HOUND MYTHS  

Greyhounds (c.1500) Gaston Phoebus, Book of the Hunt 
© The Bibliothèque Nationale de France FR 616, fol. 46v

Suzanne Stack, DVM  

Older greyhounds need low protein "senior" diets.

- With greyhounds, we're usually trying to keep weight on the oldsters, not off them.

- Low protein diets may cause muscle wasting and weight loss.    

Greyhounds with high creatinines are going into kidney failure and need low protein "kidney" diets.

- Increased creatinine does not equal kidney disease if the BUN and urine concentration are normal.

- A 2000 Auburn study found that greyhound creatinines normally run up to 1.6X "other dog" creatinine.    

Greyhounds with diarrhea should be switched to high fiber food (i.e. W/D).

- This approach often backfires with greyhounds, who do better on meat based diets.

- Grain based diets or the simple switch from racing diets to kibble are often the cause of diarrhea.

BARF (Bones And Raw Food) diet is dangerous, not adequate, etc.

- If you're willing to do the research and "cooking," BARF is superior nutrition.

- Other benefits - clean teeth, firm stools, may help with allergies.

Alabama Rot only happens to track greyhounds from eating the raw 4D meat.

- The strain of e. coli that causes Alabama Rot is found in everything from apples to alfalfa sprouts.

Feed several small meals daily / feed from raised feeders / make him eat slow / to prevent bloat.

- Bloat is mostly genetic and much more common in show (AKC) greyhound lines.

- Racers gobble one meal daily from a bowl on the floor and rarely bloat.

Leave him in the hospital until he eats.

- Greyhounds are sensitive dogs.

- Unless they're doing something for him there that you can't do at home, he'll likely eat better at home where he's happy and you can bribe him with tempting cookery.

- Take him in for daily rechecks if needed.

The fecal is negative - he doesn't have worms.

- Fecals are often negative, especially for whipworms.

- If a greyhound has had diarrhea ever since he came off the track, de-worm with Panacur before doing further diagnostics. Don't have the $1,000 case of whipworms.

Greyhounds get so many vaccinations at the track that adoption groups should not revaccinate.

- It's hard to count on vaccines that were supposedly given - requirements vary tremendously from state to state.

- I prefer 2 consecutive years of "known shots," then go to every 3 years if that is your preference.

Dogs need booster vaccines every year.

- Many veterinarians and a majority of veterinary schools have safely gone to every 3 year vaccinations.

Yearly dentals are the best way to keep your greyhound's teeth healthy.

- Brushing at least every other day is the best way to keep your greyhound's teeth healthy.

- BARF, chewies, turkey necks - all is preferable to knocking off tartar once yearly while the dog spends the other 9-10 months with dental disease.

- Dentals should be done when needed, but should not be the mainstay of dental care.

Do all you can to save bad teeth - you don't want to lose them.

- Bad teeth hurt - get them out of there!

- Bad teeth form a nidus for infection which can damage kidneys and heart valves.

- Dogs with bad teeth often feel like new dogs once they're extracted.

His heart is enlarged.

- The greyhound heart is normally much bigger than the heart of other dogs.

- There is a huge left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of wall) - same with marathon runners.

- An ultrasound can differentiate normal from diseased if in doubt.

His heart rate is abnormally slow.

- The greyhound's heart rate is slower than other dogs - again, due to athleticism.

- 60-90 is normal at rest, it may be faster if excited (like at the vet's office).

His blood pressure is high.

- Greyhounds often run blood pressures on the high end of normal (160,170,180).

- They can be higher if excited - again, an important consideration at the vet's office. 

He needs a complete cardiac workup for this heart murmur.

- Low grade murmurs (I & II) are common in greyhounds - they are almost always benign.

- Take a chest x-ray if concerned (where you will see a "big heart!").

Your greyhound has polycythemia.

- Greyhounds have a higher HCT or PCV than other dogs, normally in the 50's - 60's.

- HCT or PCV can easily go into the 70's if they're dehydrated.

- Actual polycythemia vera is a very rare disease.

Her platelets are abnormally low.

