IAMs

Thanks for the thoughts. Can you tell me what's leading you to be a bruise... or is a pulled muscle a bruise? She wasn't running recently... those days seem to be long behind her (which is really sad, as her nickname has been "The Brindle Bullet" since we first took her to a dog park in Fort Worth). The most active she's been was in the backyard with Ashe a few days ago. She did a little chasing, but nothing like the Mach 5 running that he was doing. -Joel

My wife and I have been fortunate that we haven't had to post in this forum much. Both Maya and Ashe have been pretty healthy. Tonight while my wife was examining Maya's corns on her rear feet, she noticed that one of Maya's rear legs is very red in comparison to her other leg, or the rest of her body for that matter. I've got a couple pictures so that you can see what we are seeing. (If you want to see a non-resized version of the image, click the linky under the pictures). Link for Non-Resized Version of Image 1 Link for Non-Resized Version of Image 2 There's no swelling or hardness in the area. Maya doesn't seem to be sensitive to us touching the red areas. We haven't seen her licking the area. It's just... red. Any ideas of what we might be seeing here? Full Disclosure for a Most Likely Unrelated Issue: Maya has been a bit off lately. Her poops haven't been firm for a few weeks. My wife compared one of her recent morning poops to the kind of chocolate syrup used for chocolate milk. Yup... that bad. She's been on some basic meds to help her out: Metronidazole (250mg every 12 hours) and FortiFlora (one packet on food daily as a probiotic). We've finished the Metronidazole and will continue with the FortiFlora to see if it helps her out. Hopefully it helps to firm her poops a bit. -Joel

What more can be said than what has already been posted? Jilly Bean will be missed and remembered by all of us on GT. Love and prayers to your family! -Joel

Our senior, Maya, suffers from corns, and we've come to depend on TheraPaws for her outside time! (We dremel and apply various creams, but they still hamper her outdoor abilities.) Sadly, it's time to order more (hers are WORN OUT) and TheraPaw is out of stock. (Amy @ TheraPaw said there was a manufacturing issue, and they're 6-8 out from having more in stock.) BUT I FOUND SOME! Jorgenson Labs Veterinary Supply (JorVet) had 16 of our size (T/E) in stock for $22.50 each. We bought 4 as we prep for an upcoming hiking trip to Colorado. If that's your size, CALL TODAY!! If not, they may have your size in stock, too. All the other distributors I called were out. -Joel

My wife and I are treating Maya (8 year old brindle) with the corn creams from Murray Avenue Apothecary. It consists of A) hyaluronic acid serum (which hydrates the affected area) [this step includes rubbing the serum in, placing baggies on her feet, and securing the baggies with Therapaw boots for 20 minutes], and corn/callus cream [same procedure as above]. We have noticed that Maya's corns are definitely showing the effects of using this serum and cream. The corns don't grow as quickly. For most of the corns, it seems to stunt the growth altogether. So I'm wondering about having a vet hull the corn from her foot and then applying the serum in the hole where the corn was. Perhaps this would stop the corns from growing back at all!?!? Would this be safe to do? Would it be putting a cream on, in essence, an open wound? What could be the problems? The reason I ask is because Maya will be going in for a dental cleaning in December. She'll be put under for the procedure… so there'd be no better time to hull a corn than when she's already knocked out for a different procedure. What are GT's thoughts? -Joel

I've got a big turkey neck sitting here (in the fridge) that I would love to share with Maya, but I'm not sure if it's safe. We don't feed raw, so I'd like to cook it. Should I just cook it then scrape the meat off the bone? -Joel

We dremel Maya's corns just like her nails. We just take the sandpaper and to the corns and just go in short bits so that the area around the corns don't get too warm. The nice thing is that, if you have a tiny bit with sandpaper, you can grind under the level of the pad of her toe/foot so that walking won't be as painful. Maya has really benefited, but it's something we need to keep on top of. -Joel

