She had 4 more seizures over the next 24 hours, some at the vet’s office. While she was at the vet’s office she had one of her worst seizures. They were unable to stop it with Valium and she had to have phenobarbital. The phenobarbital worked to stop her seizures. When Clint picked her up she was so drugged and still post-ictal—she could barely walk.
My vet is really great. She knew that I was not interested in phenobarbital again as a daily treatment and was happy to prescribe us a newer AED. We landed on Keppra. Keppra is more expensive than phenobarbital. We were able to find a coupon that makes it very affordable. It also has to be dosed three times per day, which is hard, but we have a very good dog walker that can come in and give the afternoon dose if we are not home. Even though the dosing is hard to remember and it is an expensive drug we are so happy with how she is doing!
After about one month on Keppra, Darla is back to her fun-loving Sashi-biting self. At first she was a little ataxic but I am not sure it was due to the Keppra. The ataxia could have been from the large dose of Valium and phenobarbital she was given for seizure abortion, this cleared up about three days after she started the Keppra. She did have some loss of appetite at first but after about 2-3 weeks she was back on her food. Otherwise she has not had any issues. She does have to go back to the vet for blood work but so far so good!
I am so thankful that there are more drug options for Epileptic dogs and that because of these great medicines Epileptic dogs can live an exceptionally close to normal lives!
Devinsky O, Hesdorffer DC, Thurman DJ, Lhatoo S, Richerson G. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: epidemiology, mechanisms, and prevention. Lancet Neurol 2016;15:1075–1088.
We all have certain parts of our day that we look forward to. I look forward to the mornings. I love my first cup of coffee and my walk. Exercise is very important for me. Exercising keeps me upbeat and energetic.
When I adopted Jethro I was told that he would need hardly any exercise and that Greyhounds are lazy. I remember hearing that a few good sprints per week would be plenty for him. This was a foreign idea to me. I had only owned terriers prior to owning Jethro and they required a lot of exercise or they were impossible to live with. But hey, Clint and I wanted a low maintenance dog so maybe my instincts were wrong.
Life with Jethro started off on the wrong foot. Jethro was a creature of habit and the lack of structure in his new environment was overwhelming for him. Prior to adopting Jethro, I had read an article that suggested waiting to start obedience with a retired racer so that they would be more bonded to you when you started. I felt that I should start training his ASAP but wanted to follow the advice of other more experienced Greyhound owners. Needless to say, Jethro became a very frustrated Greyhound that needed a routine and an outlet for his energy.
After a month of struggling with our new situation, I registered Jethro in obedience class. Our local obedience class was filled with small, yappy, fluffy dogs and big barking dogs in need of some manners. Jethro was freaked out. Fortunately, the trainer knew a thing or two about Greyhounds and hooked up us with another couple that adopted a Greyhound. The humans and the dogs hit it off! Jethro and Champ would get to work in a smaller group that was quite. I picked up some training techniques and felt that I could get Jethro where he needed to be. We started practicing at home.
I stopped reading about Greyhounds and started searching for articles on training headstrong independent dogs. Jethro’s life became very structured. We walked every morning and practiced training exercises at night. I realized Jethro and I both needed a routine if our relationship was going to work out. Walking and training Jethro was great! It stimulated our bond and also helped to alleviate some of his anxiety!
I added Darla to the mix and she loved exercise. I would often walk Darla alone to help with her leash manners when she did something good, I would run with her as her reward. She loved this and we still use running as a reward!
When Sashi came home I was not sure what to expect. I heard that Greyhound pups were land-sharks and difficult. However, I found Sashi’s puppyhood very enjoyable, as long as he was exercised. Sashi had an affinity for chewing on high-end leather goods. I learned quickly that a tired pup with nice meaty bone doesn’t eat your leather accessories. Sashi needed a lot of exercised. My nightly routine included making a vodka and tonic, sitting in a lawn chair, and throwing a ball until Sashi was pooped!
