Foot problems

Poor old Jasper is in the wars Long story short, I think he has a corn on one pad, a worn pad right behind the one with the corn, and possibly some muscular soreness.

The catch 22 is that for a corn, you want to try to keep the dog off hard surfaces, soften the pad, and maybe wear a boot. For a worn pad, you want to keep the pad dry, so no mud/wet grass, and toughen it up by walking on pavements - so pretty much the opposite of what the corn needs. The vet, who thinks the worn pad is the main problem, suggested soaking his foot in salt water, but he won't put up with that for any length of time. I did think of paddling in the sea, but sand is really abrasive so not good for worn pads... and the heathland round here is so sandy much of it might just as well be beach really.

His paw seems really sore today... particularly judging by his reaction when I tried to trim his claws this morning

I've just started trying Musher's Secret - I was worried it'd soften the pad rather than toughen it up, but I've read a few things that suggest it might help. In the meantime I'm torn between walking him on pavements to help toughen his worn bit even though he finds it uncomfortable and he can't go off lead, or taking him to the woods where the ground is softer, but also damper - and where he can go off lead but then might run on a rough surface.

I've read a lot about corns, but if anyone has experience of worn pads, I'd be very grateful for any advice

 

Thanks LfL - I'll ask the vet about laser treatment next time I go, but Jasper is so very suspicious and fear-aggressive I'm not sure if it would be feasible. According to the vet, the problem with covering the pad/foot with an adhesive patch, or putting a boot on it, is that it would further soften the worn pad and exacerbate the problem.

The problem with a bandage is that he probably wouldn't tolerate it, and wouldn't tolerate us preventing him from removing it. I did try to desensitise him to Vetwrap once and he'd be scared if I just laid a bit across his paw

I could set about trying to remove the corn by applying some sort of corn remover, but it would take a while and I really want to get to the root of the cause. He's even limping on carpet now so pretty much anything could be going on - and it's very hard to tell what, exactly, hurts, when he's likely to shriek, tense up completely, and fight back if the vet just touches him...

Today we had a grassy walk this morning, and a short pavement walk to the park this afternoon. Once we got to the park he was more interested in sunbathing than walking round - I'm not sure if that's from the discomfort or just because it's been a beautiful warm day!

Maybe, if I lift his paw to show the vet and we pretend it's me prodding his pads rather than the vet, then the vet can prod them and see which one results in him trying to kill us both

(He's a poppet 99.9999% of the time, honest - he just has some Incredible Hulk genes in him somewhere)

 

I'm not aware of any safe short-term sedative that clears his system quickly (I expect you're aware of the risks of sedation in sighthounds, and their poor ability to metabolise the drugs). When he's had them in the past, he's fought the effects for ages, tottering like a baby giraffe and refusing to lie down until he collapses, he's cried all night after, big bug eyes staring at who knows what horrors, and he's unpredictable for days.

It may come to that, though - though of course he won't be able to indicate where it hurts, and if they can confirm that the worn pad is the problem, they won't be able to 'fix' it - I'd guess laser treatment would take a few sessions. They could remove the corn, but surgically removed corns tend to recur.

But if you do know of any sedatives you think could be suitable, or if you have any other ideas, do keep them coming, because with such a bleeding awkward dog I need all the help I can get! I can't help thinking it would be a lot less stressful all round if the vet had a Jasper-sized cattle crush...