PrairieProf

Pawz dog boots are really great for covering a foot for going outside -- I know this all too well from experience. http://pawzdogboots.com/ (they say medium for greyhounds, but I use large) I've seen them at Petco too I think. A toddler sock taped on the top will cover the foot so she can't do more damage by licking. Beth is a big wound-licker, and it can really make things worse.

You can absolutely give 250 mg. a day. That's what we did for two weeks as we were tapering Beth down from a full dose (then 250 mg. every other day for two more weeks). But if it is causing the problem, it might be best just not to give it it all.

Thanks -- I've been reading all the old GT toe-related posts I can find. I'm so torn up about this -- between the completely torn ligament and the deep ulcer (which must have gotten rubbed somehow yesterday because there was a lot more blood on the gauze last night, though much less this morning) the toe is really a mess. It might be possible do to more to support the toe in healing if it didn't have the ulcer that needs a dressing change twice a day, but it does. I certainly don't want to rush into amputation but I'm also aware that it would probably give me my girl back sooner -- and might well end up being what eventually happens anyway even if we put it off. Meanwhile I'm going Monday for a second opinion from a vet that some neighbors with a grey see and like very much -- apparently he used to work for the track we used to have here, and had greys as pets, so I thought he'd have good experience in greyhound orthopedic injuries. (I didn't know about him when I got Beth -- the track closed a few years before I moved here and it never occurred to me that there would be vets with that kind of specific greyhound knowledge still around.) I'm hoping he'll be able to give me a good perspective on how this might heal, whether there's anything less conservative we could do to help it heal, and/or whether amputation would be a better option.

Saw the vet this morning ... he thought the wound looked OK, no sign of infection and at least some slight signs of granulation tissue at the edges. Basically he wants me to keep doing what I'm doing -- said that ulcers like this can take several months to heal. My next appointment is Tuesday though he said I should come in Monday if I need to. What's pretty gross and upsetting is how the toe itself flops to one side now that there's no ligament supporting it there. And evidently it will probably heal that way too. I can't believe that's not going to cause problems, though again he basically said we need to wait and see. He pointed out that we can always amputate, but you can't undo an amputation once you've done it, so .... I know he's right, but I find living with the uncertainty very debilitating. It's only been eight days since the original injury, and it feels like a month. Being all alone with an injured dog is awful. And now our (very short) walks are the most anxious element of my day, rather than the best part.

You have a missing "h" on your subtitle and at first I read "does tripe keep feet clean?" I've heard a lot of claims for the magical properties of tripe, but that was really a new one on me! I have heard that the enzymes in tripe supposedly are good for cleaning teeth, but that may be a myth. And that claim would be more applicable to raw tripe than canned.

Wow, I'm actually in town and not working either weekend I will email them. Do you bring your dogs, or adoptables from the the kennel? In this area we bring our own dogs; it's too far from the kennel. The dogs like it because they get to hang around with other greyhounds and get lots of attention from people. Of course you need to be the judge of yours, whether they will find the environment comfortable or still too scary (maybe a "dry run" walk around a Petco or Petsmart first if you haven't done that?) -- of course at least some of the hounds have experience doing M&Gs while they were at the kennel. As long as yours aren't spooky types, they should be fine. I may be at the June 5 one and would be pleased to meet you! Only thing that will prevent it is that Beth has a severe foot injury and it may be too soon to ask her to stand around for two hours or so. But if not then, I should be at future ones.

There will be a M&G Saturday June 5 10-2 at the Petco in Coralville, and one Saturday June 18th, 12-2 at Petco in Marion. We would definitely welcome your help, and it's a great way to make friends in the greyhound community. To be added to the list for Iowa City events, email Jamie Sharp <cjgo05@hotmail.com>. For the Cedar Rapids list, contact Sue Payne <payneia68@aol.com>.

Here are the best pictures I can get of the wound (have to try to spread her toes with one hand and hold the camera with the other). They're pretty gory, so I'm posting links rather than direct photos. http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s357/PrairieProf/downsized_0519011126.jpg The white you see in the center of the crater is exposed ligament -- even more would show if I could get the full view: http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/s357/PrairieProf/downsized_0519011127.jpg

Oh god, I thought it was getting a bit better when I posted last but now I think it's getting worse. She's sitting down a lot when walking, and when I changed the wrap this morning there's more ligament showing than there was initially. No sign of infection at least. I have a call in to my vet (and an appointment tomorrow morning). I am beginning to think that amputation may turn into the most feasible option ... so scared. It's a weight-bearing toe. I've read all the GT archive posts that most greyhounds do well, but it would be so awful if she was left with a limp or couldn't run. And what if she developed another problem with that foot (or the other) down the road? She's only five, she's got a lot of years left to hurt herself....

Welcome and congratulations! I know the new Topper and Jujube from the QCGA website -- my Beth is a QCGA hound too, and there are a bunch of other folks with QCGA and local connections here. Where in Iowa are you? We have regular events in the Iowa City area (including a greyhound playdate scheduled for May 28) and some starting in Cedar Rapids as well as those in the QC area. I'm in Waterloo but come down for most of the IC events. Don't miss the QCGA reunion picnic in September, it's a lot of fun! Your other dogs are very cute too. I love the Husky expression in the second pic!