Exercise makes us all feel good, even dogs. Exercise recommendation for dogs varies by breed. Generally speaking, dogs need 30 minutes to 2 hours of exercise per day. It’s hard to say that all Greyhounds need the same amount of exercise per day. As dogs physiologically adapt to exercise—At first, the Greyhound may only be able to walk for 20 minutes but gradually adding time is important to achieve a balanced exercise program. While Greyhounds do enjoy lying around they still need exercise. Exercise is important to their physical and mental well-being.
Even if your dog doesn’t have behavioral problems and isn’t overweight there is nothing like smelling where the neighborhood cat has been and the pee of all the dogs that peed on that scrub before yours!
Southeastern Greyhound Adoption (SEGA) hosts an annual Athletes helping Athletes 5K—this year is our 10th anniversary! In addition to the 5K we also have a fun one-mile walk that you can bring your Greyhounds on. There is nothing simpler or sweeter than getting out and walking with your Greyhound. I hope to see all you Metro Atlanta Greyhound lovers at the 5K! If you are planning to attend the 5K register here and use the code RUN4FUN17. The first 10 people to use the code will get 5$ off their race registration! I look forward to seeing you and your Greyhound at the 5K!
I love wounds. My love for wound care began when I was a brand new nurse working in the ICU. Wounds are challenging to care for. Despite many innovations, wounds can be difficult to heal. I like a challenge it seemed natural for me to find wound healing fascinating. I am always amazed by the body’s capacity to heal itself. But more than the challenge of wound healing, I enjoy the always-advancing treatment options in wound medicine. Wound treatment continues to look for more effective and efficient methods for wound healing.
In human medicine, we have sophisticated options for wound treatment. These technologies are being utilized in vet medicine as well. Dogs do seem to have an upper hand on us humans–they are better a healing. Their bodies seem well prepared to deal with wounds and more resistant to infection. However, dogs can get some nasty wounds that need intervention.
Today I want to talk about topical agents that are most commonly used in wound treatment. By now we have all heard of honey and sugardene dressings and antibiotic dressings but how do the work? How do these treatments advance wound healing and are there any other options to help wounds heal?
First, let’s talk about wounds. There are many different types of wounds but the pathophysiology is similar in all. The first stage of wound healing is the inflammatory stage. This is when inflammatory markers are attracted to the wound through vasodilation. These cells are working to stop the bleeding and rid the body of any infections. In the second stage of wound healing, collagen fibers are forming. These fibers need oxygen and vitamins to create granulation (new) tissue. A wound must have granulation before epithelialization or the connection of epithelial cells occurs. In the final phase of wound healing, the body continues to lay down college fibers, creating a scar.
02/07/17 prior to Zinc treatments
03/03/2017 after one month of zinc treatments
One key part of wound healing is oxygenation of tissue. Generally speaking oxygenation of our tissue comes from our blood via the arterial system. The same thing occurs in wounds. The goal of wound management is to dress the wound with a material that will aid in oxygenation. That seems easy enough but there is one problem, necrotic tissue. The necrotic or dead tissue is kryptonite for wound healing–sometimes this has to be manually removed or debrided. The goal of wound care is to select a dressing to cover the wound that will prevent tissue death, keep the wound bed moist, and support healing.
Now let’s talk about antimicrobial dressings. Antimicrobial dressings generally contain iodine. Iodine prevents infection. Sugardene is a mixture of sugar and iodine and an example of this. While these agents prevent and treat infection, they do little to aid in re-epithelialization. Antimicrobial dressings would be great for an abscess or dirty wound. This dressing aids in healing by preventing infection.
Another popular dressing that has gained a lot of attention is Manuka honey. Manuka honey is a raw honey made by bees that pollinate the Manuka bush in New Zealand. This dressing is thought to both be antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory. There are some that reports that suggest wounds do heal faster with Manuka Honey than antibiotic mediums. The use of honey as a wound dressing has been practiced for many years and considered an effective treatment. Honey is also cost effective.
