Limp - Is It A Corn?

[Guest Trey]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm new here and a new greyhound owner and hoped I could get some info from the good people here.

 

I got my sweet big brindle boy Trey about a year and a half ago. He's almost 6 years old (will be 6 in May) and has had no health problems aside from having a benign hemangioma removed from the back of his leg last summer. Heck, even his teeth are pretty good.

 

A little over a week ago, he started limping on his front left leg. At first I thought it was from a fall that happened two days earlier (I had just ordered new furniture that came in giant boxes - he forgot the box was there, backed into it and it knocked him off balance. He fell against it and scrambled for footing before he finally fell pretty hard. But he got right up and seemed fine), but he hasn't really improved. I took him to the vet yesterday, and she wrenched his leg this way and that, but he never reacted in pain and she said he just felt a little stiff. She said it could be any number of things (from arthritis to injury to the Big C), and recommended that I rest him for a week (I admit I haven't really changed his exercise routine) and if he hasn't improved, she'll take an x-ray to get a better look.

 

So I went home and prayed that it wouldn't be bone cancer, and noticed something when I really started thinking about his behavior. The limp is far more pronounced when he is on a hard surface, and sometimes nonexistent when he's on a soft surface. For example, this is how he behaved on Friday -- I got home from work and he zoomed around the (carpeted) living room in excitement as I changed my shoes for our walk. Then he mostly limped during the walk (except when he was in the nice squishy grass), then danced around in excitement at home when it was treat time. I tested it again tonight on his most recent potty break, and he was mostly normal on the carpet, limping on the concrete, REALLY limping on the asphalt when we crossed the street, then seemed fine and even tried to run a bit when he was on the grass.

 

All these made me wonder if it was actually his foot that hurt and not his leg (I didn't mention the thing about hard surfaces to the vet because it didn't occur to me later and she only observed him walking on the hard floor). So I did a Google search, found this site, and read all the stuff on corns. His behavior really makes it seem like he has a corn. However, when I looked at his feet, I saw absolutely nothing that looked like a corn. I poked and squeezed his pads a bit, and he did pull back a little bit, but it really seemed more in a "Hey! Leave my foot alone!" way and not an "Ouch! That hurts!" kind of way.

 

 

So I guess my question is a two-parter: First, does this sound like a corn to everyone else? Second, is it possible to have an under-the-surface corn that causes pain? Because I really cannot see anything on his pads.

 

 

I admit I'm praying that it could be a corn -- really anything other than cancer. But his limp really does change depending on the surface, and he's clearly not in a great deal of pain as he's walking around pushing his treat ball around the living room right now as I type this.

 

Thanks in advance for any info/help!

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer's greyhound BFF has a previously injured toe on one foot. It was either broken or dislocated and allowed to heal willy nilly, so it's all jacked up. When she walks on hard surfaces, because she's not landing on the pad properly, she also limps. There is also a callous there now after a year, as she gets walked a lot. Summer also has a wonky jacked up toe but she lands on her pad better so she doesn't have the problem.

 

Does your baby have a damaged toe on that foot?

[Guest Trey]

Summer's greyhound BFF has a previously injured toe on one foot. It was either broken or dislocated and allowed to heal willy nilly, so it's all jacked up. When she walks on hard surfaces, because she's not landing on the pad properly, she also limps. There is also a callous there now after a year, as she gets walked a lot. Summer also has a wonky jacked up toe but she lands on her pad better so she doesn't have the problem.

 

Does your baby have a damaged toe on that foot?

 

 

His toes look normal. I don't know of any previous injury to his toes. My sister has a grey with a jacked up toe that acts up every now and again, and Trey's toes don't look like his.

 

But there is definitely a difference on hard surfaces. A few minutes ago he walked across the living room pretty normally, but started limping the second he hit the kitchen floor. I had him "shake paws" with his right paw (so he'd have to put weight on the left bum one) and he was very reluctant to do it while standing on the kitchen floor and kept trying to offer his left paw (and acted like it hurt when he finally did put the weight on that paw), but had no problem when he did it on the carpet and didn't hesitate to put his weight on his left paw.

[3greytjoys]

Try not to worry. Hopefully it's something simple. If he's limping on hard surfaces, something is hurting him. I completely agree with the vet about letting him rest. Otherwise, forcing him to keep up his normal walking routine could compound the problem making him lame even longer, whether injured from the fall, foreign body, or corn. For now, after gently feeling the paw and between the toes for any abnormality, I would try the following... When I suspect a foreign body in a paw pad, or a possible corn that I can't see: I wet the paw with water, and take a digital close-up picture (on macro/flower mode). It can be loaded on a computer to zoom/magnify on a larger screen. (This is also good way to see the pad of any dog that is resistant to paws being touched/examined.)

