Guest cwholsin Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Over the past month or so we've noticed that Hermes has ouchie footsies on walks. Best I can figure is that his paw pad callouses have mysteriously Gotten a lot softer. He's become reluctant on walks and his usual limp is exaggerated-- particularly when walking on asphalt/ cement that isn't super smooth. It's barely noticeable at all on sidewalks smoothe enough for non-calloused human (bare) feet. The weird thing is that he didn't lose his callouses after last winter (when walkies are generally shorter and happen less often due to Oregon raininess). Is there any medical reason that you all can think of that could cause these symptoms or cause Hermes to lose his callouses really quickly? We also got a second greyhound who is generally more enthusiastic on walks, so it's not impossible that it's a behavioral issue... I'd love to hear your thoughts! Edited May 2, 2012 by cwholsin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 How is Hermes walking inside the house? Is he avoiding hard floors, trying to stay on carpet? What time of day is he walking outside? Is it in sun, or shade? I didn't recall that Hermes usually has a limp. Can you elaborate a little more about his limp? Can you take photos of his paw pads? (Ideal is taking photos of dry pads first, then taking photos of wet pads. Then it works well to "zoom in" on a computer to examine pads much more closely than viewing pads with the naked eye.) You might try a test of leaving Nash at home while taking only Hermes on a walk. (Although, I'm guessing he's more likely feeling some physical discomfort rather than a behavioral issue.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cwholsin Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 1335944512[/url]' post='5231584']How is Hermes walking inside the house? Is he avoiding hard floors, trying to stay on carpet? What time of day is he walking outside? Is it in sun, or shade? I didn't recall that Hermes usually has a limp. Can you elaborate a little more about his limp? Can you take photos of his paw pads? (Ideal is taking photos of dry pads first, then taking photos of wet pads. Then it works well to "zoom in" on a computer to examine pads much more closely than viewing pads with the naked eye.) You might try a test of leaving Nash at home while taking only Hermes on a walk. (Although, I'm guessing he's more likely feeling some physical discomfort rather than a behavioral issue.) Hermes has had a noticeable limp since we got him. We couldn't find out if it was from a racing injury or not, and the vet checked him out and didn't find anything alarming. We've put him on a daily glucosamine supplement, and that's helped him a lot. Before this recent change, we could only really see his limp if he was on really rough ground or something like that. Our walks are in shade and sun, but it hasn't been too warm for him. I have taken Hermes on walks by himself to see if there's a difference, and he's still reluctant even out by himself. He normally will go about a mile until he starts dragging, but lately he's only going a third of that before he really starts to want to lag behind. He's shown no change in indoor activity and doesn't favor soft floors over hard. He does a daily after dinner zoomie session like normal, and doesn't seem to favor his feet at the dog park (or other areas that are sufficiently exciting that his excitement overrides whatever discomfort he's feeling) He did have an odd lighter circle on one of his toe pads that we were concerned may be a developing corn-- but it stayed flat and went away pretty quickly. His paw pads do feel much smoother and softer than we're used to seeing on him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sophiesmum Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 This is exactly the same as Sophie- except that she had a corn removed on the foot shes limping on. When I took her back to the vet post he said that it was scar tissue and took some more off. Her pad is now totally smooth except for a round area which is slightly lighter than the rest of her black pad. Her limping continues in exactly the same way that you describe. We're so sad about it and unsure what to do. Today we are trying a human corn pad on the toe and will let you know how it goes. We have tried bag balm, but it didn't help. Next stop is a therapaw boot. She's only four, we don't want her to limp for the rest of her life. Will be interested to see other peoples responses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Humm, assuming you've already examined his paws very carefully for a foreign object, you might look for any excessive licking of a paw or leg. I wonder if walking on wet concrete surfaces reduces the pad toughness over time. I would think the exaggerated limp is of more concern. A few things come to mind: Many hounds are so stoic and they want to go with us so they try to keep up. Whenever our hounds are showing signs of any discomfort (i.e., slowing on walks), we pay close attention and turn around when they look ready. We don't push them. I figure they know how their bodies are feeling (or hurting) better than we do. We usually don't walk hounds who are limping (unless directed to by vet, which is rare). When we get newly retired hounds in with soft pads from the tracks (who don't have a limp), we begin walking them for very short outings for weeks beginning with 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, building time increments slowly until their pads have a chance to toughen up. (Our own hounds are used to walking on sidewalks for years, but they still walk tenderly over rough pavement.) If Hermes has had a limp since he retired, I'd be inclined to have an X-ray taken to see what is causing his limp. It may be fixable. On the other hand, some hounds may have had a previous injury that makes walking longer distances (or running) too painful and difficult. We've had a hound that had miniscule pieces of gravel work deeply into a paw pad (happened in only one walk) even though we wiped off his pads and thought we got it off, pad grew over the embedded gravel. A simple surgery fixed up that hound well. We happen to have a hound with a tiny bone fracture now. In her isolated case, no walks for 8-12 weeks. Good luck, and let us know if you can find the reason for this newer discomfort. Could be just about anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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