My eight year old Golden Retriever Gertie has been casting one of her back legs for a long time now. She occasionally bunny hops or lifts her back leg off the ground as though it's causing her discomfort. She also often tends to try and keep her weight off the foot.
The vet has taken x rays and ruled out hip, knee or cruciate problems. He also says he can find no problem with her foot. It's so frustrating, as she's such a jolly dog, and I hate to think that she might be in pain. We have found a slightly sore, wet patch behind one of the pads and she certainly does spend a lot of time licking her paws. We have just started to wash her feet when she comes in from her walks in warm slightly salty water, with a splash of antiseptic wash that we got from the vets (we usually just use warm water) in the hope that at least it may help the sore area to heal. We have also been considering buying her a pair of doggy boots, although I suspect she might have those off in no time at all. We'd try anything to find out what the problem is and to be frank the vets have been no help at all. Can anyone recommend a suitable wash or potion for Gertie's foot or make any suggestion as to what can be causing this problem. Thank you so much. Annie.

First of all, may I suggest that you register with the forum because as a guest you will be unable to reply to any questions raised by your post. It is free and doesn't take long.
You say this has been happening for a long time. How long is long?
My dog had a similar problem for a while, almost bunny-hopping on his back leg occasionally. Eventually, after many fruitless searches of his paw, nails and leg, I found a tick right up in the fur between all his pads. It had grown to be big, white and ugly!:( The vet did warn that it could take some time, maybe a couple of months, to get over the tick after it was removed. His leg is now fine but it did take all of the time he suggested. It probably won't be the same, but maybe it's worth another look?
Good luck.
LynnT

Dear Lynne

Thank you for your reply. As you can see I am now duly registered.

There is no sign of a tick, just the strange discolouration of the pad as described below and the soreness around the pad. The vet sold us a Mikki boot to protect her foot, but it came off in about 2 minutes. Not her fault, it just sort of slid off, even though we strapped it on really tightly. I had tried making one myself using a rubber insole cut to fit her paw, sewn to a tubular bandage ... ahem that didn't work either.

We do have an awful tick problem here. We moved down from South Bristol last year where Gertie had been picking up the odd tick throughout the season. But there's a veritable onslaught of them here and however hard we check, some of them still slip through the net. As you know Goldens have a forest if hair in which ticks lurk. I do use Frontline on her (thank goodness for spot on, she used to go beserk when we had to spray her), but she still picks them up. She seems to become very subdued when she has a tick attached.

We shall persevere, if I have to try every vet in the west country.
Thanks again. Annie

Hi Annie

my golden has been suffering with his feet as well, with all the rain about at the moment inbetween the toes never seems to get dry and he was constantly licking, my vet recommended bathing with hibi-scrub 1part to 200 parts water and dry them well, it's a real pain but seems to be working.

barbara

Hi Barbara
Thanks for the reply. We are using a splash of hibi-scrub, together with a little salt in the water. Although I stupidly left the bowl unattended last night and rushed back into the kitchen when I heard slurping noises. Gertie was having a good long drink from her footwash bowl. I spent the entire evening waiting for her dinner to make a reappearance, but she seemed completely unaffected. I'm glad it's working for your Golden.

The vet has given us some Fuciderm to use on the sore areas of her foot, but I hate using steroid creams on her. Besides which, I think there's a more deep seated problem. Part of the back pad on her foot looks sort of mottled and is rather an unpleasant grey colour. It almost looks mouldy, if that doesn't sound daft. I know that she almost goes through the roof when we put the ointment on. I feel awful doing it because she's such a sweet natured dog. You wouldn't think it beyond the wit of man to find out what was wrong, but I think I'm on the way to paying for the vet's summer holiday.
Thanks again, Annie.

Hi Annie

Has your vet checked out Gertie's neck as sometimes neck problems can cause pain in the back legs?

Hope you find the cause

Christine

Hi Christine
Thanks for replying.
Gertie did have her back and neck checked when this problem first presented itself. Dog owning is frustrating isn't it. I sometimes wonder who's suffering the most, her or me.
Annie