hi a happy new year to everyone... does anyone have any experience of corns ?our bob developed one in september and it was removed beg october. this took him a few weeks to come sound from again as in no limp. however he has went limp again in the space of the last week and i think its another corn. Bob has had a broken toe which has healed at an angle on this foot and i guess is pushing against the other toes [much the same as would cause a corn on us } after his last surgery our vet said perhaps we should have this broken toe removed. can anyone offer any advice ?

Not corns, but my lurcher Lady had crooked toes on one foot which the vet said had been broken and left untreated by her previous owners.

The rubbing caused ulcers on one of the toes which wouldn't heal, so the toe was removed.

This worked really well. The only problem I was warned about is that the outside toe now has a gap beside it and can more easily be damaged. She did hurt it once when I was letting her run about a little in a friend's enclosed garden. I've stopped that now and of course she's always on the lead when out so that's ok.

thanks kathleen, been doing a bit of research since last corn removed and quite perplexed as whats best to do for bob. the toe thats been broken and has healed crookedly is the inside toe and the corn is on the third toe {one of the two weight bearing toes } again ! not sure if this broken toe is the cause of the corns, can totally understand why it would be the cause but am reluctant to have this amputated as well as present corn removed in case it isnt. i have just soaked his affected foot in epsom salts and then filed area down till its smooth which results in a short relief for him. we try to walk him on soft surfaces, but what with this rain most places around us are a quagmire at the moment, also trying a boot to cushion this foot but cant seem to find one which will stay on a long skinny greyhound leg is proving problematic as well,so if anyone has any suggestions on this as well that would be very welcome. Bob is almost ten and i suppose i'm trying to not have him go through more surgery...

First we can sympathise with you here our Billy has been troubled with a corn on his front right second fore toe for about 6 to 8 months. He has had it hauled under anaesthetic, and was bandaged for about three weeks till the pad had filled enough to stop foreign bodies getting in. We then used dog boots either Walkers with two velcro fastenings to tighten of Mikie lace up boots available on ebay.
While looking found this seller specialising in boots for Greyhounds see this link Greyhound boots on ebay"

Billy's corn is ongoing requiring pairing by the vet every 6 to 8 weeks and at present the corn is quite small thankfully! Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get all the root excised so the corns are likely to reoccur.
We were also advised to keep it moisturised to keep the pad soft which would work well after you soak Bobs paw. Suggestions the vet said was Vaseline or baby oil. We have found sudocream to work quite well. other suggestions that others have used udder cream available from farm shops and nipple cream for for human mothers.

For some reason Greyhounds are quite susceptible to corns more than other breeds but the cause is not proven. Lots of theories though!

There is lots of reading online just "Google" corns in Greyhounds and the information chest will open up.

One thing I have read though is corns can transfer to healthy pads in some instances after a toe with a corn in the pad has been surgically removed. I would talk it over with you vet and and consider all the other possibilities first. You could even get a second opinion from another vet and even talk to Jimmy.

If you are able to go down the pairing root it relieves more pressure than just filing down. There is no pain for Bob and if he is ok at the Vets should be ok without sedation.

As a last suggestion there is a group on Facebook dedicated to Greyhounds with corns,Greyhounds with Corns on facebook

Hope the information is of help and good luck with Bob you have our sympathies.

George,Morag

Billy and Lassie

thanks for that, poor billy !, It's hard to know what to do for the best, will look at all the tips you've passed on. I know there is masses of info out there thats whats so confusing ! let me know how billy gets on, by the way is billys toes sound on that foot, no old injuries or anything ?

Hi Liz,

Billy will be 9 in May but did dot have the best start to life, We got him from Celia and Jimmy just before he was 3.

To the best of our knowledge he did not have any previous injury to his paw although there are other signs of mistreatment.

Our vet said the corn could have been caused by a foreign body in the pad undetected or possible friction between pad bed and the bone that could have caused the corn to show its self.

The surprising thing was Billy was not limping with it when we first found the corn. When the vet hauled out of his pad we were told it was a particularly large one.

Our vet also says if the pairing of the corn does not manage the corn another option is to cut a wedge of pad away and stitch together but is quite radical. Again there is a risk that the corn could return as getting the root is not guaranteed. We would be worried about doing this procedure because the corn could reoccur.

I think I remember that Celia and Jimmy had a dog in the kennels a while back that had to have a toe amputated because of a broken toe. The worry was that if the healing did not go to plan or there was another toe problem I think leg amputation was mentioned as the dog could not balance correctly on the leg. Jimmy would confirm if I am correct on that if you can contact him!!!

