Noticed Pale Gums on Your Greyhound? Here’s the Hidden Emergency That Nearly Took Mine

 

I thought I knew my greyhound inside out.

Snoozy mornings, twitchy dreams, gentle zoomies in the backyard.
But one afternoon, something felt… off.

My dog, Scout, wasn’t wagging his tail when I came home. No greeting trot. No stretch or yawn. Just lying there, almost like he’d turned into a statue with breath.

I knelt beside him and instinctively lifted his lip. His gums — normally bubblegum pink — were ghost white.

I didn’t know it yet, but I had maybe an hour to act before it turned fatal.

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⚠️ Pale Gums: Not Just a “Weird Thing”

Let me be the first to say this:
If your greyhound’s gums are pale, do not wait. Do not Google. Get to a vet. Immediately.

Greyhounds are not “normal” dogs when it comes to blood volume, clotting, or even how they show pain. Pale gums aren’t just dehydration or low energy.
In most cases, they mean internal bleeding or shock.

Scout was experiencing something called splenic torsion — his spleen had twisted, causing internal hemorrhaging. It’s as terrifying as it sounds, and greyhounds (with their deep chests and racing history) are quietly prone to it.

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💡 Here’s What I Learned (That I Wish I Knew Sooner):

1. Gum Color Is a Life Sign
Most people are told to “check the gums” — but no one tells you what bad gums actually mean.

• Healthy: Bubblegum pink

• Dehydrated: Slightly tacky and light pink

• Emergency: White, grey, or bluish — get help now

2. Greyhounds Mask Pain—Dangerously Well
They won’t yelp. They won’t flinch. They might even get up and walk despite internal trauma. Scout did.

If your greyhound is lying low, with pale gums, and slow to respond? Assume the worst and act fast. You can’t “wait and see” with this breed.

3. Vets Don’t Always Know Greyhounds
This one hit hard.
At the ER, the vet first suspected anemia or old age. I had to push for an ultrasound, and that’s what caught the spleen issue.

Greyhounds have unique blood profiles — even their normal is different from most dogs. If you own one, find a sighthound-savvy vet and keep their number in your phone.

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🛠 What You Can Do Right Now (That I Didn’t):

• Practice gum checks weekly — so you know your dog’s baseline

• Keep an emergency vet fund — even just $20/month adds up

• Have a greyhound-specific emergency checklist on your fridge

• Trust your gut — if your dog seems “off,” you’re probably right

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💔 Scout Made It — Barely

Emergency surgery, a blood transfusion, and 3 terrifying nights at the vet.
Scout pulled through.
But I still think about how close I came to losing him — because I didn’t know what pale gums actually meant.

So this is your heads-up. If you ever lift that lip and see white… don’t hesitate.

Drive. Run. Call. Just go.

Because sometimes, the thing that saves your greyhound… is you knowing what not to ignore.