janis
Grey Puppy
my 4 boys
Posts: 88
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Post by janis on Sept 7, 2006 10:39:15 GMT -5
Hi all! i am new to this forum - we adopted Sunny and Rainy a couple of months ago - the boys are 10 and 8 - i had them to the vets for a general checkup and they are in good health except for their teeth - our vet said she would prefer not to put the oldest - Sunny - under anesthetic due to his age - and to just keep an eye on him to be sure he still eats ok - Rainy's teeth are much worse but again, she would like to wait until his teeth seem to be a problem for him functioning daily - any comments from you guys on this? - are they too old for surgery? - the breath is unbelievable! - my family tells me - thank god i have no sense of smell whatsoever! - i cannot tell you all how much joy these guys have brought us - we realize they may not be with us for years and years - but we have found our "breed for life" - one other quick question - as i am not terribly familiar with the greys personality in general - my boys seem subdued - happy to see us, but not at all clingy - not bouncy happy but they seem content - is this typical of greys? - of course, i am comparing this to my big lab and she is all over the place and us all the time! - any info is appreciated -
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Post by stylishhound on Sept 7, 2006 10:46:02 GMT -5
They are definitely a different personality breed than labs. You've only had them a couple of months and they are still really settling in and their personalities will continue to change. They may become velco dogs and they may not. Either way, they will be loving and will continue to bond with you and give you unconditional love. They are also seniors so you should expect them to be calmer than the young bouncy guys. Enjoy your new additions!
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Post by multiplicity on Sept 8, 2006 18:31:57 GMT -5
My first grey was really subdued. We taught him it was ok to get excited to see us at the door and how to play with stuffies but overall he was a very quiet, introverted boy (I miss him so much). We have 3 greys now and they all have very different personalities. We too have found our "breed for life" with these gentle giants. Tex (our first grey) also had bad teeth. Our vet told us not to use the commercial tooth brushes because it would irritate his gums more but to use old nylons wrapped on my index finger and to massage the gum line with it. Thanks for bringing to seniors home. I brought one home at 8yrs old and he is simply the best...I do not know how anyone could have ever given him up! Oh, and welcome to the forum! ;D
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Post by ontariogreys on Sept 11, 2006 20:52:51 GMT -5
Congrats on your adoption. Compared to labs greys are much more subdued, it was one of my reasons I chose greyhounds, I used to have a lab years ago, it was just too much energy for me at this stage of my life, greyhounds fit the bill perfectly for me. There is no guarantees in life, one of my former foster greyhounds lost a battle to cancer just days after his 3rd birthday A couple in New Jersy had adopted a 10 year old greyhound named Suzy, they got to enjoy 10 more glorious years with her, she pased away just before her 21 birthday, at 18 years old she was still able to have short brief runs to the beach here she is in her rickshaw, they use for when she got tired which allowed her go out places with them and remain part of their active lives Your vet may not be comfortable doing dentals on older dogs but in my opinion good dental health is still very important to aid in keeping them healthy, You may like to stay with your own vet for routine procedures and have another that has more greyhound experience for doing dentals and surgeries. A greyhounds blood chem is different than other breeds and certain anesthesia drugs can be dangerous to greyhounds, so vet ith greyhound familiarity is important my grey Sunny has peridontal disease has had since 3 years old, he gets dentals done every 9 months to a year apart he is now 8 and will continue to get the done as needed Even older dogs with heart or kidney disease can have dentals done, pre-dental bloodwork must be done to help the vet decide what anesthesia agents to use and to determine how long the dog can be safely kept under. The Woodstock veterinary clinic has 2 vets that are both greyhound savy the one vet Dr Jenny Tye recently started here she worked in Hamilton prior at a vet office that did the vetting for 2 greyhound adoption groups, because members take their older greyhounds there she has experience working with older greys as well, she did Sunny's last dental in June.
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Post by jiffer on Sept 12, 2006 10:29:25 GMT -5
I'm not sure about the dentals but brushing their teeth will really help. I brush 2 - 3 times a week and it has staved off a dental for Orion. He still has a few teeth that will need to be pulled at his annual.
Your boys are still new to your home as well, they take time to come out of their shells. Even Orion, who has been in our home for almost a year, has just started becoming more affectionate and outgoing.
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Post by ontariogreys on Sept 13, 2006 19:50:56 GMT -5
Brushing can help prevent tarter from forming but once it is there brushing won't do a thing, it is simply too hard and well bonded to the the tooth , It needs to be literally scraped off. Something I forgot to mention earlier, I usually make a vet visit 5 to 7 days before the dental to do the blood work and get antibiotics started before the dental typically should be started 5 days before the dental if there is infection at the gumline so as to prevent infection from entering the bloodstream while teeth are being extracted
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Post by samrob on Sept 16, 2006 13:19:25 GMT -5
Hi there. I am new to the forum too. We have two greys, Hope we got just before Christmas from Greyhound Circle of Friends, and Hotwire we got from GRA in May. Hope who is 9 had 26 teeth pulled two days before we took her home. She came through surgery well, but it took a few weeks for her to get used to having next to no teeth. She is healthy and happy now. We are careful to brush the few teeth she has left. I hope everything goes well.
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