Health is a very important issue with us and our hounds. Something we've spent months and years studying to find the best possible way to raise them to promote optimum health and longevity of life. These are what has worked for us. The care of your hound is a personal thing and I recommend research before deciding on one way or another. This way you have given thought to every possible option before settling on one. These are the ones we have decided on.
A SAFE METHOD OF SIGHTHOUND ANESTHESIA, by Rodger I. Barr, DVM
Whether it be man or beast, the greatest risk in elective or non-essential surgery is the anesthetic. In Veterinary Medicine, this risk is a minimal one when in the hands of a graduate DVM. That is unless yours, perhaps, is a sighthound. The greatest medical injustices perpetrated against these breeds is the lack of istruction in veterinary medical colleges concerning the differences between these breeds and all other dogs of the world.
The most commonly used anesthetic regimine in veterinary medicine incorporates a short-acting thiobarbiturate such as surital fallowed by gas anesthesia utilizing either Metophane or Halothane. For most breeds this type of regimine is more than satisfacory; for the sighthounds it has the potential of being very dangerous, even fatal. Little research has been directed at the actual reasons for these breed differences, so although cold, hard facts are not available, educated guesses are.
Three factors are responsible for the short-term effects of the thiocarbiturates. They are highly lipid-soluable, meaning they are absorbed into fat almost immediately after intravenous injection. They are then metabolized by the liver over a variable period of time, and subsequently excreted in the urine. With most breeds, the routine injection of a thiobarbiturate with no other anesthetic agent employed, will result in approximately 10 to 15 minutes of anesthesia before recovery occurs. The sighthound will remain under for usually 30 to 35 minutes, in some cases longer, some never recover. The reasons for this are obvious, when one considers the method of action of the above-mentioned anesthetic.
Redistribution into the fat is the greatest reason for fast recovery from thiobarbiturate; if the patient in question happens to have very little fat, this anesthetic agent which normally obliges the anesthetist by retiring to insignificant tissue such as fat, remains in the bloodstream continuing to depress the central nervous system as well as the cardiovascular system. An unaware anesthetist will then begin gas anesthesia at the point at which the thiobarbiturate normally wears off, that in this case is merely doubling up the anesthesia load, thus depressing the patient even more. At the very least, the patient will recover in three hours or so and not be fully recovered up to 24 hours. In addtion to the absence of body fat in many of the sighthound breeds, it seems their livers are unable to deal effectively as some breeds with many drugs which rely on this important organ for metabolism... supporting even more the need to find an alternative method for anesthetic control of the sighthound surgical patient.
To critisize an existing method without offering a viable alternative would render this article unnecessary. To avoid this fate, I would now like to present my candidate for the safest, most effective method of sighthound anesthetic induction. The fallowing method has been used on over 200 sighthounds by the author as well as many other animals who, for one reason or another, require a SAFER method. I have, to date, never lost a sighthound from this method. Someday a problem is bound to occur, but at this point in time, I haven't even had any close calls or unexpected responses. The drug for which I speak is a human drug know generically as Oxymorphone. It is a synthetic narcotic produced by the Endo Drug Company under the commercial name of Numorphan. It is supplied in 1.5 mg/ml in 10 cc vials and is handled as a narcotic. It is almost fully reversable. In other words, upon completion of the procedure, one can almost immediately raise the patients level of consciousness dramatically, through the use of a narcotic reversing agent such as nalline or levallophan. All sighthounds receive intravenous fluids during general anesthesia. All dogs recieve atropine sulfate prior to to anesthetic. At this time 0.05 mg/lb of oxymorphone is combined in a single syringe with 0.1 ml/10 lbs of acepromazin. ( 1.5 mg oxymorphone and 0.3 cc acepromazin for a 30 lb dog.) This combination is injected intravenously over a 15 to 20 second period; faster than this can result in a brief excitement phase. Apprehensive dogs can recieve as much as 0.075 mg/lb of oxymorphone. Within five minutes, the dogs can be intubated with very little manual restraint. Many animals will respond excessively to sharp noises at this stage. Depending on the procedure as well as the level of depression the patient has achieved one may or may not incorporate the use of Metophane, a gas anesthetic. Upon completion of the surgery, Nalline is injected I.V. at a dosage equivalent to the induction dosage of Oxymorphone. This method has been used for several years at Colorado State University on thousands of dogs, many of which where track greyhounds. During my post-graduate training at this institution, three sighthounds were mistakenly anesthetized using thiobarbiturate. One died of malignant hyperthermia during surgery ( high body temperature). A Scottish Deerhound suffered cardiac arrythmias and had to be defibrillated. The third, a greyhound, took a page out of Rip Van Winkle and slept for three days. These numbers are statistically far too few to draw any accurate conclusions, but who among you would want to volunteer your hounds to complete the study?
