Life With a Corn - Jack's Gel - June 13

Time for another post. I gave up trying to do a weekly posting. Several reasons: 1. Not enough hours in the day to get everything done. 2. There is not always something to report, so it is a waste of time to post nothing new.

So of course Baron still has his corns - right front paw and back left paw. We are continuing to use Jack's Gel. Baron HATES it. Well let me clarify.....Baron hates having his corns messed with. It may not be Jack's Gel. It could be whatever we put on his corns. Who knows? Baron isn't saying. I've had to experiment with the meds schedule a bit. I was putting the pad polish on in the morning, and the gel in the evening after final potty break/cookie, at Baron's bedtime. We began noticing that Baron was not eagerly coming into our bedroom to get in his bed anymore. When I called him to come to bed he would reluctantly. He was hanging out by himself in our foyer on the rug. Amber was in her bed in our bedroom, and we were in bed in our bedroom, but no Baron. It took us several days of this behavior to realize Baron was not wanting to come to bed because I was 'doctoring' his corn when he came to bed. So now I do his pad polish after their walk first thing in the morning. Then he gets the gel application after their dinner, around 4:30 or so. I have to sit near him to make sure he doesn't wipe the gel off or lick it off.

Below are the latest photos of both corns. He got no relief from the last hulling, and the damn thing grew back in a week's time. It is already protruding from the pad (on his right front paw). The corn on the back left paw has yet to break the surface of the pad. It hurts him just as much however. He can not place weight on that paw either.

right front

back left

back left

right front

The poor boy is just so crippled by these corns. We are amazed at how happy he is. He willingly goes outside to potty, not really hopping, practically skipping because he is trying to put weight only on his two good feet. I've ordered more Therapaws so that we never run the risk of not having some on hand. Baron wears them out pretty quickly because he wears them everyday for his walks. He would have no life without these wonderful boots. I continue to read the corn group posts on Facebook  So happy there are success stories out there. Really frustrated that nothing has worked for us. We will continue with the Jack's gel. Dreading the next hulling............

Life With a Corn-Jack's Gel - Treatment Week 2

Where does the time go? I am once again delinquent in my updates--lots going on.

Baron is still suffering with his two corns. We attended our play group yesterday-first time in three weeks-not because of corns, but due to rainy weather and busy schedules. He just ran and played and had the best time. He sure pays for it later. He has really been limping since he came home. We think the field is easier on his paws because it is so sandy-so much softer than our yard.

I am continuing treatment with Jack's Gel. My husband and I say on a regular basis, how thankful we are for the Therapaw boots. Baron would not be able to do much of anything without these boots. So even though his corns are extremely painful, he can still enjoy his walks and other outings. Sadly, we've given up our monthly storefront/adoption meet n greets. I just don't think it is fair to Baron to have him stand so much on concrete-even in his boots. What  a shame too. We always enjoyed visiting with the public, promoting the joys of greyhound ownership.

front corn

back corn

The above pictures are not the best. The one of his front corn is difficult to see - darn flash.
Below is a short video of the corn - a bit easier to see what's what.

One other observation. Baron got no relief from the hulling--NONE! I kept waiting, thinking the site just needed some time to recover from the corn as well as the hulling. Nope. Poor guy has continued to limp. Just crazy.

Life With a Corn - Jack's Gel - Treatment Week 1

I admit that I am quite envious of the success others have had in ridding their greyhounds of corns. I am even envious of those who have the corn hulled and their dog is limp/pain-free, even if only temporarily. I am so happy this works for many........unfortunately it does not work for Baron. Even one week after the hulling and he still limps - granted, not as much of a limp, but the poor guy never gets 100% relief. So sad!

We have been treating both corns with Jack's gel and pad polish. Both are fairly quick to administer. We ran into a bit of a snag however, when Baron decided he didn't like having me wipe the stuff off of his toes. He will lie quietly while I put the gel on his corns. I time it so I know he will be still for at least 30-60 minutes. I tried to use a warm water soaked paper towel or washcloth to wipe the gel off after the required time. Yikes! He growled and barked at me. Scared the crap out of me both times this happened. I contacted Jack, and he assured me leaving it on and letting it wear off naturally would be just fine. I take Baron outside and we walk around on the grass and it seems to come off pretty easily.

5/6/13 - Original corn

5/6/13 - Original corn

The above photos are of the original corn/pad. This is only 9 days since the hulling and the darn thing has already filled back in. What is troublesome is the very evident black dot in the center of his pad----the corn???? Grrrrrrr!!! It does look much better than it did...not so inflamed.

Below are photos of the second corn on his rear left paw. Definitely growing.I can't believe how much worse he limps and favors this back paw. Has it gotten worse? Or could it be since there has been some relief on the front paw, he now gives in to the painful rear paw. Can't say it enough- I HATE these corns!!!

5/6/13 - second corn

5/6/13 - second corn

We will continue with the gel and pad polish. More updates next week.

Life With a Corn - One More Time

Normally I would title my post as Week ---- and then number the week. This week is different. Baron is still battling corns, but we decided to change treatments. He has become so crippled when walking around the house, yard, etc. that we have to do something. The corn is huge! 

