Ask the Vet

We adopted two beautiful retired racing greyhounds.  One of the greyhounds
developed a limp and we noticed she had a tiny circular rough spot on one of her
paw pads.  We keep hearing that some greyhounds develop corns and wonder if this
is what it is. 

Thanks.

Greyhound Lovers in Boca Raton

Thanks for writing in (To the Greyhound lovers of Boca Raton, I am too!)

It sounds like you are describing "Corns" found commonly in retired racing Greyhounds. These are circular rough lesions found on digital pads in Greyhounds and can be extremely painful.

This can be the cause of significant lameness in your Greyhound; other breeds have been known to develop these as well.

The cause of these painful lesions is still unclear, however there is a lot of discussion and theories out there. .   One of these popular beliefs is the lack of a fatty layer in the digital pad that helps absorb shock can result in a corn formation. Foreign body, papilla virus and trauma are other potential causes. The best treatment I have found is the removal of the corn itself, which is done with minimal invasiveness   Anesthesia is usually not required.  I tend to soak the feet first to soften the corns then I use a dental instrument to "hull" the corn out.  In my experience no matter what the treatment these corns will occur every 2-3 months. One of my clients has a severe problem with recurring corns and we have found that after removing the corns, we apply Abreva (cold medication) on a daily basis and then using the Thera-Paw boot, which gives extra padding and relieves pressure and the pain is greatly relieved.

In my experience Thera-Paw boots is a must in a greyhound with recurring corns

There are other treatments out there, some radical, some more new then others such as silicone injections to amputation of the pad itself. All these treatments have varying degrees of success.