The last dressing that I want to mention is Zinc. Zinc is not an antimicrobial it is a trace element found in the human body. Zinc is an antioxidant that helps with oxygenation of the wound bed. This increased oxygenation in the wound bed is thought to help with re-epithelialization, aiding in wound healing.
03/18/17 six weeks after zinc treatments
I have used all of these topicals for wounds at one time or another. I am a fan of zinc for pressure ulcers in Greyhounds. As you can see in these photos above, Zinc increased granulation tissue, allowing the wound bed to close. Zinc was a game changer for us.
All of these dressings have their purpose. It is hard to compare them head to head as their properties are different, what might work for a large leg ulcer may not help a minor abrasion or infected wound.
Wounds are challenging. The points to remember when dealing with wounds is to keep the wound bed oxygenated by preventing/removing necrotic tissue—selecting the appropriate wound dressing is essential. When in doubt or if a wound is not healing see a soft tissue vet. I have been blown away by the knowledge of our soft tissue vet as well as their continued patience for wound healing.
In addition to using the best wound dressing for the wound at hand, ensure that your Greyhound is using an appropriate bed. If pressure ulcers are a concern make sure bony prominences cannot be felt on the underside of the bed, I am a huge fan of these beds to prevent pressure sores. Finally, ensure that your Greyhound is receiving the best nutrition possible as wounds heal from the inside out!
Here is a video of Jethro’s bandage change. I hope you all find it helpful. And yes, Jethro is a very good boy!
Broughton G 2nd, Janis JE, Attinger CE. Wound healing: an overview. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2006 Jun. 117(7 Suppl):1e-S-32e-S
Gupta, M., Mahajan, V. K., Mehta, K. S., & Chauhan, P. S. (2014). Zinc Therapy in Dermatology: A Review. Dermatology Research and Practice, 2014, 709152. http://doi.org/10.1155/2014/709152
Sood, A., Granick, M. S., & Tomaselli, N. L. (2014). Wound Dressings and Comparative Effectiveness Data. Advances in Wound Care, 3(8), 511–529. http://doi.org/10.1089/wound.2012.0401
Have you ever tried to get your Greyhound to pay attention to you and he simply continues with his activities as usual? I have and it is annoying.
As I have mentioned, Jethro is recovering from an epidural hematoma in his back and subsequent hemi-laminectomy. Most of the time Jethro is happy and willing to participate in his recovery; other times he is not interested and has more important things to do like lie in the sun and act like a statue.
Jethro is not stupid and Greyhounds are not stupid dogs but they are not biddable.
There is a reason why Greyhounds aren’t biddable. Let’s think about the history of the Greyhound and what our racing Greyhounds are currently trained to do. Greyhounds, by way of nature and nurture, are independent thinkers. They are able to chase after something catch it and return it. They are able to position themselves on a track and successfully outmaneuver seven other dogs. The path that the Greyhound must plan to be successful requires some thinking that is not driven by a human. There is more to our Greyhounds than just raw speed!
This skills associated with racing and coursing are somewhat learned but also bred into the Greyhound. Genetics play a huge role in the Greyhound’s ability race on an oval track or course. That is not to say that training does not impact the Greyhound’s learning, but he has to have the capacity to think independently first or use his instincts.
Greyhounds are actually rather smart dogs. However, their independence can really be frustrating and create a negative environment for training or rehabbing.
So how do we make our Greyhounds as successful in rehab or training? It starts with knowing your dog and having your head in the game, so to speak!
I am a high-strung person with a touch of OCD, so I don’t do chill very well. This can be difficult when training dogs. While rehabbing Jethro I found myself very frustrated with him at times because he was not doing what I wanted and I couldn’t check that set of exercises of the list for the day. I found myself dreading his PT sessions, and I could tell that he dreaded dealing with me. After a very unsuccessful morning of trying to do PT exercises and Jethro impersonating a Greyhound statue, I knew something had to change.