Let me set the stage a bit before I ask my question. Last Fall, the airtight container we used for our dog food got a bit of water in it. I had planned on cleaning it right away, but we were late to meet someone. I decided to get it later. Shortly after (the next day, if I remember right), our grey Gwen was in a tragic accident at the house and subsequently passed away. Our world seemed to stop. We continued to love on our grey, Maya, but everything seemed to not matter as much any more. Months went by, and we began to live our normal lives again. And that's when I remembered the airtight container… which had now been sitting with a small amount of dog food and water in it for a LONG time. I opened it and was disgusted by the smell. I flushed it out the best I could that night without retching, and filled it with dish soap and water to let it soak. I finally got to fully cleaning it yesterday afternoon. I rinsed out all the old soapy water and cleaned with new soapy water (basic dish soap). After rinsing it, I cleaned/scrubbed it with undiluted Nature's Miracle. I then rinsed the NM from the container, and let it sit in the Texas sun to dry. So here's the question: Do you think it is safe to use? Are there other steps I should take before using it? Thanks for the advice. -Joel

Thanks for your replies! Y'all are fantastic!!! -Joel

My wife told me a few days ago to give Maya (60 lb female grey) her meds. I applied the Frontline Plus and then gave her the HeartGuard. But tonight while in bed, my wife told me that she gave Maya her HeartGuard this afternoon. (I guess she only meant for me to give her the flea/tick meds, not everything.) Should we worry? There were probably 7-9 days between doses, the one I gave her and the one my wife gave her today. Thoughts? -Joel

Maya was outside running on Friday afternoon and stepped on something awkwardly. She didn't yelp or scream. She had a slight limp when she came up to the door, but didn't act any differently. When we found blood droplets on the floor, we checked her out a bit more closely. Her dewclaw shell, the actual nail, is broken and split. You can see the quick inside... like a giant blood vessel. When you tough the nail, she does whine and whimper. We've got her nail slathered in ointment, wrapped in vet wrap, and taped for additional security. With her nail secure, she seems to be doing okay. So what do we do? Will the nail eventually reform? Does this call for dewclaw removal? We're planning on calling the vet tomorrow morning to get some. Thanks for your help. -Joel

We've got a cordless Dremel that works great on grinding down Maya's corns. We'd like to use it to grind down her nails, too, but I'm not sure which bit to use. Suggestions? -Joel

Just a few short weeks ago, we lost our darling girl, Gwennie, to a tragic accident. My wife and I are doing better as time goes by, although the sadness is by no means gone. We think of her daily, and try to share stories when we can. Since Gwennie passed and went to the bridge, we have picked up Gwennie's ashes and brought her home. She is currently near one of her most favorite things - a flower. (While on walks, Gwennie would often stop to smell the flowers. It was so cute to see!) Her ashes are in a decorative box (until our urn is finished) next to a glass box etched with the silhouette of daisy. It may seem silly, but I still say goodnight to her every night. I promised when I first posted that I would write again and share some images and stories in the days to come. I feel as though I'm finally at a point where I can do that. Please enjoy my memories. She brought such joy to our lives and to the lives of all she met. - - - - - It wasn't long after we brought Gwen home that she claimed our bed as her own. She hopped up on it within hours of walking through our front door, and there was no turning back. Here she is showing us how she spent her days while we were at work. - - - - - Gwen loved going for walks and car rides. Both she and Maya would come running at the sound of their collars being taken from the hook on the wall. Gwen was usually the first to jump into the Jeep. She'd go towards the window right away and wait for the window to go down. At stoplights and stop signs, Gwen seemed to know which window to go to in order to attract the most attention. She was especially good at going to the window nearest a car full of kids. - - - - - When we moved into our current rental house, we brought a futon mattress in first so that they'd have somewhere to lay. Never did I think we'd end up with two puppies laying so much alike. This type of "cloning" was done quite often between the two of them. - - - - - Maya absolutely loves camping. When we set up the tent at a campsite, Maya will wait outside the door of the tent until it's open. Once it's open, even before sleeping pads or blankets go in, Maya nudges by us to find a spot to lay down. Gwen was never that big of a fan, but she did enjoy her time in the woods. Here she is looking a bit sleepy in the morning. - - - - - One day while on a walk at a nearby college campus, we found that parts of the soccer field were flooded with up to 5 inches of water. My wife and I couldn't resist letting Maya and Gwen chase each other through the field and water. Because of her brindle coloring, Maya didn't show the water very well... but Gwennie did. It's like she KNEW a bath was in her near future. - - - - - One of Gwennie's favorite things to play with at the dog park was an equine "Jolly Ball." She and a few of the other greys would run and chase the ball around the field... until Gwen or Charlie (the unmuzzled greys) picked it up to take it to their own private spot. Once there, Gwen would shake and play with the ball all on her own. Visitors of the park loved watching her play. - - - - - When she was done playing, Gwen and Maya could be seen wandering the fields together. They most certainly weren't the best of friends. Still, they enjoyed each other company quite a bit. Here they are walking to the water after a fun and fast greyhound run around the park. - - - - - Of course, Gwen was known to cool off in muddy puddles, too. This is, by far, one of our favorite pictures!! - - - - - This is just a silly picture I had to include. Gwennie was on the bed (like usual) and I put a stuffie by her. Then another. And another. Pretty soon, it was like looking at ET in the closet! She never did buck the stuffies off. - - - - - Lastly, Gwennie was like many greys out there... bendy. Here she is on the floor in our old living room, all bent up and comfy, cozy for a nap. What makes me still chuckle is knowing there was a fluffy dog bed within 10 feet of where she was laying. - - - - - That's it for now. I'm sure there will be more. -Joel