- Greyhounds can normally run low platelets - all the way down to 80,000 - 110,000.

- Ehrlichia can lower platelets (also lowers WBC and HCT/PCV) - titer if in doubt.

We need a bone marrow biopsy to see if this low WBC is cancer.

- Greyhounds normally run lower WBCs (3,000  - 10,000) than other dogs (7,500 - 15,000).

- An Auburn study of 50 retired racers (March 2000 Compendium) found a range of 1,800-14,600.

He can't have a TBD (tick borne disease), we don't have those around here.

-Greyhounds have a disproportionate incidence of TBDs due to their years on dog farms and in racing kennels, sharing ticks with greyhounds from all over the country.

-Ehrlichia can take 5-7 years following a tick bite to show symptoms. 

That ehrlichia titer is too low to treat.

- Treat any ehrlichia titer - the severity of signs does not always correlate with titer.

- The alternative is waiting for a bleedout - there is too much to lose.

- Veterinarians working with adopted greyhounds should maintain a high index of suspicion for ehrlichia.

Imizol is dangerous.

- Imizol is safe but not familiar to many veterinarians.

- Imizol is labeled to kill babesia but also kills ehrlichia.

A low T4 means she needs to be on thyroid supplement.

- Greyhounds normally run lower T4s than other breeds (about half is a good rule of thumb).

- They should not be on supplement unless there are clinical signs - too many greyhounds are needlessly on lifelong supplement.

- Use half of the normal dog dose.

- Sick dogs commonly have low T4s ("sick euthyroid") - the dog is not hypothyroid.

Bald butts are because they're hypothyroid.

- The cause of bald thigh syndrome is unknown.

- Bald thighs are seen with both low and high thyroid levels.

Bald butts are from laying in crates at the track.

- Greyhounds who have never been crated or to the track have bald butts.

He has a toenail fungus.

- SLO (symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy) aka "pemphigus" is the autoimmune condition that causes greyhounds to lose multiple nails.

- Treat as directed in Care of the Racing Greyhound.

This female is the first hermaphrodite I've ever seen! / This female has cancer.

- That red "button" at the vulva is clitoral hypertrophy from testosterone given at the track to keep females out of heat

Skin hemangiosarcomas in greyhounds are highly malignant.

- Skin hemangiosarcomas in "glabrous" (ventrally "nude" breeds such as greyhounds and Italian greyhounds) are solar induced and have a lower potential for metastasis.

I don't want to amputate (or euthanize) for bone cancer. I'll just make him comfortable for as long as possible (or . . . amputation is not the end of the world).

- Bone cancer is a constant, throbbing pain - the most intractable pain in veterinary medicine.

- The pain is not well controlled with meds - if it was, veterinarians wouldn't recommend amputation.

- Amputation is done simply to get the dog out of pain, it will not increase survival time.

- Only adding chemo will make him live longer.  

- If not amputated, be generous with pain meds and be ready to euthanize.

I don't want to give Rimadyl, Deramaxx, etc. for bone cancer - it might damage his liver.

- Don't become hung up on the possibility of side effects - bone cancer does not have a long term. Give what it takes to keep him from hurting.

- Combine meds (NSAIDs, narcotics, Ultram, Fosamax, etc.)

She's not in pain - she just limps, has never cried out.

- If she does not put the foot down, it hurts!

- Poor appetite, panting, shaking, can't get comfortable, stops participating, and mostly, "that look in her eye" - all are signs of pain.

- Pathologic fractures (the bone breaks at the weak spot) are excruciatingly painful - euthanize before this can happen.

Dogs can't take Tylenol.

-Tylenol /codeine is one of the most common pain meds given to bone cancer/amputation patients.

That hind end weakness is probably hip dysplasia.

- Hip dysplasia is rare in greyhounds.

- Hind end problems are most likely lumbosacral stenosis in older greyhounds.

We sent the x-rays to a radiologist and he can't find a reason why she's limping either.

- Many things that cause limping aren't seen on x-rays (soft tissue, neuro, corns).

 - A good orthopedic exam is key - an orthopedic surgeon is a good bet for finding obscure lamenesses.