Greyhound Feet

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Lately I have been taking Henry for 3 1/2 mile walks. We seem to be spared of the intense heat here. We always wait until it's less than 75 degrees and the sun is partly down, and we bring water.

 

Anyways, back to the topic, a couple weeks ago, I noticed one of Henry's front middle claws looked bruised at the upper part. I dremeled all his nails well and skipped the walk that night.

 

Today, we were out walking, and all of a sudden, Henry jumped in pain, held up his right front leg, and there was blood! Not a small amount, but not a *huge* amount either. I straddled him and held up his paw and inspected, but there was too much blood to be able to tell anything.

 

I called dh to pick us up, forgeting that our van is being repaired, drats! Luckly we were only two blocks from home. I carefully walked Henry home.

 

Upon getting home, I dipped Henry's paw in water to wash off the blood. I am still unable to see what was the cause of all this and where exactly the injury is. I washed it all well, wrapped the two surrounding toes in gauze, then some vet wrap, then a sock, then more vet wrap to keep the sock on.

 

This is not from that bruised claw, It's 2 claws over, on the edge.

 

What kind of things would be very hard to see, and cause this?

 

Henry is a mix of both greyhound and coonhound. He has EXTREMELY long toes. Is that a greyhound thing or coonhound thing?

 

I have noticed, there are many threads here at GT discussing grey's feet. Are their feet just not built for loooooong walks?

[Batmom]

Once the bleeding's slowed down, you'll want to take another look in case he's got a foreign body hanging around in there. LOTS of blood suggests either foreign body (which might not be there anymore -- piece of glass, for example) or a cracked toenail.

 

Good luck!

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Once the bleeding's slowed down, you'll want to take another look in case he's got a foreign body hanging around in there. LOTS of blood suggests either foreign body (which might not be there anymore -- piece of glass, for example) or a cracked toenail.

 

Good luck!

I did this, I absolutely cant see anything that could cause this? Weird! Could it be like a ruptured corn or something? I am totally non familiar with this kind of thing.

[Batmom]

Well, the blood must be coming from somewhere, right? Is it still bleeding? If he isn't in pain, let it stop bleeding first. Then you can unwrap and very very gently wash with plain water. You'll usually be able to find the source then. Be sure to check nailbeds (where the nail joins the foot) -- if he cracked a nail there and tore the quick, it might not be real obvious but it sure would bleed.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Well, the blood must be coming from somewhere, right? Is it still bleeding? If he isn't in pain, let it stop bleeding first. Then you can unwrap and very very gently wash with plain water. You'll usually be able to find the source then. Be sure to check nailbeds (where the nail joins the foot) -- if he cracked a nail there and tore the quick, it might not be real obvious but it sure would bleed.

OK, doing all this right now....

[Guest EmilyAnne]

OK, it's totally stopped bleeding so no more band aid at all!

 

Here's a pic...

 

 

The black/purple marked toenail is two nails over, not visible in this picture. Not sure if there is a connection?

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

Do you use a file after you trim his nails. You sure do a good job as they look pleanty short to me.

Anyway, I wonder if you don't bevel the edges slightly and possibly his outside toe came down on top of his hurt toe that he spiked himself a little. He could have just as easily stepped on something that caused his outer toe to roll onto the other as he was stepping down. I think grey toes are long and narrower than other dogs so the nails can interfere with each other a little. Looks like it will heal quickly.

[Guest longdogs]

We are OK with long walks in cooler weather, although less so with increasing age, and their pads harden up just fine. I don't cut their nails anywhere near as short as you do though. When they're relaxed I like their nails just above the ground but still giving some grip and protection when they walk, otherwise I think they would get sore. Given enough walking on hard surfaces those with softer white nails only need the occasional trim. Some greys do have much harder black nails that require more attention. Many also have surprisingly long toes, traditionally likened to a hare's feet. The biggest problem we have is from broken glass.

[Guest greytexplorer]

For all those little nicks, I spray a bit of Dermaplast....

Think that might help?

[Guest HoustonGreys]

Henry would fit right in at our house at the present time! DD's two Greybabies are both in bandages and socks and her boy is on an antibiotic. Trixie tore her pad on the brick patio as she was running to the door after a zoomie and Zipper caught a pinecone and cut the outside of his toe --- both on the same day--- both with the same foot! We've been joking the sock is a "gang" thing and Amy is not in the gang --- thank goodness we have one without a foot injury! I have always found their feet to be as easily injured as their thin skin. We try to keep the yard clear of pinecones and sticks from the trees but it's a big yard and things are falling all the time. Give Henry a big hug and kiss for me and of course --- extra treets!

[DocsDoctor]

I have noticed, there are many threads here at GT discussing grey's feet. Are their feet just not built for loooooong walks?

 

Hugs to Henry - I hope he's feeling better! So far as long walks are concerned, greyhounds can and do enjoy these, Doc is good for eight or ten miles especially if there is a pause for a pub lunch in the middle! He will want a quiet day the next day but I have never known him have sore feet.

You will however probably need to build stamina before they can go this far - when Doc came to me he loved his walks but was only up for short ones, because that was all he had got during his six months at the adoption kennels.

 

I suppose a dog might also have rather soft pads if he had not been walked much, or only on soft surfaces. Doc has never suffered like this, but he does get a lot of pavement walking since we live in the inner city. The only time he damaged his pads was when he took off after a squirrel in the local park and 'coursed' it across some tarmac before I could stop him (the squirrel got away up a tree, thankfully). Maybe one could help harden up soft pads by applying something. Human athletes use surgical spirit I believe.