For all practitioners, the safest drugs are those agents in which we have confidence and are most familiar. So those who use the thiobarbiturate or some other anesthetic regimen, there's obviously no reason to change. This article is directed at that person who has tried a method and is looking for something better.
Hopefully, in the future, through improved education we can avoid some of the unnecessary problems and errors we've committed in the past. When that day comes, we all benefit.
Dr. Rodger I. Barr, DVM
Foley Boulevard Animal Hospital
11247 Foley Boulevard
Coon Rapids, MN 554
CARING FOR THE AFGHAN HOUND AS A PET
Ok, now I know some of you reading this have seen an Afghan Hound and exclaimed at their marvelous coats, and either thought to yourselves or said aloud to the owner "How do you take care of that?" Well, our hope is that this section will help to enlighten some fanciers, or new owners, of this truly marvelous and unique breed on how to care for your Afghan Hound! I also hope that this will give more confidence to those who love and would like to own an afghan but were intimidated or disueded by the coat care. They are a wonderful breed. Grooming is only one part of it. Think of it this way, all dogs need to be groomed regularly, afghans just a little longer. This also gives you more time to spend with your afghan. You will find that if you take care of them regularly, it is really not a big deal and you will learn to remember all of the other wonderful and endearing qualities of this breed. I will take you through a journey of the afghan coat from puppyhood to maturity and other important grooming factors. So sit back, enjoy and prepare to be enlightened!
THE PUPPY COAT
This section deals with the puppy coat from 9 weeks to 14 months in males and 9 weeks up to their first season in bitches. My reasoning for separating the bitches from the dogs(males) will be explained further on.
Most afghan puppies have a very resiliant coat, it is soft in texture and wonderfully fluffy! You will note that at about the age of 3 to 4 months your Afghan Hound puppy will start to grow fuzzies on his or her face, do not despair this is quite normal! They are lovingly known as MONKEY WHISKERS!! This is one of the many endearing qualities of the afghan hound puppy. At this age the coat is quite simple to take care of. You should start them on a bathing/grooming routine. Pick a day once every week for your puppies bath and a good brush through. At this time it is helpful to teach your puppy to lay down to be groomed. This will be most helpful when they have their full adult coats. It is important to make sure while blow drying your puppy that you are mindful of the temperature of your dryer should you chose one with different heat settings. Because of their thick coats, they can become very hot quickly and this is VERY uncomfortable. You want to make his grooming routine something comfortable and enjoyable as you will be spending a large amount of his/her life grooming them. A well taken care of and regularly groomed Afghan Hound is truly a sight to behold!
Also at this age you should pay special attention to their feet. Afghans can grow quite a sensativity to having their feet touched, so be sure to handle their feet often. Do not make this a forceful issue. If you like, you can teach him to be good about his feet by treating him with something tasty every time he lets you hold his feet. This will make your life easier and your puppies grooming period so much more pleasant. Be sure to check ears and clean them regularly as they get dirty fairly easily.
Teeth are also important. Make sure you check them regularly for any sores, discomfort, bleeding, swelling, redness, lumps or discoloration. If you notice anything or are worried give your vet a call or set up an apointment to have them checked out. There are a few different ways to keep teeth clean. They have special chew toys or bones, there is brushing their teeth. A special note on this DO NOT use human tooth brushes, they have ones made especially for dogs, and DO NOT use human toothpaste! Most don't find it appealing. A lot of people use a baking soda water mixture. This is bland and doesn't seem to offend them as much. Also there are special toothpastes for dogs with flavors they will find appealing, like beef flavored. This takes time for the dog to get used to so start when they are this age, 9 weeks. And last but not least there is laser cleaning, this your vet will do, it is a simple proceedure for those who do not want to brush the teeth themselves.
GROOMING TOOLS
Like I said earlier, the afghan puppy coat is pretty tough and resiliant. Important tools to have on hand are a slicker brush, this can be used on a puppy coat. I do not recomend using it on an adult coat though it has a tendancy to break and pull out the coat. An adult coat is very different in type then a puppy. I will explain this further on. A pin brush, preferably one with longer pins to get through the coat. DO NOT use brushes with the little balls on the tips of the pins. The hair gets tangled around them and pulls which is very uncomfortable!!! You will need a good comb, most supply companies provide a variety of these to choose from. This will be usefull when they are at their adolescent age. This I will explain further in the next section. I do not recomend a mat rake. If they are not used properly they can be quite painfull. They also rip out a lot of coat and their coats don't look very nice after using a mat rake. Daily brushing almost always prevents having to use a mat rake. Also a good tool but not absolutely necessary is a pumace or stripping stone. This can be used on adolescent dogs during their transition phase. It will help bring out their short haired saddle, also a most endearing quality of the Afghan Hound. This is up to you. And most importantly, you need a good shampoo and conditioner, There are a TON of different types of shampoo, you can check out our coat care section for the types of shampoo we like to use. We found on our coats they work best. I don't recomend cream rinses, I personally haven't found one I like, they don't condition the coat as well as a regular condtioner because they are rinsed out immediatly after putting it in so it has no time to sink into the hair folicles and soften. A good condtioner will help you through the transtion age. Those are the most common and important tools to have on hand for grooming your pet Afghan.