 

You've probably seen this corn link, but if not it's worth a look: http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corns.htm

 

Good luck, and please keep your vet posted. I'm sure others here will have other helpful suggestions.

Edited March 14, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[3greytjoys]

If this link doesn't work, try searching: Grassmere Animal Hospital corns

http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/corns.htm

[Guest IrskasMom]

First of all WELCOME to GT I wanted to say ,be sure the Big C is ruled out .

[Hawthorn]

As the limping started after a fall, that would seem to me to be the most likely cause. Falls can result in misaligned vertebrae and if this is in the neck, it could certainly cause limping in a front leg. This happened to one of mine. Our regular vet was unable to find the cause so I went for a second opinion to a very experienced greyhound vet (one who sees a lot of injured track greyhounds) and he diagnosed the problem in about 5 minutes. Chiropractic sorted our boy out.

 

If rest doesn't cure the lameness, and your vet rules out anything more serious and can't find the cause, I would see if you can get a second opinion from either an experienced greyhound vet, or a chiropractor.

Edited March 14, 2011 by Hawthorn

[Guest KennelMom]

...and sometimes corns can be under the surface and take a while to become visible. Sometimes they aren't always easy to spot, like pics you see on the 'net...

[Ragsysmum]

Sounds just like a corn even if you cant' see anything there yet and he doesn't even react when you press his pads on that foot.

[LBass]

I've just begun dealing with a corn on the rear paw of one of my hounds. Like you, I suspected a corn when I realized that Mo was limping on hard surfaces far more than on softer surfaces. At first I couldn't see anything odd looking on her paw pads either. However, as I applied some pressure I noticed that part of one pad felt different. It was distinctly harder to the touch (gentle finger and finger nail pressure) than other pads or even other parts of that pad. It was only after an initial corn removal by the vet that I have been able to see a clearly delineated dark area that is the corn. It still feels hard in comparison to healthy pad tissue. So, try going by touch to help you find the offending pad.

 

--Lucy

[Guest greytchloe]

My dog has corns, and I (and my vet) couldn't see it when she first started limping. One thing you could try would be to soak the foot, and then look, as hers are much more apparent then. Easier to see and also to feel, it will be harder than the rest of the pad. Good luck!

[Guest BlueCrab]

Welcome from Maryland!

 

We went thru probably 6 months in 2010 with a baaaad limp on the right front. We tried rest, boots, soaking, x-rays, etc., then finally figured out it was a corn, where we then pursued more and varying treatments to try to remedy it. We love our vets, but they are not grey-savy, despite having a handful of greys as patients. When we went in and asked about it being a corn, they said they'd never heard of a corn on a dog's foot. Not encouraging.

 

We got lots of advice from here, so you've come to a good place. Ultimately, once we narrowed it down to being a corn, we did nightly soaks in epsom salts, followed by massaging the offending corn with Kerasolv and then putting socks on for the night. We tried hulling the corn, dremmeling the corn, and bought Therapaws boots. When we finally got to the point where the vet said, "let's do surgery" I tried duct tape as a last resort. That was the one thing that - for us - worked. Lots of other folks on here have had success with hulling or creams - we just didn't. Each dog is different.

 

If you have narrowed it down to being a corn, I would give my vote for trying duct tape, as it's cheap, you probably have some handy or can get it at the hardware store, and it's easy. Allow a month or so for the treatment, replacing the tape every day or 2 or 3 as needed. You only need a tiny square - about 1 sq cm, just enough to cover the corn. The first time you pull it off you're afraid you might pull off the whole pad. You won't. Just be as gentle as you can be. Eventually the corn starts to pull out with the tape and eventually the corn comes popping out or you can hook it with a fingernail and help it along. We just started treatment again last night. Our treatments usually take about a month, as I said, from first application to the corn working its way out.

 

Be mindful that corns often do come back, no matter what you do, so resign yourself to that fact. The longest we've gone corn-free since initial diagnosis last year is, I think, 2 months? Now we seem to be doing treatment almost every month or so. The duct tape has absolutely worked for us, tho, so I doubt I'll ever go with any other treatment.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Teagan has a corn. I knew something was up even before I could see it because he would flinch when I pressed on that toe pad, but not any others.

 

Also, if you soak the foot (I do a mixture of olive oil in water), the pad will become soft and the corn will remain hard, and the pad and corn will be different colors, making it easier to see.

[Guest Trey]

Thanks everyone for the kind welcomes and great advice!

