Hi
Iv'e just noticed what looks like a callous on our 12yr old xchow's right elbow. Our vet is closed for the night & I'd appreciate it if anyone has any advice on the subject. I've been told vaseline is a good softener, someone also mentioned tea tree oil. It doesn't seem to be bothering him & he's quite active for his age but he does lie on concrete a lot & refuses to sleep on a cushion of any description. Thanks in advance

My 15yr old rough collie had the same problem we were advised by the vet to rub e45 cream on it and it worked a treat.

~Roni

Hi Bint,

I'm with Roni ;)  E45 is used quite commonly for pressure points where the skin is roughened or hair loss is occurring.  I know quite a few people who use it on their dogs with great results.

Regards, Teri :)

Hi
thanks for the advice about E45 - will give it a try straight away.
Cheers
Susan

Our Lab gets one on her right elbow every summer and it clears up on its own every winter.  Its not too big and unsightly and doesn't bother her so I just leave it.  I'd be leery of the tea tree oil though.  Recent media reports say it really doesn't help and for many is more of an irritant than a solution especially if they have sensitive skin.  If you smell it, and research the ingredients you'll find it is basically a form of turpentine.

I'll see if I can find a link to some of those reports.

Thanks for that. Will avoid tea treet oil, have only ever had it in shampoo form for myself but wasn't that impressed. Have started with a little E45 & will keep a close eye on it to see whether that helps at all. If not I'll give it time without treatment & see if it clears up on it's own like your Lab. I tend to panic & rush to the vets, sometimes unneccessarily - bit of a drama queen really!
Thanks again
Susan

Sorry Bint, cannot access the article I'm thinking of.  It was in the Toronto Star but I need a paid subscription to their website in order to retrieve any article more than a week old.  And I could find only small, vague, references to the skin irritation in other websites.

Just an update on Kevin's (yes that is his name!) elbow callous. Our Vet has suggested sudocrem - can't believe I didn't think of it before! The antiseptic properties of the cream will hopefully protect the area a bit more & it's a great barrier cream. Kev smells like a clean babies bottom now!!!

Aqueous cream is also very good.  I had a Spanish horse who developed mud fever one summer (don't ask!) and it took me months of painstaking care to clear it up.  It didn't respond to even steroid gell, and my vet advised that the Animal Health Trust had given another of his clients a regime including E45, which I now think is better as a preventative, but I then started working with people with skin problems and discovered Aqueous cream.  I used it on the horse every day to keep the skin moist and supple so that it wouldn't become chapped and let infection in and after that I never looked back.  The biggest plus is that it is very cheap, under £2 a huge tub.  People with eczema use it, and it is good for softening hard skin on heels and preventing them cracking, so should be excellent for capped elbows. You can buy it at any chemist.