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Supporters

• The Barry and Savannah French-Poodle Memorial Fund
• Hope for Hounds
• The Greyhound Project, Inc
• The Morris Animal Foundation
• The ACVIM Foundation
• The Iams Company
• And numerous Greyhound Adoption organizations and Greyhound "parents"

Corporate Sponsors

All dog and cat blood donors are fed courtesy of The Iams Company.

All dog and cat blood donors receive Frontline and Heartgard courtesy of Merial.

All dog and cat blood donors receive Advantix and Advantage courtesy of Bayer Animal Health.

VPL provides D.A.P. and Feliway for the wellbeing of our blood donors.

Donors receive 4DX and FIV/FeLV snap tests courtesy of Idexx Laboratories.

All our cat blood donors are tested with Solo Step FH provided by Heska.

Regarding Greyhounds

• Greyhound Pets of America
• National Convention
• Greyhound Adoption of Ohio
• SOS Galgos - Greyhound Rescue
  Barcelona, Spain
  Spanish language site with minimal English translations

Greyhound Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does a high creatinine really mean that my Greyhound is in kidney failure?
   Greyhounds have creatinine concentrations that can be higher than those in other dogs (higher than the normal ranges listed for other breeds of dogs). If the BUN and urine concentration are normal, the high creatinine concentration is not indicative of kidney failure. For more information, please read the following articles:
   

   • Serum Creatinine Concentrations in Retired Racing Greyhounds
   • Does My Greyhound Really Have Kidney Disease?
2. My Greyhound has a heart murmur; does this mean he has heart disease?
   Greyhounds are known to have ?normal? athletic or physiologic flow murmurs. These murmurs are mild in nature (grade 1 or 2 out of 6) and are heard best over the left base of the heart (high in the armpit). Thoracic radiographs (X-rays) and/or echocardiography (ultrasound) will help determine the actual status of the heart. For more information, please read the following article:

   • Left Basilar Systolic Murmur in Retired Racing Greyhounds
3. Is it true that Greyhounds cannot tolerate anesthesia of any kind?
   No. It is true that Greyhounds may take longer to metabolize certain anesthetics, such as injectable barbiturates, but there are many safe anesthetic drugs for Greyhounds. For more information, please consult the following article:

   • Demystifying Anesthesia
4. My dog had an episode of malignant hyperthermia, should I ever have him anesthetized in the future?
   The first thing to do is to try to determine if your Greyhound truly had “malignant hyperthermia”. Please consult the following article:

   • Anesthetic Malignant Hyperthermia: Separating the Contenders from the Pretenders
5. My Greyhound was diagnosed with a corn. What is the best way to treat them?
   There are lots of reported ways to treat corns. Everything from application of duct tape to the corn to toe amputation have been reported. We currently use the combination of a hulling technique followed by the application of the anti-wart medication Aldara or Abreva. The hulling procedure will need to be repeated as often as every 3 weeks although we have had some corns fail to regrow following several treatments. Please consult the following articles for more information on corns and hulling:

   • Corns
   • Corn hulling
6. A friend of mine had a dental performed on her hound without anesthesia. Is this a good idea?
   As appealing as an “anesthetic free” dental may be, it may be a disservice to the patient. A complete oral examination or cleaning simply cannot be done in an awake animal, no matter how cooperative he/she is. Furthermore, the most significant tartar is not what you see grossly on the teeth, but what lies underneath the gingiva (gums). An anesthetic-free dental cleaning accomplishes little more than a cosmetic cleaning (like a teeth whitening procedure in a human) and leaves the most significant tartar and periodontal disease unaddressed. Not only may the cleaning not help the animal but it may fool the owner into believing that their animal’s oral health is being addressed, when in fact it is not. Please consult the following article for the American Veterinary Dental College’s position statement regarding anesthetic free dental cleanings:

   • Dental Scaling Without Anesthesia
7. I was told my Greyhound has a very rare condition called polycythemia. What should I do about it?
   Greyhounds have significantly higher red blood cell (RBC) count than any other breed of dog. Red blood cell counts are often measured in a percentage called a packed cell volume (PCV) or hematocrit (Hct). Normal values for non-Greyhounds are rarely above 55%. Normal values for Greyhounds can extend up to 70%. A PCV of lower than 50% likely indicates some degree of anemia (low RBC count) although it will be within the laboratory’s normal range for non-Greyhounds. For more information, please read the following articles:

