Lameness

[Guest Malpam]

Our 8 year old bitch went lame last October, having had occasional bouts of lameness since we got her in Jan 2005. We have been to our vet, who eventually referred us to specialist vets. He isolated it to a problem with one toe on her right fore paw, and she has had X-rays, MRI, EMG, two operations on it. the first removed a tiny foreign object, the second removed some infected scar tissue. She still limps and after a bone scan yesterday is as lame as ever. We are waiting for the result of the bone scan, but I would be grateful for any ideas as to what it could possibly be, and where we can go from here if the scan does not show anything.

[Guest lizmego]

I'd advise a Chiropractic vet that also does acupuncture.

[turbotaina]

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

 

Edited July 18, 2007 by turbotaina

[Guest KennelMom]

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

I board a greyhound who's owners spent $$ trying to diagnose lameness in their greyhound to no avail. She mentioned it to me as she was dropping her off. I stopped, picked up her foot and said "I'd start by having these corns removed." (on three different feet) I printed off the grassmere article for her and she sent me a very delighted email a week or so later saying that her vet was more than willing to hull them and her dog was back to her normal, playful self!

 

I hate corns It's definitely the first thing I check for in a lame greyhound.

[dmdsmoxie]

You say the vet has isolated it to one toe, but , does he tell you what it is? I would think after x rays, MRI, EMG and two operations he has wasted enough of your money.

 

When you get the results of the bone scan, if he can't tell you what it is and what he is going to do for it, I'd find a good greyhound savy vet and go from there.

 

It's greyt you will spend the money needed to take care of your pup, you just need better results than this.

 

I agree with KennelMom and turbotaina about corns, I just assumed they had been ruled out if he is a specialist.

Edited July 18, 2007 by dmdsmoxie

[turbotaina]

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

I board a greyhound who's owners spent $$ trying to diagnose lameness in their greyhound to no avail. She mentioned it to me as she was dropping her off. I stopped, picked up her foot and said "I'd start by having these corns removed." (on three different feet) I printed off the grassmere article for her and she sent me a very delighted email a week or so later saying that her vet was more than willing to hull them and her dog was back to her normal, playful self!

 

I hate corns It's definitely the first thing I check for in a lame greyhound.

 

Yup. And Turbo has an "invisi-corn". Most of the time you can't see it, but it's got a deep seed and is very painful to him all the time. If you do a nerve block on the toe (thank you Dr. Radcliffe), lameness goes away and there is nothing else that appears wrong with the toe, good bet there's a corn hiding in there somewhere...

[Guest trevdog]

Possibly a corn as others have said. Greys have VERY sensitive pads, the slightest little thing will cause great discomfort. I agree the vet should have an answer by now esp since they isolated it to one toe already.

[Guest Malpam]

I'd advise a Chiropractic vet that also does acupuncture.

Its a good idea, we wil look for one. Thanks

 

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

This sounds horribly familiar!

 

 

I board a greyhound who's owners spent $$ trying to diagnose lameness in their greyhound to no avail. She mentioned it to me as she was dropping her off. I stopped, picked up her foot and said "I'd start by having these corns removed." (on three different feet) I printed off the grassmere article for her and she sent me a very delighted email a week or so later saying that her vet was more than willing to hull them and her dog was back to her normal, playful self!

 

I hate corns It's definitely the first thing I check for in a lame greyhound.

 

Yup. And Turbo has an "invisi-corn". Most of the time you can't see it, but it's got a deep seed and is very painful to him all the time. If you do a nerve block on the toe (thank you Dr. Radcliffe), lameness goes away and there is nothing else that appears wrong with the toe, good bet there's a corn hiding in there somewhere...

 

The specialist did remove a corn, but it sounds as though there might be another one there or perhaps he did not get all of it.

[Guest KennelMom]

Corns can regrow, so a one-time removal won't always do the trick.

 

 

http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corns.htm (if you haven't seen it). If it's a visible corn, I highly recommend the hulling technique. No experience with the invisicorns, though one of our pups had one that was completely flush with the rest of the pad and the vet actually had to remove a very thin layer of discolored skin to see the corn tissue.

[Guest Malpam]

I'd advise a Chiropractic vet that also does acupuncture.

Its a good idea, we wil look for one. Thanks

 

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

This sounds horribly familiar!

 

 

I board a greyhound who's owners spent $$ trying to diagnose lameness in their greyhound to no avail. She mentioned it to me as she was dropping her off. I stopped, picked up her foot and said "I'd start by having these corns removed." (on three different feet) I printed off the grassmere article for her and she sent me a very delighted email a week or so later saying that her vet was more than willing to hull them and her dog was back to her normal, playful self!

 

I hate corns It's definitely the first thing I check for in a lame greyhound.