THE ADOLESCENT AGE
I would have to say this is the age a lot of first time owners will have a tendancy to give their Afghans back to the breeders. This is also known as the Transition age. It begins anywhere from 10 -14 months in males and starts anywhere from 10 months to their first season in bitches. Although it is most common for the bitches to transition 9 weeks after their first season. To clear up the meaning of "Transitioning". Transition period is when a young afghan starts approaching sexual maturity. At this point the coat will start changing from a fluffy puppy coat to a softer adult coat. The coat at this age can be very difficult to care for. It has a tendancy to mat VERY quickly and quite often. At this age it is IMPERITIVE that you brush and bath them on a regular bases or you will end up with quite a mess on your hands. Males and females transition differently. After a female afghan comes out of her season, approximately 9 weeks later, you will notice that the coat will start coming out as you brush them. Do not despair, this is quite normal. It usually only last about a month. If you can get through this age then the rest of their lives are a breeze!! Some bitches will loose a large portion of their coats and some will keep most of it. It just depends on the individual dog. The males however do not loose a lot of their coat, but it will change in texture. Like the bitches, the coat will go from being fluffy and thick to softer, silkier, and will lay flat against the body. This is the beginnings of their adult coat. It can take an Afghan anywhere from 3-5 years to grow his full adult coat.
Note: Mats
The mats on a trasitioning adolescent can be a little tricky to get out. So I will explain how to pick them out. First I would like to say though, it is much easier to deal with this age if you take some time every day to give them a good thorough brush. It will help keep the mats out and this time will seem to go by a lot quicker. But, should you end up with mats, the best way to get out mats at this age is to use a slicker brush, be careful not to brush in the same area of the mat for to long as this type of brush can be a little harsh on the skin. Simply hold the matt in your hand, brush in the other, and brush through the mat first at a diagonal then down the center, this will help break up the mat, continue to do so until the tangle is out. Another method of picking out tangles is with the metal comb. This can be quite usefull on smaller mats. When using the comb to pick out a tangle, DO NOT , I repeat DO NOT, start at the base of the mat at the skin and rip the comb through. This is EXTREMELY painful, it rips hair out, and is likely to make brushing time a bad thing in your dogs mind. Instead work through the mat from the very tip and pick the hair apart. This saves your dogs from unecessary pain and is a lot quicker. When using a comb, something else useful is some type of oil, for example, I use Cowboy Majic which you can get from some pet supply catalogues but cost a lot less at a horse tack shop. You can also get it in larger amounts at tack shops. We are lucky we live just miles from the famous Saratoga Race Track!! You can also use Show Sheen which can be found at tack shops or pet supply catalogues. Another good one is Woopie Oil, this is found only in pet supply catalogues.
Like I said this can be a difficult age, but if you just bare with it for about a month, the adult coat is simple to take care of. Trust me, we have been through this age a lot and I assure you there is light at the end of the tunnel!!! And I assure you it is well worth the work. When you get through it you can pat yourself on the back. You have survived the most diffucult part of the Afghan coat. After this, the coat is a breeze!
THE MATURE ADULT AFGHAN COAT
PHEEWW!! Well you got through that age, from here on out its smooth sailing. At this point the coat will grow in length but is a lot more manigable. Most of the care of an adult coat is weekly bathing and brushing. You will, from time to time, get a tangle but mostly from environmental things like sap or sticks and twigs. Also you need to examine pads for cuts or things that may be caught. Also, it is important that you keep the hair from the bottoms of their feet between the pads scissored out. During the winter time they can get snow balls and ice caught in the hair. This experience is not fun for the dog. Coat care on this breed is mostly just being dedicated to weekly grooming. I do know from personal experience though that it is so worth work. They are such unique breed, and have so much to offer in love and affection, and a few laughs here and there (this afghans are known quite well for, as they are quite comical at times). Well I hope this has been of some help and perhaps has helped someone who would give a good home to an afghan but was intimidated by the work. Thank you for taking the time to visit us and please sign our guest book! We look forward to hearing from you!
Feeding and Vaccine Information
This next section is primarily links to sites that provide vital information regarding our reasons behind the way we feed our hounds and the way we raise them. This is our individual decision born out of our desire to find a better and healthier life for them and to try and do away with cancer and other serious health issues any canine can suffer from. The care and feeding of your afhan hounds is an individual decision and one we all respect. This is simply how we do things.