My wife and I are struggling with this sudden loss to our family. Gwennie was such a sweet girl and didn't deserve to leave our world yet. She was a young 6 years old, very playful, and very loving. In the next few days, I'm sure I'll be posting some memories here. Please keep myself, my wife, and our dear pup Maya in your thoughts and prayers. We are struggling with the loss of our baby girl, and we're hoping the pain starts to ease. We know it'll take time. -Joel

Husband here, again. How long was "longer than I expected"? Are we talking a couple months? Longer? She's just in a lot of pain, and I'd do anything possible to help her get back to normal again. Soaking the feet sounds like a good plan. We'll fill up the bathtub with some water. Any additives y'all can think about adding that would be good for her feet? -Joel

My wife said there was no surgery, just a deep hulling of the corns. -Joel

Husband here. GreytDecals, thank you for that statement. It may not seem like much, but it gives us hope. Watching Maya try to walk outside to go to the bathroom is hard. She used to run to the back door and sprint outside in hopes of finding an armadillo. That spunk is gone, and I miss it. -Joel

inugrey, The swollen toes is how we first spotted the infection that was treated. However, now there are no telltale signs of infection.

inugrey, I had the thought of an x-ray but didn't think you could see infections, tissue etc, but I'll ask her. Thanks!

Good Morning Everyone, Our brindle greyhound, Maya, has been suffering from corns for the past couple of years. Last fall we took her to vet to try the non-surgical method of corn removal. The procedure went smoothly with little pain to Maya and she was bounding around after a few days. Then, about three weeks ago she went in for dental and since she was already under the vet dug a little deeper to remove the corns that had aggressively grown back. From this she has been unable to walk since the procedure and I wasn't that worried because I expected as much. However, she did develop some minor infection in a few toes that was taken care of with anti-biotics and now she is still rather lame in her back right foot. Initially I thought she'd pulled something but it was too much of a coincidence so back to the vet we went. The vet thinks that she dug to deep and has caused some nerve damage. She is hoping that with time Maya will heal and all will be back to normal but besides encouraging the use of thera-paws didn't have any future recommendations at this time. Is nerve damage a possibility? Is there anything I can do to get her back to the speedster she is? Any thoughts are encouraged and appreciated!