Guess what, folks? I needed to change. In the process of not completing his exercises for the day, I was becoming very nervous thinking about the possible terrible outcomes that lack of PT could lead to. I was focused on getting him better but not on Jethro or what Jethro needed in a trainer. I was a deranged anxious lady that he wanted nothing to do with; I was not his calm collected owner.
Now I make sure he is doing something daily but that can vary from increasing the time he stands, the number of sit-stand reps, or going on a 15-minute walk with Darla and Sashi.
Knowing my dog and where he is in his recovery has been essential to his improvements. Knowing your dog and where they are from day to day is essential in any type of training not just physical therapy.
Getting to know your dog opens the door for biddability. We must understand that there is more to our Greyhounds than raw speed – that big stubborn dog also has a lot of brain power.
If I were asked what is the most important physical attribute of a Greyhound, without a pause my answer would be feet.
Often times we take our feet for granted forgetting that they support and balance us throughout the day. Feet are essential, just about every action we do involves our feet. One of the most important features of a Greyhound is their ability to run. So it would make sense that a Greyhound must have good feet to run through terrain after a hare or chase a mechanical lure on a sand track. Greyhounds need an exceptional base for them to perform at their best.
If you have ever studied a dog foot, it is complex structurally. There are multiple small bones that make up the carpus (wrist), foot, and toes of the Greyhound. All of these tiny bones have a purpose and even a small fracture can cause issues. In addition to the multiple bones in the Greyhound’s foot there are also ligaments that attach bone to bone and tendons that attach the Greyhound’s muscle to bone. And remember the feet need to be well innervated with nerves, sending and delivering messages between the brain and foot. It is essential that the Greyhound have excellent proprioception or know where its feet are and how to move its feet to achieve a task.
I believe that some dogs are born with superior feet. When considering breeding Greyhounds you have to weight out the pros and cons of both parents. I am sure feet are considered as a toe or wrist injury can put a dog out of work for weeks to months. I grew up in Appalachia and one old wives tale was that a double dew clawed (dew claws on both the front and back feet) dog was a lucky dog. Dog people have always paid attention to dog’s feet.
I want to talk about a common injury that many Greyhound owners may encounter—a dislocated toe. A dislocated toe or luxation of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) or distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) joint occurs when the ligaments that hold either the PIP or DIP joints together can no longer tolerate the external stress on the joint and they give out. Generally speaking the joint will dislocate dorsally or upward. Oftentimes the joint will pop out of place and the ligaments still having integrity, will pull the luxated portion of the toe back into place. The toe will appear very swollen and sometimes will have a knife like cut where the luxation caused a break in the skin. However, the ligaments can completely lose their integrity and the joint will be displaced. Generally the Greyhound will be lame and you will be able to see the displaced toe. Often times the joint can be reset but this can be painful—I highly recommend against doing this on your own the first time unless you have experience resetting joints. In most cases with either presentation, the likelihood of the luxation recurring is high.
In addition to recurrence being high, successful treatment can be difficult to achieve as well. A trip to the vet is indicated to get an x-ray and make sure there is not a small fracture. For most pet owners the toe can be set and splinted for a week then rested for 2-4 weeks. Then pray the next time your Greyhound runs that the toe will stay in place!
Often times performance Greyhound owners will opt for intervention. Evidence for these types of procedures is variable. But certain orthopedic vets will complete the procedure and they can be very successful. Jethro severely dislocated his toe in March 2014, had stabilization with suture material in March 2014, and he continued amateur-running sports until December 2015 without any toe issues. If you were going to proceed with an intervention the vet would place a suture material or sclerotic material in the affected area to stabilize the joint then hope that the Greyhound’s inflammatory response will create arthritic changes to further stabilize the joint. If this fails amputation would be a reasonable next choice, especially for a non-weight bearing toe.
