Hey - Frisbee has puffy soft elbows on his front legs. We have tile and hardwood floors throughout the house and he seems to prefer to lie on the tile rather than the 3 beds that we have for him. We have been letting him sleep outside his kennel for the past couple of months and we rarely found him sleeping on a doggie bed - just the tile floor. Last night I decided to keep him in his kennel at night on his soft bed in there to see if that will help. In the past he's destroyed any bedding we've put in his crate including the Ballistic crate pad so it's a risk that he'll destroy this one too. Last night he didn't do any damage to it and seemed nice and rested this morning. 1st - If this doesn't show improvement, how do I get his elbows to heal? 2nd - how do I prevent them? I plan to buy a couple more beds for other places in the house but if he doesn't lie on them - what else can I do? Thanks!
Re: Puffy elbows [quote author=Lochan link=topic=7635.msg106668#msg106668 date=1409751870] Hi. Could you post some photos of his elbows? You'll get better advice then. [/quote] How do I do that?
Re: Puffy elbows [quote author=Frisbeesdad link=topic=7635.msg106670#msg106670 date=1409752734] [quote author=Lochan link=topic=7635.msg106668#msg106668 date=1409751870] Hi. Could you post some photos of his elbows? You'll get better advice then. [/quote] How do I do that? [/quote] Guess I figured it out.
Re: Puffy elbows Hi there well done for mastering the photo posting! That looks like decubitus, which is a thickening of the skin over the bony part of the elbow. Incredibly common in labs. Protection against rubbing is the way to go, and a padded bed is good if they will lie on them. You can also make little elbow pads for them if you are good with velcro and a sewing machine, alternatively I've seen some good ones from the USA from a company called DogLeggs. Also the heavier the dog, the more likely they are to get decubitus so it will be best if you keep him on the thin side of normal. Decubitus is usually a cosmetic problem, but some dogs can end up with a really nasty deep infection in this site. So squeeze the affected bit gently and watch carefully for any reddish brown fluid seeping out, even if only a tiny amount as that would prompt a trip to the vet for some antibiotics. Unless already infected, washing the area with anything will not help. Good luck and keep us posted.
