Minimizing callous on elbows - Page 1

Lemme tell you a story....

My elderly Shepherd female was getting really skinny. Several people criticized me for letting her lie on the cold hard ceramic tile floor just inside the front door. So, I went out and bought her a nice comfy dog bed, and put it under the kitchen table, where she could rest without being in the way.

No way could I get her to use it. No way would she even use a flop n' drop mat. She still slept just inside the door, on a very thin mat, which was all that would fit there without jamming in the door when you tried to open it. Since the day she first came into my home as a 9 month old stray, that was where she had always slept. Through moves to 5 different houses over the years, she regarded it as her duty to keep watch over the front door.

Shortly after this, I turned the air conditioning on for the summer, and it began blowing cold air across her favourite resting place. This WAS a bit much for her old bones.

She went and lay on the cold hard ceramic floor in the bathroom instead!!  I started leaving the door to the living room open, so she could sleep on the rug in there, and still keep watch on the door. She did that for awhile, but when the weather got really warm, she returned to her spot by the door.

Sometimes you just can't win!

The cats took over the dog bed instead.  Tasha died a couple of months later, at the ripe old age of 14.

Moral of the story: don't waste money on a fancy dog bed unles you know your pooch is going to use it. 

I have found applying Zink cream on my dog's elbows helps immensely to clear the condition up.  I just try to make sure as much as I can that she is lying on something soft.  This is not always possible but I do limit time on hard surfaces as much as possible, even when she is lying out in the garden.

The cream I found to be the best for a quick healing though. 

Good thread! I just love it when people jump in to help. I asked a similar question some time back, here is that thread: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/61375.html

I tried alot of the suggestions but nothing was working. I then tried a product called "New Skin", its a liquid bandage. Her callus were kinda oozing in cracks so it stung a little. But she would tolerate me putting it on, which I did for about a week 2 times a day. The oozing stopped and the callus actually got smaller and has not come back to its original size, so I guess it wasn't the carpet I had thought, but I don't to this day know what caused it to get inflammed. The limping dog (above thread) ended up with pano and after his vet check quit limping almost immediately (Murphy I hope your not reading this). Sometimes I think they just like me to spend money on them for nothing... Anyway I hope you find something to work for your dog in some of these suggestions.

It all depends where your dog lays and sleeps.  Even if you treat, the dog will still get callouses if kept in hard surfaces.  I house my dogs in spacious kennel with playground rubber matting, its not cheap.  No more collouses!...Good luck.

Thanks for all those people who responded.

WCGSDS --which rubber matting are you using? I have been searching Home Depot, Office Max and Lowes to no avail.

DukeAloha, I bought my mats at www.thematking.com go to residential.  I installed the tuf-block black.  It is solid, interlocks to get a custom fit, easy to clean. 

My dogs have always been house dogs with nice beds yet they still develop callouses!