Maya is going in for a teeth cleaning and corn removal/hulling on Tuesday. Please keep her in your thoughts and hope/pray that the corn removal may be permanent this time. (I know... I know... that's very unlikely, but I can hope and dream, right?) These stubborn corns have changed her personality so much. I miss my rambunctious little gal. -Joel

Hello all! My husband and I have been dealing with Maya's corns (on all her feet) for about a year now. We've managed to keep them under control with soaking and Kerasolv and the use of a Therapaw. Recently a large corn has gotten away from us and I took her to the vet today. The vet recommended surgery but we're not quite ready to try that yet. I'm hoping you can help us with two questions. 1. Where can we suggest our Vet look for the proper tool for hulling? 2. We've tried the duct tape method but had a VERY hard time removing the tape without pulling up skin from the pad. How do you remove the tape? Thank you for your answers on yet another thread on corns!

Hi all. I'm hoping you can help us out so that Maya can get to feeling better. Maya has four corns on her toes - two on one front foot and two on the other front food. We've had some success with bee propolis sprinkled into her food and Kerasolv (7% active ingredient) on the corns themselves (bandaged, covered in toddler socks). But it seems like as soon as they're gone, they start coming back. Maya's a trooper, as she runs and runs and runs and runs without letting the corns get to her. When she gets inside, though, you can see that she's not comfortable. We're feeding her (and Gwen, who has no corns) Science Diet Sensitive Stomach with olive oil. We occasionally feed treats like eggs, peanut butter, Milk Bones, and the biscotti that was showcased on Rachel Ray's pet special. Is there anything you can suggest for a diet change that may help out with the corns? Or, would a higher percentage ointment work quicker. My wife found one that has the same active ingredient, but at 40%. That number is a little scary to us, but we thought we'd check with y'all. Basically, at this point, any advice you can give us will be greatly appreciated... from both of us AND from Maya. Thanks in advance, IAMs

Maya has had some pretty nasty corns on the bottom of her toes. They don't seem to bother her when she's outside walking or running. But when we got back from our excursions, she would often have a nasty limp. My wife took some advice from some folks here on GT to try Bee Propolis on Maya's food, as well as in a topical mixture to apply daily. I don't think the topical mixture did much except irritate Maya ('cause it means wearing that dreaded sock, dern it!!), but the food additive has done very well. Maya's corns are much smaller than they were before, and her post-excursion limping has decreased dramatically. If anyone is wondering whether the Bee Propolis works, I'd definitely suggest giving it a try. We're weening her off of the additive to see how her body does... will the corns come back, or will they stay away for a bit. Keep your fingers crossed. -IAMs

We took Maya and Gwen out for a play date at a friend's house last night around 7:00pm. They've got 12 acres of fenced in land filled with trees, and the pups always enjoy visiting their pupper friends and having fun together. Maya was muzzled and playing with her soccer ball for about 10 or 15 minutes. She drank some water, laid down in the grass to rest for a bit, and then hopped up and joined us on our walk to the back of the acreage. Towards the back of the acreage, Maya started stumbling and walking in a pretty clumsy way. We checked her out, and she was overheating. My wife ran up the 12 acres to get our Jeep and some water in a large bucket. I picked Maya up and carried her halfway, where I met my wife in the Jeep. We poured the water on Maya's sides, using our hands to spread the water to her belly and chest. After a full bucket of water, we put her in the Jeep and took her up to a garden hose so we could do a better job cooling her down. After 5 or 10 minutes with the hose, she was doing much better. My wife said that, when we were checking Maya out at the back of the acreage, she noticed Maya's tongue was slightly swollen. We're thinking that's a sign of overheating. She seems to remember there are other signs - swollen gums, bright pink/red ears, and something with their eyes. So ... praying that it never happens again, what are the signs to look for, and what is the best way to handle overheating? What should we have done had the bucket and hose not worked... perhaps the bathtub with running cool water? Please don't post any flames. We're not here to be made to feel guilty. We're looking for other people's experiences and perhaps a vet's perspective. Thanks in advance. -IAMs PS - Maya's doing great now. She slept like a log last night, and was ready to go for a morning walk at 7:00am this morning!