# Molly the new girl on the block



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

She is very tall! She can reach my counter tops and, in my experience, Greyhounds have no compunction in helping themselves from work tops and tables etc so I will have to be vigilant. A good dog for old codgers because Chris doesn't have to bend down to fuss her  She is very thin but not emaciated. She came from a farm yard in Ireland where she was used as a breeding machine. The owner said that "she never had any back on her".

The rescue sent all her meds with her and she is on our version of Metacam (Rheumacom in Ireland). Her teeth are, as they said, truly awful so she has some gel to keep the bacteria down. Also is some probiotic gel just in case. They said she has corns, too, but I have not probed her too much yet.

So far she has eaten what I have given her which is, a very conservative, tinned Rocco "sensitive" in small amounts four times per day. She has taken the odd bit of Georgia's food which is a new dry pressed food called Tribal. I hope it agrees with her because it will make life easier. Giving a huge Greyhound tinned food, especially as it is complete, will be a bit of a challenge with the shopping and storage of it.

A very sweet girl as most greyhounds are. She does wake up very early though and cry out for attention!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Well done Pat, made me wonder though can you take dog food across to the EU?


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Good point, Kev. Perhaps Sandra could do a trial run for us all. Take Shadow and his food with her and then tell the customs officer to help him/herself to it 

Joking aside, some dogs are on special diets for kidney problems etc. I wonder if a vet's prescription might help in those situations. The previous carer of Molly described her as a nightmare to feed. I have not found her a problem but it is early days yet. Not everyone realises how much influence pain has on appetite.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

She is an early riser  Yesterday it was 4.30 am! Probably the light and the dawn chorus. Her toileting needs are still under assessment so I had to get up and let her out. Last night I covered her crate as much as I could to keep out the light and left the radio on Radio 3 to drown out the birds. I also left Georgia in the kitchen with her as many Greyhounds have never been alone. They always have a kennel mate and Molly, a breeding machine, lived with her sister in a farmyard. 

6am today. Not good for an insomniac who had just gone off to sleep  Better than yesterday though.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

She'll soon get used to a routine hopefully.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

We blacked out the windows as much as we could and put the radio on for her last night. 5 am she barked but settled again until 6 am when she insisted it was time for a wee  Once she had that she just zonked out again. Having lived in a farmyard most of her life I suppose she pleased herself when she had a wee?

Her teeth are truly awful. The result of years of feeding slop which is common among greyhound folk. The decision, in Ireland, was that there was to be no medical intervention but I am going to talk to my vet about it. If he can crack some tartar while she is conscious I might be able to do some scraping.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Would course biscuits help Pat?


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Yes Kev, as would bones. It is early days in the digestive department though. She has a history of not eating and having diarrhoea so I am being very conservative with what I give her. Sadly her teeth mean that she refuses any dry food  I do have some gel that keeps the bacteria at bay and sooths the gums. She is also on anti inflammatory meds.
Like all greyhounds she is an easy dog. Why do anything when you can sleep


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

We use dental sticks for shadow as we dare not risk bones

He seems to tolerate them ok

One after each meal 

His teeth are not brilliant although the vet says they are ok and he is getting old at 13

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Enormous marrow bones are ok. Vets still tell you to be careful as dogs can break their teeth on them! It all depends on the dog.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Just had a memory, Sandra, of giving one of my dogs a dental chew and it having really bad diarrhoea 

Well, she has a UTI. Poor old gal. Spent yesterday up and down the vet's taking a sample first, weighing Molly in case drugs were needed and then going back because drugs were needed. It is about 15 miles away as I am fussy about which vet I use.

She went through the night!

We had an awful experience yesterday as we came back from our afternoon walk. We just got onto our drive when the two Rottweilers from across the road came running over and started to attack Georgia!! I had hold of both mine and could not do much except shout at them to clear off. They would not give up! She is a 12kg Spaniel but she stood her ground and got her teeth out! Eventually Chris heard all the commotion and came down, from upstairs, to help. Poor old Molly just stood there frozen to the spot. Chris chased them back across the road and it turns out the owner had left his back gate open. Good job I am an out and out dog person because anyone else would have had a heart attack!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I hope you had a serious chat with the owner Pat, Rottweilers can be very friendly dogs but whether or not they were the gate should be properly locked even if the dogs are not out, they are big enough to frighten or knock over a child.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Well, Kev, it was Chris who took them back and he would have apologised for not catching them sooner. I know the dogs and they are fine with people but it was very scary as they have not been socialised with dogs so find them scary. This leads to them trying to chase them away. Chris did suggest a spring on the gate to pull it closed. What is the matter with people? I have taken the labradoodle next door back several times. They, eventually, put a spring on the gate. It's not rocket science. If nothing else it prevents a terrible accident.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I think some get a dog because it seems a nice idea, it is, but it's the same as having a child, it needs to be looked after and not let out on it's own, people can be very stupid about pets.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’m not worried about the bones enormous or
not

I’m worried about the bits he swallows

And have been for 13 yrs

I’ll stick to dental sticks

His teeth , not brilliant but not causing him a problem

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Little update on dear old Molly. The rescue, having said they would not spend money on her, were persuaded by me that a dental was needed on welfare grounds. Marcus my vet performed it and, while she was under, took all her corns off. I got a frantic call from him as he examined her all over while she was out and found a very enlarged stifle (knee) joint. Fearing that her mammary tumours had spread to her bones he x rayed her but was relieved to find it was not the big C. The joint is, however, a wreck with very little movement in it. Poor old girl.

Post dental she is now eating a new kind of dog food which is "cold pressed" and not as hard as ordinary dried food. It is called Tribal and I am very impressed with it both for Georgia and now Molly. Quite expensive but easier to digest. She does have days when she messes me around insisting she should have tinned food but I usually win!


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

The master of the tin opener wins


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Just a little update on the old gal. She had the episode with the Muntjac, reported elsewhere, and is now confined firmly on lead. We now think that it gored her foot with its tusks because one of her wounds was very deep into an ankle joint. Vet bill of £400 
Molly continues to be difficult to feed. I try not to give her mushy food because it is bad for their teeth but, unusually for me, I have given her best in the battle of wills. She had me sitting on the floor hand feeding her the Tribal cold pressed food, something I have not done in fifty years of dog ownership. I am now mixing a little warmed tinned food in with the Tribal and that seems to be working, at least for now. She still looks a bag of bones but at least we are both a little happier. The main thing is to not to let her think that her behaviour wins, over not eating what she is given, so I always put it away, without comment, and then magically find something better a little later when she has forgotten about refusing food.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

You're a saint Pat.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

And a doggie-psychoanalyst!


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