Well, I've now changed the wrap twice by myself, and it's not as scary as it seemed. Poor Beth is getting so many pills at the moment (Deramaxx, Tramadol, and two different antibiotics) that I had to post a schedule on my refrigerator to remind myself what times of day I'm giving which. So far her GI system is handling it all, which I'm thankful for. Her walking does seem improved. She even tries to trot a little (I know, I know, I mostly restrain her, but the trot is also her finding-a-poop-spot ritual). The best thing is that she only sat down once on the walk this morning (the big sign that her foot hurts) even though we went several blocks so she could poop. And that was when we were passing schoolboys showing each other fart noises, which she found profoundly intriguing and wanted to keep watching. When I changed the dressing today, it seemed to me the ulceration might be a tiny bit improved, but it's hard to tell. It is still so gruesome looking with the white ligament showing through. At least I confirmed that the ulcer is on the originally injured toe -- I was thinking it was on the adjoining one. So if we ever needed to amputate that toe (a possibility I am trying to stay prepared for) it would solve both problems.

Thanks Batmom, he didn't actually tell me clean it, just put on new SSD. I think with the ooze going into the gauze and a Pawz boot on when we go outside, it won't really get dirty. Fortunately the vet's wrapping technique looked pretty much what like my former tech neighbor did last night -- "not tight" seems to be the main point.

Just back from vet. He wasn't mad at me and is OK with wrapping the foot, though he still swears that moist wound healing is best for dry wounds only. He gave me the SSD ointment, and put her on a new antibiotic, Clindamycin. The ulcer is so deep that her ligament is exposed, and what he's worried about is the possibility of osteomyelitis (bone infection), which Clindamycin is supposed to be the best for. He wants me to change the bandage twice a day. At least with the bandage, whatever the implications for healing intrinsically, she won't lick the foot and I'll be able to leave the house with less anxiety. She's never shown inclination to bite off bandages or anything, just that occasional licking when she gets bored or drawn to a wound. He did say that it didn't look worse today than yesterday -- I guess I just hadn't seen the really bad part before. I realized too that when Beth gets ouchy as we walk more than a block and a half, it's probably not the torn ligament that's starting to hurt her, but the wound rubbing. I am still so distraught. I don't see how the deep deep ulcer is ever going to heal since she reirritates it every time she takes a step....

Pawz rubber booties might work well They're what we use in the winter all the time. I know there's also some product you can just put on the bottom of their pads to make them a little tacky -- someone here will know the name of it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I am very intelligent (and the daughter of two human physicians), but what do I know about air vs. no air in wound healing? But I do think if I had this wound on my foot and my shoe rubbed it when I walked it would be covered!

The problem is, he knows I consult folks online (here!) and says, "who do you trust, me or people on the internet?" And I do trust him -- I wouldn't be seeing him if I didn't think he was an excellent vet -- but I trust people like you, too. And when the advice goes in different directions, it's very anxiety-producing and confusing.

My vet is totally anti-licking -- he thinks that's what caused the damage that has worsened the wound in the first place! And licking totally messed up the scar on Beth's flank from surgery -- made it heal much worse than it should have. So I stress a lot over it. My neighbor was just here, and Beth is wrapped. So I feel a little better, though scared about what my vet will say.

Oh crap while I was away from her on the computer she got her muzzle off and licked it again!!!!

How frequent is frequent -- once a day or more often than that?

OK, I called my neighbor who has a greyhound and galgo and is a former vet tech. She's going to come over and help me do it -- I figure she knows how to wrap and just having another person with some experience in the house will help me emotionally right now. I'm afraid my vet will yell at me tomorrow since he's big on air, but meanwhile I have to walk her at least twice before I see him, and it would be nice for it not to get worse....

Her only activity is the walking necessary for her to potty. Unfortunately she has to walk a little ways to poop -- she won't do it right off.

Doesn't seem to be around in stores though they have it online. I could use her antibiotic ointment for tonight. The soft wrap people are talking about is vetwrap, basically?

Is SSD something I'd get from the vet, or can I get it myself?

In addition to Beth's torn toe ligament, we've been battling an abrasion between her toes that was caused in the process of the injury -- it seems like the destabilized toe rubs the other next to it. That is, the abrasion's not in the webbing but on the inside surface of one toe, or on both toes, but one side is ulcerated. It must be pretty close to the bone. But while her overall foot pain and swelling is getting better day by day, the abrasion is getting worse. Now she's on topical and oral antibiotics, and as of today is wearing a muzzle with stool guard -- she tended to lick the sock I had on the foot and the vet said that created moisture around the wound and was no good, it needs air to heal. Well now I see that each time after I walk her to potty, the area between the toes looks red and bloody. And just now she was lying in a way where I finally got a good look deep between (her toe hurts so you can't just pull them apart). I finally saw just how deeply ulcerated one spot is. I really don't think this is from licking, I think it's from walking even a limited amount. And I wonder if the vet saw just how bad it is when I was there this morning. I'm going to go in (yet again, I've been there every day since this happened except Sunday) as soon as I can tomorrow. But what on earth are we going to do, if it needs air to heal but walking on it keeps making the ulcer deeper? Maybe using the muzzle so it can really get air now will help, but I'm not seeing it...

Batmom-- the antibiotic (Muciprocin) is petroleum-based (or appears so) and I've been doing pretty much what you suggested, and putting it on before I take her out to potty so it can "melt" downwards between her toes while she's upright. I've been managing to get it into the crack a little, though. Sunday morning update: Definite signs of improvement! Almost no swelling in the foot this morning before she got up--I was actually shocked at how much better it looked--and the raw area looks a little less red. She's using the foot more when she walks, too. Unfortunately we walked out about a block and a half because she seemed to want to (and she needs to cover some ground to poop, there are no two ways around it for her), but then on the way back you could tell her foot was hurting, and she kept sitting down. But still, encouraging overall.