 

I will try soaking Trey's foot tonight and see if I can spot anything. He's been slightly better today, so maybe the rest is helping him.

 

I'm becoming more and more convinced that it is his foot (a corn or something stuck in there) rather than his leg or shoulder because he limps a lot more on hard surfaces that are rough rather than smooth. I just took him on a potty break and he did okay on the sidewalks (limping just a little) but we hit a patch of sidewalk that was old and worn down and bumpy with exposed rocks, and his limp got a lot worse (and I noticed last night that his limp was worse on bumpy asphalt than on concrete). I can't imagine that the texture of the ground would make that much difference if it was his leg or shoulder rather than his foot.

 

And of course after limping on his mini-walk, he starts dancing around the minute he's back on the soft carpet, and when I handed him his treat, he did his little speedy trot back to his blanket like there was nothing wrong. Sometimes I wonder if he's just messing with me.

 

Thanks again everyone!

Edited March 15, 2011 by Trey

[Guest davidsl88]

We have now dealt with 4 corns on 2 paws. We've successfully hulled 3, the 4th was removed surgically (along with a small portion of the pad), which is something I would not do ever again. Many folks have used duct tape with success - boots, corn pads and creams can help as well. I can't add to the very good advice already offered except to relate another 'lame' story. Long before we knew anything about corns or that he was prone to get them, Colby developed a slight limp that got worse over time so we took him to the vet. The vet couldn't find anything wrong, so he finally x-rayed the paw. He discovered what turned out to be a tiny sliver of glass that had entered the pad and worked it's way up to the 'ankle' area. The vet surgically removed it and he was perfectly fine! I think back to that episode whenever he starts limping again and even though we're 'sure' it's another corn (and it is!), unless we can be 110% positive, I would ask for an x-ray.

[Guest BlueCrab]

...he limps a lot more on hard surfaces that are rough rather than smooth. I just took him on a potty break and he did okay on the sidewalks (limping just a little) but we hit a patch of sidewalk that was old and worn down and bumpy with exposed rocks, and his limp got a lot worse (and I noticed last night that his limp was worse on bumpy asphalt than on concrete). I can't imagine that the texture of the ground would make that much difference if it was his leg or shoulder rather than his foot.

 

.

 

In our case as well, surface made a huge difference. The bumpier or more uneven type of asphalt or road surface would make her limp much worse than a smooth concrete surfae. Still a limp, but much worse where it was bumpier.

[Guest Maloy]

Corns are very difficult to get rid off. They can come back time and time again. My angel boy had corns on all 4 paws and now my foster boy has a corn on one of his paws.

 

I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and what my vet recommended to me is "Thuja Oil". You may have to search for it. Natural food stores may carry it. It is an oil from the white cedar tree and it is specifically for plantars warts, etc. It should be put on the corn directly with a q-tip and wash your hands after. It soaks right in, he does not lick it. It will take awhile. He had the biggest part of the corn hulled by our vet once it came up and the little bit that was left is almost gone and he walks fine on all surfaces without a limp.

 

Good luck.

[3greytjoys]

One of my hounds started limping on a walk as we were crossing a short section of rough asphalt. I immediately stopped to wipe off the surface of his pads. I wiped off some dust and debris. We still had a 20 minute walk back to the car. Once home, I thoroughly washed and wiped off his pads. He appeared better, but limped intermittently on hard surfaces. After taking him to the vet several times over weeks, and later doing Epsom Salt paw soaks at home (too late), vet finally decided to do surgical exploration. Vet discovered teeny bits of gravel that had embedded and travelled deeply inside the pad. I was surprised that type of debris could get pushed so deeply into the pad during one walk, and that we couldn't see it the same day. Since then, I've spotted other problems quickly by magnifying a digital picture of wet pads that I may not have caught early otherwise. Earlier Epsom Salt soaks might have helped too.

[Guest Trey]

Thanks again, everyone!

 

 

I soaked his foot last night and tried to take a look, but I still couldn't spot anything. However, he seems to be doing much better today. I think the rest and maybe even the soak helped him. When I took him on his potty break after work he took a few ouchie steps along the way, and still walked a little gingerly, but overall it was a vast improvement over the past few days and came pretty close to "normal". And he's acting like he feels better -- he tried to extend the walk for as long as he could, even though it was raining pretty hard, and as we were approaching the front door he practically dragged me the rest of the way because he was eager to get his dinner.

 

He's scheduled to back to the vet for a recheck at the end of the week, so I'll definitely keep an eye on him and will mention the foot pain/corn possibility to the vet and maybe she'll be able to find something. In the meantime I've got my fingers crossed that he'll continue to improve.