By Dennis McKeon
copyright, 2018. The original post can be found here.
I’ve recently noticed that more and more retired greyhound owners are posting messages on social media, about their greyhounds who have seemingly lost control of their bladders, and have apparently become incontinent. The story usually begins with the owner having taken the dog for a walk, or let the dog out to the yard to relieve himself (or less frequently, it seems, herself). An hour or so later, the greyhound notices that the sofa he has been all but fused to since he first arrived at the domicile, has, remarkably and suddenly, turned into a fire hydrant.
He then, obligingly, decides to see if maybe watering it might turn it back into a sofa, so that he can finally be done with these tiresome humans, and get some much needed sleep. Needless to say, after a performance such as that, no one will be getting any sleep for a while---but at least the sofa has reappeared.
All levity aside, most greyhounds are quite fastidious about their living quarters. The vast majority of greyhounds are disinclined to soil or foul their personal space, and will even discomfort themselves to the breaking point, where they actually over-stress the muscles that actuate and withhold urination, in order to avoid doing so.
In the racing kennel, that personal space would be their crate, and their bedding---whether it be a huge heap of slit, soft paper, or a rectangle of plush carpeting. In either case, they seldom prefer to lie in their own effluent. And so, with appropriate and timely handling, they are turned out frequently, and on a rigid schedule, so that they can achieve some systemic synchronicity, and make their donations to the appropriate areas---and then they can relax when they are in repose.
Your pet should be managed the same way.
Nevertheless, there are the occasional scofflaws, who seem not quite up to getting with the program. These types are referred to as “bed wetters”, and are often thought to be incorrigible. But smart trainers know better, in many cases. Very often, there is a good reason why a greyhound may “wet the bed”, and just as often, the situation is manageable.
There can be any number of reasons why a greyhound might be a “bed wetter”. It could be that the dog just has a small bladder, and can’t withhold for as long as his/her kennelmates can. Or it might be that the dog has a urinary tract infection (UTI), and requires veterinary assessment and evaluation---up to and including a complete workup on their kidney function. It is most often something in between these two extremes.
In any event, the smart trainer and the wise pet owner, firstly and foremost, make sure that the greyhound has access to fresh drinking water at all times. I can’t stress this point enough or more emphatically---proper hydration is critical to your greyhound’s health and well being, comfort and deportment---whether he is an active racer, or a needle-beaked couch accessory. Along with that, they require an unyielding schedule of turnout times, to relieve themselves, outdoors, of those substances that we would rather not have glistening on the new hardwood.
Now, both professional and amateur greyhound trainers have all likely encountered a greyhound who is said to have “run their back off”. This is common lingo for what the Merck Veterinary Manual refers to as “exertional myopathy”, or more formally, Rhabdomyolysis.
This is what they have to say about it:
“This acute exertional myopathy of racing Greyhounds and working dogs is characterized by muscle ischemia secondary to exercise or excitement. Avascularity and lactic acidosis cause muscular lysis, myoglobin release, and a nephropathy.Clinical signs include muscle pain and swelling 24–72 hr after racing. Severe cases are characterized by stiffness, hyperpnea, collapse, myoglobinemia, and acute renal failure. Urinalysis reveals myoglobinuria; serum potassium, phosphorus, and muscle enzymes are increased. Treatment includes supportive care such as IV fluids, bicarbonate, body cooling, rest, and muscle relaxants (eg, diazepam). Prognosis depends on severity”.
Now, what that means in layman-speak, it that the dog has extended him/herself, well beyond the scope of their preparation. For example, if I were training a greyhound who had been racing exclusively at a distance of 550 yards, and I then entered him in a 770 yard race, without any incremental increase in his preparation, there is a distinct possibility that he may “run his back off”, particularly if he should happen to find himself “on the bunny” during that race. Don't do that.
A pet greyhound who is not in particularly good condition, but who may over-exert himself at play, or on a “fun run” is no less likely, and is perhaps even more likely, to suffer the same fate.
The visible symptoms, some noted by Merck, are a stiffening of the dog's muscles, unusual discomfort in moving, an extreme tightening of the skin due to severe dehydration, the inability of the dog to pass urine.
All of the above, and a noticeably “pinched” back (the back appears to have an exaggerated “hump” above the tuck, with vertebrae extremely prominent---viewed from the rear, the back seems almost triangular). There will also be muscle wastage, significant weight loss, and lethargy.
Intravenous fluids (non-lactates), electrolytes, muscle relaxers, a pain reliever, massage and/or whirlpool treatments, frequent turnouts, TLC, and patience, are all a help to the greyhound as he recovers from this very serious condition. An extra-wet feed is also recommended.
Greyhounds who have “run their backs off”, recover at different rates---and they don’t always recover completely. It’s not unusual for a greyhound who has suffered this, to have some difficulty voiding their bladder, or some level of kidney inefficiency for a good, long while, if not for the rest of their lives.
Even a greyhound who is painstakingly prepared for maximum stress exertion, can overextend him/herself, and “run their back off”. So, for the professional trainer, for the amateur trainer, and even for the “retired pet” owner, all exercise should be closely monitored, and the intensity and duration of that exercise should only be increased by modest increments.
So, an adopter whose greyhound may have run its back off at one time or another, may very well note an inconsistency in the dog’s need to void his bladder, or in his choice of where to do so. Even a greyhound who hasn't had this unpleasant experience, could have a sluggish urinary system, from normal, exercise-induced stresses. This can result in those unwanted accidents.
In most cases, this is not a matter of perversity on the part of the greyhound, and the problem, if it is not a UTI or degenerative kidney disease, can often be managed. I should again mention, that a rigid schedule of frequent turnouts is paramount.
In the racing kennel, and even with my pets, I would periodically “flush their kidneys”. Not only of the dogs who may have had some insufficiency, or had been bed-wetters, but all of them. Thankfully, this is a relatively simple and inexpensive process. It can be a tremendous help to greyhounds who are having difficulty with proper elimination decorum, and their owners who have to deal with the aftermath.
If you have reason to suspect your dog has a UTI, or a more serious problem---for example, if the urine is brown or extremely rank smelling, and/or if the dog is severely dehydrated, a visit to the vet is in order.
But for the greyhound who is simply not voiding efficiently, as is often the case, all you basically need is some discipline, time, and a packet of Pearl Barley, easily found at your local market.
Place about half the contents of the barley (or 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup) in 4-5 quarts of water, in a soup pan. Bring it to a brisk boil for a minute, and then allow it to simmer at very low heat for a couple of hours, with the soup pot completely covered. Then strain out the barley, and save the liquid.
Give the dog 6-8 ounces of this liquid when it has cooled enough to drink. You will have to add a dollop of half n half, light cream or evaporated milk, to entice him to drink it. Once he does, he will need to void his bladder in about an hour. Do this 3-4 times a day for 4-5 days. Refrigerate the remainder of the liquid. It will turn gelatinous. Microwave it to re-liquify.
After a few days of this treatment, you should notice an increase in the strength of his urine flow, and the volume of urine he is able to pass.
In the best case scenario, any sluggishness of the kidneys or urinary system should be much improved, and the greyhound will feel and behave like a young, frisky buck or buck-ette. And your sofa will remain a sofa, and will not ever again turn into a fire hydrant.