   • Why Is My Dog's Labwork Different From Yours?
   • Making Sense of Blood Work in Greyhounds
   • Greyhound Bloodwork
8. I was told that my Greyhound has a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and needs extensive testing. Is this something that you recommend?
   Greyhounds normally have lower platelet counts than non-Greyhounds. A platelet count as low as 80,000/μL can be completely normal in a Greyhound. A pathologic cause of low platelet counts in Greyhounds can also be a tick borne disease (TBD) or immune-mediated diseases. A complete physical examination and additional lab work recommended by your family veterinarian should yield additional information on whether your dog had a disease that causes low platelet counts. For more information, please read the following articles:

   • Why Is My Dog's Labwork Different From Yours?
   • Making Sense of Blood Work in Greyhounds
   • Greyhound Bloodwork
9. I was told that my Greyhound has a low white blood count and needed extensive testing. Is this something that you recommend?
   Greyhounds normally have lower white blood cell (WBC) counts than non-Greyhounds. A WBC count as low as 3,000 can be completely normal in a healthy Greyhound. A complete physical examination and additional lab work recommended by your family veterinarian should yield additional information on whether your dog had a disease that causes low WBC counts. For more information, please read the following articles:

   • Why Is My Dog's Labwork Different From Yours?
   • Making Sense of Blood Work in Greyhounds
   • Greyhound Bloodwork
10. Could my Greyhound possibly have a tick borne disease (TBD) even though we don’t have them in our area?
    Yes! Most Greyhounds have trained or raced in areas where TBDs are endemic. Some TBDs can lay dormant for years before causing illness. Although you may not have TBDs in your area, your Greyhound may have been infected prior to adoption. For more information, please read the following article:

    • Testing for Tick Borne Diseases: How and When?
11. Someone told me to just treat with doxycycline instead of testing for tick borne diseases (TBDs) in my Greyhound. Is this a good idea?
    No. Not all TBDs are responsive to doxycycline, so you may be giving a medication that will not help at all. Starting doxycycline while waiting for results of tick titers may be warranted in a sick dog with signs (symptoms) compatible with TBD, but it should not be used instead of testing. For more information, please read the following article:

    • Testing for Tick Borne Diseases: How and When?
12. If my Greyhound has a positive titer for a TBD, will he eventually get sick?
    Not necessarily. “Tick titers” only measure the body’s response to the disease (antibodies) and are not always diagnostic for infection. If a dog is exposed to a TBD, they will mount an antibody titer in response to the organism (much like a vaccine). If the dog’s body is able to clear the TBD, they will still have a positive titer from the exposure but will never be sick. These positive titers may last for years, particularly in dogs infected with Ehrlichia canis. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is available for many TBDs, and it may help determine if a titer is significant and the patient is really infected. For more information, please read the following article:

    • Testing for Tick Borne Diseases: How and When?
13. I had a TBD titer performed on my Greyhound and he turned up positive for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). I was told that he could have been carrying this for months. How should we treat him?
    Some tick borne diseases (such as Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis) can lay dormant for years before causing disease. RMSF does not lay dormant for months without causing disease. Non-pathogenic strains of Rickettsial organisms can cause false positive test results to RMSF. A healthy dog with normal bloodwork that has a positive RMSF titer is unlikely to have true RMSF. Your family veterinarian may recheck the titers in 2 to 4 weeks; if they are higher than on the baseline (first) test, your hound probably has silent rickettsial infection, and you may consider doxycycline treatment.
14. My Greyhound keeps losing nails on different feet. My vet thinks it may be a fungal infection. Have you heard of anything like this?
    The most common cause of multiple toe nail loss on multiple feet is a condition known as symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (SLO). A toe amputation is required for definitive diagnosis but is rarely warranted. Treatments include appropriate antibiotic and antifungal medications to control secondary infections, high doses of fatty acids (180mg of EPA/10 lbs. of body weight) and a combination of tetracycline and niacinamide. Some cases may require short courses of immunosuppressive drugs such as prednisone. Hypoallergenic diets are also of benefit in some cases. For more information, please read the following article:

    • Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy "SLO"
15. My female Greyhound was diagnosed as a hermaphrodite following a physical examination. What should I do about this?
    Many female Greyhounds have a condition known as clitoral hypertrophy, which is caused by testosterone injections given at the racetrack to prevent cycling. This condition is usually benign and does not require treatment; however, in some hounds it is associated with lower urinary tract problems (frequent, painful urination; straining to urinate; recurrent urinary tract infections) and it may require surgical correction. However, she may indeed be a hermafrodite.
16. I was told my Greyhound needed thyroid supplementation because he was very shy, even though his thyroid tested normal. Is this appropriate?
    There is no medical reason to give an animal with normal thyroid function thyroid supplementation. Oversupplementation of thyroid hormone can result in hypertension (high blood pressure) and other health problems. Anxiety medication (if warranted) and behavior modification should be used to work on the shy behavior.
17. My Greyhound destroys my house when I leave. Is there anything that I can do?
    Separation anxiety (SA) is relatively common in retired racing Greyhounds. Anti-anxiety drugs such as clomipramine, amitryptilline, fluoxetine, or Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) may be of benefit to some dogs and they can be prescribed by your family veterinarian. Behavior modification is the single most crucial aspect of correcting separation anxiety. Please consult the following article for more information on SA:

    • Separation anxiety
18. My Greyhound has cancer, isn’t chemotherapy as hard on animals as it is on people?
    Less than 20% of dogs undergoing chemotherapy experience clinically relevant adverse effects (most commonly vomiting, diarrhea, or loss of appetite). These adverse effects can typically be managed with medications, drug dose reduction, or changing to a different chemotherapeutic agent.
19. Can my Greyhound really get around on 3 legs?
    YES!!! Most Greyhounds get around very well after amputation. You will need to consult with your family veterinarian to determine if other diseases may affect your dog’s prognosis after surgery (e.g. previous orthopedic or neurologic problems). Please visit the following link to see “Bosha” in action:

    • Bosha Walking and Negotiating Stairs
20. My Greyhound was diagnosed with hip dysplasia following a physical examination. Is this common?
    No. Hip dysplasia is not common in Greyhounds and the diagnosis of hip dysplasia should only be made by radiograph (x-ray). Lumbosacral stenosis (LS) is something that can cause rear leg weakness and other problems that have been misinterpreted as hip dysplasia. Also, bone cancer (osteosarcoma) is relatively common in the upper thighbone (proximal femur) in Greyhounds, but not in other breeds.
21. Do you believe that the best way to care for my Greyhound’s teeth is to have an annual cleaning?
    While annual cleanings are necessary in some dogs, homecare is a critical component of oral health. There is a saying in veterinary dentistry: “It is good to chew, it is better to rinse, it is best to brush.” Without question daily brushing is the single best thing you can do for your dog’s teeth. If daily brushing is not possible, there are several veterinary rinses that can be used that can be beneficial (e.g. CET rinse by Virbac). If daily rinsing is not possible, there are several dental chews that are available which can help to keep your pet’s teeth clean. Chews ideally should have the Veterinary Oral Healthcare (VOHC) seal of acceptance (this shows the product has met pre-set standards of plaque and calculus reduction).
    Other treatment options to aid in oral healthcare include diet (e.g. Royal Canin Dental DD 20 or DS 23, Hill’s Science Diet T/D, Eukanuba brand foods, etc.), water additives (e.g. Aquadent, Oxyfresh, Breathalyzer, etc.) and the Oravet Healthcare System. Please consult the following article for more information on Oravet and other advancements in dental care:

    • Advancements in Dental Care
22. My Greyhound was just diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Do you have any additional information on this disease?
    • Bone Cancer in Greyhounds
    • Osteosarcoma in Greyhounds
    • Osteosarcoma and your Greyhound

Contributed by William Feeman, DVM ((Animal Medical Center of Medina, Medina, OH) and Guillermo Couto, DVM, diplomate ACVIM (The Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine).