Beautiful sights

Beautiful sights
Horses at blue water Lake state park

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Prince and the pea, or the Princess and the pea.

I had been hearing from several greyhound mums(moms) about the corns on their dog's feet.  Sounds like it's terrible to treat.  Until last fall I had never heard of this ailment.

My cousin (by greyhound pedigree) Sue, in Norfolk England, has a lovely grey named Polly.http://gracefulgreyhounds.blogspot.com/ .  Polly has corns or a corn , and Sue is using a homeopathic remedy for Polly's corns right now.  Sue tells me that she has tried many different "remedies" but no cure has been found.  One resource that she has found is a Facebook group called Greyhounds with corns.  

I got interested in the subject, and decided to really check my hounds' feet to be sure of their corn or no corn status.  I did not find any corns but did find some cracked edges on the pads, so decided to give them extra care on their feet.



Power licking his foot after amputation
I have been very careful of his right hind foot due to the amputation.  He doesn't act as if the foot gives him lots of trouble, but I want to be cautious of it's condition anyway.  The long toe next to the amputation site, is rather crooked and I keep an eye on it as well.  The toenail on that toe is very crooked as well.  I try to keep the nail trimmed and the pads in good condition.

One article I read about corns http://greytarticles.wordpress.com/medical-first-aid/corns-2/thoughts-on-corns-an-analysis/  stated that the two inside toes of a greyhounds foot are almost always the ones which get corns.
My theory about Power is that since he is missing his second toe on that foot, the first inside toe is doing extra duty.  I think it would be bad if he developed a corn on the first toe, so I am taking measures to prevent it.

At the present time, I am cleaning the feet daily and rubbing a strong lubricant on the pads to help them stay soft and not cracked and dry. It is an emu oi land beeswax  paste that I got at Walmart in the foot section.

I read on the Facebook site (greyhounds with corns) that a fellow named Jack has developed a Gel (called Jack's Gel) and a lubricant, called Jack's Pad polish.  I would like to know if any of you have used either item.

Do any of you have any recommendations?

12 comments:

  1. Hi Hazel, I was using Paw Wax during the icy weather. Then went onto Aloe Gel. Any moisturiser that's suitable for dogs is fine. You just have to be careful if you use something that is for humans, in case there is anything in it that could make the dog ill if they lick it.

    There are members on the FB group Greyhounds with Corns who have and are using Jacks Gel/Jacks Pad Polish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that using something safe for ingestion is important. Thanks for the comment!

      Delete
  2. Knock on wood, we haven't had any issues with corns here yet. But its always good to know what to do if there is a need in the future.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angela,
      Thanks for your note. I agree that it's reassuring to know that the path is filled with others that have more knowledge should we need it.

      Delete
  3. Joey has a corn. He has a boot that he wears. I removed it once, but it came back. The problem is that it is really hard to see this time and I can't really get to it

    I know a lot of people use the duct tape method. I think it does draw it out, but in wet weather it is a pain to use.

    To answer your question, I have not used Jack's Gel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry to hear that Joey has a corn. With his superior writing skills, I think you should be worried about writer's cramp in his front paws.
      About the duct tape, I've been wondering if putting a coban wrap over the foot after the duct tape is in place would help to hold the duct tape on.

      Delete
  4. Nikki suffers with corns. I'm interested in checking out Jack's Gel and Polish.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nikki, I'm so sorry that you have corns on your tootsies! Please let me know how the remedies work!

      Delete
  5. We've been pretty lucky here and haven't had corns for any of our hounds. I've never heard of Jack's Gel, although I try to keep up on health things related to Greyhounds. I'd be interested to hear from anybody who's tried it, though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jack's gel is a homeopathic remedy developed by a compounding pharmacist. He recently had to
      increase the price to $135.00 because of increased prices to get is supplies. His Pad Polish has had a price increase as well. Several people who have used it have praised it on the Facebook site called Greyhounds with corns.

      Delete
  6. We are lucky here, none of our greys have ever had corns. They do have dry, cracked pads. I never thought about putting anything on them. We will give it a try. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Michelle!

      Some people use breast feeding sore nipple cream, and some used aloe jel, some use vaseline, and some swear by Pad Polish, developed by Jack, the pharmacist.

      Let me know how it goes, Michelle!

      Delete

Due to strange comments from anonymous persons, I will be moderating comments for now.