 

Yup. And Turbo has an "invisi-corn". Most of the time you can't see it, but it's got a deep seed and is very painful to him all the time. If you do a nerve block on the toe (thank you Dr. Radcliffe), lameness goes away and there is nothing else that appears wrong with the toe, good bet there's a corn hiding in there somewhere...

 

The specialist did remove a corn, but it sounds as though there might be another one there or perhaps he did not get all of it.

 

I am not familiar with the 'grassmere article', where can I find it?

 

[lothianjavert]

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

[DustysMom]

Could it be a corn? I spent several thousands of dollars on my dog's lameness and it all turned out to be a corn...

 

We just went through this with Dusty. He was lame for 5 months. X-rays, specialists, all kinds of meds. For the first two months or so of his lameness, there was no corn visible. That was the first thing I checked for and rechecked several times. My regular vet and the "specialty" vet didn't seem to know what to do next. I took him to one of the local retired track vets. He said the corn was very large and very deep. The only thing he would recommend was amputating the toe. We went ahead with the surgery with the track vet (I figured he had amputated lots of GH toes in his career) and since most breeds don't get corns like GHs, I assumed my regular vet hadn't done any (or many). The day after surgery Dusty was already walking better. He's now limp free. And just an aside - my regular vet was surprised that the toe was taken up so high (obviously he wouldn't have known to do it that way). The track vet told us up front that that was the best way to do it - I think it makes it easier for the surrounding toes to move in a little too with that knuckle gone.

[MarcR]

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

 

Is this the site you had in mind? http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corn_hulling.htm

[turbotaina]

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

 

Is this the site you had in mind? http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corn_hulling.htm

 

That's the one. Grassmere has wonderful corn information!

 

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

 

It's amazing how lame they can make a dog - anyone who saw Turbo at Expo probably thought I was torturing him Poor baby got his corn hulled the next week and is feeling SO much better (of course, the corn only started bothering him the day we headed up to Expo..grrr.)

 

Corns can regrow, so a one-time removal won't always do the trick.

 

I'd go further and say a one time removal rarely does the trick. If it does, consider yourself lucky. Surprisingly, a foster who had 10 corns removed ( ) has had no signs of regrowth!

[Guest LynnM]

Good info, re corns. If it's not a corn, and IS isolated to the one toe, just get rid of the toe. I can't imagine the vet hasn't discussed amputation already!

 

Lynn

[MarcR]

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

 

Is this the site you had in mind? http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corn_hulling.htm

 

That's the one. Grassmere has wonderful corn information!

 

I hate corns!!! And yes, it's time to hull Sully's again. They are minor, but a major nuisance, and a large cause of lameness. I'm sure someone has the link to the corn hulling site. The hulling really does work, though corns return, so it needs to be done periodically.

 

It's amazing how lame they can make a dog - anyone who saw Turbo at Expo probably thought I was torturing him Poor baby got his corn hulled the next week and is feeling SO much better (of course, the corn only started bothering him the day we headed up to Expo..grrr.)

 

Corns can regrow, so a one-time removal won't always do the trick.

 

I'd go further and say a one time removal rarely does the trick. If it does, consider yourself lucky. Surprisingly, a foster who had 10 corns removed ( ) has had no signs of regrowth!

 

Grassmere's other health info is handy too. They have a good section on LS.

[Guest Malpam]

Good info, re corns. If it's not a corn, and IS isolated to the one toe, just get rid of the toe. I can't imagine the vet hasn't discussed amputation already!

 

Lynn

 

He has talked about it, but is reluctant to go down that path except as a very last resort as it is an inside toe on a front foot (ie the 4th digit if you count the dew claw as the first) and therefore very important as a weight bearing toe. He thinks that removing it would be likely to cause problems for the other toes. Does anyone have experience of amputating this toe?

 

Malpam

[Guest LynnM]

Pet dogs tend to do fine with it. It can mean the end of a racing or coursing career, but for a normally active pet, the outcome is CERTAINLY better than constant lameness.

 

Lynn

[turbotaina]

Good info, re corns. If it's not a corn, and IS isolated to the one toe, just get rid of the toe. I can't imagine the vet hasn't discussed amputation already!

 

Lynn

 

He has talked about it, but is reluctant to go down that path except as a very last resort as it is an inside toe on a front foot (ie the 4th digit if you count the dew claw as the first) and therefore very important as a weight bearing toe. He thinks that removing it would be likely to cause problems for the other toes. Does anyone have experience of amputating this toe?

 

Malpam

 

One of our fosters just had that same toe amputated and she's getting on just fine.

[Guest Malpam]

How right you all turned out to be - An Australian Greyhound specialist turned up and immediately diagnosed a corn, operated, found the corn was fused to the tendon and amputated the last section of the toe. Yvette is still lame three weeks later but the same specialist tends to think that the previous operations left her short of padding on that toe and so we are protection it again.

Malpam