'corns' On The Bottom Of Paws

[Guest pawsitiveluv]

Does anyone know what causes the corns or warts that are growing on the bottom of my greyhound's paws? My pup seems to limp when walking on hard surfaces, but runs like crazy and digs in the yard! What can be done about the corns? Anyone? Thank you!

[PrairieProf]

I haven't had an issue with corns with my hound but since no one's posted so far I can say many people here have. There are many theories about what causes it, none definitive, and many strategies for treating them, none definitive. If you do a search in the archive (or, hint, I often find it is easier to search greytalk + corns, for example, on Google) you will find a zillion detailed threads addressing measures people have tried with their hounds.

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

_{I believe it is a virus. Do a search on this site and you will find many threads on corns and "corn hulling' which seems to be the best way to remove them. It takes several times but people have reported success. Others have used duct take over the corns with some success. Otyhers have homeopathic remadies. My vet did not or would not perform the corn hulling procedure that was described in Greytalk as he believed his way was better (he used a razor blade/exacto knife to slice the pad thinner. My dog could barely walk for a month afterwards on hard surfaces so I never had him do that again. These things are gard and deep like a carrot and you need to get at the root of it so it stops growing out. Thera-pad booties work well to ease the pain when walking but the hounds don't really like them (however it is less painful - just different). The hulling in my mind is the way to go -even if it takes 3-4 times to get at the bottom. The things are hard and deep but I found if your hound will let you mess with his feet that you could separate the edges of the corn from the foot and by pushing it over sideways you could see inside and pick at it with a tweezers. It does not seem to be painful for the dog except when stepping on it - kind of like us walking with bare feet on a pebble, I would get after it because you want to remove it-others have said that it, the virus, can spread to several feet (probably by licking?) and then you are in real trouble.}

[Guest iLoveLucie]

Our vet "hulled" the corn but we only did it once because it took a while to heal and while the foot was wrapped it actually cause some cuts/infection in between his toes (wrap was too tight?) and that secondary wound took forever to heal.

 

Now we go with the duct tape approach - a small peice on the toe with the corn for a day or so - when I pull it off it pulls off the rough/tough parts and it doesn't seem to bother my hound for a while. We do this every month or so - or as needed when I can feel the corn or see Buddy limping.

 

Others reccommended a boot to provide some extra cushion. It probably works great for many dogs, but Buddy always manages to kick it off when we try to use it on walks.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I had one hound with them, and I cut them out with an X-acto and that worked for months until they came back. She's now adopted and they do the same.

 

Note, I think it's genetic, cos the hound's whole litter had corn problems, as did some of her pups, she was a broodie

[Guest pawsitiveluv]

Thanks everyone!!!! Very informative...I think I will try the duct tape first and see how well that works. I feel better knowing that my Rissa is not the only greyhound with this problem. I was beginning to worry! It sounds like there can be some relief and I would like to make her as comfortable as possible. I feel bad when she starts limping. Anyway, I appreciate all of your replies! THX!

[brandimom]

Mariah has six corns and we have tried the Murray Avenue treatment, Wart Ade, etc and nothing has helped yet. We did buy the cushy paws from therapaw which enables her to walk without a limp. She limps in the house due to hardwood floor, no limping on the lawn because it is soft. I do run an ointment on her pads every night and wrap her feet to keep her pads soft. We also hull the corn but they come back.

[Guest greytexplorer]

pawsitiveluv----search "corns" in this health&medical forum

there have been countless discussions about corns!

you'll learn plenty here

 

And

[Guest BlueCrab]

Welcome! As other have suggested, do a search on the forum 'cause there's been plenty of info shared. But briefly, once your dog has corns, they seem to be permenant. They'll go away for a while - perhaps - with treatment, but they seem to re-occur in all the instances I've read about. Once you have 'em, it seems they're yours for life.

 

Many on this forum have tried a variety of things, including soaks, salves, creams, duct tape, hulling and surgery. Personally, we tried everything short of surgery and settled on duct tape, which works quite well for us. We use Thera-paws boots when we're going for long hikes on mixed, rocky or hard surfaces (Trixie will wear hers next week at Grapehounds on the hike to the falls on Sunday). I personally wouldn't try surgery for corns as I just envision it hurting too much and then the recovery being unbearable. Our vet suggested it as she thought we might be dealing with a foreign body in the pad, but our vet isn't all that grey-saavy. Others have tried surgery with some success - you didn't mention it, but I'm just throwing it out as something others have tried. Frankly, since surgery is kind of a drastic approach (investment of both $$ and time), I'd advise trying other approaches first to see if you can arrive at something that helps manage the corns, as ultimately you're probably looking at a long-term management situation rather than an outright cure.

Edited July 19, 2012 by BlueCrab