My 12 1/2 year old retriever has had small calluses on her elbows for years which have never caused her any issues (she has a lovely memory foam bed plus mats and a rug to sleep on but often chooses the hard floor).
Her arthritis has been getting worse and worse and she’s now on anti inflammatories all the time and is also currently on a few days on tramadol due to lameness on a back leg. We’re taking her for a few really really short walks up and down the road a day just to try to give her leg a rest but keep her a little active. Anyway, I’ve noticed one of her calluses is looking a bit sore, unsurprising as she’s done little more than than lay around the house the last few days. Has anyone got any recommendations for anything I can use for her calluses? My vets opens again tomorrow so I can give them a call if necessary, but we do have another appointment with the vet next week anyway.
Also, her arthritis in both back legs is getting worse. Twice in the last week now they’ve both completely given out, once getting out of bed and once getting up some steps. She managed to get out of bed eventually after about 15 seconds and she managed the steps after a few minutes rest. It’s so upsetting seeing her like that, she’s my first dog so I’ve never been in this situation before but am I being wrong to mention to the vets at our next appointment about decisions when it comes to the end? I’m devastated even thinking about it but I really don’t want to keep her going until she gets to the point where her back legs give out and don’t get going again and it’s a rush to get her to the vets to be put down. I don’t think we’re at that point now, but how do I know when it’s getting close? She hates going to the vets (she’s just sits and trembles) so I’d much rather be able to have her put to sleep at home when the time comes.
She also is struggling to settle at home, I’m guessing she’s uncomfortable as she keeps laying somewhere then getting up and moving somewhere else. And she’s absolutely hating the short walks up and down the road, she’s sore on her lame leg but is desperate to go for a longer walk. Which is really sad to see. Before this lameness started a few days ago we’d had to cut her walks down so much as she was struggling with anything longer than 20 minutes so it’s not like she was having super long walks. It’s like she thinks she’s still a puppy in her head.
That was a lot longer than I thought it would be! Any advice on calluses and arthritis is greatly appreciated.