On the subject of amputation, I am not a fan or removing parts of the body that are not causing issues; however, as soon as trouble strikes and reasonable treatments have failed, remove the problem. Dogs don’t care about how many toes they have but they do care about pain!
There are also plenty of alternative methods to try in these cases. I am a believer in acupuncture, turmeric, and fatty acids (Omega QD). Some people really like a cold laser as well. I have used the cold laser many times and I feel that it does not hurt but I have not seen as much improvement with cold laser as other alternative treatments.
Greyhound feet are vital to our dog’s daily doings. Understanding the foot and where possible issues could arise is important so that you will be better prepared when an accident strikes.
Science really gets me excited. What is most exciting is when something new is discovered. This could be a new treatment, new technology, or revisiting of a previously thought notion or idea.
Eyes are one of the coolest organs in the body. They are windows to the brain and some would say to the soul. In humans the vital sign of the eye is visual acuity—you know, when you have to cover one eye and read the eye chart. 20/20 vision means that you see the same as a normal eye would see at 20 feet. 20/100 vision means that you see what a normal eye would see at 100 feet. As you might imagine it’s much more difficult to test the visual acuity of a dog’s eye—they can’t tell us what they see. Due to this, some scientists believe that the visual acuity of the dog has been underestimated.
We know that dogs see differently than humans do. For many years we have known that dogs can see much better in low light than us; they have rapid vision that allows them to detect rapid changes in the light, and, due to the placement of their eyes in their skulls, they have wider visual fields than we do (Miller & Murphy, 1995).
All of these qualities aid the dog, a predator, in its ability to hunt. However, the acuity at which the dog can focus was thought to be diminished, as the dog is known to lack a fovea (Miller & Murphy, 1995). Fovea centralis (fovea) is a structure in the human eye. The fovea is a depression within the retina that contains a large number of densely packed cones type cells that are responsible for visual acuity (Beltran et al., 2014).
For years scientists have felt that the dog’s visual streak was responsible for their visual acuity. The visual streak is an area in the retina with increased amounts of photosensitive retinal ganglionic cells and cone cells (Miller & Murphy, 1995). However, in 2014 things changed.
In 2014 the canine retina was evaluated with in vivo (in life) and ex vivo (in death) imaging (Beltran et al., 2014). The researchers found an area in the retina very similar to a non-human primate fovea, which they deemed the area centralis. This area was tiny but full of densely packed cone cells (Beltran et al., 2014). This area wasnot a fovea-like depression but was very similar from a histologic standpoint to what is seen in the center of the human fovea, the foveola (Beltran et al., 2014).
You may be asking why is she so excited about this? This information is incredibly important. This indicates that a dog’s visual acuity is actually better than previously thought. The visual acuity of a dog was thought to be about 20/50 (Miller & Murphy, 1995). Based on the findings in this study, the visual acuity of the dog would be between 20/24 and 20/13 (Beltran et al., 2014). That means that dogs could be able to see at 20 feet what a normal eye would see at 13 feet!
The canine eye is an important structure for multiple reasons. For our Greyhounds the eye is important for racing, lure coursing, coursing, hunting, fetching, running through agility obstacles, and their everyday lives. Just imagine having better than perfect vision and then adding a wider visual field, the ability to detect rapid changes in light, and the ability to see in low light—I would be overwhelmed with that much stimuli going through my brain all the time! Dogs are complex animals and the more we learn about them the more I amazed by all they do!
Beltran, W. A., Cideciyan, A. V., Guziewicz, K. E., Iwabe, S., Swider, M., Scott, E. M., Aguirre, G. D. (2014). Canine retina has a primate fovea-like bouquet of cone photoreceptors which is affected by inherited macular degenerations. PLoS One, 9(3), e90390. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090390
Miller, P. E., & Murphy, C. J. (1995). Vision in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 207(12), 1623-1634.
