Calluses on Front Paw Elbows ..

[bigron452]

Sugah is starting to develop small patches on both of her front paws at the elbows. Vet says they are calluses caused by her laying on hard surfaces. She has pillows and mats for the floor and her crate .. but she won't lay on them. In the crate she will either chew on the pillow, the tags (which we had to cut off) or try to make a hole for the stuffing. I've tried the flat mats, but she only chews at those as well. She loves the floor, and the hard surface of her crate. So I have a couple of questions ...

- Any oinment, lubricant or treatment that you've used on calluses that were effective for your dog?
- Any suggestions on a flat mat that might work for a crate or the floor that worked for you .. ? (have a 40 inch crate )


I'm open for suggestions here and would appreciate any advice .. hopefully I can find something that will work, as they are very small now, but as she grows I can see them getting bigger ... she's already 50lbs at 5 months!

[voodoo]

Chili has this memory foam in his crate: Amazon.com : Brindle® 4 : Pet Beds : Pet Supplies

he still has calluses tho.

when chili was an outdoor only pup his calluses disappeared from when I got him at 8 weeks. Now that he is an indoor dog with tile floors and summertime, the calluses are coming back...he just loves the tile and I keep the ac at 70. he has access to rugs/carpet/dog bed/furniture but loves the hard floor. go figure.

[Berna]

There was a similar thread recently

Callus on elbow

Hope it helps.

[bigron452]

Thank you both! I've checked the link to the other post .. memory foam I am investingating !!

[lovemylabby]

Callouses on elbows are very common with Labs.

This will help:

Bag Balm

Bag Balm

[MikeLynn]

Calluses on elbows probably cannot be avoided although soft surface for the dogs to lie on may slow down their growth. However, keeping them as much flexible as possible (balms, creams or some lubricants) is very important because if they crack open, they get really painful and invite infection.

[Jax's Mom]

I had similar questions so I took Jax to the Vet to be positive e it was a callus. It is the beginning of one on both sides. She said to keep an eye on them for any changes like cracking, fluids, etc. She said most likely nothing would help at this point and they usually aren't problematic. Jax loves the wood floors so i think his are here to stay.

[bigron452]

I had similar questions so I took Jax to the Vet to be positive e it was a callus. It is the beginning of one on both sides. She said to keep an eye on them for any changes like cracking, fluids, etc. She said most likely nothing would help at this point and they usually aren't problematic. Jax loves the wood floors so i think his are here to stay.

I did the same thing. Sugah is going to be a big dog, so there's not much I can do just keep an eye out for cracking or infection. She simply refuses soft surfaces .. she'll move her pillow out of the way in the crate just to sleep on the hard surface .. go figure?? So I guess her's are here to stay as well ..

[Georgie]

I think labs and elbow calluses are definitely common in labs. My lab like many, likes to sleep on hard surfaces too.

In the wild they probably slept more times on hard surfaces like rock faces, stoney surfaces and in caves.

edited to add: I too think the heat factor is important. Dogs would have evolved to sleep on hard surfaces and caves, but, it would have been cold rather than hot.

[Snowshoe]

Thank you both! I've checked the link to the other post .. memory foam I am investingating !!

It's hot to lie on. Don't be surprised if your dog won't use it. See if there is a trial period allowed with money refunded just in case.