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Leg wraps


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I understand cuts on the hind legs after running to be a common experience and I have always sprayed the small wounds with a bit of doggy antiseptic and threw on some Kwikstop and Mira is is good to go. 

Beginning of last week Mira was doing one of her 2+ daily zoomies outside and when I went to wipe off her paws she had a fairly bad cut under her carpal pad. It must have been painful too as she would hardly let me touch her leg or paw at all (highly unusual), she kept yelping. So I managed to spray the antiseptic as usual and got a quick dab of kwikstop on there and the bleeding stopped. She favored it the rest of the day and by the next morning she was good to go. We didn't let her zoomie all day the next day and she has been fine ever since, back to normal I can touch the carpal pad directly without a negative response and she has done MANY zoomies without re-injury since.

That injury and all the pervious small ones have made me wonder if there is a solution. My "complaint" (if you would call it that) or more worry I suppose is that one of these cuts will be that bad again, or worse. I have heard (on this forum and elsewhere around the web) that vet wrap works well and I intend to use it for outings with a lot of expected running, this is not a solution for zoomies multiple times a day in the backyard though. Is there any way to prevent these cuts? Some sort of reusable ace bandage sleeve? Are the cuts on the back legs caused by the dew claw? Should I try and cut the dew claw even shorter? What is a proper length of it (If that is the culprit).

In my head I imagine a compression sleeve similar to an Under Armour type material (maybe a bit thicker) that I can slide on her legs real quick and let her run around the back yard. Machine washable would be ideal too. Anyone else have any ideas. I assume I will have to make this product as my short google search didn't yield what I was looking for.

(Responses such as "There is no way to prevent these cuts, just keep doing what your doing" do not aid in the conversation. I obviously know this is an inevitable fact of owning a greyhound and I am more than prepared to continue doing this indefinitely. The goal is to find a solution, or better way for all of us. Thank you.)

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I made wraps for one of our boys who would nick the back of his rear legs every time he went down the deck to the yard.  I used thin foam sheets, cut to the size and wrapped with vet wrap.  I buy the vet wrap on ebay; 10 rolls for $10.  I also had some that I attached with velcro.  We called them Paul's shin guards.

Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware
Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine
Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com
Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds

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It's interesting you mention the dew claws. Grace hasn't any on her back legs. I presume they were removed for her racing days. It might be worth putting something over the dew claws to see if they are the culprit.

Grace (Ardera Coleen) b. 18 June 2014 - Gotcha Day 10 June 2018 - Going grey gracefully
Guinness (Antigua Rum) b. 3 September 2017 - Gotcha Day 18 March 2022 - A gentleman most of the time

 

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7 hours ago, HeyRunDog said:

It's interesting you mention the dew claws. Grace hasn't any on her back legs. I presume they were removed for her racing days. It might be worth putting something over the dew claws to see if they are the culprit.

I’m sorry for the confusion, I was referring to her dew claws on her front legs causing the cuts on her back legs while running. Mira does not have dew claws on her rear legs. 

It would be a good thing to eliminate as you suggested. I’ll vet wrap ONLY the dew claw for her outings and see if that decreases the frequency of cuts for now. 

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20 hours ago, Houndtime said:

I made wraps for one of our boys who would nick the back of his rear legs every time he went down the deck to the yard.  I used thin foam sheets, cut to the size and wrapped with vet wrap.  I buy the vet wrap on ebay; 10 rolls for $10.  I also had some that I attached with velcro.  We called them Paul's shin guards.

Were these nicks caused by the stairs themselves?

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I think the issue would be finding something that would stay on/stay up on the leg without falling down and causing a tripping hazard.  Without being so tight it cuts off circulation.

Maybe something like small compression socks with the toes cut out????  Since their legs are so skinny it would need to be small socks.  Or maybe zip some thicker, really stretchy fabric together (one seam up the back, say) with a serger for a more custom fit???

Folks who do lots of AKC events or amateur racing )LGRA, NOTRA, herding and field events) just wrap their dogs legs with vet wrap for easy on, easy off protection.  You might look up some discussion groups on Facebook or other online resources to see if someone there has any ideas.  Same for bird hunting dogs - I've never checked at places like Cabela's or other hunting stores that sell hunting dog equipment, but they may have solutions as well.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

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3 hours ago, Babs said:

Were these nicks caused by the stairs themselves?

Yes.  He would bang up the back of his legs.

Irene Ullmann w/Flying Odin and Mama Mia in Lower Delaware
Angels Brandy, John E, American Idol, Paul, Fuzzy and Shine
Handcrafted Greyhound and Custom Clocks http://www.houndtime.com
Zoom Doggies-Racing Coats for Racing Greyhounds

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On 3/21/2021 at 9:24 AM, Babs said:

I’m sorry for the confusion, I was referring to her dew claws on her front legs causing the cuts on her back legs while running. Mira does not have dew claws on her rear legs. 

It would be a good thing to eliminate as you suggested. I’ll vet wrap ONLY the dew claw for her outings and see if that decreases the frequency of cuts for now. 

Coursing hounds often have their dew claws wrapped. But those half moon shaped Knicks on the rear leg near the knee is very very common. Keep nails short and just let the dog clean the knick. Felix came to me totally unmarked....his rear legs yold the story of tons of fun running.

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