Corns again!

[JohnF]

Peggy has corns again, I'd been wondering why she was sitting down more on walks. They are much worse on one foot than the other and unfortunately it's the leg she had knee surgery on, so we have put her on Meloxicam for a short while to address arthritis issues so that she can be encouraged to get to the car and be driven to a grassy area instead of the hard sidewalks around our estate.

At age 12 and after all her teeth problems earlier in the year I really don't want surgery. Do pain meds actually work for corns at all?  I'm wondering too if that human cracked heel balm stuff might help? Any other tips most welcome. Thank you.

[smt]

Poor girl.  I have nothing re: your corn question.  But man, if I had to have corns, I would want to have them there.  That looks like paradise.  She's lucky to have such an accommodating dog parent.

[HeyRunDog]

My Grace suffers with multiple corns so I know what you and Peggy are going through.

Surgery doesn't help as 99% of the time as they come back. I use Bazuka corn and wart gel which I try and apply once a day. It's not an instant fix but over time it is reducing the size of the corns and every now and again I can pick out the hard core.

[MerseyGrey]

5 hours ago, smt said:

Poor girl.  I have nothing re: your corn question.  But man, if I had to have corns, I would want to have them there.  That looks like paradise.

Ditto here. Where is your photo taken? We’re treating The Budster to a trip to Cornwall next year and are looking for somewhere a bit more inspiring than Taunton Dean services to let him out for a walk

[greysmom]

The short answer is no - surgery to remove the corn is very rarely curative and can cause more problems than it's worth.  The *only* surgery I can reccomend at this time is by a UK surgeon named Mike Gilliland (I think).  It's called a flexor tenotomy" surgery.  It basically cuts the tendon to the toe where the corn is, causing a "sprung toe," which usually makes the corn disappear.  It's a very easy surgery with just a small snip in the bottom of hte foot and a short recovery period.

You can research this online as he's created a website, or join the "greyhounds with corns" Facebook group.

In the meantime, the best routine is several 10 to 15 minute soaks a day in epsom salts (you Brits call it magnesium-something  ), dry off and moisturize with a good non-petroleum cream like Burts Bees Hand Cream (or another ultra moisturizing lotion for cracked heels).  This softens the surrounding pad and loosens up the corn so it can be hulled every two weeks or so.

Using padded boots like Therapaws can cushion the foot while walking on harder surfaces.  Any good padded hiking or walking boot will work.  You can also add padding to the footbed of a boot you already have and give that a try.

[JohnF]

16 hours ago, MerseyGrey said:

Ditto here. Where is your photo taken? We’re treating The Budster to a trip to Cornwall next year and are looking for somewhere a bit more inspiring than Taunton Dean services to let him out for a walk

That's on the edge of Dartmoor just above Okehampton. From the A30 , go into the town centre and and follow the steep road up towards the Army Camp. The shot was taken  on the right just before that. Best place to eat when travelling down this way though is probably Lifton Farm Shop ( renamed Strawberry Fields I think) which has a big restaurant with a nice big lawn and tables outside where dogs can go. Also does local produce etc. See trip advisor etc.

[JohnF]

6 hours ago, greysmom said:

 

Thanks Greymom, I'll try some of those things. If only she didn't hop and skip when a boot is put on!

[JohnF]

17 hours ago, HeyRunDog said:

My Grace suffers with multiple corns so I know what you and Peggy are going through.

Surgery doesn't help as 99% of the time as they come back. I use Bazuka corn and wart gel which I try and apply once a day. It's not an instant fix but over time it is reducing the size of the corns and every now and again I can pick out the hard core.

Thanks, I'll give that a go.

[MandysMom]

My Mandy had terrible corns on all four feet. Ironically, the huge corns seemed less painful than the small ones. At the time, Dr. Kellogg was in my area and would hull them (non surgical removal procedure). She also suggested keeping Mandy's paws treated with moisturizer. It didn't matter which moisturizer, so I would use plain Vaseline. I would wash her paws, slather moisturizer on each pad, wrap in cling film, then cover with toddler socks for about 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, I would remove the sock and film and wash off each paw. I did this daily. It really seemed to help and made the corns that did grow easier to hull. Mandy also wore Therapaws on both back feet, but refused to wear them on the front. She wore them for seven years whenever we were outside. In fact, I was stopped more than once by people in adjoining neighborhoods asking if this was the "famous" Mandy who wore boots.

Corns are awful. I hope you get Peggy's under control. She's a beautiful girl.

 

[MerseyGrey]

6 hours ago, JohnF said:

That's on the edge of Dartmoor just above Okehampton. From the A30 , go into the town centre and and follow the steep road up towards the Army Camp. The shot was taken  on the right just before that. Best place to eat when travelling down this way though is probably Lifton Farm Shop ( renamed Strawberry Fields I think) which has a big restaurant with a nice big lawn and tables outside where dogs can go. Also does local produce etc. See trip advisor etc.

Thank you! I will consult the map and see if we can factor in a trip