 

I also note that Anne Finch says in her book on greyhound care that some greyhounds can suffer from flat feet if they have not been reared on concrete - their toes do not curl over properly, and so then the nails do not naturally wear down as they should. However, it sounds as if you already have any nail-clipping issues well under control!

 

 

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Snazzy Chloe: Were skipping today's walk, tomorrow I will bevel that side of the nail before we go on our walk. I checked it when I read your post and I can see how that nail would irritate the area.

 

Longdogs: Too short? And for so long I fretted over how overgrown they were! I'll ease up on the trims. Henry says your his best friend!

 

Greytexplorer: Dermaplast, that's a good idea!

 

Houstongreys: Henry is now like Amy, not fitting in the gang, as he no longer needs the sock!

 

Docsdoctor: My thought was, the racing environment is so different. Racing greys are on sand not concrete all the time right? Plus they just do the short races. (Henry by the way was never raced as he is a mixed breed, but he has many of the physical traits of a greyhound) I started acclimating Henry to the longer walks in early spring. His physical endurance (feet aside) is definately much better now than it was when we started! Henry is looking marvelously fit!

 

A picture of the very fit Henry:

 

 

A picture of his ginormously long toes, including th bruised nail:

 

*Editing to add, I probably shouldn't say he was never raced at all, what I meant was he was never in the official greyhound races. I've no idea wether if he was raced in unofficial races in backyards or at coonhound trials in Ohio. I suspect he was trained for racing by being forced to run alongside a pick up truck. Henry is afraid of pick up trucks on our walks and shows he had substantial trauma on one side of his body, (siginificantly broken multiple teeth, multipple large scars on face, sore shoulder, all on left side) which might be from runnning along side the passenger side of the vehicle and wasn't able to keep up and thus was injured. It is all too common for coonhound/greyhounds from Ohio having sustained this kind of injury.

Edited July 24, 2008 by EmilyAnne

[Jiffer]

We've had that injury here before. It's just the nail has come down on the toe and cut into it. It's a normal thing when the nail is sharp on one side and is too short. The skin there will toughen up and heal. In the meantime, filing down the side of the offending nail won't hurt.

[Guest TBSFlame]

Lately I have been taking Henry for 3 1/2 mile walks. We seem to be spared of the intense heat here. We always wait until it's less than 75 degrees and the sun is partly down, and we bring water.

 

Anyways, back to the topic, a couple weeks ago, I noticed one of Henry's front middle claws looked bruised at the upper part. I dremeled all his nails well and skipped the walk that night.

 

Today, we were out walking, and all of a sudden, Henry jumped in pain, held up his right front leg, and there was blood! Not a small amount, but not a *huge* amount either. I straddled him and held up his paw and inspected, but there was too much blood to be able to tell anything.

 

I called dh to pick us up, forgeting that our van is being repaired, drats! Luckly we were only two blocks from home. I carefully walked Henry home.

 

Upon getting home, I dipped Henry's paw in water to wash off the blood. I am still unable to see what was the cause of all this and where exactly the injury is. I washed it all well, wrapped the two surrounding toes in gauze, then some vet wrap, then a sock, then more vet wrap to keep the sock on.

 

This is not from that bruised claw, It's 2 claws over, on the edge.

 

What kind of things would be very hard to see, and cause this?

 

Henry is a mix of both greyhound and coonhound. He has EXTREMELY long toes. Is that a greyhound thing or coonhound thing?

 

I have noticed, there are many threads here at GT discussing grey's feet. Are their feet just not built for loooooong walks?

 

 

Flame had a foot bleed after running in the back yard. I could not find where it was coming from and it was bleeding a lot. I took him to the vet and they did find a tiny cut in the webbing part of the foot. The cut was so tiny, I could not believe it bled so much. It also took a long time to heal.

[Guest Hokiebuck]

Just my opinion but I think the nails are a bit too short which may be why they are possibly digging into the side of the other toe. Ideally, you want nails that when on a flat surface, you can slide a small coin between the floor and the nail. Greyhounds actually need a bit longer nails for grip as they run. Plus GH feet are much longer than other breeds so a nail on the end could rub on the digit next to it if its too short, where in for instance a German Shepherd, the feet are stubbier so the nails are more beside each other and less likely to cut into the digit beside it. Does this make sense?

 

Just my hypothesis

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Just my opinion but I think the nails are a bit too short which may be why they are possibly digging into the side of the other toe. Ideally, you want nails that when on a flat surface, you can slide a small coin between the floor and the nail. Greyhounds actually need a bit longer nails for grip as they run. Plus GH feet are much longer than other breeds so a nail on the end could rub on the digit next to it if its too short, where in for instance a German Shepherd, the feet are stubbier so the nails are more beside each other and less likely to cut into the digit beside it. Does this make sense?

 

Just my hypothesis

Henry thanks you for sticking up for him and is glad to hear the evil Dremel will not be coming out as often!

 

And Yes, this all makes perfect sense, and I do agree. I'm going to bevel the offending part for now, and then let them grow out a bit, making sure I never trim as short again.

[Guest weisster]

Darrel has had so many foot injuries that I sometimes think mother nature played a cruel joke on making such a magnificent dog with such long legs. Poor darrel has corns, nail coming off twice , foreign objects deeply embedded between his toes (running). Every time he walks it's a vet bill for me. Hope Henry is ok