Question

[Lesli310]

how do you keep your dogs from getting those callus on the their elbows? I have dog beds and pillows and blankets everywhere but most of the time Hershie and Thor prefer to sleep on the floor or under the porch. Is there something I can do to make them go away?

[jabear]

Knee pads?  I dunno what to tell you since Bear is so well padded he doesn't have calluses. Maybe you could rub some lotion on his owies though to ease the dryness.

[shangrila]

Ironically, I took Zoey to see the vet about her elbow sores just yesterday. She has always had red spots, but now she has a really hard bump on one, which the vet has told me is a callus. The vet said that since the elbows are such a pressure point that sores are pretty much unavoidable in big dogs. The only advice she gave me to help prevent them a little was to try and get her to sleep on something cushioned (impossible since zoey would take a cold hard floor over a soft warm one anyday). To treat them, she recomended putting bag balm on them to keep the skin mousterized, to reduce chapping and redness. She said that if it gets really bad and creates open sores, you could treat them with a little bacitracin or a vet-prescribed antibiotic, but otherwise, bag balm is the way to go since it is very effective and also affordable.

One peice of advice about buying bag balm though: buy it at cvs instead of the pet store. I previously bought a teeny tiny jar from the pet store, and today I bought a huge one (like 5 times the size) from the skincare section of cvs for the same price

[brigid67]

I don't think I will have to worry about it with Willow she only sleeps on soft cushy things.....I have heard it is a problem with big dogs though

knee pads are not a bad idea...lol

[ann]

    i have this problem with boxers they are like sandpaper and realy hard ..on a boxers site i belong to they said utterbalm or olive oil works...

ann

[mastiffmommy]

I have had short haired giant dogs all my life, and sometimes I wished they had had long fluffy hair to pad their elbows lol...... The one with the most callus problems was my bullmastiff boy, he also loved the cooler harder floor. All my others have been couch potatoes and not really had the problem.

The bag balm is good, I also saw and read about a new product just the other day, something that they said is for callus problems and would stimulate hair growth and keep the area smooth, and by keeping it smooth together with these vitamins or whatever it was in this new product, would help prevetent calluses.

I cant remember the name of the product though, I know it is in one of the newsletters I get from whoesale places, I will see if I can find it and post the name and brand though. If I dont remember totally wrong it was not an expensive product. Have no idea if it works any better than the good ol' bag balm though

Marit

[Nina]

Harley has bad callus' on her elbows and Dilbert has the ared spots. I never knew how to get rid of them, I'll for sure try the bag balm. 

[lins_saving_grace]

No kidding the tractor supply stores have great pet supplies.  Odd I know...but I went there and found toys, beds, food, bones, etc etc.