With a dog having a corn you want to do the right thing for them and hope it is right. At the moment the treatment is working for Billy so that is all that can be asked. By squeezing the pad you can feel the corn and how deep and hard it is.

Keep us updated about Bob

George, Morag

Billy and Lassie

I have no idea whether this works or whether it's just an old wives' (old trainers') tale, but I was told that the trainers feed their dogs black pudding to harden up soft paws. I give my two a bit of black pudding in with their dinner every day - they love it! - and touch wood, none of my dogs has had a corn. Black pudding is cheap so maybe worth a try - I wouldn't think it would be any good with an existing corn though, it would be more of a preventative measure.

I have experience of having a toe removed on my border collie. It was an outside toe. After the stitches were out, he recovered very quickly and returned to agility after 3 to 4 weeks. He never looked back. I would not hesitate again in having a toe removed. Prior to that he had surgery to put a pin in it and the recovery was dreadful. I think a crooked toe is worse than one that has been removed.

Yes, they manage perfectly with one toe amputated. But as George and Morag said, the danger is then that if they badly damage another toe, the leg has to be amputated.

Lady lost one of the inside toes, then when she hurt the outside toe next to the gap, the vet was very strict and said no exercise at all for some weeks and no exercise at all off the lead ever.

She's fine on the lead and I only have a tiny garden, so she can't run at all and she' s very unlikely to injure the toe again. For her it was the best solution.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Dear Liz,
My own greyhound has developed a very small corn over the past year. He is 11 now. He has always been a very healthy, active, fit greyhound, with no serious injuries to his feet other than the usual scrapes and tears.
There are a few thoughts/reasons as to how/why corns arise. Corns are areas of callused tissue, a bit like scar tissue. The body makes tissue like this as a result of pressure or trauma, to protect softer tissue like skin, beneath. This is common to all tissue especially skin, and all species. In greyhounds therefore it is likely that the skin has hardened in an area where there is an increase of pressure, which is why it is commonly on the toes. Corns tend to arise in older greyhounds that are losing fat in the pads of their toes, muscle, slackening ligaments etc. Foreign bodies such as embedded grit can also cause the body to lay scar tissue/callus around it. The callus acts a little bit like a pearl! Unfortunately the callus/corn can get quite hard and pointy and end up acting like a foreign body itself and pressing into the soft tissues of the foot.
As we all know greyhounds are very streamlined already with no excess fat or tissue of any sort, therefore when they lose some body condition as they get older it really makes a difference. My own greyhound has lost 4-5kg in weight from his younger days, he still looks great and does more exercise than your average dog, but that’s a lot of muscle etc.
So back to the issue of what to do about them. Because there are external forces and pressures working in the area where the corn has come about, the likelihood is that they will return after paring, filing and potentially after wedge resection surgery too. Toe amputation will clearly get rid of the corn in question, and if there is a poorly healed fracture causing a deformity or knocked up toe this may be the cause. However the obvious problem then is that by removing a toe we will be changing the entire way the foot is placed and possibly increasing abnormal pressures and weights in other previously healthy toes. More corns may appear. Unfortunately there is no clear cut answer. I am not saying that toe amputation is not the answer, sometimes it is completely curative! However it is important to bear in mind that greyhounds are the only dogs that get corns.
My own greyhound’s corn is very small, I don’t think he would benefit from surgery at this point, so I elect to go down the paring, filing and moisturising route, which I do while he’s sleeping! He’s limp free, and still exercising well, but I do keep a close eye on it. Hope this helps.

I personally do not know whether it works but you can always try...It seems to be an easy procedure to follow and definitely will not harm the dog.
Instructions:
1
Use scissors to cut a small square of duct tape that is roughly the same size as the corn.

2
Stick the piece of duct tape over the corn, covering it completely.


3
Leave the duct tape on the dog's foot throughout the day.

4
Remove the duct tape at night, immediately recovering it with another square of duct tape.

5
Repeat this process for three to four weeks. During this time, the corn will be abraded away by the duct tape.

hi ,i just want to thank everyone for all their very helpful tips regarding my query. at the moment the soaking, filing and moisturising is keeping bob limp free so hopefully this will continue. I have also sent away for some k 9 voyager greyhound boots so he can have some protection when walked on hard ground, so hopefully they will help too.