The Vet Card is a summary of published veterinary sources, put together by an owner. This page is its working.
Longhound is not a veterinary practice and this card carries no named veterinary reviewer. Each claim below is listed with the published source it was taken from, so the working can be checked rather than taken on trust. A citation shows where a claim came from — it does not certify that it is correct, current, or right for a particular dog. Confirm doses and reference intervals against your own laboratory and formulary, and treat the clinician in front of the dog as the authority.
Bloat
1
A deep, narrow chest is the shape most associated with gastric dilatation-volvulus, and the time from onset to fatal can be about an hour.
VCA Animal Hospitals · American Animal Hospital Association · J. O’Keefe BSc BVMS, Greenhounds
2
The signs are restlessness, unproductive retching, drooling, a distended and painful abdomen, pale gums, weakness or collapse.
VCA Animal Hospitals · American Animal Hospital Association
3
Do not give food, water, antacids or oil; do not press the abdomen or attempt to pass a tube; do not wait to see if it settles.
American Animal Hospital Association · J. O’Keefe BSc BVMS, Greenhounds
Anaesthesia
4
Sighthounds carry roughly 17% body fat against roughly 35% in an average dog, which changes how fat-soluble drugs behave.
dvm360
5
Recovery from thiobarbiturates runs three to four times longer, some beyond eight hours, and can be rough and relapsing.
dvm360
6
Acepromazine, if used at all, is used well below the dose typical for other breeds.
dvm360
7
Propofol, alfaxalone, or ketamine with diazepam are the usual inductions; alfaxalone gives the shortest recovery.
dvm360 · Greyhounds as Pets NZ · C. Heap, Veterinary Specialists Aotearoa
8
Isoflurane or sevoflurane for maintenance; halothane is discouraged.
Greyhounds as Pets NZ · dvm360
9
Warm actively through premedication, surgery and recovery — and watch for post-anaesthetic hyperthermia as well as cooling.
dvm360 · Greyhounds as Pets NZ
10
Take care with H2 antagonists, macrolides and azoles before a hepatically metabolised induction agent.
C. Heap, Veterinary Specialists Aotearoa
Delayed bleeding
11
In a blinded trial of 100 retired racing greyhounds undergoing gonadectomy, 30% of the placebo group bled 36 to 48 hours after surgery against 10% of the treated group.
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (PubMed 22712787)
12
Oral epsilon aminocaproic acid started at surgery is the prophylaxis that trial tested. The card does not print the dose; the odds of bleeding rose with body weight, so a flat dose was not the end of the discussion, and the figures are in the cited paper.
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (PubMed 22712787)
Bloodwork
13
Breed-adjusted reference intervals for PCV, red cells, haemoglobin, white cells, platelets, total T4 and SDMA.
IDEXX Laboratories · Greyhound Gang
14
Creatinine runs higher with a normal or higher glomerular filtration rate, so SDMA is the better read on kidney function in this breed.
IDEXX Laboratories · C. G. Couto, The Ohio State University
15
Higher hepatic enzyme activity and cardiac troponin; lower total globulin and haptoglobin.
C. G. Couto, The Ohio State University
Handling
16
Sleep startle, muzzle habituation, thin skin, what correct body condition looks like on a sighthound, tick-borne disease panels and periodontal disease.
dvm360
The sources in full
Idiosyncrasies in greyhounds that can affect their medical care
Spotted something wrong, out of date, or stated with more confidence than the evidence supports? That is worth more to this card than a compliment — the whole thing lives in one file and corrections are small.