chris's greyhounds | a look at the retired greyhound

Greyhound health

Personally I think. it is a good idea to have pet insurance, vets do not come cheap they are highly trained and won't work for nothing.

In the UK we are used to free medicial treatment for ourselves, but not for our pets and many people are shocked at the cost of vet bills.

Anasthetics

If you greyhound ever needs a general anaesthetic ask your vet if he/she understands the dangers of anaesthetising a dog with little body fat. Many vets nowadays use a propofol or isoflurane which is safe for greyhounds but they are expencive.

Arthritis

Greyhounds that have raced are prone to suffer arthritis caused by injuries they get through their time on the track.

Whilst racing greyhounds suffer with injuries to wrist, toes, hocks and mussels, but as they get older arthritis can be in the shoulder and hip joints.

Tell tail signs of arthritis are stiffness and difficulity in getting up.

Your vet will help your greyhound with pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Bald Thighs

There are many different thorys on this condition, for example some people say it is due to a hormone imbalance,others say it is a kennel thing. Once a greyhound is in a home their coats change, but not in all cases does hair grow back onto the thighs.

Bone Cancer

Bone cancer seems to be more and more common in the greyhound, this is because of the injuries they receive whilst on the track.

The first signs of cancer is normally lameness sometimes with swelling, if no swelling is visible then only a vet can tell you with either x-ray or by taking a biopisy.

Diarrhoea and vomiting

Like humans our greyhounds get upset tummies from time to time.

The natural instinct is to hunt for food and this is ofton the cause, if your greyhound does start vomiting or has diarrohea, my advice is to starve them for 24 hours but they will need water or they will become dehydrated very quickly. If the diarrhoea and vomiting continues you should contact your vet.

Corns

A corn is a projection of hard tissue on the pad that is pushed into everytime your greyhound steps on that particular foot. To your greyhound it is like having a nail pushed into the foot, and which is very painful.

A dog with a corn will limp, but until you look at the pad it is hard to tell.

The corn is best removed by your vet, My own dog Billy has had 3 corns removed but unfortunally due to the large amount of scar tissue had to have his toe amputated.