Hey
Our dog Maguire had ivdd and operation a year ago which wasn't successful, we are managing well but he keeps getting cuts/scratches on his feet. We have tried various shoes and even strong tape but he keeps biting them off to lick the sore, is there anything you can recommend to stop him doing this or anything we can put on his feet that he can't get off?
Aside from that he is close to the same dog he was, he is happy and has his wheels where he acts like he used to when walking.
IVDD and cut feet
Re: IVDD and cut feet
Hi ChristyDuffy,
I'm sorry it has taken 3 days to answer. I wanted to give you links to two posts with ideas, and I ran into problems on both posts. The first idea involves using foam pipe insulation and velcro (or some people have used vetwrap) to hold it on. Here is the post, but you can see that the photos are not displaying. I wrote to Joanne so I hope she will be able to fix the photos in the posts so they show again. In the meantime, I found a small version of the photo on Google Images, so I will attach that below.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15600&start=15
There was another idea years ago for really serious chewing. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find the post again. I know it was posted October 22, 2004. I can find references to the post, but the references were made during an older version of forum software so the links do not work. Anyway, the person used actual PVC pipe for their dog's leg. I wish I could give you more details.
Do you think there is a chance he is not just licking a booboo? As time goes on, there continues to be some healing of the nerves, and some dogs go through a temporary phase where they lick or chew certain areas of their body. The feet are a common location, and also the pen*s. The theory is that the dog is feeling a pins and needles sensation, sort of like if you sleep on your arm funny and it goes numb, and then you wake up and the feeling begins to return. Some dogs will continue chewing until they actually hurt themselves, it can even be severe. There is a treatment for this, a medication called gabapentin. You might ask your vet about it.
If you don't think it is neurological, you might try putting bitter apple on his boots and see if he will leave them alone. Duct tape may help too, depending on how much of a chewer he is.
Don't know if any of this might help?
I'm sorry it has taken 3 days to answer. I wanted to give you links to two posts with ideas, and I ran into problems on both posts. The first idea involves using foam pipe insulation and velcro (or some people have used vetwrap) to hold it on. Here is the post, but you can see that the photos are not displaying. I wrote to Joanne so I hope she will be able to fix the photos in the posts so they show again. In the meantime, I found a small version of the photo on Google Images, so I will attach that below.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15600&start=15
Do you think there is a chance he is not just licking a booboo? As time goes on, there continues to be some healing of the nerves, and some dogs go through a temporary phase where they lick or chew certain areas of their body. The feet are a common location, and also the pen*s. The theory is that the dog is feeling a pins and needles sensation, sort of like if you sleep on your arm funny and it goes numb, and then you wake up and the feeling begins to return. Some dogs will continue chewing until they actually hurt themselves, it can even be severe. There is a treatment for this, a medication called gabapentin. You might ask your vet about it.
If you don't think it is neurological, you might try putting bitter apple on his boots and see if he will leave them alone. Duct tape may help too, depending on how much of a chewer he is.
Don't know if any of this might help?