4/23/13

4/23/13 

2nd Corn-rear left paw - 4/23/13

4/23/13

We ordered Jack's Gel. This is another treatment that is discussed on the facebook site, Greyhounds with Corns. It is a two step treatment. There is a gel that is placed on the corn once daily. The gel is left on for 30 to 60 minutes, then wiped off. The second step is to apply a pad softener once daily. Jack recommends hulling the corn, if possible, then applying the treatment.  We have been avoiding hulling, since the process was/is so painful to Baron. However, this original corn is so massive, and is protruding so much, and is as hard as a rock, that we made an appointment with the vet to get that sucker hulled. 

Oh man.....trip to the vet and hulling proved to be quite eventful. To prepare the corn for hulling, I soaked a paper towel with water and placed it in a sandwich bag. I then put Baron's paw in the bag and put his Therapaws boot on over it. We drove to the vet and soaked his pad at the same time. Dr. Murrell, our vet, tried to numb his pad first before hulling. In the past, it has helped with the pain. Baron was having none of it! She couldn't even touch his pad or look at it, without him screaming. After much discussion, it was decided that Baron would be given a light - 'twilight'- anesthetic. I did NOT want to do this, but the corn needed to come out, and the alternative was to traumatize the poor boy by proceeding with the numbing. After getting Baron ready with catheter, etc. the corn removal only took a few minutes. Voila! His big, nasty, evil corn was out!

4/26/13

4/26/13

4/26/13

4/26/13

This has been the largest corn so far. So very hard, and look at it---HUGE!!! Here is what was left behind.

4/26/13

An enormous crater!!! We let him recuperate on Friday evening. He was just fine by that evening, but I did not want to mess with his foot so soon after the hulling. Saturday morning I did the first gel treatment. I applied the gel to both sites. I filled in the crater, and painted the gel on the second corn.  It stayed on for an hour, then I wiped it off. I will do the pad polish later on in the evening. The gel has a very strong odor. I thought he would put up some resistance because of the smell, but he napped while I applied the gel and while it dried.  

We are hopeful with this new treatment. We will not be able to continue to hull these corns because he has to be sedated and we are not going to put Baron through that each time.  I realize there are many people out there who had success with Lori's treatment. Believe me when I say I wish we were a part of that crowd. We were diligent in our treatment, even had the treatment tweaked, but we did not see results. If we had continued with the treatment? We were not willing to keep it up after 3 + months and not only one huge corn, but a newly developed one too. I do think Lori's treatment works......too many people have proof it does........just not for Baron. I would still recommend others to give it a try...it might work for their dog.

Many people are reporting good results with Jack's Gel. Keeping paws and fingers crossed this new treatment does the trick. 

Life With a Corn-Treatment Week 12

We are beginning to wonder if Baron really does have THE corn from Hell. We really thought we would see more progress than what we are observing...meaning no new progress.

4/19/13

4/19/13

4/19/13

4/19/13

Here is the second corn - back left paw/pad.

4/19/13

Baron is having such difficulty walking, even with his Therapaws on, he limps badly. We are thinking of trying a different treatment. We have tried to remain optimistic with Lori's treatment, but as the days go by and we still see no results, we are considering Jack's Gel. I realize patience is important to a 'natural' treatment, but how long is long enough? Our baby is HURTING! We've got to find a solution to this corn problem.

Life With a Corn-Treatment Week 11

My goodness! I am three weeks behind in my postings! I have kept up with my photos documenting Baron's corn, but have not had an opportunity to update this blog. Apologies all around.

So here we are at Week 11.  

4/16/13

4/16/13

4/16/13

 This is the original corn paw/pad - right front. It just looks so painful! Very, very hard to the touch. Does not MOVE at all. No photos of the newest corn - back left paw/pad, because there were no changes to appearance.

We are quite discouraged as to the progress, or lack thereof.

Life With a Corn-Treatment Week 10

The good news - Lori's treatment arrived very quickly this time. We received it on Monday and began using it the same day. Once again we have oil and pills. Baron is to get one pill a day for 7 days, then one a week for 7 weeks. I am to again, massage the oil into his corns three times a day, covering them at night after the last application.

The not so good news - The second corn that popped up several weeks ago is getting worse. 


second corn - rear left paw - 4/6/13


Very discouraging! This corn popped up after we began Lori's treatment. As this homeopathic treatment is to work from the inside out, I am not sure what the development of another corn means. Was it already 'in the works' and this treatment accelerated its emergence? Or was it already 'in the works' and this treatment is not helping Baron at all? 

I realize we have just begun this second formula, but both my husband and I are not nearly so positive about seeing success. I feel Baron is worse. His pad where the corn is, is so dry and inflamed looking.


4/7/13





It looks like you could just pull it out! But one side is still embedded. I have tried soaking it and then working on it............I can't get it to budge. I can't even wiggle it at all. In the past I have been able to wiggle it just a bit. Not to mention Baron is/has become VERY sensitive to me messing with it. He has become even more crippled by this corn. The last few days, to just barely touch it to put the oil on it, causes him pain. He has barked and/or growled at me on two separate occasions as I have attempted to put the oil on it. I believe he has just had enough of the whole thing. We will have to muzzle him to work on it at all. I certainly don't blame him. He has been such a good boy throughout all of our attempts at eradicating the corn. Considering we have been fighting this since 2011, he has been a terrific patient.




4/7/13



Even though this photo is a bit blurry, you can see how the one side is still flush with his pad.

It is all very deflating to me. I don't even want to imagine what his life will be like with two permanent and extremely painful corns. Or worse, as he gets more and more corns in addition to the two he has!

We shall continue for a while longer, then move on to something else, I guess. We are frustrated, beyond frustrated, beyond frustrated.